With every step I took on the stair climber, I worked out a little more of my aggression. Ever since that awful dinner several months ago, there was no need for me to keep on avoiding Jason, so I started coming back to the gym regularly.
I didn’t have to avoid running into him on the regular because I had his schedule committed to memory. He had been traveling a lot lately about the business of opening the new gym in Las Vegas.
Jon had decided to let his brother take care of the business on the traveling end. I think he didn’t like being away from me for any length of time and that was fine by me.
I had surprisingly avoided seeing the thorn in my side, Emma-Jay. Something about the woman continually rubbed me the wrong way. Jon wanted us to spend more and more time together with his brother and his girlfriend. But I begged off whenever possible. It was a known fact that I didn’t like her and she sure as hell did not like me.
When Jon mentioned that he wanted me to be by his side for their newest venture in Las Vegas, there was no way that I could get out of it. Even if it meant I would be around Emma-Jay for the whole weekend. I just sucked it up and agreed to the trip. It would not kill me to play nice for one weekend. Or would it? Only time would tell, I guess.
I was Jon’s woman and I didn’t have the heart to disappoint him in any way. He was always there for me and I would be by his side in the same way. The sweat trickled between my breasts as I continued to exercise whilst lost in my thoughts. My heart rate accelerated with each vigorous step. I could feel my ass jiggling in the tights that I was wearing but that couldn’t be helped. My butt was so big that you could bounce a quarter off of it.
I took the hand towel that I had around my neck to wipe away the sweat that trickled down my temple. My natural hair was hanging limp and fluffy against my shoulders, as I huffed and puffed to finish up the last 10 minutes of my 40-minute workout.
I should have pulled my hair back into a ponytail for efficiency sake, I thought to myself.
I know I was looking a hot mess but not too many people can look like the next top model while vigorously working out.
I bet Emma-Jay would, though. She looked like she never sweated a day in her perfect body life, I thought to myself.
The tiny, wispy hairs on the back of my neck began to rise before I heard the annoying voice.
What the hell, I thought. Why did my thoughts have to conjure up the devil herself?
“Hello, Serenity.”
“I don’t believe it,” I muttered under my breath. But seeing made a believer out of me, as I stepped down from the exercise equipment and turned to face Emma-Jay.
“Hello, Emma,” I said as cordially as I could muster before wiping sweat from my face.
“You’re breathing mighty hard. Maybe you should sit down somewhere, before you fall out from exerting yourself too hard,” she said with a smirk.
I know damn well this witch wasn’t trying to belittle me with her bony ass. Well, maybe her ass wasn’t so bony, but that is my story and I am sticking to it. Humph! I finally got my breathing under control before speaking again.
“I’m good. There is no need for you to worry about me. What are you doing here anyway?” I asked because she wasn’t dressed for working out. She was actually dressed like she had a date with a stripper’s pole.
“I’m waiting on Jason. He is in his office checking on something or the other.”
“I thought he was out of town on business. Jon said just this morning that he was traveling.”
“He was, but he wrapped up business quickly to hurry back to me,” she giggled while studying her freshly manicured nails. She continued to giggle like she had a private joke and she was the only one privy to it. She was always doing that. She was getting stranger and stranger by the moment. “You know he can’t stay away from all of this.” She peered into my eyes as she trailed her hands down her tight, slinky dress that stopped just below her butt.
“Good for you,” I said feeling a tinge of jealousy of her reference about Jason for a moment. “If you will excuse me, I need to get out of these damp clothes.” I was hoping that she took the hint.
“Don’t let me keep you, here comes my lover now.”
I turned in the direction she was looking. Jason stalked toward us dressed all in black from head to toe. He looked like a sleek panther on the prowl.
Damn, he is sexy as sin with his dreads pulled away from his handsome face with a twister, I grudgingly admitted to myself.
His gaze held mine. I didn’t think that I could feel any hotter because of my workout, but Jason’s heated gaze caused heat to surge to a boiling point throughout my already overheated body.
I tried with all of my might to pull my gaze from his, to no avail. It was like we were the only two people in the room and Emma was long forgotten. My breath caught in my chest and I forgot to breathe until I started to feel faint, then I expelled my breath in a rush.
“I’m ready to go, honey,” Emma pouted, breaking the spell that Jason held over me.
Damn! I forgot all about her, I thought as I ran my hand through my unruly hair, trying my best to tame it.
“Hey, Serenity,” he said ignoring his girlfriend.
“Hey, Jason. It looks like you and Emma are ready for a night on the town. Please don’t let me keep you,” I said, needing to get away from the awkward moment.
Emma went to stand beside Jason. She attached herself to him as if staking her claim. Her arms encircled his waist and held on for dear life, it seemed.
“Darling, do me a favor. I left my keys on my desk, will you go get them for me?” he asked her.
She looked from him to me with her eyes narrowing menacingly, as they settled on me before she released Jason and marched off, without a word, to do his bidding.
He watched until she was out of sight before his eyes settled on me once again to give me his undivided attention.
“How have you been?” he asked.
“I’ve been good, and yourself?” I didn’t want to stand there looking a mess having idle conversation with him.
“I’m good, too, and feeling better by the minute. It’s good to see you back in the gym. I’ve missed you.”
“I need to shower,” I said without acknowledging his comment. I turned in the direction of the showers and he stopped me, by encircling my wrist in the clasp of his hand before I could take my first step.
“Stop running from me, Serenity. You have avoided me long enough and it’s time to stop.”
His eyes were hooded with barely restrained desire, as he looked into my upturned face. He slid a lock of stray hair behind my ear. A shudder coursed through my body. I could feel the heat vibrating from his pores to my very own.
“I can’t forget,” he said gruffly. “It doesn’t matter how hard I try; I can’t forget what happened between us in the sauna.”
“Stop it, Jason,” I tried pulling away from his grasp without success. “Please let me go,” I said pleadingly as I didn’t want to bring attention to us.
He was causing havoc on my nervous system. I started to tremble from his touch. His hand felt like a hot branding iron banned around my wrist.
“Are you really afraid of me? You’re trembling so much.” He rubbed his padded thumb across my rapidly beating pulse to soothe me. “I’ll never hurt you. Please don’t be afraid of me,” he pleaded before finally letting me go.
I rubbed my wrist that still felt heated from his grasp. I tried to banish the feel of him away by rubbing my wrist excessively. If truth be told, my panties were soaking wet and it had nothing to do with me sweating.
“Goodbye, Jason,” I said quickly without answering his questions.
“Serenity, wait!”
I continued to walk away, feeling his eyes sear into my back. I had to walk away before I made another mistake like falling into his arms. Jason made me weak and I had to avoid temptation at all cost, until I became stronger.
Emma-Jay passed me on my way to the showers. She gave me a nasty look without saying one word. Her look spoke volumes. Her upper lip was upturned in a not so flattering sneer. I’m sure that if she had been a poisonous snake she would have bit me, leaving me to die of her venomous poison… A slow, painful death to the finish.