Just like that, it all melts away, and all I can do is laugh.
“Nothing,” I say, feeling the relief washing over me. I have a hot dude kissing my forehead and a pair of big, burly arms wrapped around my slender body. I mean, what else could a girl want? “Nothing at all.”
“Really? ’Cause I’m not a fuckin’ genius or anything, Kara, but you looked pretty pissed when you came through the door…” He pulls back, scrutinizing my face. “Is this one of those things where you say nothing’s wrong, but I’m supposed to magically know how to fix it without you telling me what it is? Because if so…”
“No.” I laugh. “Nothing like that. I’m just…is Eric around?”
“Present,” Eric says, jogging over.
These fucking men. Always fucking jogging. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen them walk anywhere for the whole time I’ve known them. They’re so full of energy, and so ripped, and so fucking hot and—
“Do you guys have any Protein Plus merch around? Size small, if you’ve got it.”
Eric nods, ducking back behind the check-in desk and coming back with a cute little T-shirt…and a thong.
“Really?” I ask, holding the G-string up and giggling.
Eric just shrugs. “A man can hope. What do you need merch for, though? You haven’t been sharing those protein shakes with your friends, have you?”
“Oh my god, no,” I say, shaking my head. “I’ve been hoarding them like a dragon with liquid gold.”
“Then what’s up?” Chase asks.
Christ, he’s cute when he’s like this. He’s like a puppy that knows it’s time to go on a walk—he knows that I have something exciting to tell him, and he can hardly wait to hear it.
Eric looks like he already knows what I’m going to say, but that fucking figures. At least he has the decency to let me say it anyway.
“I’m your girl,” I say, grinning. “I want to do the pageant and model for Protein Plus.”
They don’t even give me a chance to see their reactions. Chase just picks me up and throws me over his shoulder, and Eric smacks my ass as they carry me up the stairs.
“I knew it, man,” Chase is saying. “I fucking knew she would.”
“Couldn’t resist us, huh?” Eric asks as Chase deposits me in the upstairs office.
“Don’t look so cocky.” I giggle. “You guys were my second choice.”
“Yeah, but your first choice wouldn’t have been as good at getting you out of your clothes as we are,” Eric says, just as I feel Chase pull down the zipper of my cute little pencil skirt. Eric makes quick work of my blouse as the skirt slides to the floor.
“Good point,” I say, pulling the Protein Plus T-shirt on over my head. There’s something about it that just feels right.
Fuck modeling for Wild Rose—this is exactly where I belong. I don’t know why I was fighting it so hard in the first place. Chase and Eric have been supportive of me in ways that neither of my old bosses ever could be, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that I’ve made the right choice.
“And the thong,” Chase insists, pulling down my lacy boy shorts before I can even argue.
“Okay, okay.” I giggle, stepping into the thong. Surprisingly enough, that feels right, too. Maybe because of all the squats I’ve been doing lately—or maybe just because with Chase and Eric around, I feel good in pretty much everything.
“Damn,” Eric says, nodding approvingly. “You look fucking hot with our logo on your body.”
“Hot enough for a pic?” I ask, fishing my cell phone out of my purse.
They crowd around me, stooping a little because they’re so fucking tall, as Chase snaps a selfie of all three of us.
I post it to my social media before I can talk myself out of it, with a caption announcing my big news.
“2 months until Miss Sexy USA pageant here in L.A.! Love my sexy sponsors, <3 Protein Plus!”
Even as the pic uploads, I can see Eric and Chase eyeing my body in an incredibly unprofessional fashion.