Page 22 of To Love the Stars too Fondly

I walked by your shop. You look cute in that apron. Call me when you’re off?

Good feelings? Gone. Replaced with unbearable cold.

Liam had already left. The afternoon shift had started, but I didn’t know any of them well, and asking someone to walk you to your bike felt stupid.

Was Cliff still here? Could he be waiting? Was he lying? It’s not like I didn’t wear the same apron every damn day. I took a breath for courage when I reached the back door and peeked before stepping out.

Though the lot was more or less empty, there were no hidden alleyways for someone to hide in. I took four steps to the bike rack and fumbled with my keys, not even bothering to stuff the lock into my purse as I mounted it and rode toward the public road.

My head swiveled, surely not unlike a paranoid meerkat. What if he was watching? What if I led him straight to my house?

What if…I didn’t have to go home?

Alex was nearby. She’d said the gym was just down the road. A quick Google search confirmed there was only one option: Berserker Kickboxing.

Would Alex mind? She’d said any time. Surely she’d understand if I just waited around in the lobby or something.

Decision made, I biked up the road, away from the familiar path home.

All gyms more or less looked the same on the outside, with large signs and windows lining the perimeter. It was easy to find.

With a final glance around the street, I locked up my bike, then summoned my courage.

I stepped inside, the potent smells of sweat and rubber washing over my senses. A single expansive room spread wide with mirrors covering two of the walls. Though my shoes squeaked on cheap linoleum, the majority of the floor was covered by interlocking rubbery mats. Black walls matched the mats with blue accents, and to my left, a petite young woman lounged back in her chair, making no effort to look engaged behind her desk, instead typing on her phone.

Farther away was the ring. In the ring was Alex.

I recognized her opponent immediately—Chiara, who had given me a ride that very morning. But as terrifying a sight as she was in her gear, I was immediately distracted by Alex and her glistening self, hair slick with sweat, shirtless, as promised, clad in a sports bra and showcasing her incredible abs. Her shorts revealed impressive thighs and calves, her bare feet bouncing as she focused on her opponent. Her gloves shot forward with frightful speed, but I lost my breath at the flex of her arms. Sure, I’d seen her biceps; I’d never seen her biceps do that.

“Can I help you?”

I started at the feminine voice. The girl behind the desk glowered from behind her phone with utter disinterest, her accent identical to Chiara’s. “I’m just checking things out,” I said. “I know Alex.”

The girl blinked a moment, looking quite bothered to be there. “Okay.” A pause. “Are you the coffee girl?”

Assuredly yes, but the realization that Alex had talked about me was too much for me to eloquently articulate. “Maybe.”

She resumed texting. “Okay.”

Permission granted, I supposed.

I approached the ring, elevated about two feet above the ground. The question passed through my head of why it was called a ‘ring’ if it was square, but then Alex caught my eye, her surprise giving way to a smile. I waved—

Then recoiled as Chiara’s glove struck Alex straight in the cheek. Alex collapsed.

“Dammit,” Chiara muttered, immediately ripping off her boxing gloves as she knelt at Alex’s side.

Fuck, I’d just killed her.

With Chiara’s coaxing, Alex sat up. Her cheekbone burned red, bruising before our very eyes. Chiara snapped her fingers. “Follow this,” she said, holding one up. She dragged the finger left to right, scowling. “No concussion, probably.” To my horror, she smacked Alex on the shoulder. “Stupid. You could have died. Compartmentalize distractions or let them go.”

Her judgement swept across me, her glare brief but poignant. This was a mistake. I took a step back.

Chiara was helping Alex to rise as I plotted how to make any excuse to vanish, but then Alex’s gaze fell upon me, and something about seeing her sweaty and slightly bruised and bloody stopped my breath completely. “Hey!” she called out.

My smile came shyly. “Sorry for almost getting you killed.”

Chiara had already left the ring, slipping between the padded guardrails with ease. Alex beckoned me forward, her chuckle making her amiable. “No, you’re fine. What brings you here?”