Misadventures in a Threesome

by Elizabeth Hayley

  After he left, he stopped at a new restaurant to grab something for lunch and then headed back to the gym so he could show the bathroom choices to Wild. He didn’t plan on making any major changes, and most likely Wild wouldn’t have any objections to what he’d picked—which were mostly white and gray like they’d talked about. Wilder knew how indecisive he could be, so he’d asked Mad if he’d go without him, and Maddox was happy to do so. Wilder would’ve been there all day choosing between stainless steel and brushed nickel and sitting on toilets to feel their level of comfort. Maddox didn’t mind being the decision guy.

  When he didn’t see Wild or Jaz in the gym, he figured they must’ve gone to the place on the corner to grab something to eat. Mad assumed they’d be back soon since both men had an agreement not to leave the gym for an extended period of time if the other was out. Keith, a trainer who’d worked there for over a year, was working that day as well, so it wasn’t like Wild had left the place unattended. And midday was usually their slowest time. Still, they thought it was best to have one of the owners present at all times if possible.

  Maddox settled into the desk at the front to check the gym’s email and update their website with the new classes they’d be offering soon—something he’d been meaning to do since they’d hired Jaz and another trainer, Thad, but hadn’t gotten around to—when he heard banging coming from the construction space. The contractor had told him that he and his crew had to finish another job today and they’d be back tomorrow, but Maddox was happy they must have completed it early and decided to come here once they were done.

  Until he realized the possibility that the contractor and his guys weren’t the ones working in there. He looked to Bull, one of the only clients in the gym. When he averted his eyes from Mad’s gaze, Maddox knew he had the answer.

  Within seconds, Maddox was entering the new gym space. He didn’t see anyone at first, so he went down the hall to the back room. And that was when his greatest fear was confirmed: the woman they’d hired to teach fitness classes was currently kneeling, hammering pieces of laminate wood flooring into place while his nutjob of a business partner was standing over a table saw, cutting floorboards.

  Mad stared silently for a moment because he was worried that if he startled either one of them, the situation might become more dangerous than it already was. Which, in his determination, was like a seven or eight on the scale of Safe to Imminent Death.

  A few seconds later, the saw stopped, and Wild turned, looking like a spiky-haired fucking fly in his safety goggles. “Oh, hey. When did you get back? Everything go okay?”

  “Are you seriously asking me questions right now? What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Finishing the floor,” Wild answered simply.

  Mad rubbed a hand over his face in frustration and let out a deep sigh. “You don’t know how to put in a floor,” he said. “And you can’t use George’s equipment. That’s a liability.”

  “For them,” Wilder corrected. “It’s not like we can be sued for using the gigantic saw they left in our building. And also, I obviously do know how to put a floor in.” He gestured to their progress, which was about three-quarters of the way done. To Mad’s knowledge, the men hadn’t even begun the flooring in that room yet. “Why wait for the contractor when it’s something we can do ourselves?”

  This fucker. “Uh, because we’re paying him and you’re going to kill yourself and our new employee. You’re supposed to be letting Jaz shadow you, not subjecting her to hard labor.” At the mention of Jaz’s name, he looked down at her. She was still kneeling, hammer and rubber block in hand, looking up at the two men.

  “It was actually my fault,” Jaz said. “Wild was telling me the studio spaces wouldn’t be done for another week or two because the contractor was already behind and was on another job today. I joked that we should just finish it ourselves. I’m sorry.”

  Mad sighed again and ran a hand through his short, dark hair. He didn’t want Jaz to think he was reprimanding her, and despite the fact that she took the blame, Mad had a hard time believing it was her fault. “It’s okay. You guys actually did a pretty good job,” he admitted. “I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

  Jaz looked relieved, and he realized she probably thought her new job might have been in jeopardy. “Teaching Wild to use the saw was definitely the most dangerous part. I offered to do the cutting, but he wouldn’t let me.”

  What a gentleman. Apparently the man at least had some common sense, though. “Where did you learn to do this?”

  “I helped one of my stepdads replace our kitchen floor once.”

  Maddox wondered just how many stepdads she’d had, but it obviously wasn’t his place to ask.

  “So we good now?” Wild asked, holding another floorboard he’d just measured and marked.

  “Yeah,” Maddox conceded. “Let me go finish my lunch, and then I’ll give you guys a hand.”

  “That’s what’s up,” Wild said, extending his gloved hand to Maddox for a fist bump, which Mad happily gave him.

  What the hell was he gonna do with these two?

  Chapter Five

  “You takin’ off for the night?” Wild asked when he saw Jasmine coming out of the locker room with her backpack slung over her shoulder.

  She’d been taking a sip from her steel water bottle but pulled it away from her mouth and swallowed. Wild tried not to stare at the way her throat worked as the water slid down it. “I was going to. Mad said I could head out. Did you need me to stay?”

  Wild felt bad he’d asked if she was leaving, because he had no intention of asking her to stay, and that was clearly what she thought. “No. No, you’re good. I’m good.” And for some stupid-ass reason, he added, “We’re good.”

