Page 31 of 10 Things I Hate About Mistletoe

Anthony froze, recognizing Trip Douglas’s nasally voice.

“She’s pretty, though; if she’s trying to lose weight, in about fifty pounds, she’ll be bangable. Did you see those tits?”

Anthony was almost surprised to hear Brodie joining in, but he’d been Trip’s lapdog since high school. Anthony had played offensive and defensive lines, going shoulder to shoulder with Brodie on more than one occasion. He’d never disliked the guy until this moment.

“The tits are always the first thing to go,” Trip said, his voice thick with disgust. “Twenty bucks says she loses weight and looks like a shar-pei.”

Anthony crossed the room to the sink, his jaw clenched. This is the type of guy Delilah thought he was? Anthony wanted to throttle these idiots.

“Couple of pricks,” Nick muttered, leaning against the sink beside him.

A locker slammed, and Brodie said, “I heard that fat girls are the freakiest in bed, though. They’re so happy to fuck someone, they’ll do whatever you want.”

“Maybe I should ask her out and see if it’s true?” Trip responded with a dark laugh.

Today was not the day. He’d wanted something to hit, and these two dick bags would jolly fucking do.

Anthony rounded the corner and spotted them in front of the lockers. Brodie had his back to Anthony, his large frame softer than it had been years ago. Anthony slammed his shoulder into Brodie, sending him catapulting into Trip. Both men hit the lockers, a cursing tangle of limbs, and Brodie stumbled, losing his towel in the process. When they hit the floor, Brodie landed on top of Trip, naked and sprawled out. Neither man moved for several seconds, frozen in place.

“Not in public, boys,” Nick deadpanned.

Anthony didn’t have to turn around; he could tell by the barely restrained laughter in Nick’s voice he was about to lose it.

“Watch where you’re fucking going, Russo!” Trip hollered. Anthony glanced back and watched Trip push at Brodie’s naked frame.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

Nick slapped his back when they exited the locker room, gasping with laughter. “Holy shit, that was the best thing I’ve seen all day.”

Anthony smiled. “I’ll admit, I feel a little better now.”

“We should probably vamoose unless we want to wait for them outside.” Nick shook his head, grinning like a sinner. “By the look on Trip’s face, he will be spoiling for a fight.”

“Nick! Anthony!” The manager, Frank, called out, heading straight for them. “I heard a crash in the locker room!”

“How?” Anthony asked.

“I was in the women’s locker room giving a tour and heard it through the wall.”

Anthony saw the dark ponytail before it fully registered Delilah was behind Frank, staring at Anthony with wide eyes. She wore a pink off-the-shoulder top that revealed the strap of her black sports bra and a broad seam of cleavage.

Anthony scanned the room, a sickening feeling settling in his stomach. “You hear anything else before the crash?”

“No, why?” Frank asked.

Anthony’s shoulders sagged with relief. Even if Trip and Brodie hadn’t been talking about Delilah, he couldn’t imagine her wanting to stick around if she’d heard what they were saying.

“I thought maybe you heard arguing or something? The only thing that happened when we were there is I tripped when we were leaving and accidentally bumped into a couple of guys.”

“Uh-huh.” Frank watched him skeptically before turning to address Delilah. “I need to go in and check on this. I’ll be right back, Delilah.”

“Not a problem, Frank.”

The older man disappeared inside, and Nick clapped Anthony on the shoulder. “You think Trip is going to tell Frank?”

“Tell him what?” Delilah asked.

“Nothing,” Anthony said.