Lord Have Mercy (The Southern Gentleman Series Book 2)

by Lani Lynn Vale

  Every time we saw each other, we fought.

  And I’d seen him four separate times today. Each of those times we’d traded insults.

  Hell, he’d even come into my science lab and asked my students once if I’d had a donut.

  They’d told him that I hadn’t, and he’d grinned and left before I could tell him he was a jerk.

  “Why are you looking like that?”

  I blinked in surprise and stared up at Croft, who was addressing me directly.

  “Um, what?” I asked in surprise.

  “Why are you staring at Flint like you want to stab him with that piece of pipe?” he asked.

  We had a piece of PVC pipe in our hands that was cut into about four feet lengths. We were using it to demonstrate a lift—or at least Flint was. We were following his movements.

  “Because I do,” I stated simply.

  Croft stared at me like I was crazy.

  “Why?”

  I wondered why he cared.

  “Why are you talking to me?” I asked.

  Usually he went out of his way to ignore me, so it was honestly a surprise to find him willingly holding a conversation with me.

  “Because I’m worried that you’re going to take out the instructor and I’m going to have to take over this class,” he lied.

  How did I know he lied? Because his fingers tapped along his pants leg when he did. I’d watched him for many years. I knew all of his tells.

  I turned away from him and found a seat as far across the room from him—and maybe Flint—as possible.

  I set my bottle of water down on the ground and tossed my keys down next to it.

  Of course, as soon as I did, the alarm on my car started going off, causing me to scramble for my keys and turn around on my knees to aim the key fob at my car.

  When I turned back around, it was to find Flint standing there staring at me with his hands on his hips.

  His narrow hips that were encased in a pair of shorts. Shorts that weren’t long like all the other men in the gym. They came up above his knees and showed off way more skin than any man I’d ever seen.

  Yet, I found that I liked it. I liked it a lot.

  Even more, I adored the fact that he was standing there instead of across the room next to the girlfriend from hell.

  The girlfriend that was currently aiming daggers my way.

  If looks could kill, I’d be a puddle of singed bitch dust.

  “Your girlfriend doesn’t like you being this close to me,” I said. “Shoo.”

  Placing my keys down gently this time, I moved until I had my leg stretched out in front of me, then went a step farther and moved until I was sitting on the massive red mat that was tucked into the corner next to the bench.

  There, I fell backward and lifted my leg up high above my head, then reached for my toes.

  I’d always been a fairly limber person. Touching my toes was quite easy. In fact, I was nearly bent in half as I tried to work the stiffness out of my body.

  Flint cleared his throat and said, “Lay all the way back on your back and straighten your left leg out on the mat in front of you.”

  I did as he asked, and suddenly I found Flint standing over the top of me. But not for long. Seconds later he was going down onto his knees, straddling my left thigh and placing my leg that was in the air on his shoulder. His eyes watched mine as he slowly leaned forward.

  I nearly hyperventilated.

  Dear sweet baby Jesus. If there was a way to spontaneously combust outside of special effects in the movies, I’d have done it.

  Just one look was all it took for me to realize that I was in way over my head with this man.

  Fighting with him had been like a prelude to what we would one day become.

  I could feel it between us, charging the air.

  Then he slid his hands down from my ankle all the way to my knee and held it against his chest.

  Then he started to lean forward more.

  This is the part where I showed him my flexibility.

  Keeping his weight on my left leg—knee straight—he pushed my right one farther and farther forward until it was nearly touching my forehead.

  Swear to God, I heard him groan.

  I could also feel things that I hadn’t ever felt before. Things like muscles and bone—boners.

  “You’re fucking…”

  A crash and a bang had both of us snapping out of whatever the fuck we were doing and staring at the large rack of weights that’d just fallen over. And, of course, there was Nivea rolling around on the ground three feet away from the rack while holding onto her knee.

  “She’s not my girlfriend anymore,” he said hastily.

