Page 61 of Not That Ridiculous

He hadn’t showered yet. Not only was he still wearing his workout clothes, his skin was still faintly dewed with sweat, and his hair was damp. When he shifted closer, his body heat wrapped around me.

His gaze didn’t waver from my face. “Can I have a lift home?”

“Um. Yes?” I scanned him. “Did you forget your stuff, or…?”

He blinked slowly.

“Kevin?”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s your bag?”

He blinked at me again. Slower, this time. It was…unsettling.

“Your bag?” I swung my own gym bag forwards to illustrate. “Where is it?”

“Changing room.”

“Right. I can wait while you run and get it.”

“Don’t leave.”

“O-kay.”

He held my gaze just long enough to make me swallow nervously, then turned and ran across the carpark back to the gym.

And I mean, heran. It was a flat-out sprint. I even recoiled slightly, he was off so fast, kicking up a little spray of grit that pinged against my shins.

I checked my phone, opened the car door, and tossed my gym bag inside. I climbed in, switched the engine on to fiddle with the radio, and as I was cycling impatiently through the stations, my eye fell on a bright neon-blue Land Cruiser with an infuriating decal stuck to the side.

I sat there and stared at Kevin’s car thoughtfully.

Two minutes later, he came out of the gym and headed my way. I slid out of the car and stood, arms folded on the roof, watching him.

His gym bag was a plain black backpack, and he had it slung over one broad shoulder. His red t-shirt was still pasted to his abs, and the silky fabric of his shorts didn’t hide much as he strode over the asphalt. His chin was slightly lowered, brows were down, and I felt his attention arrow straight to me again the second he exited the building.

I’d never got an arrogant vibe from Kevin. Not ever. He was a sweetheart. A lovely lad. Kind. Calm.

But as he closed the distance between us, I was having a hard time seeing him as sweet, he didn’t seem calm at all, and there was a certain something in his step. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It wasn’t arrogance, but it wasn’t far off.

I frowned as he stopped on the passenger side of the car. We contemplated each other across the roof.

I remembered what he’d said about getting wound up if he didn’t burn his excess energy off properly. “Did you get a full workout in?”

He shifted restlessly from one foot to the other, and shrugged.

“Kevin?” I prompted.

“No. Not really.”

I didn’t think so. “I can’t help but notice that your car is right over there.”

He didn’t look. He shrugged again.

Okay, that was enough of that. I rounded the front of the car to march up to him. “What’s going on?” I said. “Do not shrug at me. Why do you want a lift if you drove yourself?”

He took a moment to answer, and I knew it was a lie straight away. “I’ve got a flat tyre.”

---