“Sorry, I’m back in the room, what did you say?”
“I was asking when do you want to put the new equipment out? It came early this morning.”
“Oh right!” Work stuff. I need to focus on that while I’m here. “Yeah, I’ll get it out during the lull later on.”
“The lull? That’s just before my shift. I’ll come in and help you.”
“Thank you.” I smile at him. “That’s awesome, Foster.”
“I guess I’ll see you later on then.”
Just as he leaves I see two very familiar faces entering the building. Kayleigh and Mia, here for a work out. I really didn’t expect her to come in today, I thought that she would be too embarrassed, but here she is! This is awesome news, it means she really does like me and something might happen.
Just remember, don’t let her too close, I remind myself. Don’t forget Alex.
I don’t know how Mia would react to the news that I have a child but since I’m not diving into anything too serious, I won’t ever need to find out. After Ally, I don’t ever want to let anyone in that close again.
I watch her from a distance, waiting to see how she’ll react when she sees me but she pointedly doesn’t see me. She must be aware of me, there’s no way she can ignore the chemistry between us, but she doesn’t want to see me. Either she can’t because the feelings are overwhelming, or she doesn’t want to because she needs me to get the hint. I really do hope that it’s the first one.
Don’t push her. Don’t force her, just hang around and see what happens.
It’s hard, it isn’t me at all, but I force myself to keep away, to give her the space she needs. I hope all of the patience, which I don’t normally have, is rewarded and in the end, she comes back to me.
I check my watch, wondering if she will stay late again so we can have some time alone. To prepare for that eventuality just in case, I fire off a text to Foster.
Noah: Actually, forget what I said, don’t worry about coming in early. I’ll get the equipment out early tomorrow morning. It makes more sense because we have been extra busy today.
Foster: Are you sure? I don’t mind…
Noah: No, it’s fine. Don’t worry. Thank you though.
Foster: I shall see you at the normal time then.
I blow out a breath of relief, glad to have time alone if I need it. Now, I just need to survive the rest of the day.
* * *
It’s a relief when Mia says goodbye to her friend and sends her on her way. Even more so when the rest of the patrons go too. The longer the afternoon has rolled on, the more desperate I have become to speak to her and it seems like the time is coming. I can barely sit still as I wait for the changing rooms to empty out.
Every so often, I dart my eyes towards Mia but she isn’t looking back. Still, she’s here. She’s remained, so that’s what I’ll have to take for now.
“Hi,” I say quietly as I walk towards the treadmill where she runs. “How are you?”
A deep shade of red covers her whole face. “Erm, yeah hi…”
I don’t think it’s a good idea to jump right into the difficult topics just yet, so I try something else. “You know, I have a load of new equipment out the back including a state of the art treadmill. Do you want to see it?”
“This isn’t state of the art?” She brings the machine to a halt. “Sure, I’d like to see something better.”
“Okay, great. Come with me.”
She follows behind me, walking tentatively as she does. My heart keeps skipping like crazy as I take her into the storage room which is filled with brand new equipment, all wrapped up.
“Oh, I can’t really see it…”
“Hold on.” I give her a winning smile. “Let me just peel it open.”
I rip the cellophane off the treadmill and grin as her eyes open wide in shock. “Oh wow, that’s nice.” She steps up onto it and runs her hands along the handle bars. An impressed noise flies out of her mouth. “I like it a lot.”