  I blinked, then snorted. “Um, maybe so. But, from what I understand, you’re the owner here. I think you’re morally obligated to go help her.”

  He reluctantly pulled himself away from me and dropped my foot off of his shoulder.

  It hit the mat with a loud thud because I was unable to control my limbs as of yet.

  Eyes hard, he stood and whistled.

  Raleigh, who’d been standing about six feet away, turned to look at him.

  “Over here, woman. Come help her stretch out her quads, and then let her do the same for you,” he ordered.

  Then he was gone, leaving both Raleigh and me staring after him.

  Seconds after he made it to Nivea’s side, I turned away, finding Raleigh staring at me with a sense of awe.

  “Did y’all just have sex?” she gasped.

  I blinked. “No, I don’t think so.”

  She started to giggle.

  “But seriously though…what the fuck was that?” she asked. “And, FYI, I’m not doing it as sexual-like as I just saw Flint do it,” Raleigh coughed.

  God, I hoped not. I wouldn’t want anything to taint that memory!

  I laughed nervously. “Oh my God. What the fuck was that?”

  She shook her head, eyes wide. “I literally just asked you that. Are you listening to me at all? And…I have no idea, but I swear to God. If Ezra ever did that to me, I might very well spontaneously burst into orgasm. Jesus Christ, I took a picture. Do you want to see?”

  My brain was scrambled, and I couldn’t put a coherent thought together at that moment in time.

  I shook my head, then nodded it emphatically. “Send it to me in a text. I’m going to have to look at it later. He’s watching us.”

  Raleigh’s eyes were shimmering with mirth, then she sent the text.

  My phone vibrated, and I looked longingly at it for a few long seconds before deciding that I needed to stretch out my other leg before we got started.

  “I think I can handle this stretch on my own,” I admitted.

  And I did, all the while wondering if I’d just opened a can of worms.

  Flint hated me. I was scared to death of his dog. And let’s not forget that he was a police officer that likely wouldn’t like the fact that I was a little crazier than I should be—but hell, you only lived once. So, I did a few ‘illegal in the eyes of the law’ things. Morally, they were good deeds.

  Not that he’d ever figure out my extracurricular activities.

  “No.” Raleigh walked toward me. “I’ll help, then you can do me. But make sure your vagina stays far away from mine.”

  I rolled my eyes and fell back on my back, lifting my leg as I did.

  Raleigh put her foot down on my knee and pushed my leg forward.

  Seconds later, the smallest of toots slipped out, and I blushed red from the roots of my hair to the tips of my toes.

  Raleigh’s eyes connected with mine, and then she was collapsed on the mat next to me, shaking with laughter.

  I opened my mouth to explain away what had just happened, but nothing came out.

  I couldn’t do it.

  “Do you realize how embarrassing that would’ve been if I’d done that while his crotch was practically touching my vagina?” I gasped, tears leaking out of my eyes.

  Raleigh
rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face into her hands. “Oh my God. We’re going to remember this for the rest of our lives. I’m going to tell your daughters that you farted on me seconds after nearly fucking their father on a mat in the middle of a crowded gym.”

  “Hey!” I smacked her shoulder. “Stop giving me babies. That’s kind of like wayyyyy ahead of schedule. I haven’t even admitted that I kind of sort of like him yet.”

  “Jesus Christ, Raleigh. Get control of yourself. You’re embarrassing me,” Croft snarled quietly from beside us.

  My eyes opened, and I was staring at the man that used to strike my fancy with an amused expression written all over my face.

  Only, now that I was staring at him, I realized a few things.

  One, he no longer did it for me. Not even a little bit. That long, lean, muscular body with his blond hair and blue eyes just wasn’t what I would call my ‘ideal’ man any longer.

  Funny, but the hard, brash gym owner that happened to be a cop at my school, and admittedly scared me, was beginning to be ‘it.’

  Two, the man across the room that was still watching me despite his girlfriend’s—ex-girlfriend’s crying—was making me hotter than the man standing at my side ever did.

