The Engineer (Batchelor Series #2)

34

Drakon Da Vinci
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Sunday. Gym day. I always looked forward to this—my time to zone out, focus on myself, and let off steam. Pero ngayon, of course, may extra baggage akong kasama. Si Renz.

He’s here every Sunday, like clockwork. “Part of the routine,” he says. Pero minsan, I wonder if he’s really here to work out or just to bug me. Today, he’s already all over me before we even start. Clingy na naman, parang lintik.

"Hoy, Drakon!" Renz called out, jogging up behind me as I stretched. “Warming up na pala,” he said, grinning. “You know you can't start without me, right?”

I shot him a look. “I'm not waiting for anyone.”

He just laughed, as if it was the funniest thing in the world. "Sure ka dyan? Alam ko naman na favorite mo akong kasama dito." His voice was dripping with sarcasm, pero alam ko, may halong totoo.

Ang kapal.

I rolled my eyes and continued stretching. Renz, of course, took the opportunity to throw an arm around my shoulder, pressing up against me. “C’mon, ‘wag mo na i-deny. We both know mas masaya ‘pag ako kasama mo.”

“Mas masaya?” I repeated, pulling away from him and grabbing a dumbbell. “I’d get more done without you slowing me down.”

Renz raised an eyebrow, stepping in front of me, blocking my view of the weights. “Slowing you down? Ako? You sure about that?” He flexed his arm, showing off as usual. Tangina, he’s annoying but he knows how to mess with me.

“Tara, bench press tayo,” he said, grinning like he was up to something.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re not spotting me, Renz. Last time you almost dropped the bar on me dahil sa kakatawa mo.”

“Eh, that was an accident! Sige na, this time I’ll behave.” He winked, giving me that smug, confident grin that I was starting to hate but couldn’t seem to ignore.

Against my better judgment, I agreed.

We made our way over to the bench press, and Renz, true to form, kept hovering. While I was setting up, he was already beside me, too close for comfort. I could feel his eyes on me the whole time, watching my every move.

“Ready?” I asked, settling into position, ignoring how his presence made me feel on edge.

“As ever,” he replied, moving to stand right behind the bar. “I’ve got your back, Drakon. Literally.”

I started my set, and for the first few reps, everything was fine. Pero syempre, Renz being Renz, he couldn’t resist teasing me.

“Alam mo, Drakon,” he said, leaning a bit too close for a spotter, “you’ve really been bulking up lately. I mean, I’m not complaining. Suits you.”

“Shut up and focus,” I grunted, pushing through another rep.

But Renz wasn’t about to let it go. “Focus naman ako, pero I’m just saying… nice gains. Maybe next time we’ll train abs together, huh? I can help you out there too.”

I nearly lost my grip at that. Tangina, talaga? “Renz, spot me or shut up.”

He chuckled but finally held his tongue as I finished my set. I racked the bar and sat up, wiping the sweat from my face, trying to cool down—both physically and mentally.

“Kita mo? Walang aksidente,” Renz said, patting me on the shoulder as if he hadn’t been making the whole thing unnecessarily difficult.

I shook my head and moved on to the next exercise, pero syempre, he followed.

The rest of the workout was more of the same—Renz hovering, teasing, and finding any excuse to touch me. Whether it was fixing my form or offering to adjust the weights for me, he didn’t leave me alone for a second.

“Drakon,” he said at one point, while we were doing deadlifts. “Gusto ko lang sabihin… ang cute mo kapag seryoso ka sa workout.”

I shot him a glare, but he just grinned, completely unfazed.

“Seryoso, cute ka talaga. Lalo na pag focused na focused ka. Makes me want to—”

“Shut up, Renz,” I cut him off before he could finish, feeling my face heat up. I turned away, focusing on my reps, trying to ignore how close he was standing.

But even when I ignored him, Renz wouldn’t stop being… clingy. After every set, he’d find some reason to touch me—patting me on the back, ruffling my hair, leaning in too close when he spoke. It was like he couldn’t help himself. Ang lapit nya lagi, para bang laging may kailangan patunayan.

By the time we finished, I was exhausted—not just physically, but mentally. Nakakapagod talaga kasama si Renz.

As we headed to the locker room, I thought I might finally get a moment of peace. But of course, Renz wasn’t done.

“Drakon,” he called as I opened my locker. “Later, kain tayo? My treat.”

I didn’t even look at him. “I’ve got plans.”

“With who?” he asked, stepping closer. I could feel his eyes boring into the back of my head.

“Wala ka na dun,” I muttered, pulling out my towel and heading to the showers.

He followed, of course. “C’mon, Drakon. Don’t be like that. Alam mo naman na ako lang dapat kasama mo after a gym session.”

I shot him a look. “Sino may sabi?”

Renz smirked, leaning against the doorframe. “It’s just… natural. After all, sino pa ba ang lagi mong kasama? Ako lang, diba?”

I didn’t bother answering. I just pushed past him and walked into the showers, letting the sound of the water drown out his teasing voice. Gago talaga. Always too close. Always too much.

But no matter how much I tried to distance myself, Renz was always there. Like a shadow I couldn’t shake off.

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