Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter
Thirty-Four
I started out with a series of stretches, doing my best to look confident, like I worked out all the time.
As I leaned down to touch my toes, I cast a glance at Minnie.
She’d moved from the rowing machine to a treadmill by the time I’d entered the room, and she now stared out the window at the busy street, running with the same intensity she’d applied to her rowing.
I looked over at the interior window, where Jemma stood watching on the other side of the glass. She pointed at Minnie and mouthed, Get on the treadmill!
I heaved a resigned sigh and climbed onto the empty machine to the right of Minnie.
“Hey, Minnie,” I said, hoping I’d get to question her without ever turning on the treadmill.
She kept staring straight ahead, a mixture of concentration and determination on her face.
I tried again to get her attention. “Minnie?”
She still didn’t react.
I finally noticed the earbuds she had in.
I glanced over at the window to the lobby, shrugging at Jemma, only to find that my friend had disappeared. If she was off getting a massage or lounging in the sauna…well, I didn’t know what I’d do, but there would be consequences.
“Are you done?” a voice boomed from behind me, making me jump.
Minnie didn’t even blink.
A blond man with bulging muscles and a crew cut stood behind my treadmill, staring at me.
“Sorry?” I asked.
“The treadmill.” His stare morphed into a glower. “If you’re done, let someone else use it.”
I glanced around and realized that all the other treadmills were occupied.
“I’m just getting started,” I said, not ready to give up on questioning Minnie.
“Then get on with it,” he grumbled before storming off to the bench press.
Not eager to incur anyone else’s wrath, I turned on the machine and punched a few of the many other buttons on the control panel.
After a bit of lurching and stumbling, I got the treadmill going at what I hoped would be a gentle jogging pace.
I gave myself a minute to get settled into a rhythm, and a smile slowly took shape on my face.
This wasn’t so bad. It actually felt pretty good.
Emboldened by my newfound treadmill confidence, I waved at Minnie, hoping to catch her attention.
The movement disrupted my balance just enough to trip me up.
I made a grab for the handrails but missed.
Before I even knew it was happening, I flew off the back of the machine and ended up in a heap on the floor.
“Now are you done?” a voice boomed from above me.
I looked up to see the man with the crew cut glaring down at me.
I nodded, having no desire to step back on the machine.
Without offering to help me up or so much as asking if I was okay, the guy hopped on the treadmill.
I struggled to my feet, feeling a twinge in one ankle.
Jazz materialized by my side. “Emersyn! Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I assured her, but I winced when I put weight on my sore ankle.
Jazz produced an exercise ball, seemingly out of nowhere, and slid it behind me. “Why don’t you sit down a minute?”
I did as she suggested, sinking down onto the soft, bouncy ball. The pain in my ankle eased.
“I’m sorry,” Jazz said, pointing at her headset. “I’ve got a call coming in.”
“No problem. I’m fine, really.”
She smiled with relief. “Hang in there.” She hurried toward the lobby.
“Oh, hey, Emersyn,” a familiar voice said.
Minnie.
She was off the treadmill now, a towel flung around her shoulders as she chugged water from a reusable bottle emblazoned with the words Grub Tubz. By the time I realized it was her who’d greeted me, she was already across the room and disappearing out the door.
I knew I should follow her and strike up a conversation, but that would have required my ankle to support my weight. I tested it by starting to stand, but a zing of pain sent me sinking back onto the ball.
Maybe when Minnie was on her way out of the gym, Jemma would intercept her. I checked the interior window again. Jemma hadn’t reappeared.
I closed my eyes for a moment, concentrating solely on calming my growing frustration.
“Emersyn? I didn’t know you worked out here.”
My eyes flew open. Bodie stood in front of me.
I shot to my feet, and the exercise ball rolled away. A man doing dumbbell lunges nearly tripped over it, saving himself at the very last second. He glared across the room at me.
I cringed as I hopped on one foot. “I’m so sorry!”
With a scowl, the man went back to his exercises.
Meanwhile, Bodie had jogged across the room and snatched up the exercise ball. He set it in a bin in the corner, where it apparently belonged.
“Are you okay?” Bodie asked when he came back over my way. “Did you hurt yourself?” He put a hand to my elbow, helping to hold me steady.
“I twisted my ankle. It’s my first time here,” I confessed. “And I’m really not Ultimate Beast material.”
Bodie laughed, but not in a disparaging way. “I think you’re Ultimate Beast material. Maybe your own style of beast, though.”
“You are a kind, kind man.”
“Just an honest one.”
“We’ll leave that debate for another time.”
“Probably a good idea,” he said with a grin that held no trace of derision. “Can I give you a ride home?”
My eyes must have lit up like stars when he said those words. If Jemma really had abandoned me, I would have to hobble to the subway. “You drove here?”
“Sure. The bar where I work is around the corner, so I’ve got a pass for the parking garage down the street.” He gave me a once-over. “How about I bring the car around to the front door after I shower and change? You can sit in the lobby while you wait.”
“Sounds good. Thank you.” I barely managed to stop myself from telling him he was my hero.
When I limped out into the lobby a minute later, Jazz shot me a sympathetic smile.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“A little better, thanks,” I replied.
“Glad to hear it!” She produced my jacket from beneath the desk. “Your friend asked me to hold this for you.”
“Where did she go?” I still harbored suspicions that she was getting a massage somewhere in the depths of the building.
“She said something about a work emergency?” The phone on the desk rang, and Jazz reached up to tap a button on her headset.
“I haven’t paid for my pass yet,” I said quickly. Not with money, anyway. My ankle had paid a price. My dignity too.
“Your friend took care of all that. Excuse me.”
Jazz answered the call, and I limped over to a padded bench and dropped down onto it with a whimper.
I wrapped my jacket around me and fished my phone out of the pocket.
Jemma had texted me, apologizing profusely that she had to run to the salon to style a client’s hair for a last-minute event.
I grumbled a few choice words before stuffing my phone back in my pocket.
The next time my bestie had a bright idea, I would run for the hills.