Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 133886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Greer had started walking through the parking lot toward the intersection. He slowed when he noticed Dallas’s voice grew softer, pivoting a half turn to see him still close to the front entrance, tucking his hands inside the pockets of his joggers.
As Greer had thought many times over the last three hours, Dallas was seriously mesmerizing. Greer’s heart did a little dip, trying to leap forward to stay connected with Dallas’s, where it wanted to be. He had thoroughly enjoyed himself this evening but quickly discovered he had to hold Dallas’s gaze while keeping his stare fixed on his face. Otherwise, Greer was too easily drawn to the tight material stretching over the nice-sized package in Dallas’s fitted joggers.
“I Ubered here like you suggested,” Dallas explained, rooted in his spot. His captivating grin broke across his extraordinary face. Those amused eyes sparkled with some untold mirth. Oh hell, Greer was quickly losing himself to the trainer. “You said something about a driver giving me a ride home.”
Greer had to play the words over in his head and look away from Dallas to allow functioning thought back inside his crowded brain. Ride home. Right.
“The car’s this way.” Greer hooked a thumb in the direction of his house across the street.
He’d already learned to give Dallas space. If it were Dallas’s idea, he seemed a lot easier to deal with in the end.
“I fibbed a bit. I’m my own driver. That’s why I only had a beer tonight and ate almost all my burger.” This time, he didn’t stop his forward movement when he cast a glance over his shoulder, turning enough for Dallas to see him pat his belly. “If I keep eating like that, I’m gonna have to take an extra class or two.”
“Where’s your car? I should probably go home, I need to be up early,” Dallas said, but he did continue to follow Greer, who slowed as he got to the streetlight, not rushing to make it across before the light changed. He pushed the walk button and turned toward Dallas as he drew closer, now only a few steps separating them.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s only a little past nine o’clock,” Greer teased, tucking his hands in his slacks pockets, encasing his fists. It turned out to be the best option for as badly as his hands ached to touch this man.
“I know, but I’ve accepted a weeklong substitute position. I haven’t been to bed before midnight in years. I should hit the sack early to get ready…” The streetlight changed. The walk signal turned green. Greer stepped off the curb only to come to an abrupt halt. He threw an arm out to keep Dallas from moving forward.
“What?” Greer asked, trying to make sense of those words.
Dallas looked around at the traffic-filled street with pedestrians jogging to make it across the crosswalk before the light turned red again. “Are we crossing the street?”
“Yeah, but explain that first,” Greer said, making no move to cross. “I thought you worked at Elite Gym in the evenings with the rest of your time spent on BikeBro.”
“That’s right, but last week I called a friend at the school district I used to work for and asked for some part-time work. She found me some. A fifth-grade English class. It’s a weeklong assignment,” Dallas said as if his explanation made any sense at all.
“What about your training classes?” The ricochet of confusing thoughts running through Greer’s head made it hard to know exactly which priority was the most important. They’d signed a large financial contract mere days ago. Dallas was the backbone of his business. He kept all facets running smoothly and had made a commitment to be available when needed. The next few weeks were crucial to the relaunch of the company.
“What I’ll make next week will pay a month’s salary for two new instructors to take on three new classes each day,” Dallas explained as he reached around Greer to push the walk button again after the light had changed. “We’ll give our members more classes with different trainers which has been our number one complaint. I’ll go from school to the gym then come home and do some late-night classes and record for YouTube.”
“Cash is coming your way, Dallas. If things aren’t happening fast enough for you, you only had to tell me,” Greer said with an edge of seriousness while keeping his all-business stare on Dallas. He couldn’t have been more against any idea that took Dallas’s focus off BikeBro at this stage.
“Everything’s happening fast enough now. It just didn’t before. I’m way overextended,” Dallas said. Greer assumed Dallas’s finances were dire since this was the second time Dallas had referenced them. The first time had been while they sat on the bench at the nightclub. He understood the stress of meager cash flow.