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Another athletic dress. Were we playing tennis? “Can I just wear pants or shorts?”
She looked personally affronted by my suggestion. “But why would you want to?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Dresses aren’t something I typically wear in my everyday life.”
Faye was always dressed to the nines in a dress, heels, full makeup, and hair. At least, she had been since I’d first arrived. I assumed this was her usual look. “I love dresses.”
She said it was as if she couldn’t understand why I didn’t, which made me smile. “Look, Faye, I appreciate everything you’re doing for me, but I need to be honest. Having a stylist and all these clothes at my disposal is great, but I’m not a fancy dress kind of girl. Jeans are my go-to.”
“Noted,” she replied, sitting opposite me and plucking a strawberry from my fruit bowl. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not. There’s enough here to feed at least four people.”
“Great. So, here’s the deal. It’s my job to help you shine. To be the best version of yourself you can be. I can work with the fact that you aren’t into all the frills, but I need you to trust me in return. I know what I’m doing and want to help you go as far as possible in the Contention.” She smiled softly, and for the first time, I felt like maybe there was someone here on my side.
I piled my plate full with a second helping of food and returned her smile. “It’s a deal.”
After breakfast, I dressed in a pair of dark purple leggings in a buttery soft fabric with cutouts along the legs, a gray and purple athletic tank, and tied my hair back in a braid. I thought I looked pretty cute, and as I made my way down to the first floor, there was a pep in my step.
I was looking forward to PT. It would be good to move my body and work out some of the stress and tension I’d felt for three days. I hadn’t been keeping up with training like when Nico was alive, and I was ready to push my body to its limits.
When I walked into the massive gym—as large as any commercial fitness center but with a spectacular view of the beach through the floor-to-ceiling windows—I scanned the room and made a beeline toward Jessica. She’d been the nicest person I’d met so far aside from Faye, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with the catty bitch club. Last night had been more than enough for me.
Not that I cared what the other women thought of me, but I wasn’t in the mood for their snide comments. I’d heard enough after returning from walking with Holden on the date.
“Hey,” I said, offering a smile to Jessica. “How are you this morning?”
She smiled back, tucking a stray strand of blonde hair back into her bun. “Other than dreading PT, you mean?”
I laughed. “Oh, it can’t be that bad. I’m looking forward to it.”
Jessica gestured at her body, her hands resting on her curvy hips. “Yes, but I’m not nearly as fit as you are. This will likely be pretty miserable.”
While Jessica wasn’t what I would call overweight, she was pretty short and a little soft around the middle. That was totally fine, but it looked like working out wasn’t something she did very often.
The sound of sharp clapping was followed by a deep male voice. “Hello, ladies. I’m Dalton, and I’ll be your trainer this morning.”
I turned, and Jessica gripped my arm. “He looks tough,” she whispered, blue eyes wide. “This is going to be even worse than I imagined.”
It was true. While Dalton was smiling, he did look like the type of trainer who would push us to our limits. That’s exactly what I needed to clear my head and get some perspective here. I’d barely had time to wrap my head around everything happening—it was overwhelming like I’d told Holden last night. Exercise had a calming effect on my mind.
“It will be okay,” I told her softly. “Just stick with me. You can always modify the exercises if you need to.”
“Okay, first things first,” Dalton called out. “Time to warm up. Please select a treadmill.”
Jessica and I chose two right in front of the window, and the view was majestic, the sun sparkling on the dark blue ocean, the waves crashing and receding. This workout might give me the peace I needed so badly.
But I hadn’t planned on the leaders of the bitch squad joining us. Sydnee took the treadmill next to me, with Madison on her far side. I glanced at Jessica, rolled my eyes, then started my treadmill at an easy jog to warm up. Jessica put hers on a lower setting and started walking, a grimace on her pretty face.
Sydnee turned her treadmill up to a faster pace than mine was, giving Jessica and me a saccharine smile. “Are we taking leisurely strolls today, ladies?”
“It’s called a warm-up. You should try it, or you might pull a muscle,” I tossed back. “On the other hand, just jump right in. Maybe you’ll pull a muscle and be unable to participate in our first physical challenge.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That’s how it’s going to be, then?”
I arched a brow but didn’t say anything, focusing my attention on the waves crashing in the distance, keeping my rhythm steady and pacing my breaths. Jessica looked around the room, her forehead furrowed, then turned up the pace on her treadmill to a slow jog.
“Look, Sydnee,” Madison said in a mock-whisper, “she’s trying to jog. Isn’t that cute?”
