Page 51 of Alpha Brock
Practice with the squad on Tuesday morning isn’t enough to take the edge off, so I decide to extend my workout by hitting the weight room at the complex with Jax and Theo afterwards. It’s the best time to go because most of the squad is in the dining hall for lunch, and we walk in to find that we’ve basically got the place to ourselves. The three of us alternate spotting and lifting, and a half an hour in, my muscles are sufficiently burning. It’s a good burn. The kind that dulls the sharp edges of my agitation.
Theo sits up from the weight bench after doing another round of reps on the bench press, lifting the hem of his t-shirt and yanking it off overhead. He balls it up in his hands and swipes some sweat off of his forehead with it, swiveling to face me on the opposite bench while he catches his breath.
Jax was spotting for Theo, but he decides to take a break too, coming up between the two benches and resting an arm on the bar of each one. I watch as his gaze slides over to Theo and he sees something that has his mouth falling open, a laugh escaping.
“What the hell is that?” he asks, pointing to Theo’s bare chest.
Theo furrows his brow, looking down at himself. “What?”
I follow where Jax is pointing and right away, I see it. The name ‘Brooke’ in thick black ink, tattooed in large, swirly lettering across Theo’s left pec. Over his heart.
I snort, shaking my head. “Jesus, man.”
“What?!” Theo demands, looking from me to Jax.
“How bad did you fuck up that you had to let her brand you?” Jax laughs, still pointing.
Theo rolls his eyes hard, waving Jax off. “Whatever, bro. It wasn’t even her idea, I decided to get it on my own.”
“Sure you did,” I tease.
Theo turns to me, his eyes narrowing. “It was a gift, okay? For the… three month anniversary of our first date.” He says the second part quietly, like he knows we’re gonna give him a hard time for it. And I mean, how can we not?
Jax and I exchange glances and he cracks up, folding over at the waist. I can’t help but chuckle too, resting my elbows on my knees and shaking my head.
“Oh shut the fuck up!” Theo scowls, throwing his sweaty t-shirt at Jax. “Like you can talk, you’re just as far up my sister’s ass these days.”
Jax smirks. “Actually…”
Theo raises a finger in warning. “Don’t you dare fucking say it. You want a fist to the face again?”
“Oh, calm down,” Jax laughs, throwing Theo’s shirt back at him.
He snatches it out of the air, tossing it on the bench beside him. “Maybe you should take pointers from me, because she fucking loved it,” he says, folding his arms as he looks back up at Jax. “Shows I’m not afraid of commitment.”
“Isn’t your mate mark sufficient to show that?” I grumble, arching a brow.
“Not nearly,” Theo scoffs. “I want everyone to know she’s mine.”
Seriously, this guy is too much. For years, he went around saying relationships were bullshit and ridiculed those of us who got into them, racking up one night stands instead. He gave me endless shit the entire time I was with Annalise, saying that love wasn’t worth it andblah blah blah. Then he meets Brooke and declares himself a changed man, acting like that side of him never existed. It’s pretty fucking hypocritical if you ask me.
“Pussy,” I mumble under my breath.
Theo catches it. He shoots me a glare, narrowing his eyes. “Says the guy who got so pussy whipped by a girl that he can’t fucking move on,” he fires back.
I shoot daggers at him through my eyes, though I don’t dignify his stupid ass comment with a response. There’s no way he could understand what I went through with Annalise- the first girl he fell for wound up being his fated mate. While that seems to be a trend with my close friends lately, not everyone gets so lucky. I certainly didn’t.
“What’d she get you?” Jax asks, trying to break the tension by redirecting the conversation.
Theo’s head swivels in his direction. “Huh?”
“If you got her the tattoo, what’d she get you for your three-month-whatever?” Jax is still teasing him, like a dog with a bone refusing to let it go.
Theo’s unphased, though. He’s the guy that ruffles other people’s feathers while shit seems to just roll off his own back. The corner of his mouth ticks up into a smirk. “She made me a playlist.”
Jax snorts, shaking his head and holding up his hands. “So let me get this straight… you got her name branded across your chest, and she just threw some songs together on Spotify?”
Theo shrugs, a goofy smile on his face. “Hey, don’t knock it. I thought it was fucking perfect. Better than the tattoo, even. Music is our love language.”