Chapter 6
My new internship is amazing. The people are nice, and the clients are nice, and I get free access to the gym as well. I’ve always enjoyed working at my dad’s shop since I practically grew up there, but this is different. Here, I’m surrounded by people who share my same interests. It’s not all dirt bikes all the time. I get to help people here.
Even after one day as an intern, I’m confident that I’m choosing the right career path. It sucks that it takes so many years in college to be a physical therapist, but it’ll be worth it.
Once my shift is over at eight, everyone else goes home, but I’ve been dying to try out the gym’s hot tub. It’s massive, and enclosed in a private room next to the sauna. I saw it when I first got here and I’ve been dreaming about it all day. I’ve been so stressed with school and now with Jay ripping my heart out, and all I want to do is relax.
I slip into my bathing suit and venture into the hot tub room, hoping it’s empty. It is.
Smooth jazz music plays over some hidden speaker and the smell of lavender sets my mind at ease. I step into the hot tub slowly, letting the scorching water soothe my muscles.
I sink down into the bubbles, keeping everything but my head submerged. The water feels amazing. I close my eyes and start to cry.
I don’t mean to. My body just takes over the second I feel even slightly relaxed. All the heartache and pain I’ve been ignoring while I’m busy during the day always crawls back to the surface as soon as things get quiet.
I let the tears roll down my face. I’m over Jay. At least I’m trying to be. My body hasn’t quite caught up yet.
A rush of cool air slips into the room along with the sound of a door opening. Shit. I splash water on my face to hide the tears. There’s barely any people at the gym this late and I was hoping to have the room all to myself for a while longer.
I glance back.
It’s Aiden.
“Oh, sorry,” he says, making this confused face. Something in the way he lifts his eyebrows makes me think that he’s not really sorry. Like maybe he’s faking something.
“You mind if I join you?”
“Go for it.” I shrug. “It’s a pretty huge hot tub.”
Aiden peels off his shirt and wraps it around the red cast on his right arm. I swallow and avert my eyes. Aiden has the kind of six-pack abs that Jay has been wanting for years. My first thought is to ask him how he does it, but then I quickly remember that I’m no longer Jay’s girlfriend. I don’t have to ask questions for him anymore.
In fact, I hope Jay never gets his abs to look this good.
Aiden runs a wet hand through his hair. He exhales slowly, his eyes closing as the bubbles roll all around him, concealing everything from his chest down. Not that I’m checking him out.
But I’m kind of checking him out.
He tips his head back and is silent for a moment. Since he can’t see me, I can’t seem to stop checking him out. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just interesting, being this close to a motocross celebrity. I bet every dirt bike girl I know would be freaking out if I told them what I was doing right now.
It’s too bad I didn’t bring my phone with me or I might try to sneak a picture just to make everyone jealous.
“Damn, I wish this cast was off,” Aiden says after a long moment of silence. He lifts his head and gives me a flat lipped smile, before turning his gaze to the cast, which is covered in his T-shirt.
“I’m not sure a shirt makes that waterproof,” I say.
He chuckles. “I’m improvising. I’ll bring a bag next time and some duct tape. I didn’t even know there was a hot tub when I got here. This place is sweet.”
“I didn’t either,” I say. I lucked out and had a bathing suit in my truck.”
“How long have you been working here?”
“It’s my first day. And I’m technically an intern.”
He seems impressed. “Oh yeah? What kind of internship?”
“Physical therapy.” His dark eyes look so sexy in the warm glow of the room and I have to look down at the water to stop from blushing. “I’m in college to be a physical therapist.”
“No shit,” he says with a nod. “Smart and beautiful.”
Despite how warm it already is in here, I can feel the blood rushing to my face.
Aiden clears his throat. “Sorry. That was inappropriate. I wasn’t hitting on you, I was just—” His words are rushed and flimsy. He takes a deep breath and looks away. “Sorry. I know you’re taken.”
“Taken?” I say, holding back a sarcastic laugh. “What makes you think that?”
The look he gives me—one full of confusion—makes me feel a little weak. And giddy. It’s like he’s…excited about this new information.
“My sister told me you had a boyfriend,” is all he says, but there’s a hint of a question in his words.
He talked about me with his sister? Holy shit.
I shake my head. “I did have a boyfriend. Not anymore.”
“Oh… well, I’m sorry? Or… congratulations?”
I chuckle. “I think both options are appropriate for my screwed up life.”
He leans forward, keeping his casted arm resting outside of the hot tub. “Wanna talk about it?”
I’m about to say no. Because what else do you say in a situation like this? But then I realize that the truthful answer to his question would be a resounding yes. I do want to talk about it. I’ve kept this breakup a secret from my family and my friends, and unless anyone has noticed that I deleted all three years’ worth of photos of Jay from my social media, then it’s going to stay secret for a while.
I want to talk. I want to let it out, and the idea of telling this total stranger is appealing. He doesn’t know me, and he doesn’t know Jay. He can just listen.
“Sure,” I say, surprising myself and apparently Aiden as well.
A small grin appears on his lips. “I’m all ears.” He frowns, shaking his head. “That’s such a stupid phrase. I’m all ears? What does that even mean? I’m some kind of ear monster?”
