Chapter 218: Pushing Her Buttons Made It Worst

Chloe walked up to me, crossing her arms as she watched the locker room door swing shut. She tilted her head, her sharp eyes studying the lingering flush on May’s face right before she vanished.

“Alright, spill,” Chloe said softly, a subtle, knowing smirk touching her lips. “What is going on with her? I’ve seen May frustrated after a bad run, but I’ve never seen her dodge you like that—or blush like her life depended on it.”

Ruby and Patricia strolled over as well, both looking equally curious while Tiana remained at the console reviewing the biomechanics data.

“She’s usually the first one to bump shoulders with you and joke around like one of the guys,” Chloe continued, stepping closer and looking up at me. “Today, every time you get within two feet of her, her focus completely shatters. Is there something you’re not telling us, Ethan?”

I rubbed the back of my neck, letting out a soft laugh as I looked at the three of them.

“Well… if I had to guess, I think she’s caught feelings,” I said, leaning back against the console. “And right now, she’s driving herself crazy trying not to confront it. Her head’s completely at war with her heart, and it’s throwing her whole rhythm off.”

The second those words left my mouth, Ruby’s eyes lit up. A slow, deliciously evil grin spread across her face, her eyes practically gleaming with mischievous delight.

“Oh, is that what this is?” Ruby purred, folding her arms and swaying her hips slightly as her smirk widened. “Our tough, invincible little track star is turned into a stuttering mess because she’s got a crush? Oh, I am going to have so much fun with this.”

“Ruby, don’t break her,” Chloe laughed, shaking her head, though she couldn’t hide her own amused grin. “She’s already stressed enough about her timing.”

“Break her? Please, I’m going to help her,” Ruby teased playfully, already eyeing the locker room door like a predator waiting for its prey to walk back out. “You know how May gets—she tries so hard to act like one of the boys that she doesn’t know what to do with a little romance. She needs a proper teasing to crack that shell, and nobody does that better than me.”

Patricia chuckled softly, leaning into my side. “She really has been acting differently around you lately. It’s actually kind of sweet seeing her so flustered.”

“Sweet for you, absolute goldmine for me,” Ruby corrected with a wink, turning back toward the locker room doors as we waited for May to finish her shower. “Just watch. The moment she steps out, I’m backing her into a corner.”

A few minutes later, the locker room doors pushed open, and May stepped back out into the main facility corridor. She had changed into a clean track jacket and track pants, her hair still slightly damp from the shower, trying her absolute best to maintain her cool, indifferent posture.

The moment she spotted our group near the control console, she visibly tensed up, adjusting her bag strap on her shoulder.

Before May could make a break for the front doors, Ruby smoothly cut off her exit path with a slow, feline stride, a dangerously bright smirk plastered across her face.

“Well, well, well… look who finally decided to grace us with her presence,” Ruby purred, resting her hands on her hips as she leaned in close to May. “So, May… care to explain why you ran into the showers like your jacket was on fire the second Ethan gave you a little kiss?”

May stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw practically dropping. “W-What?! Ruby, what the hell are you talking about?!”

“Oh, don’t play innocent with me, track star,” Ruby teased, tilting her head with an evil, knowing grin. “Your whole face turned redder than a sports car! You’ve got it bad for him, haven’t you? The tough girl has a massive crush and she’s totally freaked out!”

“I—I do not!” May stuttered heavily, her voice jumping up an octave as a furious, brilliant pink wash instantly exploded across her cheeks, traveling all the way up to the tips of her ears. “I don’t have a crush on anyone! I was just—it was hot from the workout, okay?! Ethan was just being annoying!”

“Riiiight, totally annoying,” Ruby giggled, poking May playfully right in the center of her chest. “That’s why you couldn’t even look him in the eye without stuttering like a rookie!”

“Shut up, Ruby!” May squeaked out, completely losing her composure. She looked over at me for half a second, saw me watching with an amused grin, and her cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of crimson.

Realizing she wasn’t going to win this verbal sparring match, May let out an embarrassed, frustrated growl, snatched her bag tighter against her side, and completely stormed past Ruby toward the exit.

“I’m going to the car!” she shouted over her shoulder, her face burning pink as the automatic glass doors slid open and shut behind her.

Chloe shook her head with a laugh, watching May march away. “You really pushed all her buttons, Ruby.”

“Please, she loved it,” Ruby giggled, winking at me as she adjusted her jacket. “Now the seed is planted. Let’s see how long our little track star can keep pretending!”

I had hoped Ruby pushing her buttons would speed up the process and crack that tough shell, but if anything, it pushed May deeper into her defense mechanisms.

The ride back to the estate was dead quiet. May sat in the passenger seat, slumped slightly against the door with her wireless earpieces jammed firmly into her ears. Her eyes were glued to the side window, staring blankly at the passing city buildings as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world.

“May,” I tried, glancing over at her while sitting at a red light. “You want to get something to eat on the way back?”

She didn’t even turn her head. She just gave a subtle, dismissive shake of her head, adjusting her earpiece as if to emphasize that she couldn’t hear me—even though I knew for a fact her music wasn’t turned up high enough to drown me out.

She was completely dodging eye contact, her jaw set tight, her cheeks still carrying that lingering, faint rosy tint whenever she caught me looking in her direction through the mirror.

I sighed softly, resting my hand on the steering wheel as the light turned green.

Her mind was a absolute battleground right now. Between the pressure of her comeback, her abysmal baseline times on a track designed specifically for her, and the sudden, overwhelming reality of her feelings for me being dragged into the spotlight, she was completely overloaded.

When we pulled up to the estate, she unbuckled her seatbelt before I even killed the engine, grabbing her gear bag and slipping out of the car without a word.

“We’ll get her right,” Chloe said softly from the back seat, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder as we watched May hurry toward the side entrance. “She’s just overwhelmed, Ethan. Give her a minute to breathe.”

Crippled Hunter: My Three Wives Investment Gets 10,000x Upgrade