by Sarah Carter
“Oh, no. No, no, no.” Claire shakes her head.
“Please?” Alex pleads. “It would be awesome and so much fun. I haven’t gotten to fight with you in so long.”
“Six months, Alex. The last time I actually saw you.” Her eyes narrow and she glares at him.
He tilts his head, giving her a soft look. “Claire, we’ve talked since then. I thought we were fine.”
“We are,” Claire grumbles. “I just don’t want to teach the class.”
“Even if offer up the Ducati for an entire weekend of camping?” Alex says.
Claire shakes her head.
“How about an entire weekend and taking you to the race track?”
A huge grin crosses Claire’s face. “You’ll let me race it?”
“If you get hurt, your family will kill me, which they’re very capable of doing. But it’s worth it if you’ll help teach the class.”
She high-fives Alex. “I’m so going to haul ass on your bike.”
“So you’ll help teach?” Alex retorts, with a smile.
Rubbing her hands together, Claire says, “Let’s do this.”
“Yes!” Alex pumps his fist and walks back into the room.
Claire turns to Damien. “Is this alright?”
“Yeah, do you want to get paid?” Damien asks.
“Gosh, no. This is my passion,” Claire replies. “It may make this week bearable. Come on. I need to whip these boys into shape.”
They walk back into the room. Alex smiles and says, “We’re going to start by stretching. So hands up in the air.”
Claire walks up next to Alex as he demonstrates. Damien steps up in front and watches Claire carefully. They go through a lot of stretches and some of them groan.
Finally, Alex says, “With your legs straight, I want you to bend over and try to plant your hands on the ground.”
Claire bends down, but actually folds in half, putting her forehead against her legs.
“Holy crap, I want to get you into the bedroom,” a guy yells.
Claire snaps her head up. Alex is already over by the guy. “You say something like that to her again and I’ll snap you in two.”
“I can do that myself,” Claire snorts, “And trust me, that wasn’t meant sexually.”
Damien growls. “Who says something like that? I’ll take you on myself. Apologize and shut up.”
The guy looks down at the floor, “Sorry.”
Having a whole lot of attitude, Claire walks up to the guy. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll tell you exactly what I can actually do with this body in bed, if you can follow me in one activity.”
“Claire,” Alex chuckles.
She puts her finger up to him. “Come on, big boy. Aren’t you curious? Because there’s a lot I can do.”
“Fine.” The guy holds his head up. “Bring it.”
“Sit,” Claire instructs. The guy does and she follows. “Alright, do this.”
Spreading her legs out into the full splits, Claire plants her hands down on the ground. She leans forward, lifting her body off the floor. With a little bit of concentration, Claire pushes herself up from the splits into a full handstand. There is a lot of, “Holy…” from the room. She flips over and lands on her feet.
Looking down at the guy, Claire smiles. “Your turn.”
The guy just stares up at her. “Yeah, I can’t do that.”
“Didn’t think so,” Claire retorts. “So shut up next time, because you won’t be coming within an inch of this body without losing a limb.”
“That’s my girl.” Alex kisses her on the head. “Now it’s time to actually learn something. We’ll start with proper stances.”
They go through class for an hour and a half. Alex and Claire walk around and show everyone how to properly bend and move. Claire can’t help but watch Damien. She’s impressed about how much he knows. It actually makes her smirk.
Finally, at the end, Alex claps his hands, “Alright. Tomorrow at the same time is the next workshop. If you truly want to get your butt kicked into shape, I’m teaching a boot camp workout class tomorrow morning, but it’s not for the faint of heart. It’ll be hard—that’s a guarantee.”
“I know I want to,” Claire cheers.
“I knew you would,” Alex laughs. “Alright. Class dismissed.”
Claire runs over and jumps on Alex. He holds her up by her thighs. “That was awesome..
“You’re a great teacher. So, are you going to help me whip them into shape tomorrow?”
“Hell, yeah.” Claire wrinkles her nose. “You need a shower. You’re gross.”
