Page 4 of Mr. Green (Mr. #2)

Lana

T he next morning, I stare up at the ceiling, liking the idea of staying in bed. I should be getting up. I have things to do and I’ve already pushed the snooze button on my alarm three times.

Instead, I sigh and roll over to my other side. I look at my phone just like every other day and find disappointment once again. No texts, e-mails, or phone calls, and no new notifications on social media from Ryan.

A tear slips down, but I swipe it away. I focus on the tasks today—meeting with Jason this afternoon to start my first training session. My lips turn up at the sides surprising me. The slight mouth movement settles back into a neutral position once again after I notice what I’m doing. Weird.

Before I can get excited about my training session, I have to do some coding for the gym’s app and then I’ll grab some lunch.

I get out of bed, put on my glasses, throw my hair up in a messy bun and get started on coding the gym app.

We’re making an app for our members so they can access classes anytime, record their fitness progress, and get nutrition tips.

It’ll be open to the public as well for a fee.

The app coding goes by quick. I head to Lakebrook’s “downtown” three hours later.

We have a small area filled with little shops, idyllic lampposts, and trees all going down one-way roads.

I park a little crooked, but I’m in the lines so I don’t give it too much thought.

Then I head to a known locals’ spot—the café.

I usually meet Paige and Scarlett here, but they’re busy today.

I’m going to order a roast beef sandwich with provolone cheese that’s melted to gooeyness on top of a rosemary French roll, plus French fries. I have a feeling I’ll be on a strict diet soon, so I’m getting my fill of unhealthy choices while I still can.

I walk through the door smelling coffee and potatoes.

The sizzling of pans and steaming of espresso machines along with mild chatter fills the space.

There’s two people in front of me. One of them is a woman with red hair hitting midback.

The other is a guy who’s just a bit taller than her.

He’s staring at her as she waits in line.

She’s playing with her purse and something drops to the ground.

He goes to pick it up and at the same time she reaches for the object.

Their hands collide. They smile at one another, and the guy tells the clerk they’re on the same tab.

It’s so sweet, it’s almost making me lose my appetite. I roll my eyes. Get a room.

I’m not sure why God or the universe or whoever thinks it’s funny to put people in love in front of me, but right now it feels like some sick joke. No one loves you, but here is a fun way to see how other people can be in love. Isn’t that cool?

I wish I could punch my brain for reacting this way.

Once the couple is over at a table, flirting, it’s my turn to order.

I get it to carry out and wait in a corner of the café avoiding eye contact with the ten or so people sitting at tables.

It’s easy enough, since most of them are on their laptops, having conversations amongst themselves, or scrolling through their phone.

I pretend to scroll through my phone too. I still have no missed calls, texts, or e-mails, so I don’t know what I’m supposed to look at right now. After seven minutes an associate, Noah, a high school student, shouts, “Order for Lana.” Thank God. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in.

I grab my sandwich and walk at a fast pace to the door. I’m looking down at my container of food, avoiding any stares from the other customers, so I don’t realize there’s someone walking in until I bump into him.

His broad shoulders, suit, and the signature man bun make me freeze in place. He turns to face me, my breath catches in my chest. I wasn’t expecting to see him again so soon. Thankfully, I wasn’t carrying a drink or that would’ve become his new outfit.

“Hey, Sunshine,” Grant states, too cheerful for me. “Funny bumping into you here. Glad to see you got out of jail.”

Did he just insinuate I was in jail?

“Jail?” I furrow my eyebrows. “I didn’t go to jail.” I make eye contact with Noah at the cash register who is being way too nosey for his own good. “Don’t listen to him.”

Grant turns to the kid. “Drunk and disorderly. Shouting at everyone. The cops had to pull her away before she started taking off her clothes.”

I’m bright red, I’m sure of it. Heat is probably smoking from my ears. I’m not letting him get away with that.

“ Actually , he was hoping I’d take off my clothes. He can’t tell the difference between reality and his dream states. He’s always dreaming about me.” Grant smirks back at me. “I’d make sure you’re close to the phone. You know, in case he starts pestering other women.”

I roll my eyes, yet again this morning and walk out. The nerve of that guy. Making up shit that didn’t happen in front of people. Who the hell does that?

“Nice to see you again!” he shouts after me.

I don’t turn around. He needs his head examined.

Why the hell is he still here?

~

I walk into the gym, thankful to see the bamboo floors and light gray paint open to the modern desk. When we took over, the gym had carpets and was painted a dark green. The first change we made was painting.

I’m barely able to put one foot in front of the other. The sandwich made me tired, and now I’m feeling zero motivation to workout. I made the commitment though, so here I am, ready to meet with Jason .

He’s walking up to the front desk with his back straight and a perfect smile.

“Hey, Lana! You ready to get that butt sexier than it’s ever been?”

“So ready. What are we starting with?”

“Let’s get your weight and measurements just so you can see your progress. Weightlifting helps you gain strength and lose inches, so it’ll be nice when you can look back on where you were. We’re going to help you achieve your goal to run as far as you want! Sound good?”

“Are we working out today?”

“Oh, yeah girl.” He smiles as if working out is the best thing in the world. “You’ve never done the intake with Paige or Scarlett?”

