Alpha Billionaire Series

GAVIN

Jiles wasn't around for Nick's typical high-five greeting, so he smacked me on the shoulder as I walked into the locke room to stow my gym bag away. The last time I had been here I had nearly laid Jiles out flat on the canvas with my rage. I promised myself I wouldn't do that to Nick today. In fact, I felt a lot better after my conversation with Dad about Madison. He'd encouraged me to go get what I wanted, and I sort of had a plan for that.

“Man, this wedding planning shit is for the birds. How on earth did you do it all?” Nick wrapped the athletic tape around his wrists for extra support. We were planning to do a heavy lift today, and it was his routine after nearly breaking his wrist last summer.

“Eh, I just point and smile,” I joked, though inside I felt that soul crushing weight that came with the reminder that I was supposed to be a few months into wedded bliss at this point.

I shoved my bag into the locker then took my jacket off and put it away too. Nick put his things away and we headed for the weight benches. Free weights had always been superior in my opinion, to the weight machines. I found I got more out of my workouts and felt more tired when I was done. And it was a good thing for us that I had that mentality, because the weight machines were always occupied, while the benches and free weights were rarely used. “Here.” I gestured to Nick, indicating he should lie down on the bench. I loaded it up with 250 bs. as he lay down anc did a few stretches, prepping for his first set.

“So, I was thinking that all this wedding shit, I'm going to need a best man. And Jiles has been through this stuff, but it's been a while. Maybe you want to be my best man?” Nick clapped his hands, adding some powder to them from the small bottle on the floor beneath the bench, they gripped the bar.

Be his best man? Of course, I wanted to do it. Nick was a close friend and I wanted to support his move toward settling down and growing up. But I had no desire to go through the motions of wedding events feeling the way I felt “Have you set a date yet?” I placed my hands beneath the bar, between his grips, palms up. Always cautious as a spotter, I followed his every movement as he did ten reps of the bar easily. His max weight was 300 plus, so 250 was I cakewalk for him and he finished before responding.

Sitting up he said, “Yeah. So, We are thinking of a Christmas thing. I told her it's stupid because no one has time around the holidays for yet another event, but she insists.” He slapped his thighs and powder created a cloud aroun him as he stood.

We swapped places, me sitting on the bench and powdering my palms so sweat didn’t make lifting dangerous. I realized as the power caked in my hands that I was sweating a lot—nerves because of the conversation I supposed. I didn’t let Nick see, quickly rubbing my hands together to let the powder crumble and fall to the floor. Then I put more powder on them and lay down for my own round of reps.

Nick grabbed the bar to spot me, and I took my position. The lifting went just as smoothly for me, despite me being little lower on my max weight. When I sat up, Nick shrugged and cocked his head sideways. “So, what do you think?” “Yeah, man. I'll be your best man. Guess that means I have to walk some hot woman down the aisle?” I joked again, trying to hide my discomfort with the fact that the next time I had a woman on my arm it would likely be a stranger who would hit on me. That didn't sit well in my gut.

“Nah, it will be her sister. Her name is Penny, and she's going to be about seven months pregnant. So, no hot chicks. In fact, all of the women in the bridal party are married, so no hope for you to score.” Nick winked at me and nudged me off the bench. I stood and circled around, taking my place to spot him again. That was a relief. At least I didn't have to think about a woman trying to get into my bed or being distracted by any of that nonsense during planning stages.

“Ah, good.” When Nick was ready, I spotted him, noticing he struggled on the last two reps. “You're getting weak old man.

“Nah, I just hurt my shoulder. I think from riding my bike to work so much.” Nick sat up and raised and lowered his shoulder in a circular motion a few times. “She’s going to make me sell it after we're married. Just wait and see. Women like men with a motorcycle until they are married. Then it poses the risk of other women seeing me as a bad boy and being attracted.”

It sounded to me like Nick had been speaking to Jiles about wedded life. Madison would never make me do that. Then again, I'd never had a motorcycle anyway, so that wouldn't be a problem for me. Just thinking of Madii made m¢ scowl. The only thing worse than bridesmaids hitting on you during wedding festivities was going to a wedding alone I lay down on the bench to take my turn, but I didn’t have it in me to grip the bar. Nick stared down at me, sweat beading on his forehead. “What's up, man?”

“Fuck, dude. This wedding stuff is just overwhelming. You know? Like you're happy and running toward your future, and I'm over here burying another lover in the cemetery of my heart or something” I laced my fingers together behind my head and stared at the ceiling.

Nick started laughing at me, the sort of laugh that happens when someone thinks you're ridiculous. He laughed so hard other people in the gym started staring at us and he was doubled over, covering his mouth with a hand. I sat uy and scowled at him, and before long I was laughing too.

“Cemetery of your heart?” he blurted out. “What the f**k is that shit? Did you go back to college and join the English fairies in poetry class?”