Alex drops her down to her feet. “You’re pretty nasty yourself.”
“Oh, I can guarantee I need a shower, but I’m starving now.”
Damien walks up to them. “Dinner’s in an hour. I’m going to go get cleaned up.”
“I’ll come with you, then,” Claire says.
“Where are you going with him?” Alex snaps.
“We’re sharing a room,” Claire murmurs.
The look on Alex’s face is priceless and Claire has to giggle.
“It’s not funny,” he growls. “Does your family know about this?”
“No. I’m an adult and if I need to share my room, I’ll share it.”
“You can share a room with me,” Alex says back. “That’s Damien Blakely.”
Laughing, Claire replies, “I know who he is. We covered that already.”
“We’re quite alright sharing a room,” Damien sighs, holding his head up and staring down Alex.
“Master Damien, I’m not trying to say it’s wrong, but this is my best friend’s little sister. He would kill me if anything happened to her,” Alex declares, bowing his head.
Cocking her hip to the side, Claire remarks, “But staying with you is by far a better idea. Really Alex?”
He stares down at Claire. “That’s not really fair.”
“Come on, Damien. We have showers to take and things to do.”
“What?” Damien retorts, as Claire takes his hand.
Alex growls, “Claire, stop this.”
Claire smiles and drags Damien away from Alex. Damien shrugs his shoulders and follows her. When they get into the elevator, Damien turns to Claire. “So, are we really showering together? That sounds like a wonderful turn of events.”
“No,” Claire growls and laughs at the same time. “I’m just mad.”
“I sensed that,” Damien chuckles. “Can I ask why?”
“Nope,” Claire snips, leaning against the mirror.
Clicking his tongue, Damien says, “Alright then.”
They remain silent all the way back to their room.
Chapter 3
When they get to the room, Claire throws her sweats on the bed. “Do you want to take a shower?”
“No. Ladies first.” Damien waves his hand.
“Thanks,” Claire mutters. She opens her suitcase and takes out some clothes. “Men are dumb.”
Damien chuckles, “And women are crazy. I take it you have some history with Alex?”
“No…yes…no,” Claire responds quietly. “He’s my brother’s best friend. Ben would kill him if anything had happened.”
“Claire, your brother must be blind, because the conversation that just happened was between two people with some emotional history.”
Claire doesn’t say anything back, trying to end the conversation. She shuts her suitcase and says, “I’m going to get cleaned up and then I need to eat.”
“I concur,” Damien says, slowly. Claire doesn’t look up at him. “I need to eat, too. You run an awesome class. It’s a real workout.”
She looks up at him and laughs. “You think that was a workout? You have no idea what’s in store for tomorrow if you do the exercise class. No idea.” Claire turns around and slowly saunters to the bathroom. If she didn’t know any better, she swears she can feel Damien staring at her.
After her shower, she changes into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Cl
aire looks in the mirror. She wishes she had brought sexier clothes. Though she didn’t know she’d be sharing a room with the Damien Blakely and his hotness, and really had no idea Alex would be here. She brought one outfit for doing anything fun, and that’s it.
When she walks out the bathroom, Damien is standing there playing with his phone. He has no shirt on and Claire stops dead in her tracks.
“Holy cow…” she exhales.
Damien is ripped. Every muscle is defined perfectly. Now, Alex is solid and muscular, too, but there’s something different about Damien.
“Hot,” is all that Claire can say.
Damien turns. “What?”
“Nothing,” Claire retorts quickly. “I just said it was hot.”
“I feel the steam. Like to take hot showers, do we?” Damien laughs.
The corner of Claire’s mouth twitches. “I like things hot. Really hot.”
A grin creeps across Damien’s face. “You know…me too. The hotter the better, especially when it makes your pulse pound.”
“Always a good time.” Claire sits down on the bed. “Thanks for letting me shower first. I feel much better.”
“Class wore you out?” Damien inquires, picking up his clothes.
Claire laughs. “No. Not much wears me out. I have a lot of stamina.”
