Chapter 2 #2
A rumble in my stomach sends a signal to my brain that I’m dangerously on the verge of getting hangry. It’s vital that I grab something on my way to work, or I risk snapping at anything that moves, including my co-workers. Maybe I’ll swing by the Pulse Fitness juice counter before—
“Kate?”
My head snaps up as I near the service desk. In front of the walls lined with rental yoga mats, boxing gloves, and spin bike shoes, a resurrected skeleton from my closet blinks, like he can’t believe it’s me either.
My stomach drops out my butt.
“Levi?”
Eyes the color of a frozen, wintry lake skim over me for a second time. Levi looks pretty much the same as six years ago, with his military-cropped black hair and adorable smile, but I notice he’s added a few more tattoos to the pale skin of his forearm since college.
Guilt burns hot in my belly at that smile. I don’t deserve that smile. If he chose to lob a yoga mat at my head, I’d take the hit and hand him mine to throw at me, too.
“It’s good to see you, Kate.”
I nod, clambering for something to say.
Although Levi Schwinn is a sweetheart, his records say ex-convict.
When we dated after Brandon Roberts broke my heart, I didn’t even care that he served jail time for petty thefts.
All I cared about were the new gray hairs sprouting off Mom’s head and that I wasn’t alone.
During the last night we spent together, Levi poured out his soul to the wrong person.
The sensitive things he told me about were vulnerable, intimate, and raw. It terrified me.
Nausea settles in my stomach at how easily I discarded him. Ghosted him, actually, after that night. Gosh, had I really been so messed up at the time that I glazed over people’s humanity? Their feelings?
Shame stokes a fire in my cheeks, but I return a wobbly smile.
“It’s great to see you, too.”
Lame. Nowhere near the apology he deserves. But apologizing for being a trash human being in Pulse Fitness’s lobby while holding a sweaty yoga mat doesn’t seem like enough either. I’ll need to talk to him, privately.
“So…you work here now?” I deserve the worst conversationalist award, but I just keep smiling.
He glances down at the obvious Pulse Fitness logo on his black polo.
I force a few more teeth into my smile.
“Yeah. Got hired last week.” Levi shifts, still giving me that smile I don’t deserve. “How about you? You working at some fancy gallery now, art girl?”
A genuine laugh escapes me. I forgot he used to call me that.
“Museum, actually.”
He rests his tattooed forearms on the circulation desk, quirking a dark brow. “Just like you always wanted.”
Regret pile drives the shame already swirling in my stomach.
“Yeah.” I chew my lip as the conversation dies a slow, painful death.
I say, “Listen” just as Levi says, “I should get back to work.”
A few awkward chuckles later, I tentatively place a hand on a forearm before he can leave.
“Sorry, but I…” I trail off at the look he swings up from where I’m touching him—a mix of interest and apprehension. I remove my hand.
“I’d love some time to catch up. To talk, I mean.” I know I have no right to ask this of him, and from the looks of it, he knows it too.
Levi blows out a long breath, shaking his head with a weary smile.
“I probably shouldn’t, but…” His ice blue eyes lock with mine, and incrementally, his grin grows. “Give me your number and I’ll text you sometime.”
I pluck a pen from a nearby cup and write my number on a pad of paper.
“Thanks, Levi.” I can’t think of anything else to say, so I return my yoga mat and force myself not to sprint to the women’s locker room.
Twenty minutes later, I step out of the shower and into a changing stall.
I slip on the black dress pants I packed and a long-sleeved black shirt that I tuck into the silver belt at my waist. But the pièce de résistance?
My favorite graphic silk bomber jacket. It’s an array of fiery red, orange, and yellow, and it makes me feel like the fierce, independent woman I am.
After throwing on a quick face of makeup and blow drying my straight hair, I rake my things into my duffel bag and jog to the front door.
Levi’s eyes skim over me as I pass the service desk, which is stationed just inside the entrance. I feebly return his smile before I turn to the door.
Snow blankets the busy street with more falling, so I tug on a black beanie and slip my hands into a pair of gloves. Chicago winters are not to be trifled with.
A couple catches my eye as they stroll by hand-in-hand, and my fingers falter on the door handle.
I watch the way the man tugs the woman closer to his side as they walk, the way she laughs up at him, gazing through the snowflakes.
A tiny part of me wonders if she’s warmer—happier—there, but then I shake the stupid thought off.
I don’t need anyone.
Snowflakes kiss the tip of my nose as I wait outside Pulse Fitness for the car service I ordered.
I check my phone. They’re still a minute away, and it’s freezing out here.
I could go back inside to wait, but that would mean sharing more awkward smiles with Levi.
Shivering, I pull my silk bomber jacket tighter and curse myself for choosing fashion over warmth.
A text tickles my ribcage, and I pull my phone out of my coat pocket.
UNKNOWN: Hey. I couldn’t wait any longer to tell you how beautiful you are today. Can’t wait to meet up sometime. -Hopefully Yours.
Confusion pinches my brows, and I shiver again. Everyone I know is saved in my phone contacts. Well, not everyone. My phone fell off the pier last summer, and it’s been acting weird ever since.
Maybe it’s Levi? I peek over my shoulder at him through the window.
His phone is cradled in his palms, forearms resting on the counter. Levi’s smile widens, and he shrugs with a little wave.
I return the sentiment, then reread Levi’s text. He seemed so apprehensive before, but the wolfish grin he’s aiming at me through the window looks like he’s more than interested in meeting up. Hopefully so. What a weird sign off.
I don’t know how to respond, so I add Levi’s contact info to the unknown number as a worried knot ties itself in my stomach.
I don’t want to lead Levi on again, but I do want to properly apologize to him.
Did I lay things on too thick? Was I inadvertently flirting? Maybe I shouldn’t have touched his arm.
Before I can spiral any further, a sleek black car with the license plate I’m expecting parks beside the curb.
I slip inside, Levi’s pale eyes following me until we pull away.