Tempted by You

Chapter 27: Crossing Paths pt. 2

Setting: Marlo's out of town at a science expo, so it's just Jimmy in Colombus for the week.

Jimmy texted Lucas and asked him to meet at the gym at 6am. He wanted to apologize like Marlo had told him to do.

Lucas: "Why did you wanna meet here so early?"

Jimmy: "I mean why not? You talked about what you do, why can't I show you what I do?"

Lucas wasn't the biggest fan of Jimmy at all. Being around him without Marlo made him more uncomfortable.

Lucas: "Uhh, okay."

Jimmy: "Come spot me." He said waving Lucas over

Lucas: "Sure."

Jimmy started making conversation to break the awkward silence.

Jimmy: "I'm sure you know that Marlo is out of town."

Lucas: "Yeah, at the convention thing."

Jimmy: "Surprised me to hear you weren't going."

Lucas could feel the hostility building up in the gym. It was 6 am and he wasn't ready for an argument... at least not yet anyway.

Lucas: "I didn't want to go."

Jimmy: "That's hard to believe."

Lucas: "Excuse me?"

Jimmy: "Can't blame me for thinking that. I mean come on, just you and Marlo having a little time away."

Lucas: "I wasn't really thinking about it that way."

Jimmy: "Uh huh, right."

Jimmy's shirt started getting soaked with sweat, so naturally he took it off.

Lucas: "Oh, you have tattoos? Nice."

Jimmy: "Yep, been having them for a while now."

Lucas: "That's cool." he said awkwardly

Jimmy: "You got any?"

Lucas: "Oh, no I don't do that sort of thing."

Jimmy: "You should."

Lucas: "Yeah, maybe. Hey, I don't wanna be rude, but why exactly did you wanna meet here?"

Jimmy: "Marlo asked me to apologize to you before she left."

Lucas: "Ohhh"

Jimmy was dreading that he was coming up to the point where he actually had to apologize to Lucas. He wasn't sorry for the way he acted that night.

Jimmy: "To be clear, I'm apologizing for asking about your sex life and asking you to watch."

Lucas: "It's all good."

Jimmy: "I'm not apologizing for being overprotective of Marlo."

Lucas: "Completely understandable."

Jimmy was surprised by how well everything was going. Lucas seemed to be okay with all of his stipulations, until he got to the next part of the deal.

Jimmy: "Great, so outside of class you need to stay away from Marlo."

Lucas: "Um, excuse me?"

Jimmy: "You heard me. Stay away from Marlo outside of class."

Jimmy walked toward Lucas to ensure he knew that he was serious. Lucas had no intentions of backing down.

Lucas: "I'm sorry, but that's just not gonna happen."

Jimmy: "You said what?"

Tensions between the two continued to rise. Jimmy was ready for any and everything to happen in the weight room.

Lucas: "Look, I understand that you want to be protective of Marlo and everything, but you can't control who she can and can't be around."

Jimmy: "I'm not controlling her, I'm controlling you."

Jimmy's blood was boiling. If Lucas wasn't interested in anyone, why was he fighting to be around Marlo so much?

Lucas: "I'm sorry to tell you that I'm gonna keep hanging around Marlo."

Jimmy: "Excuse me? You're gonna do what?"

Lucas: "You heard me. I'm not gonna stop hanging out with Marlo just because her D1 basketball boyfriend is a little insecure."

Jimmy: "Do I look insecure to you Lucas?"

Lucas: "You certainly sound insecure."

Jimmy was livid. He wanted so badly to just end things by punching Lucas, but if that got back to Marlo, things might go sour.

Jimmy: "I'm not giving you an option Lucas. Stay away from Marlo."

Lucas gathered his things and started heading for the door. He had a couple things left to say to Jimmy before he left.

Lucas: "By the way, we're going skating with some friends when she gets back. Hopefully she doesn't fall on me." he said winking at Jimmy

Jimmy: "So this is how it's gonna be huh? Remember my dick is in her mouth at the end of the day. Not yours."

Lucas: "Oh be careful playing at those away games. Wouldn't wanna get hurt and end up in the hospital. Don't worry though, I'll take care of Marlo when that happens."

Jimmy: "Funny that you wanna talk that shit when you halfway out the door."

Lucas: "This is far from over."

Jimmy was definitely on the edge with Lucas. He needed Marlo to see things his way and stop hanging out with him.