"Eliana..." Casen draws out my name as he does another rep.
I lean against the bar beside him with doe eyes and my hands clasped together in anticipation, "Casen..." I mock.
"You just gonna stare at me the whole time?" He asks, doing his thirty-third rep.
I pout, "I'm your spotter. I'm spotting you. Don't spotters stare at their spottees?"
When Casen told me that he'd be spending his Sunday morning in the gym, it wasn't hard to decide to do a random pop up and keep him company.
He rolls his eyes, "Aren't you late for work.... or literally anything else?"
I gasp dramatically and fall back against the pole like a cartoon character, "How dare thou push me off like a pest?" I rest the back of my hand against my forehead and speak with an Old English accent, "Does thou not favor me any longer?"
Case tilts his head at me, "Take a nap."
"No." I deadpan, "I wanna watch you."
He goes on for a moment before pausing. He then turns to me in thought, eyes running up and down my body, "You wanna try some weights?"
I arch a brow. He got me fucked up. "Oh, look at the time. I suddenly have stuff to do."
He sits up from the reclined seat and as I move to grab my stuff and walk away, he takes my wrist gently and pulls me toward him and between his parted legs so his face is almost at my chest.
Oh.
"Lift some weights, peach. For me." His voice is low as he eyes me, and I have to do my very best not to have my eyes roll into the back of my head. How dare he do that when he knows what he's doing....
"Peach?" I question with furrowed brows, his other words clocking in at a slower rate.
He laughs, "'Cause of you and those nasty ass milkshakes."
You're stronger than this, Eliana. "No." I say, trying to convince myself more than him. "Crab legs."
He busts out laughing at the nickname. "C'mon," He chuckles and pulls me closer, licking his bottom lip, "I'll teach you how to lift them."
I huff, "It can't be that hard that I would need male assistance." I shudder at the words.
He stands, towering over me like a skyscraper. A very attractive skyscraper. "Don't knock it till you try it, Ana."
That's how I end up in front of a full body mirror, Casen a respectful distance behind me. There's goosebumps along my back despite his warmth radiating against me. A bar with fifteen pounds on either side rests on the ground in front of me.
I roll my neck, trying to calm down from Case's intense stare through the mirror. This man has no shame.
But then again, neither do I.
"You ready?" He asks, his voice soft as he runs his eyes up my body. He needs to stop looking at me like that before I risk it all.
I nod and bend forward, my ass brushing against his thigh in the process.
"You already fucked up." He chuckles as he rests one hand on my stomach and his other on my back to stand me up. Breathe, Eliana. "Feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent."
He uses his foot to spread mine apart and a sharp breath escapes me.
"Bend forward, princess." He now pushes my back down until my chest is parallel to the floor. I feel a bulge brush against the back of my thigh as he stabilizes me from falling.
"Ready to lift?"
So much for not needing male assistance.
✘
After the failure that was me trying to work out, I made my way to the grocery store not too far off campus to try to replenish our stash of pantry and fridge products.
And pads and tampons.
Sky's been trying to put me on to tampons but fear of toxic-shock syndrome has taken away all thoughts of even attempting it.
My thoughts have also been overrun by the man I parted ways with not even an hour ago. He walked me to my car that was halfway across the parking lot and didn't complain one bit.
Matter of fact, he insisted.
And that's what makes it even harder to not feel a bit giddy at what went down between us earlier. After feeling it — and you know exactly what it is — we just moved on as if we were regular-degular people who didn't practically dry-hump each other.
I need to shut up with this. This country-bumpkin is the root of all manwhore-ish behaviors — the hell I look like having butterflies in my belly after a simple interaction?
A simple interaction that turned me on....
But a simple interaction, nonetheless.
My eyes scan the box of protein bars for the sixth time after not being able to actually register any of the ingredients listed. All I can think about is his hands on me, bending me over...
And then maybe his tattooed arms wrapping around me from behind...
Urging me to take off my —
"Eliana! Hey, girl!" A shrill voice draws me from my naughty thoughts and I blink in surprise. Not from the voice, but from my own imagination.
I push a fake smile on my face and turn to be greeted with the familiar white girl Case wanted to avoid by hugging me.
Oh, yeah, and the girl I went to high-school with. Just a girl... She doesn't deserve a better title than that.
"Laiya," I greet with false enthusiasm, "Hi. How are you?"
Her green eyes run down my body, a scowl fighting to stay off her face. Her falsies look like spiders as she flutters them.
Don't get me wrong, she's a beautiful girl and I'm all for women empowerment, but her attitude and fake niceness is enough to take that all away.
I know she doesn't like me so she should just say it outright.
Especially after Case pulled that shit at the football game.
"You gained weight." She says, passively, "Guess it's all those protein bars." She motions to the pack in my hand and I have to keep from rolling my eyes.
Why do mean girls always have to insult another girl's weight before anything else? Like sheesh, what if I'm the type of girl who really doesn't give a fuck about appearance? Then the insult is just gonna fly over both of our heads.
Dumbass.
Well, if she wants to be fake then I can do the same damn thing.
I tilt my head and fake a smile, "Shopping, I see —"
"Okay, let's cut the bullshit." Well damn, you started the bullshit but okay. She rests her basket filled with powdered donuts on the empty shelf and props her hand up on her hip, "I know you and Casen have something going on. You're, like, his girlfriend or something, but trust me, he doesn't want you."
"Oh?" I arch a brow, trying to keep my laughter in. She really thinks she's doing something. "And how do you know?"
"Because he fucked me two days ago." Immediately, I can tell this bitch is lying. Not that I care. "Told me that he's only with you because him and I were on a break and he just needed to get his dick wet."
Ugh, this is so embarrassing.
For her.
"Oh, baby..." I trail off, stepping closer to her, "I do a whole lot more than get his dick wet."
She looks flustered for a moment before recovering, licking her over lined lips, "Well, he's planning on breaking up with you anyway."
"Really?" I tilt my head. I'm having too much fun with this, "When? Let me know so I can plan my jump to the next dick."
My Beyoncé reference seems to go over her head because she sneers and leans forward, invading my personal space bubble.
"I always knew you were a hoe. Especially when you fucked the entire football team." She chuckles menacingly as if she did something.
There are some things she doesn't need to know. And even if she did, it wouldn't change her view of me.
I purse my lips, "Okay, I'm going to get my man's dick wet and more while you wallow in your own self-pity. Cool? Cool."
I grab my things and make my leave from the aisle, the box of protein bars long forgotten on the shelf.
y'all, this essay been sitting here waiting for me to finish it since friday, 11:59 PM.