Page 38 of Gigi and the Gym Rats

“Longing, yes.” Zach grins at Coco and a flush spreads over her face. “He’s been doing it for years.”

“Years!” June turns to me. “Gigi, you’ve been holding out on us? Is Zayne one of those male sweaty hunks I’ve been watching?”

“How should I know?” I grumble and the same annoyance hits me as when Coco went all swoony over Ronin. “That’s your hobby, not mine.”

Zach laughs. Man, he has his dad’s charm, though he isn’t Zayne. Zayne is more intense and in-your-face, and…

I clench between my legs at the memory of how he’d made me come with that light pressure and his presence in the staff room.

“So why are you here?” June goes on. “Just that? Just curiosity? Wanted to see who your dad has been eyeballing?”

He shakes his head. Bites his lip. Good God, this man is going to break hearts. “I wanted you to know…” He hesitates. “He hasn’t done that with other women. That’s all. Guess I wanted to see what drew him to you.”

“And did you find out?” I whisper.

“You seem sweet,” he says, frankness shining in his wide eyes. “I guess he’s drawn to honey.”

I splutter. “But?—”

“Look, I wasn’t following you or anything, I swear. I’m here with a friend.” He nods at a guy who’s browsing the library section of the café. Probably a beta. I like the idea that this super-buff gymnast spends time with a bookworm. “I should get back to him.”

I nod goodbye as he walks off, frowning to myself. Zayne has been gazing at me with longing? For years? Like, what the hell?

Never trust what a kid says about their parents, I decide. I’d have noticed if Zayne had shown me such an interest, wouldn’t I? I’m not blind. Sure, I’ve been a bit distracted since Dad’s passing, but… No way.

“Well, well, well.” Coco takes a sip of her moccaffino-chococaramellatte-deathbysugar drink and smacks her lips. “I’ll be damned. And you, sworn off men. What’s a girl to do?”

“Yeah,” June snickers, “can we borrow Zayne if you don’t want him?”

“And Zach,” Coco says. “Zach is pretty. I would hump his leg like a bitch in heat. Hump those muscles. I mean look at his thighs, and I bet he’s got a huge c?—”

“Oh, shoot.” Ruby gets up. “One of our new dogs is sick. I got to go. See ya, girls!”

We watch her go, then share a look.

“She needs to get laid,” Coco says thoughtfully. “One cannot live on dog alone.”

“Men do have their uses,” June agrees. “How about another girls’ night out? I vote yes.”

I sigh.

* * *

The girls may be plotting to go out and get men, but I stick to my no-men policy. It’s not a long-term thing, by the way. I just need to refocus, stop getting orgasms from hunks I’m lusting after, and all will be good.

Orgasms are bad for the concentration.

And for the distancing thing.

I need to keep my distance.

Besides, these men aren’t going to stick around. All of them are looking for a pack, something I can’t give them. All of them are looking for more alphas and omegas, like themselves, not a beta like me.

I think of the nice-ass guy at the gym and wonder why I haven’t seen him around again. It’s like it’s fate, finding him and losing him over and over again.

Like Romeo and Juliet, but without knowing his name or having any roses to compare it to.

And no balconies anywhere.

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