5. Not My Kind of Cardio #2
Not only was this a coffee shop, but they also had a small book area.
It was a mix of vintage and modern fixtures.
There were plush velvet sofas and smooth leather chairs, as well as a couple of tables scattered about.
The shop had Edison bulbs hung throughout for lighting, but over some small tables, small golden chandeliers were hung.
I went up to the counter and scanned the menu, noticing how they proudly noted all their syrups were made in-house.
The reading nook in the corner caught my attention, looking the same as the one in Allie’s posts, or at least similar looking.
It was positioned in a big bay window with a small table in the middle.
The seating faced the field across the road that sat nestled against the mountains, creating a gorgeous place to disappear into a book.
“Here you go, hun, one plain toasted bagel and one iced coffee. Hope you enjoy it and you come on back, alright, sugar?” Georgia called out as she placed my items on the bar.
“Thank you, ma’am, and I absolutely will! Have a good day.”
Once I was settled in the car, I took a quick bite of the bagel and then tried the coffee.
“Man, she wasn’t joking; this is sweet.” I took another sip of the sugar-filled iced coffee, humming in approval.
Lucky for me, I had a major sweet tooth, so this hit the spot.
I worked on eating my bagel while I drove to the store, making a mental checklist of anything I’d need.
Thankfully, I should only have to go to one store, maybe two, and I’d have everything.
I had most of my big furniture pieces, like the bed, couch, and dresser, but I decided to start fresh when I moved.
I quickly found a parking spot, hopped out, grabbed a buggy, and headed inside. I loaded the cart from top to bottom with everything, between groceries and items for the apartment, it was slam full.
After I played a game of Tetris to fit everything into the back of the car, I headed back to the house and got to work on emptying it all and putting it away.
It felt good to have this space and make it mine.
One where I was safe and at home, too. One where there were no locked doors, no yelling, only a quiet peacefulness.
I unloaded the final bag of groceries and got all the empty bags stuffed into one, which I shoved into a cabinet to save.
For what? Who knows exactly, but you never know.
I decided to get dressed and head to the gym since I didn’t have anything else to do till later that night.
I didn’t want to go too heavy since I went yesterday, but maybe I could do some cardio and stretching.
I texted Carson to see if he wanted to come with me and meet me there since I knew he didn’t have any plans either.
My phone dinged seconds later with him agreeing to meet me, so I hopped in the car and headed to the gym.
I was sitting in the car scrolling on my phone when I heard knocking on the window. Peeking up from my phone, I saw Carson standing outside the car. I threw him a small wave and shut the engine off.
“Hey man, glad you could come,” I said, opening the door and climbing out. I stepped to the back door, snatched my gym bag from the back seat, and then locked the car.
“Yeah, man, it’s no problem. It’s been a long time since we’ve done any kind of workout together. Think you can keep up, old man?” he asked as he bounced from foot to foot and pretended to throw jabs at me.
“Dude, we’re the same age. What do you mean, old man?” I shot back as I dodged a very poorly thrown uppercut.
“Maybe technically speaking, but you have the mind and knees of someone double our age.”
“Ouch, that one hurt, dude. That cut deep.” I clutched my chest in mock agony.
“Oh, shut up and let's get inside before these mosquitoes eat me up anymore.”
We both were laughing when we walked into the gym and put our belongings away.
Having a friend I could be open with was something I was truly lucky to have.
The stigma around men expressing emotions was bad enough, but having this close relationship with my best friend wasn’t super common. Well, at least not down where we lived.
Living in the south, there was an expectation for boys and men to always be strong. Always keep how they truly felt locked away in a box, and then shove that box inside another box with a heavy-duty padlock, burying it deep, deep, deep down. Totally healthy, right?
After everything I went through growing up, all the anxiety and depression that I still struggled with at times, I was glad I had at least one person I could fully trust because sometimes life was really damn lonely.
Everyone talks about how you should cut toxic people out of your life, whether it’s friends or family, but not a lot of people talk about the lingering feelings after you actually do it.
We were walking out of the locker room and heading toward the small grass area to stretch and warm up when I saw her. Allie was with the same girl as last time, and they were sprawled on the grass laughing.
“Shit, dude, she’s here,” I said as I tried to decide whether I should go over there or leave altogether. She made me nervous, and I don’t know what it was about her that did it.
“Where? Oh, over in the turf area? Shit, yeah, she is pretty, but so is her friend. Think you could get in and then help me out?” He laughed as he nudged me with his shoulder and waggled his brows at me.
“Dude, be so for real right now. How about we work on my love life first? Hmm?”
“Okay, fine, well, let's go.” Carson took off before I could come up with a lame excuse as to why we shouldn’t. Ever the one to act first and worry about the consequences later. Taking in a deep breath and shaking my hands out to expel some nerves, I followed Carson over.
When we walked into the turf area, both girls looked over at us.
I could see the moment recognition snapped for Allie.
She shot up, trying to fix her hair and clothes from lying down.
Her friend also stood up, but I could see she was trying her hardest not to stare at Carson, who was not even remotely hiding that he was also looking at her.
Fuck, play it cool, Spencer. You can do this.
I sucked in a breath to calm my nerves and walked over to her.
“Hey there, Allie.” I raised a hand to wave, but it came out more uncoordinated and clunky. I settled with shoving my hands into my shorts pockets as I stepped closer to her.
“Oh, hi, Spencer! Funny running into you here.” Her voice came out breathy, the sentence slightly rushed. I could see the faint blush starting on her cheeks and going down her neck. Her freckles were on full display, too.
“Yeah, I know, right? Actually, I’m glad I ran into you since our conversation got cut short the other day. I’m sorry about that again, by the way. The laptop still holding up okay?”
“Don’t be sorry; it wasn’t your fault. When work calls, ya gotta answer.
I get it, and yep, it is! No more issues yet.
I’m glad I ran into you too. Are you, um, working on anything important today?
” Her voice was lower and raspy. It was almost melodic and drew me in even more—my body taking a step toward her automatically.
“Nah, not really. I came yesterday and went pretty hard, so I think I’m gonna do some cardio with my buddy.”
“God, you’re better than I am, ’cause I hate cardio. Only one form of cardio I like, and that can’t be done here.” She started laughing, and her friend and Carson joined in. She was cute and had a dirty sense of humour.
Thank you, lord.
Her eyes went wide, and she gasped before slapping a hand over her mouth.
“Oh god, I’m sorry, sometimes I don’t realize how inappropriate I am.
I didn’t mean to make it weird. My mouth likes to move faster than my brain, and I end up word vomiting and making a fool of myself. Like I’m doing now, it seems.”
I started to chuckle. “No, no, don’t apologize, that was a good one. I like it when a girl has a good sense of humor.” I shot her a wink and my best smirk, feeling completely out of practice at flirting. “Also, sorry for my manners. Allie, this is my best friend, Carson. Carson, this is Allie.”
Carsoon walked up and shook Allie’s hand.