AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Natalie had a slamming back and arms courtesy of years of rowing.
“Okay, so maybe we can try to coordinate leg days. I usually do that twice a week, typically around this time.”
“I can do that.”
“Perfect. So, let’s start upstairs for a quick warm-up.”
I showed Natalie the locker room where we put our things and then hit the elliptical for a ten-minute warm-up.
“I haven’t had a workout buddy since Erik,” I said. “At the beginning, anyway. Which only lasted, like, for a month.”
“Speak of the devil. Isn’t that him?”
Sure enough, the loft gave a clear view of most of the gym downstairs. Erik had just come in and was swiping his card as we spoke.
“Fantastic,” I muttered.
“You know you’re going to run into him. Kitchi Falls isn’t much of a metropolis.”
“True,” I agreed. “But it seems like he’s everywhere lately. I think I’ve seen him more in the last few weeks than in those last two months of dating.”
“Lucky you.” Natalie bumped up the speed on her machine. “Speaking of dating, what’s the scoop with Nate?”
“Good question. He’s still home figuring things out. No word on when he’s coming back since he canceled that bank appointment.”
“That’s tough. I can’t imagine being in his position. It’s gotta be one hell of an adjustment.”
“I’m sure. It’s just so hard knowing he’s just a few hours from here when we would have died to be together at one point but couldn’t because he was half a world away.”
“I’ll give it to you. I’m not sure I’d have the patience. You’re handling it really well.”
I nearly laughed myself off the elliptical. “If you could see my stomach in knots, you’d see how well I’m really dealing with it. But you’re right. It’s a huge adjustment for him, so I’ve just chosen to trust it will all work out.”
Natalie side-eyed me. “I have to admit, that sounds more like me than you.”
“Maybe you and Charlee are rubbing off on me. She talked me off the ledge on Wednesday. We missed you at trivia night.”
“Cooper and I were going to go out, but he was tired, so we actually just stayed in and got Chinese food. How’d you do?”
“What do you think?”
She laughed just as the one person I did not want to see jumped on the elliptical next to her. Thank goodness the one by me was taken.
“Hi, Natalie. Zoe.”
“Hi, Erik,” she said, more polite than me.
“Didn’t know you were a member here?” he asked her.
“Just joined.”
As the two of them made small talk, I was happy to pretend Erik didn’t exist. And sure as the devil, my phone lit up on the dashboard of the elliptical. I grabbed it.
What’s shakin’ in Kitchi Falls this afternoon?
That sounded very much like the old Nate.
At the gym with Natalie.
