Page 14 of It's All Sun and Games

‘Looks too much like hard work,’ Priya says quietly. ‘Surely it’s just an excuse to quite literally flex your muscles?’

‘I don’t suppose I can think of a better place to do it,’ I point out. ‘It would be pretty weird if he was doing it in the queue at Starbucks, or while he was at the dentist.’

‘I can see him now, delivering a eulogy at the front of a church, kissing his bicep,’ she jokes.

I snort.

‘I’m just saying, I’m not impressed by it,’ she explains. ‘And I can’t imagine who would be, watching someone struggle to lift something twice their size.’

Right on cue, I notice James and Liz up ahead. He’s lifting a dumbbell – not quite as heavy as the one we just saw, but enough to make him break a sweat. All of this might not impress Priya much, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t make the butterflies in my stomach go nuts as I watch James, noticing the way his muscles flex and ripple with each movement.

‘Right, let’s show our faces,’ I say to Priya as we approach them.

‘Okay, cool, just make sure you’ve finished drooling before we get there,’ she teases.

I try to shake it off, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment as I hastily (and probably over-theatrically) avert my eyes.

Neither of them notice us. James is too busy lifting weights and the only waiting Liz is doing is looming over him, watching his every move.

Priya and I exchange glances, wondering if and when they will notice us.

‘Hey, guys,’ Priya says, interrupting… whatever this is.

Liz’s attention snaps away from James (something you can tell she isn’t happy about) as she turns to us, her surprise evident.

‘What on earth are you two doing here?’ she asks, sounding both genuinely shocked and incredibly suspicious.

‘Well, what do you think we’re doing, silly?’ Priya replies. ‘We’re here to work out, obviously.’

Sometimes I wonder what I would do without Priya around. It’s nice, having someone on my side, feeling like they always have my back. Especially when it comes to Liz, and James, when I’m desperately trying to keep things professional. Priya will say the things I’m too worried to say and she will often call out when she thinks Liz is taking things too far – something that, if I did, would probably only egg Liz on.

‘You two, though?’ Liz claps back. ‘I didn’t realise you guys even knew this place existed.’

‘I knew you cycled, Priya, but I didn’t realise you were into fitness too, Robin,’ James says, directing his attention towards me.

Funnily enough, the only fitness I’m into is just how fit James is.

I swallow hard, trying not to let my nerves get the better of me, but the butterflies feel like they’re multiplying now.

‘Oh, yeah, I’ve been getting more into it lately,’ I lie.

Well, it’s not totally untrue, is it? I’ve been getting more into it lately if lately means the last thirty minutes.

James nods approvingly. Oh my God, am I impressing him? I desperately need to not fuck this up.

‘It’s fun when you’re first getting going, and you’re trying to work out what you’re into,’ he tells me with a smile, and I need to get my mind out of the gutter.

One of the things that I like about him – other than him being really cool, devastatingly handsome, and impossibly charming – is the fact that he really cares about the things he cares about. His commitment to going to the gym is unwavering. He takes good care of himself, because he enjoys it, and he is happy to help anyone else who wants to try to get into it. He doesn’t care if I’m athletic or not, he just thinks it’s great that I want to be (even though, yes, technically I am only pretending that I want to be).

‘Weights,’ I say – and that one really is a lie. I don’t like weights of any kind, no matter how you’re spelling it.

‘Really? You’re into lifting weights?’ James asks, his eyebrows rising in surprise – but thankfully not disbelief – as he looks me up and down.

I nod keenly – a little too enthusiastically, perhaps.

‘Yeah, I’ve been all over it lately,’ I reply, trying to sound convincing. ‘I’m still starting out but I’m lifting more and more each day. It’s just so… it’s great, isn’t it?’

Silky smooth, Robin.

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