not the only one

knowing me, knowing you

Alex got up early the next morning to hit the gym, not wanting a repeat of the day before, but she still wasn't early enough to beat the boys there. Gary had just finished up on the bench and Graham was taking his place, asking Rahim to add extra weight. Gary scoffed, but stood aside to watch the show as the bigger man lifted the heavy weights.

She greeted the boys with a smile as she began stretching, listening to them bickering amongst themselves.

"You want to bench, Alex?" Rahim asked. "I'll spot you."

"Sure. I was hoping we could chat, too."

"Alright, we'll keep it light."

She took advantage of Shannon's absence this morning and made sure to gently brush up against Rahim's side as she walked over to the bench and smiled sweetly up at him. He was at his most confident when he was in the gym, so seeing him get all flustered around her gave her a special satisfaction.

He cleared his throat. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

Alex expertly lifted the bar under his supervision as the other guys turned their attention to their own workouts.

"How are things with Shannon?" she asked.

"They're good. She's good."

"She sure took up a lot of your time yesterday."

Rahim frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just that I would've liked to spend more time with you, but it seemed like I never got the opportunity."

"Really? We talked a few times—"

"And every time, we got interrupted. I just want to be given a proper chance, Rahim."

"I'm sorry, Alex, but Shannon's new in the villa, she doesn't really know anyone else. And she's my partner, of course she wants to spend time with me."

Alex sighed. "I know, it just—it feels like she's manipulating all your time, and to be honest, I'm not sure how genuine she is."

"Why wouldn't she be genuine?"

"I don't know, it's just a feeling I get. Are you sure—"

"I like her, Alex. She likes me. I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"Well, I like you too, and I'm just worried—"

"You're worried I'll choose her, so you're trying to poison me against her?"

Alex grunted in frustration and set the barbell back in place before sitting up. "I care for you, Rahim! Yeah, I want you to pick me over her, but that doesn't mean I can't be legitimately concerned that she's just playing you!"

She rose to her feet and grabbed a clean towel from the towel bin to wipe the sweat off her forehead. When she turned around to face him again, Rahim was sitting on the bench, his head in his hands.

"Look," she said, sitting down beside him and bumping her shoulder against his. "I'm sorry. It's just been a rough week, and I'm not used to being in a situation like this."

"Tell me about it."

She placed a hand on his warm back and began kneading his muscles gently. "I know, you're in a tough spot, too. I wish there were some way to make your decision easier. But you understand what I want, right? If we were coupled up, I'd be the one spending lots of time with you; it's hard for me to not be able to do that."

Rahim sighed and as he lifted his head, he placed a hand on Alex's knee. "Yeah, I get it. And I want to spend time with you, too, it's just my head's been scrambled, and I don't know what to do."