“Excuse me?” I asked with a scowl.
Isaac chuckled. “Wouldn’t it be better to give him attention so he doesn’t escalate?”
“Absolutely not,” Niles said. “That just encourages him. The best thing to do is ignore him, otherwise he learns he gets attention if he starts acting up.”
“Or perhaps you could give him little doses of attention when he wants it, but not when he’s being obnoxious. That way you can make sure he knows he’ll get attention when he’s behaving, but otherwise will get ignored.”
“That sounds like an awful lot of work when ignoring him is far easier.”
“Is it?”
“I’ve found it to be.”
“Excuse me,” I interrupted with a huff. “You’re talking about me like I’m not standing right here. You’re also talking like you’re trying to raise a toddler...or train a dog.”
“Actually, what I’m suggesting works quite well on cats,” Isaac explained, and I scowled when he smirked. “It’s how I taught my cats not to use their claws or get rough when I’m playing with them. When they’re doing it correctly, they get the attention they want. If not? I just walk away.”
“Being compared to a cat in training is not, in fact, making me feel better,” I said with a sigh.
“Why not? It kind of works,” Niles said with a laugh. “Especially when you think about how horny tom cats can be.”
“Niles is just mad that he couldn’t sleep with me because he works here, and was my Guide at one point,” I said with a smirk. Not that I actually believed that for a minute, or at least...not completely. Niles was one of those rare guys where I had no idea who he was into, if he was even into people sexually. For all I knew, he could have had a giant crush on me and held it back so well that it was undetectable, or was so uninterested in sex that it completely threw off my radar.
“I have had Clay recommended for psychological testing because I’m convinced there’s some disconnect in his brain,” Niles said, giving me a sharp look. “Now, I know Isaac is new, but can I at least trust that you’ll behave if I leave you alone to go talk to a few of the other guys?”
“I don’t think you have to worry about me,” Isaac said with a chuckle. “Fending off horny men is something I have experience in.”
“Good to know,” Niles said with a snort. “Just spray him with a water bottle if he doesn’t figure out how to tone it down.”
“I’m not a fucking cat,” I called after Niles as he walked off. “Asshole.”
“You bring out a certain side of people, don’t you?” Isaac asked as he walked over to the rack and draped his mat over it.
“What side?” I asked, wrinkling my nose.
“The kind that invites people to give you shit,” he said with a laugh.
“What can I say? It’s part of my charm, I guess,” I said, hanging my mat next to his. I glanced over and grinned when I saw Logan had made his way over. “Well, howdy, Logan, have fun?”
“It was fine, I guess,” he said with a shrug. “Just wish there was more to do around here than talk and do yoga.”
“Oh, I’m sure I could findsomethingfor you to fill the time,” I said, arching a brow.
He sighed. “Really?”
I snorted. “There’s a gym.”
“I’ve already worked out today.”
“No, I’m not talking about you being around a bunch of sweaty men grunting as they pump weights. I mean, that’s a good time, but I mean an actual gymnasium.”
Logan frowned. “What?”
“Yeah, and they’ve got equipment and shit. Some guys have set up basketball teams when they can find enough people, or even goofy shit like dodgeball.”
Logan perked up at that. “Really? I didn’t know that.”
“Start checking the scheduled shit in the system,” I said. “But be careful if you set up a dodgeball tournament.”