  The timer above our heads dinged, and I broke my gaze from Flint’s.

  Flint stood, and Croft offered me his hand.

  I ignored it and rolled over the top of Raleigh until I was on the opposite side of the mat from Croft.

  When I stood and turned, it was to find Flint’s lips twitching in amusement, and him standing next to the whiteboard from hell.

  The whiteboard from hell had our day’s work out on it—better known as our WOD.

  Croft came to stand beside me on one side, and Raleigh went to the other.

  Flint didn’t miss it, either.

  His eyes were on me more than they were on anybody else in the room as he explained what we were going to do.

  Nivea, who was for some reason standing right behind me, hissed.

  I looked over my shoulder at her and blinked. “What?”

  Croft, who was listening to Flint talk, moved farther away from me and forward, likely because he didn’t want to be near Nivea any more than I did.

  “We broke up an hour ago, and he’s already setting his sights on you?” she snarled under her breath. “This isn’t a new thing, is it? This is something that’s been going on for a long time.”

  Croft inched away even farther.

  There was no way in hell he didn’t hear our discussion.

  I frowned. “Um, no. We’re not even together, Nivea. So rest easy and simmer down. Calm your tits. Take the wind out of your sails. What-the-fuck ever.”

  I turned around and faced forward again, finding Flint’s eyes flicking back and forth between me and Nivea.

  His frown deepened, and his eyes went hard.

  I stepped farther away from her and crowded closer to Raleigh, who looked at me oddly.

  “What?” she whispered.

  “Psycho, five o’clock,” I told her.

  Raleigh looked over my shoulder, rolled her lip up in a curl of disgust, and then pulled me with her to the opposite side of the huddle.

  “Do you know how to do double unders?” she whispered, hearing the last part of Flint’s workout.

  “No,” I paused. “I was a baller at Jump Rope for Heart in elementary school, though. I feel like it’ll be pretty easy.”

  I was wrong.

  It was hard as hell.

  The worst part about it, though, was that Nivea was really good at it, and laughed at me each time the rope got caught up in my feet.

  By the time the workout was over, I looked like a sweating swamp thing while she looked like a beauty queen who’d gone outside for only a few seconds and had a nice sheen of sweat on her.

  I wanted to throat punch her.

  “Whoa there, killer,” Carmichael said, touching my arm. “That look probably should not have a place in this gym.”

  I snorted. “That woman drives me insane,” I told her bluntly. “And the fact that she makes this all look easy drives me nuts.”

  Carmichael snorted. “Don’t let her fool you. She was bad at first, too. She just really liked Flint, and he wouldn’t have anything to do with her at first. She started here at the gym in hopes that he would notice her, and he took the bait. For a couple months, at least. Now I’m thinking he regrets it.”

  The gym started to empty all around us, and Raleigh groaned and rolled over.

  Her body left a sweaty imprint on the floor.

  “Nice,” I laughed.

  She flipped me off as she came to her feet. “I’m going to go. Ezra’s supposed to get off early today, but I doubt it. But just in case, I want to be there when he gets home.”

  Croft threw his arm around her shoulders and squeezed, causing her to squeak in pain. “Croft, you fucker!”

  Croft and Raleigh walked out with laughter on their faces.

  I turned to survey Carmichael.

  “I know that look,” I told her.

  Her eyes came to me, which had previously been staring longingly at the man that had just walked out the door.

  “What look?” She feigned ignorance.

  I studied Carmichael. She was Croft’s type for sure.

  Small, skinny, doll-like. She had porcelain white skin, rosy cheekbones that most woman would have to use blush to attain. Silky black curls that framed her face and stretched down to mid-back when she didn’t have it up in a cute ponytail.

  Honestly, she and Croft would go together well. He had a type—one that ran along the lines of her.

  I’d never fit into that type, and never would.

  Not that there was anything wrong with her, but still.

  “I used to have a crush on him.” I paused. “I’ve had a crush on him since I met Raleigh.”

