Redemption

Kiss Me or Not

I saw a drop of sweat patter on the matt below me. Every time I reached down to grab the Medicine Ball, the moisture fell from my face. It wasn't hard ignoring how damp my shirt was when my muscles were burning. By the time I fell to the ground, I was gasping for air and struggling to stop the adrenaline from taking over.

My fingers were shaking. I couldn't stop my legs from jerking. Every ounce of my body screamed, but my head had never been so silent. It seemed like all of the voices were silenced the moment I hit the treadmill. I didn't hear my dad's words repeating in my head when I made it to the weight room. The sound of self-doubt disappeared as soon as I picked up a medicine ball.

I looked around at the girls I'd play with. They're wearing their headphones. Every circuit they moved to, they're changing their music. Some of them were nodding along. A few of them hummed. All of them were listening to music.

I didn't have headphones, but my mind has never been so clear. I loved the sound of metal clinking, shoes hitting the treadmill, and what it felt like to feel powerful.

"Hey, stranger," Torey dropped beside me.

I looked beside me, trying to figure out when he got here. "Hey. What're you doing in here?"

"Well, I actually needed your help on something," he leaned back on his hands. "There's a rumor going around that you're the person to go to when you need help writing an essay."

"Is that so?" I picked up my water bottle. "Who started the rumor?"

"I might've been looking over your shoulder during class," he cleared his throat. "Listen, you're really good at what you do, and I like you."

Heat flushed through my body. Thankfully, my face was already red, and he wouldn't be able to tell he caught me off guard.

"We already talked about this – "

"I know," he turned to me. "You like Carter, but give me a chance, please. Go out for ice cream with me tomorrow night, and if you don't want to see me as anything more than friends then that's okay."

"Do you need help on your essay? Or was this the goal?"

I watched the lightest pink color flush his cheeks. "I really do need help. I just figured it was worth trying for a date too."

"A date?"

"Yeah," his blue eyes shifted back to me. "A date."

"Can I think about it?"

"Of course. No rush," he stammered over his words. "About what part? The date? Or helping me?"

"I'll help you."

"Okay. Cool," he flashed me a toothy grin. "Listen. I know I majored in English, but I have to break it to you, Sawyer, I'm creative. It's just getting my thoughts down to paper that I struggle with."

"Don't worry," I leaned back on my palms. "You came to the right person."

"Cool," he coughed. "I should get going. Maybe I can get your number? We can talk about when we're gonna meet up and stuff."

I wrote my number across the piece of paper he ripped from his notebook.

"Are you playing Thursday?"

"Yeah," I cocked my head to the side. "Why?"

"I'll be there."

He grabbed the paper from my hand before giving me a wink. I watched him disappear from the gym.

"What was that about?"

I followed Joey to the locker room. "He wants me to help him with some essay."