A Dance of Life

10

I'm still thinking of how to apologize to Nathan for my weird behavior on Monday when he walks into the gym. He moves towards me, but doesn't say a word, instead, he squats to adjust his perfectly tied shoelaces. There are bags under his eyes like he hasn't slept in days.

"Hey," I say, trying to sound chirpy.

He replies with a dull, "Hi."

"How are you?" I ask as I plop down beside him.

"Fine," he answers, not even bothering to look at me.

Wow, he's really going to make me work for it.

I let out a dramatic sigh, but he ignores me and continues to fix his shoes. "I'm sorry, okay?" I tell him.

"For what?" He finally turns to me, and props his face on his hand.

I try and read his face, but I can't tell if he wants me to work harder, or he genuinely doesn't know what I'm talking about. "For the way I acted on Monday?"

He scrunches his eyebrows and shrugs, "Oh, that. It's okay."

"Wait, if that's not what's bothering you, then what's your problem?"

"Megan," he groans, "Megan is my problem. It's like my past has come back to haunt me."

"I'm confused, isn't she your friend."

"I told you she wasn't my friend, Annelise," he says, annoyed.

"Then would you like to explain who she is? She seemed pretty friendly... plus you were helping her shop..."

"That was because I couldn't get out of the situation," he sighs and pulls at his hair.

"Woah, okay chill. I don't understand anything you're saying, Nathan," I inform him.

"Triple-A!" Diana's voice shouts from across the room.

"I'll explain later," he tells me under his breath as we stand to greet Diana.

"D.R, I missed you!" I exclaim, giving her a big hug when she reaches us.

"How are you? Nathan said I couldn't see you in the hospital, that you needed space," she rushes out, breathing heavily.

I smile at her and tap her head, "Yeah, I just needed to take a breather, but I'm good now."

"Your performance was really good... before you fell, that is," she adds awkwardly, pushing my hand away.

"It's alright," I laugh, "At least I left an impression."

"You certainly did. What was wrong though? Dehydration, lack of energy?" She's looking at me with wide concerned eyes and I don't want to lie to her.

"How about you guys catch up later, Diana, I actually need to talk to Annelise," Nathan states, saving me from having to lie.

"Thank you," I exhale once she leaves, "I'm going to have to tell her something. I'd rather tell her than have her see me blown up in a few months."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

The fact that he says 'we' makes me blush, but I cough to cover it up. What's wrong with me.

Today's lesson centers around Brazilian Jui Jitsu; how to defend an attacker if we are pinned on the ground. My breath hitches at the prospect of having someone over me, but Nathan notices and puts his hands on my shoulders. He lowers himself a few inches to my eye level and forces me to look at him.

"Hey," he says softly, "Breath. I'm here with you; nothing is going to happen. We can learn this at a later time if you want."

I shake my head. "No," I tell him firmly, "There's no better time to learn it."