Page 29 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

“Um … ” Oh God, don’t say it! “I was looking for someone good in bed.”

Anthony’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? How would you know before you took them home whether they are or aren’t?”

“I wouldn’t know for sure, but there are certain characteristics of a”—Not sex-god—“sexually proficient being.”

He burst out laughing, and her cheeks burned.

“Why is it funny?” Delilah asked defensively. “Because a fat girl can’t possibly want good sex? She should just take what she gets and be grateful anyone wants her at all?”

“What?” Anthony’s jaw dropped open. “Delilah, that’s not what I meant!”

She’d already spun around to rush out the door, but Pike was coming through when he spotted her, a broad smile spread across his face. “Hey! Is it weird if I say I’ve been looking for you?”

“Hi. No, I mean, depends,” she said, fighting to rein in her emotions. “I don’t owe you money, do I?”

“Funny!” Pike said, unknowingly blocking her escape. “But no, I wanted to check in and see how you were feeling.”

“Feeling … Oh, after the other night. You know, drank too much. Needed to sleep it off.”

“If you’re fully recovered, maybe we could have coffee sometime?” Pike asked, stepping closer to the counter. “Either before or after work?”

“Um—” Delilah couldn’t believe that after years of wanting Pike, of worshipping him, that she was at a loss now that everything she’d ever dreamed of was within her grasp. “I mean, we—”

“I’m going to take off,” Anthony said behind her, making Delilah lose her train of thought again.

“Alright, man.” Pike patted him on the back as he walked by, and only Delilah could see when Anthony paused at the door his expression thunderous as it shifted from Pike’s back to her face before it dissolved into an evil grin.

“By the way, thanks for bringing my blanket back, Delilah.”

Her mouth dropped, and Pike turned around, watching Anthony walk past the window and disappear.

Pike faced forward, his forehead furrowed. “Why did you have his blanket?”

Chapter Eight

Anthony heaved the bar above his head in angry, rapid thrusts while Nick spotted him from above. It was Monday after work and once he’d gotten back from taking the Andersons out, he’d still been wired about the misunderstanding with Delilah and Pike’s obliviousness.

“Hey, Hulk, why don’t you take it easy?” Nick said, his hand hovering under the bar. “I’m afraid you’re going to tear something.”

“I’m fine,” Anthony grunted, setting the weight bar back into the J hooks, his muscles burning at the overuse. He needed to let off some steam, or he would seek out the source of his frustration.

Because a fat girl can’t possibly want good sex?

Anthony sat up, desperately wanting to hit something. Why had Pike walked in right then like an eager puppy, drooling all over her before they finished their conversation? She stood there and encouraged Pike like Anthony hadn’t been the one making sure she got cleaned up and home safe on Saturday night. Making plans to date his best friend, who hadn’t even noticed her before Saturday while he’d—

Kissed her? Rejected her? Ignored her?

“Hey, man,” Nick said, jarring him out of his thoughts with a hand on Anthony’s shoulder. “I don’t want to come off like a nag, but you aren’t acting like yourself.”

“I’m in a mood, man, alright?” Anthony said roughly, climbing to his feet.

“No, I got that. I’m trying to suss out why.”

Anthony made his way toward the locker room without responding. While working out together was usually chill, Anthony wished he’d come alone. Nick was like a dog with a bone and wouldn’t let up until he told him.

Which he didn’t plan on doing. If he was going to talk to anyone, it would be Delilah about what she’d accused him of.

Anthony wasn’t naive. He knew some men cared about a woman’s weight. Hell, it was everywhere. Movies. TV. Books. The damn tabloids at the grocery store commenting on a celebrity’s weight, usually a woman, and the next magazine would be advertising some miracle diet. He wasn’t obtuse to these things because his mom had pointed them out to him, especially after his dad left.