Fireline

by Annabel Allan

  ‘What about John?’ he asked.

  I shook my head. ‘He never hit me. I don’t think he ever made fun of me, either... well, once, he made me cry on my birthday. Other than that, he’s pretty much left me alone. We used to hang out more like friends than siblings, used to laugh a lot... until he met his wife, Jennifer.’

  ‘You don’t like your brothers’ wives,’ he said.

  ‘Nope. I absolutely hate Liz. Jennifer, I can take or leave. I make nice, but I’m not particularly fond of her.’

  ‘So, this barbeque should be interesting,’ he said.

  ‘Oh, totally,’ I said, rolling my eyes.

  ‘I’m going to order Chinese. Does that sound good?’ he asked.

  I nodded, readying to stand. ‘Yeah. I should get changed.’

  ‘No,’ he said, putting his hand out, stopping me. ‘Keep it on.’

  I smirked. ‘All right.’

  I watched as he left the room, laying back on the bed again. I heard a buzzing, looking to the bedside table and seeing my phone lighting up. I read the text message – from Michelle!

  Cheap night at the movies tomorrow night... wanna go?

  I smiled, quickly typing back, Hell yeah!

  I thought about how long it had been since Michelle was able to do cheap night at the movies. She had rented a car for about a week or so until the insurance company paid out for her new car, which I had yet to see. I was more excited to see my friend, but a little apprehensive since I knew I would need to get in the car.

  You really need to get over this whole car anxiety thing, I thought to myself.

  I sighed.

  Chapter Five

  I put on my Converse, tying up the laces. Quinn stood in front of the mirror above the dresser, fixing his black tie.

  ‘Gym today?’ he asked.

  ‘Yup,’ I said. ‘And the movies tonight with Michelle.’

  ‘Good, I need to work late,’ he said. ‘You’re still coming by for lunch?’

  I nodded, grabbing my gym bag. ‘Yup. I’m saving my shower for when I get home.’

  ‘And that guy, Joe, he won’t be there?’ he asked, looking over my gym outfit, which consisted of black capri yoga pants and an over-sized tank top.

  I frowned. ‘No Joe. We haven’t really seen him.’

  ‘But you have seen him,’ he said.

  ‘I think once, maybe twice. I didn’t talk to him,’ I said. ‘It was a wave and continue on your way type of thing.’

  ‘Good,’ he said.

  ‘Hmm,’ I said, unimpressed. ‘Anyway, Dani will be here by nine. You leaving now?’

  He nodded again. ‘Yeah, just need my suit jacket. I won’t be home until around nine.’

  ‘Same,’ I said, ‘Michelle’s coming to get me around six thirty.’

  ‘All right, I’ll see you at lunch,’ he said, kissing me lightly.

  ‘OK,’ I said, breathing him in for a moment before he grabbed his suit jacket from the closet and made his way out.

  I sighed, pouting a little, upset that I had to watch him leave. Was that how our days were going to be now? Was I going to just wait around all day? It looked like it.

  Well, you should be writing, dummy.

  I shook my head. I made sure I had everything in my gym bag, waiting in the lobby for Dani. She had slept through her alarm a few times, but thankfully today she was ready to go right on time.

  I slid into the front seat. ‘Hello.’

  ‘Hey,’ she said, a bit of sleep still in her voice, though she smiled, keeping her eyes on the road. ‘How has it been since your man’s been back?’

  ‘Good,’ I said. ‘He’s still not too keen on me going to the gym when Joe and other guys are there, but I think he’s slowly getting over it.’

  ‘We hardly see Joe,’ she said.

  ‘That’s what I said. But it doesn’t matter; he’s slowly getting over it. He didn’t make any comments about my outfit this morning.’

  ‘Hey, that’s improvement,’ she said. ‘I guess rehab changes your outlook a bit.’

  ‘Seems so,’ I said, pursing my lips as I took a deep breath, thankful that the queasiness in my stomach would go away once we reached the gym.

  When we arrived, I made sure I got my same locker as always, getting out my running shoes.

  ‘Will wants to get a kitten,’ she said, speaking of her boyfriend.

  ‘A kitten, big responsibility,’ I said. ‘What do you think?’

  ‘I get to play with it, of course I agreed,’ she said, grabbing her water bottle.

