The haunting image of her broken body has been replaced by the reality of the healthy, beautiful woman before me. And slowly, the fear of losing her fades back into the recesses of my mind. The more we’ve talked about what happened that night, the easier it’s become for both of us to deal with the aftermath. When I hold her close or when her warm touch seeps through my skin, finding it’s way to my heart, there’s no space left for anxious thoughts or what-ifs. Everything quiets when Tori is with me.
Our friends gather around us as the other clients roll up their exercise mats and slowly leave with a wave or a shouted thank you to Tori.
“I can’t believe how hard that was,” Ryan grumbles, and Charli throws a small towel at him. He catches it easily before burying his face in it to wipe at the sweat beading his forehead. I’d find it hilarious that the former Navy SEAL was hurting, if I wasn’t also feeling the burn in my own muscles. Like Ryan, this was my first Pilates class, and I stupidly thought I could handle it with my regular boxing and cardio sessions keeping me fit. I was so wrong.
“You poor baby,” Charli teases, rubbing slow circles on Ryan’s chest to placate him. “Pilates is just a different way of exerting your muscles.”
“Yes, poor baby,” I joke, hoping that nobody will notice how exhausted I feel.
Tony’s eyes narrow as he folds his arms across his chest and sizes up Ryan and I. “You two are an embarrassment and should know the importance of cross-training.”
“Let’s see how good that cross-training is when we’re sparring next time,” Ryan responds, but Tony has already turned and is wandering off toward the showers, chuckling under his breath.
The guys, like Tori and Charli, are martial arts experts, and I know from what Tori has told me in the past they would oftenall train together. It’s going to be a few more weeks before the doctor gives her the all clear to join them again, as BJJ is more physically demanding on her body than Pilates. But when she can spar again I’m looking forward to seeing my warrior woman in action.
Tori gives Charli a hug. “Thanks for filling in for me so I had a class to come back to.” While Tori has been recovering, Charli was running some of her classes along with one of the other instructors.
“Honestly I think half the people just thought I was you.”
To strangers, the girls may seem identical but when I look at Tori, I see the differences that make her unique and special. I’ve memorized every detail, from the faint freckles on her nose to the varying flecks of warm brown in her eyes, the tilt of her head when something is bothering her, and how one side of her mouth tips up into a smile before the other. But most of all it’s her heart that I recognize above all else. That’s where our connection begins and ends.
“Hey, sis, I’m going to have to go if I want to shower and eat before my shift starts. You know the boss can be a real pain in my arse if I’m late.” Charli steps back to stand beside Ryan, and taps him lightly on his chest. “Except of course when he’s the reason I’m late.”
Ryan’s brows shoot high. “Seriously you’re blaming me now for making you late. Funny I don’t remember it that way yesterday.”
Charli places her hand over his mouth. “Don’t give all our secrets away or I’ll make you do another advanced Pilates class.” She slips her hand into his and leads him away.
A laugh bursts from my lungs until Charli’s words sink in, and when I turn to face Tori, her smirk heightens my suspicions. “You said that tonight’s class was a beginner’s Pilates class.”
She shakes her head, grinning. “No, I never said that. I think that was your assumption.” I should have remembered the sisters do have one identical trait: their wicked sense of humor, and Ryan and I have fallen victim to it again.
“You girls planned on making Ryan and I suffer didn’t you?”
She touches her hand to my cheek. “Sorry, it was more to force Ryan to admit that Pilates can be hard after he told Charli he thought the class would be too easy.”
I pull her closer with my hands on her hips. “So I was just collateral damage?” I tease, and her soft lilting laugh warms my heart.
“Come on, I’ll buy you a juice to make up for it. You do look a bit sweaty,” she says in an exaggerated whisper, even though we’re the only two remaining in the room.
I release her hips to hook an arm loosely over her shoulders to walk her toward the door. “Shhh … don’t tell Ryan. And for the record I’m going to need more than a juice as compensation.”
“Okay how about a back massage too?”
“Full body massage as a bare minimum,” I counteroffer.
“Deal,” she agrees, and every one of my stretched muscles now feels worth it.
We stop at the vending machine which holds a choice of fresh juices that are refilled at the start of each day—another of Tori’s great ideas. And I can now see why the introduction of the classes and even the ice-cold fruit juices work. But when Tori bends to collect our juices from the machine, she winces. Her bruises may have faded but those punches and kicks she took to the ribs still cause her some discomfort. Today has been a long first day back at work for her, and I would have preferred her to have another week off. But my girlfriend is tough, and when I made the suggestion, she said she was used to taking hits from Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“Let’s take these juices to have at home.”
Her shoulders droop and her gaze drops to the floor. I step closer to lift her face back to mine. “Bella, what’s wrong?”
She tilts her head to the side. “I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s time I returned to my own home … especially now that I’m back at work.” She reaches up to remove the band from her ponytail. I think it’s so she can hide from me behind the dark curtain of hair.
My palm threads through the silky strands, drawing them back from her beautiful face. “Tori, my home is where you are and if that’s in my apartment or yours, I don’t care. I just want you beside me when I go to sleep at night and when I wake up the next morning. I love you and that’s not a temporary thing, it’s forever.”
One perfectly shaped brow rises. “You would live in my tiny apartment? With Sadie on the other side of a very thin bedroom wall and one bathroom for the three of us to share?”
