Work For It

by Ashley Bostock

  “Then what are you waiting for? Make love to me, Dylan.”

  That was the only invitation he needed as he kissed her chest and the sensitive spot along her neck beneath her ear. Her soft giggles egged him on as he showered her with sweet, open-mouthed kisses along her collarbone and up the wide expanse of her throat. He was going to prolong this moment for as long as he could. Slow. Sweet. Loving. Truly loving. Not just a once over, slow move.

  His mouth landed on hers and instead of their usual frantic kisses, it was everything the opposite. Her cupped her face. It was as if their bodies were on the same wavelength. Their tongues in sync. Their mouths opened and closed in time. She craved his slow touch as much as he craved hers. Needed hers.

  He sat up and pulled the sheet away, his heart catching in his throat as he caught sight of her skin. It was easy to get lost in just looking at her. Time stopped. He memorized every Milky Way patch of freckles on her body, including the more prominent beauty marks that stood out. Intent on kissing every single one, he began his work.

  She giggled in certain areas—the curve of where her hips flared against her lower stomach. The inside of her thighs as well as the skin along the inside of her forearms—he was going to savor this moment. Remember every single tickle, every single spot that caused her to move her hand down her tummy and between her legs. Each time, he pulled her hand away.

  She laughed when he kissed the soles of her feet and sucked her baby toe into his mouth. He grinned at the way her head tossed from side to side as she tried not to kick him.

  Her hand moved toward her center again and this time, instead of stopping her, he continued to hold her leg up.

  Her starry eyes met his as her finger slicked along her folds. He nodded. Suddenly nothing was more important than watching her touch herself. Her eyes closed as she pushed her fingers inside.

  “Keep them open,” he groaned with no real force behind his words.

  She blinked them open, and when her pink lips spread into a smile that would make any man on the planet want her, he reconfirmed that moment—even though there had been so many—that he was falling hard in love for Lina Armstrong.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “You never brought your workout equipment in?” Lina asked. It was hard to believe since it hadn’t snowed for two days and he was so hell bent on working out every day.

  “Never seemed to have a chance. It’s no big deal. I probably don’t even need them now, honestly. We’re going to be gone in five days.”

  Lina’s heart dropped into her stomach at the idea of leaving, just like it did every time either one of them mentioned leaving Pine Lake. He gave her that look that warned her not to dwell on it. She couldn’t help it. What was going to happen once they left?

  She asked.

  “I know neither of us really talked about our lives beyond here, but with my new job in Denver and you living there, are you open to the idea of seeing each other more?” Seeing each other more? That was such an understatement. Lina didn’t want to just see him more. She wanted him. Like all the time. She wanted to feel comfort that he was exclusive to her. A boyfriend. Her eyes widened at the thought. She hadn’t wanted that in a long damn time because of her job, but watching Dylan as he contemplated what to say, she knew with all her heart that was what she wanted now.

  “I am.” That was it. Two little words.

  Her heart soared into the clouds. Why wasn’t he acting happier about it?

  “Help me unload these weights, and we’ll talk over breakfast,” he said.

  Oh no. Usually when someone wanted to talk, it meant the worst-case scenario and they were simply biding their time to rehearse the harsh words they were going to say.

  He gave her that just-for-her smile that made her insides melt. He was assuring her it wasn’t anything bad.

  She slid on her boots and coat, ready to help him fetch his things. He was quiet. Contemplative. But he looked happy. It was just her nerves that was all.

  He bent down to pull on his boots. That was when everything happened in slow motion.

  One second he was sliding on his boots, reaching for his coat and then the next second, he was standing, his face death-pale. His head fell back against the wall and then his large body toppled to the ground.

  “Dylan!” she screamed as she fell to his side. “Dylan. Can you hear me?”

  Lina checked for his pulse and knowing Dylan had a phone, she searched his pocket with shaky hands.

  “Shit,” she cried. Nine one one. That was all she could think. She was grateful she didn’t need his thumbprint to open his phone as she barely was able to hold it in her slippery grip. What was happening?

