to say the day was dragging would be an understatement. Devon was really busy today and would be tomorrow too because we were closed for New Year’s. She hadn’t had any time to come downstairs. Marcus was off today too.
For the ultrasound.
My heart hurt just thinking about it. I wanted to be excited for him. I really did. But I still found it hard. We hadn’t really hung out or even talked since before Christmas. Maybe I was just missing him as a friend. Maybe the distance was better for us.
Or maybe the distance really made the heart grow fonder.
This was getting ridiculous. I was a grown woman, dammit. I could handle this.
Besides, I had plenty to keep me busy. At least, I thought I did. I’d gotten pretty fast with paperwork, and with New Year’s here, there were plenty of New Year’s Resolution sign ups to work through. I had to slow down if I wanted to try to stay busy most of the day.
It wasn’t really working so I pulled out my phone to see if Devon was going to be able to take a lunch soon. I was getting hungry, and at this rate, I was going to just order something in. The least I could do was order something for her as well.
I didn’t get a reply right away so I put my phone down on the desk and got back to work. It was kind of amazing how many people committed to a gym membership for the New Year. Well, that really wasn’t what was amazing. It was the people who signed up, paid for the membership, and then never showed up. I didn’t recognize some of the names I was seeing, but there were some that I did and I had a feeling I wouldn’t be seeing them too often.
Then there were the certain ones who signed up for personal training. It made me gag.
Just last week before we closed for Christmas, a group of four girls came in specifically for Marcus. It was actually pretty funny. They were all very pretty, blonde, and slim except for their “leader.” She was a brunette, and while she was slim like the other girls, it was obvious they’d never worked out a day in their lives.
Especially if there wardrobe was any indication.
The two in the back were shorter. With their long blond hair pulled back in high ponytails, they could have been twins. Both wore matching neon blue running shoes, which weirdly enough matched their sports bras that could be seen through their see through “work out” shirt. The other blonde was dressed the exact same way but in green.
It was the leader that really stopped traffic and not necessarily in a good way.
She should have been a model. It made me want to hate her that much more. Her brunette hair was longer than the others, and she left it down, her wavy locks covering half of her back. She had on black spandex short shorts, and a hot pink sports bra with a blue tank top over it. I couldn’t see her shoes at first, but I could bet money they were pink too. These ladies seemed to have a theme going.
It was the makeup that really got to me though. Who comes to the gym with that much makeup caked on your face if you actually planned on working out? Clearly, these girls didn’t.
It was mostly jealousy that had me hating them. It was just painfully obvious that they didn’t truly belong here and were only here for one thing. A workout from Marcus.
And didn’t that send all kinds of dirty thoughts running through my head.
He’d been polite but not overly so, which made me smile. He even lingered at the front desk with me for a moment when they were finally leaving from their tour, which made me smile more. I frowned at the thought now though. I was staking claim on someone who didn’t belong to me anymore. Or, more accurately, I was letting him make his point when maybe I shouldn’t have.
But we were friends. That was what friends did. He didn’t want their advances, but he was a gentleman through and through, and to the naïve mind of these girls, I was sure it came across as heavy flirty. He’d also probably handed out his business card, which, thankfully, only had his work number on it. Otherwise, I figured they’d be blowing up his cell in a matter of seconds.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see someone coming up to the desk, but I didn’t have much left to do with this particular form. Instead of stopping, I just greeted them as I finished up really quickly.
“Hi, welcome to Preferred Fitness. Be with you in just a moment.” I looked up from my computer just long enough to smile up at the man to be polite as I finished up.
The smile fell from my face the instant I saw who it was.
“Josh?” I asked, blinking, the air suddenly ten times chillier than it had been. My fingers stilled at the keyboard, and I was frozen in my seat.
“Hey, Ames,” he replied with a grin like what had happened between us never actually happened.
I hated that nickname.
It wasn’t hard to remember what I’d seen in him when we met a few years earlier. He was tall, handsome, and well built. Any girl’s dream, really. Thinking back, it was probably part of the reason I’d stayed. I really was an idiot.
