Page 16 of Isolated
Landen
Punctual.
I’d always considered myself to be the kind of person who showed up wherever I was going on time, especially during the work week. I never made it a point to arrive substantially early anywhere without good reason. And arriving late simply wasn’t something I preferred to do.
So, like always, I’d been punctual today when I left my house this morning to come to the gym. And normally, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but that generally meant that everything was as it always was.
Unfortunately, things weren’t as I expected them to be when I arrived here.
Unlike me, Iris was always early. I couldn’t remember a single time when I’d arrived here before her.
That changed today. It was the first time it had ever happened, and it gave me reason for pause.
For a moment, I had to think about what day it was. Iris didn’t come to the gym on Wednesdays, so I thought I’d gotten my days all mixed up when I didn’t see her here.
But I confirmed that it was Tuesday, and it left me feeling alarmed. That feeling was likely amplified since this was all happening following our workout session yesterday morning.
I’d been meeting Iris here for quite some time now, easily more than a year, and not once had I ever left and not been able to stop thinking about her. Sure, I’d occasionally thought about her. It would have been impossible to pretend she didn’t exist.
Iris was undeniably beautiful, with that long, thick auburn hair, bright green eyes, and unbelievable curves in all the right places. Beyond the physical beauty, she had such a sunny disposition. She was the kind of woman who could make anyone smile, who’d lift anyone’s spirits. She’d done it for me on many occasions without even trying or knowing she was doing it.
Iris had been on my mind ever since I left the gym yesterday morning. I wasn’t quite sure the reason for it, though. Was it the brief conversation I’d had with my mom before I went to the wedding? Was it seeing all my friends with their significant others while I was there and wanting to find that same happiness for myself? It was possible that the feeling that had washed over me during the ceremony still lingered in my bones.
Or perhaps it was what Iris herself had said to me roughly twenty-four hours ago.
The next time you need a date to a wedding, I’m your girl.
From the moment I heard those words, all I could think about was that I didn’t just want this woman as mygirl for a wedding. My mind was assaulted by dozens of questions and thoughts and possibilities of what my life could be like if I had her in it outside of this gym.
I’d never given myself permission to even consider that before now.
Of course, it wasn’t because I hadn’t wanted to ask her out on a date. I did. There had been several instances for over more than a year when I’d needed to fight the overwhelming urge to ask her for precisely that.
But I didn’t want to ruin it.
I hadn’t wanted to be the guy who couldn’t control himself when he saw a beautiful woman in the gym. All I could think was that if I succumbed to those primal instincts, I’d risk destroying everything about what we had now. Not only did I not want Iris to think she couldn’t just go to the gym to exercise and not be hit on, but I didn’t want to make things awkward between us, either.
So, I’d sucked it up, told myself it’d never happen, and tried to pretend that there wasn’t anything she did that I liked.
But I’d been lying to myself.
Iris had been the one bright spot in my day. No matter what case I might have been working on, no matter how awful things got, I knew that it would only take one look at her or a single conversation with her, and all the stress would fade away. That was the kind of power Iris had, and I often wondered if she even realized just how brilliant she was.
And now that she’d said those words—the next time you need a date to a wedding, I’m your girl—I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities. What if that had been herway of letting me know that she was interested in more than just our friendly relationship at the gym? It was so difficult to know for sure, especially when Iris was such a bubbly woman. She really could have just been offering to join me simply as a friend. And with the way the blood rushed in my veins whenever she was around, I thought that might be the worst-case scenario.
I’d have to keep this thing between us confined to just the gym. Any attempt to go outside that, as a friend or otherwise, could end in disaster. And I liked what I already had with her too much to risk losing it.
Just as I was about to give up any hope of her showing up today, a movement in the mirror caught my eye. From where I’d been standing, there was a clear line of sight to the front entrance, and it was Iris who had stepped inside.
One look was all it took for the tension to slowly unravel. But the longer I kept my eyes on her, the faster the worry I’d felt about her whereabouts turned to concern for her physical well-being. Iris was moving cautiously, and though there was still quite a distance between us, I could have sworn it seemed as though she winced with every step she took.
Her eyes met mine, and a weak, helpless smile came my way. Without hesitating, I stepped in her direction and gobbled up the remaining distance between us. There was no concern about anyone taking over the equipment I intended to work on at this hour. Iris and I were two of just a handful of guests at the gym this early in the morning.
“Are you okay?” The words spilled out of me before I could manage to even greet her properly.
She sighed. “I think my luck has turned.”
“What?”
