Chapter 9 : Making Bets

*Genevieve*

Once again, I woke up before my alarm clock. This morning, there was a jolt of excitement to accompany the dreamy sensation of coming back to consciousness. I climbed out of bed and changed into gym clothes. Usually, I put my uniform on to start with, but I was going to push myself twice as hard as usual today, and I didn't want to sweat through my clothes for the day before it had even started.

It was the day of our bet. Today, Rowan would be attempting to keep up with my workout, and I just knew I would be able to surprise him. He'd already seen bits and pieces of what I was really capable of, but today, I was going all out. I'd been taking it easy since coming to Boldova. There were no true threats to Aurora, and after traveling and the packed social schedule, I was tired enough to not want to push myself.

Today was a different story.

I was practically skipping on my way down to the gym. Rowan was already down there, chugging a bottle of water.

"The last thing I want is to cramp up because I'm dehydrated," he said by way of greeting.

"Good. It would be a shame if you had to forfeit just because you were a little thirsty," I taunted.

"No one said anything about forfeiting anything," Rowan retorted, grinning at me.

"You about ready to get started?" I asked, dismissing his cocky attitude. Maybe I was being cocky, but I felt like I had an honest chance at proving that there was more to me than what met the eye.

"Please tell me you have some sort of warm-up. I can't just jump straight into things."

"Of course, I do. I warm up with an easy five-mile run. I just hope you can keep up," I chuckled.

"A five-mile run? Even at six minutes a mile, that's going to take half an hour," he whined.

"Then, I guess we'd better get started. Did you bring headphones? I'm sure you'll want to listen to music so you don't have to talk while we run."

He barked a laugh. "Okay, that was cold."

"Am I wrong?"

He didn't answer, just pulled his phone and a set of earphones out of his pocket.

I did the same, then stepped up onto the treadmill. I got it started at a comfortable pace, letting my music flood my ears and take over.

The first mile or two was easy, just a casual jog. I imagined myself back home, jogging down the beach next to Bradley. He trained with me every morning while I was in the military. He was like the father I never had, encouraging me to keep pressing when I felt like I had nothing left. I'd gotten stronger and faster than I ever thought possible by training with him. He'd been the leader of a special forces unit in his younger days. When he married his wife and she got pregnant with their first child, he gave it up. Instead, he became one of the best trainers the Reynan military had.

He'd seen something in me, helping me climb the ranks and find a position with the royal guard. On days when I was feeling low, I could reach out to him, and he would encourage me to find my way to a brighter place. He was responsible for almost all of the success I'd ever had in life.

I turned to look at Rowan, watching the sweat drip down his brow. He glanced over at me for a moment before turning back to the mirror along the wall. I stared at his reflection for a moment longer before meeting my own dark eyes in the mirror.

It was a strange feeling to look myself in the eyes. It wasn't like I didn't do it every day while I got ready, but there was something about seeing myself while I exercised and staring so intently at myself.

Rowan suddenly reached over and slapped my treadmill. I jumped, startled by the sudden movement. At first, I wasn't sure why, until I realized my treadmill was starting to speed up. I let my legs stretch, carrying me faster and faster. When I was certain of my footing, I reached over and did the same to him.

He laughed, reaching over to hit mine again. When I reached to turn his up, he swatted my hand away.

"Do you want to see me fall?" he yelped.

"You started it." I shrugged.

He couldn't think of anything to say in response, just laughed as we kept running.

I finished my five miles before he did, stepping off to watch him finish. I downed some water while I waited, taunting him as he ran.

"Not off to a hot start," I hollered. "It's just the beginning."

Rowan shook his head, but he didn't say anything back.

"Hurry up, we don't have all morning," I continued.

He still only shook his head, refusing to answer me. Or maybe he was too out of breath. I wasn't sure which.

Finally, he finished, stepping off the treadmill only to rest his hands on his knees, doubled over while he caught his breath. I picked up his water bottle and offered it to him.

"Thirsty?" I asked, holding it out to him. I lifted an eyebrow in question.

Rowan straightened and took the water bottle from me. His eyes ran over me salaciously, making my core turn molten. I'd never felt so desired before, and I hated that Rowan was the one making me feel this way.

"Yeah. I'm thirsty." He flicked the top off the bottle and gulped down water until it dripped down his chin and along his throat.

I watched, unable to tear my eyes away. I was glad that we were the only ones here. I wouldn't want anyone to witness the way I was openly lusting over him. His eyes were shut as he guzzled water, so I was confident that at least he hadn't seen me. Before he could finish and see the way I looked at him, I drug my eyes away.

"What next?" Rowan asked, setting his water bottle back down.