He just stops and raises an eyebrow. “Really?”
“That came out wrong.”
“No, it came out great. Honestly, I may have to go take a cold shower.”
“Ha, ha. Funny.”
Winking at her, Damien turns around and walks to the bathroom. “I’m going to fog up the mirrors with my hotness right now.”
“Full of yourself, much?”
“Have you looked at me?” Damien asks, turning around. “Hotness is something you and I have in spades, darling. Maybe you can whip me into better shape…maybe.”
Claire eyes him up. “I could see a few areas.”
His jaw drops and then he playfully glares at her. “I’ll keep my gentleman nature intact and save you a reply.”
“Oh, please,” Claire sighs. “I’m in perfect shape. I don’t give myself much credit in life, but that I can say honestly.”
“I haven’t seen you completely naked, but from what I have seen, I’d have to say that’s true,” Damien replies. “I’m going to take a shower now. Don’t get into too much trouble.”
“I’m going to throw a wild and crazy party in here while you’re getting cleaned up,” Claire laughs. “Lots of girls.”
Damien smiles, “Sounds good.”
“Go take your shower,” Claire groans, waving her hands. Damien smirks and goes into the bathroom. Claire grins as she watches him go. When he shuts the door, she giggles and falls down on the bed. For whatever reason, Damien makes her want to giggle. She stops when she realizes that, because she knows he would never have anything to do with her. Claire frowns. Sitting up, she grabs the laptop.
Going to her email, she sends a message to her brother:
You didn’t tell me Alex was going to be here! It was an awesome surprise. He had me help teach his class. I laid him out in front of everyone. You and grandpa would be so proud of me. I do have to tell you something, because Alex will probably tell you anyway. I’m sharing a room with Damien Blakely. Yes, Master Blakely himself. Don’t worry, I’m fine, and you don’t have to worry too much. We both know Damien would never have anything to do with me, so we’re safe. I miss you, but maybe this week won’t be so bad. If I stick to teaching the classes and Alex, I should be fine. It’s only a week, right? Well, I miss you and wish you’d been forced to come to this, too. I’ll fill you in on anything that happens, but nothing is going to happen, so I’ll email you anyway. Love you, Claire
She plugs her headphones into the computer and starts to play some rock music. She sits cross-legged on the bed and begins writing in her new story. Claire bops her head back and forth to the music. She types feverishly. Later, movement behind her screen catches her eye. Claire looks up to see Damien in a towel. Her mouth drops open.
Damien reaches over and tugs one of her earbuds out. “I just wanted to return the view.”
“I see that,” Claire gulps. “You can go put clothes on now.”
“You sure about that?” Damien teases. “I could take the towel off.”
Giving him a look, Claire asks, “Why would I want to see you with your towel off?”
“Most girls wouldn’t pass up the chance. Are you immune to my hotness?”
“I’m immune to arrogance. Go put clothes on.”
Damien whips his towel off and Claire squeals, covering her eyes. Damien bursts out laughing. “Open your eyes Claire.”
She slowly peeks through the split between her fingers. Damien is standing there in a pair of board shorts. Claire looks up at him and glares, “That’s not funny.”
“I thought it was,” Damien sighs happily. “Now, I’m going to get a shirt on and then we need to eat. I’m starving.”
Claire nods her head, “Me too.”
Damien grab a t-shirt off the bed and slide it on. The thought of seeing him naked makes her pulse race and she blushes. Quickly, she shakes the thoughts out of her head. They’re very inappropriate and impossible.
She closes down the computer and sets it on the bed. “Okay. I’m all set.”
“Are you going to eat with me?”
“Do you want me to?”
He smiles. “Sure, come on.”
They walk out of the room and when Claire turns, she finds Alex standing there. “Oh, hey.”
“Hey, I wanted to see if you’d eat with me. I was kind of a jerk earlier,” Alex whispers, his eyes locking onto hers. “You know I would freak if anything happened to you.”
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Claire replies. “Honestly.”
