He finished taping up his ankles and jogged over to where she stood next to the free weights.
“Are you ready to get back to it?” he asked. “We’re doing kickboxing next, right?”
“Um, yeah,” Taylor said. She moved the ten-pound dumbbell back to its correct position, then started for the freestanding punching bag. After a couple of steps, Taylor stopped and turned. “Wait.”
“Whoa.” He caught her by the shoulders to prevent himself from running into her. “Watch yourself.”
Taylor began to peel his fingers from her bicep before he quickly released her. She cleared her throat. “We need to talk about it. I’mreadyto talk about it.”
“About?”
“The kiss,” she clarified. “We need to discuss it and stop pretending it didn’t happen.”
His brow arched a fraction as he took a step back, giving her space. “I agree,” he said. “But for the record, I never said that we should pretend it didn’t happen.”
“I know,” she said. She gestured to him. “Well . . . talk.”
“Me? What do you want me to say? That I’m sorry we kissed?” He shook his head. “I’m not. That I don’t want it to happen again? I can’t say that either, unless you’re okay with me lying to you.”
A ball of angst rolled around like tumbleweed in the pit of her stomach.
Did you think this would be easy?
“I guess what my dad says is true,” she said with a nervous laugh. “Don’t ask a question if you’re not ready for the answer.”
“What did you expect me to say, Taylor?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Ididwant you to lie. It would make things easier.”
“No, it wouldn’t.” He looked over both shoulders before leaning forward and saying in a muted voice, “People already think we’re a couple. If we both want this, why shouldn’t we go ahead and follow through?”
“Because it doesn’t matter what other people think.” She crossed her arms over her chest, cradling her elbows in her hands. “I won’t deny the attraction. We both know it’s there. But I can’t date you and work for you. It’s a line I’m not willing to cross.”
“So how do you explain that kiss?”
“That was . . . It was a one-time thing. I’d love to call it a mistake, but—” She shook her head. “I can’t. It wasn’t a mistake. But that doesn’t mean it can happen again.”
“Even though we both want it.” He didn’t frame it as a question, because there wasn’t any question that, if circumstances were different, they would both be open to sharing so much more than just a kiss.
“It’s not something I’m willing to even discuss.” After a heartbeat, she added, “Not yet.”
His brows peaked. “Yet?”
Taylor pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. She could only hope she didn’t live to regret dangling this small bit of hope, but an all-out rejection of there ever being anything between them was too harsh to bear.
She lifted her shoulders in a hopeful shrug. “My contract ends in a month.”
“So that’s our only option?” He expelled a gruff, exasperated laugh. “Working together and being together—like,reallybeing together—are mutually exclusive?”
“Yes,” Taylor said with an emphatic nod. “That’s the way it has to be, Jamar. Once we cross that threshold, lines get blurry and it’s . . . it’s just not something I’m willing to do.” She lowered her voice, even though they had the gym to themselves. “Things are messy enough with this pretend dating thing. If we decide to explore a more . . . ” She paused, trying to come up with the right word.Intimate? Real?“Apersonalrelationship,” Taylor continued, “it will have to wait until after we’re done with our professional one.”
A muscle flexed in his jaw as he chewed over her words.
“What if I don’t want to give you up as a trainer?” he finally asked.
Taylor’s head jerked back, her eyes narrowing. “Are you considering hiring me for longer than our original two-month agreement?”
“Why don’t you answer my question first?” He stayed her with a hand. “Wait, no. Don’t answer it.” He pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes, then dragged both hands down his face. “You’re right.Fuck.” He returned his gaze to her, his eyes fraught with frustration. “We shouldn’t blur the lines.”
