Page 30 of And They Had a Great Fall

Kat walked in, having slipped on a T-shirt, and reached around him for a glass to fill with water. She took a drink. “Nice. I’m jealous. I’m becoming a blob. Too much wine.”

“Work out, then,” he said without emotion and took a drink of coffee. “It would be good for you.”

She looked at him for a beat and took another drink. She didn’t say anything. She was looking at him with a curious expression but did not engage. He studied her face. She looked amused, which pissed him off further. He wanted to ask her if she even noticed how much she’d hurt him. He couldn’t meet her eyes for more than a second. They stood in a momentary standoff as he stared into his coffee.

“What gym do you go to? Can I come?” she asked in cheery voice that made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. She was playing a game he couldn’t decipher.

“Private trainer, on set,” he said. “I can’t go to a normal gym.” He paused. “I figured you’d have to get to the office.”

“Not at 5:30 in the morning, and as long as I have my phone with me, I’ll be fine. But it’s up to you. I understand if you don’t want me there,” she said.

She was goading him; he was sure of it. Jake tried not to react, but his jaw tightened as he texted his trainer, Erik, to let him know he wouldn’t be alone.

His mood lightened as soon as the car drove onto the set. It was one of the only environments where he felt at peace. Where he really fit in the world. For a few weeks now, he’d met with Erik at a facility set up by the production. Jake had a few fight scenes and needed to look strong on camera. Or at least strong enough. He was naturally thin and often struggled to put on muscle, so he needed to work at it if he wanted to look like someone who could fight off demons from a multiverse.

Erik was not only an effective trainer but also discreet—no tweets or tell-all blogs about the celebrities he trained. Although Jake didn’t always like the constrictive bubble of a movie production, it did offer him protection that he was coming to understand he needed.

They entered the makeshift studio and Erik was set up and waiting for them. Although the studio wasn’t big, it was efficient, with a the right pieces of cardio equipment and extensive weights. Jake said a quick hello and introduced Kat.

Erik shook Kat’s hand. He motioned for Jake to warm up on the treadmill. “I’m going to chat with Kat a bit,” he said. “You know what you need, Jake. Get to work, my man.” He gave Jake a fist bump.

Jake watched Erik lead Kat over to the corner of the room. Kat was talking in a very animated fashion, and he could see Erik looking her up and down.Likely assessing her skill and fitness level, the rational side of his brain told him.Or more, the emotional side told him. They seemed to be talking a lot longer than necessary. He kept his eyes fixed on them in the mirror as he started to jog on the treadmill. Erik gave her a high five and a pat on the back and pointed over to the treadmill.Don’t think, he told himself as he started to jog faster.

He should let it go, but he knew he wouldn’t. Kat stepped up on the treadmill next to him. “He’s hot, huh?” he asked in a breathless voice as he ran. He knew he was being an asshole, but it felt good. His voice was tighter than he wanted it to be, and he let the anger of this morning flood back into his mind. He sounded as pissed as he felt.

Kat looked at him and furrowed her brow. “Yes. He’s totally my type. My age too,” she fired back, equally as tight. She cocked her head and gave him a smile that he could tell was meant to challenge him. He had no idea how they had gone from this morning to now, but the vibe was decidedly icy.

“Great,” he said.

“Great,” she returned. He had never seen her back down from a fight with him and this was no exception.

She turned on her treadmill, matched his speed, and then bumped it up just enough to exceed him. He could tell that shewas trying to piss him off.Good, he thought. He wanted to fight. He matched her speed, she bumped hers up, and he matched hers again. This continued, neither of them backing down until Erik came over to get them started.Thank God, Jake thought, as he slowed down his treadmill and tried not to puke. He wasn’t the best runner, probably because he enjoyed smoking too much. Kat looked unaffected as she tightened her ponytail. She shot him a look, cool and confident, and it was almost more than he could take.

Erik started Jake on some agility training for his upcoming fight scene. He had some of the choreography in front of him so he could work on muscles needed to master specific moves. Jake had done this workout before, so Erik left him to work through the sequence.

As Jake worked, he had full view of Erik showing Kat a circuit he’d set up for her. As he demoed each move, he had her try it, all the while touching every muscle she was working. She had him demo a few moves more than once, looking Jake’s way. They were flirting, and Jake was vibrating with jealousy and hurt. It didn’t help that Erik was taller and more muscular than him. He looked over at them again.Is he giving Kat a fucking degree in physiology?Jake fumed to himself. Finally, Erik left Kat’s side and came back over to check on Jake.

As he and Jake worked on the moves together, Erik lowered his voice and asked, “Your friend, Kat, how long is she in town?” he asked.

Jake shot him a look and said, “Not long, why?”

Erik hesitated. “She said you two were just friends, so I was going to ask if she was single before I made a fool of myself and offered to show her around.”

Jake winced hearing that she’d categorized them as just friends. Of course, it was irrational that she would say anything to his on-set trainer, of all people, about their relationship, butit stung all the same. Jake looked him straight in the eye with unwavering eye contact. “Don’t. Just don’t.” He wished it didn’t come out as strained and angry as it did, but he was never good at hiding emotion.

“Got it. Hey, sorry, I didn’t know.” Erik said lifting his hands in surrender. They went back to focusing on the training session.

When the session was over, Jake walked out with Kat, but they weren’t speaking. He didn’t dare break the silence.

Kat was vibrating with frustration as they walked. They’d promised. They’d promised to keep it light and never add expectations into their relationship. He was breaking that promise. She needed to cut him off this morning before it got too serious. She too felt a rush of endorphins when they were together, but she knew it was because the body naturally responds to touch—it was a scientific fact. She was leaving soon. No matter how she felt, she needed to be strong. Jake was the emotional one; she was the realistic one. Form and function. That’s what they were.

They walked back to his trailer, an unspoken tension between them. She wanted to ask him about the set, about his work. This was the first time she’d ever been on a movie set, but she wasn’t going to break the silence between them. He was being ridiculous, and she wasn’t going to indulge him.

When Jake opened the door, she finally spoke, but only to announce that she was getting in his shower first. She’d brought a bag with a change of clothes so she could go straight to the PathMobile Copenhagen office. She had a full afternoon and wouldn’t be hanging on set all day. She had things to do and wanted to remind him that she had a life outside of the world of Jake—a life she would return to in less than a week.

He gestured toward his shower as he sat down to take off his sneakers.

After a tough workout and a frustrating morning, the water felt delicious, and she indulged in it running down her body. She covered her face with her hands and wiped the water out of her eyes as if that was enough to eliminate the feelings fighting to the surface: feelings of longing when she was not with Jake and feelings of love and protection when she was. She told herself she could keep herself from falling in love with him. She could keep it light and fun. She could keep walls in place to protect her heart.

---