“I assure you, Claire is perfectly safe with me.” Damien interjects with the tiniest bit of attitude.
Alex stands up straighter. “I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything, Master Damien.”
“Well, I just wanted to clear the air.” He walks past Alex and then quietly says, “Of course, what I want to do is no one’s business. Not even over-protective friends.”
Claire’s jaw drops and Damien continues to the elevator. He turns back, looking at Claire with a single eyebrow raised. She murmurs, “Come on,” to Alex, and grabs his arm.
They all get into the elevator, and Claire still holds Alex’s arm. She looks up into the reflective mirror surface of the elevator. Damien is staring at her. He smirks and it makes Claire blush.
Alex looks down at her. “You okay?”
“Mmhmm,” Claire hums awkwardly.
The dining area is full of teenagers when they get there. Claire instinctually pulls Alex tight against her, because the room is now full of teenagers. He puts his arm around her and murmurs, “It’s okay. I’m here with you. No one is going to do anything, okay?”
She looks up and whimpers, “What if they find out about my problem? I’ll be a laughing stock.”
Running his fingers down her face, Alex says, “No one is going to find out and we can tear everyone apart if they start making fun of you, okay?”
Claire nods, and Alex starts to pull her through the tables.
“Everything alright?” Damien asks.
“Shy. Really shy,” Claire stammers.
Damien chuckles. “I don’t understand why. You’re beautiful and talented and funny. Those aren’t things that you need to be shy about.”
“I just am, okay?” Claire retorts, maybe a little too harshly.
Putting his hands up, Damien says, “Okay, sorry.”
Alex kisses the top of her head. “Relax, you’re fine. What would Ben say right now?”
Claire giggles. “That you should keep your hands off his sister.”
With a nod, Alex says, “Probably, but I meant about you. He would tell you to relax and enjoy yourself.”
“True,” Claire replies. “Okay, let�
��s do this.” She goes and walks up behind Damien in line. “So, do you have a lot of friends here?”
He turns and shrugs, “Some, but I’m mostly looking forward to seeing Jackson and Kayla.”
“Are they here?” Claire inquires, looking around.
“No,” Damien answers, taking out his phone. “I don’t know where they are.” Tilting his head to the side, he mutters, “I think I’m going to call them.” He presses something on his screen and holds the phone up to his ear. “Hey Kayla, where are you guys?” There is a pause and then Damien rolls his eyes. “There was an outlet mall…really Kayla? Does Jackson not have any control over you?”
Damien pulls the phone away from his ear and there is obviously yelling. He grimaces.
“I was joking. Calm down. When are you going to be here?” The humor drains from Damien’s face. “You won’t be here until late. You guys are ridiculous. Yes, I know we have an entire week, but I haven’t seen you in months. Fine, whatever. Anyway, there’s someone here that I want you to meet. My roommate. I think you guys will like her.”
Claire’s eyebrows go up. “What?”
Damien looks at her and winks. “Yes and no. She can kick my ass into next week so I think you should be more worried about me.”
“He’d better keep his hands to himself,” Alex grumbles quietly. Claire elbows him in the ribs, and he bends over. “Ow!”
With a quizzical look, Damien watches Claire and Alex. Claire politely smiles. Damien says, “Yeah, I’ll see you in the morning then. Please, be safe. Okay, love you too. Bye.”
“Um, was that your ex-girlfriend?” Claire asks. Damien nods. Raising her eyebrow at him, she goes, “Didn’t you just say ‘I love you’ to her?”
“Yes,” Damien replies, smirking. “We do love each other, but not in the way you think, not anymore. It was never what she has with Jackson. I realized that. She’s the first girl I loved though, other than my family members.”
“Interesting,” Claire hums, walking past him. She puts spaghetti on her plate. “Well, I guess to at least have loved a little bit is better than not at all.”
Tilting his head, Damien retorts, “True. So, you’ve never felt like you loved someone?”
A sudden tension runs through Claire. “Nope,” she chirps, probably too quickly. “Nothing like that at all.”
