4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cody

The fire alarm goes off beside my head.

I groan in agony, the blaring noise bringing my disoriented senses conscious as I blink up at an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Who the fuck set an alarm?”

The gravelly voice hits my ears and I shift on the couch to see Nico glaring up at me from his makeshift bed on the floor. The alarm continues to scream as I stare back, confused as to why I’m on somebody’s couch and why we aren’t all evacuating.

Oh, right. Mason’s party.

Fingers fumbling, I search my pant pockets for my phone and squint at the time. 4:45am.

Shutting off the alarm, I swallow the nausea climbing in my throat and haul my ass off the couch. Pieces of the night before start to filter through as I stumble through the darkened hallway to the bathroom.

A monster of a hangover bangs through my skull as I flick on the lights, my bloodshot eyes and dishevelled clothes staring wearily back at myself in the mirror.

I look like shit.

Quickly stripping down and hopping in the shower behind me, I hiss out a breath as cold water hits my back, but I don’t bother turning up the heat before hopping back out and throwing on the gym gear I’d stashed here the night before. I finish getting ready and creep back out the door, doing my best not to step on the shadowed bodies gracing Mason’s living room floor.

The bitter, December air bites my skin the second I step outside, but it doesn’t keep the smile from stretching across my face as one thought pounds its way through my dehydrated mind.

See Stella.

“The fallen captain has returned!” Throwing my bag in a cubby, I turn and see my old pal, Stephen manning the front desk like he always does. His dark ‘fro seems longer and even more out of control than the last time I saw it, but the ridiculously cheerful grin brightening his face is the same.

“It’s good to see you too, Stephen. How have things been?”

“Oh, you know. Same old, same old.” He gives me a nonchalant shrug, the bright smile never once leaving his face. “I have missed watching you and O’Brien go at it, though.”

I bark out a laugh, my hangover temporarily forgotten, “I’ve missed being your entertainment as well.”

I spy Stella already setting up in her free-range section, pushing and arranging boxes and mats to fit whatever cardio horror she has planned.

“Well, I didn’t say there wasn’t entertainment.” Pulling my eyes away from Stella’s meticulous prep work, I look to see Stephen watching me closely.

“Oh yeah?”

He nods, “There’s an ongoing bet on who the lucky guy will be.”

Dread coils deep in my stomach as my eyes flick back to my camo-clad gym buddy. Stella catches me looking and taps her watch with an exaggerated huff that I can hear from across the room.

“Who’s the lucky guy for?” Holding my breath, I throw Stella a friendly wave that I know will grate her nerves. She gives me a glare that could burn a hole through an iceberg.

“O’Brien, of course. Since you’ve been out of commission, the number of early morning regulars have jumped, and almost all of them have taken a turn asking out your Mrs.” A dark eyebrow disappears into the chaos of curls, looking at me questioningly.

I raise a brow, giving nothing away, “Stel would kick your ass for calling her my Mrs. She doesn’t belong to anybody, and she can handle herself.”

Like hell she will.

I’m already formulating a plan as I give the room a sweep, assessing the new faces scattered among the first floor.

“If I were you,” My focus is no longer on Stephen as I give him one last pat on the back. “I wouldn’t place my bets on anyone other than Stella.”

Especially if I have anything to do with it.

“Aw, you underestimate me, Cody. I’m going to win this bet. You just wait and see.” Chuckling to himself, Stephen waves me away and retreats to the computer hidden behind the counter.

I take a collecting breath and wander over to my usual spot in the weight room section. The new faces regard me curiously but no one comments as I make myself comfortable on the bench press. I always use the bench tucked in the corner for a couple of reasons, one of which being the vantage point I get over the free-range section.

I wasn’t lying when I said Stella can take care of herself, but it helps to know I can be there if she needs me. It’s what her brother would want, and I’m not about to let him down.

Stella

When you hear the term gym buddies, most people picture two friends who hit the gym together, perform some sort of team exercise, and hold each other accountable for achieving fitness goals. That is the definition you would find on Google, and more or less the response you would get from a Canadian survey.

And yet, for Cody and me, that’s not it.

We don’t goto the gym together and we certainly don’t workout together either. He despises any form of cardio – yet somehow manages to run around a lacrosse field every day – while I am not the biggest fan of repetitive, heavy lifting. Cody is a typical gym buff, while I am the queen of HIIT.

I guess you could say because we are always atthe gym at the same time, ergo, we are gym buddies. It doesn’t make sense, but it works.

And sometimes the things you can’t explain are the ones that hold the most meaning.

I wipe the sweat from my brow, chest heaving as I count down the seconds between my burpee sets. My heart felt like it was going to explode when I started my fifth round, but that doesn’t stop me from finishing the next set.

Part of the process is pain. Without pain, you have no process. Without a process, you have no results. Are you about to settle for no results, Stella?

