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“Didn’t you write up the whiteboard?” he asks, his dimples deepening as he grins at me.
“Oh yeah. I didn’t think I’d be here today, ha! Ouch!” I grimace as I go down into surrender position, with my hands behind my head, then back up.
Work past the pain, work past the pain!I tell myself, though I know this is the type of workout that makes it hard to use the bathroom the next day. It’s also the kind that finally gave me an ass. With that in mind, I work hard so I can play hard.
Closing my mind off to my body, I let the music take over my soul, and pretend I’m somewhere else. A remix of “Fade” by Alan Walker comes on, and I imagine myself as a superhero, fighting against a masked villain. I’ve never told anyone I do this, of course. They’d think I’m nuts. But sometimes it’s the only way to get that extra boost of energy. I twitch with every punch and kick, and before I know it, not only have I defeated the bad guy, but I’ve worked out without feeling it.
It’s what I’m doing right now. That is until I see Dean helping that same woman from earlier. Now she’s faking a hard time with her lunges.
After a while trying to help, he leaves her and addresses the class. “Guys, this is a strength class. Be sure to watch your form. It’s better to get two reps with good form, then four incorrectly. Take your time. This is not a race. Do not compare yourself to what the person beside you is doing. You do you!” he tells us.
Jose looks at me suddenly, with an extremely naughty glint in his eyes. “I’d rather do him,” he says, making me lose my balance.
“You want him?” I ask him, stunned.
“How could I not? But don’t worry, I know you had your eyes on him first.”
“No, I… I mean, he’s free to…” Jose laughs at me when I can’t finish the sentence.
Knowing that Jose wants him, too, upsets me. It’s not jealousy. Dean is free to be with anyone. Besides, he might not be attracted to Jose.
But what if he is?
Men, women, there’s a few of options for him here. Maybe it would be a good thing if he found someone else to go after. Take some of the pressure off me. Maybe then he’d be more willing to have a few fun-filled nights, no strings attached. Yeah, this could be good.
Jose, Meg and I take turns with the remainder of the day’s classes. Once everyone is gone, we begin the process of shutting down, putting everything away and cleaning up.
Grabbing some of the weights, I take them into the small storage room in the back. After stacking them neatly on a shelf there, I turn to find Dean right behind me.
“Your hair is glowing,” he says, once again reaching out to touch it.
I pull away, slightly flustered by his nearness, slightly afraid I stink. Besides, I don’t want him to see that a lot of that “glow” probably comes from gray hairs. No guy has ever inspected my hair this closely, and quite frankly I’ve never given a shit. Until now.
Damn, this guy makes me all sorts of crazy.
“Coop…”
“Come to dinner with me tonight, Cat. Let’s spend some time together where we’re not both wearing workout clothes.”
The devil in me suddenly perks up. “I’m definitely up for spending time without clothes. But it would have to be your place. I don’t like bringing guys over with my kid there.”
He shakes his head, narrowing his eyes at me, but smiling. “I meant a date. Food, talk, getting to know each other. We can still get naked afterwards, but I want to sweep you off your feet first.”
I sigh heavily and start stacking stability balls. “You don’t need to woo me.”
“I want to, though. Don’t you ever go on dates?”
“Not complicated ones. And you, my friend, would be the complicated kind. I can tell.”
Before he can answer, Meg and Jose walk in. Both look at us suspiciously, as if we’d be doing anything sexual in our sweaty state. Of course, thinking about it doesn’t count.
“We’re heading out to grab a bite. Would you like to join us?” Jose asks us, though he’s only looking at Dean.
Pursing my lips and rolling my eyes, I say, “I’m out. Tomorrow’s an early one for me and I need my beauty sleep. See you guys.” I leave without waiting to hear if Dean will go.
