Ripped: The Price of Loyalty by Tania Joyce

 

Chapter 7

The flu left Kyle flat for another few days, but the moment he felt better he pounded out the miles on the treadmill in the gym on the ground floor of his apartment building. He pummeled the punching bag until his knuckles hurt, did weights until his muscles fatigued, and sweat it out on an exercise bike. He’d never worked out so much in his life, not even when getting fit for tour. Exercise was the only thing that took his mind off Gemma. Maybe he’d found his coping mechanism.

Ripping his saturated shirt off, he wiped sweat from his brow, hooked his T-shirt around his neck, and headed up to his apartment. He walked straight past Hunter sitting at the dining table, working on his laptop. After grabbing an energy drink from the fridge, Kyle downed half the bottle and watched Hunter stab at the keys.

“What’s eating you?” Kyle jutted his chin in Hunter’s direction. “Did you get up early and Google yourself again?”

“No,” Hunter snapped. “I couldn’t sleep. I came out here and have been mucking around with some lyrics.”

“Here, let me see.” Kyle walked over and spun the screen around. His eyes scanned over the words.

 

You don’t look like someone who likes small talk,

Let’s get of here and go for a short walk,

Back to my place at the end of the street,

And let’s see where the night leads.

 

Let me show you a good time,

Let me kiss you all over,

Say you’ll be mine,

How about forever?

 

Was this how Hunter felt for Gemma? His heart constricted. To wash away the pain, he focused on the raw, fast-paced electric beat that formed inside his mind. “I like ‘em. Maybe we can work on them later.”

“I know I’m not as good as you and Gem at songwriting, but I’m . . . so . . . frustrated. I thought being with Gem would be easy, but it’s not. I thought we would just . . . click.” Hunter’s hands curled into claws and hovered above his keyboard. “But that hasn’t happened. It’s killing me.”

Kyle blew a puff of air through his nostrils. This was killing Hunter? How could it be? How could he be frustrated? He had Gemma. “You have to give it time.”

Hunter slouched in his chair. “It’s been three weeks since I asked her out, and we haven’t even . . . you know . . . really kissed yet. She’s been sick and pissed at me because we got photographed in the park when I came home the other day. And I forgot her mother is part of the deal.”

“Yeah. I’ve heard Gem covering up your little mishap on the phone to her mom.” Kyle grunted. After the loss of his parents, Kyle had encouraged Gemma to keep in contact with her mother, but lately he’d begun to change his mind. All Janine ever wanted was gossip, the inside scoop on their lives. Luckily, Gemma never gave her anything. “You agreed not to go public. What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t. I fucked up.” Hunter slammed his laptop shut and wiped his hand over his face. “I gotta do something for Gem. Now she’s over the flu, I want to be with her. But she doesn’t want to have sex of any kind—no touching, no feeling-up, no nothing—not until she gets her cast off. She’s worried about us all adjusting and staying friends and being able to work together. She’s my girl and doesn’t even want to sleep in my bed. It’s driving me fucking crazy.”

Kyle bit down on his lip. Hard. Anything to stifle his laugh. Hunter not having sex with Gemma was the best news he’d heard in weeks. “Hmm . . . that must be tough.”

“To top everything off, I’m struggling to cross the line with her. Half the time I feel like I’m trying to screw my sister, and that’s so wrong in so many ways. I love her and want this to work out, but every time I get close to her, I freeze up. I want to at least get to second base . . . if you know what I mean.”

Kyle didn’t want to picture Hunter going to second base with Gemma. Or any base, for that matter. “You’re better with girls than I am. You figure it out.” Kyle wiped sweat from his brow, secretly enjoying Hunter’s pain.

“This is different. I’ve never done the relationship thing before. So far, it sucks.”

“So why did you ask her out?” Kyle winced, not wanting to hear the answer.

“I don’t know. Why does any guy ask a girl out? She’s hot. She’s fun. She’s the best.”

Kyle rubbed his forehead, stepped back from the table, and leaned against the kitchen counter. Why didn’t Gemma take Hunter’s breath away, make him think no other girl existed, that he’d do anything to make her happy?

“Gem’s not some fling. Don’t you hurt her,” Kyle said. “I swear, I’ll kill you if you do.” Kyle’s hand twitched, holding an invisible blade ready to plunge it right through Hunter’s chest. Taking a deep breath, he let it go. Somehow, he had to find a way to stop those destructive thoughts.

“Good to know you’ve got my back.” Hunter smirked. “I just want to do something to break the ice between her and me.”

“Then maybe you need to get your head out of your ass and think about what one does in a relationship. Take her to the movies, go out to dinner—surprise her with gifts.”

But wait. That wasn’t Gemma. If Kyle ever had a date night with her, he’d take her out of the city, maybe to his beach house, sit under the stars and play guitar with her until dawn broke.

Hunter leaned back in the chair. “You think Gem would be into that kind of shit? A date night?”

Was Hunter a complete idiot? He should know what she liked.

“I guess there’s only one way to find out.” Kyle shrugged a shoulder and sipped his drink.

“A date. Right.” Stress crept into Hunter’s voice. “That will involve security. A car. A private dining room. I’ll ask Lexi where to go. She blogs about restaurants. I can do that.” Hunter dragged his fingers down his cheek. “Fuck. There’s so much to organize. And what if the paparazzi follow us?”

Kyle shook his head. Hunter looked like he was about to throw up. He hated seeing his best friend suffer this much. “Why not start with something simple? Why don’t I take off out of here tonight and go catch up with Hayden? You could set up something nice in here.”