  “911, what is your emergency?”

  “My boyfriend. Something is wrong. He passed out. He was fine and then he just…fell.” Lina dropped the phone.

  She started pushing on his chest. “Dylan? Dylan! Wake up!”

  She heard the operator trying to get her attention and she picked the phone back up. Oh my God. “I think he’s having a heart attack.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Lina couldn’t cry. She couldn’t sleep or eat. The cup of coffee in her hands had gone cold. She couldn’t get comfortable in the stupid hospital chair. It hadn’t taken long for the EMS to arrive and take Dylan in, confirming he’d had a heart attack.

  What? He was thirty-six. Who had heart attacks at that age?

  Her mind replayed their time together over and over in her head. She was in love with him. She knew that now. Realized that it could all be taken away in a split second. How had it happened so quickly? One second she couldn’t stand his cocky-assed attitude and then the next second she couldn’t imagine him being gone and never getting to spend a life with him outside of Pine Lake. Of never being able to tell him all the ways he made her feel.

  She could only hope that Dylan felt the same way about her. She had to lay it all on the line though. Because what was life if you weren’t living and Lina was tired of not living. Tired of the way she lived in Arizona. She had put that far behind her and telling Dylan she loved him, was her never-ending quest in living her new life. It was so much so that it became this small obsession in her brain—that was all she could think about as she sat there waiting.

  “Ms. Armstrong?” An older man wearing a lanyard with a hospital badge attached to it came into the waiting room. He gave her a small smile. It didn’t quite meet his eyes and she tried to swallow the dryness in her throat.

  “That’s me. Is he okay?” she asked, fighting back tears she couldn’t seem to produce moments ago.

  “Mr. Truex is doing fine. He had to have a stint put in, but we expect him to be okay. Would you like to go into his room?”

  Lina shook her head. “Truman. You said Truex. But yeah, I would love to see him.”

  The man blinked and looked at his clipboard. “Truex. Dylan Truex. I know my patients Ms. Armstrong. And if that wasn’t accurate, the fact that he’s quite the celebrity around here would confirm it.” The man gave her a small chuckle.

  Lina wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating from the stress, but she didn’t understand. “I’m sorry. I’m so confused right now. Are we talking about the same Dylan? The one that the ambulance brought in?”

  She hated the way he stared at her as if she were crazy. Like he felt bad for her for some reason. “Yes, ma’am. He’s been our only cardiac patient tonight.”

  “And you said celebrity? Cause he had a heart attack?” She’d never heard anything more outrageous. What kind of hospital was this?

  “No. Because he is Dylan Truex. He’s the face behind Dirty Gains. The CEO. Really, the everything. Look, why not go see Mr. Truex and in a stress-free manner you can get your misconceptions cleared up.”

  But Lina wasn’t listening. Well, she was. But her mind was racing. Dirty Gains the athletic wear? It was like Nike or Adidas. And the doctor was telling her that the face behind Dirty Gains was Dylan Truex? Her Dylan? Images of Dylan at Pine Lake weari
ng all those Dirty Gains attire—the red hoodie, her favorite that she’d stolen—black sweat pants with the small logo near the knee. Countless shirts in black, gray, that forest green one that brought out the green in his eyes.

  Noooo.

  Unable to hold her own weight she slid back into the uncomfortable chair. She was seeing everything in a blur. She felt woozy. She put her head down. Because that was what you were supposed to do when you got dizzy. Put your head between your legs.

  “Ma’am? Are you okay?”

  She couldn’t answer. She inhaled. Dylan Truex.

  There had to be a mistake. Like maybe they thought he was some celebrity, but he wasn’t. Because she knew him. She’d just spent a lifetime with him stuck in a cabin for like over a hundred hours or something. Two hundred hours. He would have told her. He wouldn’t have lied. She was in love with him.

  Yes. Deep breath. She cleared her head. The dizziness going away. There was a huge confusion thing going on. Besides, what did this guy know?

