by Hazel Kelly
Once outside, it took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark again, and as they did, I noticed a shadow moving down by the lake. I watched the silhouette sit down at the bottom of a tree and cursed under my breath, knowing I’d never be able to sleep if I left the poor wanderer out here to get murdered.
Thirty steps later, I reached the mysterious shadow’s resting spot. “Alex?”
He jolted at my voice, his back slamming against the tree as his legs failed to find their footing on the ground. “Jesus, Gemma, you scared the shit out of me.”
“What are you doing?”
“I couldn’t sleep. What are you doing?” he asked. “Besides nearly giving me a heart attack.”
“Better a heart attack than an ax through your skull.”
His face twisted. “What?”
“I came out here to make sure you weren’t about to get murdered,” I said, glancing around before looking back towards the glowing toilet cabin to make sure I could still see my way home. “So you’re welcome.”
“Afraid of the dark, are you?”
“No.”
“You want to sit?” he asked, gesturing towards the ground beside him.
I eyed the patchy grass. “Is it wet?”
“Not as wet as where I’m sitting after the way you just snuck up on me.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“That was a joke,” he said. “I haven’t peed my bed in over two weeks.”
My mouth fell open.
“That was a joke, too,” he said. “It’s probably been more like ten years. Couldn’t say really.”
I dropped to my knees, sat back on my heels, and then slid to the side until my bottom met the ground. “Why can’t you sleep?”
“I could ask you the same question,” he said, letting his head fall back against the tree.
A cloud passed over the moon, allowing more light to filter down through the trees. He was wearing a worn Notre Dame T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that almost made it look like he had meat on his bones.
“I had to pee,” I said. “You?”
“My bunkmate always snores on lasagna night.”
“Weird.”
“Yeah, that’s all he said last time I told him.”
“How long are you going to stay out here?”
“You mean if I don’t get murdered?” he asked, a smile teasing his cheeks.
“Don’t make fun of me.”
“I’m not,” he said. “I’ve heard there are killer deer in these woods. Bloodthirsty, they are. Campers are their meal of choice.”
“It’s not the deer I’m worried about,” I said, hushing my tone. “Didn’t you hear about the guy who lives on the other side of the lake?”
“The cannibal?”
I nodded.
“Pretty sure I’m the last camper he’s interested in.” He lifted his elbows so I could admire his skinny forearms.
“You make a good point,” I said, gripping my thigh. “Though I’m not sure that bodes very well for me.”
“But you’re a virgin, right? So you’re probably safe.”
“Excuse me?”
“Are you not? Sorry, I just assumed.”
“That’s none of your business.”
“It is if we’re really starring in the horror movie you seem so convinced is happening around us.”
I bit my lip.
“Though my personal theory is that the counselors only let that rumor survive so we don’t wander over there.”
“Aren’t you?” I asked, still trying to decide whether I was mad at his assumption.
“Aren’t I what?”
“You know,” I said, glancing over my shoulder. “A virgin?”
He smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“I would, yeah.”
“I’ll tell you if you tell me,” he said. “How’s that?”
Shit.
“Well?”
“You first,” I said, trying to conceal how much I was freaking out.
“Why don’t you guess?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at me.
“I think you are,” I said. After all, up to this point I’d assumed he was a fourteen-year-old pariah like me, and neither of us seemed the type to be first in line for seven minutes in heaven. Hell, I was pretty sure I’d never even had a cameo in someone else’s wet dream. Nor had I ever kissed anyone. So how could he possibly have had sex?
“Why?”
“Because we’re too young for that stuff.”
“Too young to do it or too young to think about it?” he asked.
I hung my head, hoping the shadows above would hide my burning cheeks.
“You can’t even talk about it, so I’d say you’re definitely safe from any killers lurking in these woods.”
I flicked my eyes up at him.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
I dropped my gaze to the ground and pulled on a tuft of grass.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he said. “Like you said, we’re too young to worry about that stuff.”
“Agreed.”
“Can I tell you a secret?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“I’ve never even kissed anybody.”
“Really?” I asked, feigning a level of surprise I hoped would give me the upper hand. “Why?”
He shrugged. “Never liked anyone enough, I guess.”
A strange pang twisted in my chest. “I know the feeling.”
But really, that was the moment I realized I did like someone enough.
And I wanted that someone to like me more than anything.
T H I R T E E N
- Alex -
I helped my mom take her coat off inside her front door and then followed her into the kitchen.
“You’ll stay for a cup of tea, won’t you?” she said, her back to me as she reached for the kettle.
“I thought you said you needed to rest?”
“After tea,” she said, turning on the faucet.
