“And did it help?”
“It did. Most bullies are cowards. They don’t like to pick on guys that are bigger than them. And it didn’t take me long to get a lot bigger. Of course I had a strong incentive. These days I just do it to stay healthy and strong.”
“So no ambitions to compete?” she asked, pointing at a poster announcing an upcoming bodybuilding competition.
“Hell, no,” he said with a laugh. “To be absolutely honest I’m not sure it’s entirely healthy to do this stuff professionally. It’s a completely different ballgame.”
“It sure is,” she said as she watched a guy as big as a house pose in front of the mirror. With his veins popping and his muscles clearly visible beneath his skin, he looked a little scary. ”So what did you have in mind, coach?”
“Sit yourself down, little lady,” he said with a drawl, “and I’ll tell you exactly what I have in mind.”
So she sat down, and after he’d changed the pin in the stack, she grabbed the handles and pulled down hard. It took her some time to get into the groove again, but then she remembered this had always been one of her favorite machines, and soon she could feel her blood pumping and her heart pounding. It was a great feeling and she gave Chase a grateful smile. “This feels good!”
“Of course it does.”
She wiped her sweat with her towel and they headed for the next machine, this time focusing on chest muscles. And as they walked from machine to machine, doing a full back and chest workout, she said,“There’s been a lot of rumors going around.”
“Oh? About what?”
“About us.”
Chase was lying on a low bench, pressing two dumbbells up in a lateral motion.“Us, huh?”
“Yep,” she said as casually as possible.
“And what are they saying?”
“Well, ‘they’ seem to think we’re in a hurry to tie the knot.”
“And is there a reason for all this hurry?” he asked with a grunt as he lowered the dumbbells.
“They think I’m pregnant and wouldn’t like to walk down the aisle with a baby bump.”
He grinned as he sat upright, toweling his face.“Pregnant, huh? What do you know?”
“Yeah. It came as something of a surprise, to be honest.”
“Not to me.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Nope. I think when you take into consideration how those two lovebirds have been behaving—kissing any chance they get—it’s hardly surprising an accident would happen. And a shotgun wedding is the only way to go to spare the parents the embarrassment.”
“Those two lovebirds, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Kissing all over town.”
“That’s right.”
“Strange. As far as I know they haven’t even gone on their first date yet, not to mention that she is not aware of the way he feels about her as he hasn’t said a peep.”
“Not a peep, huh?”
“Not a single squeak.”
“What if I were to tell you that he figures all those times he joined her for dinner at her parents’ place counted as so many dates? And that the reason he hasn’t told her how he feels is that he didn’t want to rush into things?”
“I’m sure she doesn’t count a dinner at her folks as a date, seeing how she didn’t even invite him but he more or less was her uncle’s plus-one. And as for rushing into things, he should keep in mind that she’s perfectly capable of telling him when she’s feeling rushed and so far she’s feeling anything but rushed. Quite the opposite. She’s starting to wonder if he has any feelings for her at all.”
They stared at each other for a moment, then Chase took out his water bottle and quaffed deeply.“You know what?” he asked when he was done. “I think you’re right. Tagging along as your uncle’s plus-one doesn’t constitute a date. So why don’t I ask you out on a proper date right here, right now? Odelia Poole? Will you join me for dinner and a movie?”
She smiled.“I’ll think about it.”
“Why, you…” He made a grab for her but she deftly avoided his hands and fluttered off with a giggle. When she looked back, he was chasing her, a playful expression on his face. She squealed and darted away towards the back of the gym, stared after by the troop of Hells Angels, who seemed to enjoy the spectacle, judging from their loud cheers.
She flew out the back door and found herself in a small courtyard, where some old iron barbells and benches stood, probably used by the most hardcore fitness fanatics. As it was, the courtyard was empty, and as she searched around for an escape route, Chase was already upon her. He swept her up in his arms, and then kissed her deeply. She went under and gave herself up to his passionate embrace. There was nothing equivocal about his kisses this time. The man might not be great with words but his lips still told her everything she needed to know. As did his hands, which quickly roamed to places they’d never roamed before. And she wouldn’t have minded if he lay her down on one of the benches right now and had his way with her, if not a choir of voices suddenly alerted her to the fact that they were no longer alone.
“Why are Chase and Odelia fighting?” asked Dooley.
“They’re not fighting, Dooley,” said Max. “They’re kissing.”
“Kissing? But then why are his hands all over her?”
“That’s all part of the ritual. Humans who like each other touch each other all over.”
“Gran likes Odelia but I’ve never seen her touch her like this.”
“I think it’s romantic,” Harriet gushed. “The most romantic thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I think it’s disgusting,” said Brutus in his gruff voice.
“Brutus! It’s love!”
“It’s a lot of bodily fluids going into a lot of weird places. It’s unhygienic is what it is.”
“Brutus! You’re a brute!”
With extreme regret, Odelia extricated herself from Chase. It was a little hard to be caught up in the moment with this Greek choir commenting on her every move.
“Something wrong?” asked Chase, his face flushed.
She gestured with her head to the four cats, who sat on top of the wall looking down at them.
“That’s just a bunch of cats, babe.”
“That’s a bunch of my cats.”
He looked again and did a double take.“Christ, you’re right. What are they doing here?”
“I took Max and Dooley to the vet. Brutus and Harriet must have wandered off on their own.” She could hardly explain to Chase how the foursome was eager to solve the murder of Donna Bruce. She sat upright, pushing at her blond bob and adjusting her top, which had slid down with a little help from Chase.
Chase looked like he wanted to chase the cats away, but managed to resist the urge. He cleared his throat.“So what about that date, huh?”
“I would love to,” she said gratefully.
He smiled broadly.“Then it’s a date. Oh, and Odelia?”
“Mh?”
He fixed her with an intent look.“I like you. I like you a lot.”
She returned his smile and took his face in her hands.“I like you, Chase. Very much.”
And then they kissed again, only a little less exuberantly than before, but no less heartfelt.
“Aah,” Harriet gushed.
“Ugh,” Brutus groaned.
Chapter 11
We all rode home with Odelia. She was very chirpy after her time spent at the gym. I thought it probably had something to do with hormones. When humans work out, they release something called endorphins in their brains, which make them feel happy. Or it might be all the kissing and groping she was doing with Chase. If this kept up, she’d soon have babies, which is something that tends to happen when humans kiss a lot. Female humans suddenly have baby humans. I have to admit I was not looking forward to that at all. I kinda liked the arrangement we had right now: me, Odelia and Dooley had a great thing going here. We didn’t need another little human to come in and ruining everything. Not to mention that Chase would move in and seriously cramp up our style.