Gabby's POV

Are you coming in today?

I looked down at my phone to see a text from my cousin, Ryan. Truth be told, I planned on sitting on the couch all day reading the book that's been opened to the same page for the past hour.

I don't know. No. Maybe. Um... No, it's probably best I don't go back there ever again.

Not even to see your favorite person ever?

Oh? Shawn Mendes? Well fuck Ry, that's all you had to say. Be there in a sec!

Ha. Ha.

I knew Ryan was talking about himself because he's forever joking around that I love him the most out of all of the Blaney clan. He says this because we've been glued to the hip since we were in diapers. He's been my best friend for that long, too.

Suddenly, my phone rang and I knew without looking it would be Ryan.

"Ry, you know I can't..."
"It's Chase." I looked down at my phone and low and behold, the phone number for Infinity Fitness was splayed across my screen.

"Oh," was all I could say because I never expected it to be Chase, especially after our last two run ins.

"Expecting Ryan to call you?" He sounded off, like he couldn't quite grasp why Ryan would call me. Clearly he doesn't know we're related and I intend to keep it that way.

"Can I help you?" I said instead of answering his question.

Chase was silent for a moment before he sucked in his breath. "I was just calling to see if we're still on for this morning?" He sounded unsure, kind of like he was hoping I would say no. It just brought me back to our conversation back at the bike path and how I knew deep down he thinks this whole workout idea is pointless.

"I'll be there." I found myself saying instead of saying no, which was on the tip of my tongue. I know I should have said that because I still feel off about this whole thing. Like why would Chase even want to give someone like me a second chance?

"Fantastic! I'll see you shortly." Chase sounded excited which just confused me evenmore since at first he didn't.

When I hung up the phone from Chase, I saw a text from Ry and it gave me the peace of mind I needed.

I have faith in you, Gabby. Give Chase the chance to change your life. You're not going to regret this.

**

I regretted it the moment I walked into Infinity Fitness though, because Chase stood at the counter, leaning over and chatted away to the cute redhead who kept licking her lips and eyeballed him like he was her next meal.

It made me sick.

Then I regretted it even more when I scanned my membership card and Chase looked over me with a huge smile on his face. It didn't go unnoticed by the redhead and she gave me a disgusted look for taking the attention off of her.  Believe me, I didn't want it. 

"So glad you could make it!" Chase said, walking away from the redhead who was now shooting daggers at me. Not sure why she should feel threatened, Chase wouldn't give me the time or day outside of this facility.
"Um, yeah." I looked everywhere but at him, really hoping I would see Ryan. I feel like if I saw him, he would help calm my ever growing anxiety.

"I have something for you. Let me go grab it out of my office and while you get settled in. I'll meet you by the weights, we're going to do some stretching before we pick up where we left off at."

Great.

I put my stuff in locker number 9, my favorite and lucky number. It always brought me strength and it always showed up in the times I needed reminded that I can get through anything that's going on in my life.

I waited a few moments before leaving the locker room. I needed to remind myself today is not going to end in a disaster like the last time and that this is good for me.

I kept my head down and briskly walked towards the back of the gym where all of the weights were. I could feel eyes on me as I walked past a few people on the treadmills and I'm sure they're all thinking the same thing - that I shouldn't be here. 

I wholeheartedly agreed.

I found Chase in the corner where the yoga mats laid. He was flat on his back with his legs up in the air. The movements he was doing caused his gym shorts to fall down and oh my, he had such thick, muscular thighs that all I could do was stare... and then his shirt rode up to show off his impeccable abs.

This was definitely a bad idea.

I sucked in a breath, averted my eyes and walked over to Chase who noticed me right away. He stood up and wordlessly pointed to the mat beside him. "Let's get started with some easy stretches."

I followed Chase's movements and was happy that it was easier than I thought. He showed me how to properly stretch my muscles so I wasn't straining them and told me that I could easily do this at home before coming into the gym if I wanted to. I liked the idea of that because I knew people were watching us and I hated it.

"Okay, moving on." Chase turned and put away our mats and I followed him over to the bench where a small pile of weights were waiting for me. "Here, these are for you." Chase smiled and handed me a pair of pink gloves, well, fingerless gloves. "They're so you can keep a better grip on the weights." Chase nervously laughed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Is this a gift from you, or from your toes?" I couldn't help but smile that Chase thought of getting me weight lifting gloves. A small part of me wants to turn this around and make it feel like he got these because I can't handle holding weights, but the way he's being so shy about this confirms that this is a legit nice gesture.

"Ha, no, but they do thank me for getting these for you. I hope pink is okay and not sexist? I only picked that color cause it matches your gym bag so I figured that was safe." I watched Chase in disbelief as he kept averting his eyes and biting his bottom lip. He was nervous, which was ridiculous, and he noticed my gym bag?

