T W E N T Y | a morning delight—

C A P R I C E

I shielded my eyes from the blinding sun rays while I walked towards the gym. My eyelids felt heavy. A result of three hours of sleep.

I greeted the other employees with fake smiles, making my way towards Taylor's office. I had received a call from him earlier this morning, telling me to see him today.

"Priz!"

Acrylic's voice made me cringe in repugnance. I hastened my steps though I could still hear his voice calling me.

"Caprice, please. Let's talk."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I meandered through a crowd of people hoping that he'll lose sight of me.

"Priz!" he called out again.

Go away!

It was a blessing when a throng of customers came out of the dressing room. The crowd thickened and it made me escape my confrontation with him.

I exhaled a gust of air before stepping inside Taylor's office. Everything in his office was pastel except for a foreign matter that was seated on one of the chairs. I outright crossed my arms when my gaze settled on him.

"Can I talk to you next time, Taylor?" I said with a slightly venomous tone.

Instead of frowning, the old man seems to be amused. "Wait, Priz. This is important."

I glanced at the devil but he wasn't looking at me. He was texting somebody on his phone. I sighed softly. Fine.

I took a hesitant seat in the other chair. Unfortunately, the chair was opposite Colt's chair so it means that I was once again, face to face with the devil.

Taylor finally took notice of the heavy air around the two of us. "What's wrong with you two? I thought you started to get along."

I snorted at the same time Colt scoffed.

"Apparently, there is no cure for being an asshole." I flashed him a taunting smile.

Colt glanced up from his phone. He leaned comfortably on his chair, not breaking his eye contact with me. "No cure for being a bitch either."

I gritted my teeth at his words. I glared at him with hatred and he returned it with the same intensity.

The two of us began a fierce glaring contest when Taylor cleared his throat. I hesitantly turned my head towards Taylor, not wanting to be rude to my boss.

"I fear that my office will be destroyed if I don't let you out of here so... let's be direct to the point." Taylor gestured in our direction, "You two have been invited to visit Hexwood Clubhouse and Riding Club for two weeks. And this is all free." The old man's face was brimming with happiness as he announced that.

On the other hand, Colt and I remained poker face.

"Ugh, why?" I asked.

Taylor's eyebrows puckered, probably confused by the fact that we weren't excited. "Well, you were great in the inter-gym competition. And they decided to let you experience their facilities so that you can meet other people. There will be forums and lots of tips for athletes."

He stooped down to search for something in his drawer. When he found it, he handed me a brochure.

"Look at that. If you go, you get to experience their world-class facilities. And it's free!" he explained, making emphasis on the word free.

The brochure was glossy and in front was the name of the clubhouse in gold font. From that alone, I knew the facilities would be prestigious. But who cared about that?

All my life I had been going to impressive places, so this was not thrilling and exciting for me. I opened the brochure and saw a red Ferris wheel imprinted on it. My heart thumped.

So it's named Hexwood now?

My head pounded. Memories I didn't want to remember began surfacing. Shit.

"Taylor, I'm sorry but no," I mumbled, trembling fingers pushing the brochure away.

"How about you?" He directed the question to his son.

"No," Colt replied.

"I guess we will do this the hard way," Taylor said, crossing his muscular arms on his chest. "I will fire you two if you don't attend. I'm sorry but I need all the publicity for RDG."

Colt sat upright in his chair. "You can't fire me because I own part of—"

He stopped when Taylor glanced at him with pleading. The old man had this desperate look on his face, blue eyes glittering like this was his last chance.

"Fine," Colt mumbled with distaste.

He's a part-owner of the gym? Crap.

"And Priz," Taylor turned to me. "Your answer?"

"Well..." I rested my hands on my lap, crossing my fingers. I had to double my armor if I would be going back to that place. Okay. I'll go."

"Good. Because when you get back, I want you to man our customer service. Make sure to get the proper requirements, okay?"

I did a double-take to make sure that I heard it right. "Really?"

Taylor flashed me a sunny smile. He was doing that a lot. "You have proven yourself already. You're intelligent and knew how to handle people. I think you are ready."

"Thank you, Taylor," I exclaimed. I was ecstatic. I had a job and I did it without my family's name, without the power that Sanctum Militem Group had.

Colt rolled his eyes at my happy appearance. "I don't think she was helpful at all. You know, because I was her first client, and my opinion kind of matters."

Taylor gave me a 'calm down' look but I failed to notice it. I whirled my head to the man. "Do you want me to produce a list of all the things I helped you with?"

