Page 49 of Striking Heat

I just shake my head and keep moving through my sets. I keep quiet the rest of my work, while Danny and Lucas bond. They talk a little bit about the football players he used to train, but Lucas doesn’t bring up Danny’s father again.

When my workout wraps, I turn to Danny. “I just need to head over to the locker room and change, then we can go.”

He nods. “I think there’s a Starbucks nearby.”

I shake my head. “That won’t work. Weren’t you an athlete? I need more than coffee after that workout. How about Tropical Smoothie?”

“There’s a diner close. What if we went there? I think they have egg white omelets or something?”

“Not much of a smoothie kinda guy, huh?”

Danny chuckles. “No, not really.”

“Fine, egg white omelets it is.”

“Thank you,” he says, tapping me on my nose. “Now move your sweaty butt.”

“Sir, yes sir.” I say with a giggle, walking over to the locker room. I steal one last glance in his direction to see that he’s watching me and smiling.

Chapter Twenty

~DANNY~

The diner I had in mind is just a block or so away from the gym. Given that it’s a nice Saturday, Mac asks to walk.

“You were born to be a city girl,” I tease her when we’re sitting in a booth.

“Why would you say that?” she asks, eyeing me carefully.

“Because you sure do like to walk a lot. Was that what it was like in your college town?” I ask her.

She shakes her head. “No, but I always walk when I can. I’ve always liked it, I guess.”

I nod. “I can definitely see that.”

“You don’t like to walk?” she asks me.

“I drive when I can.”

“You’ve got that fancy car to drive.”

“It’s not that fancy,” I defend. Of course she’s going to call it fancy; most people do. But most people don’t worry that it can cost less than some of the fancier cars out there. But nonetheless, I let it go.

She shrugs and goes back to browsing the menu.

I don’t need to. I’ve been here so many times before, so I spend my time looking at the woman who is sitting in front ofme. Mac has her hair in a braid. I’ve noticed it’s her signature hairstyle when she’s playing soccer or working out. It’s the way she wore it at the bar too. While the other girls made themselves up, Mac didn’t. She kept it simple.

She’s changed into a white shirt and yellow sweat shorts. It’s a fitting color for her. She’s like the sunshine, and yellow radiates that. I wonder, though, how much more comfortable those sweat shorts are going to be in the coming months. It gets hot and humid here and sweat material is too hot to wear.

“Aren’t you going to look?” she asks me.

“Nah, I know what I’m getting. I come here to write a lot.”

“The paper doesn’t give you a desk?”

I smile. I like her teasing side. I like that she keeps me on my toes with our playful banter. “They do, but sometimes it’s better to write here. A change of scenery is good for me.”

“Is this where you wrote that hack piece on me?”