“Shut the fuck up,” I told him, chuckling still.

He had laughed so hard he began crying and wiped his eyes. “That was hilarious.”

I scooted over on the bench, and he sat down next to me. We sat there for a moment enjoying the joke, but I sighed. All the laughing in the world didn’t erase how I felt deep down.

“So, you don't have a plus one, no big deal. You know at the actual event there will be dozens of women.” Nick leane his shoulder into mine, jostling me.

“Yeah, well I tried that with Jiles last week. Or was it the week before?” I thought for a second and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Anyway, we went to a bar, and I had all the ladies hitting on me. But none of them are my Madi. I can't just go to your wedding and pick up a new woman. I'm not ready for that.”

Honestly, I didn't know if I'd ever be ready for that.

“So did you tell her what I told you to tell her?” Nick's tone changed. I knew better than to talk to him about such things but here I was venting again. It was either talk about what I was feeling or end up punching someone's lights out the way I almost had done to Jiles.

“No, Nick. I didn’t, and I'm not going to. Madison is not going to respond to me bossing her around.” I stared down at my powder-caked hands and sighed again. “I am going to ask her to come to dinner with me for her birthday. It's coming up.”

“And you think she’s actually going to come? Have you even spoken with her?” Nick stood and picked up a 30-pound dumbbell. He did arm curls as we talked.

“No, I haven't, but I did talk to her sister. When I did that, I realized that Madison is really selfless. It is a strength in a relationship because it means she's really going to think of me and love me. But it's a weakness because it makes he feel obligated to people too.”

Nick nodded like he was following along, and switched the weight to the other hand to continue his reps.

“So, I want to make her feel obligated to me. I'm going to tell Violet I want my ring back, which will make Madii feel like she needs to come to dinner to return it, to keep me happy.” It wasn’t a plan I was proud of, because I didn't like to think of myself as someone who would manipulate another human like this, but I didn’t know what else to do. “Well, I guess if you want to risk her feeling used...” Nick's words stung. Of all people he would be the one to make a comment like that. He might not have used women or manipulated them, but he didn’t treat them the way they deserved either. I just couldn't push away the shame I felt anyway.

Dad would be frustrated with me for even thinking that plan up, and Mom—well, she had words to say to me no matter what I did so it didn’t matter. I sat with my head hanging, trying to think of another way to convince Madison had to see her. I knew if we just connected somehow, that she would come back to me.

“Why not just ask her?” Nick dropped the dumbbell and drew the back of his arm across his forehead. I looked up at him and shook my head.

“No, really, man. Just ask her. I mean, Jiles is always telling you that you need to communicate well. So do it. Tell her you're a f*****g idiot, that you messed up, and you want another chance. Tell her you love her. Let her choose. At least you'll know the answer and be able to move on and heal or get back with her. Right?”

Nick was right. The only thing I could do was be honest and let her know my heart. I should never have let my anger about the situation affect the way I made my decisions or treated her. None of this would have happened had I just been patient. I stood to my feet and headed to the locker room.

“Where are you going?” Nick called, but I was determined to follow through with my plan.

In the locker room, I opened my locker and pulled out my phone, opening the web browser. I looked up the closest flower shop and saw they were open, so I dialed the number.

“Flowers Unlimited.” The woman's voice was cheery, a stark contrast to how I felt.

“Yeah, do you guys deliver?” I sat on the small wooden bench that stretched along the front of the lockers and bounced my leg.

“Yes, sir. We deliver anywhere in the city, and to the northeastern suburbs.” I heard some typing in the background. “What can I do for you?”

“I need something that says, “I love you and I want you back’ And I need it like yesterday.” I had to trust the florist to decide because I had no clue. I'd sent my mother some orange lilies once and she never let me live it down. Apparently, lilies meant you wanted someone dead, and orange meant hatred—at least in her world.

“Sure, I have some pink roses in a lovely arrangement of greenery with a card. It comes with a teddy bear and chocolates.”

“Sounds perfect.” I reached into my gym bag and pulled out my wallet so I could pay for the delivery. “How soon can you deliver? And can you put a message on a card? How many times a week can I order?”

I had a new plan. I was going to lavish gifts on her until she called me. She had to know I still loved her. There was nc denying that. I couldn't just turn that off like a switch. When I saw her at the hospital, I always avoided her, so she didn't see the pain in my eyes when I looked at her, or the rage on my face when I saw Drew. Lately, I'd just avoided anything to do with areas I knew Drew would have to be.

“Sir, that will be $89.50, and I can put any message on the card you want” I heard more clicking in the background like typing on a keyboard.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Dad was right. I had to go after what I wanted and even though I didn’t know if this was the best way, I knew it was my last shot. I would give every single ounce of love and affection I could to Madison, even from a distance, until it killed me.