Forever Friend Zoned

by C. Morgan

  I was not going to pretend I was a good runner. I doubted I was a pretty runner either. I didn’t care.

  I needed to run. I needed to try and put some distance between me and the pain I felt clinging to my soul. I ran fast before having to slow down and walk for a bit. By the time I made it back to the house, my lungs felt like they were going to burst. I managed to run the last half the whole way.

  “What the hell?” I managed to get out when I saw Jeff leaning against the side of his truck outside the gate of my parents’ home.

  “I want to talk,” he said.

  I could barely breathe let alone talk. “No.”

  “Alora, you have to hear me out.”

  “No, I don’t. Go home.”

  He stepped forward and grabbed my shoulders. “Listen to me! Please! I know what you think and you are wrong!”

  “I think Fran was in your room last night begging you to come back to bed. I don’t need the details. I got the gist of it, thanks.”

  “No. She showed up at my door and asked for a glass because she didn’t have any in her room. When I went to grab one, she let herself into my room. I told her to leave. When you called, she’d only been in the room for literally a minute. I went in the bathroom to talk to you. I made her leave as soon as I got off the phone with you.”

  “Sure, you did.”

  “I did! I threatened to file a sexual harassment report on her if she wouldn’t leave. I’ll go to your father right now and tell him what happened. I never touched her. I don’t want her. I can’t fucking stand her and I told her as much.”

  I wanted to believe him but there was so much pain. I couldn’t see through the pain. “Whatever, Jeff. I can’t do this with you.”

  “I’ll file a report right now. I will leave here and go put everything in writing. I will make sure that woman never comes near me again.”

  He sounded sincere. I saw Fran in action and I did know she could be overbearing. “Don’t file a report,” I said. “Not yet.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m going to talk to my dad.”

  “You believe me?”

  “I’m not sure what I believe. I know you said you’ve had problems with her, but she was in your room last night, Jeff. That’s pretty hard to ignore.”

  “I swear nothing happened. I never touched her. She never touched me.”

  “Was she naked?” I asked.

  A flash of guilt on his face had me reeling. “Not naked,” he said. “She was wearing lingerie.”

  “And you?” I breathed. “You sleep in the nude.”

  He shook his head. “Only with you. I had on underwear.”

  I closed my eyes and took it all in. “Go.”

  “Please, Alora,” he begged. “You have to believe me. I didn’t do this.”

  “I need time to think. Just go.”

  He looked at me, pleading with me. “I’ll go. I’ll give you some space but this does not change how I feel. I will do whatever it takes to make you trust me again. I won’t stop trying until you do.”

  I pushed the code into the gate and went inside. I ran upstairs to shower and contemplate my next move. I did believe him. I knew Fran wanted him and would stop at nothing to get him in her bed. It didn’t mean he was off the hook, but I was going to do something about it.

  I quickly changed and went downstairs to my father’s home office. “Dad, do you have a minute?”

  He nodded without looking up from his computer screen. “What is it?”

  “Dad, look at me. This is serious.”

  He stopped what he was doing and gestured for me to sit down. “What’s going on?”

  “You know Fran, at the gym?”

  “Of course.”

  “And you know the trainer Jeff?”

  “Alora is this going to be a quiz?” he said with frustration.

  “Dad, Fran is a problem. She is sexually harassing Jeff.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

  “Do you really need the details? It’s happening, and as the owner, you’re liable. She won’t back off. He has asked her repeatedly and she just comes on stronger. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. He’s ready to file an official complaint if she won’t stop.”

  “He’s told her to stop?”

  “Yes, Dad!”

  “Why are you telling me this and not him?”

  “Because I told him I would talk to you first.”

  “Jeff is your boyfriend, right?”

  I was going to deny it but figured it didn’t really matter at this point. “We were seeing each other.”

  He shook his head. “You’re coming to me because Fran is hitting on your boyfriend and you don’t like it.”

  “I’m coming to you because she is a liability. Jeff could sue you.”

  He scoffed. “But he won’t.”

  “Dad, you have to take this seriously.”

  “From where I’m sitting, this is a problem because you don’t like another woman moving in on your territory. You are jealous. I can’t go to Fran and accuse her of something because you are mad about the way she looked at your boyfriend.”

  “This is a lot more than looking.”

  “Then I would suggest Jeff takes appropriate action. As for you, I can’t fight your battles. This sounds personal to me.”

  “It is personal but it is also gym business.”

  “Who decided this was harassment, him or you? Does this stem from you witnessing something and deciding it was harassment? Is this you not trusting your boyfriend to reject her advances?”

  He was really not reacting the way I’d expected him to. I wanted him to pick up the phone and tell her she was fired. “Are you really not going to do anything?”

  “This is your battle to fight. If a woman is moving in on your man, you let her know you don’t like it. You have to fight for something you want.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “You want me to confront Fran?”