  She smiled but kept her lips tight like she was trying like hell to suppress a laugh. “Good,” she said, making Wilder the first one to laugh.

  “What is that?” he asked, pointing to the symbol on the inside of her upper arm when she lifted it to take another sip of water. He’d been looking at the tattoo since she started three days ago and hadn’t asked, though he’d been wondering. It was a bunch of spirals that looked similar to an infinity symbol, but he knew it wasn’t one. How the fuck did you google symbols if you didn’t know the name?

  “It’s called an unalome.” She held out her arm and pointed to where it began closer to her elbow. “The wider spirals symbolize struggles in life. They get thinner as it goes because it’s supposed to represent the path to enlightenment.”

  “Oh, so you’re trying to become enlightened? Is that like…a yoga thing or something?”

  She laughed again. “It’s more like a human thing, I guess. And no, I’m definitely not enlightened. I don’t even know if someone can truly become that way.”

  This woman perplexed him. “Then why do you have it?”

  Giving him a shrug, she traced a thumb over the lines on her arm up to the top. “Guess I figure trying is better than nothing. I’ve never been any good at quitting.”

  Wild nodded slowly. He wasn’t one to philosophize, but even he had to admit that made sense. He’d basically told Maddox a version of that same truth from time to time over the years. “Well, if there’s one thing you’d wanna suck at, quitting’s a pretty good choice. Makes me feel better about our decision to hire you.”

  “You didn’t feel good about it already?”

  “No. Yes. I mean, no, that’s not what I meant.” When did he turn into a bumbling idiot? “I just meant hopefully it means you’ll be sticking around for a while. This industry has a pretty high turnover rate.”

  “Well, I don’t plan on going anywhere, so I guess you guys are stuck with me for a while.”

  “Guess we are,” Wild said. And he couldn’t have been happier.

  Jasmine had established herself at Transform quickly and was wrapping up what she’d call a successful first few days. Mad and Wild were the first bosses she’d ever actually liked. She’d had some she tolerated, but she c
ouldn’t really say she’d ever enjoyed a boss’s company before. Not until now, at least. It made her even happier she’d moved away from home.

  Pulling her other backpack strap over her shoulder, she waved goodbye to Maddox and headed toward the bus stop a block away. Since she’d moved here, she hadn’t gone anywhere on public transit besides work and her apartment, and she wondered what other places it might take her.

  Jasmine thought back to when she was a kid, when she and her neighbor Maggie would hop on random buses and take them into the city. It hadn’t ever occurred to her that such a decision could be a dangerous one, and she thought about how lucky they’d been to have never been kidnapped or mugged…or worse. They were only about twelve when their bus adventures had come to an abrupt end. They had run toward the back of the bus as they always had, but when they got there, they found a man in a top hat masturbating to a Wonder Woman comic book.

  Though that situation had ended without incident, it had been one of her first introductions to how fucked up the world could be. Somehow, over the course of the next decade or so, she’d become desensitized to weirdos. They were as much a part of the world as anyone else, and as long as they weren’t harming anyone, they deserved to live in it too. Though the top hat had been a tad much.

  But now, as she sat on the bench in the bus shelter, waiting for the 308 to take her back to her little studio that still didn’t have a box spring for her mattress, her weirdo alarm was howling.

  “Can you move over a bit?” she asked the man who’d sat down only an inch or so from her. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t just stand, but she identified that mistake immediately when instead of moving away from her, he moved closer. So close, his leg touched hers.

  “Other way,” she said dryly. It wasn’t like she was unaccustomed to guys hitting on her.

  “I like it here,” he said, putting a hand on her leg, which she shoved away before jumping up from the bench.

  Wanting nothing more than to distance herself from the man, Jaz headed back to the gym, thinking her first big purchase would need to be a car. Her old Jetta had been kind enough to complete the move here but had died soon after.

  Jasmine liked to think she was capable of taking care of herself. And she was. In most situations, anyway. But she wasn’t naïve enough to think she could fight off a large man if it came to that. It was a weakness she hoped to rectify by taking a self-defense class if she ever had the time or money.

  “What’d you forget?” Maddox asked when she opened the door to the gym again.

  “Oh. Nothing, actually. I’m just gonna call an Uber.”

  “Did the bus come already?” He looked at his watch.

  “Nah,” she said, hoping to sound more casual than she felt. “There’s some gross dude out there, so I’m treating myself to a chauffeur tonight.”

  “Gross how?” Maddox asked.

  She sensed a change in his demeanor almost immediately. His eyebrows pressed together, and she could’ve sworn she saw the veins in his neck and arms expand.

  “Just sitting too close to me. It’s no big deal. I’m used to it.”

  Maddox stared at her before asking, “Did he touch you?”

  She wasn’t sure how to answer because she had a feeling no matter what she said, Maddox’s reaction would be the same. “Just sat close to me, and when I asked him to move, he moved closer.”

  “So is that a yes or no?”

  “I mean, just his side touched mine. Then when I asked him to move, he put a hand on my leg.”

  Mad’s jaw locked, and his face grew darker.