"No, thanks. What would I do with a blank paper?" the death god smiled haughtily.

I craved to punch his beautiful visage. But I decided against it as the fact that he was partly my boss floated on the top of my mind.

I inhaled a deep breath before standing up. I faced Taylor and gave him an apologetic smile as I went outside. "Damn it!"

"Caprice."

I gasped and took a step back. "What?"

"Please, let me explain," Acrylic said.

My eyes narrowed at him. "You have 15 seconds. One, two, three–"

"Wait. Just let me—I'm—" Acrylic scrunched his eyes in utter concentration. "I'm really sorry. You might think that I was being a jerk but the truth is, I was afraid to get hurt. You were starting to be important to me and—"

I raised my hand to a stop. "Your fifteen seconds are up."

"Just—"

"If you didn't wanna risk it, then you should have told me. I don't wanna risk it either." I continued, eyeing him with disappointment. "That just shows how little our friendship means to you."

Acrylic's blue eyes were wistful. He grasped my arm in a vise-like grip. "I'm really sorry. Please give me another chance?"

I tried to pull my arm from his hold. Our situation was starting to irritate me. I knew how sorry Acrylic was, but another chance? Hell, no.

Giving second chances to people who don't deserve it is a no-no.

"Let go." My voice became frigid.

"Caprice, just–"

"Didn't she say to let go?"

Colt came up from behind me with both of his hands in his pockets. His conversation with Taylor must be over. But why was he meddling with my business? Fuck him.

Acrylic let go of my arm. He marched up to the death god until they were face to face with each other as if they're in a boxing weigh-in.

Colt gave Acrylic an arrogant smirk and both of them were emitting testosterone in the air.

Oh, I smell a fight. How exciting.

"This is our problem," AC said shoving Colt backward. I was surprised by Acrylic's attitude since he wasn't one to pick a fight.

Colt chuckled darkly. "Did you know what she said when I took her out on a date? She enjoyed my company. More than you."

I did not say that.

Acrylic's face muscles tightened. He scoffed, "Come on, man. Where's your dick at?"

Colt let out a sarcastic smile, "Maybe it's in your mouth."

Acrylic threw the first punch. Colt groaned from the impact. He staggered backward. He wiped his bruised cheek with the back of his hand. Surprisingly, he chuckled, "Is that all?"

Acrylic pushed him to the wall, both of his hands on the death god's shoulder. His wrath was conspicuous based on the strain of his veins. He clutched at the collar of Colt's gray shirt tightly and was about to hit him when Colt moved. He struck his brother's face.

It left AC disoriented that Colt easily pushed him back. He swung his left fist straight towards his brother's stomach.

It put Acrylic in a coughing fit.

I whirled my attention to Colt only to see a wicked smile on his handsome face. It brought me back to reality.

"You two, stop it now," I commanded in a stern tone.

Both of them did not listen. Acrylic straightened himself up and they began circling each other like a predator circling his prey. Some of the gym's customers gathered around them.

I let out a frustrated grunt before walking in between the two men.

"Alright. You need to stop."

They glowered at each other with hate before Acrylic sighed, the tension leaving his whole body. He muttered, "She's right."

Colt smirked. "Coward."

I gasped. I put a hand against Colt's chest. "Stop it."

Colt shook his head like he was disappointed. He wiped his injured cheek before marching towards the direction of the training room but not before he shot me a peculiar look.

The crowd dispersed and I was alone with AC. When I glanced at him, his head was bowed down.

"Sorry." I heard him mutter.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault," I replied.

AC's blue eyes locked on mine. "Actually it's my fault. What happened between us was entirely my mistake but there was some part of me that blames him. Somehow, it's like he took you away from me."

My icy heart softened when I saw the tender look on his face. I knew he regretted everything so I said, "I belong to no one but myself, Acrylic. So stop that way of thinking."

"Don't talk too soon, Priz. I know Colt. He will get what he wants," he mumbled with a straight face.

I cleared my throat, making sure he wouldn't see the effect of his statement on me. I tried to forget the things that happened between Colt and me but it was futile.

Everything kept coming back to me. His words and why it hurt so much that I lashed out in revenge.

After everything that transpired between us, I thought we had developed this respect. He had trusted me with his past and his worries about the people associated with him especially Taylor.

But he had watched as Acrylic played me to his tune. He was probably laughing at how gullible I was.

We were both at fault but his sin was greater.