“What are you doing here?” It made me angry how small my voice sounded. I had nothing to be afraid of. I should have been strong. Seeing him brought back all those feelings of not being good enough in full force.
“Been looking to join the gym,” he said just as casually as his greeting, leaning onto the desk on his elbows. “I had no idea you worked here. Just an added bonus.”
His wink made me cringe. Bile rose in my throat, and I fought to keep it at bay.
“So, how you been?” he asked as I made myself busy getting him the forms he’d need.
Was he really making small talk? It had been over a year since we’d seen each other. What was he playing at?
“Fine,” I answered, keeping it simple and trying to seem unaffected, though by his chuckle I could tell I was failing.
“Come on, Amy. You’re not still sore about what happened, are you?”
Once again, my hands stilled, papers in hands. I slowly turned my head to look at him, my eyes wide in surprise. Did he really just ask me that? Like what had happened between us was nothing more than him spilling coffee on me before work? Well, maybe to him, it was something that little. I could scream.
“Fill these out,” I said sternly as I placed the papers on the desk in front of him, choosing to ignore anything he had to say about us.
“Ames,” he sighed out.
I looked away, making sure there was a pen next to the papers before going back to my previous task.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was upset. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he sounded regretful. If I didn’t know better, I’d want to forgive him, to take away the look in his eyes.
But I did know better. And there wasn’t a chance in hell of that happening.
“Come on, Amy. Looks like I’m going to be around,” he said, holding up the papers to indicate he meant around the gym. I kept my gaze on the computer. “The least you could do is be civil.”
I gasped loudly and glared at him. I had no idea why his audacity shocked me, but it did. He was trying to turn the tables on me like I was in the wrong. I couldn’t let him if he was actually going to be around.
“Don’t you—” I started, jumping at the sound of a throat clearing off to the side.
“Is there a problem here?”
Relief washed over me at the sight of an angry Marcus taking a step up to the desk, right beside Josh.
Relief because one, he would at least be a good buffer while Josh was still here. And two, because he wasn’t my boss going to rip my ass for being rude to a potential member.
“Not at all,” Josh ground out, turning back to me, trying his best to show Marcus he wasn’t welcome in this conversation.
Thank goodness Marcus knew me better that I thought because he stayed, apparently sensing my distress. Looking down at his watch for a moment, he glanced back up at me before glaring openly at Josh.
“It’s about lunchtime. Why don’t you grab Devon and head out?” he suggested, looking back at me with the smallest hint of a grin. He winked at me before turning his attention back to Josh. “I’ll finish up.”
I blinked. “Okay,” I said, a little unsure of what was going on.
But then it dawned on me.
Josh didn’t know Marcus. For all he knew, he could have been my boss so him telling me to take lunch didn’t seem too weird.
Fury sparked in Josh’s eyes, though his face was as calm as could be.
“Actually, we were talking so if you don’t mind,” Josh began, going to walk around Marcus to where I was coming from behind the desk.
My heart started racing. I could almost handle him being here day after day. I could almost handle him putting me down with every word. But I couldn’t handle him touching me in any way. There was no way.
“Actually,” Marcus said sternly, moving to stand in Josh’s way. “You can deal with me, or not at all.”
I should leave. Marcus had given me an out. But I couldn’t get my feet to move. I wouldn’t say I was scared. Not of Josh, anyways. Not anymore. But I was worried about leaving him alone with Marcus. Not because Marcus couldn’t handle himself, but mostly because, if it came to that, I wanted to make sure there was a witness.
Josh had a way of making problems disappear, though I wasn’t sure how.
“Look pal, I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m trying to have a conversation with my girlfriend.”
If I’d been shocked at all during this whole exchanged, it was pale in comparison to how I felt right now. Girlfriend? After more than a year of being apart? I fought to pick my jaw up off the floor.
“Ex,” Marcus said.
