I'd strategically arrived back on campus May 31st. The first of June was the day that the NCAA deemed virtual and certain voluntary (non-coached, non-physical) football activities could start. While I most likely wouldn't be needed, my parents didn't need to know that.

The problem with going to a university whose sports teams were in such a public eye was that anyone who paid even a smidgen of attention to college football knew who Reid Donahue was, and by extension expected me to know everything about him. I could only be a certain level of intentionally vague and avoidant with my parents' friends about my internship at our Memorial Day party before it got awkward. Yes I am making a concerted effort to follow our star quarterback around all season and no I'm not particularly thrilled about it. Thanks for asking, though.

"I missed you last week," Kendall said to me as I walked into spin class that Thursday morning.

"I hope that's not your way of saying I'm going to kick your ass today," I chuckled as I situated myself at my usual front row, far left bike.

Kendall twirled her blonde ponytail around her finger and gave me an innocent shrug. "No idea what you mean. Although I did put a couple special bangers on this playlist."

I clasped my hands together under my chin. "Please tell me you've tapped into my desperate need for nu-metal dad rock."

Kendall scrunched her face up as she finished off her Starbucks cold brew. "Not exactly. I took a shadowboxing class at a gym in Greenville this weekend when I was visiting my brother and it reinvigorated my love for 2000s and early 2010s hip-hop."

"Great, so it'll be like freshman year homecoming all over again," I chuckled with an eye roll.

"Of which I have very fond memories," Kendall laughed.

I sighed as I lifted myself up into a standing position on the bike, starting to slowly pedal to loosen up my hips and my knees. Even though I'd only taken a week off when I went home, I could feel the gunk that had built up starting to loosen. Maybe that was just the result of being home.

A few more people began to file in as class was about to start. Although regularly a small class to begin with, the crowd shifted drastically once school was over, from gaggles of sorority girls to mostly middle-aged local moms who didn't really care who was in class - they just wanted their workout in. But the unmistakable sound of people collectively shifting in their seats filled the otherwise idle silence, and my curiosity got the better of me.

I couldn't fully turn around because I was already hooked into the bike, but it wasn't hard to identify his hulking figure as he towered over everyone else, their gazes following him and his tight white cut-off shirt intently as he slid along the far wall towards the front of the room.

The vein in my forehead nearly burst when I zeroed in on his destination: the empty bike next to me.

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

"Everything alright?" Kendall asked me as she settled herself into her bike at the front of the room.

I stiffened up as I realized not only had I actually said that out loud, but Reid Donahue was now in my immediate vicinity - close enough that his body heat made the hairs on my arm stand up.

"What?" I shook my head. "I'm fine. Totally fine."

The faintest snicker came from Reid, and it took everything in me not to reach over and pour my entire water bottle on him - mostly because knowing how Kendall taught class, I'd need that water in about five minutes.

"What are you doing here?" I leaned over and whispered at him through gritted teeth.

Reid blew out a breath as he draped a pristine white towel over the handlebars. "Well, I'm not allowed to work out with Coach Riley, I can't just throw the ball to myself, and the treadmill is bad for my knee." He paused and hoisted himself up and onto the bike with ease. "Plus, Kendall likes me."

"Of course she does," I grumbled, more to myself than him, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw a subtle smirk lift his lips.

I white-knuckled the handlebars as Kendall began class, the sound of the blood rushing through my ears drowning out her usual introduction. It wasn't like I was going out of my way to avoid Reid, but spin class was my sacred space, and he'd just made it unholy in one fell swoop.

"Fair warning, this class is explicit AF," Kendall grinned. "As my girl Jo said to me earlier, this is basically just our high school freshman year homecoming dance playlist."

I forced out a smile, but it felt more like a grimace.

The whole reason I began taking spin class was to disassociate. Exercise wasn't just about the things it did for your body, but things it did for your mind too. The ability to switch the outside world off - even just for thirty minutes - was underrated, and in my life it had become a necessity. In theory, this should mean I could focus on Kendall and my workout and ignore Mr. Obviously Was His High School Homecoming King and his bare muscular arms beside me.

In theory, but science was not my forte. As the class warm-up began (to a very nostalgic Juicy J song we had no business playing at freshman homecoming) and we were allowed to add ourselves to the competitive class leaderboard if we wanted, I saw his name pop up right above mine. I tensed up again.

The problem with being at the front of the class was that Kendall saw everything, including my apparent death-grip on my handlebars.

"Loosen your hands up Jo," she called out to me.

I did as she instructed, shaking out my hands one at a time as if it was more than just Reid's presence beside me tensing me up. As I settled back in my seat, I tried to keep my focus down on my bike screen, but I couldn't help myself. I could feel the smirk tugging at his lips, and so I allowed myself a subtle sideways glance towards him. His hair was shorter than when I'd seen him before leaving for New York, now curling up just above his ear, and his barely-there beard trimmed up and shaped. Sure enough, the corners of his mouth lifted just slightly, and I had to drop my gaze.

He wore a much smaller, compression-type brace on his knee instead of his big fancy titanium one he wore for football activities. He moved with ease, as if he had never even been hurt, the muscles in his legs flexing with every pedal stroke. Naturally, he hadn't even broken a sweat yet, whereas I felt all my insides start to cook.

