I stiffened my spine, concerned by the jolt of energy that radiated from the spot he touched. Eyes closed, I concentrated on my breathing and ignored the tingling in my back. On completing the last rep, I lowered the dumbbells to the floor and sat up waggling my arms to ride out the burning in my muscles.
Kofi wore a lopsided smile as he dipped his head toward me. "See, you did it."
"Yeah." I grinned at him in the mirror.
"That was the last of your workout?" he asked, still conversing with me in the mirror.
"Not quite. I'm going to do some ab work and then I'll be done."
"Cool. I'll let you get to it."
"Thanks." I didn’t know why I was telling him thanks, but it never hurt to be considerate.
He backed off the bench and picked up the weights. "Later."
I went in the other direction, dabbing my face with my towel. A room away, I got a stability ball and forced myself to do several sets of pushups. Then, I grabbed a mat to finish up by planking. I was getting good at that and was proud that I could do two minutes at a stretch. I'd finished my stint and was lying on my stomach when Kofi's sneakers appeared in the mirror. A second later, he squatted next to me. "You're finished?"
He'd taken off the upper half of his track suit and now wore a tank top. He was sweating. His muscles bulged under his walnut-brown skin, distracting me from his words. When one of his thick eyebrows rose, the movement dragged me back to his question.
"Uh, yeah."
"Are you in a hurry?"
I shook my head, swiping a stray strand of hair off my neck. "What's up?"
"I was going for a drink and thought of you." His smile emerged and captivated me again. "Just in case you needed a ride or anything."
I sat up, but he didn’t move out of the way. Since I didn't have anywhere else to be other than back at home, I had time to spare. "Sure, I said. Just let me get my things."
"I'll meet you out front in ten minutes," he said.
Normally, I didn't shower at the gym, but I wanted to be fresh for our ... whatever it was. Five minutes saw me in and out of the shower stall. I got into my jeans and shirt blouse before taming my hair in a loose bun. A dab of lipstick completed my look. I picked up my duffle and, with a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth, went to meet Kofi.
***
THIS TIME, KOFI TOOKme to one of those cafés that served their customers in the open air. I wasn't sure I liked that kind of set up, but didn't want to make a fuss. In the same way I'd gotten used to many other things, I adjusted to the nuances of life in another environment.
The waiter brought an unattractive-looking green drink in a tall cup for Kofi and delivered a strawberry slushy for me. Kofi also ordered a helping of sweet potato fries, to keep me fueled. He caught me looking at his cup when he picked it up and took a long swallow.
"Something about my drink offends you?"
I returned his grin. "It looks yucky."
"I can assure you, it isn't."
When I sucked down a quarter of my slushy in a few swallows, he said, "Seems like I made a great choice for you."
"It's nice."
I ate from the dish, squirting ketchup over my seasoned fries. They were good, but I didn't want to eat them all, so I tried to rope in Kofi. "Aren't you having any?"
That's when he picked one up and bit it, while I followed him with my eyes. After having a couple more, he wiped his hand on a napkin and picked up the muddy-looking green juice. I must have grimaced, because he spoke then. "It's not bad at all."
"I hope it tastes better than it looks."
"Want to try it?"
The intimacy it implied crossed my mind, but I told myself he was simply making a friendly gesture. He didn't give off any undercurrents or seem as if he was trying to be overly familiar. Still ... I was about to tell him no when he slid the cup toward me. "Come on, what harm will it do?"
