A Mafia Thing

Chapter Six

    The athletes had their own private parking lot under the building. I was surprised to see a handful of cars parked around the lot. Nick assured me it’s normal. People workout here at all hours. After parking the car we walked to an elevator and headed into the gym.

    Inside the gym I spotted five guys— three were lifting weights, one was stretching, and the last was on the rowing machine. They all greeted Nick when they noticed him. I recognized the three using the weights. Each of them had tried to get my number a few times throughout the year.

    Their eyes each got wide when they noticed me. I saw the confused looks they shot Nick. He seemed unfazed though. He simply let out an amused chuckle before placing our gym bags on a bench.

    “Hey Nick, how’s it going man?” One of the guys that had been standing next to the bench press jogged over to us. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, his sculpted body on show for everyone. Nick and him exchanged a fist bump and pleasantries. “I’m Scott.” He offered me his hand. I shook it, taking notice how his bicep bulged when our hands met.

    “I'm Sam.” He gave me a lopsided grin that made him look carefree. His shaggy brown hair curled just above his brown eyes. He was attractive— I couldn’t argue with that. His bare chest was broad, his abs looked like a washboard. I knew he was flexing, trying to impress me. A soft chuckle slipped through my lips.

    Guys like Scott were all the same. He thought he was Gods gift to earth. The epitome of attractiveness. He was cocky, and for good reason. I wasn’t impressed. Other girls, maybe, but not me. He couldn’t compare to Leon— no one could.

    “You’re not normally here this late.” Scott was talking to Nick but his eyes kept skirting back to me. They may have been friends, but he wasn’t interested in talking to Nick, he just didn’t know how to only talk to me without it being forced.

    “Yeah but Sam texted me that she wanted to workout so, here we are.” Nick’s hand did a sweeping gesture in front of him. He didn’t sound interested in the conversation with Scott either but I knew what they were doing. They were having a small pissing contest. That’s why Nick mentioned me texting— letting everyone know he had my number. It was the same reason why Scott kept his muscles flexed.

    I snorted. Boys are stupid.

    They both turned to face me, but I didn’t care. They could continue their conversation without me. I moved over to a mat on the floor and started stretching. After ten minutes of stretching my muscles felt warm and loose. I slipped my earbuds in, pressed play on a playlist on my phone and climbed onto the stair master. The sound of the bass drowned out the sounds of the other guys around me.

    Both Nick and Scott jumped on the stair master machines next to me, they set the resistance to match mine. In a way it was kind of cute, they were going to try to outdo me. Keyword being try. I smiled at both of them, for some reason this felt nice. I didn’t feel lonely or below them. I knew I was going to kick both of their asses and for some reason that feeling warmed me.

    After the first twenty five flights of stairs I began to feel the familiar burn in my legs. It wasn’t overwhelming, not yet. Just enough to make me focus on it slightly more than I had been. It was pulling me away from my thoughts, little by little. By fifty flights it was more demanding. I couldn’t focus on the guys around me anymore. Thoughts of Leon still danced in my head but they were fleeting.

    One hundred flights done. Nick had gotten off his machine, Scott was still going. I noticed his heavy breathing. How his chest heaved in and out with each step. The burning in my legs had now spread to my lungs. They were slowly lighting on fire. This was what I needed.

    I don’t know when it happened but one minute I was at one hundred flights, the next Nick was grabbing my elbow, trying to get my attention.

    “What?” I pulled my earbud out. He had been trying to talk to me but I couldn’t hear him. Hell, I could barely hear him even without the music. My uneven breathing sounded like loud panting and my heart was slamming against my chest.

    “Almost done? I’m exhausted. We’ve been here for hours.” Nick had bags under his eyes, his hair was slightly wet as if he’d showered awhile ago. Wait did he say hours?

    I glanced around the gym, only Scott remained out of the other guys. He was sitting on a yoga ball, rolling back and forth. “Uh, yeah, sorry about that.” I looked down at my machine— almost four hundred flights of stairs. The mileage said I had done almost twenty miles.

    As I stepped off the machine my legs instantly turned to jelly. I knew I was about to hit the ground but Nick’s strong arms caught me before I collapsed. He eased me down to the ground gently.

