“We won’t take it personally,” Beau said.
“You’ve told me you’ve been friends for life, and you’re both standing there saying how much you want to date me. It’s not going to work. I’m not interested. Really not interested in having two friends fight with each other. I’ve got a good thing going and I know for a fact you two are well-respected and liked in town. Even though I’ve been here for six years, it doesn’t stop the fact they’d kick me out if you two started hurting each other. I don’t come between friends, and I’m not going to be the kind of girl to pick sides. Sorry, but you need to find someone else.”
****
Scott had a shitty morning. First of all, three of his clients hadn’t lost any weight and had openly admitted to binging on fried chicken and chocolate pie. They didn’t even know if they wanted to continue working out. He didn’t mind difficult clients, the ones who struggled with weight loss. When they came to him, they’d made the decision to change. He didn’t believe in forcing anyone to do something they didn’t want to do.
His gym was about accepting everyone and giving everyone the comfort they needed to take a chance on a gym. He didn’t accept horrible trainers, and if anyone who lodged a complaint, each one was investigated thoroughly. He didn’t want his gym membership to be the kind of regret people made in the new year, and six months later canceled.
Besides all of that, he was still pissed off after last night. In truth, he’d expected Connie to laugh and say, sure, no problem. Then of course Beau had to open his stupid mouth, and now she wouldn’t even give either of them the time of day.
He was pissed. No, he was furious.
With the last of his appointments dealt with, he jogged all the way over to the mechanic shop. It was probably a good thing it was on the other side of town, otherwise, he’d have killed the bastard. As it was, his anger subsided a bit as he jogged over. It still didn’t help the way he felt though, which was extremely pissed off.
He had no choice but to dodge a flying wrench as it came hurtling at his head.
“Fuck, bastard, fuck!” Beau shook his hand out, cupping it with his other, glaring like he could shoot laser beams from his eyes.
“Bad morning?”
“Fuck off.”
“You could have taken my head off with that thing.”
“You deserve it after last night’s crap. What were you thinking? I thought we agreed to let her do the picking and not to pressure her.”
“There was no pressure,” Scott said, leaning against the wall, folding his arms.
“No? Really? What part of asking her out on a date was not pressuring her?”
“Come on, Beau, you can’t tell me you didn’t see it, can you? Let’s face it, she’s putting us in the friends column, which means some useless asshole will get a shot at her. I was tired of being put in that zone. I don’t want to be in that zone.” Between them helping her close the bar and the food, he saw a long life of literally being nothing more than a friend. He didn’t want to be a friend.
He’d wanted Connie the moment he saw her, before she opened her bar. He’d caught sight of her in the grocery store, sniffing an orange. It wasn’t the most attractive first time, but she clearly had an appreciation for food, as did he.
Not only had he liked her smile, but also her body. He was more than happy with a woman with a lot of padding. Nice big tits, full hips, rounded stomach. He was a strong guy and he liked to fuck hard. Connie didn’t look like she’d be in pain if he gripped her hips too tightly, or complained if he held in her place as he fucked her harder.
She looked like a woman who needed a good, strong man in her life.
“Friend zone or not, we’re not in any kind of zone. I fucking hate you right now.”
“No, you don’t, otherwise, you’d have actually hit me with that wrench.”
“Why are you here?” Beau asked. “Don’t you have someplace to be? A business to run?”
“Unlike you, I want to resolve our problem with Connie.”
“She’s not going to pick between us, asshole. Face it, neither of us are going to get her in our bed.”
“Exactly, which is why I think we should look at this as the two of us chasing her together.”
This made Beau pause. “Pardon?”
“You heard me. Come on, we’ve been best friends for years. This wouldn’t be the first woman we’ve shared.”
“You’re talking about a hot one-night stand. Connie’s not going to be a one-time thing for me. I like her, Scott. I mean, really like her.”
“Are you thinking settling down, kids, a wife, that kind of thing?”
“Yeah.”
Scott nodded. “And my offer still stands.”
“I’m not going to play with her or her emotions. She deserves better than that.”
“I completely agree, which is why I say we pursue her together. I want her, Beau. This isn’t about sex for me. I like her. I want her in my bed, in my life. I’m not going to fight you for her. We’ve got good taste in women, and I think if we put our minds together, we can both have Connie for life.”
Beau wiped his hand on the cloth. “I think you’re crazy.”
“Come on, she’s a good woman. She’s not going to trade one of us off against the other. We’re in this together or not at all. What’s it going to be?” he asked.
“You know I fucking hate you right now?” Beau asked. “None of what you’re saying makes sense.”
“It
