Page 17 of Isolated
“Do you remember all those good vibes that I mentioned had started on Friday with the promotion I received?”
I hadn’t forgotten a word of it. “Of course.”
“I think they’re gone now.”
My fingers itched to touch her, to reach for her hand and tug her close. Whatever was bothering her, I wanted nothing more than to be able to fix it, to make everything better for her. “What makes you say that? Did something bad happen?”
A look of such disappointment washed over her expression. “I didn’t wake up before my alarm went off this morning.”
I waited two or three beats, believing she was going to continue, but when nothing else came, I had to fight not to burst into a fit of laughter. “Okay. I mean, I noticed you’re here a little later than usual, but I’m not sure I understand how this is a problem or even an indication of your luck turning.”
She dropped her bag on the ground beside her. “I have never been this sore in my entire life. My legs are killing me. I’m not sure I know how I even got here today.”
Understanding dawned. “You got a good workout in yesterday.”
Iris nodded. “I guess so. And while I know I should be proud of myself, the fact that every single step I take hurts this badly makes it a bit difficult for me to do that.”
I offered a sympathetic smile while wishing I could have been the guy to wake up beside her this morning, so Icould massage the soreness away. “The more you move, the better it will feel.”
“What?”
“You’ve got too much lactic acid built up in your muscles from pushing yourself yesterday. Despite how much it hurts, you need to get the blood flowing with some light cardio, followed by some stretching. And you need to drink tons of water.”
Her brows shot up. “Cardio?”
“It’ll help.”
“I hate cardio.”
I chuckled. “Me, too. Would it help motivate you if I suffered through it with you?”
She blinked in surprise. “You’d do that for me?”
Shrugging, not wanting to make it seem like a big deal, I replied, “Yeah, why not? It’ll be good for my cardiovascular health.”
The reality was that I looked forward to each morning I had here with her, and at the thought of not being able to spend this hour or so with her, particularly when she took Wednesdays off, there was little I wouldn’t do.
Iris considered my offer, a hint of that breathtaking smile playing at her lips. “Well, maybe I should take you up on this, make you suffer right alongside me. It’s kind of your fault I’m even in this position.”
I could hear the teasing in her tone, but that didn’t stop me from attempting to defend myself anyway. “My fault? What did I do?”
“You kept pushing me to do just one more rep, one more set, one more round…”
Her voice trailed off, and that’s when the thing thathad been tugging at me since yesterday really started to embed itself inside me. Whenever we worked out together, I always tried to motivate Iris, to help her push herself beyond what she thought she could do. Not once had it ever been a problem.
But she’d increased the weight substantially yesterday, and when I pushed her, she hadn’t backed down. Was it purely determination and drive to get stronger, or was it something else? Iris could have easily refused to do those extra sets if she was feeling so sore. Had she pushed herself as a means to impress me? There was no question I’d done the same in the past.
I squinted at her. “You’re really blaming me? What happened to all that determination and good vibes you were talking about?”
Iris huffed. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
She was, much to my delight.
My chin jerked down with a nod of approval. “I’m proud of you for showing up for yourself.”
Something warm flashed in her eyes as she puffed up her chest with pride. “So, now that I’ve got to do some cardio to fix my legs, am I unable to do my normal Tuesday workout?”
“There’s that determination.” I gave her a pat on the shoulder, my hand lingering there as I continued. “I wouldn’t recommend doing anything that involves your legs beyond the cardio, but I see no reason why you can’t do your typical Tuesday routine.”
