Page 71 of Moonstruck at Midnight
Oh.Sweet.Mercy.
He pulled the t-shirt back down and caught me staring at him.Shit!I quickly looked away—my hands wet, my face warm, and other indescribable feelings that don’t even have a name spiraling up and down my spine.
What is wrong with me?
He walked away beaming with full bragging rights for eternity and approached Grant to have his hands bandaged. I nervously bit my lower lip and increased my running speed, trying to pretend like I hadn’t gawked at him like a crazy stalker.
But how to look away from the Sjöberg brothers? They were all genetic lottery winners with their ridiculously out-of-this-world DNA.
Joel looked a lot like William, but his hair was light brown instead of gold, just like Tobias’s. William was the tallest of the four brothers, but Joel was only an inch or so shorter than him, and their facial features were very similar.
And that pink supplement William took wasdefinitelyworking because his arms seemed more muscular than the last time I saw him. They were both absurdly good looking.
But William … simply unreal.
They started training, and I tried to focus on my run. But having a mirror in front of the treadmill made it hard for me to look at anything else but William’s reflection on it. I could see the tiny drops of sweat flying around each time he punched on the pads.
Grant seemed satisfied by the intensity with which William was training and kept encouraging him. I was also satisfied with his commitment.
There was a minute left on my run, and as soon as the clock hit zero, I pushed on the emergency stop button to override the cool down mode. I stepped off the treadmill and walked to the bathroom to wash my hands and face. A little ice cold water on the face never hurt anyone.
“Friday at seven!” Grant yelled as I stepped out of the restroom.
“Of course!” I replied, trying to sound natural as I fled the scene. “See you around.” I didn’t look back. Not when I’d already been staring for the past half hour.
I was still embarrassed about William catching me salivating over his stupid abs. I mean, they were right there in front of me! And William gloated like the conceited fool he was. A mouthwatering, drool-inciting, sexy fool.Stop!
I knocked on Lily and Joel’s apartment. She opened the door a few seconds later. “Hi, Billie!” she said with a hug. “Do you want to come in?” I stepped inside, and Lily offered me a glass of water.
I couldn’t get William’s body out of my head. I felt my face warming up again as I relived the image of him taking his hoodie off at the gym.
“Your face is red, are you okay? Joel told me you almost fainted at the gym the other day.” I almost fainted today too, but for a totally different reason.
“I just stepped off the treadmill. I need a minute to recover.”
“You look a bit thinner than the last time I saw you, too. Don’t push yourself too hard. Is everything okay?” She seemed concerned about my recent weight-loss. I admitted to having neglected my diet due to stress, but I assured her I was fine.
I wished I could open myself up to her about Thomas. There wasn’t anyone I trusted enough to discuss my relationship issues.
“You know, being a model is stressful, and I’m no stranger to eating disorders. I’m sorry about worrying, but I get nervous when I see a friend losing weight or overdoing themselves at the gym.”
“I understand. Thank you for worrying, Lily. I swear I’m fine,” I said with a forced smile. Lily narrowed her eyes and went to the kitchen. She came back with a small plate with pretzels, prompting me to have some.
“So, how are things with Thomas?” she asked casually, trying to get to the bottom of whatever was bothering me.
Was it that obvious?
“Um—well, he’s in D.C. right now. He’ll be back by the end of next week,” I said, biting a pretzel.
“Mhm. So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on. Spill. You can talk to me.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly out through my mouth.
“Okay. But promise me you won’t say a word to Joel.” I feared Joel would go to William and tell him about my situation, and I didn’t want him to know a thing about it. Lily promised I could trust her, and I was so desperate to talk to someone that I took the opportunity to vent.
