the street and see what I do. I’ll wale on their ass!
I smiled, imagining it from my position on the floor, completely out of energy, which I recognized as being completely ironic. The need for water drove me to stand—that and the fact that people scheduled for the next class were beginning to arrive. I got up and grabbed the water from my bag, where it was tossed alongside the back wall of the room, and downed it in great gulps.
“So what are you up to tonight?” Rico was pulling the strap to his athletic bag over his shoulder as he approached me.
“Work.” I downed more water and capped it, popping it back into my gym bag.
“Ever have time for fun?” He was smiling flirtatiously, and he was definitely a handsome guy. But though I would have considered going out with him even a week ago, somehow his chin seemed weak and his eyes weren’t green, and he was only average height (which was still taller than me). It was silly, but there you have it.
“The world is an expensive place, Rico. I work six days a week and rest on the seventh.”
“Yeah, well, let me know if you ever have free time. I think we could have some fun.” His dark eyes smiled playfully into mine, and somehow they just didn’t seem serious enough, intense enough.
Just shoot me, right? This was probably yet another manifestation of my need to stay away from emotional entanglements and come up with reasons why I couldn’t be with someone, even when I’d been attracted to them before. One of the main reasons I’d started taking this class was because I thought Rico was a hot guy. Over time, I’d realized it was a good class and it was helping me live my life like a badass. One of my needs in this life I lived was to be able to take care of myself no matter what. I could never rely on anyone else for anything, ever again. Ever.
“I’ll see you next week,” I offered, and he walked on with a parting shrug, like a you-can’t-blame-me-for-trying gesture.
“It hurts while I’m doing it, but I just feel great when I’m done.” The older woman came up to me with a wide-open smile. “Besides, with my new body, I was able to shop for lingerie for the first time in years. I got this really cute nightgown that I might wear tonight.” She was blushing like a schoolgirl, which was absolutely lovely to see.
“Ken’s the lucky guy?” I wiped the drips of sweat on my gym towel as they rolled down my temples and remembered how she’d mentioned this guy the last several weeks that I’d talked with her after class. It was funny that I knew her guy’s name, but not hers.
“Yeah. I’m going to cook for him tonight. I make the best pasta sauce, if I do say so myself. What about you? Rico’s handsome. Are you two going out tonight?”
“Naw, I’ve got work. The bills don’t pay themselves.”
“You work every weekend, honey. Don’t waste your youth. You only get it once.”
“Yeah, well, life gets complicated.”
“That it does. It can teach you things that aren’t healthy to learn, if you’re not careful. I know that one. I better go. I need to make a trip to the grocery store.”
It was an interesting way to leave things, and I was sure the cryptic comment was deliberately left to my interpretation, but critical thinking was not going to happen right after a hard-core workout. Still, her comment stuck with me as I walked all the way out to my car...and saw that the passenger-side window was smashed in.
“No,” I whispered, rushing to it in the parking lot. “Are you kidding me? Why? It’s a piece of junk!”
But it was my piece of junk. I’d managed to save for it, buy it used, pay for insurance and gas every month, take care of maintenance and repairs. There was nothing of value in it to steal. Even the radio was old and broken, but that was okay with me. It was my little junker that I’d been able to afford and rely on. And while I know cars get broken into all the time, it just didn’t make sense that mine was
I smiled, imagining it from my position on the floor, completely out of energy, which I recognized as being completely ironic. The need for water drove me to stand—that and the fact that people scheduled for the next class were beginning to arrive. I got up and grabbed the water from my bag, where it was tossed alongside the back wall of the room, and downed it in great gulps.
“So what are you up to tonight?” Rico was pulling the strap to his athletic bag over his shoulder as he approached me.
“Work.” I downed more water and capped it, popping it back into my gym bag.
“Ever have time for fun?” He was smiling flirtatiously, and he was definitely a handsome guy. But though I would have considered going out with him even a week ago, somehow his chin seemed weak and his eyes weren’t green, and he was only average height (which was still taller than me). It was silly, but there you have it.
“The world is an expensive place, Rico. I work six days a week and rest on the seventh.”
“Yeah, well, let me know if you ever have free time. I think we could have some fun.” His dark eyes smiled playfully into mine, and somehow they just didn’t seem serious enough, intense enough.
Just shoot me, right? This was probably yet another manifestation of my need to stay away from emotional entanglements and come up with reasons why I couldn’t be with someone, even when I’d been attracted to them before. One of the main reasons I’d started taking this class was because I thought Rico was a hot guy. Over time, I’d realized it was a good class and it was helping me live my life like a badass. One of my needs in this life I lived was to be able to take care of myself no matter what. I could never rely on anyone else for anything, ever again. Ever.
“I’ll see you next week,” I offered, and he walked on with a parting shrug, like a you-can’t-blame-me-for-trying gesture.
“It hurts while I’m doing it, but I just feel great when I’m done.” The older woman came up to me with a wide-open smile. “Besides, with my new body, I was able to shop for lingerie for the first time in years. I got this really cute nightgown that I might wear tonight.” She was blushing like a schoolgirl, which was absolutely lovely to see.
“Ken’s the lucky guy?” I wiped the drips of sweat on my gym towel as they rolled down my temples and remembered how she’d mentioned this guy the last several weeks that I’d talked with her after class. It was funny that I knew her guy’s name, but not hers.
“Yeah. I’m going to cook for him tonight. I make the best pasta sauce, if I do say so myself. What about you? Rico’s handsome. Are you two going out tonight?”
“Naw, I’ve got work. The bills don’t pay themselves.”
“You work every weekend, honey. Don’t waste your youth. You only get it once.”
“Yeah, well, life gets complicated.”
“That it does. It can teach you things that aren’t healthy to learn, if you’re not careful. I know that one. I better go. I need to make a trip to the grocery store.”
It was an interesting way to leave things, and I was sure the cryptic comment was deliberately left to my interpretation, but critical thinking was not going to happen right after a hard-core workout. Still, her comment stuck with me as I walked all the way out to my car...and saw that the passenger-side window was smashed in.
“No,” I whispered, rushing to it in the parking lot. “Are you kidding me? Why? It’s a piece of junk!”
But it was my piece of junk. I’d managed to save for it, buy it used, pay for insurance and gas every month, take care of maintenance and repairs. There was nothing of value in it to steal. Even the radio was old and broken, but that was okay with me. It was my little junker that I’d been able to afford and rely on. And while I know cars get broken into all the time, it just didn’t make sense that mine was
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