by Alexis Daria
Setting the weights down, Gabe dropped his head into his hands and groaned out her name.
“Micheeeeeeeelle.”
“What?” she asked, all innocence. He heard rustling, and when he finally looked up, she was on her hands and knees on the yoga mat, her beautiful butt in the air, with a resistance band tight around her thighs.
He sent her an exasperated look. “What are you doing?”
“You’re the personal trainer. I should think you’d know.” And then she had the nerve to smack her ass and give him a saucy wink. “Gotta keep this baby in prime condition.”
As if all that wasn’t enough, she started doing fire hydrant leg lifts.
Gabe watched her for a few moments, mesmerized. His trainer brain noted her perfect form, the way she kept her core engaged and taut while rotating her leg and hip out. And her body was . . . everything he’d ever wanted. Not even because of what she looked like, but because of Michelle herself. She’d always moved with easy confidence and total trust in her own body. It was rare, and it was sexy as hell. Something he tried to help others learn.
Gabe rubbed his hands over his face to snap out of his trance. “Are you trying to provoke me on purpose?”
Michelle shot him a sassy grin. “Maybe.”
That was a yes. She was trying to drive him wild. Wild with need, with wanting her. How had he ever spent so much time around this gorgeous, maddening woman without losing his mind?
Because he’d thought she wasn’t into him. He hadn’t wanted to push her, hadn’t wanted to ruin the friendship, hadn’t wanted confirmation of what he’d feared—that they really were just friends—followed by rejection.
But she hadn’t rejected him. Then or now.
“Actually, I just remembered I have to do push-ups.” Dropping down to the mat, Gabe caught Michelle around the waist and flipped her onto her back. She let out a peal of laughter, but made no move to push him away. Gabe braced himself above her, doing push-ups that brought his mouth an inch away from hers. On the third one, Michelle lifted her chin and kissed him.
Fire spiraled through him. He loved her playful side, the way she enticed him to take things less seriously. Lowering himself to his elbows, their bodies touching, he murmured, “Time for planks.”
She raised her eyebrows as his pelvis pressed into hers. “Someone’s already got a plank, I see.”
His cock surged against her, inexplicably turned on by her bad jokes. “And someone didn’t warm up first,” he said, then closed his mouth over hers.
She kissed him back fully, her hands coming up to cup his face. Shifting his weight onto one elbow, Gabe slid his other hand down her body, molding over her breasts and belly before delving his fingers into the tight space between her thighs. They were pressed together by the resistance band and his own legs. The spandex pulled taut over her pussy, making it easy for his fingers to find her crease. He stroked her through the fabric, loving her heat, swallowing her gasps as he continued to kiss her.
Her hips bucked against his hand. Little moans issued from her throat as her kisses became more intense. The fabric against his fingers grew damp. And then she bit his lower lip, letting out a high-pitched cry as her body shuddered beneath him.
When she stilled, her head falling back to the yoga mat, Gabe drew his hand away.
“I’m warmed up,” she said weakly, and he managed to laugh, despite his raging hard-on.
“Never let it be said that I don’t look out for my clients.”
She reached down and brushed a hand over his dick through the thin fabric of his sweatpants. “Are you looking for round two?”
He bit back a groan. “No condoms down here.” And he was a little worried about her earlier “it was fine” comment. It had always been impossible to know what she was really thinking.
“Ah. Right. Well, I guess we should go to the zoo.”
His eyes widened. “The zoo?”
She sent him an impish grin. “This is your first time back in how many years? You didn’t think I was going to let you get away with working the whole time, did you?”
He had thought that, but in hindsight, it was pretty naive of him. Of course Michelle was going to cart him around to do some sightseeing.
Sitting back on his heels, Gabe tugged the resistance band down her legs and set it on the weight bench. Clearly his workout was over. Then he got to his feet and gave her a hand to help her stand. She wobbled a little.
“You okay there?”
“Just a little weak in the knees.” She sent him an enigmatic smile and headed for the stairs.
