“Life is full of surprises.”
“Ah! I see that’s why you’ve made a habit of falling off the reformer now.”
His eyes widen slightly, his mouth a perfect ‘O’. The mystery girl's head moves back and forth between us, almost like she’s at a tennis match, an amused look displayed on her face.
He changes the subject, “I see you’ve been for a run this morning?”
I arch an eyebrow slightly, “Obviously.”
We maintain eye contact, a slight challenge to one another before I hear the barista call my name, “See you soon, Levi.”
I turn and walk back to the counter, grabbing my to-go cup and bag before leaving to head straight to the studio.
…
LEVI
I watch as Scarlett leaves before turning back to Gigi to find her watching me curiously with a small grin on her lips.
Rolling my eyes, I don’t let her get a word in. “Don’t even think about it.” I reply, picking up my coffee and taking a sip.
She arches a brow at me, her grin widening. “So… That’s her?”
“Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.” I grumble, leaning back in my seat and crossing my arms over my chest.
“She’s pretty.” Gigi continues, obviously not picking up on the fact that I’m done with the conversation. Or simply just not caring either way.
I shrug, averting my eyes. Like that’s going to make anything better. “Irrelevant.”
She sighs dramatically, though, still not willing to let this conversation pass. “So, when’s your next session?”
I purse my lips as I contemplate telling Gigi how I'm feeling. That I don’t want to go back. And I decide to just lay it all out there. Who can I tell, if not my own sister? I make a show of looking at my watch before responding, “In a couple of hours. I’m not going, though.”
Her eyes widen, jaw dropping open slightly. “Levi. What do you mean you’re not going?”
“I’m not dealing with that bullshit anymore. Coach can give me a different plan that’s not… that.”
Gigi’s brows furrow, confusion taking over her face. “Levi, you need to take this seriously. You can’t let your career end like this.”
I wave her off. “I’m done talking about this, Gigi.”
She stares at me a moment, before shaking her head at me and standing. “I have to go and meet with Bennett now about some appearances coming up in a few months. Go to that session, Levi.”
She strides out of the cafe, leaving me to sit with my thoughts – and she’s fucking kidding herself if she thinks I’m going to spend one more second in a session taking orders from Scarlett Quinn.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SCARLETT
Icheck my watch. He’s late. Again. Only, this time, I’ve been waiting for 30 minutes. I look out the floor-to-ceiling windows, contemplating as I blow out a breath. What a piece of work. He is unbelievable. You fall off a reformer twice and give up? What a pussy.
I pull up Coach’s email, scrolling to find his phone number. Typing his number into my phone, I press the call button and hold it to my ear. After two rings, I hear a gruff, “Hello,” on the other end of the line.
“Hey, Coach Johnson. I’m sorry to call you so out of the blue... I’m sure you’re busy…”Fuck, am I even doing the right thing here?
“Scarlett, that’s quite alright. Can I help you with anything?”
I sigh, “Yeah, you see, it’s just about Levi. He never showed.”