  “It’s fine. I’ll call an Uber,” she said. But before she’d finished her sentence, Maddox was out the door. He didn’t run to the bus stop. It was more of an angry march—one that included clenched fists she didn’t know if he was planning to use.

  She couldn’t hear what Mad said when he got there, but she saw him grab the guy by the collar and pull him toward himself. After a few moments, Maddox let go, shoving the guy back down on the bench. But he didn’t last there long. He was up in an instant and heading the opposite way down the sidewalk, pulling his hood over his head and shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked like a dog with its tail between its legs. Though the man at the bus stop was large, Maddox was larger—and he somehow looked even bigger than usual, as if his size increased in proportion to his anger. It was like watching the Incredible Hulk threaten a mouse. It was one of the hottest things anyone had ever done for her.

  “What did you say to him?” Jaz asked when Maddox returned.

  “He won’t be back again,” was all Mad said. “Come on, I’ll drive you.”

  Jaz wasn’t sure what to say at first. No one had ever stood up for her like that before. She didn’t know if it was because typically she could stand up for herself or if she wasn’t the type of person who got herself into situations that required people to step in and help, but she was appreciative nonetheless. “Thanks, Mad. You don’t have to do that, though. You have to close up.”

  “Wild has another PT client. He can close. Let’s go.”

  Something told her not to argue. Maddox wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so she didn’t say it. She simply nodded a grateful okay and wondered why the hell he’d reacted like he had on behalf of someone he barely knew.

  Chapter Six

  As he drove the two miles or so to Jasmine’s apartment, Maddox told himself he’d gone a bit too far. The guy had been a little strange, and though touching Jasmine had been inappropriate, the man hadn’t hurt her. But Maddox knew things like that could escalate quickly. And the idea of someone putting their hands on her without her permission made him see red.

  “It’s nice of you to drive me home,” she said. “You really didn’t have to.”

  “Anytime,” Maddox replied, and he meant it. “There are some strange people in the city, but typically it’s a good area. Promise.”

  “It’s all right. I don’t come from the nicest area myself, so sadly I’m used to creeps and society’s rejects.” She laughed after she said it, but her words rang true nonetheless.

  Maddox had looked at her résumé, but it didn’t reveal much about her past other than work history. “Where’d you grow up?”

  She’d been looking out the window as the glow of stores and streetlights blurred by them, but she shifted her attention to him before she spoke. “A little suburb outside of Wilmington, but I moved right after high school. Just kind of bounced around. I know that sounds pretty bad, but I swear I’m more stable than that makes me seem.”

  “No judgment on my part,” Maddox said. “I joined the army my junior year of high school. The fact that I chose to do boot camp that summer instead of go to the beach and party like all my friends should tell you what I thought of my life.”

  “You were in the army? Reserves or active duty?”

  “Active duty,” was all he said, and the hardness to his voice must’ve told Jasmine to leave it there because she didn’t say anything more. The truck was too quiet for Maddox, and he felt the need to fill the silence. “You have any brothers or sisters?”

  “Two sisters. Isabella’s three years older and Ariel’s two years younger.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone named Ariel,” Maddox said.

  “I’m not surprised.” Jasmine laughed and pulled the hair tie out of her hair. She ran her fingers through the dark strands, and Maddox found himself more drawn to the action than he wanted to admit. “It takes a special kind of person to name her kids after Disney princesses.”

  “Oh my God, I never would’ve even noticed that.” He knew Ariel from The Little Mermaid, but it took him a little longer to remember what movie the name Jasmine was from. “What’s Isabella from?”

  “Beauty and the Beast. My mom always called her Belle for short, but after Isabella saw the movie for the first time, she insisted we all call her by her full name. She hated that she was named after a girl who fell in love with her captor.”

/>   “Can’t say I blame her,” Maddox said. “The princess idea is pretty cool, though.”

  “More like cruel. We didn’t exactly live a royal lifestyle, and it was like the universe was constantly reminding us that we weren’t supposed to be in our own skin or something. My mom still calls Isabella ‘Belle.’ It drives my sister crazy, but our mom means well, so we tolerate all the strange stuff she does.” She laughed, but it sounded forced.

  Maddox wondered what exactly Jaz’s upbringing had been like, but he didn’t think he was in a place to ask after only knowing her a few days. Jasmine showed him where her apartment building was, and he pulled up in front, putting on the hazards when he stopped. “I’d walk you up, but I’m double-parked.”

  “I think I can make it to the door on my own. Thanks, though. And I appreciate the ride.”

  Maddox nodded, assuring her again that a ride was a standing offer if she ever needed one. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked, leaning on the gear shift as he looked at Jaz through the open window.

  “Bright and early,” she said with a smile.

  Maddox watched her walk to the door of her building, wondering why the hell he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  Once inside her apartment, Jasmine plopped down on a chair and began flipping through her mail. It definitely never took long to start receiving bills at a new place, that was for sure. She tossed them on the coffee table, not even bothering to open them before she got her first paycheck. The only thing left was an envelope from her mom’s address. She smiled, thinking how sweet it was for her mom to send her a card already. No matter where Jaz ended up, her mom always sent a note or a card shortly after she settled in.