Page 13 of Unraveling with You

And disappointed. “It was that simple? That’s embarrassing.”

But Remington crosses his arms. “What’s embarrassing is that whoever trained you at work decided to give you shit instead of teach you. How are you supposed to know something you’ve never been taught?”

As I stand there, gaping at Remington’s powerful form defending both my heart and body, I’ve never felt more loved.

We speed through the rest of our workout with an added perkiness to our movements. After the workout rushes by, I hate having to say goodbye, but Remington pulls out his phone in the gym lobby. After typing something into his phone, he shows me his screen.

Remington’s phone number stares back. “Here. You don’t have to text me, but feel free to take a picture of my screen in case you’d like to reach out sometime. I had fun with you today.”

My heart flutters. I can’t help but smile, even though my shoulders are rising. I feel like a dorky middle school girl again, unable to remember how to speak to reply to him.

“T-thanks,” I mutter, opting to open a blank text message instead.

He opens his mouth to speak, but as I step closer to his side to copy his number, he stifles his breath. I hadn’t realized how close I got to him until he froze, but now I can’t move away without making it extra weird. Not that I want to. I don’t know what this says about me, but even his light sweat smells alluring. I draw in one last inhale of him, my shoulder erupting into goosebumps beneath my jacket as his breath whispers down my side.

Sending him a quick text, I tuck my phone into my pocket. “I’ll see you next week?”

Remington doesn’t say anything. When I look up at him, he breaks into a sly smile. Except the gaze I just caught on him spoke of something else. A deep, desperate longing rumbles in my lower belly, heating my cheeks.

“Ready for another disgusting goodbye hug?” He opens his arms, and I laugh.

Tucking my cheek against his damp chest, I hug him a little tighter this time. “Yes.”

Remington’s heart gallops faster beneath my ear than I expected it to. Like last time, he gives me a lingering, tight squeeze, bringing a brighter grin to my smile-sore cheeks. “See you next week, Lilibeth.”

He pulls away with a wave, spinning just before he bumps into a bike rack. We meet eyes and laugh, and that’s the last I see of him this weekend.

CHAPTER 3

REMINGTON AND I HAVEa gym buddy system down: I complete the basic level of each exercise, and he adds weights or extra challenges to his, but we trade off performing each task together as a team before moving to another machine or floor exercise. The more I’ve settled into our groove, the more open I’ve felt around Remington.

Especially when he’s so encouraging.

He nods to my lunges, even as he gulps massive mouthfuls of water. He breaks away from the bottle with a gasp, his wet lips creating an odd fuzziness in my stomach. “Hell yes! Look at yourself in the mirror, Lilibeth. Your movements have become so fluid lately that you look like a goddamn pro.”

Catching my reflection, I boost through my next few reps with newfound pride; he’s right. I look like a natural.

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