He was sweating, and since he’d forgotten to grab a towel, he pulled off his shirt and wiped his face with it. Then he followed Michelle up the stairs a few paces behind.
When she reached the top, she let out a bloodcurdling scream. Gabe’s heart leaped into his throat. He bolted up the rest of the way and into the kitchen where he saw—
Fuuuck.
Michelle’s cousin Ava stared at him in horror. Before Gabe could say anything, Ava’s brows drew together, and she shrieked in an accusatory tone, “Michelle! Is that Gabriel Aguilar? And, Gabriel, where is your shirt?”
Chapter 10
Despite the riot of sensations in her body caused by Gabe’s rather efficient orgasm delivery, Michelle tried for a nonchalant tone. “Oh, hi, Ava. What are you doing here?”
Ava’s brows creased in annoyance. “You didn’t answer my calls last night or this morning. I was worried you were dead.”
Michelle pressed her fingers to her forehead. She was really in for it now. “Gabe, why don’t you go upstairs?”
He moved toward the doorway while Ava gave him that menacing Latina Mom stare that asked “¿Tú quieres la chancleta?” It was the look you got when you’d been bad and you knew it, right before Mami took off her slipper and hurled it at you like a missile. Then Ava turned the look on Michelle, who hunched her shoulders and made a beeline for the electric kettle.
“I’ll make you some tea,” Michelle said, retrieving a mug from the cabinet.
“Why is it so dark in here?” Ava moved to open the shades, but Gabe leaped toward her.
“No, don’t!” He slapped a hand over the shade to keep it down while Ava stared at him like he’d lost his mind.
“He’s worried his mom will see him in here,” Michelle explained.
“Oh, she absolutely will,” Ava affirmed, letting go of the cord that controlled the shade. “I’ve seen her peeking in while I was watching Monica’s kids.”
“See?” Gabe hissed, giving Michelle an I told you so look.
“Okay, okay.” Michelle waved him off. “Ve y ponte tu ropa.”
He raised an eyebrow at her command that he go put some clothes on. And then he was gone and Michelle was alone with her cousin.
The second they heard his bounding footstep on the stair that creaked, Ava whirled on Michelle, eyes wide and mouth agape.
“What is he doing here?” she whispered. “Ay dios mío, is this some kind of sex pact?”
“Sex pact? What are you talking about?” Michelle busied herself making tea the way Ava liked it—strong, milky, no sweetener.
“Like if you’re not married by thirty, you’ll marry each other. Or you meet every few years to get it on. Come on, I know you’ve seen those movies.”
In hindsight, Michelle wished she and Gabe had made such a pact. At least then there’d be clear parameters for whatever was happening between them. “I’m helping him with a project for his business.”
“Oh really? You’re ‘helping’ him with a ‘project’?” Ava’s voice dripped with skepticism, and she made air quotes around the words.
Michelle cut her a glare. “It amazes me that everyone thinks you’re the nice one.”
“Compared to you, I am.” Ava shot her a wink and leaned her elbows on the kitchen counter. She was the tallest of the Rodriguez girl cousins, towering over Michelle’s five-three by a good six inches. “But come on. You came upstairs weari
ng that and he’s got no shirt on.”
“We were exercising,” Michelle said defensively, glancing down at the sports bra she’d bought on their cousin Jasmine’s recommendation.
Ava snorted. “Yeah. Okay.”
“And . . . other stuff.” Michelle sent Ava a severe look. “Don’t tell Jasmine.”
Ava accepted the mug Michelle handed her. “Fine. I won’t. But you’re not going to be able to keep this quiet. And even if you are, at what cost? Remember last time?”
“Of course I do.”
“I just want you to be happy,” Ava said softly.
“Don’t worry,” Michelle said, not sounding anywhere near as confident as she wanted to.
“Ha. Like I could ever stop worrying about you.”
“I know. That’s why you’re mi prima favorita.”
“Don’t let Jasmine hear you playing favorites.”
“She’s my prima favorita too. But for real, do not tell her about Gabe.”
