“No! I need these!” I rolled my eyes and leaned back over to my side and took a bite out of my sad, headless dinosaur sandwich. Marcus just smirked at me as he took a bite of his. “What are we watching?”
“Well, I was going to find something we might both like, but since you’re being so mean, chick flick it is!” He groaned and I flicked through the channels, finding a girly marathon to watch. “This will do.”
“I lose man points every time you’re around, you know that right?” I nodded my head and went back to eating my dinosaur sandwiches as the movie started.
About halfway through the movie, I looked over to see Marcus sound asleep, leaning against the arm of the couch. Typical. I got up and took our plates and empty water bottles to the kitchen. Since Marcus cooked, I’d clean. He made it easy for me. I just threw everything away and put away the meat, cheese, and bread. I didn’t want to impose much longer, because we both had early days tomorrow, but I hated leaving. I also didn’t want to wake him up because, as weird as it sounded, he actually looked comfortable. But I knew I should get him to go to his bed, otherwise he’d be sore in the morning.
I walked back over to where he was lying on the couch and turned off the T.V. before gently shaking his shoulder.
“Marcus, you need to go to bed. I’m getting ready to head out.” His eyes fluttered open and he gave me a sleepy smile. I could’ve melted.
“You’re not staying?” he asked and I swallowed hard. I’d like to think he wanted me to stay. Like, really wanted me to stay. But it was just a question. There was no hidden message there.
“No, it’s getting late and I still have some things to do before class tomorrow.” He nodded and woke up a little more, standing to give me a hug.
“All right, be careful, and text me when you make it home.” He squeezed me gently before letting go and I smiled up at him.
“I always do.” I walked back into the back bedroom and grabbed my bag before heading back where he was waiting on me by the door. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“I look forward to it.” He grinned and opened the door for me and I walked out and straight to my car. I didn’t need to look back to know he was still watching me. He always watched to make sure I made it to my car okay before shutting his door. I got in and locked my doors before starting it. I glanced at his door just before he closed it, catching his final wave before pulling out to head home.
the weekend was a fun one, as were all my weekends with Hannah. After spending a very long day at the amusement park on Saturday, we got some time to ourselves on Sunday. Sunday was the day I reserved to do my grocery shopping. If I were being honest, it was the day I reserved for Hannah to do my grocery shopping. I absolutely hated the grocery store. Hannah loved shopping—for anything. Typical girl, I suppose.
I hadn’t had to make her a list in I didn’t know how long. She just knew what to get, generally. Sometimes she went alone, usually when I had something I really needed to do, but yesterday, I tagged along. I had to stop her from filling my house up with junk food.
After spending the morning at the grocery store, we went back to my house and spent the day just hanging out. Hannah made us lunch, so I made us dinner. We lounged by the pool most of the day, while I tried to keep my staring to a minimum. It was hard not to when she looked that good in a bikini. I did keep myself under control, though.
When we cleaned up after the pool, we watched movies until late in the evening. It wasn't unusual for Hannah to spend the night when she'd stay late, but Mondays were busy for her, so she eventually went home.
I then went to bed kicking myself in the ass for letting myself feel the way I did about her. It was stupid and useless. I knew I should move on, but it was easier said than done. I made a vow to myself last night while I was lying in bed that I would try. No more finding something wrong with every girl who was interested in me. I needed to make an effort, or I'd be miserable for the rest of my life.
I dated. It wasn’t like I was a hermit. It just never went anywhere. It didn’t help much that I wouldn’t really confide in Hannah about my relationships when I should have been able to. But I didn’t really want to know about her sex life, so I couldn’t expect her to want to know about mine. She wasn’t stupid, though. I knew she knew I’d been with a few women. I was sure she didn’t know how often, considering I hadn’t been in an actual relationship in almost two years. I just didn’t talk to her about it. Chad was my go-to guy.
I walked into the gym, smiling at a few of the Monday regulars before rummaging through my gym bag for the keys to my office. I should’ve remembered to get them out ahead of time. I could only imagine how stupid I looked doing this every day. I finally found them and pulled them out, pushing my glasses back up the bridge of my nose as I unlocked the door. I smiled, stepping inside. Something about being at work calmed me. How many people in the world could say that?
I walked around my desk and took a seat, firing up my computer at the same time. I really needed a planner. I couldn’t remember what clients I had or when unless I was sitting right in front of this thing. I could remember all the things I learned in college. I could remember football statistics. I could even remember my schedule from all four years of high school. But one thing I could never remember was names and numbers. It was like my brain was wired to where they just honestly flew in one ear and out the other. Hannah kept threatening to get me a planner. I thought it would just make me look even dorkier than usual.
I pulled up the calendar and took a look at today’s date. Mrs. Kelley was scheduled at noon, Shelly Fletcher at two, and Cory Anderson at four. Not too busy of a day for me so far, but there was still time left for people to call in for a session last minute. Which they always seemed to do. It was only eight o’clock; I still had four hours until my first client. I grabbed my pager and reached into my mini fridge for a bottle of water and headed out to the front desk to let them know I’d be working out and to page me if anyone called for me. I furrowed my brow when I reached the desk and no one was there. It was strange; Rachel and I worked at the same time every week. She was always there. I shrugged it off and headed toward the locker room to get a towel. If she saw my door open, she’d know to page me.