    “Holy s**t, are you okay?” Nick knelt down beside me, his amber eyes had grown darker, the concern evident. He ran a hand over his short black hair.

    “I’m good, just over did it.” I smiled up at him sweetly. If I were anyone else I probably would have felt a connection right now. The way his hand rested gently on my shoulder, the way his strong hold had felt moments ago— girls go nuts for that crap.

    “How do you do that?” Scott asked as he walked over to us. He was wearing athletic pants and a T-shirt now. The pants were hanging low on his hips, leaving a slight gap between them and his shirt. Even fully clothed I could see how fit he was.

    “What?”

    “Nick said you already worked out for a few hours earlier today. Now you just did another insane workout like it was nothing. Be honest, if Nick hadn’t interrupted you, would you have stopped?”

    “No.” There was no hesitation with my answer. I had gone numb awhile ago. The burning feeling had disappeared and I had reached a place where everything had drifted away. That was always my goal when I pushed myself like this. I knew it was dangerous to do that. To go so long that I couldn’t feel the pain in my body that should’ve been there. It wasn’t healthy or natural to do that. I knew one day I’d go too long, push too hard— I’d end up with serious injuries. It never mattered though. Those moments— those hours— where I couldn’t feel a damn thing were what saved me.

    “You’re wild, Sam.” Scott was chuckling now. “I can’t believe you’ve never been recruited for the track or cross country team.” I had been during my first two years at this university but I rejected every offer. Being part of a team didn’t sit well with me.

    I simply shrugged in response. I looked up at Nick who was still kneeling beside me. The concern from before hadn’t left his face. My eyes caught a clock behind him and I cursed. It was after four in the morning. “I’m so sorry, Nick.” My eyebrows furrowed together.

    “For what?” The concern vanished, replaced by confusion.

    “You said you had to train early today and I just kept you out the entire night.”

    “No worries.” He raked his hand over his hair again. It was cut into a crew cut, not leaving enough for him to grab onto. “Honestly I fell asleep while you were still going. Then I texted the trainer that I was still here so he agreed to meet me this afternoon instead.”

    I blinked up at him, trying to process what he’d just said. He was tired enough that he fell asleep here? He could have just left, or told me it was time to go hours ago. Why hadn’t he? I wasn’t his girlfriend, we barely even knew each other. He was being kind and considerate toward me without having a real reason to.

    “You’re lucky you’re a big shot, Nick. Anyone else would have still needed to show up to their morning session.” Scott grabbed a gym bag from the bench, throwing it over his shoulder. He walked toward the exit, calling back over his shoulder, “see you guys later.” And with that he was gone.

    “A big shot, huh?” I arched my eyebrow at him.

    He tilted his head back and barked out a carefree laugh. “Something like that. Are you able to walk?”

    Embarrassment washed over me. My legs were still numb, I knew I couldn’t stand, let alone walk. I shook my head, unable to speak. I must look like an i***t right now.

    “Will you be alright here for a few minutes by yourself? I can put our bags in the car and pull it around, then come get you.”

    “Are you sure? I’m sorry, Nick. I’m a mess.” I laughed quietly, gesturing my hand down my body. I really was a mess. A thick layer of sweat was coating my entire body, I could feel it starting to dry, leaving my skin feeling sticky and disgusting.

    “Seriously, no worries. I’ll be right back.” He stood quickly, grabbing our bags from the bench before jogging off in the direction we had entered.

    I grabbed the bottom of my shirt to wipe as much sweat off my face and neck as possible. I was thankful tomorrow— technically today— was Saturday so I wouldn’t have to leave my apartment. I knew for a fact I’d be recovering in bed all weekend.

    Nick came back in. He was now wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants instead of his muscle shirt and shorts. He scooped me up off the floor and carried me to his car. One of his arms was under my thighs, the other around my back, he held me securely to his chest. On a normal day I would have compared him to Leon in my head, but something had shifted. There was no comparison, right now my mind was solely on Nick and for the first time in a long time the feeling of loneliness lessened a bit.

    After driving me to my apartment, he even carried me inside. After gently laying me down in bed and placing my bag on the floor he locked my apartment door and left. For the first time in a long time I fell asleep within minutes of touching my pillow. Between opening up to Brooke, and finding comfort in Nick, I felt a little more complete than I had in a long time.