“You know I can keep a secret.” A shadow passed over her expression, and Michelle guessed Ava was thinking about the years she’d suffered in silence in her marriage. Michelle still felt guilty that she hadn’t noticed Ava’s unhappiness sooner. “Is Gabe moving back?”
“No. He’s only here until Friday.”
“Right before your parents get back. That’s cutting it close. And what about his family?”
Michelle shook her head. “They don’t know he’s here.”
“Whatever happened between them, it must have been really bad.”
“Yeah, it sounds like it.” Michelle stirred her own fresh cup of tea as Ava’s words sank in. No wonder he’d been pissed at her for bringing him here.
“But for real.” Ava lowered her voice. “Did you and he . . . ?”
Michelle’s heart pounded, but before she could try to play it off, Ava’s jaw dropped.
“You did,” she said with a gasp. “You’re blushing.”
Michelle slapped her hands over her hot cheeks. Damn her pale complexion. “It doesn’t mean anything,” she hissed. “Don’t get excited.”
Except . . . maybe that wasn’t entirely true.
Don’t worry, I’ve got you.
I never wanted to hurt you.
Maybe it meant . . . something. What, she didn’t know.
She’d gone down to the basement to tease him. It hadn’t been smart, but on some level she wanted clear evidence of how much he wanted her. To know if what they’d done had been a onetime thing or not. If he’d ignored her and continued working out, she would have handled it like a grown-up and locked her feelings away.
But he hadn’t. He’d climbed on her and brought her pleasure right there on the yoga mat, without pressuring her to do anything for him in return. It was stupid to pretend their emotions weren’t involved, but she was going to try anyway.
“What are you two doing next?” Ava asked innocently, raising her eyebrows as she sipped from her mug. “Since you’re done exercising?”
“More work.” It wasn’t entirely false. Michelle did have a good reason for taking Gabe to the zoo, and it wasn’t just for nostalgic shits and giggles.
Although she hoped there’d be some of those too.
“ALL RIGHT, ALL right, I get it. The Bronx Zoo has much better branding than my gym does.”
Gabe had been walking around the zoo with Michelle for two hours. It was hot, there were screaming kids everywhere, and the scents of popcorn and cotton candy mixed with the general odor of animal and dung. It was a perfume that specifically said “zoo” and instantly brought him back to his many trips here in his youth.
Michelle grinned and elbowed his side. At some point they’d started holding hands, like a real couple. He didn’t know how it had happened. Maybe she’d taken his hand to pull him toward an exhibit, or he’d reached for her so as not to lose her in the crowd. But then . . . they hadn’t let go.
“I’m just saying, you want to pay attention to how all the messaging reflects the brand’s core values. Remember, the Bronx Zoo is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society, so you see the values of conservation and education all over the place.”
She was right. Everywhere he looked, there were signs with information about each creature, maps with where in the world they could be found, endangered species list details, graphics of what the animals ate, and more.
“The ‘story’ of the zoo is present everywhere,” Michelle went on as they passed a kiosk selling stuffed giraffes. “But of course, they also sell toys and food. That’s the commercial aspect. First they sell you on the values, then they get you to buy the products.”
“That makes sense,” he said. “We’re more likely to buy from a brand whose values align with our own.”
“Exactly!” Her eyes shone with praise, and he was a little annoyed at himself for how much he liked it.
“So, what are the values of Agility Gym?” she asked, but answered before he could speak. “It’s in the title. Movement, flexibility. How does that come through in the messaging?”
Gabe grunted. “It doesn’t.”
“Who cares if you show someone at peak physical condition being flexible? That wouldn’t make me want to go to a gym. I want to see a regular person working out, to know that it’s a place where I can fit in and feel comfortable.”
“You are in peak physical condition.”
She gave him a look up and down. “One of us is, and it’s not me. I’m not saying I don’t look damn good, but I’m not eighteen anymore. My body has definitely changed, and I’m okay with that. Cellulite and stretch marks are natural.”
