Page 25 of Saddle and Bound

"Oh oh, looks like we've touched a nerve," Chris grins.

"Fuck off," I grunt, dropping to the ground. I did twenty pull-ups, more than all of them, but I don't feel satisfied.

We move on to weights. As I lift the bar, I feel the familiar burn in my muscles. I focus on that sensation, trying to chase away thoughts of Rosie.

"Hey, Alex," Diego says between sets. "I bet you're thinking about how to impress your princess with these muscles, huh?"

"Yeah, right," I snort. "Why don't you think about how to impress your mystery girl instead?"

Diego almost drops the weight he's lifting, and the other guys burst out laughing.

"Hit and sunk!" Chris exclaims.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Diego mutters, but the blush on his cheeks betrays him.

"Oh, come on," Fran chimes in, "we know there's something going on..."

Diego tries to keep a serious expression, but then he bursts out laughing too. "At least I don't spend my nights taking moonlit swims."

All eyes turn back to me, and I feel the heat rising to my face. "Oh, shut up and get back to training," I grunt, lifting a heavier weight to distract them.

We continue like this for an hour, alternating exercises and jokes. It's exhausting, but somehow cathartic. Every push, every lift seems to take away a bit of my frustration and confusion.

In the end, we're all sweaty and panting, lying on the gym floor.

"Damn, Alex," Chris pants. "You were a beast today. What did you have for breakfast?"

I shrug, staring at the ceiling. "Nothing special."

"Mhm," Diego murmurs. "Nothing to do with a certain city girl, right?"

I feel anger bubbling up again. "How many times do I have to tell you? There's nothing between me and Rosie."

"Sure, sure," Fran says, sitting up. "That's why you can't stop thinking about her?"

I get up abruptly, feeling the need to move, to do something. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Chris gets up too, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, man. We know it's complicated. But maybe... maybe you should talk to her instead of trying to ignore what you feel."

I look at him, surprised by his seriousness. For a moment, I'm tempted to open up, to share all my worries and doubts.

But then I shake my head. "There's nothing to talk about. She'll be leaving soon, and everything will go back to normal."

The guys exchange a look I can't interpret.

"If you say so, man," Diego says, but he doesn't sound convinced.

As we leave the gym, I feel the weight of their gazes on me. As we walk towards the showers, the silence between us is charged with unspoken tension. I know the guys want to say something, but they're holding back their words, perhaps for fear of pushing me too far.

Finally, it's Chris who breaks the silence. "You know, Alex," he says cautiously, "there's nothing wrong with admitting you like someone."

I sigh heavily. "It's not that simple, Chris."

"And why not?" Diego chimes in. "She's pretty, you're... well, you. What's complicated about it?"

I stop, running a hand through my sweat-damp hair. "It's complicated because she doesn't belong to this world. She's here only temporarily. She has a whole life waiting for her in Los Angeles. And I don't know what the hell is going through my head. I don't even know her, damn it. She's just a pretty girl... I don't know why you're all getting so worked up," I burst out. I feel a bit stupid for saying she's just a pretty girl... I know she's much more than that. And I don't even know why I know that, considering I don't know her.

Am I going crazy?

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