Chaos Theory (Nerds of Paradise #2)(10)

It might have been a little too obvious, but if Katrina was going to walk in on a game that Melody had been setting up for months, she needed to be ready to compete.

Sure enough, Katrina turned to stare at Melody, brows raised. “You got him to talk?”

“Uh huh.” Melody grinned more proud of her accomplishment now than she’d been before. “I was up in his apartment too.”

Katrina pressed her lips together, but she didn’t have time to say anything else.

“Okay, everybody gather ’round.” An extra-buff guy with an Army t-shirt headed to the center of the room, gesturing for everyone to join him. Melody and Katrina joined the large group together. “For those who don’t know me, I’m Jonathan Cross. I work for PSF’s Launch Engineering department, but I used to be a drill instructor for the Army. So I know how to get you in shape for this.”

A swell of laughter filled the room…and a swell of butterflies filled Melody’s gut. “Maybe I’m biting off more than I can chew here,” she murmured.

“What, don’t think you’re up to the challenge?” Katrina whispered.

Melody’s back went up. “Of course I’m up for the challenge.” She just hadn’t realized what the challenge was. Her notion that it would be a pretty little hike was fading fast.

“Orienteering takes a lot of skill and endurance,” Jonathan went on. “You’re going to be out there without modern conveniences for several days. That means you’ll need to be able to hike long distances over rugged terrain, make shelter for yourself, and potentially find your own food sources. We’ve got liability insurance out our…backsides—” He caught and corrected himself with a sheepish grin. “—but as Howie says, the best way to avoid a disaster is to plan and train for success.

“So. Who wants to tell the group what all this equipment over here is and what it does?” Jonathan held his well-muscled arm out toward the strength-training equipment and started walking toward it, bringing the group with him.

They spent the next ten minutes going over the different equipment and stations in the gym. Howie and Quintus moved with them, still consulting and taking notes. Melody had the weird feeling that they were repeating a scene from The Hunger Games, and that they were going into some sort of life or death situation instead of just orienteering. But as long as she could inch her way closer and closer to Will—much to Katrina’s distress—she was happy.

When the tour of equipment and an overview of all the skills they could learn was over, Melody followed Will back to the strength-training area. She halfheartedly picked up a kettlebell to see what they were all about—or rather, tried to pick one up.

“Geez, what are these things made of?” she asked after she was only able to lift one the size of a handbag a few inches off the ground.

Will had just taken a seat on a bench press. He sent her a cautious sideways look. As far as Melody was concerned, she didn’t look all that threatening in her lavender stretch pants and mint-green t-shirt. “Cast iron,” he answered, then lay back, reaching up for the barbell waiting in the bench press.

“That explains a lot.” Melody gave the kettlebell another tug, not nearly as interested in lifting it as she was in watching Will.

As she tried lifting a smaller kettlebell, Will braced himself and lifted the barbell from its resting place. He brought it to his chest, a look of intense concentration in his eyes. When he lifted it straight up, his muscles went tense and a flush began to spread across his face. Melody forgot the kettlebells entirely and watched him. She rested one hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side. Will slowly lowered the barbell on an inhale, then lifted it again on an exhale.

Several of Melody’s most interesting parts started to tingle, which felt strange to her. She’d never really had her head turned by the musclebound type. “Wow,” she said. “You’re pretty strong, for a nerd.”

Will let out an irritated breath and set the barbell back in its holder. “Don’t call me that.”

A twinge of embarrassment hit Melody’s gut, but she pushed it aside, opting to handle her flub with humor. “What, strong? Do you prefer manly or buff?”

He sat and swung his legs around to face her. The scowl he wore definitely wasn’t humorous. “It’s probably a good bet to avoid calling anyone a name that starts with ‘N’.”

Yikes. Strike two on her part. There had to be a way to salvage the situation.

“I know a lot of people who consider ‘Nerd’ a compliment.” She stepped around the collection of kettlebells and slid onto the bench beside him.

Will immediately got up. “It’s always been an insult to me.”

Well, crap. Melody stood again, searching the room as though the solution to foot-in-mouth syndrome were printed on a poster. All she saw was Katrina eyeing Will like she would swoop in the second Melody failed.

There was only one thing to do. “I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t mean anything by it.”

Will planted his hands on his hips and stared at her. For a long time. A good long time? Maybe a bad one.

“Why aren’t you taking this seriously?” he asked at last.

Melody blinked. “What do you mean, taking it seriously?”

He shrugged and glanced around at the equipment. “These training sessions are supposed to get you in shape, help you develop the skills you’re going to need to make it out there in the world—wilderness.” He quickly corrected himself. The flush that had started as he was working out deepened. “You’re not here to flirt.”