  Her eyes went wide. “You still have a crush on him?”

  She sounded so alarmed that I almost smiled. “No. Used to. Past tense. I don’t anymore.”

  She frowned. “Why not?”

  I let my eyes drift to the man that was busy cleaning up the gym, putting up equipment, and having an annoying Nivea follow him around while he did it.

  “Because someone showed me that my crush on Croft wasn’t all that much of a crush,” I said simply.

  She followed my gaze.

  “My brother is a dick.”

  I burst out laughing, causing Flint’s head to come up and his eyes to latch onto mine.

  “I don’t know why that’s relevant,” I admitted.

  “It’s relevant because my brother’s a dick, and you shouldn’t give up your crush on Croft because you think he’s going to be nice.” She paused. “He can be nice, yes. But he’s not really all that nice unless he wants to be.”

  I snickered. “I’m not saying that I’m going to pursue anything with him. I’m just saying that he made me realize that Croft wasn’t it for me.”

  She made a sound in the back of her throat. “I’ve had a crush on Croft since he started coaching with my brother.”

  I looked at her with a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. “Croft is a good guy.”

  “Croft’s too good for me. I’m just a lowly substitute teacher and half owner of this gym. I hate to work out. I’m just not made for it. And everyone treats me like a doll. I’m not a doll. But yet I still haven’t had a date in my entire life.”

  I studied her. “You substitute?”

  She nodded.

  “Where?” I questioned.

  She gestured to me with a flick of her hand. “Your school. I just started this year. I was at the meeting that y’all had just a few days ago. The day that you hit my brother’s car.”

  I pursed my lips, causing her to snicker.

  “I know. It was actually kind of funny when he retold the story.” She paused. “My brother says that you’re scared of him.”

  I shook my head. “Not him, exactly. His dog? Yes. H
im? No.”

  She tilted her head slightly. “You’re scared of Dooley? He’s a sweetheart.”

  I shrugged. “Police dogs scare the absolute crap out of me.”

  Then I proceeded to tell her why.

  Her mouth dropped open. “That’s like you’re telling me a plot from a movie!”

  I grunted in response as I walked to where my keys and phone were sitting.

  When I picked up my phone, the screen flashed bright, and I saw the unread text message from Raleigh brightening the screen.

  I quickly shoved the phone into my bra so I wouldn’t be tempted to look at it here.

  “Anyway, long story short, I’m scared of dogs—police dogs and big scary dogs? They’re one and the same. It doesn’t matter if I’m told they’re friendly. My rational brain and my irrational brain don’t seem to connect when there are dogs involved,” I told her bluntly.

  She frowned. “Did you tell Flint that you’re scared of the dog?”

  I barked out a surprised laugh. “Since when do you think Flint gives me the time of day?”

  I bent over one more time and snatched up my bottle of water, then tucked it underneath my arm.

  “Can I tell him?” she asked.

  “Sure,” I answered. “But I doubt that it’ll matter.”

  Just as I was about to head for the door, an enraged scream came from the opposite side of the gym, causing me to pause and stare at the spectacle.

  My eyes widened as I watched Nivea lay into Flint as if he’d done her a grievous wrong instead of only breaking up with her.

  I mean, she had been acting like a real bitch, so what did she expect to happen?

  A man like Flint wasn’t going to allow the bullshit Nivea was laying out to go on for long. It was only a matter of time before he decided Nivea wasn’t worth the effort.

  I didn’t feel sorry for her at all, either.

  Not when she was hissing and spitting at him, calling him names that everyone and their brother knew didn’t apply to him.

  Luckily, it was only Flint, me, his sister and Nivea left and this whole ordeal was only between the four of us.

  I would’ve been super embarrassed if this had happened with everyone still here.

  Thank God Raleigh and Croft had gone out to dinner and left me here to talk on the phone. If it hadn’t happened, they would’ve likely been privy to this shipwreck, too.