“No.” I force the word out between my gritted teeth, pushing myself to do an extra two sets. There’s no point in finishing a workout if you aren’t going to challenge yourself. And if there’s one thing my father raised me to do, it was push past limits.

I finish the second bonus round and flop to the ground in a heap. My lungs feel like they’re on fire while my limbs feel shaky. I give myself a whole minute to breathe then launch into my core workout.

Once I’m satisfied every last fiber in my body has been used to the point of exhaustion, I finally call it a day. Closing the workout on my smart watch, I use the next five minutes to put everything back where I found it, using a rag to wipe away stray sweat goblets.

“You missed a spot.” The voice that has been missing these last few weeks reaches my ears and I have to stop myself from squealing with joy.

Be subtle, Stella. Cool, calm, collected.

Be the cucumber.

Tucking my excitement back into the depths of my sore core, I settle for a smile that stretches from ear to ear before turning around.

Sweat glistens along Cody’s forehead, his blonde fauxhawk untouched from his workout. A quick glance at the veins protruding through Cody’s forearms tells me it was some sort of arm day today.

“Feel free to get it for me.” I toss him the cloth and much to my amusement, he actually drops to one knee and wipes a spot on the floor.

Got to love a man who doesn’t mind being on his knees.

“I could get used to this view.” The innuendo slips out of my mouth and Cody’s head whips in my direction.

Damn, I really thought that one was going to slide.

“Is there anything else I can do for you while I’m down here?” His response comes fast and quick, the teasing glint in his dark eyes unmistakably dirty.

I unconsciously lick my lips and his gaze drops to a spot on my chest. My breathing grows heavy as a bead of sweat drips into my sports bra.

“Wouldn’t be a bad side gig, being the O’Brien’s cleaner.” Clearing his throat, Cody drops his gaze to the floor and pushes himself back up to standing.

The charge in the air turns from sexually charged to sexually frustrated as the varsity captain uses the same weapon of defence he uses every time something almost interesting happens between us.

“I have a feeling you’re a lot cleaner than Mo.” And there it is.

My big, bad brother to the rescue.

“You’d be surprised.” I sigh with defeat, unsure why I still hope these interactions might steer past the flirty friend territory.

It’s a dance we’ve been through too many times to count, and it always goes the same way: Friendly banter becomes borderline flirtatious. Topic of Mo comes up and suddenly there’s an uncrossable chasm between us.

With the exception of last night, I’ve never seen Cody make a move. And that was probably the result of too much alcohol and not enough brain power to remember his unwavering, puppy dog loyalty to my older brother.

I sound bitter, I know, but there’s really no other way to put it.

We head to the cubbies together, silently walking side-by-side. On a usual morning, we’d be bickering about some mundane topic, but I can’t think of a single topic that doesn’t centre on Cody’s frustrating behaviour. So, I keep silent.

Which is unusual for me.

“Stella!”

I mutter a curse as Hayden comes running up behind us. He shoots Cody an ambiguous look before turning to me, “Thought I’d missed you.”

I resist the urge to make a snarky comment and my sullen silence has Cody glancing over at me.

“So, I know you said you were too busy for coffee, but I was thinking if we are both here every morning anyways, what do you say we work out together? Maybe Friday?”

Hopeful blue eyes bore deep into my soul, making absolutely no dent on my Slytherin personality.

I open my mouth to say no when I spot the frown dancing across Cody’s features. I pause, taking a second to relish the sight of unease staining his handsome features, and make a decision I immediately regret.

“That sounds great, Hayden. I’ll see you Friday.”

The line on Cody’s forehead deepens and I resist the urge to celebrate. Taber’s varsity captain might be good at stirring up my emotions, but this time he’s the one who is going to suffer.

In the battle of the O’Brien siblings, Cody picked Mo’s side, so now it’s time that I picked mine.

“Awesome! Guess I’ll be seeing you bright and early Friday morning.” Hayden goes to throw me a wink but ends up flinching hallway through. I don’t risk looking at Cody’s brooding face because chances are I’ll burst out laughing if I do.

“Okay, bye!” I give Hayden a flirty finger wave and head for the door. Cody keeps pace with me, his footsteps getting heavier by the step.

“I think he’s pretty cute, don’t you? God, I just love those freckles!” I clap my hands with excitement, barely keeping my laughter in check.

Did someone say productive gym session?

Cody grunts, “You could do better.”

Casually intertwining his fingers with mine, I squeeze them reassuringly, “Hey, it’s just one date. I’ll be okay.”

Shooting me a weary smile, Cody bumps his shoulder into mine like the friends we will always remain to be.

“You’re not the one I’m worried about. You are going to eat that kid alive.”

I let out a light laugh, carefully tucking my own words back into a compartment buried deep inside me.

It’s just one date. You’ll be okay.