2. Chloe

CHAPTER 2

Chloe

M y heart pounds in my chest and I can’t breathe when the car pulls up outside the gym. My parents wanted me to meet them at the house but I just couldn’t wait until tonight. It’s been so long.

Of course, that’s my own fault. I’ve stayed away on purpose. That last day here with Samson weighs on my mind. It’s been an integral part of me for years. Every decision that I’ve made for the last two years has been about this moment.

I step out of the cab. The rest of my things are being shipped. I packed them up at my parents’ direction and they had them picked up. I’m home for good although they don’t know for sure that I’m staying.

My parents would never force me to give up a dream if I want to leave. But my dream has always been to be here at the gym and working with the people that I’ve loved my whole life.

Even my best friend, Samson.

My heart leaps into my throat and a yearning settles in my soul. Just like it has been for the whole entire time I haven’t seen him. I close my eyes and breathe deeply. Centering myself and trying to keep from running up to that door and ripping it open to leap into everyone’s arms and finally admit what I’ve been missing.

Home. It’s always been my home. It will always be my home. Ever since Finn told my mom to come here and they fell in love, he’s been my dad. My real dad is a complete waste and I don’t have a damn thing to do with the man.

I tried. Lord, did I try. I wanted so much to have a relationship with the man. To be able to say, “Hey, this is my dad.”

Most of the time he’s gone and when he is home, he just wanders around the house, so dang drunk that he has no idea that I’m even there. He’s a mess and he’s no good for anybody. Not even himself. Ever since his second wife left him for another man he can’t seem to get over it. I’ve tried to have some sympathy for him but since he did the same thing to my mom, it’s a little hard to be that sympathetic to the man.

My mom met my stepdad when he came to talk to her about my uncle who died in the army. From all that I’ve heard he was a wonderful man and I wish that I had gotten to meet him. Or maybe I did and I just don’t remember because I was too young. But I wish I did.

From the first minute he met my mom, Finn was in love. That’s all he’s ever told me. She was already married and his heart was broken but he didn’t try to win her over. Just told her that if she needed anything, just call.

And one day she did. That’s how our little family started. Then there’s Samson’s family. Jaxon and Ruby adopted one of their kids because Ruby was attacked when she was younger and couldn’t have kids. Samson was not adopted. Ruby wanted to try a surrogate to give Jaxon a child of his own blood.

Honestly, I don’t think that Jaxon gave a shit. He just wanted whatever Ruby wanted. And he wanted a family with her. He’s always wanted a family but there’s no way on god’s green earth he would give up his Ruby for anything. Even if it meant not having kids.

The rest of the guys have similar stories. All of the original owners of Tremaine’s Gym are sickeningly in love. All of their children have them as a guidebook to what love looks like. I’ve just never found it for myself.

How could I? I’ve been in love with Samson from the time I was old enough to realize what a guy was.

Which is why I ran when he kissed me and told me that he loved me when we were at his birthday party when he turned eighteen.

Everyone was having fun. The party was loud and boisterous like always. The thumping bass of the music had Bishop and his wife be-bopping like crazy. She’s always been so full of fun and her blond curls bounced around her head as she tossed it, laughing. Stryker, dark and brooding was actually laughing at his wife who has always been quiet and reserved most of the time.

Not right now though. She sparkled for her husband. She’d been working on her next book and it was already a bestseller before it even came out.

Jaxon and Ruby were so proud of both of their kids. Belle was gorgeous and funny. She was only a few years younger than me and she was in college as well. She was home for the special occasion, her brother’s birthday.

It was just so much fun! But Samson was off brooding in a corner and I felt his eyes on me, burning into me like a brand.

I turned and walked out of the room at the gym. It was closed for the party and one of the rooms where Adley taught classes had been transformed into a party space with chairs and food and disco lights that she used for her class swirling around, shadows and light alternately transforming all the familiar faces, somehow making it all seem alien yet familiar.

I found my way to one of the rooms that was closed and step inside, needing a break from so much light and noise. I’ve never been a fan of so many people like Adley is. She lights up a room. I prefer numbers and more peaceful endeavors.

That’s why I decided on accounting as my degree. I intended to come home and help with the books. Tremaine’s Gym has expanded into twenty cities nationwide and is so successful due to its love of all people and just helping them get healthy. Big or small, doesn’t matter. All kinds came to our gyms to find a family of sorts, to push them to a healthier, happier life.

But this is the flagship space and it’s so much more. Mostly thanks to the incredible family vibe from the original men of Tremaine’s. I leaned into a wall and sighed, my body vibrating with tension and exhausted beyond belief.

I was so tired I couldn’t see straight. School was a pain and that jerk Bennet was picking on me all day. The last days of my sophomore year in college. I had been looking forward to it for years and now it was ruined, thanks to Bennet. I knew I shouldn’t go out with him. I wasn’t in love with him. I’ve never been in love with him. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. We used to be such good friends. Then all of a sudden when we went out he turned into a raging idiot. I mean, technically, I knew but I hoped that he’d outgrow it. That we could go back to being just friends. That’s all we could ever be. Because I’ve always belonged to Samson somewhere deep down in my heart and I knew it was all kinds of wrong and could mess up our little family but I couldn’t help it.