  ‘Kittens are always fun. Ulalume used to be fun, now she’s just lazy. Though these days she seems to like Quinn more than me,’ I said, leading the way out.

  ‘Probably because she didn’t see him for so long,’ she said, adjusting her glasses. ‘And he doesn’t particularly like cats. Cats always know; they zone in on those that don’t like them.’

  I laughed. ‘He said he missed her a little. I think he missed her a lot. I think he loves that fuzzy thing as much as I do.’

  ‘Ellipticals?’ she asked. ‘Or treadmill today?’

  ‘Ellipticals,’ I said.

  We found ones that were side by side, talking taking up most of my concentration as I went at a steady pace. I always found that time flew by when we were talking as opposed to the days when we were silent. I didn’t like those days but we all have them, don’t we?

  I laughed at a comment Dani made about a guy on the lower level, my eyes scanning until I saw a familiar tall figure. My eyes went wide, my heart speeding up. I crouched down, hoping the machine would shield me.

  ‘What is it?’ Dani asked.

  ‘You see that blond guy with the wavy hair?’ I asked.

  She looked, scanning around until she saw him. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘That’s my ex, Ryan,’ I said.

  ‘Uh-oh,’ she said.

  ‘What the hell is he doing here?’ I asked. ‘Jesus, how does he keep finding me?’

  ‘I don’t think he meant to find you,’ she said. ‘Probably found this gym was the closest to wherever he was.’

  ‘I thought he moved back with his parents,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘He wouldn’t be in Toronto if he was living with them again.’

  ‘I guess he found a place in the city?’

  ‘Ugh, I hope not,’ I said. I wanted to leave so badly. I didn’t know how to get out without him seeing me.

  ‘He doesn’t have your new number or know where you live now, right?’ Dani asked.

  I shook my head, trying to keep myself centered. ‘No. I changed my number. I don’t think he knows I’m living with Quinn, or if he figured I live with him he doesn’t know where. He can’t find me at the Trask Building, either, so I thought I had dodged him.’

  ‘We can go into one of the weight rooms,’ she said, slowing down until the machine stopped. ‘Come on. I’m sure he’ll be gone by the time we’re finished.’

  I nodded, slowing down as well until the machine stopped. At least I had gotten in my cardio. My heart rate went waaaay up.

  We hurried into one of the rooms. I had upgraded from eight and ten pound weights to ten and twelve. I was pleased with myself and could even see a little definition in my arms. I didn’t have the ripped back like Dani had, or the flatness of her stomach, but at least I wasn’t flabby.

  ‘So, remind me what happened with Ryan?’ she asked.

  ‘Ugh,’ I sighed. ‘We were best friends, then he told me he was in love with me –’

  ‘Right, then he went away and dumped you, then you got back together and then he dumped you again,’ she said.

  ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘So stupid. Quinn hates Ryan, if he finds out that he was here, he’s going to flip.’

  ‘Maybe we should find another gym,’ she said, ‘or pick different days. Maybe Ryan being here is just a one-time thing. How about we come earlier or later?’ she asked.

  I nodded. ‘Yeah, later works. Like, ten. That way I can head over to the Trask Building and see Q
uinn.’

  ‘See? Not so bad,’ she said, ‘we just need to avoid Ryan while he’s here.’

  ‘Yeah, big time,’ I said, grabbing my weights and readying to start.

  We did our exercises, adding in a few core workouts. I was dying by the end of it and so relieved when we prepared to put our weights back.

  Dani’s smile faded as she looked to me. ‘Jesus, your ex just walked in.’

  ‘What?’ I asked, my eyes widening.

  ‘Why don’t you head downstairs and get ready to leave?’ she said, ‘I’ll put this stuff away.’

  ‘OK... where is he?’ I asked.

  ‘He’s at the weights, looking for another twenty-five pound one,’ she said.

  I quickly grabbed my water bottle and towel, keeping my head down as I nearly ran out of the room, speeding towards the staircase and running down it.

  I got to the change room and to my locker, shakily doing the combination. I grabbed my bag and sat down on the bench, waiting for Dani, who arrived a few minutes later.

  ‘Did he see you?’ I asked.