  A pair of light-green scrubs came into view at her feet. “Miss. Are you okay? Do you need a drink of water?”

  A nurse.

  Lina slowly sat back, blinking. The nurse gave her a smile.

  “You okay?” the woman asked again.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I just need a second to clear my head.”

  “Dr. Palmer said you seemed confused. Can I ask you a few questions?”

  Lina nodded. “I’m not confused though.”

  The nurse went through the whole thing. What’s your name. What comes after number three. What town are you in.

  The nurse smiled. “You don’t seem confused. Mr. Truex is going to be happy to see you. Would you like to go see him?”

  Lina was at a loss for words. The nurse eyed her expectantly. She rubbed her hand over her jeans. “I’m just confused why you guys keep referring to him as Truex. He told me it was Truman.”

  There was clearly some confusion going on, so she wasn’t afraid of looking like an ass in order to clear it up.

  “Do you work out, hun?”

  That was when Lina took stock of the woman and her body. Even in scrubs, it was obvious she worked out. She was thin but buff. Lina could see the thickness of her muscles in her legs outlined by the scrubs. The cute arms that Lina wanted someday.

  “Not really.” Well, she was starting. Dylan was the one that was inspiring her to work out.

  The woman gave Lina a pity look. “Hun. I think you better clear this up with Mr. Truex. The man you’re waiting for is the fitness celebrity, Dylan Truex. Infomercials, fitness programs, clothes, gyms around the world. The whole nine yards, honey. I think you better go talk to him. If you can manage a stress-free environment.”

  Lina was officially struck silent. No words. No anger. No sadness. It was all just a big pile of what the fuck steaming from a bigger pile of what the fuck.

  She needed to catch her bearings. Sort through things. Since the ambulance had taken Dylan, she’d had his phone and she’d ran up and gotten hers. Since she had no thumbprint for Dylan’s phone, she whipped hers out.

  “You okay then?”

  Lina swallowed. “Yeah, thanks. I’ll be fine.”

  Lina opened her internet browser and saw where she’d typed before Dylan Truman gym owner. The search results had loaded and showed irrelevant information. A few pictures of some men that were not Dylan. Articles about being a gym owner. Look for your former classmate Dylan Truman.

  She took a deep breath and typed in Dylan Truex. The results were immediate and boasted how quickly results were returned: 0.45 seconds. She clicked on the first one taking her directly to the Dirty Gains website. It was everything everyone said, but nothing about Dylan Truex. She hit the About link.

  Her heart did a crazy trembling thing at the sight of his beautiful face as well as a sinking feeling that they were right, and she wasn’t.

  He was Dylan Truex.

  Unable to stomach anything else, she dimmed her phone and slid it into her purse. She stared at the far wall. He’d lied to her.

  Like really lied.

  About who he was. His life. Why would he do that?

  It didn’t make any sense to her. They had shared so much stuff in the time they were together. They’d laughed together. They’d told each other things. They’d made love.

  She went to social media and entered in his name. As if she needed double confirmation, there was Dylan—tousled, just fucked hair and a satisfied look on his face—staring back at her. Her heart squeezed extra-hard inside her chest as the date indicated he’d posted it yesterday. Right after they’d made love and she’d fallen asleep. Because she could see his bedsheets and he’d been with her!

  Wow. Talk about salt in an open wound.

  Was it all just a big lie?

  His eyes said otherwise, but now knowing this, she couldn’t trust what her heart was telling her.

  She wanted to confront him. She wanted to see that he was okay with her own eyes. She wanted to see his charming smile and know that every word and every touch between the two of them was real.

  As much as she wanted all of that, Lina couldn’t force herself to go to Dylan’s room. She felt like such a fool. She knew he was going to be okay – the doctor had said so. She was taking the coward’s way out because what if he admitted that it was all a lie. The touches. The kisses. The fun. She wouldn’t be able to bear it.

  So on wobbly legs, she went back to Pine Lake and packed her belongings. Turning to leave, she taped a note on Dylan’s door. Truex?! WTF?!

