Page 45 of Falling Fast
Unless Leif wants to date Ashley Hart instead.
There are too many people about for me to loiter outside the gym, so I go straight in and hover by the door. The music is so loud there’s no way anybody could have heard me knock, although both Leif and Kelsey are so engrossed in his workout they probably wouldn’t have noticed anyway. He’s sitting on a balance ball a few metres away, holding a large weight in front of him, tipping it slowly from side to side like he’s turning a steering wheel. His muscles are straining so hard I can see his veins bulging and there are actual beads of sweat trickling over his arms, making his skin glisten. As I watch,he grunts, and I feel it deep inside, a hot agitated feeling that would be deeply inappropriate if he hadn’t already asked me on a date …
Suddenly I really want to say yes.
‘Ava?’ He sees me first, his face registering surprise and then something else I can’t identify, before he puts the weight down and gets up.
‘Sorry to interrupt.’ I order myself to get a grip as he turns the music down. ‘But Nathan has an important question to ask you and he says you’ve turned your phone off.’
‘That won’t stop him.’ Leif glances at Kelsey. ‘We’re almost done anyway, right?’
‘Nice try.’ She laughs. ‘We can stop for now, but I want to see you back here this afternoon.’
‘Two workouts a day?’ I look quizzically between them.
‘I only train five days a week, so I need to do extra on three of those days,’ he explains. ‘It means I get weekends to relax.’
‘Within reason.’ Kelsey hands him a towel. ‘Here. You two chat while I clean the machines.’
‘So what’s so urgent?’ Leif asks, standing up and rubbing his face.
‘Right. So, like I said, sorry to intrude …’ I avert my eyes from his pecs as he moves closer, fixing my gaze at a point just beyond his shoulder. ‘It’s about that F1 film premiere next month.’
‘OK?’
‘The thing is …’ I stop and take a deep breath. I’m so uncomfortable right now it aches. ‘Nathan wonders how you’d feel about going to see it with Ashley Hart.’
He looks baffled. ‘I don’t know anyone called that.’
‘She’s an actress, in the film. Her people have been in touch, and she’d like to go with you.’ For Kelsey’s sake, I try to inject some enthusiasm into my voice. ‘If you’re photographed together, it would be good PR for Rask. She has a huge online following.’
‘That’s a great idea.’ Kelsey comes back over to join us. ‘She’s incredibly talented. I’d love to meet her.’
‘Right.’ I nod vigorously. ‘So?’ I force myself to look Leif in the eye. ‘What do you think?’
He stares back at me for several seconds before folding his arms. ‘No.’
‘Why not?’ Kelsey sounds offended on Ashley’s behalf. ‘It could be fun.’
‘I’m not going on a date with a complete stranger.’
‘You might hit it off!’ She rolls her eyes. ‘You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to have a life beyond cars.’
‘I have a life beyond cars.’ He glowers at her.
‘Oh, really? How many cars do you own?’
‘Six.’
‘And how many girlfriends have you had since I’ve known you?’
‘You’ve only known me a year.’ His jaw clenches. ‘I’ve been busy. Driving.’
‘Uh-huh. All I’m saying is that maybe you should start making time for a personal life.Look.’ She pulls up a picture on her phone and shows it to us. Crap. Ashley Hart is even more gorgeous than I remember. Toned, tanned and glowy.
‘I said no.’ Leif’s voice hardens.
‘But …’
