“No problem, it was fun.” The guy was tall, lanky even, and definitely didn’t have the vibe that he worked out there often. He looked less… muscular gym rat and more preppy schoolboy who golfs for a workout. Not unathletic, just not this type of gym’s usual clientele.
“Anytime you wanna come over with Kat from the courts, go right ahead. I can already tell she’s going to run me ragged.” De’Shawn rubbed a hand over his bald head, shaking it slightly. “If she’s injured, she won’t say. She’s that type.”
“She had her ass handed to her in practice this morning. My grandpa doesn’t go soft on the first day,” the other man said, almost regretfully. “She wasn’t quite with it. Her head was straighter when she got to the gym here.”
Michael felt a twinge of guilt and wondered if he was the reason she hadn’t been all in for practice.
Then again, maybe if he’d taken the chance to talk to her that morning, he’d have been able to help. But no, he’d been too off-balance himself to give it a try. Too worried he’d say the wrong thing when his emotions were still warring each other, fighting for top billing.
De’Shawn and the other man finally seemed to realize, together, they weren’t alone in the training room. They turned and looked at Michael as if he were an interloper in the situation.
“Uh, Caleb says hi,” he said, taking a step back.
De’Shawn’s eyebrow winged up in a way that silently asked, Seriously, bro?
Kat walked back at that point, wearing shorts and a simple T-shirt, carrying a gym bag in one hand and her tennis bag with rackets slung over the opposite shoulder. He reached for the gym bag automatically, but she held it away and rolled her eyes.
“Stretch,” De’Shawn reminded her. “If you can get a massage, do it.”
Michael caught himself just before asking why she wouldn’t get a massage right now. Because the gym doesn’t have a physical trainer or masseuse on staff, asshole.
Kat gave her coach the thumbs up as the other man stepped out of the ring.
“I’ll see you in two days, yeah?”
“Got it, De’Shawn. Thanks, even though I complained. I’m sure I’ll feel it tomorrow.”
“You will,” he said cheerfully, then went about picking up the equipment.
“So you ready to head home?” The tall guy wandered over, hands in his pockets, standing beside her, way too fucking close from Michael’s point of view.
“Oh, right.” Kat gave him a slight smile. “Actually, I have a ride here. Michael, this is Thomas. My coach, Gary… this is his grandson. He was nice enough to give me a ride here.”
“I wanted to see what she was up to when she wasn’t at my place.” Thomas turned and held out a hand to shake Michael’s. His smile was sharp, without any warmth.
“Your place… You own the tennis center?” Michael shook, squeezing a little harder than necessary. He felt an instant moment of satisfaction when Thomas pulled back quicker than normal, then felt small.
Kat seemed oblivious to the whole thing. “No, his grandfather does, but Thomas helps throw balls at me while Gary calls me lazy.” She and Thomas shared a private smile and little chuckle over that.
And Michael had never felt any more like a third wheel than he did in that moment. “Right.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and took a step back. “If you want to go with him, that’s fine. I just thought—”
“No, I’ll go with you.” She turned to Thomas and gave him a friendly smile. “Thanks again for the lift here and for sparring. I hope you’re not in trouble for staying out so long.”
“No lessons until four thirty tonight. The rug rats,” he added with a shudder. “Having a dozen four-year-olds on a single court swinging rackets around is just asking to be castrated.”
“Wear a cup,” Kat suggested with a cheeky grin, then bumped into Michael’s arm. “Ready to roll?”
“Yeah,” he breathed, thankful she’d chosen to go home with him.
They started their way out of the gym, weaving between machines when suddenly she hefted the gym bag over until it hit him in the gut. He grunted.
“You could help me out by carrying that, you know.” Her eyes were laughing as she kept walking.
He gave himself a moment to watch her sexy ass as it strutted through the gym doors out into the parking lot before following.
Chapter 16
Kat looked around the gym parking lot for Michael’s Mustang—please, oh please—or the SUV. Neither jumped out at her, but she also wasn’t a car gal, so she could have missed it. She started to scan once more when Michael’s hand landed at her waist, making her jump.
“Over there,” he said in her ear, pointing down toward the end of the lot. He clicked the remote on the key fob in his hands, and a four-door sedan in gold chirped and flashed its lights.
“That’s neither the ’Stang nor the SUV. I may not be a car girl, but I know those two things. Just how many cars do you have, Lambert?” she asked as they walked. She waited for him to walk past her toward the driver’s side door, but he just stood there, watching her.