by Amy Sparling
My sister snorts. “You’re not even close to being fat.”
“A good breakfast never hurt anyone,” Grandma says, joining us at the table with her own plate of food.
After breakfast, and then lunch, I can’t stop thinking about what Bella said. I’m not exactly worried about getting fat, but I do need to do something to maintain as much endurance and fitness as I can while I’m out of motocross. I can’t just sit around and watch TV all day or I’ll lose all my strength. I’ll get back on the bike and won’t be able to keep up with the guy in last place.
The sheer thought of that happening lights a fire under me. I’ve never been hurt like this, not in my entire racing career. I’ve only had a few bruised ribs and sprained ankles. I can’t just sit around and slack.
I have to stay in shape.
I sit up on the couch and look over at my sister, who is half watching the TV show and half playing on her phone. “I need to work out.”
She shrugs one shoulder. “Go for a jog or something.”
I consider it, but with this heat and humidity, a jog would make my arm sweat so much under the cast. It’d be itchy and gross. I curl my lip.
“I need a gym. Is there a gym around here?”
This small town doesn’t even have a McDonald’s, so I’m not expecting there to be anything good within an hour’s drive. At best, I might be able to order some weight lifting equipment online and have it delivered here, but that doesn’t come close to having a professional gym.
“Actually,” Bella says, tapping her phone to her cheek while she thinks. “There is a gym. It’s not too far from here.”
I look it up online and feel a rush of adrenaline when I realize it’s just a couple of miles away from Grandma’s house. It’s open until midnight every day of the week, which means there’s no excuse to let my body fall out of shape over the next six weeks.
“Can I borrow your car?” I ask.
Bella frowns. “How are you supposed to work out with a broken arm?”
I stand up from the couch and stretch. “Easy. Legs, abs, back, one arm. Also I can jog. There’s no reason the rest of me can’t stay fit while my wrist heals.”
She rolls her eyes. “This is why girls are in love with you, you know.”
“Because I’m a hard worker?”
She smirks. “I guess that’s part of it. But it’s the muscles, Aiden. That’s all my friends care about.”
“Like I said, your friends are too young for me,” I say sarcastically. She tosses me her car keys and I find some workout clothes in my suitcase.
Bella had some friends over the other day. I saw the way they looked at me. It was just the way so many other girls look at me. Lustful. Dreamy. They’re falling for what I look like and they don’t even know me. I could be a total prick and half of these women wouldn’t care, so long as I looked good standing next to them for Instagram photos.
Maybe that’s what keeps me single. Unlike some guys I know who are more than happy to hook up with every walking pair of boobs that looks his way, I’ve never been like that. My teammate Zach used to have a different girl on his arm every weekend until he met Bree and decided he was going to settle down.
I just can’t do that—one night stands. It feels gross to me. First, there’s the whole threat of catching some disgusting disease from sleeping around, and that’s not even all of it. Secret babies from girls whose names you don’t remember. Messy breakups when someone gets attached. Waking up next to a stranger whose name you can’t even remember. Why do guys get off on this one-night stand thing?
I’d rather be in a relationship with one woman. I’d want to be like my buddy Jett, who found Keanna and knew she was the one for him. They even found a way to make it work with his crazy race schedule and traveling. Keanna is a cool chick. She joins Jett at a lot of the races when she’s not busy with school.
I want a relationship like that. But I’ve never had it. I’ve never even come close to it.
I climb in Bella’s new car which already has my sister’s touches added to it. She’s put a sticker of her high school mascot on the back window, and there’s a high school parking permit on the rear view mirror. But it still smells good in here, like it did the day we bought it. Like cupcakes, and shampoo. It must be what Jenn smells like all the time.
I crank the engine and head toward the main road, remembering the easy directions to this local gym. I decide to stop thinking about girls and relationships. As long as I’m on Team Loco, mildly famous and covered with rippling muscles that I bust my ass to make, I won’t be getting a girlfriend.
