Page 6 of Digging Deeper

But for whatever reason, Hendrix Weston is driving me insane. I sorta want to shake him and make him realize what an ass he’s being, but I’m a professional so I haven’t done that… yet. And okay,maybeI’ve been saying a few… less than professional things to him, but come on. He’s Holden’s brother, he’s my best friend’s identical twin, and I’m so used to not holding myself back with Holds that I find it hard to hold back with Hendrix. Let’s be real, lord knows my patience is running thin, so sooner or later I might snap.

Taking a deep breath, I lightly knock, then push open the dreaded door of room one-oh-four and find myself face to face with Mr. Sourpuss.

Pasting on a smile I’m not feeling, I say, “Hey, Hendrix. How’s your day going?”

He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. I watch him start to say something—probably something rude—before cutting himself off, and I sigh. I know Holds told him to be nicer to me, so I’m sure that’s the only thing keeping him from telling me off right now. Which is ridiculous. I’m here to help him.

Ignoring his grumpy ass, I get his chair set up for his exercises as I prattle on, “My day is going well, or it was before I came in here. Not that you asked, but I figured somewhere under all that scruff is a polite guy that would’ve asked if he wasn’t so determined to be a jerk.”

“You can’t keep talking to me like that. I talked to your boss yesterday about you.”

“Oh, I had a lovely conversation with her this morning. And guess what?” I shoot him a more genuine grin which makes him pout at me. “She told me to keep doing what I’m doing since I’m the only one that’s been able to get you to run through your exercises. Which means…” I trail off and add an arm for dramatic flair. “We’re stuck together!”

He groans and rolls his eyes again—something he seems to do a lot around me—then says, “Pretty sure my brother wouldn’t have been happy if we weren’t working together, anyway.”

“That’s the spirit!” I snort as I walk to the side of his bed and slide my arms under him before lifting him into the chair. This part usually makes him more pissy, but today, he doesn’t say anything. Progress.

Well, itwasprogress until he huffed out an annoyed breath at me. Ugh.

I feel for the guy, I really do, but does he have to act like I’m the enemy?

“This is really stupid. I’ve been doing my arm exercises,” he complains. Like a freaking baby.

“We need to do your legs, so get over it.”

“You’re kind of a jerk.” He pouts at me again, but instead of seeing his usual red-hot anger, I see… amusement, maybe?

“Yeah, well, you’re no ray of sunshine, either, you giant oaf, so I would look who’s talking.”

He snorts, and the sound brings a small smirk to my mouth. If he thinks he can scare me away with that asshat mouth of his, he has another thing coming.

Once I have him set up and running through his upper body exercises and I’m busy working with his legs, I notice how his attitude has gone from bad to worse. His face is red with anger and frustration, and now he’s tense and refusing to speak. Lovely.

I start talking nonsense… anything is better than listening to his brooding silence. “...Once you get to spend time with the kittens, you’ll see what I’m talking about. They’re really adorable. And Peanut loves them, too. I miss my little Pea-Man. I used to take him for a walk every day after work because Holds got home after me every day, so I’d take him to go potty and walk around the apartment complex for a bit till Holds got home.” I sigh. “I miss it. I went for a walk yesterday by myself and it was…notfun without a dog. I wonder if Jameson would think it’s weird if I stopped by their house just to take Peanut for a walk. He would, wouldn’t he? He’d think I’m being weird and clingy and I’ll end up making him crazy and then he won’t want me around and he won’t let Holds hang out with me anymore. But what the hell am I supposed to do all by myself in that house if I don’t have a dog or something? I can—”

“If you like pets so much, why don’t you just get one yourself?” Drix cuts me off, surprising the hell out of me because I hadn’t thought he was paying attention to a word of my ridiculousness.

“Um… I’m in your house, so I can’t really get one right now.”

“Why not?”

“Uh… you wouldn’t mind if I had a dog in your house?”

“You know Holds had Peanut there.” He shrugs, but he’s not even glancing in my direction.

“Soooo… I can get a dog?”

“I don’t care what you do, Gavin.” He sounds tired and frustrated.

I gently place my hand on his forearm to stop his movements, then wait until he looks me in the eye before I say, “Hey.”

His eyes search my face, but he doesn’t reply. His sapphire blue eyes are filled with so many emotions, I can’t tell what he’s thinking.

“Thank you, Hendrix. I really appreciate it.” I mean every word, and I hope he can tell I’m being sincere.

After a long pause, he whispers, “It’s no big deal, but you’re welcome.” His eyes are sparkling with a happiness I haven’t seen on him since I moved here. I never noticed before how gorgeous his eyes are. With his scruffy beard covering his skin, his eyes stand out even more. He’s actually really handsome. He has laugh marks around those pretty eyes, and I can’t help but wonder what he looks like when he really, truly laughs. I wish I could make him laugh so I can see it.

I send him a grateful smile and squeeze his thick forearm again. Ignoring how strong those arm muscles feel—it’s clear he’s been working out his upper body every day—I release him and stand, turning my back to him to gather myself.

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