Ladies' Choice

Hannah

I reluctantly fell into the routine of maintaining my regular workout schedule and adding a few light, early morning workouts to it.

The daily workouts, as well as the other kind of daily workouts, seemed to trigger something in my body, and I wasn’t as sore anymore.

My muscles even appeared to crave the exercise because I found myself running more easily.

If you had told me a few months ago that I would be running every day, and that I’d be easily pulling on a pair of size-twelve jeans, I’d have asked what kind of drugs you were on.

This journey has completely changed my life.

I kept chronicling my progress on my Instagram account, and #projectpeanutbuttercup continues to gain followers.

A local fitness blogger even tracked me down and came to the gym to meet me. She tried the interval workout and wrote a whole post about Jordan and me.

I wasn’t sure how it would be received that I fell for my trainer, but the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

There were a few people who signed up for trial memberships to catch a glimpse of Jordan, but he was a professional, so they eventually set their sights elsewhere.

He was surprised I didn't get territorial when they occasionally cornered him to ask questions, but he gave me no reason to distrust how he felt about me.

We survived in a little bubble, spending as much time together as our schedules allowed.

My cooking skills had improved, and he'd actually managed to make me a morning person. His methods of coaxing me awake were becoming my favorite.

Sometimes, he used soft kisses on my shoulders; other times, his mouth was occupied a little lower.

I didn't know how he had the energy to keep up with his workouts and then jump me any chance he got. His method of endurance training might not have been conventional, but I'd never been more relaxed.

“Daydreaming about dick again?” Parker teased, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“What?”

Parker threw a sweet potato fry at me, so I picked it up and dropped it back on his plate.

We'd started meeting for lunch at least twice a week because our evenings seemed to be suddenly booked up.

“You’re more distracted than usual. Is he keeping you up too late at night?”

“Just thinking.” I picked at the salad in front of me and tried to focus on Parker. I had been a neglectful best friend.

“So, I know you’ve been spending the night at Jordan’s a lot, but I thought that maybe we could get together this weekend?”

“Sure. I have these new moisturizing face masks from work that I got in a promo basket,” I offered. Parker was always up for some self-care.

“Maybe I should be more specific. I mean ~them~ and us. Would you be up for meeting Lincoln?”

I met his uncertain gaze with surprise, and he gave me a weak smile.

“You're actually going to introduce me to him?” I asked in awe. Usually, I was just briefly introduced to the ones he was trying to get rid of. This was a first for Parker.

“You make it sound like you’re my dirty little secret.” He rolled his eyes.

“Well, you’ve been dating him for over three months, and all I know about him is that he likes to draw and, apparently, play with your penis.”

“You know more than that.” He rolled his eyes again.

“Okay, he fills out a Spider-Man costume nicely.”

“He does… doesn’t he,” he sighed dreamily.

“I never pegged you to fall for a guy who likes cosplay.”

“He also likes role-play other places… so…” Parker smirked with a dirty wink.

“Oh my God, Park. I don’t want to know.”

“You’re no fun.” He laughed. “You won’t even tell me details about your private training sessions with tall, dark, and furry.”

“Stop calling him that. Jordan’s not a bear.” I laughed. He may have had the rugged chest hair going on, but his facial hair was always neatly trimmed.

“It’s his fault for answering your door shirtless,” he shrugged. “Which was a nice surprise, by the way. I give him two thumbs up.”

“You’re such a pervert,” I laughed, and he nodded.

“It’s part of my charm.”

“It must be,” I teased playfully. “It’s kept Lincoln interested for quite a while.”

“Please don’t tease me when we’re out,” he pleaded, suddenly sounding a little insecure.

“But that’s how our dynamic works. I don’t know how to keep from teasing you. Kind of like how you don’t know how to keep from saying perverted comments about everything.”

He must have been really serious about Lincoln if he was asking me to behave.

“I really, really like him.”

“I’ll behave if you do,” I raised an eyebrow.

“Deal,” he nodded thoughtfully.

“What if we’re really boring without the dirty banter and teasing?” I wondered. It was rare that we interacted without making some kind of dirty joke.

“Bitch, I’m never boring,” he told me with a cocky smirk.

“You’re right. How could I ever think that?” I giggled as I tried to focus on finishing my lunch.