The Better Side of Me - Jerry Cole Page 0,82

look at me!” Carlo held his hands up in defense. “I didn’t make it up – and besides, you’d be over it by now if you hadn’t run out on Raffa like you did.”

“Who?”

“Raffa— the Brazilian guy I train. Remember, I told you he was gay. And then he saw you in a bar, hit on you like it was going out of style, and you still bailed!”

Lance blinked back his surprise. He had completely forgotten about that, “How did you know about that?”

“He told me, obviously.” Carlo thought for a moment, and then smiled. “Actually... you know what. I bet – actually, I know that if I call Raffa up, I can get the two of you together tonight. I mean, fuck it. Why not? You want to get over this Kirk fella don’t ya? And I’m not gay – you know I’m not. But I might consider it for Raffa. The dude is fire.” Carlo crossed his arms and smirked like he had just won a prize. “So, what do you reckon? Want me to make the call?”

“I’m good,” Lance offered. “But thanks.”

“Dude, you’ve got to do something. Moping around all week ain’t going to help. Fuck – have you seen yourself lately. Look, that Kirk guy seemed nice enough. He did. But honestly... you can do a lot better. A lot better... Raffa level of better, if you get me. Much better than a scrawny little—”

“Carlo.” Lance’s tone was sharp like a whip. “I like you. But I’m warning you too. You say one more thing like that... and I’ll pick one of these plates up and smash you over the head with it, I swear to God.”

Carlo held his hands up in defense again. “Just saying. God gifted you with handsomeness. It would be a shame to waste it.”

Lance was done. He was done with the workout. He was done with Carlo. He was done with everyone thinking he needed to be fixed. He was... he was just done. “You just don’t get it.” Lance shook his head and walked away.

“Dude! The bench! You’re up!” Carlo called after him.

“Call Raffa!” Lance shot back as he rounded the corner. “I’m sure he’d love to do it with you!”

There was a reason for Lance’s current mood. Well, there were a couple. The most obvious one was his break-up with Kirk. That was a cloud that would be hanging low over him for some time to come yet. But it had been two weeks since that dreadful day, and by now Lance was at a point where he couldn’t keep those feelings bottled up inside of him. Rarely did they rear their ugly head like just happened.

The actual reason that Lance was in as foul a mood today, was because it was the first day he would be paying Kirk back the money he owed him. Not all of it, of course; barely even a fraction. The payment plan was designed over a two-year period, to make the process as simple and easy for Lance as possible. If Lance was able, he’d pay back sooner. And if not, he’d stick to what was asked of him. It was a kindness that Kirk didn’t have to do but did anyway. And another example of Kirk being too good for him by far.

In regard to the Macro Bar, everything had been going smoothly enough. The bar was fully built and operational now. They had dozens of clients, nearly the entire gym in fact. And more than once, Abraham had told Lance that other gyms had been asking about the success of the bar and hinting that they’d be looking to expand into their own gyms soon. Really, it was a bigger hit than Lance could have hoped. But it felt hollow.

What was the point on running a successful business if there was no-one to share it with? When Kirk had been with him, the bar had meaning. Now it was a constant reminder of what Lance had done.

When Kirk had set up the payment plan, Lance had been given two options to pay him. One was for him to personally hand a cashier cheque over to Kirk each week. This would ensure that the payments were being made, without Kirk having to follow up. The other option was a simple online transfer, followed by a text to let Kirk know it had been done. Today, Lance was opting for the transfer.

He just couldn’t bear to be around Kirk; to even see