Chapter 12 Stella
Stella
I seriously need to drive my car up here soon. I’m sick of taking Ubers and riding the bus.
I get off the bus at the stop downtown and walk the block to Total Fit for my shift. The street is bustling with the five p.m. traffic as everyone is trying to get home from their day jobs.
A dog comes up to say hello, sniffing my shoes and wagging its tail, and I bend down to scratch behind its ears.
The owner is a cute old man in a golf hat and suspenders, and he tells me how he’s had his sweet golden retriever, Daisy, for nine years now.
Daisy makes me long for my chocolate lab, Penny, back home.
I say goodbye to Daisy and her owner and finish my trek to work.
As boring as it may sound, I genuinely enjoy my job at Total Fit.
I sign people up for memberships, clean, give people workout advice when they ask, and work on homework when there’s a lull.
It’s the perfect college job, in my humble opinion.
After clocking in, I join my coworker—Logan—behind the counter.
“Hey, Stella,” Logan greets.
“Hey, how’s it going?” I return.
Logan and I spend the first chunk of our shift engaging in small talk and helping customers, but as the night gets later, the steady flow of gym-goers starts to abate.
Logan might be one of my favorite coworkers. He’s a senior at St. A’s, been working here all through college, and loves to talk about working out, tattoos, movies, and his long-time girlfriend, Mackenzie.
A couple of those things I can relate to.
“How was practice?” He asks after a few silent moments.
“It was good. I’m still getting to know everyone, and still trying to find where I stand in terms of playing on a new team, but I think it’s getting better.
” One of the things I found out quickly after starting this job is that Logan is easy to talk to.
He told me he has three younger sisters.
That, on top of the long-term girlfriend, makes him a self-proclaimed woman expert.
I laughed when he told me that verbatim, but he’s since proven himself.
He nods, and we chat some more, easy small talk.
At one point, we see a man lying sideways on a bench, so that he’s bench pressing with the bar—with no additional weight plates—of the Smith machine parallel to his body rather than perpendicular, and we both have to cover our mouths to stop from laughing out loud when he hits himself in the nose with it.
We can’t help but crack up when we make eye contact.
We really get some of the weirdest people in here doing some of the weirdest things in the name of exercise; it’s half the fun of working here.
When we finally get serious again, Logan helps me with some calculus homework, because he’s finishing up an engineering degree and is a certifiable genius.
By the time the end of our shift rolls around, the gym is all but deserted as we clean up for the night.
“You don’t have to call an Uber. I can drive you back to campus. Really, it’s stupid that you keep refusing when I offer.” He laughs, only half joking. Every time we work together, Logan offers to drive me home. With my internal fear, I always decline, no matter how nice he is as a coworker.
However, I think spending time with Colt has me reassessing the situation, though I’m still on the fence.
Logan must see my hesitation. “What, do you have a boyfriend or something you’re worried about that you can’t get in a car with me?
I promise, it’s okay. I’m not like that.
And Mack told me she doesn’t mind if I drive you back to campus.
I just hate that you always spend the money you earn on getting rides back and forth to work. ”
I shake my head. “No, it’s not that…” I pause, thinking over his words.
“You know what, fine. Yes. I’ll let you drive me back to campus.
” The moment I say the words, I text Colt and ask him to video call me when I get off.
That way, it’ll look like he always calls me when my shift ends.
He texts back immediately with an “okay.”
A few minutes after hopping in Logan’s Rav4, merging onto the road from the parking lot, Colt’s name and contact photo—a shirtless picture of him in his glasses with his tongue out that he both took and set himself—light up my screen.
I feel slightly guilty about the deception, but not enough to backtrack. I swipe the screen, answering the call.
“Hey, Stell,” he says softly. My image is just a silhouette in the dark car, but the lights in Colt’s room are bright, and his tousled hair and sharp features are on full display.
“Hi, Colt,” I reply.
“Hold up,” Logan says from beside me. “Have you been dating Colt Crosby this entire time, and it never once came up in conversation?” Logan looks at me disbelievingly. “Hey, Colt, man, what’s up?”
“Are you in the car with Logan Mosbey? What’s up bro,” Colt responds.
“Oh my God, of course you know him,” I laugh, directing my statement at Colt. “You literally know every single person on campus, don’t you?”
“What can I say, sweetheart, I’m a likable guy,” he replies with a smirk.
“And, no,” I say, turning to Logan, “I have not been dating Colt this entire time.”
Logan arches an eyebrow in my direction, obviously waiting for more of an explanation, but Colt interrupts.
“So how was work?” he says, saving me from Logan’s curiosity.
Logan and I both start explaining the Smith machine guy to Colt, and we both start laughing hysterically all over again as we recount the story. It’s not even that funny when you think about it, but it is because we were the only two people who saw it happen.
Colt laughs with us, asking things like “Genuinely, what was he trying to accomplish?” and Logan and I both explain that we have no earthly idea. The whole fifteen-minute car ride is over before I know it.
“Thanks for the ride, Logan,” I say.
“No problem, anytime.” He makes sure I get into the building before driving away. I don’t know why I expect Colt to hang up, but he doesn’t.
“So, is there a reason I just got to randomly catch up with a guy from my econ class last year?” Colt asks nonchalantly.
“He offered to give me a ride home,” I say in way of response, and Colt nods like this makes perfect sense.
“Okay. I’ll pick you up from work from now on. Unless it’s an away game night and I can’t make it back in time.”
“Colt, no, that’s not what I meant.” I try to take back what I said, but he’s not having any of it.
“He obviously thinks we’re a thing now, and unless you want to tell your coworker that we’re just fucking around a little, he’s going to wonder why I haven’t offered to pick you up from work before.
And then I’ll look like an ass. I really don’t want to look like an ass.
The solution: I pick you up from now on, you get a safe ride home, and Logan doesn’t think I’m a total douche of a boyfriend. ”
“Not my boyfriend,” I mumble, making him chuckle.
“You’re deflecting, sweetheart. You know I’m right.”
When I finally make my way up the stairs, I stop in front of my door. “Thank you for calling,” I say sincerely.
“Anytime, Stell. I’ve got you.”