Page 64 of Love Me Not

“The plates are hot,” she said, “so please be careful. Would you like more wine?”

“I’m good, thanks.” She walked away and before I could lift my silverware, Trey moaned while making the first slice through what looked to be a perfectly cooked steak. “Would you and your steak like to be alone?” I asked.

“No, but remember what I said about that last meal? Add this.” The first bite went in and I feared he might melt right out of his chair. “I’m personally offended that no one suggested this place before now.”

“Glad I could give you a life changing experience.” Though I would normally lean on sarcasm, making him so happy caused my cold heart to grow a size. “Back to the conversation. What do you mean by the previous school didn’t want to pay?”

“They expected excellence but provided mediocre equipment and almost no support. The practice field was uneven.” He paused for a sip of his pop then wiped his hands. “You could barely get hot water in the locker room showers, and since we’re eating I won’t describe the smell of that locker room. Even the field where we played was neglected.”

Completely ignorant of what Carnegie offered, I asked, “Is it better here?”

“Much better, but there’s room for improvement. We’ll make the changes over time.” Stabbing a piece of asparagus, he popped it into his mouth and paused. Around the food, he said, “Even the vegetables are good.”

I considered mentioning that the school was strapped for cash and that he likely wouldn’t see his improvements any time soon, but then part of me wondered what would happen if he knew. If the school didn’t come through, would he move on again? To my unspeakable surprise, the thought of him leaving made my stomach tight.

Maybe it was indigestion. Either way, time to change the subject.

“So what do you do when you aren’t coaching?” Pointing to his shoulders with my fork, I added, “Other than work out, I presume.”

“Does running count as working out?”

Silly question. “Yes, it does.”

“Okay, then. Well…” His eyes cut to the distance as if the answer eluded him.

“There has to be something you do that doesn’t involve physical exertion.”

Trey set down the silverware to once again wipe his mouth. “I like movies, and I like to eat. That’s pretty much all I do sitting down, and also why I work out so much. So I can eat whatever I want.”

Again, why was this man spending time with me? My life goal was to move as little as possible, and I paid no attention to what I ate. Was my waistline what it was in my twenties? Nope. Would I eventually have to cut back when the metabolism slowed? I sure would. But running a mile just so I could have a piece of cake was never going to happen.

“Do you expect the person you date to work out with you?” I asked.

“Not necessarily,” he replied, piling both the steak and asparagus onto his fork. “But they’d have to be up for it, you know?”

I did not know, but I could already guarantee whatever it was, I was not up for it.

Chapter Sixteen

“Up for what?” I asked.

“Up for anything.”

Now he was talking crazy. “No one is jumping out of a plane for you, Collins.”

He laughed hard enough to have to hold off on taking a bite. “That’s not what I mean. It’s more of an attitude thing. You might have noticed I’m a pretty positive guy.”

I nodded. “Yes, you’re a giant puppy. I noticed.”

Ironically, he did the head tilt thing as he said, “I’m not a puppy.”

“If you could see yourself right now, you wouldn’t argue with me.” Wanting to reassure him, I said, “It isn’t a bad thing.”

His expression said he didn’t believe me. “Anyway, whoever I’m with doesn’t need to be in the gym or running marathons with me.”

“You run marathons?”

“Mostly 5Ks, but I’ve done a full one twice.”

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