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I scan my card and look up at him. “Hi.” There’s an odd look on his face that I can’t quite place, and I worry that he regrets what happened yesterday, but I don’t dwell on it. For all I know, he could just be stressed about the usual problems that come with running a business. I can pretend nothing happened as long as he can.

I feel his eyes linger on me as I walk past the desk, opening Spotify and queuing up my workout playlist before stepping on the treadmill. I adjust the speed and incline settings to my usual warm-up pace and get to work.

I’m doing my usual survey of the room, picking out the faces that I recognize, when I spotthemacross the room.Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Brady and his new girlfriend are at the squat rack, and he’s standing behind her, his hands hovering at her sides as she squats the bar with the worst form I’ve ever seen. I can’t hear them from over here, but I can see his lips moving in encouragement through the reflections in the mirror. I’m half tempted to walk over there and fix her form myself, but I realize that I don’t actually give a fuck if she hurts herself. Brady’s obviously trying to smooth talk her instead of, you know,help her, and she’s a lying bitch,andthey both fucked me over, sooooo . . . Not my problem.

Despite my desire to not care, my heart rate speeds up and I feel like I can’t breathe. I can’t be here right now. Not with them here. I thought I was doing okay, but seeing him touch her and praise her like that, let alone the way he’s looking at her, is too much for me to handle. Why did he never look at me like that?

I quickly hit the button to stop the treadmill and rush for the exit, tears threatening to spill from my eyes. I keep my head bowed, hoping to god that neither of them notices me. But at the last second before passing them, I glance up, and Brady catches my eye in the mirror. And that fuckersmirksat me.

I can hardly believe it. He doesn’t even feelremotelybad for cheating on me, let alone bringing her to the one place that he knows helps my mental health.

I’m almost out the door and ready to explode into tears when I hear my name.

“Ivy.” James is standing and quickly making his way around the desk to me.

“What?” I manage to choke out. I don’t bother to hide the tears falling down my cheeks.

“Where are you going? You just got here. Are you okay?” His voice is heavy with concern.

Damn it, he needs to stop asking me if I’m okay.

“No, I’mnotokay. Brady cheated on me less than two months ago with that bitch,” I say, nodding my head in their general direction, “and now I can’t even come to the gym without being reminded of it. This is the place that’s supposed to help me feelbetter. But God forbid he even give me that.” Hot tears spill down my cheeks despite my desperate attempts to hold them back, and James lightly grabs my forearm.

“You’re not leaving.”

“And why the hell not? Why do you care?”

“Because you’re better than him. And you need to show him what he’s missing now that he fucked up.”

“W-what do you mean? I’m sure he’ssuper happynow that he has his perfect, skinny girlfriend.”

James lifts my chin with the tips of his fingers, and I’m suddenly on edge, all too aware that he’s touching me again. “If anyone here is perfect, it’s not her, Ivy. It’s you.” He says the last part so softly that I think I may be imagining it for a moment, but no, I saw the words on his lips. Does he really mean that? He wipes a stray tear from my cheek with his thumb, and I inhale sharply at his touch. When he moves his hand away from my face seconds later, I immediately miss the warmth and comfort. It’s weird, and it’s new territory for me to let a man I barely know touch me and talk to me like this, but it feels too nice to ignore, and he seems genuine.

“So, what?” I ask. “I should just go back to my workout like nothing happened?” I sniffle and quickly brush away the rest of my tears.

He thinks for a moment then speaks. “We’ll do him one better. You’re doing leg day today, right?”

I nod, wondering if he’s really been paying enough attention to me to know what my routine is or if it was just a lucky guess.

“Okay, then come on. I’ll spot you while you squat. I can’t really kick them out without reason, but we’ll show them whoreallybelongs here.”

I’m about to protest, wanting nothing to do with being in the same room as them, but the determination in James’ eyes stops me. He really does want to see me do well and not give in to my frustration, not to mention also make a fool out of Brady and his new girl.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

I follow James to the squat rack that’s directly next to Brady and bitch-face (her real name is Madeline, but I prefer bitch-face), and I pretend they don’t exist. I’m fueled by anger and vengeance now, and it helps immensely that I have this strong, attractive, intimidating man backing me.

In my peripheral vision, I see Brady lean in and whisper something to her, and she lets out an obnoxiously fake laugh. Then, much louder than necessary, she says, “I’m justsoglad you’reminenow.” White hot rage courses through me, but I only let it motivate me more.

I notice that Brady’s girlfriend is only squatting the weight of the bar, and while I would normally be incredibly supportive of someone just starting out at the gym, it’sher, so I judge the fuck out of her instead.

“Hey, James,” I call out sweetly, walking to one side of the bar. “Idefinitelyneed more weight on here. I’ll do three sets of 130 pounds. Can you load up that side of the bar, and I’ll do this side?”

“Sure thing,” he answers. “I’m pretty sure you can do more than 130 though.”

I smile as he flashes me a secretive wink. 130 pounds is definitely pushing it for me, especially after not having done squats in over a month, but I know James is just trying to aid in my pettiness against Brady. “Well, yeah, I probably could, but I never tried for much more. I’ll definitely aim higher next week now that I have someoneso strongto spot me.” I’m laying it on thick, but it seems to be working. I hear Brady scoff, and I know he’s offended by my not-so-subtle jab at him. He’s always been the type to make the gym and his physique his entire personality, so that’s where insults will hit him the hardest.

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