I watch Luna from afar; her hour-long workout is almost over, and I slip back into the now overcrowded gym. I head over to the pull-up bar. I do some pull-ups, something to make it look like I wasn’t staring creepily at a woman from the shadows. I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I’m met with Luna’s beautiful brown doe eyes. “Hi. I’m about to head out.”
“Do you want to get breakfast with me?” I ask, and her stunned face makes me smile.
“Uhh, yeah. I didn’t have breakfast this morning, so I’m starving.” Luna gives me a confused look, “Dante, I think you’re bleeding?” She reaches out to touch my neck, and I move out of her reach against my better judgment.
I reach up instead, wiping my hand across the spot she was reaching for, and sure enough, a small amount of blood was smeared across my fingers. I laugh nervously, wiping the blood off on my pants. “Oh, right, I was meal prepping this morning for the week, and I was cutting up meat. Must have wiped some blood on myself and didn’t notice. Give me five minutes to rinse off in the shower and change, and I’ll meet you in the front?”
Luna nods; the look on her face tells me she’s accepted this as an acceptable excuse, and she turns, heading to the front.
I make it back to the showers, using the private ones around the corner in case someone came in and saw the bloodthat was now dried to my thighs. I practically have to peel my underwear off myself. I turn on the hot water and step into the hot stream, scrubbing everywhere as quickly as I can. I get out, use one of the community towels to dry off, then put my sweatpants back on and toss the towel and my underwear in my locker on the way out.
I’ll come back later and dispose of them properly when fewer eyes are around. I’ll make sure to erase myself from the security clips later as well.
A commotion near the front of the gym shakes me from my mental to-do list. I hear a man shout, and when I turn the corner, I see he’s speaking–no–yellingat Luna. “All you sluts are the same. Coming to the gym in your slutty little outfits, parading yourself all over the gym, and when a guy like me takes the bait, you all act like you don’t know what you’re doing. I thought giving the fat bitch at the gym a chance would land me an easy lay, but you’re all the fucking same.”
The darkness in me takes over, and I practically teleport right behind him. I slam my hand down onto the piece of shits shoulder, forcing him to look at me. “You’re going to apologize to my girlfriend.Now,” I say, tightening my death grip on his shoulder a bit more.
He’s not stupid; he sees the rage in my eyes, and I can see the fear in his. He grits his teeth, looking at Luna and spitting out a non-apology. I lift my grip from his shoulder and slap the back of his neck so hard I knew there would be a mark. I lean in closely to his ear, speaking loud enough so Luna could hear me, “If I hear you speak to another woman like that here, I’ll materialize at the foot of your bed like a demon and rip out your throat so you can’t speak toanyoneever again. Got it?”
The asshole nods, and I shove him off in the direction of the door, and he can’t help but give Luna a dirty look on the way out.
You just signed your death certificate, fucker. You’ll be getting a visit from me later—another task to add to the list when checking the security tapes.
“Are you okay?” I ask, looking over Luna.
“Yeah. I’m okay. Thank you.”
Her smile doesn’t meet her eyes, and I can guess the words that asshole said are burying deep into her insecurities. “Are you ready for breakfast?” I ask, the darkness I feel still swirls inside me, but when I look at her, I can’t help but smile. She is everything good in this world.
“Are you sure? We can go another time if you’re not up for it?”
“I’m sure, Luna. Come on,” I held out my hand for her. “I want to take my girlfriend to breakfast.”
A bright smile spreads across her face, “Okay. Let’s go.”
I chose Abby’s Place down the block, and we are quickly seated. Luna orders tomato juice, which puzzles me. “Tomato juice? I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone who asked for tomato juice before.”
Luna laughs. “It’s something my dad and I used to order when we went out to breakfast. He loved tomato juice, and I guess I inherited his taste buds for it.”
“Interesting,” I say, leaning across the table. “What else do you like?”
“Um, well, besides writing, I also enjoy reading. I don’t really have any other hobbies.” The server returns with our drinks and takes our orders.
I watch Luna slide juice in front of her, and she grabs the pepper. “What are you doing?”
“I add pepper to it—gives it a bite. It’s good. It’s like a Bloody Mary but without all the fixings.” She tilts her head, giving me a playful smile. “Are you scared of juice, Dante?” Luna shakes the pepper into her drink, takes her spoon from the napkin, and stirs it. She licks the spoon from the handle to the tip when she's done mixing, and makes direct eye contact with me. “Mmm, just the way I like it,” she slid her cup to me, “Wanna try it?”
I chuckle, staring back at her. “I want to try something, alright.”
Lunasmiles, her eyes teasing me, daring me to say something else, but her phone rings, breaking our eye contact. “Hello?”
The woman on the other end of the line shouts something, and Luna excuses herself from the table. I keep an eye on her from our table, and from my perspective, the conversation seems positive. The phone call doesn’t last long, and Luna makes her way back into the cafe. I can’t help but stare. She’s so god damn beautiful I just want to look at her all day—I mean, I do, but that’s besides the point, being in her presence is something I can only describe as otherworldly.
Luna is sunshine reincarnate, and I never want to be without her light again.
“Sorry about that. Olivia called to break the news.” Luna says, sliding back into her seat.
My brows shoot up. “Did you win?”
