A Boyfriend Like Him

Them Gains

Chapter Forty-Seven
-Them Gains-

The troublesome thing about going to bed hours earlier than normal is that your body is screaming at you to get up and party and you're like just chill and your body starts to chill and your brain is like, you know what you haven't thought about in a while? Every single thing on the entire planet earth and its mother.

Mostly, I was just thinking about Taylor. I equal parts loathed and loved him as I lay in bed, pondering life's questions. How dare he do what he was doing to me. How dare he treat me like I was scum. He was the scum. I hadn't done anything to him and he just flipped the switch and started having girls call me buttercup and telling me I sucked dick better than other people. Who did that? An emotionally stunted neanderthal, a Kathy-esqe voice replied in my head matter-of-factly.

The worst part of the entire situation was that he then kissed me and boy, did he kiss me. Right out of my shoes if they hadn't been tied tight. If he had of said some sweet words right after that kiss, fifteen percent chance, he could have gotten my panties off... okay, 100 percent. It was perfect. Taylor was perfect... and his perfection made him a giant asshole. God, I loathed him.

I fell asleep halfway between planning Taylor's funeral and mine and Taylor's wedding and woke up as my phone beeped and whistled at me. Four-fifty in the morning.

Awesome.

Psyche.

Dragging myself once again down the path towards my workplace, there was once again a person jumping and jiggling at the gym door.
"Were you dropped on your head as a child?" I scowled, shoving my coffee at Jake this time.
"Hah, Are you kidding? You're not angry at me anymore and it's chest day," he beamed at me, taking the cup.
"Its five o'clock in the morning," I moaned at him. "I'm getting paid to be here, but you're not. You should go back to bed, in sympathy for me at the very least."
"Hah! Chest day waits for no man," Jake laughed. "Except Taylor," He added and snorted to himself as I unarmed the gym.
"What is the excitement surrounding chest day?" I asked, taking my coffee from him and wondering through the gym to turn on lights. Jake basically skipped over to the music system to start it up.
"The gains," He shrugged easily, turning back to me.
"Gains?" I pinned him with a look and he grinned broadly and started flexing and posing at me like a competition body builder. I felt vaguely violated. "You need to stop that," I scowled at him and he laughed as I went back to the desk.

Flipping through the book I had bought from Andrew the night before. It was actually as helpful as he had made it out to be. Very sound investment, considering the twenty I had given him was what I had intended on buying fresh vegetables with this week. I was subsisting on vegemite sandwiches, two minute noodles, instant coffee and the pity and charity of Kathy and her addiction to real espresso coffee until pay day on Monday.

