CHAPTER 15
Mason
I pressed hard on the barbell, lifting its staggering bulk above me until my arms were almost fully extended. My chest was burning and my leg muscles were trying to engage to help stabilize the weight. I held on hard and kept my form as well as I could, until I could no longer hold the weight.
I groaned and set the barbell back on the rack. Then I slid out from under the bench press and stood up. Grabbing my gallon jug of water off the floor I took several gulps of the refreshing liquid and walked back and forth trying to calm my heart rate down slowly.
The clock on the wall said it was just a half past six in the morning. I was right on schedule this morning with my workout. I planned to work mostly from home today, but even on those days I didn’t allow my schedule to fluctuate or get out of whack. It was too easy to become undisciplined.
I’d been up since four-thirty, as I usually was. I loved waking up well before the sun rose and getting a jump on the day. It was so satisfying to have half a day completed before most people had breakfast. I felt like I had so much more time and it helped me stay super productive. I get bored easily; if I’m not being productive I really start to stagnate.
I finished off the water and stepped out of the gym, which led to the patio by the pool area. The morning air was cool and crisp, but not cold. It was perfectly refreshing. I loved San Diego. It had the most beautiful, temperate climate in the country. It was never too hot and never too cold. It was just beautiful.
The pool was calling my name, so without even thinking about it I jumped right in and let my body sink to the bottom. It was also a good part of my gym routine. As soon as I finished a heavy lifting session, drenching my body in the cool waters of the pool was such a sweet way to relieve the tension and it helped prevent muscle soreness.
As soon as my feet hit the bottom I stayed there, standing up, holding my posture against my body’s natural inclination to rise to the top and greet the world again. No, I had to stay where I was. It was almost a Zen-like meditation type of thing.
My eyes were wide open staring into the blue water, the rising sun above me shining just the perfect amount of glow into the water, illuminating everything a sweet, oceanic blue. I’d taken a huge breath before I jumped and I was focused on letting it out very slowly.
I raised my right leg and hugged it to my chest, then the same with the left leg. And then I squatted down a few times in the water.
After completing the circuit a few more times, I let my body release itself back into the water and I began to rise naturally, kicking only a little bit to bring myself back to the surface. The beautiful morning was there to greet me as my head rose above the water.
I took several deep breaths into my now burning lungs and climbed out of the pool.
“Hey, there.”
The voice came from my right. I was alarmed momentarily until I remembered that I did have a guest. Libby was sitting there in a pool chair, stretched out, relaxing and taking in the morning air. I hadn’t seen her come out and to be honest, I wasn’t even sure if she was there or not when I first dipped into the swimming pool.
“Hi,” I said. “How are you this morning? Sleep well?”
“Oh, I’m good. I slept just perfect.”
I smiled. Suddenly, I was remembering the massage I’d given her last night. I hadn’t meant for it to feel erotic, or sensual, but somehow that came out of me. I just hoped that Libby didn’t sense it and get a little worried over it. The last thing I wanted to do was to come on to her while she was a guest in my place, especially after the horrible things I’d gotten her mixed up in.
I couldn’t let it go. It was all my damn fault; I was sure of it. I vowed to do whatever it took to make it up to her. But the only thing that would help, would be to neutralize the threat entirely, and that was not happening for a while. The Zeffaris had been trying to get rid of the Scarluccis for years, and so far there had never been any real resolution. They had gotten to the place where they kind of stayed out of each other’s way, but now this was all that was needed to bring them back to the brink of all-out war.