Page 2 of Gym With Benefits

I was too shocked to say anything at first. When Carter got out of the shower, I pretended like everything was fine. I was a demure non-confrontational girl back then, and I had fall exams to study for. Underneath it all, the betrayal boiled like magma within a mountain.

It wasn’t until a week later, when exams were over, that I worked up the courage. Funny enough, it happened just like how David had found me tonight: sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of wine, waiting for him to get home from baseball practice. I confronted him. He denied everything. He got on his knees and begged me to believe him. He showed me his phone. The incriminating texts were all gone; Carter must have sensed that something was wrong and deleted all the evidence.

But I knew the truth, and I couldn’t unsee those texts.

Amberleigh never asked why we broke up. She only shrugged and said that she always thought we were wrong for each other. Bitch.

I never confronted her about it. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe I’d used up all my vengeful energy accusing Carter. Or maybe I didn’t want to lose my boyfriendandmy best friend slash roommate at the same time. But our friendship was never thesame after that, becauseof courseit wasn’t, and by the time we graduated we were hardly speaking to each other when we crossed paths in our apartment.

That was five years ago. I hadn’t heard from Amberleigh since graduation.

Until this letter showed up in my mailbox.

I told all of this to David, sparing no details—because he was a good friend, and it was a juicy story. By the time I got to the graduation part, he was on his second glass of wine himself, leaning across the table like a gambler waiting to see what cards would be dealt next.

“Oh. My.God,” he said when I was finished. “After all of that, why would she send you an invitation to her wedding?”

“That’s what I’ve been asking myself since the letter arrived.”

David downed the rest of his wine and picked up his phone. “I’m pulling up the Manford Mansion website. Let’s see…Manford Mansion was built in the early eighteenth century, and has a rich, yet complicated history. Complicated history? That’s code for they used to own slaves.”

I snorted. “My thoughts exactly.”

“Well, youhaveto go,” David said.

I blinked in surprise. “What? Hell no! I haven’t spoken to her in five years, and she slept with my boyfriend! Why would I go to her wedding?”

“So you can show up lookingfierceand steal the spotlight. Everyone needs a nemesis, Jess. It’s good for the soul.”

That made me laugh, but then I gestured down at myself. “It’s been a while since I’ve felt fierce.”

David gave me a look that only a bisexual man could give. “Okay, first of all, you’regorgeous. Any man would be lucky. And I know you can pull off a slit dress with those legs.”

“But…?”

“But,” he agreed, “if youwantedto get toned and be your best, fiercest, most revenge-seeking version of yourself, there’s a great gym next to my office.”

I let out a long groan and reached for the bottle of wine. “I don’t want to do that. I’m not that insecure college girl anymore. I don’t have anything to prove. I’ve moved on. And I don’t feel the need to dig up old drama.”

“Then do it for yourself!” he exclaimed, snatching the bottle of wine from my hand. “I’m not going to comment on how many gentlemen callers you’ve had to the apartment lately, but I will say that it’s too few. You need a confidence boost. And exercise is worth doing even if it doesn’t lead to getting laid. It releases endorphins!”

David knew me better than anyone in the world, and he wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t been feeling confident lately. I’d been totally focused on work for the past year, which was great for my career but bad for my self-esteem. I used to play tennis almost every day. I missed that routine. It was hard to get back into it without a push.

Maybe this was that push.

“Maybe this is the push you need!” David waved the invitation like it was a banner.

“Are you a mind reader?”

“A magician never tells.” He tossed the invitation back onto the table. It spun across the surface before coming to a stop in front of me, with the broken wax seal facing forward. “The gym gaveeveryone in our office vouchers for a free month. Give it a try, Jess. As your friend, I really think it would be good for you.”

And that’s how I ended up driving to Capitol Fitness on a Saturday, when I was usually vegging on the couch in my sweatpants. I felt good about it, too! I was blaringPink Pony Clubin the car, singing along, wearing gym clothes I hadn’t even looked at in over a year.

I was thankful to Amberleigh forthat, at least.

But I stopped being thankful when I rounded a corner in the parking lot at the same time a green Ford Bronco was backing out of a space.

And I ran right into it.