People filtered in a lot slower, with it being a Saturday. This made me a lot less grumpy. The member may actually be human after all. Jake approached me around six-thirty and flexed at me again.
"Can you see the gains?" He asked, proudly. His arm curled and his bicep jumping up and down as he flexed and relaxed the muscle.
"I see sweat," I muttered, and he laughed. Watching people come through, Jake dropped his bag on the reception desk and dug into it.
"Be nice and I'll buy you a coffee and bring it back for you," Jake smirked and I eyed him curiously with renewed vigour.
"Oh yeah, I totally seem them gains," I nodded enthusiastically, proving just how desperate I was for caffeine.
"Smart ass," He muttered, tipping white powder into a protein shaker.
"Cocaine?" I enquired and he laughed.
"Steroids," He rolled his eyes, cracking open a bottle of filtered water and pouring it into the shaker.
"Really?" I demanded quickly, and he laughed even louder.
"Fuck no, its glutamine and branch chain amino acids, for muscle recovery. Its orange flavour, here have a taste," He offered me the shaker and I eyed him off.
"Will this make me bulky?" I asked and he laughed again.
"Just try," he rolled his eyes. Taking the shaker, I took a tentative sip and screwed my face up.
"Doesn't taste like an orange," I muttered.
"They never do," He chuckled, taking the shaker back and gulping the faux orange liquid down. "What happened last night?" Jake asked, finished the glutawhatits and branched chained emilio thingies. "I saw you leave, but I didn't see you arrive and Taylor made himself scarce early, then Kathy said something happened."
"He freaked out on me," I told him and then sighed. "I don't know, he dragged me into one of the back rooms and ripped into me about cock-blocking him. Which for the record, I had nothing to do with it. Anyway, he got pissy and then he kissed me and then he freaked out again and then he left me and I left The Hub and I still don't know what exactly happened. Like, at all." Jake stared me down for a long moment and then smirked.
"He kissed you?" He asked.
"Yeah, angry kiss that wasn't so angry by the end of it," I nodded.
"He never could control himself. Excellent, I'm putting my vote on Tuesday," Jake nodded, more to himself than me.
"For what?"
"For Taylor Cadley to pick his sorry ass up off the floor and drag it on back to you," Jake smirked. "He's cracking under pressure."
"Tuesday?" I choked on my laughter. "Yeah, no."
"What? Tuesday is a safe bet. Robbo reckons tomorrow. Idiot," Jake snorted.
"Wait, what?" I stopped and looked at him. "Robbo?"
"Yeah, Kathy is putting it on next Friday. Bitch is cray," he shook his head at me.
"You're all betting?" I demanded and his face dropped.
"Were you not meant to be told?" He asked, looking slightly panicked. "Shit."
"You and Robbo are as bad as those bloody Facebook girls," I glared at him and he stared at me wide eyed and slowly a guilty grin slipped up his stupidly handsome face. My face dropped and I gasped loudly. "You're in the group," I accused, pointing my finger at him.
"Well, I was curious and invested," Jake shrugged, pouting at me. "Robbo instigated it."
"Robbo did what, now?" Robbo asked, approaching us as he entered the gym.
"You're an asshole," I glared at him.
"Yeah," He snorted. "What's new?" He scanned his membership key ring. "What did I do this time?"
"You're a Facebook group girl," I accused him and he laughed.
"I love those people; it's like my own personal group of people out to piss Taylor off. I want to have a child with each and every one of them."
"What?" I screwed my face up in disgust.
"Ew," Jake frowned at him.
"They deserve as much love as I am capable of giving them," Robbo levelled the two of us with a sincere and serious look in his midnight blue eyes.
"No, they don't," I replied in a whisper, shaking my head at him slowly.
"Whatevs. Leg day, wus' up baby," He threw his hands up as he spun on his heel and moved into the gym.
"Bitch is cray," I murmured, watching him go. Jake laughed and agreed.
"You want a real coffee?" Jake asked as he packed up what I was completely convinced was his steroid stuff.
"I would completely forgive you for polling my life and relationships, if you did," I smiled sweetly at him, making him laugh.

By the time Toby came in, I was ready to smile. He stopped dead in his tracks and studied me.
"You're not frowning at everyone," He noted, stepping forward cautiously.
"I like people on Saturdays," I grinned. "Jake bought me a coffee after he finished his workout, and then I'm just standing here and some chick, who I think is named Amy, dropped a coffee in my hands as she scanned in just I finished Jakes coffee, and then some guy came in and was like 'you're not a trainer, oh well. Have a coffee.' I don't know these people, but I'm keeping them. They're mine now." Toby laughed loudly as I continued to grin at him.
"Allie and Colin obviously have members very well trained," Toby shook his head, looking amused. "I think Amy works at the café," Toby added after a moment.
"She could work in whoopdedoo for all I care. She's my friend and I love her," I told Toby, bouncing on the stool.
"Too much coffee, too early?" He asked, looking at me knowingly.
"My hands literally won't stop shaking," I laughed, lifting them up to show him.
"Have you had breakfast yet?" He asked and I shook my head. "Go take your break, you idiot." Grinning I jumped off my stool, grabbed my wallet and phone and headed for the door.

As I stood in line, I felt a trickle of awareness settle over me. It started at my head and moved down my shoulders, chest and settled in my stomach. I had serious spidey senses when it came to captain ass-bag. Knowing Taylor was in the café, I busied myself with my phone until the line dwindled and I was at the front. Grabbing my water and muffin, I turned on my heel and realised why my spidey senses were so strong. He was next in line behind me. Making eye contact, I refused to be the one that looked away. He didn't look angry anymore, just weary.
"You're in the way," I murmured, gesturing to the bottle neck he'd caused by standing where he was between two tables.
"Sorry," He muttered and shuffled to the side.
"Didn't know you had that word in your vocabulary. Congratulations on broadening your education," I bit out, even though every ounce of my body told me not to say it. His eyes deepened a shade and his face dropped from weary to vexed. I didn't give him time to respond as I pushed past him and walked out of the café as fast as I could while still looking casual.