Fat

“Oh my God. How did I not know this?” she asked, reaching out to touch his scar. The mark didn’t bother him.

“It’s not something I advertise.”

“What happened?”

“Mom had lacerations to her face, and after my accident, I had to go to the care unit for kids. Dad had to switch and change between my room, and my mom’s room. It was a hard few weeks. Dad got to see all these people that had suffered. I shared a room with a kid who had suffered burns to part of his face and neck. It was like my dad had only ever seen a way of making the beautiful even more beautiful. To hold them up to a higher standard than anyone else.”

“The work had gone to his head?”

“Yeah. After we got out of the hospital, Mom asked for him to change, as otherwise she wanted a divorce, and she’d take me with her. There was no way her son was going to turn out like him.” Noah shrugged. “Holy shit, I can’t believe I just said that to you.”

“I’m really pleased you did. I talk about my mom all the time.” She shrugged. “Parents, huh?”

“They suck at times.”

“Your dad is different now?” she asked.

“Yep. He still does the tit jobs, the lipo, and stuff. However, he now has a foundation to help those that have been hurt. It’s a good job that he does.”

“You’re proud of him?”

“Yeah. There was a woman about two months ago who had gotten away from her ex, but he’d left her scarred. Every time she’d look in the mirror, she’d remember this guy. My dad, he healed her, and now she is doing better than ever.” Noah smiled. “How can I not be proud of a guy who does that?”

She smiled, and he couldn’t help but look at her. She was so beautiful.

Where the hell had all that truth telling come from? He never shared any of that kind of shit with anyone, not even with Kurt, Adam, or Ryan.

Noah didn’t understand it. Sure, he’d grown up with Elsa being in the background of his life. They had gone to the same preschool, kindergarten all the way up to high school. Never had he given her more than a passing thought, and yet right now, he was telling her stuff he didn’t even tell his most trusted friends. It made no sense, no sense at all.

Chapter Four

The following Saturday, and three training sessions, about to start her fourth, Elsa waited outside of Bruce’s gym. She glanced through the food diary checking to make sure she’d put everything in order, and that it was easy to read.

When she spotted Noah’s car, she climbed out, holding onto her bag.

“Hey, baby,” he said.

Handing him her diary, she offered him a beaming smile. “Meet you in the warm up room?”

“Hold your horses.” He leaned against the car and scanned the pages.

She waited patiently, flicking the ring of her keys around her finger.

“Okay, I think I can see where we can make some adjustments.”

“You want to talk about it now?”

“Would you like to go somewhere else to talk about it?”

“How about we work out and then talk about it?”

“Fine, after we’ve worked out, there’s a cute little deli a few blocks from here, and we can go over this then.” He placed the diary in his sack, and together they headed into the gym. Sarah was on the front desk, and she offered them both good mornings. “This one is cranky today.”

“That’s because for a date you’re taking her to the gym. Shame on you, Noah.”

“This is not a date,” Elsa said.

“It’s not?”

“I’m helping her out.”

Sarah looked from Elsa then at Noah, and back again. “Shame, you’d make a really cute couple.”

“I’m going to go and get changed.” Elsa escaped into the ladies’ room, and quickly changed into her workout gear. By the time she got out, he was already there. “How did you get here before me?”

“I don’t like wasting time.”

They made their way down to the weight rooms where they were able to do some stretches.

“How do you feel to adding some swimming in say a week’s time?”

“Sure, I don’t mind. You’re the boss. I’m just doing as I’m told.”

“Right, I’m making Sunday our weigh in and measurements.”

Elsa stopped stretching. “Why? Can’t we do them today?”

“We could, but I’d rather do it before the next week. Each week we can start afresh.”

“Ugh, I don’t know if I can get away.”

“We’re ten, twenty minutes apart? We can figure something out.”

“I don’t want my mother to find out.”

“She won’t. I’m good at keeping a secret. Besides, we can always say we’re working on a project together.”

Elsa started to stretch up and then down, touching her toes.

Noah released a noise, and she glanced behind her to make sure he was okay. “What’s wrong?” she asked.