Josh glared daggers at him. “What?” he asked, clearly confused by what Marcus said.
“Ex. She’s your ex-girlfriend.”
Josh didn’t like Marcus’ clarification, and he glared over his shoulder at me for show.
“I suggest you leave now.”
“Tell Rick I’ll be back to finish my paperwork.” He looked back at Marcus and leaned in to whisper something I couldn’t hear before storming out the front door.
I sagged against the edge of the desk, taking a deep breath to calm myself once I felt safe enough to relax.
Marcus was at my side in an instant, his hand on my cheek to pull my face up to look at him. He gaze scanned my face, clearly seeing if the confrontation had went further than words. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
“How did he find you?”
I didn’t realize I was crying until his thumb brushed away the tears. For a moment, I selfishly leaned into his hand, closing my eyes and drawing my strength from him. When I felt a little better, his hand on my cheek suddenly felt too hot. It was too much. I couldn’t take his comforting me right now when I knew that was all it was.
I gently placed my hand over top of his and pulled it from my face. I squeezed his hand when he frowned at me, a little reassurance I guess, before letting it go completely.
“He said he didn’t know I worked here.” My voice was small again, weak. I hated sounding so vulnerable, especially in front of Marcus.
“He seemed to know Rick. I think I’ll ask him about it.”
Realization dawned at Marcus’ words. Josh would know our boss, the owner of the gym. Josh seemed to know everyone who owned a business within a hundred miles.
“Of course, he knows Rick,” I said, defeated. I looked down, avoiding Marcus’ gaze. “Josh is in advertising. It makes sense now.”
There was also a good chance that Josh did know I worked here before coming in.
“I’m not leaving you here alone,” he said.
I looked up to see him looking around.
“Marcus, I’m fine. Really.” I followed his gaze as he scanned the gym. “And I’m not alone. Nothing would happen anyways.”
“Maybe not, but still.” He was looking back at me now, and the concern in his eyes floored me, though it really shouldn’t have. He pulled out his phone, and I wondered who he was texting but pushed it from my mind.
“Your timing was pretty good, though.” I smiled, trying to ease the tension for Marcus as well as myself.
He chuckled lightly. “I had to grab something from my desk. Good thing, too, it seems.”
“Hey.” I tilted my head, frowning in confusion. “Shouldn’t you be at the doctor with Hannah?”
My stomach hurt at my mention of her and the doctor’s appointment where Marcus would finally see his child, but I fought against it. This was a happy time for Marcus. I wouldn’t spoil it.
“The appointment got moved until tomorrow.”
My heart dropped. It seemed silly, but the fact that their appointment was now on my birthday made me want to vomit.
“I decided to keep this day off too,” he added. “My clients thin out until after New Year’s anyways.”
“Thank you,” I said after a moment, giving him a small smile. “I’m not sure what I’d have done had you not shown up.”
He smiled back. “I’m glad I showed up too.”
His phone chimed, and he looked down at it with a small frown and a sigh. He looked up at me and grinned, shrugging.
“I should probably get going. Hannah isn’t feeling well.”
I swallowed hard, forcing a smile now. “Yeah, probably.”
He took off to his office and unlocked the door quickly. As I took my seat again I could see him rummaging in his desk and then putting something in his pocket. When he came back out, he locked his door back and returned to the front desk.
“Call me if he comes back.”
“I will.”
He smiled and winked at me again before walking out the front door.
I sighed, gently massaging my temples. Josh was going to cause problems. If he was as close as I suspected with my boss, I was either in for some trouble, or I’d have to find a new job.
The sound of the automatic doors opening caused my heart to stop again. I didn’t realize how on edge I really was until then. When I looked up, I had to laugh. I knew who Marcus had been texting earlier.
Chad walked in with a big goofy grin and took a seat right next to me behind the desk. “You look lonely. Thought I’d keep you company.”
I shook my head, smiling from ear to ear at Chad. Marcus was still finding ways to look out for me. It made me happy and sad all at the same time.