at.
Plus, Noah just seemed so relaxed and… cheerful. It sort of made me want to walk over there and hug him.
Just as I was about to resume my search for Claire, Noah turned and spotted me watching him. We shared an awkward moment of eye contact across the gym and then he gave me a little wave. I waved back—careful not to look like a child who’d just spotted Santa at the mall—and used the moment as my excuse to move on. If I stood there any longer, he might come over and talk to me.
Right then , who knows how much I’d have be en gushing over him? I couldn’t be trusted.
So I wound my way around various pieces of gym equipment to the front desk where there was no sign of my sister. Since she was my ride home, it was kind of important that I find her. I checked the parking lot and spotted her car, so I knew she was somewhere inside still. Good to know I hadn’t been abandoned. I mean, leave it to Claire to ditch me in a gym as an extreme method of either fitness motivation or torture. Or both.
I checked all the little alcoves of the gym, anywhere that wasn’t within my direct line of sight, but I came up empty. I revisited the ladies’ locker room, careful to keep my eyes straight ahead as I walked past Noah again. The locker room was empty, so I poked my head into the men’s room to call out their names really fast. Nothing there either.
Just as I was about to give up, I turned on my heel and almost crashed into a sculpted male body in a navy blue t-shirt.
“Come here often?” Noah asked with one eyebrow raised.
I blinked at him a couple of times. “To the gym?”
“To the men’s locker room.”
Busted. “Oh!” I smoothed my still-damp hair down over my hearing aids and tried not to blush. “No, I was looking for my sister.”
“Does she come here often?”
My nervous laughter sounded forced, high-pitched. I cringed.
“It’s Claire, right?” As he said this, Noah stepped into the locker room to do a quick scan for me. He came out shaking his head.
“No, I’m Jennifer,” I said, utterly crestfallen at having my name confused for hers. Again.
“I know that . I meant your sister is Claire.”
“Oh…uh, yeah.” This cheered me a little bit.
“She comes in here all the time, works out with Tom, right? About 5-foot-8, dirty blonde hair?”
I nodded, impressed by his recall. And his tactful way of not saying “super-hot, lo ng legs, big boobs . ” It was almost refreshing.
“Yeah, I know her. And I think I can help you find her.” He put his hands on his hips, considering me for a moment. And then he started walking.
I followed Noah back through a set of double doors labeled “Employees Only.” As soon as I crossed the threshold, I started checking over my shoulder, as though I could get arrested for trespassing or something. Paranoia is such a bummer sometimes.
“They come back here together, once in a while,” Noah said, thumbing toward a door that was Tom’s office, judging from the plaque. “They don’t know that I know that, though, okay?”
“Oh… uh, thanks,” I muttered. Noah waved to me again, and then headed back the way we came in, toward the men’s locker room. I watched him walk all the way back down the darkened corridor, mesmerized by his perfect form. It almost wasn’t natural, how good he looked.
The world of gym culture was a remarkable place indeed…
Shaking it off, I turned back to Tom’s office door and knocked deliberately. It wasn’t a habit of mine to interrupt or try to catch my sister in the act, so to speak, but I needed to get home in time to get my stuff together for class this afternoon. When no one opened the door right away, I held my ear close to it—not quit e pressing it against the wood, because contact makes my hearing aids buzz with feedback —and listened. Rustling, low voices, a chair scraping across the concrete floor. I
Plus, Noah just seemed so relaxed and… cheerful. It sort of made me want to walk over there and hug him.
Just as I was about to resume my search for Claire, Noah turned and spotted me watching him. We shared an awkward moment of eye contact across the gym and then he gave me a little wave. I waved back—careful not to look like a child who’d just spotted Santa at the mall—and used the moment as my excuse to move on. If I stood there any longer, he might come over and talk to me.
Right then , who knows how much I’d have be en gushing over him? I couldn’t be trusted.
So I wound my way around various pieces of gym equipment to the front desk where there was no sign of my sister. Since she was my ride home, it was kind of important that I find her. I checked the parking lot and spotted her car, so I knew she was somewhere inside still. Good to know I hadn’t been abandoned. I mean, leave it to Claire to ditch me in a gym as an extreme method of either fitness motivation or torture. Or both.
I checked all the little alcoves of the gym, anywhere that wasn’t within my direct line of sight, but I came up empty. I revisited the ladies’ locker room, careful to keep my eyes straight ahead as I walked past Noah again. The locker room was empty, so I poked my head into the men’s room to call out their names really fast. Nothing there either.
Just as I was about to give up, I turned on my heel and almost crashed into a sculpted male body in a navy blue t-shirt.
“Come here often?” Noah asked with one eyebrow raised.
I blinked at him a couple of times. “To the gym?”
“To the men’s locker room.”
Busted. “Oh!” I smoothed my still-damp hair down over my hearing aids and tried not to blush. “No, I was looking for my sister.”
“Does she come here often?”
My nervous laughter sounded forced, high-pitched. I cringed.
“It’s Claire, right?” As he said this, Noah stepped into the locker room to do a quick scan for me. He came out shaking his head.
“No, I’m Jennifer,” I said, utterly crestfallen at having my name confused for hers. Again.
“I know that . I meant your sister is Claire.”
“Oh…uh, yeah.” This cheered me a little bit.
“She comes in here all the time, works out with Tom, right? About 5-foot-8, dirty blonde hair?”
I nodded, impressed by his recall. And his tactful way of not saying “super-hot, lo ng legs, big boobs . ” It was almost refreshing.
“Yeah, I know her. And I think I can help you find her.” He put his hands on his hips, considering me for a moment. And then he started walking.
I followed Noah back through a set of double doors labeled “Employees Only.” As soon as I crossed the threshold, I started checking over my shoulder, as though I could get arrested for trespassing or something. Paranoia is such a bummer sometimes.
“They come back here together, once in a while,” Noah said, thumbing toward a door that was Tom’s office, judging from the plaque. “They don’t know that I know that, though, okay?”
“Oh… uh, thanks,” I muttered. Noah waved to me again, and then headed back the way we came in, toward the men’s locker room. I watched him walk all the way back down the darkened corridor, mesmerized by his perfect form. It almost wasn’t natural, how good he looked.
The world of gym culture was a remarkable place indeed…
Shaking it off, I turned back to Tom’s office door and knocked deliberately. It wasn’t a habit of mine to interrupt or try to catch my sister in the act, so to speak, but I needed to get home in time to get my stuff together for class this afternoon. When no one opened the door right away, I held my ear close to it—not quit e pressing it against the wood, because contact makes my hearing aids buzz with feedback —and listened. Rustling, low voices, a chair scraping across the concrete floor. I
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