I wink at her, and she laughs.
While we set up our next exercise, I ask, “What’s your deal, Cecily?”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
I shrug. “Never seen you before.”
“I told you I don’t have friends.”
“But you must have a roommate? Do you live in the dorms?”
She shakes her head, and I try to put the pieces together. “‘You’re not a senior, are you?”
She shakes her head. “I live off campus alone, and I’m a business major. I should clarify, I have friends, just not…” she shrugs, “good ones. I’m still trying to find those people. Do you have friends?”
I nod. “A whole team.”
“A whole team?” she asks.
I nod. “I don’t even get along with most of them, but yeah, they’re my team.”
“You’re an athlete?” she asks, and I nod in response. “Really? You don’t have the whole jock thing. I mean, sure, you’re tall, but…” She tilts her head, and it’s fucking adorable.
“But what?” I ask, curious what she’s thinking.
She sighs. “Am I seriously training an athlete? You could have mentioned that. Now I feel really dumb.”
I shrug. “It’s not dumb. You don’t know me, and I wasn’t wearing my hockey jersey the other day, so don’t get too hard on yourself.”
“You play hockey?” she asks nonchalantly.
I nod. “Yup. Defenseman.”
“I have no idea what that means, but wow.” She stares at me for a moment. “Hockey, huh? Do you love it?”
I nod. “Yeah, it’s my entire life.”
“Is that where you were before this?”
I nod again.
“I need to change how you’re training. This will run you into the ground.”
I shake my head. “Nah, this has been great.”
“So, you can’t do Fridays because of games? That makes so much more sense now. Oh, and that’s why Marina was drooling over you, and why everyone in here couldn’t stop staring at you. It’s all adding up now.”
I nod. “If I were a math equation, I would be as simple as one plus one.”
She laughs, and I consider inviting her to Rocky’s this weekend. I grin, watching her. I can’t bring a girl around without all the guys’ balls deep in questions and accusations, not with a girl that looks like her. I decide not to mention it. I’ll give it a month.
“What next?” I ask, and she spins her finger around.
“Two more sets.”
We fall into a rhythm, encouraging each other through the sets. Hearing her tell me to push harder definitely helps.
After we wipe down the equipment, she asks if I want to walk it off.
