Page 20 of Cuffed By Your Love

I didn’t say it out loud, but my chest hummed with the possibility. What if love had already knocked, and I was just too busy guarding the door to answer?

I wasn’t even supposed to be at the gym that day. However, after talking to Chambers and spending too long staring at my ceiling, I needed to put my hands on some weights instead of dwelling on my emotions.

Iron didn’t lie. It didn’t sugarcoat or gaslight; it simply was what it was. I was two sets into my chest presses when I saw her. Jonay, in all her glory. She had on a hoodie, and her pretty hair was slicked back. She was confidently showing off her sexy, toned thighs, and her ID was securely attached to her hip.

She was on the treadmill, row four.

Her legs moved as if she was trying to outrun something. But her eyes, those lovely brown eyes, were focused on nothing in particular. It was as if her body was in motion while her mind was trapped somewhere in a moment of betrayal.

I froze mid-curl, uncertain if I should speak or leave her pretty ass in her solitude. She hadn’t noticed me, and I wasn’t sure if I should interrupt her peace.

She slowed to a walk with her towel casually draped over her shoulder and sweat glistening across her collarbones like diamonds in defiance. Stepping down from the treadmill, she reached for her water bottle. When she turned to face me, our eyes locked for a moment that felt timeless. Everything else in the gym seemed to vanish. It was just me, her, and whatever God was trying to write into this chapter.

She blinked, and I nodded in response. With a subtle tilt of her chin, she communicated a clear message: “I see you, but I’m not trying to do this right now.”

I approached her slowly, making sure not to crowd her, just allowing my presence to be felt.

“You good?” I asked.

She didn’t smile, but her eyes weren’t cold either.

“Depends on what day you ask.”

“That bad?”

She took a sip of water and leaned against the wall, her body language guarded but not closed off.

“That real.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, trying not to look at her lips for too long. “You always run like somebody chasing you?”

She looked me straight in the face and said, “Aren’t they always?”

Damn.

That stopped me for a second. I nodded slowly. “Fair point.”

She looked me over once, not with lust. Withdiscernment.

It was as if she were trying to see what kind of man I was without asking.

“Are you here to work out?” she asked.

“Nah. I came to emotionally spiral on the rowing machine.”

That got her pretty ass. She laughed softly; it was enough for me to feel like I had captured something sacred.

I took a small step closer.

“Look, I’m not tryna press you. I know you have a lot going on. I can feel it on you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “So, you read women now?”

“I read energy, and yours been screaming since the hospital.”

She crossed her arms. “So what do you want? A thank you for speaking peace over me like some poetic patrol officer?”

I grinned. “Nah, I want your name to stop echoing in my head every night like it paid rent.”