Page 85 of Lane

“Jerk,” Barrett said. If Reghan couldn’t watch Barrett’s back, his brother was the next best person.

We waited for Barrett to get ready, the straps to be tightened, and the carabiner to be hooked into place. I seriously had no idea what any of it was.

They got into position. It would be a race to the top. There was no prize though. At least, I didn’t think there was. My luck, Oleander had something in his backpack.

“It’s bullshit that I can’t participate,” Sheldon said from behind me. He sat on a bench, still healing from his wounds.

“No strenuous activity for you,” I said.

Alton nodded beside me.

“I expect to see you climbing the wall, Doc,” Sheldon stated.

“I’m not part of your team. I don’t have to do the exercise.”

“You’re wrong. You’ve been part of us for years.”

Alton shook his head. “What I do and what you do are two very different things.”

“Go!” the gym manager shouted, drawing our attention to the wall.

Barrett and Raiden climbed it with ease, each foot and hand placement perfect to propel them up the wall. The way Raiden’s muscles bulged, and his ass flexed, my cock thought it was game time.

Leaning close to Alton, I asked, “Are you?—”

“Yes.”

It was seconds before Raiden reached the top first with Barrett right behind him.

“You got a head start!” Barrett yelled as they were lowered to the ground.

Raiden tipped his head back and laughed. The joy that lit his face was a thing of beauty. “You’re so full of shit. You just can’t handle losing to me.”

“My turn,” Oleander said, shifting from one foot to the other. Man, these guys really got into this. Maybe if they fought about who was going next, they’d forget about me.

Raiden speared me with his gaze. “You.”

“Hell no.” I walked backward until my legs hit the bench Sheldon was on, where I sat, my hands gripping the edge.

“Team building.”

“I can be part of the activities from right here. I don’t need my cock to look like a hot dog to prove I’m a team player.”

Raiden walked to me and bent at the waist. I thought he was going to give me a pep talk but instead, he lifted me, put me over his shoulder then slapped my ass.

“Hey!” I yelped. “That’s not very sportsmanlike.” I had no clue what I was saying.

“You have to do it at least once. You might as well get it over with.” He placed me on my feet but kept his hands on my waist, so I didn’t flee to the bench again.

“I’m not sure what you think this is going to accomplish. Ollie’s going to win. I’ll look like I have no idea what I’m doing, which I don’t, by the way. And I’ll need to be lowered to the ground when I’m only a quarter of the way up because that’s all I’ll manage to do.”

“Your confidence is overwhelming.”

I grinned. “Isn’t it though?”

There was no escaping the task at hand. I was strapped in, my life literally hanging by a rope, straps, and metal clips. “Why couldn’t we go mini golfing like I wanted to?”

“Flashbacks,” Sheldon said from the bench. Right. There was an incident when he and Oleander were younger. A windmill was involved.

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