“What are you going to do now?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Figure out the living situation first, I guess. I’ll eventually need to find an apartment of my own.” She makes a face. “And then there’s work.”
“What about work?”
Winnie sighs. “Derek and I both teach at the same gym. Or, we did. After yesterday, things are... tense.”
“How tense?”
“It’s a small place, Tori. Like, twelve employees small. Everyone knows everyone’s business.” She picks at the edge of her blanket. “We were the cute couple who met at work. Now we’re the messy breakup everyone has to tiptoe around.”
“That sounds awful.”
I sip my wine, already thinking. The staff meeting this week—Dana mentioned they’ve been talking about bringing in a yoga instructor for the team. Flexibility training, injury prevention, mental wellness. The guys have been resistant to it, but management is pushing hard.
“Win,” I say slowly. “How would you feel about teaching somewhere else?”
“Like where? Another gym?”
“Like... the Knights facility.”
She stares at me. “What?”
“The team’s been talking about hiring a yoga instructor. For the players. It came up in a staff meeting this week.” I grab my phone. “I could talk to Dana. Put in a good word. Send her your resume.”
“Tori.” Her eyes go wide. “Are you serious?”
“Dead serious.”
“That would be—I mean, that’s a professional sports team. That’s a completely different level.” She sets down her wine glass. “You really think they’d consider me?”
“I think you’re exactly what they need. You’re good, Win. Really good. And these guys desperately need someone to work on their flexibility. Half of them can barely touch their toes.”
“Oh my God.” She presses her hands to her cheeks. “That would be amazing. Like, life-changing amazing. No more tiny gym, no more Derek poisoning everyone against me, no more—” She stops, looking at me with something like hope for the first time all night. “You’d really do that for me?”
“I’m already drafting the email in my head.” I grin. “Send me your resume tonight. I’ll get it to Dana first thing tomorrow.”
“You’re the best. You know that, right? Literally the best friend anyone has ever had.”
Winnie takes a long sip, then narrows her eyes at me over the rim. “Okay, enough about my disaster. What’s going on withyou? I feel like I’ve barely seen you in weeks, and you’ve got that look.”
“What look?”
“The look of someone who has news and is waiting for me to ask.”
I laugh, but she’s not wrong. “Things have been... eventful.”
“Eventful how?”
“Well... the team found out about me and Zayden.”
Winnie’s eyes go wide. “Oh shit. What happened?”
“Grayson Reed—the guy who wouldn’t leave me alone—saw us at the hotel in Minneapolis and spread it around the whole facility.” I take a long drink of my own wine. “My boss, Dana, called me in. It was... not fun.”
“Did you get fired?”
“No. But I got reassigned.” I pick at the label on the wine bottle, not quite meeting her eyes. “I’m off the active roster, only working with guys rehabbing long-term injuries and prospects now. No more road trips.”
