If only she’d been as happy to see him.
Not that Silas blamed her for being angry. Miriam had every right after Silas’ breakup. She didn’t know it, but he’d made the decision to break things off quickly for both their sakes. It had been the hardest thing he’d ever done, to pretend like he’d stopped caring. But he knew if he’d shown even the slightest inkling that he wanted to continue dating her, they would have pushed through a long-distance thing.
Silas had seen too many relationships destroyed by distance. A lot of times it was an issue of couples growing apart when they had states between them. Others, one person ended up resenting the other for ‘tying them down.’
Silas didn’t want that for them.
He knew he’d love Miriam forever, even though they’d barely been dating eight months when he signed for the Wolves. So he broke up with her to save them both the heartache. That, of course, had been insanity. As soon as he’d spoken the words that he could never take back, he’d realized it was absolutely the wrong decision. It was too late. The contract was signed, the words could never be unheard, and in the end, Miriam hated him anyway.
Not that he should have expected anything else.
Silas turned the speed up on the treadmill until he was practically sprinting. His feet hit the rubber mat hard as his stride became punishing. Sweat seeped from every pore, and his muscles burned the longer he continued.
He didn’t stop until he literally couldn’t put one foot in front of the other anymore.
He slowed the speed on the machine until it stopped and lifted his shirt to wipe his face.
“Wow,” said a feminine voice. “That’s impressive.”
Silas pulled his clothing back down and saw a woman standing next to him. Her eyes lingered where his abs had just been on display.
“Thanks,” he mumbled. Thoughts of Miriam still swirled in his mind as he stepped off the treadmill. He walked toward the weight room in hopes of having better luck clearing his head in there.
The woman followed him. “Running from your demons?”
“Something like that.” He grabbed some barbells and started doing bicep curls in front of one of the mirrors on the wall. Silas tried to avert his eyes from where the woman stood behind him and focused on keeping his movements smooth and controlled.
“Do you work out here often?”
Silas closed his eyes and let out a long exhale as he set the weights down and turned to face the persistent woman. “Look, I’m not really in the mood to talk.”
A corner of her mouth lifted. “Really? I thought you were a social butterfly.”
“What do you want?”
“I’m Jessica, one of the personal trainers here.”
He gave her outfit a skeptical look. He thought all the trainers at this gym had to wear uniforms, and she was wearing a sports bra and leggings that weren’t from Big Results.
As if reading his mind, Jessica responded. “It’s my day off. I’m here running through a potential program I’m putting together and looking for a guinea pig.”
Silas lowered his brows. “You’re not hitting on me.”
Jessica barked out a laugh. “Aren’t you the arrogant one? No, I’mnothitting on you. I’m happily married.” She lifted her left hand and wiggled her fingers.
Silas felt his cheeks warm and hoped that he could pass it off as part of working out hard. It was pretty conceited to think every girl was hoping to hook up, but after McKensie in the parking lot earlier this afternoon, Silas was on high alert. “Ok. So, what’s the catch?”
Jessica lifted a shoulder. “There isn’t one. I’m just a little sadistic and like watching people suffer.”
Silas liked this woman. And he could use a friend right now. Even if she was a sadistic trainer. “How can I say no to hard sell like that?”
Jessica laughed again, and they spent a few minutes finding a time that worked for both of them. When they were done exchanging information, Jessica reached out and slapped his shoulder. “See you tomorrow, pretty boy.”
Silas groaned at the nickname she gave him, but he knew it could be worse.
“And, Silas?”
“Yeah?”
