The gym had been open for an hour now, and Riley wasn’t here yet. Riley was never late. I’d tried calling him. No response. My stomach twisted in unease.
I had complained about not having enough to do, but I wasn’t capable of running this place on my own either.
I paced the empty reception area, considering my options. My mouth tasted metallic, my fingers brushing over my bottom lip as it stung. They came away slightly bloodied. I sighed.
I didn’t know what to do, and there was really only one person I knew who could help me when I felt so much noise and anxiety inside me. I hadn’t wanted to bother him with this. I wanted him to spend time at home doing nothing but discovering himself and not worrying any more than he had to. But we were partners, and I needed him.
“Hey, pup.” Harper’s beautiful voice answered after only a couple of rings.
“Ri isn’t here. I tried contactin’ him. He’s not answerin’. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if he’s okay, he’s never ever late, and I can’t run this place on my own and I don’t even really know how to use our computer system. Ri always did that. And—”
“Shhh. Hey, breathe. Okay? I’m on my way.”
I heard him shuffle around and murmur to Matthew that he needed a lift here, and then he was with me again, getting me to breathe along with him as he breathed.
Just hearing his voice settled some of the anxiety inside me.
Then he was here, and I sank to my knees right there in the lobby, pressing my forehead against his thigh as he ran his fingers through my hair.
“I’m here, pup. I have you.”
Inhale.
He had me. Nothing else mattered. I breathed in what felt like my first real breath since I’d walked through the gym doors.
He didn’t rush me, didn’t pull away. He just let me be here, soaking him in until I was calm again.
“Alright,” he said as I stood. “I’m going to figure out your computer system. What do you need to be doing?”
“I can try to show you what I know.”
“I’ll be alright. I can figure it out, and you just focus on what you need to do. Okay?”
Exhale.
“Okay.”
The rest of the day passed quickly, and though it was quiet and Riley still hadn’t shown up, I wasn’t worried anymore.
Harper seemed confident in handling reception work for a while. He said he’d take a look at the books for the gym too, and handle all the admin stuff until we figured something else out.
I didn’t want to be the one to put him back in an office, but just having him here with me made everything seem so much more manageable.
Just for now.
“I want to take you somewhere,” Harper said as I locked up.
I nodded.
“Keys?”
I handed them to him, and we made our way to my car in the lot.
Harper slid into the driver’s seat next to me, starting the engine. The car rolled forward, then slammed to a sudden stop as a blur of color dashed in front of us.
I barely registered Riley before he was dashing around to the side of the car and climbing into the back seat.
“Go,” he snapped.
