She smiled and watched as Gemma snuggled into the pillow on her bed. Gemma was always quick to fall asleep and hard to wake up. She was obviously too warm as one leg was poking out of the covers. After a few moments watching her friend sleep, Rory gently padded towards her side of the bed and slid under the covers.
The sheets were cool and inviting, and she sank into her bed with a gentle sigh. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep with Gemma next to her but turned the light out anyway and lay on her back for a moment. Today had been harder than she had realised. Tears formed in her eyes as she gazed at the familiar pattern of her bedroom ceiling, and she blinked to clear her vision. The outfit she had worn to the opera was something she had bought online. She had only done it to spite Darcy, even in her absence. Rory was drawn to the suit and wanted to wear it. Perhaps that was what she should do in the future – buy things online and try them out in private before wearing more masculine clothes to the office and social events. She sighed and screwed hereyes up. This was much harder than she thought it would be. Being herself with Gemma was natural. The influencers Gemma had introduced her to had also made it all look easy. But it was hard, and people like the woman she encountered in the changing rooms today made it even harder. She sighed again and nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand touched her under the duvet.
“Turn your brain off and go to sleep.” Gemma’s voice was full of sleep, but there was a caring undertone to it. Rory patted the hand that was gently caressing her biceps before closing her eyes and following her friend into sleep.
Rory woke the next morning and resisted the temptation to roll over and pull Gemma into her arms. She padded downstairs and headed straight for the coffee machine. Summer had well and truly arrived in the UK, and the temperatures were climbing, making the air warm in her kitchen. She threw open the patio doors in the conservatory and made coffee.
She had just poured herself a mug of her beloved morning brew when she heard Gemma walking down the stairs. Rory sniffed the coffee reverently and cast an eye towards her kitchen door. Sure enough, Gemma appeared in the doorway, and Rory hid her smile behind her mug. Gemma’s wild hair framed her head, and she drooped her eyelids low, as if trying to shield her eyes from the realities of being awake. At some point, Gemma had found and put on one of Rory’s hoodies.
Rory tried to swallow, but her mouth and throat were suddenly dry at the sight of her friend in her clothes. Gemma had pulled the arms over her hands and shuffled towards Rory. Rory placed her coffee onthe side and held her arms open for Gemma to walk into. With a thud, Gemma flopped her head onto Rory’s shoulder and snuggled into her chest. Reflexively, Rory’s arms wrapped around her and squeezed her. For a moment, Rory considered dropping a kiss to the top of Gemma’s head before remembering that they were friends, not girlfriends, and that the boundaries between them were of her own making. For a split second, present-day Rory cursed past Rory and her foolish nobility.
“Coffee?” Rory asked the top of Gemma’s head. She tried to pull back to look at her friend’s face, but Gemma was too snuggled into Rory’s neck for that to be effective.
“Hmpfff.” Gemma burrowed her face into Rory’s neck. Rory only had a vest top and shorts on, so Gemma’s breath was warm on her skin. Gemma then wrapped her arms around Rory, and for a moment, all the noise of the world, her intrusive thoughts, even the thumping of her heart against her ribs, quieted as Gemma wrapped her in a hug that soothed every part of her. Rory wanted the moment to last forever, but inevitably they needed to pull apart and face the day.
After Gemma sat at the kitchen table with her hands wrapped around a coffee mug, Rory got bread and cereal from her cupboards and started making breakfast for both of them. She chuckled as Gemma reached for the Coco Pops, and passed her the milk. It was only when her online order had arrived last week that she realised she’d added Gemma’s favourite cereal to her shopping. Every morning, Gemma had started the day with the chocolatey cereal. She guessed not much had changed.
After a bowl of cereal and another mug of coffee, Gemma seemed to wake up enough to talk about the gyms they were visiting. Between them, they had found severalgyms that Rory thought she might like to try out and had chosen two to visit today. She had been perfectly happy with the gym at the country club, but as Darcy was still a member there, she had quickly crossed that one off her list. The first one they decided to visit was based at an industrial estate near Rory’s house. As soon as they arrived, Rory regretted it. There was nothing inherently wrong with the gym, but she just couldn’t see herself working out there. She shook hands with the man she’d arranged to meet, and he ushered them into the office.
“So, as I said on the phone, we’re looking for somewhere that we can both work out.” Gemma took the lead, and Rory was grateful to have her there.
“Sure. We have male and female changing areas.” Darren scribbled something on a clipboard. “What are your aims for exercising?” Darren crossed one toned leg over the other and rested his ankle on his opposite knee. He fixed his gaze on Gemma, and Rory resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his blatant perusal of her friend's curves.
