Page 44 of Mending Me

I read her text and tucked my phone back into my pocket. I then cleared my rack, cleaned it off, and walked towards where she was sitting. She watched me from her bench, her hair pulled up into a messy bun and her over-ear headphones slightly removed, and gave me a perplexed expression. Once I reached her, I leaned over the bench, placed both my hands between where her legs were straddling it, and gave her a kiss.

“Not as pretty as you, blondie. No one is as pretty as my girl.” Her lips pulled back into a tight smirk and her cheeks flushed. I cocked my head to the side and pressed my lips to her cheek and she brought a hand to my jawline as I did. I was never one for public displays of affection before, but with her, I would do anything. Hell, I wanted people to know she was mine and that I was hers.

“Good answer. Wanna spot me?” As she stood from the bench, her breasts, which were well supported by her sports bra, brushed against my chest. The skin-tight, long-sleeve workout top and leggings she was wearing had been driving me crazy all morning, and now that I was close enough, I could smell hersignature scent—honey and vanilla. I had to fight to not give myself away in my gym shorts.

She walked behind the rack and dipped under it so that the bar was across the back of her shoulders. As I walked to stand behind her, I counted the plates she had on both sides of her rack that she was about to squat.

“Holy shit, you know how much you’re squatting right now, right?”

She looped her hands around the bar and pressed it up so it was resting fully on her shoulders.

“195, it’s a new PR,” she grunted as she squatted down and pressed back up. I followed her motions one for one in order to catch her if she fell out of it. Each time she made it back up, she pushed a breath out through pursed lips. I kept my arms hovering under her elbows so she knew I was there but never had to help her up.

“Come on, Bailey, one more, you got this,” I encouraged as she stood in front of me, hovering with the bar across her shoulders. Her eyes were locked forward and I knew she was trying to hype herself up to get in one more rep. “You’re so strong, hermosa?1, one more, you can do it. I’m right here to catch you if you need me.” I kept my arms under her and took a step closer to her so she could feel me behind her. She shook her head and pushed out another forced breath before sinking down into a squat and rising to her feet before clicking the bar back into its holding spot. She ducked under the bar and turned to look at me before flexing. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at her, she looked too damn cute.

“Nicely done, blondie.”

“Thank you, thank you, I have anexcellentspotter.” She winked at me before sitting down on the bench.

“You mind if I share with you?” I flicked my thumb towards the bar and started to add some plates when she nodded her head.

“It’s Wednesday, right?”

“Yesterday was Tuesday which means today is Wednesday, yes.” My voice was playful but she stuck her tongue out at me anyway.

“That means you have D and D tonight with the guys?”

“Yeah, why?” I ducked my head under the bar and started to squat. She sat on the bench and watched me stand and sink back down. There were a few times I caught her licking her lips as her eyes followed my movements. After finishing my set, I racked my weights and stepped out from under the bar.

“Can I come?” Her voice was full of hope and her eyes gleamed at me.

“Uhhh…” I had to think. This was something the boys and I hadn’t discussed before, bringing a girl to campaign night. It was never really an issue when we were younger since none of us had girlfriends. The guys wouldn’t care if I brought her, would they? “Sure, yeah if you want to come you can. It’s probably going to be really boring. It’s not really a game you can join in on.”

“That’s okay!” Excitement teemed in her voice. “I’ll bring my book and read if I get bored. I would love to hangout with your friends and just watch you play. Plus, I miss you.” She gave me a sheepish grin and took a step closer to me. I couldn’t control my hands as they found her waist and pulled her in. I pressed another kiss to her cheek before spotting her through her next set.

Bailey was coming to campaign night and I could only hope that my friends wouldn’t want to kill me for bringing her.

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26

HANK

Ipicked her up from her place half an hour before I was expected at campaign night. She insisted that I wait for her outside, so I stood next to my bike and waited for her to come down. As she exited her building, she came out wearing tight black leggings and a baggy T-shirt. The closer she got, the more I realized the shirt was mine. She had worn the ARMY T-shirt home after staying at my house last weekend and was wearing it now underneath a cream sweater. Her hair was curled and fell loosely around her shoulders and once she was close enough, I caught a glance of the smile that always made my day brighter.

“Hey there, handsome, thanks for picking me up,” she sang, leaning in and kissing me on the cheek.

“What happened to ‘soldier’?” I appreciated that she called me handsome, but I much prefer her usual name for me.

“You don’t like ‘handsome’?” She cocked her hip out and placed a hand on it. Her eyebrows were pulled together and she gave me a half smile.

“I like ‘soldier’...” I pretended to be sad and dropped my head down which caused her to laugh and throw her arms around my neck.

“Oh my lord, soldier it is!”

I smiled at her, unable to hold it in because the Southern twang in her voice as she said ‘lord’ made my heart melt. I handed her the second helmet and buckled it for her under her chin. Before moving away from her, I reached through the helmet and tapped her nose with my index finger. I then reached into the saddlebag on the back of my bike and pulled out the new jacket I bought after the first time she rode with me. I had to make a guess on the size but as she slid it on, I knew I had guessed right. She smiled at me from under her visor and climbed on behind me once I had sat down. It didn’t take us long to get to Kolbi’s since he lived downtown like she did.

I had texted him earlier in the day to make sure it was alright that I brought her along with me. Mostly because it was his house we met at and also because I knew I was going to need backup with the others when I showed up with a girl. He didn’t give me shit for wanting to bring her and told me he was excited to see her again. I always loved Kolbi for his unwavering support.

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