And basically tried to make me look like one.
Chapter Eight
Knight
The dumbbells clanked to the floor when I dropped them, Royal’s eyes twitching wide at me mid-curl. He smirked. “My gym piss you off or something?”
We always used his since he had his own personal one at his high rise apartment. He didn’t live on campus or the frat, preferring the city. The frat had a nice gym too, but the privacy of Royal’s was better. No need to have to elbow a motherfucker for some weights.
“Shut the fuck up.” My ass was in a mood today, clearly. Hence, why I was at the gym and not actually hitting a dude. An even worse scenario would be me anywhere in the vicinity of Greer, someone who’d given me the ultimate head fuck. I’d kissed her. Hell, but worse. I’d fucking liked it to the point where I hadn’t wanted to stop, and that drove me crazy. I’d wanted to teach her a lesson about talking back.
Not feel something for her.
Well, I think I proved to correct all that, calling her a whore and shit. She obviously wasn’t one. Fuck, the way I’d touched her it’d been like she hadn’t been touched, but I’d be hard-pressed to believe that. She may dress in her little kid overalls, but kitten was all fire cat. She knew how to use what she had to drive a guy crazy, and I couldn’t possibly be the first.
Throwing the dumbbell this time, I got more than a look from Royal, but he did spot me when I asked him to come over. He eased up on the weight on each side, and I gave him a look that told him I’d kick his ass if he didn’t stop playing around.
Chuckling, he added more weight, getting behind the bench when I lay down. He helped me with the bar, but then I didn’t need him, his hand under while I lifted and lowered it.
“So what kind of flowers do you like?” he asked, asking me fucking questions when I had the weight of like three dudes hovering over me. He smirked, helping me put the weight back on the bar. “I just want to know what to have at your funeral since you’re clearly trying to kill yourself today.”
Flipping him off, I sat up, finally fucking winded. It took that and twice my regular workout today to do it, but I’d accomplished it. Royal went over to the gym’s cooler, tossing me a water and towel before getting the same for himself. I downed half. “Just need to tire myself out.”
“Clearly.” He sat across from me on another weight bench. “Wanna let me in on what’s going on?”
Try hell fucking no. I guzzled the rest of the bottle before he rolled his eyes.
He snapped the towel at my knee. “Are were really going to do this toxic masculinity shit right now? It’s really okay for two dudes to talk about serious shit, you know? Not really a thing?”
I sneered at words clearly from his girl coming out of his mouth. I smirked. “You can tell December she can rest easy now knowing that she’s gotten you in touch with your feelings.”
The fucker kicked at my kneecap, and I nearly fell off the weight bench, bent over in pain. His eyebrows dancing in response, Royal took a drink of water. If he wanted to prove something, he did there. He put out a finger. “Whatever. Just trying to help.”
“Well, don’t.” I stood, throwing my fists at a punching bag, and once again, he spotted me, going behind and hugging it. I got a few jabs before I took in a breath and looked at him. “Remember that girl the other night?”
“What girl?”
I gave him a look like it was obvious. “The one you brought December’s clothes for.”
“Yeah?” My punch sending him back a bit, he hugged the bag again. “What about her? She running her mouth?”
Just like me, that need to maintain the status quo serious amongst the brothers. Royal no longer wore his Court ring, the thing around his girl’s neck now, but Court blood ran hard through him. It was something that probably wouldn’t ever leave, and the only reason December had the ring was because of a statement he was making to everyone. He shared that part of himself with someone else, the two of them bonded.
My own ring in my pocket, I jabbed once, then twice. “She’s not. Not that I know of anyway.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
Nothing but the sounds of my fists hitting the bag, as hard as I could, until I tired myself out again. “She’s the same girl from when we were kids, you know?” I stated, then stood. “The one who used to live at my house?”
“Wait. The one you killed that dog over?”
I froze, a history I’d never actually dissected with him, but clearly, he knew why I’d asked him to help me take down Old Man Peabody’s dog that day. The thing had been chasing Royal and me, as well as other kids in the neighborhood for years. Almost got us a few times too…
But it hadn’t been until Greer moved into my house that I actually chose to do something about it. It had gotten her that day, a bite right at her ankle, and I’d snapped. Royal and I had just happened to be out playing in the woods, heard her screams.
I hadn’t told Royal back then why we should take out the dog, but I guess I hadn’t needed to. My friend, too fucking observant.
“Sure,” I could only say now, not letting that girl have any more power over me than she already did. “I’ve been keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t talk. I guess it’s just been getting annoying.”
The
