Anger bursts all the way through me, exploding in rage fueled fireworks as we move. This is why I don’t let too many people in. I can’t let women close because I can’t have Alex rejected again. He doesn’t even know it, but it hurts me. My boy deserves better. That’s why we have to keep it on the surface.
“Okay, Noah, you’ve walked away far enough now, it’s time to calm down.”
I halt and shake my head, knowing that he’s right. “Sorry, I’m being a freak, I know.”
“No, it’s okay. I get it. I understand now, it’s fine.”
“She just reminded me why I can’t trust anyone, why I can’t let them too close.”
“Yeah, I see. You don’t want to let someone toxic in. She sounds like a nightmare.”
“She is. She’s horrible, I don’t want her anywhere near me again.”
“I know, so we’ll go in the opposite direction, find a club to have fun in.”
I nod slowly. “Yeah that sounds good. I need that.”
He wraps his arm around me and we walk. “This is why you need to just find someone to hook up with. Never more than once because it lets people in too much. Just keep it superficial.”
“I know, that’s what I try and do now. I made a mistake with Ally.”
“So, let’s go and find someone you don’t know to have some fun with. No more messing around.”
“I like that plan, Trent. Sort me out, okay? Help me find someone fun.”
“You know me. I will. Best wingman ever, remember?”
“You sure are.” I pat him on the shoulder. “You have no idea how good it is to have you here.”
Funnily enough, I don’t necessarily want someone I don’t know. I want the woman with flame red hair who has completely taken over my brain ever since she set foot in my gym. The creative, artsy sexy woman that I want to unhinge, to have fun with, to send wild. I can just see her now, the real her not the mask she wears to cover herself up, in a giant artist smock dancing and singing as she paints. I picture the giant weight falling off her shoulders and her finally being free.
I don’t know what happened to Mia Clark, there’s something in her past that isn’t pleasant, but I’m sure it won’t stay there forever. That’s actually a big side effect of the gym that I never really considered when opening up the gym. People come to escape and move past their emotions. I have clients that are coming to recover from broken relationships, to help with grief, to get a better version of themselves… it’s a form of therapy, which is actually pretty cool. I found exercise helped with my own heart break too.
I think that’s what Mia is doing right now and I would love to see her come out of her shell. I’m sure that she’ll become more beautiful and more tempting every single day.
But she’s the person I’m supposed to be purging, so I cannot think about her for another second longer. It needs to be someone else…
8
Mia
The music pounds so loudly it shakes all the bones in my body, the strobe lighting means I can barely see what’s going on around me, sweaty bodies cover the dance floor as far as the eye can see…
“What?” I scream to Kayleigh for what feels like the hundredth time. She keeps talking to me even though it’s obvious I can’t hear a word she’s saying. Eventually, she mimes heading to the bar, so I nod and go with her.
We slide through everyone, getting crushed every so often. This is fun… at least, I think it is. It seems much wilder than the last time I went clubbing. I head out to a bar quite a lot but an actual club is something that I’ve avoided. But then, I avoided them because Wesley didn’t like them and he isn’t an issue now.
Kayleigh dips and dives through the queue at the bar. She has a rule that once everyone gets drunk, there are no rules. She doesn’t believe she should be expected to wait just because everyone else doesn’t have the will to fight, and I have to admit it is time saving. She made this rule in college and it seems that she’s stuck to it ever since. I haven’t ever liked it because it can so easily lead to a fight, but I can’t battle Kayleigh.
Once she has two drinks, much quicker than she would have without her rule, then she pulls me towards the bathroom. I’m grateful for the sound proofing when we get inside because it gives my ears a rest.
“Wow, this is wild,” I gush out with a chuckle. “It’s so freaking loud.”
“You sound way older than your twenty three years. This is why you should come
out more.”
“I know.” God, she’s right, I do need to get more of a life. “Maybe I will.”