She grimaces, and immediately I know I shouldn’t have asked that. “Actually, you know what? Don’t tell me. I don’t need to know.”
Her expression turns pleading now. “Levi can’t find out yet we need to tell him at the right time.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I tilt my head to contemplate. I refuse to lie to Levi. My loyalties must lie with him first. “If he doesn’t ask, I won’t tell him. But if he asks, I’m not going to lie to him. I’m not cool with keeping secrets from Levi, so don’t tell me anything you don’t want him to know.”
She nods, looking down and scuffing the toe of her shoe, almost as though she feels guilty.
I clap my hands together, startling Gigi as I give her a wide grin. “Mat Pilates on the deck?”
A smile lights up her face at the change in topic and nods. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you there.”
She runs upstairs, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I learnt so much about Levi during my short conversation with Gigi, and I think I know how to get through to him – about Pilates and about relationships. Though, only time will tell.
…
I lay the mats side by side just as Gigi comes out onto the deck. She’s dressed in a matching black sports bra and shorts, her dirty blonde hair tied up in a ponytail.
I clap my hands together. “Alright, let’s start with a pelvic curl to warm up.”
I lie down on my back, my knees bent, and my feet are flat on the mat. I wave Gigi to mimic the position, and she does.
“Okay, Gige. Make sure the spine is in a neutral position. Belly button to spine, switch on your core.” I watch as her pelvis tilts into position. At least there’s one Carter around here that I don’t need to baby. “Inhale to prepare.” We inhale. “As we exhale, tuck through the pelvis, we want to draw our lower abdominals in and up so we can lift our tailbone from the mat, peeling our spine one vertebra at a time.” We come up into a bridge position. “Good. Now hold for a few and be mindful not to let your ribs flare or knees splay.” After holding for about five seconds, I start to cue us back down. “Inhale to prepare.” We breathe in. “Now, exhale and we slowly articulate our spine back down onto the mat, rolling down vertebra by vertebra returning all the way down into our neutral position, how we started.”
We do a few more reps before moving on.
“Let’s go into side-lying leg raises now. We turn onto our right side, keep everything stacked right now – our ribs, our hips, and our feet. Prop up onto your elbow and cradle your headfor support, our other hand can rest.” After settling into position, I begin to cue through the exercise.
We continue our rhythm for a couple of minutes before we move to our other side.
We’re a couple of reps in when I hear the door fly open and three hockey players – Levi Carter, Bennett Steele and Hudson Moore - stumble out onto the deck.
I catch Levi’s eye as he flushes red, and I know that I’ll have to get him alone soon. I leave him be for the time being. “How was your hike, boys?” I ask as I sit up on my mat and reach for my water bottle. Levi’s eyes follow my movements, but I pay no mind.
Hudson is the one to respond. “Good. Really nice, actually. It’s incredible out there.”
I nod, my eyes flitting to Gigi to see her making eyes at Bennett. So obvious.
I stand, moving toward the door, waving them along. “Let’s get some food into you guys. Come on.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
LEVI
The late afternoon air is slightly cool as I slip into the warm water of the hot tub. Gigi and Bennett ease in across from me, sighs of relief sounding from all of us as our muscles relax. I close my eyes as heat seeps into my shoulder, loosening the tension, a groan rumbling through my chest at the feeling. God, that feels good. The rest of the guys are gaming inside and entertaining Wren.
I hear rustling behind me, and I flick my gaze toward the door. And there she is. Scarlett steps into view, confident and unhurried, a white bikini bright against her sunkissed skin. I catch myself staring, taking in her long lines and my attention lingering on the abs that I desperately try not to think about.
I watch as she places her phone on the table before making her way toward us. A cough startles me, as I cautiously look to Steele to see him watching me with an eyebrow raised and asmall smirk gracing his lips. I look down, uncomfortable at being spotted that easily.
I feel the water shift as Scarlett steps in beside me, sitting down close enough that our thighs brush, my breath hitching at the contact.
She groans beside me. “Fuck, this feels so good.” I feel her settle beside me before letting out a soft sigh. I feel my body begin to coil with tension again at her proximity, and I hate feeling so out of control of my emotions.
I clear my throat, glancing at Steele. “So, how’s this sponsorship of yours going?”
At the beginning of last season, Steele was brought on as a major partner of PowerPlus Sportswear, and Gigi has been working alongside him as a liaison for the duration.
Steele lets out a breathy laugh as he contemplates his answer. “Busy.” He settles on, before adding, “A lot more hectic than I initially expected, but I enjoy it.”
