The Crushes by Pamela Wells

her (well, okay, maybe a medium-size part of her) was hoping she’d run into Adam.
    She still thought the Crush Code was silly and that even if it did work, Adam was so out of her orbit he might as well be Saturn to her Earth.
    At any rate, she’d told Alexia she’d give it a try but had been putting it off since they developed the new code on Friday.
    Now, here she was at the gym bright and early the following Saturday. She’d been in the school’s gym, but until last week, she’d never been inside this one. There was a sea of white machines before her, the mirrored walls reflecting everything so that the room looked ten times bigger and that much more intimidating.
    When she’d complained to her brother and Drew, they’d agreed to accompany her. It was really Drew she’d wanted along since she knew Todd would be a total dink anyway.
    Drew was always helpful.
    “Where do I start?” Kelly asked him.
    He dropped his truck keys in his gym shorts pocket and led Kelly to the row of treadmills that spanned an entirewall. Each machine had its own flat screen TV attached above it. The Discovery Channel was playing reruns of Deadliest Catch .
    “Warm up first,” Drew said, hopping on a treadmill. “Ten minutes of walking fast or jogging, then we’ll start with weight training if you want.”
    “Sounds good to me.”
    Kelly got on the treadmill next to Drew and started out at three miles per hour. At two minutes into the workout, she upped the speed to four miles per hour and jogged slowly. Drew upped his treadmill, too, but completely outpaced her. She’d forgotten how good a runner he was.
    Using the mirrors, Kelly scanned the gym behind her, looking for Adam. Every few seconds she’d check the entrance and then the locker room door. So far, no sign of him.
    Five minutes into the workout, sweat beading on her forehead, Kelly decided to kick it up more and went to five miles an hour. Her legs screamed in protest, her lungs tightened. It’d been a week since she’d exercised. She was so going to pay for this tomorrow morning.
    She looked up when movement at the front door caught her eye.
    Adam walked inside looking even better than he had the last time she’d seen him. Was that possible?
    Staring at him in the mirror, she lost her balance. One foot stepped off the treadmill, causing her to stumble and lose her footing entirely. She went down on the conveyor belt, and it winged her off the treadmill onto the floor.
    “Kelly!” Drew jumped off his treadmill.
    Adam ran up.
    Todd burst into raucous laughter.
    “Are you okay?” Adam asked.
    Mentally or physically? Because physically she was fine, mentally she felt like she was about to die.
    The Crush Code popped into her head. She only knew rule number one by heart.
    Be playful, fun, and flirty! Boys like girls who know how to have a good time.
    Now was as good a time as any to try out the Code. She really needed something smart to save herself in this situation.
    She turned to Adam and gave him a demure smile. “I’m fine, thanks. I just saw you walk through the door looking gorgeous as ever, and I couldn’t seem to focus.”
    Adam’s face turned a bright shade of red. He dodged her attention, averting his gaze to the floor. “Well, thanks…I guess.”
    Had she really flustered him? Or was it an act? It didn’t seem like an act, but how in the world could someone as good-looking as Adam get embarrassed at a little flattery? He had to know he was hot. Probably he heard that kind of thing all the time.
    Drew cleared his throat and hoisted Kelly to her feet. “You sure you’re fine?” He ran his fingers over her cheeks, pushing hair away from her face as he looked her over closely.
    “I’m fine. Really.”
    Except she felt like a moron because she’d fallen in front of Adam and Drew and…maybe a bit embarrassed that she’d flirted with Adam so blatantly.
    When the attention on her started to wane, Adam introduced himself to Drew. The boys started