Page 81 of Forever Relentless

I nodded, already moving toward the weight bag. I tested it with a simple jab.

“You box?” she asked, her focus on me and not on the guy sitting on the weight bench, checking her out.

“A little.” I nodded toward the guy with a jerk of my chin. “You have an admirer.”

Briar turned, saw who it was, and gave a small wave. “He’s the manager, I think. Probably thinks I left something behind. Hold on a minute.” She went over to talk to him, and I turned back to the bag.

“You using that?”

I looked at the guy who’d come up behind me. Tall, tattooed everywhere, hair tied back in a man bun. The bag beside me was empty.

“No, I wasn’t.” I stepped back. I didn’t want to ask him why he wasn’t using the one next to me. I didn’t hide my surprise when he held out tape.

“You need some?”

I looked over at Briar, who was chatting with the manager. She looked my way, gave a small nod, and turned back to her conversation.

“I’m not a member.”

The guy scoffed. “It’s a flat fee of twenty dollars for half an hour. Fifty for an hour. Use what you want, leave.”

I looked around. “Twenty dollars for thirty minutes?”

“Yeah, there are no showers or anything. Bring your own towel kind of thing, but it’s cheap, clean, and has what we need.”

I nodded. “Cool.”

He waved the tape. “You need it?”

I did. I bit the inside of my cheek and watched Briar come back over. She saw the tape and looked between the guy and me. “You’re going to work out?”

“I was thinking about it.”

She didn’t hide her surprise. “Oh. I um, right.” She looked over her shoulder toward the door. “Should I go?”

The guy was still hovering, not even hiding that he was listening.

“Um.” I looked at the bag and then at her. “Okay.”

Briar’s eyes widened. “Okay? You’re okay if I go?”

The guy huffed, and I really wished he’d move so I could talk to her. “Well, I can stay here for thirty minutes,” I offered. “Would you like to wait for me?”

Briar shook her head slowly. “No. I really wouldn’t.”

“Okay then.” I took my hoodie off. “I’ll catch you later, yeah?”

“You using it?” The manager had walked over.

“The weight bag? Yeah.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “Twenty dollars for thirty minutes?”

“That’s right. Venmo details are on the wall.” He walked away, and I loved how casual it was.

Briar glared again.

“This is what I was looking for,” I told her honestly. “I just need some time with the bag.”

I saw a flicker of understanding. “Okay. Have fun.” She walked away, and I felt a moment of regret, but I had already turned back to the bag and the guy with the tape.