Gym Junkie

He pulls out and rises onto his knees. His haunted eyes hold mine and he drops his head. Without a word, he gets up, fastens his jeans back in place, and he gets out of the of the car, slamming the door.

I lie alone in his backseat in the dark.

What the fuck just happened?

Chapter 25

The drive home is spent in complete silence. My sex is still throbbing from the beating he has just given it. I stare out the window as the night races by.

No foreplay.

No lube.

No emotion.

It all leads to me feeling like one sore and sorry girl.

He takes the turn off towards his suburb, and I close my eyes in relief. He’s taking me back to his place. Maybe this isn’t so bad, after all.

He parks the car in his driveway, getting out before he walks around to open my door in complete silence.

My eyes search his, but he just looks back at me flatly. Eventually, he turns and opens his front door. I tentatively follow him inside and so many happy memories immediately flood back. I feel like I’m at home here.

“I’m going to take a shower,” I tell him quietly.

“Okay.”

I watch him for a moment, not knowing whether to push for a conversation or just leave it.

I don’t want to fight with him. I’m here. I’ll just see what happens.

I climb the three flights of stairs to his bedroom and bathroom, and I take a long hot shower. He doesn’t come in at all. I have no idea where he is or what’s going through his mind.

Just get into bed and go to sleep. Don’t push him tonight, I tell myself.

I dry myself and hop into his bed, knowing it’s late. Half an hour later, he walks through to the bathroom and showers. Then he comes out of his bathroom in boxer shorts and climbs into bed beside me, turns his back to mine.

I stare at the ceiling, my heart dangerously close to breaking.

“Are you not talking to me?” I whisper into the darkness.

He stays silent for a moment. “Just go to sleep, Tull,” he sighs sadly.

I cuddle his back and kiss his shoulder blade. I feel him exhale heavily as if he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Maybe he does.

Brock

“Want to get some lunch?” Ben asks as he pokes his head around the corner of my office.

I glance up at him. “Yeah, okay.”

We go to our favourite pub and I order two beers—something I never do on a weekday during working hours. Ben watches me for a moment as he sips his. “What’s going on, man?” he asks.

I shrug. I haven’t told him anything that’s been going on. I haven’t wanted to talk about it at all.

“You came back here from London a month ago and you’ve been in a filthy mood ever since. Then you and Tully act like you don’t know each other, and she kissed someone else last night before you dragged her out of there. What the fuck is going on?”

I shrug. “We’re not together anymore.”

“Why not?”

“She went back to her boyfriend.”

He frowns as he watches me. “When?”

“When he was in hospital.”

He narrows his eyes. “Is she still with him?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so.”

“What do you mean, you don’t think so? What did she say?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about it with her.”

“Why not?”

I shrug. “What’s the point? I went to London, she dumped me and told me she was too busy caring for him to be with me. She cut me to the bone, and then I came home alone.”

He watches me for a moment. “And you fucked her last night?”

I sip my drink and clench my jaw. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Did you talk to her this morning about it?” He frowns.

“Nope.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” he snaps angrily. “You’re in love with this girl, and whether you like it or not, she did the right thing by staying with him while he was sick.”

“Don’t,” I warn him.

“What kind of a person would she have been if she didn’t give a fuck about him? Nine years is a long time, man. They’re friends.”

“So, it’s okay that she just dumps me on a whim?” I snap. “I’m nobody’s fucking back up plan.”

“No. It’s not okay. But did she get back with him?”

“I don’t think so. She said…” My voice trails off.

“She said what?’

“She said she still loved me but didn’t want me to wait for her while she was at the hospital.”

He stares at me for a moment as he processes her words. “And then she came back and said she wanted you back.”

I bite my bottom lip. I’m not even answering that fucking question.

“Did she?”

I nod. “She sat out the front of my house the other night in the rain for an hour crying. She keeps crying and shit, telling me she loves me.”