I threw my hoodie over the back of one of her narrow kitchen chairs and pulled my phone out to steal a glance at Gemma’s face in a paused YouTube video as I sat down. It was one of her early ones, so it was a little rougher around the edges than her more recent content, but I could’ve watched her demonstrate hamstring stretches all day.
When I looked up, my mom was standing with two hands on the counter, staring at the kettle’s steaming spout like she was deep in thought, her thin silver hair pulled back in a simple barrette she’d had since I was a child. It was only when it clicked off that she snapped out of her trance and pulled some mugs from the powder-blue cabinets she chose when I bought the house for her. She resisted the idea at first, insisting I shouldn’t spend my hard-earned savings on her, but in the end, the promise of a vegetable garden sold her on the idea.
“Coffee for you?” she asked, unscrewing the jar of instant granules.
“Please.”
“How was your date last night?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the task at hand. “I didn’t want to ask in front of the class for fear of making the other girls jealous.”
“It wasn’t a date.”
She turned her head in my direction. “Did you pay for the meal and kiss her at the end?”
“Mom.”
“I’ll only keep guessing if you don’t give me something to go on.”
“She works at the gym, remember?”
“The girl from camp, right?”
“Yeah.”
She walked over carefully, one mug in each hand.
“Thanks for letting me use your car, by the way.”
“What’s wrong with yours again?”
“It would blow my cover.”
“Oh right.” She set an elbow on the table. “How’s the experiment going?”
“Mom.”
“What?” She wrapped her hands around her mug.
“You’re killing me with all these questions.”
“Maybe if you’d answer one there wou
ld be fewer on your plate.”
I took a sip of coffee and gave her a chance to catch her breath for a moment before my phone ring startled me.
“Do you need to take that?”
I tilted it up and clenched my jaw when I saw the screen. “Definitely not.”
She raised her thinning brows.
“It’s the guy who wants to buy me out.”
She shook her head.
I lifted a palm. “I don’t want to get into it.”
“Don’t do it, Alexander. That gym has given you more purpose—”
“Enough.”
“Are you seriously still considering his offer?”
“You know I am. It would be foolish not to.”
“How can you respect a man who does business on a Sunday?”
“I said I didn’t want to get into it.”
“Fine,” she said, shaking her head in a way that made me feel about two feet tall. “All it does is piss me off anyway.”
My eyes grew wide.
“Excuse my language.”
I took a swig of coffee and licked my lips.
“So,” she said. “Tell me about your evening with Gemma.”
I leaned back and tried to recall when I’d divulged her name.
“You think I don’t listen.”
“It was great,” I said. “She’s funny and smart. Easy to talk to.”
“A good kisser?”
“The restaurant was decent, too. Maybe a little overpriced, but I think she enjoyed it.”
“Is that your way of telling me it’s none of my business?”
“So you do listen.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you going to see her again?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but she got there on her own.
“Oh right, she’s a colleague.”
I closed my mouth and nodded.
“You’ll probably see her tomorrow.”
“I will.”
She leaned an ear towards me. “Looking forward to it?”
“Very much.”
“Tell her I said hi.”
“Not going to do that, but I appreciate the support.”
“Did you tell her you’re really the boss?”
Could a person drown in questions?
“Never mind. If you had, you wouldn’t have borrowed my car.”
Had she always thought out loud like this, or was it an age thing?
“Wait till she sees the Jag.”
“Yeah, hopefully it’ll make her forget all about the fact that I lied to her.”
Her brows knitted together.
“I’m not sure how long I’m going to keep this up, though.”
“Didn’t you tell Jimmy you’d give it at least a month?”
“Yeah, but I still don’t know what he thinks is going to happen in that time to change my mind.”
“I know you don’t want to hear it from me again, but—”
“You got that right.”
“Most people spend their whole lives working on someone else’s dream.”
I sighed. This speech was really getting old.
“And you have the chance to keep chasing your own. Don’t you get how lucky that makes you? You can make a difference in people’s lives. You don’t have to be like me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with any of the jobs you had.”
“Except that I squandered my passion! And for what? So a bunch of miserable bankers would have clean toilet seats to sit on while they checked their email?!”
“Calm down.”
“Someday, you’ll mutter my name for the last time, and I’ll truly be dead forever.”
“Mom, please—”
“Whereas you can have a legacy! You can build something that will outlast you, something that will make people’s short, hard lives a little bit easier.”
“It’s a gym, Mom, not a religious organization.”
“Don’t be smart. I know what it is.”
“I know you do.” I put a hand over her small fist. “And I appreciate the support.”
“It’s not only me that supports you, though. It’s all your nice friends on the board. They want to be part of something that matters, too.”
