Chase didn’t always take part in the workouts, usually sticking to the yoga portions at the beginning and end of each session, but today he was in the thick of it.
Luckily, worrying about Tobias was helping Chase forget about the torture he was delivering to his own body. They were tasked with completing five pull-ups, ten push-ups and fifteen air squats as many times as they could in twenty minutes, and Chase’s loose tank was a darker color than when he’d started thanks to all the sweating he was doing.
“Clock is running out. Move it,” Tobias shouted, and Chase managed to pick up his pace.
Only Josh seemed to be keeping up with Chase, meeting him rep for rep, and part of Chase hoped Tobias was watching. Not because he was showing off or anything. But every time he glanced at Tobias, he looked elsewhere, and Chase tried not to take it personally. The guy had been through a lot this weekend, and Chase didn’t even know how the talk went with Alyssa on Sunday.
Tobias surveyed the whole scene with intensity, focused on everyone’s movements and making sure everyone used proper form so they wouldn’t get hurt.
“One minute,” he shouted. “Every rep counts. Finish strong.”
It was like Tobias had hit each of them with a cattleprod, and they all found a new gear as they fought to finish every rep they could before time ran out. They all wanted to score as high as they could on the leaderboard each day. Chase was a bit competitive over it.
Tobias counted down the last five seconds, and everyone collapsed to the ground, winded and beaten from the workout.
Chase was trying to catch his breath, but it kept outrunning him. He thought he might pass out from the lack of oxygen getting to his brain, but Tobias’ voice rang out and kept him conscious.
“Okay, Chase will lead us in our yoga cooldown,” Tobias said.
“Yup, in a minute,” Chase said, pausing between words for deep breaths, his limbs spread out on the ground around him. “Be right there, boss.”
A huff of laughter echoed in the now quiet gym, and his head spun in Tobias’ direction.
Oh my God, did I make Tobias laugh?
Chase wasn’t the only one caught off guard.
“Tobes,” Cole said carefully, trying not to spook the man. “Did you just… laugh?”
Tobias peered at Cole, then at the rest of the group, and settled on Chase.
His cheeks were turning an adorable shade of pink, and Chase felt an entire drumline pounding in his heart.
“You’re hearing things, Durbin,” Tobias barked, andturned to the computer at the front of the room, preparing the screen for each of them to enter their scores.
Had Chase achieved the impossible with Tobias? Everyone else’s shock told him he did, and he was astonished. He wanted to shout the unlocked achievement from the rooftops. But first, work.
“Right, um, everyone on your stomachs,” he instructed, continuing to steal glances at Tobias’ tense posture. “Deep breath, and rise onto your hands for upward dog.”
Chase focused on the satisfying stretch and led the group through several movements for their cooldown. When they finished, everyone took their time making their way to the computer to input their final scores. Tobias loaded the score page as Riley approached him.
“Hey, man,” Riley said, putting a friendly hand on Tobias’ shoulder. “I wanted to say thanks for doing the alumni game. It’s been a huge deal for Sophie so I’m really thankful.”
Holy shit, he said yes to the game?
Chase’s pep talk—or maybe his talk with Alyssa—must have gone better than he expected. He’d hoped Tobias would text him about it, but he was probably distracted by his nerves too much to think of it.
Tobias stiffened and continued facing the screen.
“I’m happy to make others look good,” he said gruffly.
He flinched when Chase popped up on his other side. He hoped that wouldn’t always be Tobias’ reaction to him, but he was too pumped about the news to think about anything else, so he stupidly said, “You’re gonna be the one looking good when it comes to the game.”
Tobias’ gaze snapped in Chase’s direction.
Shock.
Shit, was that too much?