Thankfully, Kendall's voice drew my attention back to class.

"Remember, you're free to compete in class and add yourself to the leaderboard, but if you don't want to, you don't have to. It can be just vibes today."

Most spin classes utilized a combination of climbs (low speed, high resistance) speed efforts (high speed, low resistance) and intervals (fluctuating speed and resistance), just varying in order, length, and difficulty. The combination of your speed and your resistance generated your output, which was the number that ranked you on the leaderboard. As we exited out of our lower impact warm up, Reid's name was still above mine on it.

It was never just vibes for me, but Reid's presence teased out something more aggressive than usual in me. It took over, and I was overwhelmed with the desire to totally destroy him. That alone might have been the thing to fully capture my focus and give me the ability to throw myself into class.

Reid and I traded positions on the leaderboard the way boxers would trade punches, flipping back and forth between the 1 and 2 spots. There might have even been moments I'd forgotten he was there, but every time he jumped me on the leaderboard, it was a stinging reminder.

Between the music thumping, Kendall's mic'd up instruction, and the concerted, breathy efforts of mostly everyone in class, sound didn't travel very well in the small, mirror-lined room we were in. Except of course for Reid's voice, which traveled just enough for me to hear him as he ever so slightly leaned over and whispered, "I think all these soccer moms secretly love jamming to 2 Chainz."

"Stop talking," I whispered back through gritted teeth. "I'm trying to focus."

Even though I'd been hyper-focused on my output number fluctuating in the middle of the screen, I still felt him hovering, breathing my air and throwing off his furnace-like body heat.

"Guess you better focus some more then," he said casually, giving the leaderboard a nod. Class was almost over, and we were still sitting at spots #1 and #2, but I was #2.

"Your form is off," I whispered to him, keeping my tone as even as possible.

Reid let out a chuckle. Not out of breath in the slightest. "I don't know if you know this, but I'm kind of tall. My knees would be in my mouth if I leaned forward any more."

I gripped the handlebars tightly again, but before I could muster up another smarmy response, Kendall captured our attention at the front of the room.

"Okay so this next song is such a classic," Kendall said with a grin. "And it'll take us through our final climb to the end of class. I want you guys to really challenge yourself and push your resistance to a level it hasn't been yet. Get uncomfortable."

As if I hadn't been all class. I cranked my resistance up, and I couldn't help but chuckle as What's Your Fantasy by Ludacris began to play. That wasn't homecoming music, that was party in a basement that you definitely weren't supposed to be at music.

I stole another glance at Reid, his cheeks pink as sweat trickled down the side of his face, and as soon as I saw him reach down and turn the knob to add more resistance, I did the same. I picked up my pace, and my name jumped above his on the leaderboard.

I wanna, li-li-li-lick you from your head to your toes

And I wanna, move from the bed down to the, down to the, to the flo'

"Add two more points on resistance," Kendall called out.

Instead, I added four points, and he noticed. He pedaled faster, and I found myself far too focused on a bead of sweat making its way down his bicep, snaking itself into every dip and curve of his muscle. My heart beat frantically, as if it wanted to escape my chest and jump right into his lap.

"Add one more than you did last time," Kendall instructed us. "Slow down if you have to but don't stop. Just keep breathing."

I did what she said and let out a long exhale, trying to find my breath, find my center, find something that would tear my attention away from Reid and his impossibly tight shirt.

Then I wanna, "Ahh ahh, " you make it so good I don't wanna leave

But I gotta kn-kn-kn-know, what-what's your fan-ta-ta-sy?

I made a mental note to tell Kendall to never do a 2000s era hip-hop class ever again. Even though my body was burning up, I refused to slow down, and neither did Reid. I added more resistance, and then so did he, and just as I was about to again, Reid winced. His hand twitched as if he was going to grab for something, but reigned it back in. It was only for a split second, but I knew what I saw.

"One last time," Kendall called out. "Make it count!"

My hand hovered over the resistance knob, but I hesitated for a moment as the sight of him wincing flashed through my head, and a moment was all Reid needed as he moved ahead of me again on the leaderboard.

The song ended, and so did class.

"Shit," I groaned. I pushed myself up off of the handlebars, desperate to catch my breath and keep my heart in my chest.

Reid and I finally made direct eye contact, and I was sure I looked like a drowned rat, whereas he resembled an Armani summer ad. Locks of hair artfully stuck to his forehead, and nobody on Earth should be allowed to look so good sweaty. It was a crime against humanity. But as usual, Reid managed to get away with everything.

"Well, would you look at that," Reid said, his voice breathy but his smirk so self-satisfied. "I win."

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so the spin class scene was actually one of the first legitimate scenes i came up with when i started conceptualizing and planning this story. i am a loyal peloton girlie and this was inspired by my fav instructor (who i named this Kendall after) and one of her hip-hop classes i regularly take.

it's also sort of one of the first benchmarks i have in the progression of their relationship, like now it's moved from just simple banter and tension to a more heightened level of sexual tension, and i really wanted you to feel it with this one lol so i hope you did!