Chapter 9 Dylan #2
Shit, this is what she is always talking about. “But don’t worry, I shut it down, and said you’re really cool, and they said they can’t fucking wait to see our friendship this weekend. They promised not to be fangirls.”
Fuck, am I lying now? I need to tell these assholes to back off.
She smiles, leaning against the weight rack. “Dylan.” She shakes her head. “I don’t want to be the center of attention at the party.”
I shrug, raising my hands. “I think anywhere you go, you’ll always be the center of attention. You have that special thing, Ce.” I approach her. “But I won’t leave your side at the party, okay? I’ll make sure they don’t worship the ground you walk on.”
She smirks, almost sadly, and I fucking hate that she feels this way. “Okay,” she says. She holds up her pinky. “You can’t ditch me to hook up with anyone.”
I take her pinky with my own and say, “Promise.”
Marina pops up out of nowhere and says, “You two look like you’re having fun.”
We drop our pinkies as she walks in between us to grab dumbbells.
“Hey, Marina,” Cecily smiles at her. “How are you?”
Marina nods. “I’m good. Yeah. How are you?”
She shrugs. “So, so. Having an off day.”
I look at Cecily and see it in her eyes. I walk back to the bench and start my next set.
Cecily is silent for the rest of the workout, so when we hit the treadmills, I say, “Did I do something to upset you?”
She shakes her head. “It’s not you. I just wish… I wish I were normal.”
“So, was it something I said?” I ask.
“You’re not saying anything that’s not true, so it’s fine.”
I stop my treadmill. “I’m sorry I mentioned your mom.”
She looks at me, and her eyes really do speak for her. “Don’t be sorry. I mentioned yours.”
“Yeah, but with good intent. I feel better.”
I reach over, pressing buttons and say, “Sprint.”
“What?” she gasps, keeping up with the pace.
“I said, sprint. Chase away the feeling, run from them. I don’t know. Just sprint like your life depends on it.”
Her legs run fast. Each time her foot connects with the belt, I can see the worry leaving her. Soon her face is burning red. When she comes down to a walk, she says, “Thank you.”
It feels like I have the shy version of Cecily, and I don’t like it. I need to get out of here.
“See you tomorrow?” I ask, wiping down my machine.
“Yeah. Later, alligator.”
I walk out of the gym and waste no time hopping in my truck and heading home.
The next day, I anticipate seeing her. She’s dressed in black and laughing at something Cory is saying when I walk in.
“There he is,” Cory says. “Big man. Get over here.”
Cecily smiles, watching me.
“You’d better take good care of this one,” Cory says. “She’s a good one. The best.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, trying to understand what’s going on here. I don’t ask questions, though. I go with the flow.
“Knew this was bound to happen. Happy for you, Cecily.”
We walk to the weights quietly, and I can see the humor in her eyes. Then she pulls out her phone and types something. My phone buzzes.
Cecily: So sorry about that. He keeps asking me out, so I told him we’re dating.
I laugh, putting my arm around her shoulders. “Don’t apologize. I would’ve done that from the beginning. Guy’s a creep.”
She shrugs me off and says, “Lower body. Easy peasy stuff today.”
I watch her hip thrust, squat, lunge, and wonder what it would be like if she were mine. Every time Cory walks past us, the guy has a newfound respect for me. And it occurs to me that I suddenly have his respect, which means Cecily is completely out of my league.
Cory leaves the gym, and then Marina walks in.
Immediately, Cecily pulls Marina aside. I can barely hear them through my racing heart while I squat, but I’m pretty sure she’s telling Marina that she still has a shot with me and something about Cory.
When Marina disappears to the treadmills, I say, “Hey, are you trying to hook me up with Marina?”
“What?” she smiles. “No.”
“Then what did you tell her?”
Cecily shrugs.
I put out my hand. “What did you tell her, Ce?”
“That first day you came into the gym, she was drooling over you, so I told her to shoot her shot. I told her to ask you out.”
I scoff. “Why would you say that?”
“Okay. You completely brushed me off that day, and I was encouraging her to go after what she wants.”
I lick my lips because I can’t argue with that. “Okay.”
She winks at me.
“So, I was thinking about how you asked me what you should wear to the party?” I say, reminding her of that quick conversation.
She nods, giving me her full attention.
