“Well, I appreciate it, but nobody needs to worry about me.” I took a sip from my water bottle. “What’s the big deal? I meet a hot guy, we hit it off, we go have sex. Isn’t that what we do?” I shrugged. “You guys certainly do.”

“Within limits, sure,” Brandon went on. “But—” He looked at Rees for help.

“Every single time you go to Fusions you go home with someone,” Rees finished. “You don’t want people to start thinking you’re a whore, Jordy. Once you have that reputation, you can never walk it back.”

I looked at him. You should know was on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t say it. As I sat there looking at them, another idea began to form in my head. Brandon and Rees were the Supremes to Chad’s Diana Ross. Was it possible to turn them against Chad? If Chad didn’t have them, he’d be even more dependent on me . . . divide and conquer. It made sense to turn them into allies—and then drive a wedge between them and Chad. And they were making the first overture. So, Jordy, use this as an opportunity. “You guys are right,” I said. “And now that I think about it, I have been kind of whorish lately.” I gave them both my most genuine-looking phony smile. “I so appreciate the two of you taking the time to talk to me about this. I promise to dial it back a bit.” I touched Rees’s hand. “You have to understand, I’m not used to this. It’s all new to me.” I shrugged. “You guys have been hot your whole lives. Me, I was always the fat kid no one noticed. So, the attention kind of goes to my head.”

“I wasn’t always hot,” Rees replied.

I frowned at him. “Oh, come on, Rees. You were a jock in high school, weren’t you?”

“Yeah,” he replied, looking down at his hands. “I was. But I was carrying some extra weight. Chad pointed it out to me when we were pledges, so I started watching what I ate and doing more cardio.”

Interesting.

“I was skinny,” Brandon added. “Really skinny.”

“I don’t believe you.” I speared another cucumber.

“Chad told me to eat more protein and lift heavier weights,” Brandon went on.

“It’s worked.” I gave him a big smile. “You both look amazing. Chad really looks out for us, doesn’t he?” I pushed my plate away. “If it weren’t for him, I’d still be fat.”

“You weren’t ever fat, Jordy.” Brandon made a face. “Sure, you weren’t in the best shape, but you were always cute. I know I thought so.”

“Me too,” Rees added. He winked at me. “I mean, yeah, now you look amazing, but you were always a cute guy. You always had a nice ass.” He giggled. “Seriously.”

I bit my lower lip. I could hear Chad saying, “Those shorts make your ass look like a billboard and make that roll around your waist look even bigger than it is.” I swallowed. “Thanks, guys, I appreciate it. And thanks for the advice.”

“See, Brandon?” Rees finished his grilled cheese. “I told you he wouldn’t get mad.” He smiled at me. “Jordy’s a great guy.” He frowned. “I don’t know why we don’t hang out with you more.”

“Because Chad monopolizes him,” Brandon snapped.

Interesting, I thought. Could there be dissension in the ranks? I looked from one to the other. There was definitely something going on with Brandon and Chad, but what? Brandon most likely wouldn’t say anything in front of Rees. Divide and conquer—must get Brandon alone sometime.

Rees looked alarmed at Brandon’s disloyalty. “No, I’m sure that’s not it. We’re all friends and brothers.”

“He does kind of keep us apart,” I mused, trying really hard not to laugh out loud. The whole thing was so absurd. There wasn’t anything stopping either Brandon or Rees from ever calling me or making plans with me, and Chad certainly wasn’t—unless there was something they weren’t telling me. Could Chad really have that kind of power over them? But if they wanted to think that, I wasn’t about to stop them. “I wonder why?”

“Because Chad always has to be the center of attention,” Brandon replied. “Haven’t you noticed?”

“Brandon!” Rees warned.

“It’s true, Rees, and you know it, even if you’re too big of a coward to admit it,” Brandon snapped. He turned back to me. “You might as well know, since we’re being all friendly now.” His face twisted into a sneer. “Chad’s not that wonderful. Nobody could be as wonderful as Chad thinks he is.”

Oh, trust me, I already know that.

“It has to be all about Chad or he won’t be a part of it,” Brandon went on. “He’s not that much hotter than I am, no matter what he thinks.”

“Brandon!” Rees stared at him, his mouth open.

Brandon gave him a long look. “Sorry,” he mumbled to me. “Forget I said anything.”

I definitely have to get Brandon alone sometime. I stood up. “Well, this was fun. Thanks, guys—I enjoyed this.” I picked up my tray. “But I really need to get out of here. I’ve got to meet with my trainer.” I glanced at my watch. “I’ll be late if I don’t get going.”

“You really do look amazing,” Rees said. “You’ve done a great job.”

“Call me later, guys, and we’ll do something.” I walked away from the table, dumped my trash, and headed outside.

It’s working!

I wanted to break into song in the middle of the Quad.

Chad was jealous.

He was beginning to realize what he was missing.

My workout went really well—even Jay, my trainer, noticed my good mood. I worked hard for two hours—it was chest and back day. “You’re really getting big,” Jay said as I stepped onto the scale after we were finished. “You’ve gained another three pounds since last week.” He smiled at me. Jay was about forty. He’d competed as a bodybuilder when he was in his twenties and still was in remarkable shape.

“Three pounds?” I frowned, stepping off the scale and looking at myself in the mirror. I pulled my loose shirt tighter around my waist and made a face. “I don’t want to get fat again.”

“You aren’t fat, Jordy.” Jay shook his head. “Muscle mass is heavier and more compact than fat tissue, how many times do I have to tell you that? If anything, you were getting too thin for a while there. What’s your waist size now?”

“I’m wearing 29s.” I kept staring at myself and the pesky roll at my waist.

He laughed. “And you’re worried about being fat?” Playfully he punched my shoulder. “Dude, I wear 32s.” He shook his head. “You need to really work on your self-esteem. Now hit the showers.”

There was no one in the locker room when I undressed. I grabbed a towel and headed for the steam room. I stopped in front of the full-length mirror by the steam room door and stared at myself. Was Jay right? I wondered, looking at myself from every angle. Was I being too hard on myself? I reached down and grabbed the roll at my waist. My stomach was flat, and in the overhead lighting I could see the abdominal muscles. I flexed them, and they popped out. I stuck a finger in between two of them. I still needed to drop some fat weight, I decided. I grinned at myself and opened the steam room door. It was empty, and I plopped down on the lower bench. Steam hissed as I leaned back, relaxing. I closed my eyes.

What a great day, I thought as I sat there sweating, my heart dancing. My hot trainer gave me a compliment, Brandon and Rees both thought I was hot—hell, they’d thought I was cute before I started working out, and Chad—Chad is noticing the changes, too. Chad is starting to get jealous.

I’d known it was just a matter of time before Chad noticed the attention I was getting when we were at Fusions.

Being beautiful was better than anything I could have ever imagined. People treated me differently—and not just at Fusions. I got better service in restaurants, and people were a lot friendlier to me. It was nice. It was nice having attractive guys come up to me and tell me I was sexy and hot. It was awesome being an object of desire. I’d never dreamed it would turn out this way—but it was working. Chad didn’t like me going with other guys. He was starting to realize he’d made a huge mistake.