My brother Cole stops by at the end of the day. He has the wild-eyed, rumpled look of a bear who hasn’t been able to hibernate. He’s grumpy when he doesn’t sleep.
He yawns. “Hey bro, what’s up?”
“Look, you know I’m not a complainer…” I stack the weights back as he collapses onto a beanbag in the corner. He looks like he could fall asleep at any moment.
“What about that time Mom brought home the oat cookies instead of the chocolate chip? You cried yourself to sleep.” He smirks.
“I was five, dude. Any more fond recollections?” The memory of Mom’s face still hurts sometimes.
“When Aran dropped juice on your sneakers you bitched about it for a month.” He’s smirking even more at the memory.
“Are you having fun? I could remind you about the time I put that spider in your bed and you ran straight to Mom, screaming blue murder.” I start laughing.
“And…I’ll stop you right there. What did you want to complain about, Ivar?” He stretches his feet out and half-closes his eyes.
“This situation here.” I glance over and he nods. “We’re too full and our clients are complaining. We don’t have enough trainers, even with Theo and Alan here, to cover the amount of people asking for our services. Juni and I are run ragged; I’m here all the time…”
Cole starts snoring. I walk over and punch him lightly on the arm. He laughs. “Got you! I hear what you’re saying, Ivar. This is why I’m here, actually. Alyssa’s gone to visit her mom with the baby, so I’m going to be back here on duty this weekend.”
“Great, bro, but that’s only this weekend.” I stand over him.
“Hear me out. So, the second part of why I’m here is Aron’s contact, Mr Slate, is going to be at the Pushing It expo this weekend. You and Juni are going as representatives of Langstones. You both deserve a little break, but it’s a work break. And Juni will keep you in check so you do more working than partying.” He closes his eyes, clearly satisfied with himself.
I poke him with my toe. “What’s the deal with this Mr Slate?”
“He’s some big shot billionaire who wants to open up an eco-conscious gym chain. You and Juni are going to do the whole charm offensive to get this dude on side. If we can expand, we can open another gym here in Darlinton, which solves the space issue. You could even have your very own gym.” He stretches his arms and stands up.
“How come you’re not going?” I start folding the fresh towels and Cole comes over to help me.
“I’d love to, but we have to do a supplier inventory for the delivery business this weekend. I’ll do it after we finish work. Plus I intend to spend every minute I’m not here asleep. Clover is teething, you’ll understand what I mean some day.” He grunts and runs his hand over his eyes.
“Okay.” Despite myself, I’m excited. I get to have some time away and potentially solve a whole lot of issues too.
I can’t wait to tell Juni.
ChapterThree
JUNI
I only just managed to find us a hotel room at such short notice. We’ve driven straight to the expo. Ivar’s in a fabulous mood, singing loudly along to my driving playlist, even Taylor Swift, who he usually complains about. We had a fight about her music once, because in my mind she’s an utter goddess.
“Help me get the stuff out of the back, dork!” I tap Ivar on the shoulder. He’s staring up at the huge expo hall like he’s in Disneyland.
“Do you reckon we should do our special TikTok dance?” He winks at me. We went viral a couple of months ago, something which has contributed to the rush of people joining the gym. If Ivar didn’t already have a healthy ego, some of those comments from swooning girls on the app would have given him one.
“Sure, superstar. Take this.” I hand him the heaviest box. We’ve driven here with a mix of membership forms, promotional samples for Cole and Alyssa’s food delivery business and some new equipment Ivar and Theo have designed which is made from eco-friendly materials. There’s also a bunch of sweatshirts and T-shirts I’ve designed with fun slogans on them. I’m wearing one readingOh My Quad, while Ivar has a T-shirt which readsI Hustle For My Muscles.
I do a double take once we’re inside, staring around like Ivar. This is by far the biggest and glossiest expo I’ve ever been to. I look at the plan and navigate the two of us to our stall. Ivar makes multiple trips back and forth to the car to bring in our stuff, while I set up. Aron’s fiancée Olivia had the idea of bringing some plants to emphasize Theo’s eco-equipment, and it definitely works.
“Want a drink?” Ivar puts his hand on my shoulder. His hand is warm. I have the familiar thrill of being close to him, which I always suppress my reaction to in case I give something away.
“Sure, usual coffee order. And maybe bring back some water, in case we’re stuck here for a while.” I look down at my hand and twirl the ring on my finger. It’s a habit, since it’s my grandma’s ring which I inherited and have worn since she died. It’s platinum with a diamond design. It looks a little like an engagement ring, but I don’t care since it reminds me of her.
“Okay, be right back.” Ivar strides off. Even in this exceptionally healthy, handsome and toned crowd, he still stands out. Taller than most, broader than most and undeniably gorgeous. Lots of women’s heads turn as he walks by. To give him credit, he doesn’t look back at them.
I sigh. My date with Alan was weird. He’s cute and interesting, but I would never see him as more than a friend. When he tried to kiss me at the end of the date I let him for a few seconds, but it didn’t feel right. I can’t help the way I feel about Ivar, but my whole life is on hold waiting for something that’snevergoing to happen.
My Mom is the only person who knows how I feel about him. Although I’ve caught his brother Aron looking at me sympathetically a couple of times, so maybe he’s guessed. Heat floods up my face. Maybe everyone knows - all the brothers - and I’m a total laughing stock. Maybe I should leave, go back to AZ and stop pining over someone I can’t have.
