Chapter 17: Chapter 17
"You guys taking an extremely long break?" came a loud, strident voice from the doorway. Everyone stopped laughing as a short, extremely buff man with a golden tan and platinum blond hair marched up to them, his hands on his hips. Ethan studied him with raised eyebrows, keeping his mouth shut for now.
Carlos gestured towards Rob and Ethan with his towel. "We're just saying hi to Rob's friend, chief."
Rob stepped forward, his hand resting on the small of Ethan's back. Ethan ignored the way it made his pulse race. "Ruud, this is my friend Ethan, the one I told you who was coming to visit."
Ah, so this was Rob's infamous trainer who ran the ranch with an iron fist. Ethan had guessed as much, but it was good to have confirmation. At least Ruud's frown eased upon hearing this, his ice blue eyes taking in Ethan from head to toe. "So you are Ethan," he said, sticking out his hand without a smile. He had a curious accent that Ethan had never heard before. "I'm Ruud, the head trainer here. Welcome to the ranch."
Ethan shook his hand out of politeness. "Thanks. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting everyone's workout schedule--"
"Yes, you are," Ruud said quite bluntly, making Ethan's eyebrows jump up. "Let's save this for lunch, when we can get better acquainted. Chicken, beef or tofu?"
"What?" Ethan said faintly, feeling as though he'd been hit by a freight train.
"Your protein of choice for lunch," Ruud explained a little impatiently, glancing at his watch. "I'll tell the kitchen to set you up."
"The beef's pretty good here," Marnie offered. She didn't seem fazed by Ruud's direct manner at all; maybe they were all used to it. "Take it from someone who comes from cattle country, hon."
"Then beef it is," Ethan told Ruud, who nodded gruffly.
"When I come back from the kitchen, I want to see you guys back to your designated workouts," Ruud instructed the rest of them. "Rob, you can take Ethan back to your room."
Although Ethan knew Rob's trainer couldn't have possibly meant to make that double entendre, he couldn't help the little flare of embarrassment deep inside him. "Sure, chief," Rob said, before leading Ethan out of the gym while Ruud marched off somewhere, presumably to the kitchen.
When they were safely out of the gym and out of earshot, Ethan gave a low whistle. "Wow. Ruud by name, rude by nature, huh?"
That actually caused quite a big laugh from Rob, which pleased Ethan. "Oh, that's just the way he is. We're kinda used to it, I think. He's a big believer in tough love."
"Agree with you on the tough part, not so much on the love part," Ethan muttered, as a chuckling Rob navigated the way to the participants' living quarters.
It seemed all the boot camp participants were housed in an offsite building that may previously have been a barn. But it was done up so stylishly, portioned into rooms with neat beds and furniture, almost like a fancier form of dormitory.
Rob's room was the very last one at the end of the corridor, near where the communal showers and bathroom were. They'd stopped by quickly earlier to drop Ethan's bags, but now Ethan got a much better look at Rob's room. The walls were painted sky blue and white, and there was a large window which gave Rob a nice view of the mountains in the distance. "You can see the Rockies from here," Rob pointed out to Ethan, looking all excited and happy like a little boy. Ethan smiled at him, overcome with fondness.
There was also a desk where Ethan could see Rob's laptop and a few nutrition books he seemed to be in the middle of reading. There was also a small wardrobe which housed all of Rob's clothes, next to a double bed that looked just nice for one person, but was maybe a squeeze for two.
Rob must have seen Ethan staring at the bed, for he quickly stammered, "Um, I asked the staff to bring in an extra camping bed or air mattress. You can take my bed, I'll take the floor."
Ethan frowned deeply at him. "What? No, this is your bed. I'm the one visiting you and inconveniencing you, I'm taking the floor."
Rob's jaw was set with stubbornness. "Fat chance. Or rather, thin chance. I'm taking the floor, Shaw."
They stared stubbornly at each other until Ethan finally threw his hands up in fake despair. "You always do this, Jesus." Ethan shook his head, sighing as he sank into a chair. "This argument is not over."
"It never is with you, is it?" Rob's eyes twinkled with good humour. "Alright, I got to get back to my torture session. I'll come get you later for lunch?"
"Nah it's fine, I'll just explore on my own." Ethan reached for his bag as he started unpacking. "I'll scream for help if your trainer chases after me."
Rob laughed and laughed. "Ruud really isn't that bad. Give him time to warm up to you. Maybe people from South Africa are different."
"That explains the accent," Ethan said, stuffing his clothes into Rob's wardrobe.
After Rob showed him where everything he needed was, he gave Ethan a quick wave before hurrying back to the gym. Ethan watched him go, filled with a strange mixture of pride and something else he couldn't quite name, sitting at the bottom of his stomach.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone