Love Me Back

Ch. 6

Ch. 6 // Dacre

After my last set on the dip machine, I pull off my headphones and take a swig of water from my water bottle. Today's late-night session was nice. Usually, the gym is unbearably packed on Friday evenings, so I rarely come, but today was different. It was pretty quiet and empty, as it usually is after midterms. I'm guessing it's because people usually go to parties and bars to unwind the Friday after exams. I usually go that route, but I wasn't feeling like partying today.

Working out has always been a big stress reliever for me and these past couple of weeks, I've been nothing but stressed. Studying up on studying. Exam upon exam. So even though today's workout was quiet and nice, it was pretty intense.

Now that I'm done, I head over to the corner of the gym that's set aside for warm-ups and cool-downs. It's a large rectangular section marked by thick black lines on the floor. Shelves of colorful yoga mats and foam rollers line the back wall. I grab a blue yoga mat from the rack and walk over to my "unassigned" spot; the back corner of the area, facing the large windows on the other side of the gym.

Before I start my stretches, I set up a 12-minute timer on my Fitbit, then close my eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. The soft serene music in the background helps put me in a calmer state.

As I start my shoulder stretches, a tall blonde in a sage green work out set walls towards me. With each step she talks, her ponytail animatedly swings about.

"Mind if I take this spot?" she asks. Her voice was raspy and mellow. Not at all what I expected. I pause my exercises for a second and look over. She's pointing to an empty spot beside me. It's a couple of feet away from me, but it's close enough that it'd be a bit weird if she took the spot without asking.

"Go ahead," I tell her as I shake my head and shrug. It's not like she's invading my personal space, but I'll admit, it is a bit weird that she chose the spot next to me; there are tons of available empty spots.

"Thanks, I'm Emma by the way," She said as she rolls out her brick-red yoga mat.

"I'm Dacre," I reply.

"Not to be weird, but I saw you on the dips and have good form."

"Thanks." I get that compliment a lot at the gym.

"I'm working on getting certified as a personal trainer, so I notice that stuff a lot," Emma explains, "I'm studying nutrition science though."

"Oh that's cool," I pause for a second, "I'm studying biochem."

"Wow, so you're also smart." She chuckles as she grabs her left ankle for some quad stretches.

I chuckle a bit, "I'd like to think so."

There's a short moment of silence before she asks me, "So, do you come here often?"

I nod as I switch positions "at least 3 times a week."

"Same."

We continued talking even after our timers went off. Honesty, I'm surprised I enjoyed our conversation as much as I did. Usually, I don't like talking at the gym because it distracts me, but talking to Emma was nice. Our conversation wasn't deep or anything but was relaxing.

"Well, it was really nice meeting you, Emma," I say as I roll up my yoga mat.

"It was nice to meet you at well."

~

Damn, that dress

Standing at her front door are Deja, Kiara, and Kiara's girlfriend. I've met her but I can't remember her name, but that's beside the point. The point is Deja's dress.

It's nothing crazy. It's just a simple long sleeve dress. It's just a dark cedar dress with a tan vintage-like flowery design. A light and flowy dress, that still hugs her body in a way that has me forgetting to breathe.

"Hey is that Dacre???" I hear Kiara shout as I near our apartment units.

"Hey," I respond, "you girls headed out?"

I can't help but sneak a look at Deja, who is looking down at her nails. I thought her dress looked good by the elevator, but it looks even better up close. It hangs on her like a second skin. It softly hugs every curve from her breasts to her waist and her hips. How can a dress be so innocent yet fiercely sexy?

"Hell yeah," Kiara's girlfriend exclaims, taking my attention away from Deja.

"I think out of all of us, Deja looks the best," Kiara says with a smirk. That is something I agree with. Not that they don't all look good, but Deja is special.

"Deja do your little spin," Kiara says. 

"Why do you sound like my auntie," Deja finally speaks and looks up. We lock eyes for a second before she turns her attention to Kiara. From far away, I didn't realize how glammed up she looked. Do I know what's on her face? Truthfully no, but she looks like a doll.

"Girl just do it," Kiara says.

Deja rolls her eyes, but there's a soft smile on her face. Then she spins around; the ends of her dress flutters with her and her brown legs shimmer in the light.

"Wow," I softly say as my heart beats hard against my chest and hot blood travels down my body. Thoughts of pulling her into my room and unzipping her dress accompany my racing heart.

"Came from the gym?" Kiara's girlfriend asks me, nodding towards the bag on my shoulder. I really need to figure out her name.

"Yeah, I just spent a couple of hours at the Wellness Center. You know, trying to destress from finals."

"That's so good for you, we're gonna get drunk and shake some ass," Kiara laughs.

Deja gasps and she immediately turns to me, her eyes wide open, "Ignore her Dacre, she's just tipsy."

"Just telling the truth, anyways wanna come?" Kiara offers.

As soon as Kiara offers, fictional scenarios race through my mind. All of them ended with Deja and I getting closer in some way. But as much as I want to, I still need to shower since the gym showers were closed for cleaning. Plus virtually all of my clothes are dirty so I need to do laundry.

"As much as I want to, maybe next time, "I say, trying not to let my disappointment show.