  He shrugged. “I want you to do what you think is right. You know I never liked that piece of shit Todd, but I accepted him because you said you loved him. I did what I could to help you, and looking back, I think that was a disservice. You have to stand up for yourself. If you like this guy, you’ll fight for him. If you really think he can be pulled away from you by another woman, dump him. Don’t waste your time with a man you can’t trust to keep his hands off another woman. However, that doesn’t mean you don’t let her know what’s what.”

  “You think I should tell her to back off?” I clarified.

  “I think you need to figure out if this guy is worth fighting for.”

  “And you won’t be mad?”

  “Hell no, I won’t be mad. Alora, you’ve been going through some stuff and I honestly didn’t know how to help you. I will deal with Fran from a professional standpoint, but I think you need to handle this for your own sake. You let those other women have their way with Todd and you never said a word. I’m going to assume that was because you didn’t care. If you don’t care about this guy, don’t go causing a big scene at my gym. If you want to say something to her, I’ll back you up.”

  I digested everything he was saying. I was a little surprised to know he was so up on the goings-on in my life. A little embarrassed but also happy to know he did care. “You sure do take a hands-off approach,” I told him.

  “I’ve been too hands-on and that’s why you’re living at home at the age of twenty-six. Consider this as me kicking you out of the nest. You need to learn to fly on your own. I know you can do it.”

  I got up from the chair. “Don’t be mad if she sues you for what I do,” I said as I walked out of his office.

  I was on the warpath. I was not going to lie down and let Fran fuck around with Jeff just because she thought she could. I had no doubt in my mind she knew we were together. She just didn’t give a damn. She was a predator preying on other women’s men and that was not cool. I was going to let her know exactly how I felt.

  B
efore I did that though, I needed to give myself a little ego boost. I went back into my room and changed clothes again before putting on a little makeup. I wasn’t going to fight for Jeff. If Jeff chose to fuck Fran, that was on him. But I was going to let her know the disrespect did not go unnoticed.

  If and when she set her sights on the next taken man, I wanted her to think twice.

  Chapter 33

  Jeff

  I stared out the window as I counted off reps for the client I was working with. I had no motivation today and I was sure my clients were feeling it. The session was almost over and then I could get the hell out of the gym. Fran was in her office and keeping a wide berth, but she was still nearby.

  “Uh, Jeff,” Bunny said, walking toward me with a weird look on her face.

  “What?” I asked. She jerked her head toward the client. “Sheila, we’re all done for the day. You did great. I’ll see you next week.”

  “I’m sorry, Sheila,” Bunny said. “I need to steal him away. Good job.”

  The older woman looked upset to have me pulled away but I couldn’t bring myself to care. “What’s going on?” I asked Bunny.

  She was dragging me toward the hall that led to the lockers. “Alora just came in and she did not look happy.”

  I grimaced and looked around. “She’s looking for me.”

  “No, not even close.” She slugged my arm. “What the hell did you do?”

  “Ow,” I said, rubbing my arm. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “She looked downright murderous.”

  “Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll grab my keys and go.”

  She hit me again. “You chickenshit. She isn’t looking for you. Not yet anyway. She was looking for Fran.”

  My face fell. “Oh shit.”

  “Oh shit is right. Did you sleep with her?”

  “Who?”

  She hit me again. “Fran, you idiot.”

  “No! Quit fucking hitting me. You hit really hard, you know?”

  “If you didn’t sleep with her, why did it look like Alora was going to kick her ass?”

  “Oh shit,” I said again and rushed across the gym to make my way down the admin hall. I could hear Alora’s voice echoing down the hall. She wasn’t even trying to be quiet. I was happy as hell the offices were away from the main part of the gym.

  The big window in Fran’s office was open as usual. She was always keeping an eye on things, watching people come and go and counting dollars. Alora was standing in front of Fran’s desk, both of her hands resting on the desk as she leaned forward to talk to Fran.

  “Are you proud of yourself?” Alora asked her.

  “I am very proud of myself in general. Maybe you should be more specific.”

  I winced. Wrong answer. I was about to go in and pull Alora out when she slapped her hand on the desk. I decided I might want to wait a minute.

  “Do you always let yourself into a man’s room wearing next to nothing?” Alora asked.

  Fran smiled, clearly enjoying her role in Alora’s distress. “I do. You should try it sometime.”

  “Only whores pull that shit with a man they know is taken.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “The hell you don’t. You were with Jeff last night.”

  Once again, I thought about going in to at least defend myself but when Fran stood, I thought better of it.

  “I was at the same hotel as Jeff.”

  “You were in his room. I heard your voice.”

  Fran waved a hand. “Big deal. Nothing happened.”

  “Not for lack of trying on your part,” Alora seethed.

  Fran’s cat-like smile made me want to strangle her. She was purposely goading Alora. She was trying to make her think something happened. Alora stepped around the desk and put her finger in Fran’s face. “You are a thirsty cougar who needs to learn to keep her hands to herself.”

  “And you’re a spoiled little rich girl who runs to daddy whenever she has a problem. You were so sad your boyfriend dumped you because you got fat that your daddy bought you a gym.”