I’ve been attracted to my best friend since I first noticed boys. But he’s younger and I just didn’t want to mess up what we’ve had.

I got back to the gym early this afternoon and as soon as Samson saw me, we started butting heads. I was tense and weirded out and I just don’t know what to do about all these feelings swirling around inside me. We both worked at the gym that my dad co-owns. I also helped my mother when she has bookkeeping to take care of the gym. Neither one of my parents pushed me too hard to help. I just liked doing it. Samson, on the other hand, grumbled about being pushed to help at the gym. Probably because he’s a teenage boy and he wanted to be in charge of his own life. He didn’t want someone telling him what to do. Not even his parents.

My head popped up when the door slammed shut. The air swirled around me and my face flushed. “What are you doing in here, Sam? Everybody’s going to miss the birthday boy if you don’t head back.”

His dark tan flushed and his big hands trembled just a bit, trying to control his temper. Which he must have gotten from his birth mom because Jaxon, his father, is the sweetest man in the world. That man doesn’t have a raging bone in his body. I loved Jaxon just as much as I loved the other men that run the gym with my dad. They’re all beloved uncles to the pack of kids that each man is raising. If you needed help with something, you could always call on any one of them to help. If you were embarrassed to talk to your parents about something, there was a group of aunts that would listen to every word and give you advice. It’s amazing that they’ve managed to stay together after all this time, but all of these men and their wives are something special. I personally thought that’s one of the reasons their gyms became so successful. They care.

I’ve tried talking to Jaxon and Ruby about Samson’s attitude problem with me but I don’t think they understood my concerns. Partially my fault since I had no idea how to tell them their son is a major asshole. I cursed under my breath when my moment’s peace was interrupted by the asshole in question coming around the corner, gorgeous ice-blue eyes sweeping the gym and lighting up with triumph when he spotted me.

“There you are, Chloe. What the hell are you doing hiding back here?”

I shrugged my shoulders and pushed off the wall. “None of your business, Samson.”

For a big boy, he could move really fast. Before I could take a deep breath, he’d parked right in front of me like an immovable wall. A huge wall with muscles and a singular smell that was all him. Something like cedar and pine and man all wrapped up in one which was so weird considering that he was barely legal.

“Were you trying to hide from me, Chloe?” His big hands rested on the wall on either side of me, blocking me in. My breath stalled in my throat. His warm grin didn’t show in his eyes. The ice in them froze me to my core. My cheeks heated and I glared up at him, trying to ignore the strange flutter in my belly. I told myself it was nerves and that I didn’t feel anything else but that. “Why would I need to hide from you, Sam? You don’t own me. You don’t get to tell me what to do. You basically mean nothing to me.” Big words considering how very much I loved having him this close to me. But I shouldn’t. I knew I shouldn’t.

He growled under his breath and a flutter of unease trickled down my spine. Did I go too far? Why did I care?

“I don’t mean anything to you, huh, Chloe? Then this will mean nothing to you as well.” Before I could say anything to him, backpedalling the challenge that I threw down, his lips slammed down on mine. Confusion rolled over me. His hard lips delved into my mouth when I gasped, stunned. His tongue slid along mine, wrapping, twisting and dancing with mine. I grasped onto his tank top, fisting it in my frantic fingers like a lifeline to a world that had just been tipped on its ear. I moaned and slid one hand up to drive it into his shoulder-length chestnut hair, tugging and pulling, knowing that I was hurting him. But he didn’t stop. He lifted me up into the wall like I weighed nothing, balancing me with one hand while the other raked down my body, electric currents lighting up my nerve endings where his needy hands touched. He fondled my hips, one hand holding me hard while his big, heavy body slammed me into the wall behind us. I gasped and writhed in his bulging arms. He lifted his head and his heavy-lidded eyes gleamed sapphire with lust and need.

“I don’t think you really believe that I mean nothing to you, Chloe. You feel this?” His slim hips bumped into my core and I felt the bulge in his shorts. Shock hit me and I moaned and my eyes fluttered closed.

“Open your eyes, Chloe,” he demanded, voice rough and raspy. I forced my eyes open, almost weeping at all the emotions I saw in his clear eyes. I didn’t know when our friendship changed but there was obviously something else brewing between us and whatever it was, it was powerful and earth-shattering. Clouds of lust and desire hindered my brain, leaving me reeling. Which was why when he dropped me to the ground, I had to reach out and grab onto him, groaning when I accidentally brushed his rock-hard erection. He whispered in my ear and I shivered when his warm breath fanned across my overheated skin.

“Think about that the next time you think that I mean nothing to you.” He stepped back and growled while I tried to catch my breath. “I mean everything to you. You’re just too stubborn to realize it. You think I’m too young and I don’t know my own mind. But I do. And one of these days you’re going to wake up and realize that I’m right and we belong together. You’re mine just as much as I’m yours.”

I whimpered when his blazing eyes raked across me. Goosebumps danced across my skin. He gave a satisfied nod, then he strolled away, whistling while I struggled to figure out what the hell just happened.