“I want to tone up a bit and lose weight, and Rory wants to get into weight training.” Gemma sat forward and fixed him with a smile that Rory knew to be insincere, but Darren seemed to be transfixed by.
They had agreed that they wouldn’t initially mention that Rory was probably going to follow one of Jak’s programs, instead deciding to see what each gym would offer them. After a few more questions where Darren focused on Gemma and ignored Rory, the three of them went for a tour so Darren could show off the facilities. After looking at the machines and the free weight area, Gemma skipped off to look at the changing rooms. While she was gone, Darren fixed Rory with a look.
“So….” He looked around furtively. “Is she your girlfriend?”
For a brief moment, the word ‘no’ danced through Rory’s mind. Then, the looks that Darren had been giving Gemma since they had arrived flitted across her memory.
“Yes.” She had long since learned that sometimes, the shortest answers were the most unnerving, so she waited patiently and fixed Darren with a look that she hoped wouldn’t encourage any follow-up questions. Fortunately, Gemma chose that moment to return from the changing rooms and, with a brief shake of the head to Rory, conveyed everything Rory needed to know. She said a quick goodbye to Darren and quickly pulled Gemma out of the gym. It wasn’t until she was opening the door to her car that she realised she had kept hold of Gemma’s hand long after it was necessary to make a point to Darren. With a sigh, she flopped into the car and closed her eyes briefly before looking at Gemma.
“So….” Gemma laid a warm hand on Rory’s. “Let’s just forget this place ever existed and check out the next one on the list.”
17
GEMMA
Gemma grimaced as they drove past the entrance to the country club that Rory had been a member of, and cursed Darcy under her breath. She completely understood why Rory didn’t want to go to the country club but still felt it very unfair that she had to miss out on her favourite gym because Darcy was a bitch. Gemma had never met Darcy, and might be doing her an injustice, but from everything that Rory had said about her, Gemma had decided she was a bitch. She tried not to think about how she would treat Rory if she was her girlfriend. It would probably be very much as it was now, she mused, but with more sex. Her cheeks flushed with heat, and she turned her head to look out of the car window as Rory drove. Images of them from ten years ago were replaced by more recent memories of Rory stripping her bikini top from her body and lavishing attention on her breasts.
Gemma forcibly chased the images from her mind and thought forward to the gym they were going to now. Rory hadn’t wanted to go to a big chain, but having looked at two independent ones, they decided to take a punt on a sportsclub that was based out of town. Whilst it wasn’t as glamorous or as exclusive as the country club that Darcy had forced Rory to sign up to, the images and reviews on the website looked good, and they had multiple locations around London they could use.
They pulled into the car park, and Gemma reached for Rory’s hands to give them a quick squeeze. She knew that for Rory, this was more than just finding somewhere to work out, but also somewhere she could fit in and find a sense of community.
“I guess I still have the option of building a gym at home, right?” Rory turned to her and pulled a face.
“Yes, but if we are going to work out together, that might be a bit cramped.” Gemma patted Rory’s hand and gave her an encouraging smile. “Come on, let’s go.”
They entered the building, and immediately Gemma’s nose picked up the scent of chlorine. She turned her head to see a swimming pool behind some darkened glass. Memories of her and Rory at the hotel swimming together ran through her head, and she bit her lip in an effort to chase them away. She needed to get a grip on this attraction to Rory. They had decided to be friends, and that was all they would be, for now at least, an unhelpful voice piped up in the back of her mind.
After a few minutes, they were being escorted around the facility by Isaac, a very handsome man in short shorts and a tight t-shirt that highlighted his muscles. The gym was arranged over several floors, and they had just arrived at the free weight section.
“So do you know what you want to do, or do you need us to give you an exercise plan?” He flicked his eyes from Rory to Gemma and back again. Rory hesitated, and Gemma stepped forward to talk.
“We’re probably going to buy a program online. There’s an influencer we like, and they have a good couple’s program.” Gemma paused and silently checked with Rory before continuing, “Rory wants to do more weights and stuff, and I want to focus on cardio and flexibility.”
“Sounds good.” He ushered them into an office that was just off the weight room. “We offer a free body composition analysis if you want it. Gives you an idea of where you are now, and then we can track your progress.” He ushered them to a couple of chairs before sitting himself. “I’m one of the personal trainers here, but we have six on staff.” He grinned and held up his hands in mock surrender. “I won’t be offended if you want one of the female members of staff to work with you. We’re also happy to look at the program you bought, just to make sure it’s safe and will give you the results you want.”
