All day long, she’d avoided common areas and ducked off in one of the rooms on the far right wing of my home. When I’d gone to check up on her before lunch, the room where I’d left her things was completely empty. I figured she preferred another. Instead of disturbing her by knocking on each door until I found the one she was behind, I headed for the gym. It wasn’t until the smell of dinner crept underneath the door and polluted the air did I realize she’d come from under whatever rock she’d been underneath.
With my final set and a shower at the top of my dome, I counted down the mere seconds until I’d be standing near her,again, preparing to murder every crumb she put on my plate. It wasn’t a secret that Kit could throw down. And the sooner I was done with the set that I was halfway through, the sooner I would discover what was on the menu for the night.
By email, I’d shared with her the personalized diet my nutritionist had curated for me this season. It was heavy on the protein, a good balance of vitamins, low calories, and practically no sodium if I could help it. Coupled with my complete gym regime, I’d still be in tip-top shape when this was all over.
Not that I’m in a rush or nothing.
A slight chuckle followed the grunt of my pullup. I couldn’t help but chastise myself for the brief lapse in common sense. Of course I wanted this all to be over as soon as possible, but the creamed, coffee-skinned beauty in my kitchen making dinner fit for a king had me reconsidering how quickly I wanted this all to be over.
“Urgh.” I pulled up for the fiftieth and final time. My muscles ached while my body bathed in its own sweat.
She’s gorgeous, I reasoned.
Even in her discomfort, there was something so magnetic about her that I found it extremely difficult to part ways. The previous night at her place, leaving on such unpleasant notice, had weighed heavily on me until she knocked at my door hours later.
After breakfast, it took some coaxing and restraint not to ask her to stay down a while longer and talk to me. About anything. About nothing. Just something other than going into hiding for the duration of the day when there was so much to be done around the house… so many crevices I hadn’t experienced and wouldn’t mind doing so with her.
Not being much of a vocalist myself, it left me with a vicious appetite for her words. And, her voice. With its sultry rasp that matched her sun-kissed complexion and the seriousness of herpersonality, I was starving for a taste of her reality. But, getting to know the real Kit had already proven to be difficult from the brick wall she’d built between us before we’d ever even had the pleasure of meeting.
“Fuck,” I spat, lowering my upper body until my elbows were at my knees.
Sweat poured from my forehead, and I stretched a bit further to retrieve the jug of water that was nearly gone. If nothing else, it was one of the most important pieces of my diet. Staying hydrated by drinking a gallon or more of water each day. It kept me pissing, but it made me feel one hundred times better than I would if it wasn’t there.
I killed the remainder of the jug and made a mental note to refill it. Rick Ross continued to massage the folds of my mind with his simplistic, boss-influenced rhymes. Listening to this nigga always left me confused.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go knock some balls out of the park or push some weight through the ports. Nevertheless, I was highly motivated, which is why I preferred listening to his tracks over other cats in the gym.
Conscious of my houseguest, I picked up the white shirt I’d worn into the gym along with the paper remnants of the protein bar that I’d had before my workout started. The last thing I wanted was Kit feeling as if she needed to pick up after me every few minutes.
I was accustomed to keeping a tidy house. My mother hadn’t raised a fool. It was laundry, cooking, and keeping myself company that I had issues with, which is why I’d laced Kit’s account to assist me in those areas.
I gathered my belongings and pushed my tired legs toward the exit. I couldn’t help but to gaze at them as they led me out of the door of the gym, wondering if they’d turned to noodles afterthe intensity of the workout I’d just completed. To my surprise, they weren’t.
Fuck.
Before I had a chance to react to the impending collision, it was already happening. Kit’s curls bounced uncontrollably as she fought to save the fresh towels that were stacked in her hands. Her battle became mine as we wrestled with the air to keep them fresh and off the floor.
We twiddled with the silence after the threat had been neutralized. I waited for something to fall from her lips. Anything would suffice. She searched for them. Searched for her words. I could see the internal struggle through her pretty brown eyes.
“Sorry.” Finally, she settled with the white towels still stacked neatly on her palms.
“I’m sorry,” I admitted. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“It’s fine. I guess I could’ve announced my presence. Just wanted to make sure there was clean linen in the gym, being that it’s where you’ll be spending the majority of your time.”
“Appreciate that.”
“Dinner will be served in twenty minutes.” She ruffled the ringlets of her hair.
“I’ll be down in fifteen,” I assured the damsel in unnecessary distress.
“Well -uh. I’ll see you in a few.”
Kit bolted into the gym. She’d sped off so fast that I assumed she would drop the towels that I’d just saved. I watched as she successfully made it inside and to the towel bar where she laid them down gently.
When she turned around, I noticed my eyes hadn’t left her and I was technically staring. But as she stared back with the softness only she could pull off with such grace, I didn’t feel the need to break contact.
But, I did. Unwillingly, I did because the sound of my cell ringing through my earbuds forced me to.
