Page 33 of ILY
I’d feel bad about my inability to make it to the end, but Robbie has also called it quits. He’s currently sitting against the wall by the window on his phone, not even bothering to watch the class.
Traitor.
“Come on, Leaf! You can do it! Put your ass into it.”
“The only thing I’m going to put my ass into is…” I mutter angrily as I crawl to my hands and knees to make it to my yogamat. “…I fucking don’t know what, but my ass has already done the work, god damn it, and I want to go home.”
“Come on! Let’s stretch!”
“Fuck off!” I shout again as I follow his lead and begrudgingly admit it feels good.
The sweat on my body has started to cool under the powerful fans above us, and while I don’t think I’m actually going to thank Thom for any of this, I do feel…not half-bad. My soul’s starting to return to my body.
Mostly. Or maybe I’m dead, and this is some kind of afterlife.
Either way, I’m grateful Thorne isn’t here to see this pathetic display. The man could obviously squat circles around me, and I’ve already humiliated myself enough with my unhinged war against a single rodent.
I don’t need him seeing me fail at the rest of my life.
I hear an annoyed noise beside me and roll my head to the side to see Dex standing a foot away from Roman, who’s glowering at him. ‘Sorry. Help-you,’ Dex signs.
Roman’s hands fly as he replies, ‘I don’t need you to fucking touch me! Mind your own business.’
Dex is frowning and looks to me for interpretation, but fuck that, I’m not on the clock. Rude, I know, but my arms feel like they’re dangling from my sockets by a single tendon.
‘Sorry. Sign slow, please,’ Dex asks, his cheeks flushed.
‘No,’ Roman snaps back.
Dex rolls his eyes, and instead of backing down, he puts a hand on Roman’s chest and pushes. Roman might be fit, but he’s no match for Dex’s arms, and he goes down a little too easily.
‘You-hurt-you,’ Dex signs. I’m not entirely sure what he’s trying to say. But before I can give in and actually interpret, Dex picks up Roman’s leg and hooks his ankle over his shoulder.
Roman makes an absolutely indecent noise. It’s half sex, half pain. He looks horrified because clearly he felt it come out of his chest, and he tries to push Dex away, but Dex is undeterred.
‘Watch me,’ he signs. ‘You hurt. Not CAREFUL.’ He spells the last word, and then he runs the flat of his palm along the inside of Roman’s thigh and presses his thumb to the tendon that joins his leg to his crotch.
Roman freezes, then makes another loud noise and full-on kicks Dex in the chest, sending him stumbling back. Before Dex can recover, Roman is up, all but running from the room.
Dex shoots Rhett a helpless look, but Rhett is falling asleep on Mellie’s shoulder.
Dex looks at me. “Help?”
Oh, for fuck’s…fine. Whatever. It never goddamn ends, no matter how much I quit my job. I stand up on shaking legs and follow the invisible trail of fury Roman left as he exited the room.
It doesn’t take long to find him. He’s in the locker room, vocalizing loudly as he wipes himself down with a wet washcloth. I wave at him, and he turns angry eyes on me.
‘Fuck off.’
I hold up my hands in surrender. ‘Are you okay?’
Roman’s eyes flare, and then he sags a bit. ‘He saw me pull a tendon.’
‘Yes,’ I say, though I had no idea that’s what was going on.
Roman takes a long, slow, deep breath, then says, ‘Tell Thom I’m not coming to his classes until he has ones that are Deaf only.’
I shrug. ‘Up to you.’
