Page 15 of Betting on the Bad Boy
You have no idea.“Sounds like fun. Maybe next time.”
The barista pushed our drinks across the bar, and I wrapped my hands around the steaming paper cup.
“Gotta go. See ya later.”
Murph raised his paper cup to me. “Thanks for the coffee, Faith.”
“You’re welcome.” I checked my watch as I wove my way through the high-top tables and slipped through the door. Damn... no time for a nap. And if I wanted my application to take over Professor Middleford’s classes to be taken seriously, that meant no more time to daydream about sexy bartenders or strangers’ showers either.
CHAPTER 9
Dante
I gruntedand heaved the heavy bar up from my chest as Murph spotted me from above. Well, he primarily worked on spotting the few women stopping by to use the inner thigh machine, but he’d probably be able to catch the bar if I lost complete control. Maybe.
“Take it easy, man. You don’t want to sprain anything.” Murph eased his hands under the bar and moved it back to the rack. “You’re going all out today. Was that a new record?”
“Something like that.” I sat up on the hard bench. My mind wouldn’t let go of the image of Faith standing in my bathroom in a towel the other night. Something about her got under my skin. Unable to distract myself, I’d decided to take advantage of my access to campus facilities and pound the thoughts out of my mind at the gym.
I stood up to let Murph take his turn on the bench. He grabbed the bar with his hands and tried to push up. “Um, maybe you can just take ten off each side?”
“Sure.” I popped the clip open and adjusted the weight. As I leaned down to put the weights back on the rack, I caught a glimpse of a familiar head of dark red hair. Shit.
Faith sat at a leg press machine about ten feet away. She strained to extend her legs, her fingers wrapping around the handles at her sides. The heavy stack of weights she was working was pretty impressive. She had on a tiny little top with a loose tank over it and some clingy short black pants. While I stared, a drop of sweat rolled down the cleft between her breasts and disappeared into her hot pink sports bra.
“Fuck me,” I grunted, adjusting the front of my baggy gym shorts.
“Hey, are you ready?” Murph asked, drawing my attention back to the chest press.
“Yeah, sorry.” I put my hands under the bar and helped Murph ease it off the rack and down to his chest.
“Something catch your eye over there?” Murph struggled to push the bar up over his head.
“Just some girl I met the other night.”
“A girl, huh? You get any?” Murph exhaled and did another rep.
I ignored Murph’s question and let my gaze travel back to Faith. She grabbed a towel and wiped it across her temple, her neck, and then her chest.
“Jesus Christ,” I growled, taking my glasses off for a moment and rubbing my hand across my face.
Murph lifted his head to follow my gaze across the room. “Shit, bro. Do you know who that is?”
I pulled my eyes away and glanced down at Murph. “Yeah, her name is Faith. She teaches in the English department with you, right?”
Murph laughed. “Don’t even try to tap that, my friend. She’s locked up tighter than Fort Knox. I’ve been working that for years. Nada, dude.”
My eyes narrowed as I studied Murph’s face. He could be a real asshole. “She’s a friend of yours?”
“Not exactly. We share an office. I’ve been shot down by her more times than I can count. She’s nice enough, but those waters aren’t just cold, dude, they’re fucking frigid.”
“Nice, asshole. Maybe if you weren’t such a dick and treated her with a little more respect, she might not blow you off all the time.” I wasn’t interested in swimming in any kind of water around Faith, much less the frigid variety. But why the hell was she popping up again? How many mornings did I meet Murph at the gym, and I’d never run across her before? I was pretty damn sure I’d have remembered.
Her skimpy little sports bra stuck out like a beacon in a sea of testosterone-filled athletic shorts and stinky tank tops. Women usually worked out on the other side of campus in the new space with all the Nautilus machines.
“A little help here?” Murph groaned, and I pulled my attention away from Faith again, helping Murph settle the heavy bar back on the rack. “You working biceps today?”
“Nah, I think I’ll run for a while.” Faith had moved over to jog on a treadmill. I walked over to the machines and stepped onto the one next to her.
