Chapter 37
JULES
“Mind if I offer a quick tip?”
I lowered the single dumbbell in front of me, my jiggly triceps taking first place on my hit list here at the gym.
Even though I knew most people in Cedar Falls, the gym was filled with strangers. Neither of the towns beside us had gyms, and probably a few people in here were tourists. This guy could’ve been either.
He was around my age, and good-looking too. Not in a Cole sort of way—the kind that made women stop and stare—but handsome nonetheless.
“Sure.” I’d just joined and was supposed to have a trainer today, but he was apparently sick. I’d watched a few videos, but I was sure I wasn’t doing this right.
He gestured toward my barbell. “Go ahead and put it back up, like you had it. That’s it. Now this time, when you bring it down, make sure to keep your elbows tucked in and toward your ears. Now go ahead and extend.”
I did one rep, and then another. He didn’t move on, though, and waited for me to finish all twelve without further comment until the end.
“That was great. Just like that.”
“Thanks.”
That’s about when he should have moved on—but he didn’t. If he was waiting for me to make the next move, it wasn’t going to happen. Was he cute? Sure. Pre-Cole, might I have struck up a conversation with him? Probably.
But not today.
There was no spark, no butterflies—none of the feelings I got around Cole, or even thinking of him.
“So, brand new here, huh?”
Time to shut this down.
“Yep. My boyfriend is a member and has been asking me to join.”
He went from helpful trainer to a much less interested one.
“Awesome. Well, I’ll let you finish your set. Have a good workout.”
“Same to you. Thanks for the tip.”
I continued my workout, trying to think about my story, or my conversation this morning with my mother about a possible fall trip with her and Dad—or basically anything except for Cole. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working very well.
Checking my phone and seeing no texts, I shoved it back into my leggings.
Turning up the music, I abandoned a half-hearted weight-training workout and headed upstairs to the treadmill. There, I could walk-jog out my jitters. It worked pretty well—until Delaney called.
With no one around me, I figured it was safe to answer and talk quietly.
“Hey. What’s up?”
“You sound like you’re running up a flight of stairs.”
“Probably because I’m on the treadmill at the gym.”
From down below, I could see the few Tuesday-morning stragglers making the rounds around the equipment.
“Cool. So… how was your night?”
I knew she didn’t necessarily agree with this whole thing, but Delaney was a good friend and trying to be supportive, which I appreciated.
“Uneventful. After the bar, I went home and wrote an article. Had crackers and cheese for dinner. I guess it’s not a surprise—I woke up starving today.”
I pushed up the elevation a bit. Had to get these hamstrings singing.
“Wait. You didn’t spend the night with Cole?”
“Nope.”
“Why?”
Good question. If it were up to me, we would have. “My guess? He got spooked.”
“So it was his idea not to get together?”
I tried to sound unaffected. “Pretty much.”
Pretty much equaled yes.
“You don’t sound upset.”
I debated turning down the speed or incline, but hung in there.
“Like I said, I don’t have expectations here. I know exactly what I’m getting myself into.”
Silence.
I probably did as good a job convincing her as I did myself.
“Interesting.”
Time to change the subject. “I just saw Boots and Bruises, and Kitchi Falls is having a bull riding night on Friday. Any interest in a girls’ night?”
“Hold on. Let me check.”
That was enough torture. I turned down the speed just a bit.
“I have nothing. Sounds good. I’ll see who else might wanna come.”
“Great. I’m gonna head and finish this workout.”
“Talk to you later. Oh, Jules?”
“Yeah?”
“Please be careful. I don’t wanna see you get hurt.”
I reassured her, for what it was worth. Since I’d looked at my phone a measurable number of times so far today for a text, it felt a little bit too late.
But I wasn’t going to let it get me down. I wasn’t going to dwell on it or text him first.
I might get my heart broken, but I’d learned a few lessons along the way. Most importantly, it would get put back together.
I headed down to the locker room and grabbed my stuff. Like everything else in Cedar Falls, the gym was only a few blocks from the main square and my house.
As I walked up the street, an unfamiliar… yet familiar… pickup truck came into view in front of my place.
Heart hammering, I walked faster.
With every step, my excitement at Cole’s unexpected appearance grew.
As did my resolve not to go over the deep end for a guy who point-blank told me he didn’t do relationships.
But he also didn’t do second and third dates.
Even so, I was not going to get worked up over a guy.
Or so I told myself until I finally caught sight of him sitting casually on my porch, reading what looked like a newspaper.
Who actually read newspapers these days? It was so very cool.
I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, pretty sure he’d notice me coming.
Dressed more casually than usual—in jeans and a T-shirt, no glasses—he lowered the paper.
Light blue looked good on him.
“Afternoon, Jules.”