“They wouldn’t necessarily lose their jobs if I sold.”
“Might as well,” she said. “It wouldn’t be the same job for them without your leadership.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Do you know what Jimmy’s going to do if you walk away?”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you know what your best friend’s plan B is if you throw in the towel?”
“No,” I asked. “Do you?”
She folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. “Ask him,” she huffed. “Ask him what he’s going to do if you leave.”
“I can’t stay just because one person—”
“We’re not talking about one person, and you know it.”
I groaned. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation again.”
“There must be hundreds of people whose lives will be affected if you sell to this, this—” She shoved her palm towards my phone and then crossed her arms again. “And all because you’ve lost sight of the vision you had.”
“Mom, you really need to make an effort to not get so worked up.”
She slapped her hands flat on the table. “Think of your father!”
“That’s enough.” I stood up and pulled my hoodie on.
“He would never even consider abandoning his staff like this.”
“Just you then, huh?” I said, staring down at her. “And me?”
“Alex, please sit down. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Yes, you did,” I said, snatching my phone off the table. “But I have to get going anyway.”
“Honey—”
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t forget to lock up.”
F O U R T E E N
- Gemma -
My shoulders drooped with frustration as Mary walked out the gym doors, but by the time they swung shut, I was fuming.
Granted, I was no stranger to her difficult personality, but the least she could do was give me a reason why none of my formally submitted requests deserved comment.
“You all right?”
I jumped at the voice and looked over my shoulder.
Alex’s expression was full of concern and his arms were full of clean white hand towels.
“Yeah.” I unfisted my hands and ran one over my hair. “I’m fine.”
“Did Mary just leave early again?” he asked, lowering the pile onto the counter above the shelves where they belonged.
I nodded as he pulled a towel from the pile, folded it in half, and set it aside.
“On a Monday?” he asked, slipping another from the mass.
I shrugged.
“I don’t understand how she gets away with that.”
“Why wouldn’t she?” I asked, going over to help him. “It’s not like there’s a system in place for anyone to complain about it.”
Alex’s mouth twisted with disapproval.
“And she’s the boss.”
“She doesn’t act like it,” he grumbled, his eyes darting around to make sure no customers were in earshot.
“I wouldn’t mind if I at least thought she cared, ya know?”
His eyes found mine.
“That’s all anyone wants, to work for someone who gives a shit. Excuse my language.”
His brows knitted together as he added another folded towel to his stack. “What makes you think she doesn’t care?”
“Because I just tried to talk to her about three important issues, and she blew me off like I was a Jehovah’s Witness.”
“What issues?”
I waved the question away. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It obviously does to you,” he said, his level tone soothing my aggravation.
“Well, one of the issues wasn’
t really important on a gym-wide scale, but—”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” he said. “Lay it on me.”
I stared at him, the memory of his lips on mine making the hair on the back of my neck rise. “This conversation stays between us?”
“Of course.”
“I asked Mary for a raise.”
His eyebrows arched.
“Only a small one,” I said. “Nothing crazy. I just figured that after two years of closing and opening almost every day, I’ve proven that I deserve to earn more than…you, for example.”
His bottom lip protruded with a nod.
“No offense.”
“None taken,” he said. “I’ve seen how hard you work compared to everybody else, and I’ve only been here a week.”
“I wouldn’t mind so much except she told me I’d be due for one if I took on more responsibility.”
“When was that?”
“Nine months ago?” Granted, it was for selfish reasons that I wanted more hours then, but the gym still benefitted from the extra attention I lavished on it.
“Anyone would be frustrated by that,” he said. “What else did you discuss with her?”
“I feel weird venting to you about my boss when I’m supposed to be setting a positive example.”
“Seriously?”
I scrunched my face. “Is that ridiculous?”
“No,” he said, squatting to slide two stacks of towels onto the empty shelves under the counter. “But I’m not sure Mary deserves your defense. Nor have I witnessed anything that makes me believe she cares what I think of her.”
“True.” I folded in silence for a second before opening up further. Frankly, I knew it was wrong to vent to him, but it felt good to talk to somebody. “I’ve also been trying to sell her on letting me teach a class for beginners only, like the ones I do on YouTube.”
“What’s her problem with that?” he asked. “Surely there’s either a demand or there isn’t.”
“There is, though. I’m sure of it. New members would be so grateful if we helped them get momentum right away. That’s actually how I want to sell it,” I said, spreading my hands in front of me like I could see my idea in lights. “As a complimentary upgrade for accelerated results.”
“Go on.”
“Not only would it be a strategic way to safely introduce newbies to the equipment we have, but it would help foster a sense of community from their very first workout.”