He stopped and cupped her face in his hands. “I have always thought you were beautiful. Now even more so. You take my breath away, Mich.”
Her chin trembled and there was wistfulness in her eyes before she looked away. “Gabriel, this is a family establishment. Stop seducing me at the zoo.”
His lips quirked, but he dropped his hands. “That’s fine. I’ll wait until we get home.”
Home. Fuck. What was he saying? He didn’t mean that. New York wasn’t his home.
Michelle cleared her throat. “So, yeah . . . movement, flexibility—”
“It still sounds like you’re talking about sex,” he muttered, and she elbowed him again.
“—body parts working in harmony—”
“Still sex.”
“—feeling at home in your own body and not fighting it.” She sent him a glare, but the corners of her mouth tugged upward. “What are you trying to do?”
“What are you trying to do?”
Her grin was sassy and he loved it. “You hired me, and I’m actually trying to do my job.”
She was right, and he should be glad one of them was staying on task.
Gabe looked down at his hand—the one that wasn’t currently folded around Michelle’s. He remembered being smaller and slipping his fingers through the fence to feed pellets to the goats in the Children’s Zoo, the way their sticky tongues had licked him.
Maybe he’d come back here again and bring Nikki’s kids.
Shit, he should really tell his sister he was here. She was going to be so pissed if she found out he’d been in the Bronx and hadn’t told her.
But that was a problem for another day.
They passed another kiosk, this one selling popcorn, and Michelle gestured to it. “The product you’re selling is memberships, right? You want people to sign up for your gym and pay a monthly or yearly fee. But the service is the gym itself and the amenities.”
Unbidden, another memory popped up. In it, Gabe was five, maybe six, and visiting the zoo with his sister and their parents. He’d begged his father to let him get ice cream on a cone, instead of in a cup, promising over and over that he wouldn’t drop it. But of course, being a small child, he’d managed to lick the rapidly melting ice cream right off the cone. It had tumbled down his overalls before splattering on the hot pavement—and his sneakers. His parents had been furious. Gabe vaguely rememb
ered that they were going somewhere after the zoo, and his mother had bemoaned bringing a dirty kid with her, while his father had yelled at him for wasting money and food.
Gabe never got ice cream at the zoo again, even after he was old enough to walk or ride his bike over here after school with Michelle.
“Right.” Gabe focused on the conversation, instead of unwanted childhood memories. “The memberships are the main product, although we have some other branded items for sale on-site and online.”
As they walked, she asked him about the other products and the gym’s various partnerships. He answered the best he could, feeling frustrated by some of the questions—or by his own answers. When she asked, “Why did you start the gym?” he’d answered, “To help people feel better in their bodies and achieve a full range of motion.” But when she’d inquired about the clientele, rattling off the names of celebrities didn’t quite match the original vision.
He just didn’t know what to do about it.
Or about Michelle. It was so fucking nice walking around with her like they were two normal people on a date, instead of former childhood friends with years of baggage and hurt who’d found themselves in some kind of sexual truce.
Finally, while touring the Madagascar exhibit, which was new to him, he found a shadowy corner blessedly devoid of children. He pulled Michelle in close and leaned down to kiss her softly.
“No more work, okay?” he murmured. “Let’s just . . . enjoy this.”
“Okay.” She sounded surprised, and Gabe couldn’t blame her. He was surprised at himself. His life was all work all the time, and taking a break in the middle of the day was completely unlike him. He’d told himself it was fine because they were still talking about the gym, but now . . . he just needed a break from it all.
Soon, he’d return to Los Angeles, and god willing, he wouldn’t have to come back often. So why not make the most of the little time they had together?
Unable to help himself, he kissed her again, more deeply this time. When her tongue slid against his, he groaned and tightened his arms around her. Luckily, a group of children burst into the space a second later, their high-pitched “indoor voices” reminding Gabe where they were. He eased away from Michelle, running his tongue over the lower lip she’d just nipped. He didn’t miss the sultry smile she sent him. Maybe the things they’d done that morning hadn’t been a onetime thing after all.
