Page 38 of Resistance Training
Aubrey looks aghast. “Did he delete them?”
“No! He said he didn’t.”
“So they’re just sitting there in a folder unread?” She smirks. “I bet he’s reading them tonight.”
“I don’t think so. He’s really stubborn.”
“Well, he will… Oh!” Her eyes widen. “Vivi!”
“What?!”
“If Brad never read your emails he probably thinks you had sex with Brad Turner!”
“Oh, shit. You’re right.” Poor Bradley. All this time, he probably just assumed I boned his nemesis just because I went to prom with him. “Oh no. No wonder! Oh, the poor guy! Should I text him and tell him right now?”
Aubrey smacks her lips together. “Um. Probably not the kind of thing you text your new personal trainer. What were you gonna say?BTW, I didn’t bone Other Brad. Have a good night!”
I mean, honestly, that is exactly what I would text him, and I hate that she knows that. “No, more like,FYI, in case you have been operating under the assumption that I had sex with Brad Turner just because I attended prom with him—I did not. See you on Wednesday.”
She wrinkles her nose. “This is probably a face-to-face conversation.”
“Yeah. You’re right. I should go to the gym tomorrow after work.”
“Or. Make him wait. Since he was such a jerk to you.”
“Oh, well, I like that even more. Thank you.”
“Vivi, can I just say—do you see yourself? You’re glowing. Not in a sex way. You’re just so much more, you know, alive than I’ve seen you in months. Years, even.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I feel that. I mean, regardless of what a dickhead he was being, it was…significant…seeing him again. Finding out he’s here. Just being with him. He walked me to my car after the session and?—”
“Wait a minute, hold up.” She picks up her phone, dismounts, and starts stretching. I should really join her in stretching, but I don’t. “He walked you to your car? Did you ask him to?”
“No, he offered.”
“Interesting.”
“Right?”
“Very significant. And adorable. Continue.”
“I mean, it’s not that significant for him. For the old him anyway. That’s just the kind of thing he’d always do. When we hung out he always insisted on driving or walking me home even though it was only a few blocks. He was still being a stubborn turd, but it felt…I don’t know. Even though I was walking down the sidewalk at night with a hot guy who was being kind of a jerk to me, it was the first time I’ve felt that thing here, you know? That I never had with Jeremy. It felt kind of romantic. I feel hopeful. Maybe I’ll be open to dating again soon. Even if it’s not with Brad.”
“Okay. Okay, I like it.” She holds her index finger up. “But if you don’t like the way he treats you, you do not have to stand for that.”
“What are you gonna do? Low-key hire a hitman?”
“I mean. I’d send him a strongly worded email first.”
I smile at that. She writes really good strongly worded emails. “I think it’ll be okay. I think it’s good for me to be around him, even if he is mad at me. He reminds me of who I was before I got so into dating apps and then tried so hard to prove that I could be in a relationship with a sociopath.”
“Yeah,” she says, glancing around to see if her fiancé is within earshot. “I mean. Jeremy isn’t actually a sociopath, but?—”
“Okay, I’m not at the point where I’m willing to hear anyone say he’s not a terrible person yet.”
“Got it. Yes. I support you returning to you. This is exactly what I wanted for you, Vivi. Not that I thought there was anything wrong with the dating-app phase.”
“Um. You literally said you’ve known fruit flies who have longer lifespans than my relationships.”