  She nodded. ‘Probably. But he was more interested in those weights. They never put them back where they belong,’ she said. She walked to her locker, changing her own shoes and grabbing her bag and keys. ‘Ready?’

  I nodded. ‘So ready.’

  ‘He should still be up in the room,’ she said, ‘so I think we’ll be able to get out, no problem.’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said, following her out of the locker room, winding our way through until we got to the foyer and out. It was May, so a jacket was probably needed, but after the gym it was pretty glorious to feel the cool air.

  I was so happy when I got into the car, letting out a sigh of relief.

  ‘What do I tell Quinn?’ I asked.

  She put the keys into the ignition. ‘I guess being honest is the best way to go. Tell him you’ll go later or we’ll switch days. I think he’ll probably rather you see Joe than Ryan.’

  ‘Yeah, definitely,’ I said. ‘I just need to be a little stronger, a little more forceful. I am not changing gyms.’

  ‘You tell ’em!’ she said. ‘Though after what Ryan has done, how he’s stalked you and stuff, I wouldn’t be too keen on him if I was your boyfriend.’

  ‘Ha ha, we would make a hot couple,’ I said.

  ‘Oh, for sure,’ she said.

  I started to feel a little more at ease; Dani letting me off at the condo where I dropped off my bag, taking time to relax before the driver picked me up at twenty past eleven. I didn’t bother changing, knowing I was just going to get sweaty with Quinn... maybe. Depending on how my telling him about Ryan was going to go.

  I walked out of the elevator, my heart starting to pound in my ears. I smiled to George before making my way in to Jessy, who nodded and pressed the button on her phone, informing Quinn I was there.

  ‘Send her in,’ he said, his voice still like pure sex.

  Jessy smiled, signalling me to go in. I smiled back nervously.

  Quinn sat behind his desk in the middle of the room, the large windows behind him shining with the May day.

  ‘How was the gym?’ he asked.

  ‘Um... not good,’ I said, wincing.

  ‘Oh?’ he asked, surprised. ‘Why?’

  I sighed. ‘You’ll never guess who was there.’

  ‘Joe?’ he asked, unimpressed.

  ‘Worse,’ I said.

  His brow furrowed. ‘Who?’

  ‘Ryan,’ I said.

  He went silent. I was readying for the boom, but it never came. He just stared at me.

  ‘Quinn?’ I asked. ‘Are you OK?’

  He blinked a few times. ‘Ryan was at your gym?’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘I know you’ll want me to go to a different gym or use the one in the condo, or just not go at all because you think I look fine the way I am –’

  ‘Stephanie,’ he said.

  I stopped, frowning. ‘What?’

  He walked up to me, taking my hand. ‘I don’t like Ryan.’

  I laughed a little. ‘You’re telling me that?’

  He took a moment. ‘I would consider telling you those things, but after the whole Joe situation I can see it won’t matter what I say and, even then, it would be wrong of me.’

  ‘I don’t want to see Ryan,’ I said.

  ‘But you wanted to see Joe?’

  I frowned. ‘No. He was just there. Ryan... I don’t want to see him. Ever. But I don’t want to give up going to the gym. Dani suggested going at a different time. So, we’ll go later, and that way I can come straight here afterwards.’

  He nodded slowly. ‘OK.’

  ‘OK?’ I asked. ‘That was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.’

  ‘I don’t want to fight,’ he said. ‘Things are going pretty good today.’

  ‘Oh?’ I asked. ‘Tell me.’

  ‘Mister Brody is ready to sign the contract,’ he said. ‘Donald is going to be extremely disappointed.’

  I smiled brightly. ‘He said he’s going to sign it?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, but he said he was ready to look this new draft over.’

  My smile faded a little. ‘But he could still hear Donald’s proposal and not sign.’

  ‘He could, but I think he’s going to like this new contract. I think his son will like it even more,’ he said. ‘I’ve agreed to keep the company as is, just be a partner.’

  ‘Less money, though,’ I said.

  He nodded. ‘I know. But Donald would have made that proposal and I would have lost it. I should have an answer from Mister Brody by the time he holds his dinner party next weekend.’

  I smiled. ‘That’s great. I’m sure he’ll sign it, especially with Daniel being appeased.’