I grabbed a towel from the cabinet and draped it over my shoulder before getting into my locker for my iPod. I strapped the armband to my bicep and turned on my iPod, starting my workout playlist before sliding it in the holder.
I was about ten songs or so into my workout, currently on the treadmill, when I felt someone tapping on my shoulder. I glanced over my shoulder, realizing I didn’t recognize the girl standing there, and turned back to the treadmill to turn it off. I pulled the earphones out of my ears and walked myself to a stop before turning back to the girl. I smiled and opened my mouth to ask if she needed anything, but she beat me to it.
“Are you the trainer?” I blinked at the urgency in her voice. Only then did I see the Preferred Fitness logo on her shirt.
“Do you work here?” I asked, and got an eye roll in return.
“Are you the trainer or not? Because I’ve had three people call for the trainer since eight thirty and the trainer isn’t in his office.” She sounded annoyed. I had to grin.
“Yes, I’m the trainer. I take it you’re new here?” I held out my hand to her to introduce myself. She was cute—long dark hair, big brown eyes, and tan skin. Okay, she was more than cute. She was pretty hot. Even if she did look completely annoyed with me right then. It was kind of sexy. “I’m Mark. I’m sorry. Rachel is usually here and she knows where to find me, so I didn’t leave a note. My bad.” She looked at my hand for a moment before shaking it.
“I’m Amy.” She let out a breath. “I’m sorry I’m so frantic, but today is my first day and I think I’ve already pissed some people off because I couldn’t find you, or the masseuse for that matter. So, do you think you could…?” She trailed off and nodded toward the front desk, where I assumed she left someone on hold.
&nb
sp; “Oh, yeah, no problem.” I grabbed my water and my towel so I could wipe my face as I made my way past the front desk and toward my office. “Can you send them through?” I turned to make sure she heard me, seeing the nervous look on her face. “My extension is 502.” She mouthed a thank you and I couldn’t help but stare as she reached over the desk, instead of walking completely around, to tell whoever was on the phone that I’d be right with them. Okay, I admit it, I checked out her ass. I was a guy, it's what we did, and she had a very nice ass. Wasn't I just telling myself last night I needed to move on? I wasn't the kind of guy who had one-night stands, but that didn't mean I couldn't appreciate an attractive woman even if there was no hope for a relationship. I may not have been into one-night stands, but I’d never had a problem with casual sex between friends. But that was another story.
The sound of my phone ringing from my office got my attention enough to turn back around. I picked up the phone and took a seat, moving my mouse so the computer screen came back on.
“Hello, this is Mark.” I smiled even wider at the frantic voice on the other line.
“Marcus! I was afraid you weren’t there! Listen, I need to reschedule my session today. Could we make it this afternoon?” Mrs. Kelley asked me. Sweet, little Vivian Kelley. She was the only person besides Hannah and my parents that I allow to call me Marcus, and only because she was sixty-four years old and it was hard to politely tell her not to. It had grown on me by then. She also insisted on me calling her Viv, but if my boss were to hear that, he’d have my ass.
“Of course, Mrs. Kelley. I’m booked until six, though. Will that work for you? Or would you rather do eight?” I held the phone between my ear and my shoulder and started erasing her name from my twelve o’clock slot on the computer.
“Six would be perfect! I don’t think I could make it until ten. You’d have to carry me home!” I chuckled as I make the change to her session.
Mrs. Kelley was a regular old firecracker. She was up by five am every morning and did her housework before coming to see me. I’d been training her for going on six months, and I thought she might have been able to beat me in a marathon. She’d always been fit, but she’d wanted the extra help. Plus, I thought she wanted the company. Her husband passed away a year ago from cancer, and her kids and grandkids didn’t come to see her unless they wanted something. It wasn’t just her calling me Marcus that’d grown on me. I’d grown extremely fond of this woman.
“You know I would, Viv. I’ve got you down for six. Do you need anything else?”
“Actually, yes. Could you put me back through to the front desk? I think I was a little harsh to that girl and I’d like to apologize.” I smiled even wider now.
There was no wonder I was fond of her. She had no filter, that was for sure, but she hated the idea of hurting anyone’s feelings. She’d even been known to call me after a session to apologize if she came off bitchy. She said it, not me.
“Yes, ma’am, her name is Amy. Today is her first day, so go easy on her.”
“Oh, you! I’m not going to scare her off, don’t you worry. Talk to you later, darling.”
“Have a good afternoon, Mrs. Kelley.” I punched in the extension to the front desk before hanging up my phone. I leaned back and placed my hands on my head as I watched through my open door as Amy picked up the phone and flinched at the sound of Mrs. Kelley’s voice, obviously remembering her from before. It didn’t even take a whole minute before she was smiling into the phone. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, but I didn’t need to. Whether you knew how to take her or not, Mrs. Kelley had a way with people.
