Page 37 of D.I.E.T. (Did I Eat That?)

“Sports Illustratedswimsuit edition,” I teased.

“I’ll be the first one in line to buy my copy,” he teased back as I patted his arm and took my spot by the wall, ready to get my workout on.

Sinjin’s final weigh-in went fabulous, as everything about Sinjin went fabulously. When he was done with his measurements, he stomped over to stand next to me. “Could you have flirted any harder there, Geet?”

“Excuse me?” I asked, affronted.

He tipped his chin in Trevor’s direction. “With him. All thatSports IllustratedBS.”

“Wow. It’s called banter with a friend. What bug crawled up your butt today, buddy? Need some help wrenching it out?”

“Funny. Maybe it’s that my girlfriend left the house before I even got out of the shower.”

“I left you a note and a smoothie.”

“Maybe I’d rather see your face than a note,” he snapped.

“That’d be something, but I call shenanigans. You come home later every night. I wake up when you climb in the bed. You don’t pull me to you. No kiss on the cheek or forehead. I don’t think I’ve gotten any kind of kiss from you in a week—and I get you’re busy. This merger is important. I’ve tried to keep out of your way. I’m not needy. But don’t get stupid with me when I play by the rules you set down.” And with that, I was completely done with our conversation. I dropped to get my burpees on. I planked for three minutes. That never could’ve happened six weeks ago.

At the end of our last session with Trevor, I gave him a sweaty hug and thanked him for being a fantastic trainer, then headed for the showers. To my surprise, Sinjin stood outside the locker room in his navy-blue suit today, a medium blue shirt with a shade darker blue tie. He looked exceptionally hot like always. Not surprisingly, he clicked off a text and I didn’t know if I should approach him or not. Was he waiting for me or had he stopped there to answer his texts?

Instead of approaching him, I called out, “Hey, I’m heading out now. See you later.”

He whipped his head up, shoved the phone in his pocket, and walked to stand next to me. “Wait a second. You’re just going to leave?”

“You’re a busy guy.”

“Stop that, Geet. I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Physically, yes. But mentally, you’re somewhere far away from where I am.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that you’ve got a lot on your plate right now. Something’s got to give.” I reached up to kiss his cheek and ran out of the gym with him calling after me, but I couldn’t turn around. The cold still stung my nose, but the snow had let up for the past couple of days. I climbed in my Jeep and backed out. My phone lit up with Sinjin’s name. I didn’t answer it. Instead, I drove around for a while to think.

I thought maybe we had bad timing. His merger had to come first. That determined peoples’ livelihoods. He didn’t need pressure from me.

It hurt, but I came to a decision. I drove back to Sinjin’s place to pack my things. All my clothes in the closet. The undergarments from the drawer he’d opened up for my things. Makeup. Shower gel and loofa. Razor. Feminine products. I took the load to my Jeep, then did a final sweep of the upstairs. Downstairs, I looped my laptop case over my shoulder and went around the kitchen, living room, and great room, collecting my plants. The last thing I did was leave him a note.

Sinjin,

You’ve been so busy with the merger. It just wasn’t a good time to have a girlfriend staying over.

I decided to make things easier on you and moved my butt back to my apartment. That way you have the physical space and the headspace to get this merger signed without any other hitches. Our timing on the whole cohabitation was probably a bit off. If you need anything, let me know. I got your back boo.

Geet

I left his housekey on the note because I didn’t need it any longer. If we weren’t breaking up, then why did it feel that way?

My apartment felt lonelier than ever before the whole time I hung up my clothing and put my plants back in their usual spots. Staying here again meant going to the grocery store. Stat.

I stopped at the supermarket first. Even though bootcamp ended, I still wanted to stick to the food list and meals Sinjin and I had gotten from Trevor. I decided on homemade veggie soup and rolls for dinner. As long as I didn’t eat rolls every night, having them once in a while when I had a craving wouldn’t hurt me.

After checkout, I loaded my bags into the car and I drove to Marshalls. Most of my clothing hung off me now. Shirts and sweaters, I could work with. Nothing to be done with jeans three sizes too big. Several things Lu and I had bought on our shopping trip a few weeks ago needed to be exchanged for smaller sizes. Including the two-piece bathing suit.

For the next couple of hours, I actually felt good. I snapped off pics of things and sent them to Lu to see if she approved.

Lu:What does Sinjin think?

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