I shove the detrimental thoughts away and returned my full attention to Acrylic. I saw him rubbing his stomach. I scrunched my forehead. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head. "It's okay."

I grabbed his arm and yanked him in the direction of the kitchen. "I'm gonna get the kit."

"Priz, I feel guilty when you're being nice," AC muttered even though he was letting me drag him. He spat out some more timid words but I neglected it.

I tended to Acrylic's injury. I disinfected the red blotch on his right cheek. After I finished, I said goodbye. Acrylic told me how sorry he was and would settle for friendship if that was possible.

I said that I would think about it. I did enjoy his company and it would be fun to talk trash about Colt with him.

Taylor said that I did not need to do anything today so I decided to go home. My feet already landed outside of the gym when I groaned.

Colt was also hurt and he was my boss. And he could fire me. I knew I needed to put out the fire between us as soon as possible. I couldn't forgive him but a civil relationship would ease my worries.

I went back inside.

I grabbed the first aid kit before my feet took me to the locker room. I pushed the door open. Colt's sculpted body and his tattoos and scars greeted me.

Colt saw me and a playful smirk settled on his lips. "Aw, you're worried."

I stopped the urge to roll my eyes and put down the kit on the bench with a heavy thud. "Go and treat yourself."

"I'm kidding. I like charity." He positioned himself on the bench with both of his legs on either side of it. "In fact, I do her every Wednesday," he added.

I replied with a snort.

I took a seat and mirrored his sitting position so that I was facing him. I examined his face since I knew that Acrylic landed a solid jab at him too. His lip was cut and there was a thin red line on his right cheek.

I pursed my lips and damped the cotton with hydrogen peroxide on his face. I disregarded his keen stare. I got another cotton ball and rubbed it gently on the cut on his lip, trying to ignore how my fingers were accidentally touching his tender lips.

The keyword was tried so I couldn't stop it when several lewd images floated in my head.

Come on, man. Where's your dick at?

Maybe it's in your mouth.

The beating of my heart quickened when I remembered their exchange earlier.

I gritted my teeth. I began thinking of ghosts, frogs, and spoiled food, and everything ugly in the world to lessen the electric tension between us. When I finished, I returned the things I used inside the first aid kit. I was ready to get out of that dangerous place when all of a sudden, Colt grabbed me by the waist.

My eyes widened. Mierda!

"W-what are you doing?" I stared at him with loathing. Fuck, why did I stutter?

"Are you afraid of me?" he whispered in a husky voice that made all of the hairs on my body stood up. Both of his hands gripped my hips and he pulled me closer to him and his electric crackling body. "Are you afraid of this thing between us?"

His dark eyes locked with mine, coaxing me to answer.

How dare he?

The greatest power play was to appear innocent, concealing your intentions, and striking at the perfect timing.

I knew I was treading on perilous waters but I didn't dare stop. I wanted revenge.

"You're wrong," I whispered and leaned closer until there was only an inch between our faces. I brought up my hand and ran my thumb over his soft lips. I wasn't prepared when his tongue darted out to lick my finger in a playful manner.

Colt sucked the tips of my fingers into his hot mouth, not severing our eye contact. An action that tightened the coil in my stomach.

I pressed a kiss to his jaw, sucking at his pulse point as his wet tongue flicked at my fingers. His hand rubbed my back as I continued pressing kisses on his golden skin down to the tattoos on his collarbone.

He let go of my hand as my mouth moved lower to his sculpted chest. I could feel raised flesh as I licked at his hard rocked abs. His abdomen tightened as my fingers dig into his thighs.

My lips curled into a triumphant grin.

I sat straight, eyeing him. "Do you want me to touch you?"

He placed my hand on his pulsing erection, pressing it down. "Fuck, yes."

I retrieved my hand, folding my arms against my chest. "Too bad. I forgot I have something to do."

Colt's obsidian eyes narrowed at me. In less than a second, all traces of lust were gone. The muscle around his left eye twitched with displeasure.

"I see," he muttered with a wintry voice.

He pushed me away as he stood up, grabbing a white shirt from his locker. His head whirled to me again, jaw clenched and unclenched.

Colt sighed audibly before the door slammed on his back.

My lips parted in surprise, feeling disconcerted. I thought he would get angry and give me shit for being a cocktease.

But no. He didn't.

I sighed. This revenge didn't satisfy me at all.

end of part one

Votes and comments are appreciated!

QOTD:

Q: Would you rather have to sneeze but not be able to or have something stuck in your eye for an entire year?

Me: Can I just go to the doctor, please?