THE UNIVERSITY HAD a gym on campus. It was a place I avoided like the plague and a place Asher called his second home. I’d gone to the library and studied for a few hours after class since I knew Asher wouldn’t be at the gym until after eight.

It was more crowded than I expected when I pushed through the doors. I was about as out of place as a person could be, considering I wore skinny jeans and a stylish long-sleeved shirt under my coat. Everyone else was decked out in sweatpants or shorts with sweaty T-shirts or bare chests.

The noise of machines buzzed in the air, and the stink of perspiration was thick. I scanned, looking for my brother. I didn’t know his workout regimen, so I didn’t know where I’d find him.

“You look lost.” I whipped my head around and found a beautiful and underdressed woman smiling near the front desk. Legit, her shorts were glued to her sculpted body and barely covered her bubble-ass, and I was pretty sure her top was what most women considered a sports bra. Weren’t you supposed to wear something over top of those? But maybe she was showing off that navel ring. And holy shit, I’d never seen a woman with a six-pack. Or was that eight? I started counting ridges, then realized what I was doing and jerked my head up.

“Hi. My brother. Um … I’m looking for my brother. I’m not here to work out. Please don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t do stuff like that. Not that it’s a bad thing. It’s good. For you. Obviously. I mean, look at your body. Not that I’m looking at your body. I’m not. I’m gay, so I wouldn’t do that. Not that you aren’t beautiful. You are. My brother probably thinks so. He’s straight. I think. It’s debatable. He probably thinks you’re sexy as fuck.”

A guy who was leaving the gym bumped into me by accident. He apologized and kept going, but I couldn’t help watching him leave. His muscles were straining and glistening with sweat, his chest was bare, and his shorts were revealing. “Now see, he’s drool-worthy. He’s the kind of person I’d notice. Not that I’m here to gawk at people.” I frowned when the sexy buff guy was out of sight. “I’m sorry. I got sidetracked. What was the question again?”

The woman grinned ear to ear, and I was glad she didn’t try to hurt me because I had no doubt she could have if she wanted to. “You said you were looking for your brother?”