Dallas rolled his eyes at the happy look from a guy who could have had a lucrative career as an international male model or the center attraction for any Nike advertising campaign. Every part of Greer was muscular and defined, and like everything he wore, the gear fit like a glove. Greer pointed at the screen, keeping Dallas’s attention.
“I’m serious. Give it your all.”
Ducky came fully inside the room, arms crossed over his chest, his grin spreading as he looked at Greer. “You’re good at trash-talking without ever raising your voice.”
“I knew I liked you,” Greer said with a wink, chuckling at Ducky’s comment. Except it wasn’t funny at all. Dallas’s life had become a hellish nightmare since meeting this man who was actively making all their dreams come true. “How are the donations going?”
“Before I came in here, we were at two thousand dollars pledged to Grand Prairie Boys & Girls Club and two hundred donations to assorted food banks. Four hundred people have logged on. I was impressed,” Ducky explained.
“Me too. We’ve only been promoting for forty-eight hours,” Donny called out from where he was now bent over Greer’s bike, screwing something in place.
“And it’s Saturday mid-morning. That’s usually our slowest time,” Ducky added. Dallas watched his introverted younger brother speak openly with Greer.
As they shot the shit, Dallas clicked his shoes into the pedals, trying and failing to get into the proper mental zone. Like it had a million times already this morning, his gaze absently landed on Greer who seemed to always be looking his way. Greer’s grin grew. The guy did that a lot, appearing pleased when he caught Dallas glancing his way. The whole deal was jarring to Dallas’s psyche and made him unsteady. Thank God, no one else seemed to notice.
Luckily, Skye’s image divided the screen with Greer’s, making the unwanted focus of his attention a little bit smaller on the screen. She looked tired, as if she were barely awake, and wobbled a bit when she pedaled. She gathered her long hair, tying it in a tight messy knot at the back of her head. She’d agreed to be their trainer and officiator this morning.
“You got Greer’s mirror working. That’s exciting.”
“Donny’s got this down. He doesn’t play around.” Greer stepped back, letting Skye see the bike. This time Dallas got a better look at Greer’s room. The floor to ceiling windows lining the back wall looked out over a swimming pool and perfectly landscaped lawn. The room itself was devoid of anything other than a few pieces of expensive exercise equipment.
“We’ve got four minutes before we begin. Are you ready, Donny?” Ducky asked.
“Yeah, Greer’s on now and everything looks good.” Donny looked directly into the screen at Ducky. “I’ve also got him wired directly to the monitor, so if something isn’t right, we won’t lose him.”
Ducky gave a thumbs up and started out of the room. “I’ll be at my desk, monitoring everything.”
“I’ll stick around here to troubleshoot any issues from this end,” Donny said.
“Now remember, Dallas, you don’t have to do your best…” Greer said, grinning as he started spinning his wheels. Skye burst out with a laugh and so did Donny. Dallas might not have been able to help his grin either, especially with as many times as Greer had told him to give it his all.
“You’re right,” Dallas said, the only piece of shit talking he’d allowed himself to do. “I only have to beat you.”
The pushback met its mark. They all gave a burst of laughter.
“I’m calling a tie a win in my favor,” Greer said.
“We’ll give you that,” Donny added.
The time ticker on the mirror started the thirty second countdown while Dallas, riding as Biker101, increased his speed. He’d already settled into position, grabbing the handlebars. He closed his eyes, praying for that mysterious place he only reached through exercise. If he could get there, nothing else mattered.
When the screen went live, the spectators’ small profile pictures began filling the side of the mirror. Skye started the countdown. “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…”
“For anyone listening. I’ll double all donations posted by the end of the class,” Greer said.
“Three, two…” Skye continued.
Fuck. Why was Greer such a good guy?
“Let’s begin,” Skye said.
Lost in thought, Dallas started a second or two late, and totally off his mark.
Fuck. Greer had done that on purpose. Helping other people was such a turn on to Dallas.
Dammit, concentrate.
Fuck.
Thirty minutes later, Dallas’s chest heaved as he pedaled his heart out. The zing and whiz of metal meeting metal, spinning his wheel faster than anything he’d ever managed before didn’t help Dallas feel secure in his place. He paid little attention to anything other than pushing himself, yet somehow, he instinctively knew this wasn’t going to be enough.
Dallas was past being physically and mentally exhausted, and Greer was a force of nature. A mammoth distraction sent to destroy everything Dallas had worked hard to achieve over the entirety of his life.