“And put on a shirt!”
Duke laughs, letting himself drop to the ground with a thump, the weight from his body causing my dining room to shake.
“Did you come all this way to tell me to put a shirt on?” He wipes his brow at the same time his hand reaches for an olive on his food plate.
I can’t help but notice it’s half empty and almost as pretty as the one I’d thrown together myself.
Huh. Interesting…
“No. I came up here to tell you to quiet down. You’re making so much noise that Paul—who isdrunk, by the way—keeps staring at the ceiling like a poltergeist is going to come floating down out of the vent.”
He pops another olive and chews. Swallows. “I’m making so much noise?”
I count to five to simmer myself down. “Yes. You’re thumping very loudly.”
“Thumpin’ loudly?” He chews some more. “Well, don’t that beat all.”
My head cocks to the side.
He’s totally screwing with me.
“How am I supposed to explain why it’s so freaking loud up here?”
“How am I supposed to keep myself occupied when everyone else is down there and gets to eat cheese?” His dumb shoulders shrug as he digs into the pickles.
“Can’t you just keep quiet?”
“Don’t know. Wasn’t tryin’ to be loud, to begin with.”
“Also.” I point at the silver bracket he’s using for pull-ups. “Where did you get that thing?”
“Found it in the garage.”
He still has no shirt on, he’s still gnawing on his plate, still standing there with a sweaty chest and glistening biceps.
Twenty-four years old…
Damn.
“I’m gonna take a shower. That is, if you don’t mind, Warden.”
I groan. “Don’t call me Warden. I’m not keeping you a prisoner.” I check my watch. “When I go downstairs, I’ll call it a night, and you can come out.”
“Gee, thanks.”
It’s difficult not to look at his body, or stare, or gawk—I’ve never seen a man this in shape in all my adult life—and trust me, I’ve seen plenty of dudes with no shirts on. None that I’ve dated; they weren’t into going to the gym and working out, and certainly were nowhere near professional athlete status.
So this…
Body…
I swallow.
“Okay, well.” From the door, I give a pitiful wave. “Few more minutes, kay?”
“Kay.” Duke bobs his head. “I’m fixin’ to climb out that window soon, so don’t keep me waitin’.” He pops a grape, grinning as he chews.
Fixin’.