Badge Heavy by Colin Conway

Author:Colin Conway
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Down & Out Books

Chapter 40

Gary Stone rubbed the tips of his fingers into his sore chest muscles as he stood in front of his mirror.

He’d only been working out with Tyler Garrett for a week and his body was aching in ways he hadn’t felt since the academy. It was a good feeling as Stone knew that his friend was pushing him to lift more and get stronger than he would on his own. Stone begrudgingly admitted to himself that he had the habit of going light, using less weights, so it wouldn’t hurt too much. He’d never achieve his full potential by taking it easy on himself. Garrett was the type of person who perpetually pushed himself and he needed that presence, that example, in his life.

Stone stood in his white underwear, having just taken an after-work shower. The evening was warm, and he didn’t have air-conditioning in his home. Some of the moisture on his skin started to dry, cooling him.

He pinched a bit of fat that was around his stomach. Stone wasn’t chubby, but he’d grown a bit of a paunch since the academy. Garrett teased him that it was because he was riding a chair while in city hall and that they needed to get him back into fighting shape.

Stone moved away from the mirror and stretched. As he felt the warm pull across his chest muscles, his eyes drifted to the bison picture that hung on his wall. Stone knew he hadn’t been like the stoic creature today. He’d been quite the opposite, in fact.

When Tyler Garrett asked about Jean Carter, Stone whined like a schoolboy, even asking Garrett if he was still dating Tiana Kennedy.

Stone closed his eyes and shook his head. “You’re an idiot,” he muttered.

He remained that way for several moments, replaying the embarrassing conversation in his mind.

When he opened his eyes, he relaxed the chest stretch. He put both arms behind his back, grabbed his hands, and pushed downward, feeling yet another stretch.

If Garrett wanted to see two women at the same time, what business was it of Stone’s? Plenty of guys in the department had girls on the side. It was such a common occurrence there was slang for them, some of it incredibly derogatory—chips, chippies, badge bunnies, holster sniffers. He didn’t figure Garrett to be one of those guys, though. Stone always thought of him as being singularly focused on Tiana. He hadn’t met Angie, his soon-to-be ex-wife, but he imagined Garrett had been committed to her in much the same way.

His eyes returned to the bison photo as he relaxed his stretch. When Garrett said he wanted to ask Jean out, Stone told him to go ahead and that he was cool with it. The whole thing was a lie, though, and Stone didn’t want to lie to his partner.

He didn’t want Garrett to go after Jean.

She was his friend.

If anyone was going to make a move on her, it should be him. They had an easy connection. It was as if they were already going out.

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