Page 4 of Mr. Red

“What?” Lana’s eyebrows shoot up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I fell on my ass. Not much to catch me there,” I shrug, “but I’m fine.” I look around to see if anyone is listening in. There’s two older gentleman with headphones, focusing on the cycle machine and free weights. “It was embarrassing though. The guy was hot. Well, until he opened his mouth.”

“Wait, what?” Paige points her finger at me. “You wereactuallyattractedto him? I haven’t heard you talk about someone like that in a loooooooonnng time! You usually just friend zone every guy you meet.”

“I know, I know. Not my usual type either. Muscles and a preppy sort of style with an alpha attitude. Douchebag central.”

The girls giggle.

“It was weird. One moment there’s nature, the next, a whoosh of red is coming at me.” I swish my hand from one side to the other to add effect. “He wasn’t nice about it either. Came over to me with a face as red as his T-shirt and then blamed me forhisterrible bike riding. You guys know that trail—the one that takes you up the mountain by the creek. It’s for mountain bikingandtrekking.” They nod their heads while I mumble, “Idiot.”

“Maybe he meant to bump into you.” Lana shrugs.

“What?” Paige and I look at each other with furrowed brows.

“He liked you so much, he couldn’t avoid you,” she states, looking at us like we’re missing the memo.

“Come on, Lana! The guy acted like an ape on crack,” Paige defends.

“Exactly! Thank you, Paige!” I high-five Paige. “Then guess what happened?”

“You kissed him?” Paige nudges me, moving hereyebrows up and down.

“No.” I shake my head and wonder if Paige has a working brain. “Why would I kiss the ape on crack?”

“Because he was hot and you wanted angry sex.”

“No,” I deadpan. “I went to the bookstore and there he was again. Acting all sweet and polite to the clerk. I was this close,” I almost pinch my index finger and thumb together, “to decking him with a book. Anyway, a client canceled and I got interrupted browsing the romance section, so now I’m here early. I can’t get away from the guy.”

“Weird. At least there were no casualties,” Paige says.

“If I ever see him again, he’s going to turn into a casualty,” I mumble.

“Tell me if you need help burying the body,” Paige offers.

“You’re my first call!” I smile.

“Obviously. Iamthe best.” Paige puts her hand over her heart. “We still on for drinks tonight?”

“We better be! I can’t handle anything else on my schedule getting messed up,” I say. Lana nods.

“Lana, don’t get too excited,” Paige teases, then turns to me. “If you’ve already seen Mr. Red twice, maybe he’ll show up at the club. Wouldn’t that be crazy?”

“Mr. Red?” I question.

“Yeah.” Paige nods with wide eyes. “You know, because you said he was angry looking and had a red shirt.”

“That would be just my luck. If he shows up at the club, then we know he’s a stalker,” I say with a laugh.

“In other news, the gym will be ours thirty days from now,” Lana tells us.

“Yes! Why didn’t you lead with that?” I give her shoulder a light slap.

Lana shrugs.

Lana, Paige, and I have been working to take ownership of the gym for a couple of months now. The current owners have a debt they can’t pay off, so all we needed to do was come up with fifty grand apiece. We’ve each taken out a loan and have an agreement with the owners to get the gym back to a profitable place. They want to keep it in the hands of locals and as part of the town. Now the owners can retire and have fun. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.

Paige will oversee the spa, and Lana will be balancing the books along with making an app. She knows how to code and will be taking us into this century with her skills. I’ll be in charge of day-to-day management, like overseeing the trainers, booking appointments, and scheduling classes. We’re going to ask Jason to be our sales superstar; he can sell anything and look good doing it. It’s a role he has deserved for years.

---