Her scoff couldn’t have been more incredulous, and she muttered something about me being “Delulu” under her breath. We were almost at the training facility, the sun still beating down on us even though it was the end of October. I was fascinated by the way Ella’s deep-red hair shimmered in the sun, so her question caught me off guard.
“Okay, I’m not going to pry for details unless you want to tell me” — she threw me a hopeful glance — “buuut I do want to know one thing: Is his dick as big as you’d think it is? I mean, that man is ginormous, please tell me it’s proportional.”
I burst out laughing. “You’re impossible, Ella.”
“I know, and I’m cool with it. I’m weird and I embrace it. Sooooo?” She wiggled her eyebrows, making me giggle even more. I yanked open the heavy glass door and motioned for her to step through.
“Come on, don’t leave me hanging.” She pulled out the big guns and gave me her best puppy-dog eyes.
“Good God, yes, okay? Yes. Very proportional.”
“I knew it. Good for you, bestie. But how the hell are you even walking right now?”
I gave a snort of laughter, and Ella giggled devilishly as we entered the facility. My phone vibrated in my hand, and I peered down at it.
Dad: You know what I expect of you. Don’t fuck this up, or there will be serious consequences.
My stomach dropped.
***
“Um, isn’t that your boyfriend over there? I mean, he’s hard to miss, pretty sure it’s him.”
My head whipped around at Ella’s comment, which was rather awkward, considering the extra 100 pounds I was balancing on my shoulders in the form of a stacked barbell. I just managed to catch myself before I lost my balance. Straining and panting, I collected my bearings and pushed back up from the squat to a standing position.
I set the bar back into the rack with a clatter and ducked out from underneath it. Sweat trickled down my neck, and I rolled my shoulders to get rid of the dull ache from the heavy iron.
Peering in the direction she had pointed to, I met cold gray eyes instead of the icy-blue ones I had expected. Hunter. Colt was there too, but he was lying on a bench, unaware of my presence as he moved the weights up and down in a controlled fashion. As always, he was wearing a loose shirt, and I was dying to see the thick muscles hidden beneath.
“Yep, that’s him.”
Ella ditched the squats to step up beside me and peek over. “Ohhh, and who’s that?”
“That would be Hunter, I went to high school with him too. They’re practically brothers, but he’s a bit … different.”
“Different? How so?”
“It’s hard to explain because I don’t really understand it myself. He doesn’t talk much, but … whatever you do, don’t touch him.”
Her eyebrows flew up. “He doesn’t want to be touched?”
“Nope. Not as far as I know, anyway.”
“Does he know he’s playing a contact sport? I mean, how does that work? Is he the kicker?”
I giggled. “I honestly have no idea. He’s not the kicker, I think he’s the cornerback? Don’t quote me on that.”
“Well, what are we waiting for, let’s go over there.”
I spluttered, choking on the sip of water I had poured into my mouth. “Now?”
“Yeah, of course now. I want to see that one up close.”
“Hunter?” I asked, confused. Hadn’t I just explained to her what his deal was? Well, at least sort of? She seemed more intrigued than put off, though, and I didn’t know if I liked the glint in her eyes.
“Okaaay. But I really mean it. He doesn’t want to be touched. You got that, right?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely.”
