Page 104 of Gym Bros
Not that I’ve tested the theory. I barely let the man breathe. I just—can’t. I’ve never really binged anything—not carbs or tequila or TV, but the way I’m gorging myself on this guy is bordering on obsessive.
We’re not sharing locations or anything, but if he offered, I totally would. He hasn’t offered.
“Wanna try something different?” I ask so I don’t have to think about where he is when he’s not with me.
“Such as?”
“Double plank?”
“Hm?” he asks with a frown.
“You do a plank, and I get on top of you and do a plank. Just reversed.”
He grins, and I like it. When he smiles at me, I feel like I’m doing something proactive with my life. It’s like I have a sense of purpose again. “Sure.”
“Don’t drop me,” I warn him.
He gives me a dismissive look. “Who are you talking to?”
“Someone who acts like a small child sometimes.”
“Don’t tempt me, then.”
I stand up. “Okay, well, do it.”
“What direction do you want me to go?” he asks.
“Um, parallel with the mirror. Let me set up a shot, though.”
“You sure you don’t want to go to New York for a few weeks and get your picture taken a couple thousand times?” he asks as I prop my phone up by the studio mirror to capture him in the frame.
“This is different.”
“How’s that?” he asks.
Because this is fun.“It’s exercise.”
“My dad wanted me to try talking you into going back to work when he set this up, you know.”
I freeze and stare at him. “He did?”
Sam nods, and I can’t read the expression on his face any more than I ever could. “Is he a good manager?” he asks.
“Um…yeah.”
“So…it’s not some issue with him you’re having that’s making you not want to work?”
I might be sick if he keeps asking questions like this. I shake my head.
“Do you like him? My dad?”
“Do you?” I ask instead of drinking that poison.
He shrugs. “We’ve had our ups and downs. He was never around much. Always traveling, and even when he was in town he worked a lot. I always suspected he had another family out there somewhere. Or at least—you know—another life he was living. With someone else.”
I keep my face blank, but at the same time, I realize that if he asks me outright, I’ll tell him the truth. I like Samuel a lot, but I’m not in too far gone territory—yet. At least I don’t think I am, although this conversation definitely has me feeling some extremely strong feelings. “Does he?” I ask.
“I did confront him about it once. There were a lot of pictures of him with this one model named Elizabeth who lived in London. And he was in Londona lot. I was pretty convinced it was her.”