“Dress modestly, please,” I force myself to say through my teeth. Scott is fucking obsessing over her, and I don’t want to mention it.
“Okay,” she nods. “I was hoping I could wear a skirt.”
I imagine her long legs in a skirt. Jesus Christ. “A skirt?”
“I won’t.” She teases me with a smile. “I’ll wear jeans and a tee. Oh, I have a very cute shirt with the Seattle skyline.”
I smirk. “You’re joking. We’re playing them Friday, so the party will be on Saturday after we get home.”
She lifts her shoulder nonchalantly. “Yeah. Go, Seattle.”
Does she know we’re playing Seattle?
“No.” I scoff. “No, no, no. You can’t cheer for fucking Seattle, Ce.”
She yells across the gym. “Go, Seattle!”
“Chargers!” Gavin calls back, and now I’m looking between the two of them.
I point at her. “Traitor.”
She laughs. “Wear your Seattle shirt, but I promise you that we’re beating them.”“Really?” she mocks. “So confident.”I nod. “Very confident.”
“Treadmill?” she asks, and I nod.
“I need to walk off this sudden anger I have.”
She laughs, leading the way.
I don’t know what has shifted, but this ten-minute treadmill jog has been quiet. The air is stiff, so I slow down the treadmill to a walk.“Ce, did you know we were playing Seattle?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. Honest coincidence.”
“But you don’t believe in coincidences.”
She shrugs. “I don’t, but right now it’s ironic, isn’t it? My Seattle skyline shirt is very modest. It’s a size large. I look like a child when I wear it. You said modest, and my brain went to Seattle.”
I continue my walking pace, staring into the distance, trying to put this together. “Let me get this straight. You don’t believe in coincidences, but you will for irony?”
She nods, pursing her lips. “Yeah.”
“Okay,” I say, nodding.
We walk for about five more minutes when the front door swings open and loud voices spill in. I immediately recognize those voices. I glance over, and Scott and Westley are looking straight at me.
The front desk greets them, asking to see their gym membership, which we all know they don’t have. I hop off the treadmill, not explaining a thing to Cecily as I walk over to the front desk. They’re signing up for a free trial.
“Well, well, well, there he is,” Scott slurs, dropping the pen. He shakes my hand and turns to Gavin. “Give us a second.”
We walk to the side where no one can hear us. The second we have our privacy, I turn to Scott and Westley and say, “What the hell are you two doing here?”
“Honestly, I didn’t believe that she was real, so we decided to drop in.”
Cecily comes out of nowhere and says, “Hi, boys.”
I wipe my mouth with frustration as their attention turns to her. Scott’s eyes light up, and he doesn’t skip a beat. Westley stiffens as he turns to her. He’s always quiet, but I can read him easily right now.
“Hi,” Scott says politely. “You must be Cecily, the island.”
She nods, looking at me. “I will forever be known for my Instagram name.” She looks at him, and fuck, he’s drooling. She doesn’t seem to mind. “I prefer just Cecily.”
“I’m Scott, and this is Westley.”
“Dildo has friends,” Cecily mocks.
Scott and Westley break into laughter.
“How does she know your nickname, dildo?” Scott’s eyes widen as he looks at me.
I run a hand through my mullet. Fucking hell.
“I heard you call him that on the phone,” she explains. “It’s the best nickname for him, by the way. Couldn’t be more perfect.”
Scott slaps my arm, shaking my shoulder. “Ha!” he laughs.
“We were just finishing up here,” I mutter. “Ce, are you ready to go?”
She nods. “Yeah.” She points at Scott and Westley. “I’ll see you two on Saturday?”
They both nod. “Yeah, looking forward to it,” Scott adds. Fuck, his eyes are glistening. He has an immediate boner, this fucker.
She walks off with a smile as she says, “Go, Seattle!”
Scott and Westley scoff.
Gavin says, “Go, Chargers!”
Then she’s out of the gym and walking to her car.
Scott and Westley watch, so I smack their chests and demand, “Let’s get out of here.”
Thank fuck by the time we walk out, Cecily is driving away.
Westley says, “I can’t believe she exists.”
I shake my head.
Scott chuckles. “Dude, I really thought we were being catfished. She’s a smoke show, man.”
I get into my truck and start the engine, trying to stop myself from being an overprotective… best friend? Yeah, best friend.
That’s all that I’m protecting here.
Our friendship.