I could get laid, sure. But not a girlfriend. Every woman who flirts with me now is doing it for one reason. Because I’m famous. They don’t know me. They don’t care to know me. And I don’t have the time to know them, either.
I need to focus on my career. Girls would only get in the way of that. I tell myself that the loneliness I feel each night is just me being pathetic.
At the gym, I walk into a newer building which is a little surprising since everything in this tiny ass town is old. It’s called LaValle Fitness and Physical Therapy, and I follow the arrow that says the gym is to the left. The doors to the right go to a PT center. That’s kind of good luck on my part, because I’ll need physical therapy after my cast is removed. Maybe I’ll just stay here and do that instead of going back to Orlando. I sign up for a gym membership, and the guy who works here is about twice as ripped as I am. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s on steroids, but whatever. I’m contractually obligated to be healthy and stay off anything like that. I’ll never be that bulky, but I don’t really want to be.
Lean muscle makes you a faster rider. Bulk would only weigh me down.
There are exactly two people in the gym, and both of them are elderly. One older man is working with a woman who wears scrubs, and I realize the physical therapy section of the gym also merges with the workout section.
I hit the weight machines and do some leg work first. The burn in my hamstrings feels good. It’s been way too long. I’m a little out of shape, but soon I’m back in my groove and feeling amazing. I focus on legs, back, and shoulders. Then, a couple hours later, I’m still not ready to go home yet, so I do some arm work with my good arm. If I stay in shape, I’ll only have to work hard on my right arm once the cast is off.
I’m in my own world, doing my own thing for so long that I don’t even notice when the gym gets a little busier. Several women jog on treadmills and I can feel them staring at me, probably wondering who the new guy is.
Then I see her.
She’s wearing a pair of navy blue scrubs and still manages to look sexy even in shapeless clothing. Her light brown hair is pinned back from her face, and she’s smiling at another woman in scrubs. She must work here, too.
Damn, a girl with two jobs? Ambition is sexy. No wonder she’s already taken.
My chest tightens at the thought of it, and I tell myself to get over it. Why should I care that Jenn has a boyfriend? I don’t even know her. I just know how amazing she smells every time I get in that car I bought from her.
I leave the weight machine I was on, in search of something farther away so I won’t be tempted to look at her like some kind of ogling creep. At eight o’clock, almost every employee goes home for the night except the guy at the front counter. The physical therapy part must be closed. There’s only a few guys here working out, and one lone woman on a treadmill at the end of the gym. I look around while I’m on the stair climber, and then I see her.
She walks into the women’s locker room wearing her scrubs, and then emerges a few minutes later, a towel wrapped around her body. I can see some kind of straps on her shoulders, so she’s probably wearing a bathing suit, although my first thought is to picture her naked under that towel.
She doesn’t notice me as she walks toward a glass door that leads to the indoor pool. But she takes a right. That door leads to an indoor hot tub. I haven’t seen it yet, but the guy who signed
me up for membership told me about it. My membership includes access to the pool, hot tub, and sauna as well.
A hot tub sounds damn good on my aching leg muscles.
I turn off the stair climber and look at my cast, wondering if I could wrap a towel around it to protect it from the bubbles of the hot tub.
Only one way to find out.
Chapter 6
My new internship is amazing. The people are nice, and the clients are nice, and I get free access to the gym as well. I’ve always enjoyed working at my dad’s shop since I practically grew up there, but this is different. Here, I’m surrounded by people who share my same interests. It’s not all dirt bikes all the time. I get to help people here.
Even after one day as an intern, I’m confident that I’m choosing the right career path. It sucks that it takes so many years in college to be a physical therapist, but it’ll be worth it.
Once my shift is over at eight, everyone else goes home, but I’ve been dying to try out the gym’s hot tub. It’s massive, and enclosed in a private room next to the sauna. I saw it when I first got here and I’ve been dreaming about it all day. I’ve been so stressed with school and now with Jay ripping my heart out, and all I want to do is relax.
