Through the lobby, I found Griff turning in circles. “Seriously, you don’t even know where it is, do you?”
“I was waiting for you.”
“Well then…” I take a slight bow. “After you then.”
“Jerk.”
I gave him a pat on the ass as I walked past, heading toward the back of the gym. As we passed the studios, the smell of chlorine grew stronger until we banked right into the locker rooms. Every once in a while, I’d get lucky and there’d be a bearish man with a towel wrapped around his waist, but today it looked like all the beef had opted to stay in bed.
“Are we really doing this? You look like you’ve already been working out. How about we call it a day and head to the HideOut?”
Called it. I turned toward the row of lockers, pulled one open and tossed my bag in. His eyes were attempting to burn a hole in the side of my head. “Nope. You’re getting some exercise today that doesn’t include Sebastian’s cock.”
“Don’t be jealous that I’m getting my cardio outside of the gym.”
I hated he was right. “We’re hitting the pool. You can splash around while I swim laps.”
“But Chad has a new omelet…”
“Then we can sit in the hot tub.”
In the two years I had known Griffin, I had never seen him move so fast. Pants hit the tiles, and he was digging through his gym bag for shorts. When he finally pulled them out, I snatched the tag off the waistband. “Really? For how many months have these been in there?”
“Shut up.”
Griffin was the newest addition to our troupe. There were times he grated on me with his comic book obsession and constantly yammering about superheroes, but he meant well. But out of the four of us, he was our source of culture. Alejandro was our sex fiend, Bernard our sagely dad, and me—I was the pragmatic one with a chip on my shoulder. The things that grated on me about Griffin were what made him a good friend, a calm to my chaotic frenzy.
“Want me to draw you a picture? It’ll last longer?”
Standing in the buff, he rested his hands on his hips, baring every inch of himself. If this were a porno, I’d have him pinned against the lockers as I railed him to the sound of a silky smooth synthesizer. Eyeing his belly, the thought lingered. Thankfully, we swore off from hooking up with members of breakfast club. Instead, I snapped my towel, landing a sharp strike against his stomach.
He laughed as his eyes drifted south. “Got you hot and bothered, I see.”
“Jerk.”
We both let out a laugh as we changed and headed tothe pool. True to form, I got in a series of quick laps, cursing my inability to maintain my form. Griffin, on the other hand, doggy paddled back and forth, just enough to classify the event as physical activity. After finishing my twentieth lap, I hopped out of the pool to find him already enjoying the bubbles in the hot tub.
Level with the floor, I took my first step into the steaming water. Three more steps and it covered my waist. The chill of the pool vanished. I positioned myself in front of a series of jets that would massage the knot from the base of my back.
“Rough day?”
I nodded. “Try week.”
“I saw the alerts on the HeroApp™. That was a full-on invasion. I’ve never seen so many heroes in one place.”
“Do you know of a hero with four arms? Alien?” There was nobody more knowledgeable than Griffin when it came to superheroes. Part of his job required him to be familiar with them, but mostly, he was a geek.
“Four-Arms?”
“Nope. This one was green.”
“Sentient Spider?”
“Nope. Eyes were more serpentine.”
“Lizard Dude?”
“Now you’re just making up names.”
