“You’re making me feel bad,” she said, glaring at me as my feet pounded against the belt.
“What? I’m just walking.”
“You’re going like”—she waved her hands in the air wildly, and fuck, it was cute when she was flustered—“ten times faster than me.”
“It’s because I have a long stride!” I laughed. “I can’t help it.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” she huffed.
I slowed my treadmill to match her pace, nearly tripping over my feet in the process. Her laughter was worth it, though.
“Better?” I asked.
“Much better.”
Things were going so well between us. But soon our training session would be over. I really wanted to spend more time with her, and if I was reading her right, she wanted that, too.
Fuck.
I had her phone number. I could ask her to hang out. Or—I could ask her out on a date right now. A tight knot of anxiety formed in my stomach. I hadn’t asked someone out in over a decade. How did you even bring that up? And what if she said no?
No. I had to get that thought out of my head. There was no way she was going to say no. I had no idea what we were going to do for our date, but I’d come up with something later. I had to just go for it.
“So—I was wondering—do you have any plans this weekend?” I tried to play it cool but I’m pretty sure my voice wavered, giving away how fucking nervous I felt.
“I’m working at the bakery in the morning, but I’m free later in the afternoon once my assistant comes in.” She shot me a smug smile that made my chest feel tight. She was totally onto me. “Why?”
“If it wasn’t painfully obvious by now, I’m really into you and I was wondering if you’d like to go out on a date with me.”
“Can I tell you something?” she asked.
Not an answer, but sure. I could sweat it out. “Of course.”
“The reason I joined the gym was because I wanted to see you again. I was hoping you’d stop by the bakery, and when you didn’t, I decided to take matters into my own hands.”
She took initiative to make it happen. I loved that.
I laughed. “The reason I offered to train you was because I wanted to spend more time with you, so I guess we’re even, then.”
“After what happened at the wedding, I thought you wouldn’t want to see me again,” she said quietly.
“Why would you think that?” I asked.
“Because of how my brother acted.”
Yeah, that was awkward. But it wasn’t her fault.
“You’re not responsible for his actions,” I said. “He doesn’t have to like me. What matters is if you like me.”
“I do like you.”
Her admission made my tail wag so hard, I thought I was going to take flight. “Then let me take you out on Saturday.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” I asked, slightly shocked at how easy this was.
She nodded, fighting back a smile. I felt like I was on top of the world.