  ‘Yeah, hopefully,’ he said. ‘I see you didn’t change, so I’m guessing you’re prepared to eat lunch here.’

  ‘Wait, we’re going to actually eat?’ I asked.

  He nodded. ‘I have a meeting after lunch; I don’t want to be too tired.’

  ‘Bummer,’ I said, frowning.

  ‘There’s always tonight,’ he said. ‘Then I can have you all night.’

  ‘Yeah, that sounds a lot better than a quickie. I mean, I like our quickies, but having a bed to collapse in afterwards and cuddle sounds better.’

  ‘Of course it does,’ he said, pointing to the executive meeting room. ‘We can eat in here.’

  He went ahead of me, the food already set out. I followed, sitting down to his right and pulling some of the catered food towards me. Veggies and chicken, my usual.

  ‘Anything else happen at the gym?’ he asked, not touching his food.

  ‘Nope, just saw Ryan, that’s all,’ I said, taking a forkful of veggies.

  ‘You think he lives downtown?’ he asked, sitting back in the seat.

  I shrugged, ripping into the grilled chicken. ‘Maybe. I don’t know what he’d be doing, maybe going to school? I don’t know; the last I heard he worked at a Canadian Tire. Again, I could be wrong. A lot happens in a year. Look where I am, and all this has happened only in the last five months.’

  He nodded slowly. ‘True.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter what he’s up to, just that he stays away from me. The gym is technically public domain, so he can go there, just not talk to me.’

  ‘And if he does?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m going to leave,’ I said sadly. ‘I’ll go to one of the other gyms in the city.’

  He nodded once again. ‘Yeah.’

  I looked to him. ‘I know you hate the subject, but I had to tell you. Would you rather I had hidden it from you?’

  ‘Of course not,’ he said.

  ‘I definitely didn’t want this type of stress when you just got back,’ I said, pushing my food away. ‘I wanted things to be normal; a little bit of normal, not more Ryan drama.’

  ‘I guess he’ll always be part of your life,’ he said.

  ‘No,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘He’s not in my
life, nor will he ever be. Come on, Quinn. You really think I would let him back in?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ he said honestly. ‘I sometimes wonder if you’re happy with me.’

  ‘Where is this coming from?’ I asked. ‘I thought we were happy because of Mister Brody?’

  ‘I am, but it doesn’t change the fact I think about these things. You said I had to be more open with you, tell you what I feel?’

  I nodded. ‘I did. I do. Why wouldn’t I be happy with you? I am. Why would I be with you if I wasn’t happy?’

  ‘Love makes you do foolish things.’

  I frowned, getting up from my seat and sitting on his lap.

  ‘The only foolish thing right now is you,’ I said, kissing his forehead.

  ‘Hmm,’ he said, rubbing my thigh. ‘I suppose.’

  ‘No supposing,’ I said, lifting his chin and looking into his eyes. ‘You are being foolish, Mister Quinlan.’

  ‘And what does that make you, Miss Fournier?’ he asked.

  ‘The smart one,’ I said with a smile. ‘I’m a lot more than just good looks.’

  ‘You certainly are,’ he said, our lips meeting in a fiery kiss. His hand stroked up my knee to my thigh, my legs parting a little and his hand easily finding my crotch.

  I smiled as I pulled away. ‘I thought we were waiting until tonight?’

  ‘What if I don’t want to wait?’ he asked throatily.

  ‘Then who am I to refuse you?’

  I ran out of the building, Michelle rolling down the window to her new car and poking her head through.

  ‘Hi!’

  I looked over the car, which was another Honda Fit, like her old one. It was even the same colour.

  ‘No upgrade?’ I asked, opening the door and sliding inside.

  ‘Nah,’ she said, ‘I liked what I had.’

  I looked to her, her caramel brown eyes on the road as she pulled out, the lights accentuating her aquiline nose.

  ‘You cut your hair again,’ I said, looking over her black locks, naturally thick and wavy, now layered shorter to frame her face.

  ‘Yeah, gets in the way,’ she said, still smiling, her berry lipstick a new, flattering shade. ‘So, how are things?’

  ‘Pretty good. Quinn is home, all is well,’ I said, feeling a bit of the queasiness in my stomach. I fought through it. ‘He heard about our movie night, so he’s working late.’