"Weights," I said, snapping myself back into focus. I was the captain of his fiancée's guard. He was a prince. We were here to work out, a little friendly bet. That was all.

Rowan nodded, going over to the weights.

"How heavy should I set this?" he asked.

I pulled the pin from the weight it was currently set at, moving it down a couple of holes. I placed it back.

"You plan to lift that much?"

"I always lift that much," I answered. "Why?"

"I was just checking." Rowan shrugged, pretending not to care.

"Can you lift that much?" I teased with my brows raised.

"Easily," he remarked, throwing that familiar smirk back at me.

It shouldn't feel like a smile from an old friend. I barely knew this man. We had been working out together for less than two weeks, we'd known each other for barely more than that. I didn't know him. We chatted in the mornings while we exercised, but other than that, we hardly knew each other. Still, the way he looked at me filled me with warmth. Conversation was easy with him.

"Then let's get started," I said, pressing on the bars.

Again, we moved in silence, Rowan occasionally throwing glances over at me. I was thankful he didn't try to chat with me. I was able to talk pretty easily while I ran, but talking while weightlifting was significantly more difficult. Since Rowan didn't try, I didn't have to admit that I would be huffing and puffing.

After a while, Rowan started to breathe harder, his chest rising and falling in deep breaths. I smiled, though I wasn't far from being breathless either. I counted out my last five reps before I stopped.

"And, done," I said, easing the weights back into place.

"Damn, I don't know why you put yourself through that." He sighed, relaxing back into the seat.

"We've got plenty more left to do," I informed him.

"No," he whined. "I want to be done."

"You can always quit. I'll take my ten dollars in cash," I taunted.

Rowan rolled his eyes before standing. "Alright, what next?"

I led him over to the climbing wall. It wasn't a part of my usual workout routine, but I'd started incorporating it more and more lately. It was a great way to stay nimble and strong. Free climbing was something I liked to stay brushed up on, in case I ever needed to climb something. I'd found that it happened more often than I wanted to admit.

Rowan groaned as we climbed, but he managed to keep up better than I expected. He lagged behind, feet slipping from time to time, but he always managed to catch himself. I had to admit that I was impressed.

I reached the top, slapped the ceiling, and started climbing back down.

"Why do you do that?" he asked, reaching for one of the ceiling tiles.

"Do what?"

"Slap the ceiling," he answered, starting his own descent.

"It's just a way to prove to myself that I made it to the top. I'm terrified of heights. It's like conquering my fears over and over again," I explained.

"Afraid of heights. So the woman of steel has a weakness," he mused.

"Everyone's afraid of something. I'm afraid of a lot of things. You just gotta be tougher than you are scared."

When I was close enough to the ground, I jumped off the wall, landing flat on my feet.

"Sounds easier said than done," he said, grunting as he kept crawling back down the wall.

"It is." I shrugged.

"What next?"

"Are you up for a little cardio?" I asked in return.

"I thought we already did cardio?" Rowan complained.

"This cardio has more purpose," I retorted, wrapping my wrists.

"Now this, I can get behind," Rowan chuckled, realizing where we were headed next.

We stood in front of punching bags, working through series after series of punches and kicks. I loved this part of a workout. Hand-to-hand combat had always been one of my favorites. There was something cathartic about slugging away at an inanimate object. Sparring was more fun than that, but I wasn't going to get caught sparring with Rowan. Someone could misconstrue it as an attack on the prince, and I wasn't ready for that kind of trouble.

Before I had fully finished my circuit, Rowan stepped away from the bag and sat on the floor.

"Alright, alright, I forfeit." He laid back on the floor with his arms outstretched. "When did it get so damn hot in here?"

"It's freezing in here." I chuckled and grabbed his water bottle, handing it to him. "Drink up."

"You're trying to kill me," he groaned.

"You're going to land me in prison with that kind of talk. I'm just getting my workout in for the day," I dismissed. I took a long sip from my own water bottle. I was nearly finished with my workout, so it seemed like a good call to just go ahead and call it a day.

"I should put you in jail for being that masochistic. You're a psychopath. No, maybe you're just a machine," he mused. Rowan gulped down more water.

"No, I've just spent a lot of hours training. I have to stay at the top of my game." I shrugged, sinking to sit on the floor next to him.

"I don't have any cash today. I'll bring you your earnings tomorrow, how's that sound?" he asked, turning his head to look at me.

I smiled. "I'm shocked you plan on coming back."

"I'm never doing your insane workout again, but I'd miss our morning workouts too much if I never came back," Rowan explained.

"Maybe eventually you'll learn to keep up."