I laugh, and the small room echoes with the noise, which seems like such a foreign sound to me. I haven’t smiled or laughed much since I walked in on Jay screwing another girl.
Aiden seems chagrined, but I’m not sure why. He holds out his good hand. “Ignore my stupidity. I’m happy to listen.”
It dawns on me now. Aiden Strauss is kind of… well… a nerd. He’s gorgeous and incredibly talented on a dirt bike, but when he’s talking to me he seems shy. Almost dorky. I don’t know how he hasn’t let the fame go to his head. I’ve met quite a few famous motocross racers in my life and almost all of them are total cocky jackasses. They know everyone worships the ground they walk on, and they act like it.
I feel another smile tugging at my lips. It feels better than all this crying I’ve done lately. In fact, I’m not even holding back tears anymore.
“Well… where do I begin…”
“Start from the beginning. I’ve got all night.” Aiden puts his good arm behind his head and leans back, resting his head in his palm. His bicep flexes, the muscles rippling down his chest. It makes a shiver run right down my spine. This guy is fitness magazine hot.
I blink to clear my mind. The beginning. Right. “Well, I’ve known Jay for a long time. He used to come into my dad’s shop all the time and we started riding together when we were on KX80s—”
Aiden’s head jerks up. “You ride?”
I nod. “I’m not very good.”
“That’s still pretty kick ass.”
“Motocross is the greatest thing on earth,” I say.
He grins like he knows exactly what I mean. I go back to my story, because now that I’ve started it, I feel the desperate need to finish it. I want to get it out. Maybe if I do, I’ll be able to put my life with Jay out of my mind for good.
“He never really noticed me until senior year of high school. We started dating, and we’ve dated ever since then. Three years. Three fucking years.”
My nostalgia turns into rage. “And then just a few days ago, I went to the track and I caught him hooking up with this bitch that we went to school with. She’s a complete—” I exhale and shake my head. This isn’t about her. It’s about my shitty boyfriend. “He didn’t even try to apologize. Like in the movies, you know how the guy is always like, ‘wait, I can explain!’ … he didn’t do that.”
I look up from the bubbling water and see Aiden watching me. His jaw is set.
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” he says. I can tell he means it. He looks sad, and angry. Probably a perfect mirror to what I look like, only he’s vastly more good looking.
I shrug. “I’m not really sad about it anymore. I’m just pissed. I can’t believe he did that, you know? I can’t believe I was so stupid to not realize it was happening.”
“It’s not your fault,” Aiden says. “Not in the slightest.”
I snort. “Well if I kept him happier then—”
“No,” Aiden says swiftly. “There’s absolutely nothing you could have done. A cheater is a cheater. They’re selfish bastards who only think about themselves. Don’t even think for a second that it’s your fault, because it’s not.”
I meet his intense gaze. “I appreciate that. I do. But you don’t even know me.”
“I don’t have to know you to know that cheating is wrong, Jenn.”
Hearing my name on his lips sends another shiver down my spine, one quite like the shiver I felt earlier when I he took off his shirt. I can’t believe he remembers my name from our brief meeting at the shop. “Maybe you’re right,” I say.
“I am.” Now there’s a hint of confidence in his voice. That’s the voice I expected him to have all along.
We slip into another silence. Aiden leans back, staring at the ceiling again, but I can tell he’s thinking by the furrow in his brow.
“Anyway… that’s my story,” I say, just for something to say. “I haven’t told Bella yet. I haven’t told anyone. Even my parents don’t know, but I’ll probably tell them tonight.”
“I’m sorry you were cheated on,” he says, lifting his head to look at me. “You don’t deserve that. If there’s anything I can do, let me know.”
I give him a look, and he must realize what I’m thinking—that he doesn’t even know me, so what could he possibly do?
He gives me an evil grin. “I could kick his ass?”
I laugh.
“No… But thanks for offering. You don’t want to break your other wrist.”
He scoffs. “I said I’d kick his ass. I wouldn’t get hurt in the process.”
“Oh yeah? What if he’s three hundred pounds of muscle?”
Aiden’s eyes widen. “Is he?”
I can’t help but smile. “No.”
“Well if you need someone’s ass kicked, just give me a call.”
He’s joking, and we’re both smiling, but there’s something incredibly sexy about having a guy offer to break the law for you.
“So how long are you in that cast?” I ask.
“Six weeks.” He rolls his eyes as if it’s the worst thing ever. “Well it started as six weeks. Now I’m down to five weeks. And then I’ll finally be able to get back on the bike. I miss it so much.”
“I know the feeling. I’m missing my bike but I can’t bring myself to go back to the track after what happened last time.”
“Does your ex ride?”
I nod.
Aiden lifts a brow. “He any good?”
His whole demeanor changes as he waits for my answer. I shake my head. “He’s okay. He’s not… professional or anything.”
Aiden grins. “Looks like you dodged a bullet. You deserve a man who is loyal and knows how to ride a dirt bike.”
I snort out a laugh. “And where am I going to find one of those?”
Aiden looks like he’s about to say something, and then, after a brief second he just shrugs. “I don’t know,” he says softly. “But that’s what you deserve.”