We start walking to the room where you get measured. It’s a small space, but we didn’t feel there needed to be too much room for a scale, table, and piece of measuring tape. We updated it by painting it white, added one large rectangular mirror, and carried in the bamboo flooring.

Then there are the posters. The posters that say things like, “There are mountains waiting to be moved.” It has people standing and staring at the thing like they’ll actually move it.

I scoff in my head, thinking of the idiots trying to move a mountain.

Yeah, right. I tried to get those tossed, but Scarlett and Paige won that round.

“I’ve never done the actual process before.” I shrug. “I used to follow Paige or Scarlett with whatever workout they had planned for the day. Weights always make me feel like I’m going to become Miss Bulky.”

He laughs. “You mean when they’d drag you in here to get you out of your house?”

I glare back at him.

He clears his throat. “Okay, let’s take your weight.”

“Okay.” I know my weight has gone up, so I’m not expecting the number to be low.

“One hundred eighty-two pounds,” Jason says without a hint of judgement. “Let’s get your height.” I put my back against the wall as he measures. “Five foot, three inches. Okay, let’s take a few measurements. This is where a lot of progress happens. We really just need an arm, leg, and waist.”

I nod and then hand over my arm first. Once he has all my measurements, he turns to me. “Do you have an active lifestyle?”

“Not anymore,” I say, fighting the tears building up. “Uhmm. I work from home and I’ve been sleeping a lot.” The tears melt down my face despite my lack of trying to hold them in.

“Oh, La La! I hate to see you like this!” He embraces me in a half hug. “You must know you’re beautiful. Working out is amazing because you start seeing the beauty. You need to focus on the things that make you feel good. Guess what?”

“Hmm?”

“You took the first step to feel better. You have a goal, and you know your body can do it. Okay?”

“Yup.” I inhale a deep breath.

“First things first, I need you to start thinking fresh. Fresh air, fresh food, fresh plan. This is about you finding a little push to feel better. Don’t put all this pressure on yourself.”

I look down, trying to hide my sobbing. I didn’t expect to break down and am thankful we’re in a room where no one else can see.

My eyes try to avoid looking at Jason, and catch on the stupid mountain poster.

Maybe the girls were right about those. I want to defeat a metaphorical mountain right now. It’s why I asked for Jason’s help.

My fists clench, willing the tears to stop. “Sorry about that.”

“Girl, don’t worry. This is going to be fun! No stress, okay?”

I nod my head.

“If you want to get in shape for this marathon, I suggest you do a cardio workout in the morning and then weights in the afternoon or evening. You’ll have one rest day every two days.

Walking or yoga is always encouraged because that’s moving your body lightly.

Since the marathon is in four months, we need to do the workout twice a day to make sure you’re gaining strength and can go the distance. You with me so far?”

“Yup. I have a watch that counts my distance, heart rate, and calories too.”

“Perfect. Did you say you’re making the app for the gym so it can also count your calories?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan. It’s going to calculate it once you input your weight and height, but it doesn’t need to be linked to anything unless you want it to be.”

“That’s cool.”

“Yeah, it’s coming along.”

“I’m going to say that once you start with running, add a half mile each time. Try to push yourself, but if you can only do a quarter of a mile, no worries. Some days will be better than others. Remember, this is supposed to be a fun way to feel good.”

I nod.

“Let’s go over your diet plan. Are you a vegetarian or anything?”

“No, I like all types of food.”

“Cool, me too. Eating should be its own sport. Here’s the basic plan.

You need a protein with every meal to build up muscle.

Carbohydrates are fine, but try to choose whole foods like fruits, oats, vegetables.

I’ve found that having a cheat meal once a week gets the best results.

I always binge out on whatever the fuck I want on Fridays.

I get my cravings out of the way, and once a week is easy to stick to, but if you have a hankering for something, follow it. Any questions?”

“Alcohol?”

“I would say no the week before the marathon. Now, I know a girl needs a drink! A little cocktail is alright every now and then. Keep in mind alcohol is empty calories that you throw away, but I understand the feeling is worth it most days. Use your judgement. Watch your calories. Pay attention and stop if it makes you feel bloated or sick. ”

“Hmmm.” Fuck. “How about bread?”

“You need to be wise. Try whole grain. You might want to consider gluten free bread and see if that works for you. Everybody is different, so the first week you need to see what makes you bloated or tired. The actual goal here is to get you to feel good again. Sometimes eating breads gives you that energy you need for the next workout. It’s about you and your relationship with it.

Protein shakes with greens are always a good way to go. ”

“Greens?”

“Yeah, like spinach or kale.”

“In a shake?” I scrunch my face like I smelled something bad. “That sounds horrible.”

Jason starts laughing. “It’s not really a foodie kind of thing.”

“Oh.” I’m sure I have a long face. “Are spices okay? Eating things that are bland sounds horrible.”

“I would say fresh spices are totally cool.”

I nod. “I’ll make it work.”

“Have you tried sage with eggs? I hear that’s really good.”

“I’ve been out of experimenting with food for a while, but I’ll try that one.”

“Any other questions?”

“I don’t think so.”

“You can always text me if something comes up. You ready for a workout?”

“Sure.”

He laughs due to my lack of enthusiasm, I’m sure.

We head out to the gym where we begin with weight machines that look like they’re trying to torture you. I try to focus on getting myself back instead of what I really want to do—run away and hide under my bed covers.