October 30th, 2025 - 5:15 AM
I huff out a breath as I lift the weights above my head. I was on my last set for this particular workout, and my arms were burning, but I had to push through. While I loved living my life as chill as possible, there were a handful of things that I took extremely seriously; music being one, and weightlifting being the other. I didn’t grow these muscles that Raine liked to touch on out of thin air, you know?
Back in my college days, I was looking for something to fill up my free time between classes and volleyball. I could’ve definitely gotten a job, but I’d never needed one, fortunately, since my parents were always gracious enough to deposit enough money in my account to hold me over for the month. Besides, I wanted to do something that would keep my blood pumping and me out of my room.
So, when I saw a flyer advertising the weightlifting club during my junior year, I signed up out of pure curiosity. I’d always been stronger and a bit heavier than most other girls my age, so I felt like I’d do well, and I was right. After about a monthor so of training, I was logging a new personal record every week. Not only did it help strengthen my arms, but also my legs, which was perfect for volleyball.
The club's advisors were so impressed with the quick progress that on multiple occasions, they tried to talk me into switching from volleyball to join the official competitive weightlifting team. I loved volleyball too much, though, but I agreed to join them at competitions only if they didn’t conflict with any games I had. They were happy to compromise, mainly because most of the season took place when volleyball wasn’t being played.
From that point on, I was pretty well known around campus as the strong girl with the pretty voice. Women, men, and everyone in between and outside those labels threw themselves at me left and right, but I never let it get to my head. By the time I graduated, I left all of that behind, though, so I could focus on my music, since I knew it was what I wanted to make a career out of.
Now, even though I didn’t train as rigorously and had lost a bit of muscle due to it, I still liked to work out at least twice a week. Not only to keep a consistent build, but also to clear my mind. I knew that when I was working out, all of my worries floated away, and that’s the type of distraction I needed right now. Especially after having to listen to my aunt practically dismiss Raine’s talent, saying that she was an “okay dancer” and that she wasn’t sure why I was so hung up on her.
“An okay dancer? Auntie, be so for real right now,” I’d scoffed. “Raine is the best dancer I’ve ever worked with. Hell, she’s the best dancer in this building. Why can’t I suggest that she get a full contract? If anyone deserves it, it’s her.”
“Dawn, I genuinely think you’re getting too invested in this,” she sighed. “I’ve never seen you go to bat behind someone this hard before, especially not some dancer who won’t even be hereafter a few more weeks. You can’t possibly think I’m going to let you stick your neck out for some temp, do you?”
“Well, I’m trying to make sure she doesn’t stay a temp. What’s wrong with that?”
She looked at me, no doubt trying to decipher what was going through my mind, but I just sat there and crossed my arms over my chest. She knew that when I was serious about something, there was no budging. She ultimately sighed and agreed to drop it.
I shook my head, bringing myself back to the task at hand. I carefully placed the weights back on the rack and grabbed my towel to wipe the sweat on my face. Not even a few seconds later, Sammie walks over, munching on a granola bar. She takes one look at me and shakes her head before sitting on a nearby bench.
“You have steam coming from your ears, Dawnie,” she says. “You in here working through frustration again, I see. I know it’s most likely got something to do with your aunt, am I right?”
“Yeah, but I don’t wanna talk about it,” I answer, taking a seat on the bench across from her. I chug a bottle of water before tossing it into the trash a few feet away.
“Cool. Cool,” she says, raising her hands in surrender. “I’ll leave it alone for now.”
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she waved me off. “So, we working on this album today, or?”
“Yeah, let me go hop in the shower real quick, and then we can ride over to the studio together.”
“Bet,” she nods.
We go our separate ways, and I hurry up to my room to hop in the shower. We were currently in New York for a show tomorrow, so she’d rented out a studio for us to work in while we were here. For the last couple of months, we’d been working on my new album, which was set to be released in January. So far,about half of the tracks have been recorded and mixed and are ready for finishing touches. We were a little behind schedule, so we got as much recording done as we could while on tour.
As I was exiting my room about thirty minutes later, I spotted Raine walking down the hall with a few of the other dancers. They were laughing about something, and it brought a smile to my face to see how quickly they’d all taken to her. Well, everyone except Trelyn. I still wasn’t sure what the exact problem was between them, but every time she came around, Raine would tense up and become void of expression. There was no mistaking that she didn’t like her, but whenever I asked whether she wanted me to intervene, she said she was fine. One day, I hoped that she’d open up to me, though.
“Hey, Dawn,” the women greeted me as they stopped in front of me. I nodded, returning the greeting, but my eyes were glued to Raine, and how good she looked in the mesh cover-up she wore over a peach-colored two-piece. “Where you off to?”
“Oh, I’m just heading to the studio for a bit,” I tell them. “Actually, before I go, Raine, can I speak to you for a quick second. There’s something I want to discuss regarding one of the dances.”
“Oh, uh, yeah sure,” she nods before telling the others she’d catch up to them. They nod before waving bye to me.
Once they were out of sight, I swiped the card to my room and motioned for her to go in. When the door was closed behind us, my hands were on her hips as my lips found hers. She melted at my touch and moaned as my hands roamed her body. My head was spinning at how good she always felt. I wanted to toss her on the bed and feast on her sweetness, but I knew that I didn’t have time for that. So, I broke the kiss and pressed my forehead to hers.
“It’s so hard having to have self-control around you when you’re looking this fine,” I whine, causing her to giggle and kiss me once more.
“Don’t worry, baby,” she purred. “You get to have me all night, every night, and tonight will be no different. I can even wear this swimsuit if you’d like.”
“Shitchea,” I nod, and she smirks.
“God, you’re so gorgeous,” she moans.
I pull her in for another intense kiss, this time with even more groping as she rolled her hips against me, trying to create friction. It wasn’t until my phone started to ring that I snapped out ot it. I pulled it out and saw that it was Sammie, probably calling me to ask where the hell I was.