She hung up the phone and looked right at me. I snorted to myself and glanced down as quickly as I could, pretending to type something on the computer, hoping she didn’t think I was staring at her like a creep. A soft knock on my open door had me looking back up. Busted. Here she was, in my office.
“You didn’t have to have her call to apologize, but thank you.” She gave me a shy smile.
“I didn’t.” I smiled up at her from my desk, hoping I didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. “Trust me, you don’t tell Mrs. Kelley what to do. If she didn’t want to do it, she wouldn’t have.”
“Oh.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
She wasn't going for sexy, I'd bet, but she was nailing it. Not exactly an uncomfortable look, but almost like she wanted to say something but chose not to. I couldn’t help but give her a once over. I tried to be discreet, but I’m sure I failed.
She was wearing the navy blue work shirt and khaki shorts. Short shorts. They hugged her hips just beautifully. Damn, she had great legs. I looked back up to see her trying to hide a grin as she continued to bite her bottom lip. My cheeks may have gotten a little warmer. Busted again.
“Hey, it’s just your first day. You’ll get the swing of things. It’s really not too hard to get the hang of it.” She gave me a bigger smile—beautiful smile, might I add—which I gladly return. “Speaking of, where’s Rachel? I figured she’d be training you.” She shrugged.
“I don’t know. I applied for the receptionist position last week and they called and asked if I could be here today.” Last week? I didn’t even know we were hiring a new receptionist. “I heard some people talking that she got another job though. I don’t know if she’ll be back or not. I just know she’s not here today.” She was rambling. Now, that was cute.
“Hm. I have no idea. I don't always work the weekends, so I haven’t seen her since Friday. But she never mentioned leaving. Maybe she didn’t want anyone to know.” I shrugged this time.
I liked Rachel. We worked well together, stayed in sync with each other here, but I wouldn’t say we were close. I doubt she even thought to tell me she was planning on leaving.
“Maybe.” Amy said as she lightly tapped on the door. “Well, thanks, and again, I’m sorry for being frantic.” She smiled as she turned to leave, but I called her back.
“Oh, hey, just so you know, Devon is our only masseuse and she’s only scheduled Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, but she sometimes comes in other days. When she does, she’ll let you know. So, just inform everyone she’s not in today and you’ll be good.” I smiled and leaned back in my chair again.
“Thanks.” She grinned and turned to go back to the front desk. I turned my attention back to the computer just as she quickly popped her head back in my office. “By the way, you have a really great smile.” She didn’t give me a cheesy smile or act extremely shy as she walked casually back to the front desk. Sitting down, she answered the phone, not looking back my way at all. I blinked and couldn’t help but grin.
Somehow, I knew she meant that honestly. She wasn’t hitting on me in the least. Talk about a nice change to get a compliment with no strings attached.
i'd been working at the University Cafe for two years now while in school and I'd never really had a lot of attention. Not that I minded, usually. I'd always liked to keep to myself. Marcus and Erica were the exception to that. It was slow today, like it was on most Mondays when there were a lot of seminar classes that took up three to four hours of everyone's time.
I was sitting behind the counter, flipping through a magazine when I noticed him walking up out of the corner of my eye. I put my magazine down, looking up to smile at him as he approached. Standing, I turned to start making his coffee. Seeing as he got the same thing every single time he came, it was easy to remember.
He had approached the counter a few weeks ago to order a large black coffee. Plain and simple. Nothing significant to remember really, and yet, I couldn't stop thinking about him. We didn't even talk. I took his order and made his drink. That was it. But I was school girl crushing on this guy, hard. He came back almost every other day, religiously, and ordered the same thing. But still, we never really spoke.
Today, something changed. I turned to look at him as I made his coffee and a realization hit like a semi-truck.
It was the guy who plowed into me a few days ago.
“Wait. I think I'll try something different today.” I turned and raised my brow at him.
“Different from your usual black coffee? Look out, you're a risk taker.” He seemed amused at my attitude, but I wasn't sure why. I was contemplating spitting in his coffee as we spoke.
“Hey. Sometimes it's good to crave something out of the norm.” I got the feeling his words held a double meaning, but I kept my face neutral. He leaned onto the counter, still smiling at me for a moment before looking up at our menu. “What would you recommend?”
What would I recommend? I laughed without humor, turning to look at the board on the wall myself.
“Coffee.” I turned back around to him and gave him a forced smile. He raised a brow at me.
“Are you always so pleasant?” he asked in a very business-like tone. The nerve of this guy.
“No. I'm usually a lot more pleasant to be around. But you see,” I held up my scabbed hands, which were, thankfully, healing, for him to see, “it's hard to make coffee with injuries.” I sounded like a whiny baby, but I didn't care. I could have let everything go if I never ran into that guy again. But he ended up being the guy I'd been actually looking for around campus. I was angrier at myself than I was at him.
“I'm sorry, but,” he looked at my hands before I hastily put them down at my sides, “those don't look too bad, honestly.” I bit my lip to keep from screaming at him. He must have noticed I was on edge because his voice softened a little. Either because he felt sorry for me or he was scared because he thought I was unstable. I'd say a little of both. “What happened?”
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