Is he mad because I said we’re just friends?
Did he think I’d choose Dane over him?
Was someone really on the phone, or was he bluffing?
As I sit at this red light, I wonder if I should text him. I grab my phone and open his text message. He hasn’t texted. I huff, exiting out of it. The light turns green, so I keep driving.
“Cecily!” Gavin, the front desk worker, greets me.
I lean against the counter and smile. “It feels like it’s been a minute since I’ve been here. What did I miss?”
Gavin chuckles. “Surprisingly, Cory hasn’t asked, but he does look at the door every time it opens.”
I laugh. “I’m meeting with Marina today.”
Gavin nods. “What about your boyfriend?”
I shake my head. “No, he’s busy with sports. We probably won’t see him here as often.”
Gavin flashes me a smile as I walk towards Marina.
“Hey,” I smile.
She says, “Where’s Dylan?”
I stand tall and shrug. “I’m not training him anymore. He’s focusing on hockey.”
She nods. “You disappeared with him last night.”
I search her face, trying to figure this one out. Did she only agree to let me train her because she wants answers about last night? “We’re just friends.”
She laughs loudly. “Don’t be ridiculous. I know you two are friends. I just thought––”
“How about we start with dumbbells today?” I say chipperly, keeping it professional. I don’t want to think about Dylan right now, nor do I want to explain that I can’t control Dylan, so whatever is going on between him and her stays between them.
“After you,” she says.
I set her up to do three different dumbbell exercises. Her rest time is my time to lift. We switch off after every set.
“You know,” she says as she stands with her hands on her hips. “I always see you do this and never try it.”
I smile. “Burns so good, right?”
She nods. “Thanks for the PDF, by the way. I loved reading through it.”
“Of course.” I set the dumbbells down. “Your turn.”
When we’re done, we walk to the bike machines and hop on.
“You never put Dylan on these,” she says as we pick up our pace.
I shake my head, agreeing that he and I never did. I don’t say anything, letting the silence sit between us.
When she’s ten minutes in, she slows down her pace. “I want to do social media like you do.”
I glance at her and then sit tall, slowing my pace. “You should. If you want something, go for it.”
She stares forward. “You know, not everyone is like you.”