"They're perfect. Thank you." I put the gloves on and secretly rejoiced that they fit perfectly. "Okay, trainer, let's see what these bad boys can do."

**

I leaned against the wall, holding onto my side because it hurt so much. Not because of the workout Chase planned for me today, but because I was laughing so hard at the story he was telling me. Apparently some meathead got kicked out of the gym last week cause he was acting like an ass and thought he was superior than others. "It was ridiculous," Chase shook his head while adjusting the weights for me to do some shoulder press. "He would stand in front of the mirror for hours, lifting and grunting. At one point I saw him kiss and baby talk his one bicep." Chase laughed and it was the sweetest sound I've ever heard.

"How did you kick him out?" Chase motioned for me to sit down and showed me where to place my hands and to adjust the lap bar. I made a mental note that he hasn't touched me at all today. Which is fine by me, because Lord knows I can't function when his hands are on my body and then that damn spark I feel every time. THAT is something I haven't figured out yet.

Every time we've touched, I could feel the electronic currents surge throughout my veins. All it did was feed my need of wanting to touch him as much as possible, but I knew better not to do.

"Actually, Blaney did it. I've never seen him so mad in my entire life. The guy bumped into a girl he was training and knocked her over. Ryan demanded the guy to apologize, but of course he just huffed and mocked Ryan and went back to doing what he was doing." Chase held up his hand to motion for me to take a 30 second break. "Next thing I know, Ryan is screaming at the top of his lungs saying that's no way to treat a lady. Okay, last set." Chase nodded for me to begin again. "I actually had to step in at that point because Ryan was about to throw a punch. Thankfully Ryan turned around, grabbed this guys stuff out of the locker room and threw it in the parking lot when it was pouring down rain. It was the perfect David versus Goliath moment." I smiled, releasing the shoulder press and looked up at Chase. Of course Ryan would defend his honor to impress a lady.

"That had to be a sight to see, especially since Ryan is so tiny."

"Yeah, but he packs a powerful punch." I raised my eyebrow at him and he just laughed and shook his head. "Long story.  Okay! I think we're done for the day." 

I released the shoulder press and took a breath. I know I was a sweaty mess, but I actually felt like I accomplished something today. Chase handed me a towel and my water bottle.

"Thank you, Chase. You made today super fun, I really appreciate that."

"No, I should be thanking you for giving me another chance. I shouldn't have been an ass in the first place. So I apologize." I smiled at Chase for being real with me. "I'll walk you out."

I quickly ran into the locker room, splashed my face with water and grabbed my stuff out of the locker. Chase waited for me and just as he promised, he walked me out to the parking lot. "I'll see you Thursday, then?"
"I'll be here!" I said cheerfully and waved him goodbye.

I had to tell my heart that this meant nothing and that he was just being nice to me for the way he acted before. There's no need to look into this at all.

Once I got to my car, I realized I left my keys hanging up on the wall of keys. I placed my stuff beside my car and quickly ran back inside to grab my keys. As I was leaving, I saw Chase out of the corner of my eye walking out of his office with the redhead from earlier at the front counter. "Chase, you're flirting with her. I can't believe you, it's so disgusting! Please tell me you're not attracted to her." My heart dropped in my chest when I realized they were talking about me.

"What? No way. Not in a million years. Clearly she's not my type, nor will she ever be. You have nothing to worry about, baby."

My heart sunk as I dropped my keys to the floor, causing both Chase and the girl he was talking to look my way. "Clearly she can't get enough of you." I heard her say through the loud pounding of my heart in my ears. Chase stared at me, the smile he was wearing when he was talking to her vanished, replace with shock like he was just caught cheating.

I quickly grabbed my keys and ran out the door, telling myself he's not worth crying over and even though tears are streaming down my face.

He's such a fucking ass, I swear.

"Gabriella! Wait! Gabby!" I ignored his calls, trying to unlock and get into my car before he reached me. However, he was faster. "I'm sorry, let me explain!"
"Explain what, Chase?" I turned on him, "the fact that I'm not your type? Well open your eyes, I'm no ones type! I've never expected anything from you, let alone think that I could stand a chance. I swear, all you men are the same. Maybe next time you should wait until your fat client leaves the parking lot before you talk about her. And never call me Gabby, only real friends get to call me that!" I got into my car and slammed the door as hard as I could.

I peeled out of the parking lot, not even bothering to look to see if Chase was watching me leave or not. Just when I thought today was going to end on a high note, it just fucking crumbles.

I pulled into an empty parking lot down the street not able to see anymore as tears streamed down my face.

I knew changing my life for the better was going to come with some low points, I just never expected it to be so personal. 

 I don't think I could ever rebound from this. 

~*~

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone!! Did anyone get any NASCAR related gifts?? I got got Joey's championship hat! 

Sorry for the delay of posting this chapter! I should be going back to the Sunday posting schedule this weekend.  Thanks for reading!!