I slip into my bathing suit and venture into the hot tub room, hoping it’s empty. It is.
Smooth jazz music plays over some hidden speaker and the smell of lavender sets my mind at ease. I step into the hot tub slowly, letting the scorching water soothe my muscles.
I sink down into the bubbles, keeping everything but my head submerged. The water feels amazing. I close my eyes and start to cry.
I don’t mean to. My body just takes over the second I feel even slightly relaxed. All the heartache and pain I’ve been ignoring while I’m busy during the day always crawls back to the surface as soon as things get quiet.
I let the tears roll down my face. I’m over Jay. At least I’m trying to be. My body hasn’t quite caught up yet.
A rush of cool air slips into the room along with the sound of a door opening. Shit. I splash water on my face to hide the tears. There’s barely any people at the gym this late and I was hoping to have the room all to myself for a while longer.
I glance back.
It’s Aiden.
“Oh, sorry,” he says, making this confused face. Something in the way he lifts his eyebrows makes me think that he’s not really sorry. Like maybe he’s faking something.
“You mind if I join you?”
“Go for it.” I shrug. “It’s a pretty huge hot tub.”
Aiden peels off his shirt and wraps it around the red cast on his right arm. I swallow and avert my eyes. Aiden has the kind of six-pack abs that Jay has been wanting for years. My first thought is to ask him how he does it, but then I quickly remember that I’m no longer Jay’s girlfriend. I don’t have to ask questions for him anymore.
In fact, I hope Jay never gets his abs to look this good.
Aiden sits across from me in the hot tub. It’s so large that I bet we couldn’t get our feet to touch if we tried. Still, I feel a little cramped in here, as if all my emotions are floating around, making the air thick. I hope he didn’t see me crying before I saw him. Luckily, my heart is pounding too hard to want to cry now.
Aiden runs a wet hand through his hair. He exhales slowly, his eyes closing as the bubbles roll all around him, concealing everything from his chest down. Not that I’m checking him out.
But I’m kind of checking him out.
He tips his head back and is silent for a moment. Since he can’t see me, I can’t seem to stop checking him out. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s just interesting, being this close to a motocross celebrity. I bet every dirt bike girl I know would be freaking out if I told them what I was doing right now.
It’s too bad I didn’t bring my phone with me or I might try to sneak a picture just to make everyone jealous.
“Damn, I wish this cast was off,” Aiden says after a long moment of silence. He lifts his head and gives me a flat lipped smile, before turning his gaze to the cast, which is covered in his T-shirt.
“I’m not sure a shirt makes that waterproof,” I say.
He chuckles. “I’m improvising. I’ll bring a bag next time and some duct tape. I didn’t even know there was a hot tub when I got here. This place is sweet.”
“I didn’t either,” I say. I lucked out and had a bathing suit in my truck.”
“How long have you been working here?”
“It’s my first day. And I’m technically an intern.”
He seems impressed. “Oh yeah? What kind of internship?”
“Physical therapy.” His dark eyes look so sexy in the warm glow of the room and I have to look down at the water to stop from blushing. “I’m in college to be a physical therapist.”
“No shit,” he says with a nod. “Smart and beautiful.”
Despite how warm it already is in here, I can feel the blood rushing to my face.
Aiden clears his throat. “Sorry. That was inappropriate. I wasn’t hitting on you, I was just—” His words are rushed and flimsy. He takes a deep breath and looks away. “Sorry. I know you’re taken.”
“Taken?” I say, holding back a sarcastic laugh. “What makes you think that?”
The look he gives me—one full of confusion—makes me feel a little weak. And giddy. It’s like he’s…excited about this new information.
“My sister told me you had a boyfriend,” is all he says, but there’s a hint of a question in his words.
He talked about me with his sister? Holy shit.