  My hackles went up. I’d be damned if I let Fran insult Alora.

  “My boyfriend dumping me was a good thing. Why don’t you go after him, Fran? He would be perfect for you. He nails anything that walks and has no standards. I’m sure he would love to take a spin with you. Although he’s a shitty lay.”

  “I don’t want your sloppy seconds.”

  “Then why are you trying to go after Jeff?” she snarled. I could only imagine her teeth gnashing. I didn’t have a full view of her face but I wouldn’t be surprised to see her licking her fangs before she went in for the kill.

  “Your kind are always certain everything is theirs. You think Jeff belongs to you? Think again. He’s nothing but a dude looking to get ahead in this world, and you are an easy target. Look at you and then look at me. Who do you think he’d rather have sex with?”

  “That’s easy,” Alora said without missing a beat. “Me. We have plenty of great sex and you’re jealous that you will never have a man like him. He’s mine and he will never look at you the way he looks at me. He’ll never be yours.”

  I wasn’t sure what to expect from Alora. Part of me wanted to go in and save her and another part of me was too afraid of her to go in. She was holding her own. Hell, she looked fierce. She didn’t need me. She didn’t need anyone. She was handling her business all by herself.

  “I don’t want him,” Fran said in a haughty voice. “I only wanted a turn with him. He doesn’t belong to you.”

  “I know what’s mine, and you are messing with the wrong daddy’s girl. I don’t need my daddy to deal with you. If you’d like to meet me outside in the parking lot, I’ll show you just what I did with the gym my daddy bought me.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Fran hissed.

  Alora stepped closer to Fran. “I’m giving you a friendly reminder. You fuck with my man again, you will be looking for another job. Jeff will file a harassment claim against you. If you think my father is going to allow you to keep working here after that, you’ve got another thing coming. You so much as look Jeff’s way, you will be dealing with me. He’s mine and I will not let your cougar ass come near him.”

  Fran opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it. Alora spun on her heels and walked out of the office and right into me. She looked shocked to see me. I grabbed her and kissed her before she could tell me to get away from her.

  “That’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” I whispered.

  “Can we get out of here?” she asked.

  I grabbed her hand and led her down the hall—dragged her was probably more like it. I walked her to my truck and practically tossed her in before peeling out and driving the short distance to my place. We were barely in the door when our clothes started dropping. I was so turned on I was afraid I would come before I even got her naked.

  “You are fucking amazing,” I told her as I stripped her.

  “I hate that woman.”

  “You’re a wildcat. I have to have you right now.”

  “You better never touch her,” she growled as she raked her nails over my chest.

  I pushed her against the wall and kissed her. My body held her in place as my mouth worked over hers. I felt like I was on fire and only she could put out the flames. I kissed her over and over while rubbing my body against her.

  It wasn’t enough. The only thing I could think of was getting inside her. I lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around my waist as I pushed my way inside her with one thrust. There was no readying her. I didn’t need to. She was slick and ready for my invasion. I bounced her up and down, driving into her body with a fierce desire. Her arms were around my neck, holding me close to her breasts.

  It took her less than a minute to reach her first orgasm. Her cries of pleasure echoed around the room, filling my heart with joy. I walked with her still straddled on me and headed for my bedroom. I’d only managed to fuel the
fire burning inside me. I put her on her feet and spun her around. My arm wrapped around her waist, anchoring her body to mine while I ravished her neck.

  Her ass nestled against my crotch, cradling the erection that was throbbing. I could have come at any second but I wanted to make it last a little longer. This was not going to be one of those marathon sessions. I was too close to the edge to make it last. I needed to take the edge off.

  “Bend over,” I whispered next to her ear.

  She always found another position she liked better. I wanted to take her doggy style. It was one of the few we had yet to do. In that moment, there was a feral quality to our lovemaking. I felt primal. I was ready to beat my chest once again.

  She hesitated but willingly bent. She put her hands on my bed and turned to look at me. “Do it,” she whispered. “Take me.”

  I knew her sexual experience was limited to just one man before me. I could only imagine what he did to make her dread the position. I gently rubbed the head of my cock over her folds. I rubbed harder, finding her clit and applying some pressure. She was shaking, her body gently rocking as I teased her.

  “Ready?” I asked in a harsh voice.

  “Yes!”

  I slowly pushed inside, giving her every opportunity to stop if she wanted. She let out a low, slow moan as I filled her. My balls rested against her entrance. I didn’t move. I couldn’t move. Her tight heat was squeezing me, threatening to end our lovemaking before we really got started.

  “It is unholy how good it feels to be inside you,” I breathed.

  She was making a strange whimpering sound. Her body still gently swayed and rocked with me deep inside her. I reached forward and grabbed her breasts with both hands and gently squeezed. A low keening sound erupted from her throat, and a second later, she was coming hard.

  “Oh shit,” I gasped, fighting to hold on to my control as her pussy soaked me.

  She moaned, her body swaying forward and her hands fisting in my comforter. “That feels so good,” she managed to get out.