Yet after one set, I found myself adding twenty pounds, so my bar outweighed his. It still wasn’t a strain for me. He added another plate to each side of his barbell, edging me out. His breathing was heavy as he lowered himself into a squat and pushed back into the starting position.
I finished the set and stacked more weight on. Now, my breath started to come heavier too.
Thad grunted as he thrust the bar into place on the rack and tossed more on without even finishing the set. He glanced at me and our gazes met, a silent challenge in his.
I wasn’t immature enough to let him drive me to not complete a set, but I did shift up again more quickly than I usually would have. I’d nearly reached my maximum usual weight, but my legs felt strong. I could go heavier.
Beside me, Thad was red-faced and sweating. His muscle shirt was soaked through, and his lanky limbs were beginning to shake.
“Give it up,” I muttered, loud enough for him to hear but not for anyone else to. “I get paid to be fit. You’re a finance guy. You can’t beat me in this.”
If he challenged me to a math test or quizzed me about shares and return rates, he’d come out on top, but this was my natural habitat. There was no shame in losing to a professional. But judging from his glower, he didn’t see things that way.
Briefly, I considered setting my barbell aside and being the bigger person. I knew I could out-squat him. But then I recalled what he’d done to Tally and any sympathy I might have had for him fled.
I added more weight.
He did too.
I added more.
So did he.
And again, until finally, he added so much that he couldn’t lift the barbell off the rack.
“I win,” I said, and unloaded my barbell.
I left him collapsed on a bench, mopping his face on his shirt and trembling from head to toe.
Back in our hotel room, I stretched my legs thoroughly and showered, then changed into a T-shirt and board shorts and went looking for Tally.
I found her at the waterfront restaurant, with an empty breakfast platter in front of her and goddamn Jackson from thenight before seated opposite. I grabbed a chair, dragged it over, and draped my arm around her shoulders.
As far as Jackson knew, Tally was taken. He needed to back off.
“Are you done with breakfast, cocobug?” I asked, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “Morning, Jackson.”
“Hey, Alec.” Irritatingly, he didn’t seem bothered by my presence.
Tally placed her empty coffee cup on her plate. “Yeah, I finished a while ago. We’ve just been chatting.”
“Want to head back to the room and figure out our game plan for today?” I wanted nothing more than to get her away from her new friend. She’d had enough man trouble for one trip. The last thing she needed was some stranger lusting after her too.
“Um, okay sure. But don’t you want something to eat too?”
I gritted my teeth. I hadn’t thought of that, but she had a point. “Just give me a moment.”
I went to the buffet and loaded a plate with eggs and hash, then filled a bowl with Greek yoghurt, granola, and fresh fruit. I carried both back to the table, sat, and dug into them with gusto, not because I was starving but because I wanted to get back to our room and away from Jackson as quickly as possible.
As I ate, Jackson and Tally made small talk about their siblings—or in Tally’s case, her lack thereof, their parents, and their friends. Jackson apparently had two siblings, both older, and his parents were rich and semi-retired, gallivanting around the world on cruise ships and leading photography tours in some of the planet’s most beautiful places.
It annoyed me that he seemed like an interesting person. I supposed, under normal circumstances, I should have been pleased that a friendly guy with a good job was showing interest in my best friend. He was a better match for her than Thad hadbeen. But I couldn’t bring myself to be grateful to him or even to envision them together.
For now, Tally was mine, and that was that.
I shoveled yoghurt, granola, and fruit into my mouth, chugging down water between mouthfuls. After only a few minutes, I cleared both my plate and bowl. I pushed back my chair and stood. Tally arched an eyebrow, obviously confused by my behavior. Frankly, I was too. Pretending to be her boyfriend was messing with me.
“I’ll see you later,” she said to Jackson, wiggling her fingers at him in a cute little wave.