I shake my head. “I did have a boyfriend. Not anymore.”
“Oh… well, I’m sorry? Or… congratulations?”
I chuckle. “I think both options are appropriate for my screwed up life.”
He leans forward, keeping his casted arm resting outside of the hot tub. “Wanna talk about it?”
I’m about to say no. Because what else do you say in a situation like this? But then I realize that the truthful answer to his question would be a resounding yes. I do want to talk about it. I’ve kept this breakup a secret from my family and my friends, and unless anyone has noticed that I deleted all three years’ worth of photos of Jay from my social media, then it’s going to stay secret for a while.
I want to talk. I want to let it out, and the idea of telling this total stranger is appealing. He doesn’t know me, and he doesn’t know Jay. He can just listen.
“Sure,” I say, surprising myself and apparently Aiden as well.
A small grin appears on his lips. “I’m all ears.” He frowns, shaking his head. “That’s such a stupid phrase. I’m all ears? What does that even mean? I’m some kind of ear monster?”
I laugh, and the small room echoes with the noise, which seems like such a foreign sound to me. I haven’t smiled or laughed much since I walked in on Jay screwing another girl.
Aiden seems chagrined, but I’m not sure why. He holds out his good hand. “Ignore my stupidity. I’m happy to listen.”
It dawns on me now. Aiden Strauss is kind of… well… a nerd. He’s gorgeous and incredibly talented on a dirt bike, but when he’s talking to me he seems shy. Almost dorky. I don’t know how he hasn’t let the fame go to his head. I’ve met quite a few famous motocross racers in my life and almost all of them are total cocky jackasses. They know everyone worships the ground they walk on, and they act like it.
I feel another smile tugging at my lips. It feels better than all this crying I’ve done lately. In fact, I’m not even holding back tears anymore.
“Well… where do I begin…”
“Start from the beginning. I’ve got all night.” Aiden puts his good arm behind his head and leans back, resting his head in his palm. His bicep flexes, the muscles rippling down his chest. It makes a shiver run right down my spine. This guy is fitness magazine hot.
I blink to clear my mind. The beginning. Right. “Well, I’ve known Jay for a long time. He used to come into my dad�
�s shop all the time and we started riding together when we were on KX80s—”
Aiden’s head jerks up. “You ride?”
I nod. “I’m not very good.”
“That’s still pretty kick ass.”
“Motocross is the greatest thing on earth,” I say.
He grins like he knows exactly what I mean. I go back to my story, because now that I’ve started it, I feel the desperate need to finish it. I want to get it out. Maybe if I do, I’ll be able to put my life with Jay out of my mind for good.
“He never really noticed me until senior year of high school. We started dating, and we’ve dated ever since then. Three years. Three fucking years.”
My nostalgia turns into rage. “And then just a few days ago, I went to the track and I caught him hooking up with this bitch that we went to school with. She’s a complete—” I exhale and shake my head. This isn’t about her. It’s about my shitty boyfriend. “He didn’t even try to apologize. Like in the movies, you know how the guy is always like, ‘wait, I can explain!’ … he didn’t do that.”
I look up from the bubbling water and see Aiden watching me. His jaw is set.
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” he says. I can tell he means it. He looks sad, and angry. Probably a perfect mirror to what I look like, only he’s vastly more good looking.
I shrug. “I’m not really sad about it anymore. I’m just pissed. I can’t believe he did that, you know? I can’t believe I was so stupid to not realize it was happening.”
“It’s not your fault,” Aiden says. “Not in the slightest.”
I snort. “Well if I kept him happier then—”
“No,” Aiden says swiftly. “There’s absolutely nothing you could have done. A cheater is a cheater. They’re selfish bastards who only think about themselves. Don’t even think for a second that it’s your fault, because it’s not.”
I meet his intense gaze. “I appreciate that. I do. But you don’t even know me.”
“I don’t have to know you to know that cheating is wrong, Jenn.”