“Here?” Hunter sat two inches taller. “That sounds like a plan. I’ll order in. We’ll play video games. Do you think she’d really like to play Battlefront with me on date night?”

“Hunt.” Kyle lowered his gaze, thinking this was going to be a lost cause. “That is something you should already know about her after all these years.”

“I should, shouldn’t I? I can’t think straight. I haven’t gone this long without sex in years; it’s screwing with my head. Do you think I could change her mind?”

Gemma was so headstrong when she set her mind on something, but this was one area of her life Kyle had no clue about. Kyle had seen Hunter’s charm in action and when he turned it on, he doubted even Gemma would be immune.

“That’s between you and Gem. You never know your luck. Just . . . treat her right.” Kyle looked out over the skyline and tried to focus on something other than the pain inside his chest.

A police helicopter flew overhead. A flock of birds dived passed the window. Taxis honked on the avenue below. Whether Hunter and Gemma slept together tonight, it didn’t matter. The inevitable would happen.

“I could do with some luck.” Hunter rubbed the back of his neck.

“If you’re that frustrated, why not go and jerk off?”

“I’ve been doing that. It’s not the same.”

“True.” Kyle shrugged. Having Gemma sleep in the room next to his added to his own pent-up frustration.

Hunter rested his elbows on the table and dropped his head into his hands. “Date night. I can do this. Date night. Think. Think. Think.”

Kyle rolled his eyes and slammed his empty bottle down on the counter top. “Okay, let me help you out, because you’re stressing over this too much. Her favorite food is gnocchi. Her favorite flowers are tulips. Video games should not be on the agenda . . . at all. I’ll leave the rest up to you.”

Hunter’s cell phone buzzed on the table. Amie’s name lit the screen. Hunter stood in a rush, scrapping his chair again the wooden floor. “Amie. Hi. Hold on a sec. I’ll go into the office.” Hunter turned to Kyle. “Thanks, bud. I owe you one.”

“Awesome,” Kyle mumbled, and stared down at his running shoes. With a loud sigh, he grabbed an apple from the fruit basket and sat at the table.

This whole situation sucked.

But it was time to rid himself of this anger, this hurt, this dagger in his chest. Maybe that was what Kyle needed to do tonight. Go out and pick up some girl. Have a good time. And try to forget about Gemma.

Gemma’s crutches squelched on the floorboards. She walked out of the hallway with a sleepy smile on her face. Her hair was a mass of tangled brown knots. Sheet creases marked the side of her cheek. Her green eyes shone like emeralds. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed she wore one of his old T-shirts—the one she’d worn at a concert a few months ago and never returned. It hung off one shoulder and barely reached the top of her thighs. All his blood rushed to his groin. His dick twitched inside his shorts.

Yep. No chance of forgetting about her.

“Morning.” She leaned her crutches against the counter and stretched her hands up into the air.

His eyes widened at the sight of her blue and red stripy panties underneath her shirt. Now there was no way he could even leave the room anytime soon. Brushing his hand over his stubble, he focused on the wall behind her. He had to get his thoughts and body under control because he couldn’t react like this around her now that she was Hunter’s girl.

“Where’s Hunt?” Gemma asked.

“He’s in the office talking to Amie.” Kyle bit into his apple.

“Oh . . . fair enough. What are your plans for today?” She hobbled around the kitchen, reaching into cupboards, opening the fridge, and bending over the drawer for a plate. Was she trying to torture him? “We don’t have anything on until our meeting at SureHaven tomorrow. Is that right?” she asked, spreading cream cheese onto her bagel.

Kyle dug his fingernails into his thighs, the pain enabling him to drag his eyes away from her. “No, that’s in two days. Tomorrow we’re catching up with Bec and Kate to prep for promo. Today’s free. Would you like me to take you in your wheelchair down to the river this afternoon after we get some work done?”

Maybe a dip in the chilly Hudson River would do him some good. Anything to stop his body going into overdrive whenever she was in the room. “But tonight, I’m out of here. I’m going to catch up with Hayden.”

“Cool. Can I tag along?” she said, munching on a mouthful of bagel. “It’s been ages since we’ve seen him.”

Kyle gnawed the last of his apple down to the core, taking every last fiber possible. “I’m going to be a one-man show tonight.” The thought of not going out with Gemma and Hunter created a vacuum around his chest. Maybe this was how he’d cope. Let the vacuum grow and grow, consume him until there was nothing left. “Don’t want to ruin the surprise, but Hunt has plans for you.”

Gemma stopped, the bagel hovering halfway to her mouth. “Really? Like what?”

“I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”

“Don’t you keep secrets from me. Ever. Now tell me.” Gemma stuffed the bagel into her mouth, cursed, and swore, as she juggled coffee and crutches and head toward the table.

Kyle leapt from his seat, took her cup before she spilled it everywhere, and waved her to go and sit. He placed her latte before her, rubbed her back, and kissed the top of her head. “In-va-lid.”

She slapped him on the leg before he had time to jump out of the way. “What is Hunter up to?”

Kyle grabbed his shirt, backed toward the hallway, and zipped his fingers across his lips.

“Kyle? Spill it.” Gemma’s eyes sparkled, her voice too eager. “You know I’ll stress all day now you’ve mentioned it.”

He was such a fool. He shouldn’t have said anything. To relieve her anxiety, he swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. “A date night. Hunt’s planning a date night for you. That’s all.”