Page 38 of Fling

‘You have to go big or go home if you want to impress her. You need to invite her to The Vine on Dawson Street. No woman can resist it. She’ll be like a moth to a flame.’

‘There’s no way I’m going to get a table for this weekend. They’re always fully booked weeks in advance,’ Colin said disheartened.

‘Yeah, but yours truly happens to be a very valued customer. Don’t worry, I’ll be able to get Jack a table for two,’ Rory said with full confidence. ‘Now, let’s move on to bicep curls.’

‘Can I try a heavier weight on the bench press first? Sixty kilos didn’t feel very heavy,’ Colin said, eager to prove himself.

‘Right then, Mr Universe, let’s give you eighty kilos to kick you off your high horse,’ Rory teased, adding the weight.

‘Bring it on,’ Colin said, gripping the bar.

He lowered the weight down towards his chest and pushed back up. Admittedly, he felt a lot more resistance with this weight, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. He finished his eighth rep and still didn’t break much of a sweat.

‘I’d say you’re wrecked after that,’ Rory said hopefully.

‘Not really, I still didn’t feel much strain,’ Colin said, hungry for more.

‘Are you serious? Eighty kilos is a very heavy weight. That’s like two hundred and twenty pounds!’

‘That conversion is definitely wrong,’ Colin said, running the numbers in his head. ‘Just give me one hundred kilos.’

‘Have you lost your mind?’ Rory shrieked. ‘My one rep max is only ninety.’

‘Afraid I’ll embarrass you by beating your personal record?’

‘I’m afraid you’ll hurt yourself. Even one rep of one hundred is too heavy.’

‘Wanna bet?’

‘As a matter of fact, I do. What are the terms?’ Rory said confidently.

Colin thought about what he wanted from Rory. He was already the most laissez-faire boss imaginable so anything Colin wanted at work he could get from him anyway. He suddenly remembered Rory bragging about his new golf membership at the Imperial Dublin Golf Club. Colin wanted to become a member but had put the money towards IVF instead.

‘OK, if I’m able to do one single rep with one hundred kilos, you have to let me play at your fancy new golf club,’ Colin said.

‘My membership only allows one player and one caddy,’ Rory said.

‘I know. Which is why I’m going to play and you’re going to caddy. And I get to choose when I get to play, regardless of your schedule.’

‘Ugh, fine! But if I win, you have to tell Karen in HR that her bone structure gives your bone structure,’ Rory said, smirking at the idea.

It took a second for Colin to wrap his head around Rory’s sentence. Once he made sense of it, the thought of saying it to Karen was horrifying. On any other day, Colin wouldn’t have taken the bet, but his new confidence convinced him he could lift the weight.

‘You’re on,’ he said, lying down on the bench and gripping the barbell. Rory stood over him, ready to catch the bar.

Colin pushed the weight up and immediately realized that the resistance was too much for him. Still, the bar was now in the air and he only had to perform one rep to win the bet. Colin lowered the weight down towards his chest where he held it for a second. He wasn’t sure if he had the rep in him, but then he imagined Claire watching. He imagined how much it would turn her on if he picked her up like this weight and threw her onto the bed as if she was a feather. The pressure on his arms was becoming greater and greater. If he didn’t push the weight now his arms would give out. He decided to give it everything he had. For Claire.

To Rory’s shock, the barbell began to rise back up as Colin gave out a massive grunt that made other gym-goers look over. He pushed until his arms were fully extended and the weight was secured back on the rack. Rory stood in disbelief as Colin got off the bench. The pump he felt earlier was nothing in comparison to this. He felt as if his entire body was erect.

‘How is that even possible?’ Rory said, visibly fuming. ‘You don’t even have big chest muscles! You don’t even lift. It’s beginner’s luck. Your body obviously kicked in some adrenaline response and went into overdrive. That’s the only explanation for how you could lift more than me.’

Rory was out of breath from pure annoyance.

‘Well, I’m no expert on jungle law,’ Colin said. ‘But I think this makes me the alpha.’

Chapter 13

Tara strutted back to the office with the unbridled confidence she had once believed was exclusive to women in their twenties. She loved the feeling of the lace lingerie underneath her pencil dress. It was a far cry from granny knickers and shapeless pantsuits. When they arrived back to Insight, Emily wished Tara good luck as she sashayed into the boardroom, looking and feeling like a million dollars.

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