Page 3 of Strong Side

Already on the defensive, Rocky stands with his fists clenched at his sides and his jaw ticking in frustration as he looks up at me. He’s only a couple of inches shorter than my six foot six. “What, Aldrich?”

Take a deep breath, Clay.

“I heard about Sanders, and I just wanted to say I’m sorry. You don’t deserve what’s happening to you.”

“I don’t need your sympathy,” he bites out as he takes a small step back.

In and out. In and out.

“I didn’t say you did. I just wanted you to know I’m on your side.”

Rocky snorts out a sarcastic laugh as if my words are the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard in his life. “I don’t want or need you on my side. All of you are the same.”

I don’t have to ask what he means by all ofyou.Rich trust fund kids who make up about eighty percent of this school. But I amnothinglike Aaron Sanders, and the fact that he’s automatically making that assumption sets myteeth on fucking edge. “Aaron Sanders is a piece of shit, and I would never do what he did.”

“Maybe not. But that doesn’t mean I want anything to do with you. So fuck off and leave me alone.”

Do not punch him, Clay. Donotpunch him.

“You know what, Campos? Despite my better instincts, I was just trying to show you a little compassion, but I see now that was a total waste of my goddamn time. Just because you grew up poor doesn’t give you the right to act like an asshole.” I take a step forward, closing the space he put between us and stab the center of his chest with my pointer finger. “You want to be a prick and alienate everyone around you? Fine. But you’re not better than any of us just because you grew up different than the rest of us.”

I can tell I struck a nerve when he inhales a ragged breath. Instead of responding, he simply steps around me, shoving my shoulder with his in the process.

Taking a deep breath of my own, I follow him into the weight room and head toward Jax, who’s racking weights onto a barbell for some chest presses. He looks between Rocky and me, who both have equally annoyed and pissed-off looks on our faces. “What was that about?”

“Nothing. You want to go first or me?”

He waves his hand out with a bemused look on his face. “Be my guest.”

Thirty minutes go by as the sounds of weights, grunts, and the occasional snide joke fill the room. Just as I’m about to do a set of lateral raises, I see Rocky, who is now doing chest presses, loading more weights onto his barbell.

He was already struggling with his last couple of reps…don’t ask me how I know because I definitely wasn’t watching…so I know he’s going to need a spotter this time.

“Jax,” I whisper as I nod in Rocky’s direction, “go spot him.”

“No. I’m in the middle of a superset. You do it,” he grunts out from his spot on the bench.

I look between my weights resting on the floor and Rocky—once, twice, three times. “Jesus fucking Christ,” I groan under my breath.

I may not like him, but that doesn’t mean I want him to die.

I stomp over to him like a petulant child just as he’s getting himself situated under the bar. “Here, man, let me spot you.”

“I’m fine,” he says as he puts his hands on the bar.

I place one hand between his and push down, preventing him from lifting it. “You’re not fine. You could barely do three reps of the last weight. You’re going to crush yourself.”

“Let go, Aldrich.”

“No, Campos.”

He’s off the bench and in front of me in what feels like a split second. His nostrils flare with each infuriated breath, and for a moment, I find myself getting lost in his eyes. The deep pools of green and dark eyelashes pull me in like the tide to the shore. And then he speaks, and the moment is gone almost as fast as it came. “What did you not understand about what I said in the hallway? Fuck off and leave me alone.”

“God, no wonder Sanders was the only one who would be your partner. I am not going to let you hurt yourself just because you want to be an asshole.”

“Today is not the day to fuck with me, Clayton.”

I can’t help it. It’s like an involuntary reflex. The corner of my mouth turns up as I say, “Oh, I think I’d fuck with you any day, Rockwell.”

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