Greer followed Ducky down a hall to an open bedroom filled with electronics, many wires of different colors and sizes, and an expensive stationary bike. A twin mattress had been pushed against the far interior wall and looked like an afterthought. The open closet door overflowed with all the things the bedroom couldn’t hold.
“Dallas is a neat freak. This is hard on him,” Ducky said, moving blankets back for Greer to place Dallas on the bed. Ducky helped. They narrowly avoided bumping Dallas’s head against the wall. The bed wasn’t long or wide enough to hold Dallas’s height or bulk. Ducky pulled off Dallas’s shoes. “He’s real stressed. He needed a night out. He used to go out all the time.”
“He’ll probably regret it in the morning.” Greer took a careful step back so as not to disrupt any of the wiring to the stationary bike where apparently the magic of BikeBro came to life. He tucked his fingers in his jean’s pockets, watching as Ducky tossed Dallas’s shoes toward the closet. He followed the path of the shoes as they went, one skidding farther than the other. If Dallas were in fact a clean freak, that would drive him nuts in the morning.
“Is this where he teaches classes?” Greer asked, motioning with his chin toward the rest of the room.
“Yeah.”
Greer turned for a closer look around the room. The bike took most of the space. The backdrop consisted of another wall stacked with more cardboard boxes, their logo facing a mirror across the room.
“I guess I haven’t taken one of his classes,” Greer said absently, realizing he hadn’t ever searched for an instructor other than Skye.
“He does day classes and works at the gym at night,” Ducky explained, starting out of the bedroom. “Skye works five nights a week, but she’s adding classes. They’ve been best friends since…well, most of my life. She’s like a sister.”
Greer turned off the lights as the pieces to the Dallas puzzle slowly revealed themselves. He glanced back at the sleeping man, wondering if there were any secrets he kept from his family. Maybe the thought was way off base, maybe it was nothing more than his own hopeful need. One thing was certain, the more he found out about Dallas, the stronger the attraction grew.
“Get him a glass of water and Advil. He’ll need it in the morning. Tell him I’ll be in touch.”
Chapter 10
A firm jostle startled him from the tight grip of sleep.
“Dallas, wake up.”
Something wasn’t right. Dallas reluctantly turned his head and forced his eyes open to a fuzzy image of his brother, Ducky, standing over him. Sharp pain pierced his skull, blurring his vision even more. He had no choice but to close his eyes. At the same time, the rancid taste in his mouth had him struggling to get out of bed to go brush his teeth. Ducky’s hand gripped his bicep, helping to lift him.
“You’ve got thirty minutes before you sign on this morning. Do you want me to post an old class?”
“What time is it?” Dallas’s tongue felt like it had grown ten times its size. His throat was dry, and his voice cracked as he spoke. He fell back on his mattress. This time, he threw an arm over his eyes to shield them from the brightness in the room. The pain in his head intensified with every second that passed, making him forget about the foulness in his mouth.
“Eight thirty. I’ve been tryin’ to wake you up for a half hour. If you think the class needs to be live, I can try to be the trainer if you want.”
The hazy image of Ducky, his primarily sedentary brother, leading a class of well-trained athletes sat inside his brain long enough for him to attempt a smile. The grin hurt his face, and he stopped that nonsense immediately.
“What happened last night?” he asked, remembering the bar and free drinks being placed in front of him. Why did he get free drinks?
“I don’t know. A customer of ours brought you home. You passed out on me. There would’ve been no way to get you inside without him.”
Dallas let those words gently roll around in his head.
He’d been sucking down mixed drinks and dancing, both opposite his normal behavior.
Rewinding to a little earlier, he remembered Skye urging him to relax and have a good time on the way to the club. She promised to get them home safely.
Then Stacy had wanted to dance. Dallas’s eyes opened to Ducky still standing over him as he remembered the crazy attractive blond guy who’d shown up to their party with an unlimited drink budget.
Greer Lockhart.
A man as sexy on the dance floor as off.
A tempting promise in his amber eyes.
He knew the stare well because he’d felt it. Every time he’d turned Greer’s direction, that devastating stare had been aimed his way.