  Locking the front door of Pine Lake, she turned at the sound of crunching snow—someone walking up on her.

  “Whoa, looks like you’re leaving. You need help with that stuff?” Martha gestured to the belongings that Lina had slung over her shoulder. Lina had already carried everything else of hers to her car. Martha was the last person Lina wanted to deal with and she eyed her backseat—her box of Lucky Charms barely visible—as she thought of escaping Martha and how fast she could throw the rest of her crap in and take off.

  Lina relented. None of this was Martha’s fault. “No, Martha. I don’t. Thank you though.”

  “Dylan already leave?”

  Lina bit her bottom lip, unsure of what to say. It wasn’t her place to tell Martha about his heart attack.

  “He did. Dylan Truex is gone.”

  Martha’s chin lifted slightly and Lina wondered if she wasn’t the only person on the planet who didn’t know Dylan Truex.

  “He finally told you?” Martha asked in a soft voice.

  Lina shifted her two bags on her shoulder to stop them from falling down. “You knew? I was the only dumbass who had no clue who he was. If you’ll excuse me.” Lina stepped around Martha to leave.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way. Never seen a man so head over heels for someone like he is with you. Shame you’re gonna let this ruin everything.” Martha’s voice wasn’t her usual know-it-all nosy attitude and admittedly, it gave Lina pause.

  The two women stared at one another and Lina wanted to argue with Martha. She wanted to tell Martha that Lina deserved the truth and that she was insanely jealous that Marth knew who Dylan was and that they’d shared a secret.

  “How long did you know he was Dylan Truex?”

  “Since he came to my house for lunch. Fan girl right here. I couldn’t let him get away without lunch and an autograph.” Martha’s cheeks turned red and Lina almost smiled at her obvious celebrity crush. “He told me that he told you he was putting together a bike-thingy for me.”

  Lina shook her head, not sure of what to say. There was nothing more to say. Martha wasn’t the problem here, Dylan was. Martha didn’t deserve the hurt and anger that was boiling in Lina’s blood. Lina gave her a fake smile. “I’m glad you got to meet your celebrity crush. I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Martha.”

  With tears in her eyes, she left.

  Her heart suffering an attack of a different kind.

  Chapter
Twenty-Four

  One week later

  Lina kept noticing Dylan everywhere now or at least Dirty Gains. It was all over the place. Billboards. Commercials. Athletes wore the brand no matter what sport they played. Kids that she passed by at the mall. Dads in supermarkets. It was everywhere she looked and tried to ignore.

  Even her damn phone. It was like it knew she had once been in the vicinity of the man himself. Her app store enticed her to download his Work For It 90 day challenge. Her music store app promised her high-energy, cardio charging remixes that the men of Dirty Gains listened to during their sweat sessions.

  She was getting a pedicure and opened Dish the Dirty—a local gossip magazine—and there was a picture of Dylan standing next to his friend, Zander Morgan. Both men were in tuxedos and yes, she had stared at that image longer than she needed to because, damn, Dylan in a tuxedo? She wanted to lick that page.

  His friend was equally stunning and the two made a great snapshot together. The small article mentioned the photo was taken at the newly revamped Hollinsworth Hotel’s annual Snow Ball. Hence the tuxes. So just before Christmas.

  Right before she left the nail spa, she casually opened the magazine to his picture and ripped it out. The nail technicians all stared at her and began talking in Vietnamese, she shrugged and ran out.

  So here she sat at her makeshift office at The Francesca Project with freshly painted nails, going through paperwork and waiting for Sophia Baldwin, Michael’s fiancé to show up. When Lina left Pine Lake, she came to Denver and convinced Cole Carrington that she was ready to get the ball rolling on the internal side of things. Hiring staff was top on the list if everything went well to open before summer.

  She was also part of inventory and all decisions regarding furniture ordering, decor, office equipment and supplies. She got to have a say in where certain offices would go. They were in talks of hiring a full-time therapist and for those employees, Lina could decide where she wanted their offices to be.