Sooner Than Later ♥

I slowed my pace as the treadmill came to a stop, allowing me to safely get off and take a breather. I was done with my warmup and now could get to the good stuff: it was upper body day, and I was ready to get my pump on. 

I took a quick swig from my water bottle as I made my way over to the dumbbell rack and selected two twenty-pound weights. I had planned out a circuit to do, and I was ready to get rocking so I could get home and enjoy the rest of my very not-planned-out Saturday. I didn’t have work at Rejavanate today, I didn’t have much else to do outside of that. I had graduated from Cragright last year with a Bachelor's degree in Communications, but I honestly had no clue what I wanted to ‘do with my life.’ I was content to just be the Team Mom at the coffee shop, workout, and overall just hang. God, I can’t believe I actually started to like being called that. It made me feel old, but it also made me happy. I smiled to myself and shook my head. 

I hoisted my dumbbells, joined my brother in front of the huge mirror, and prepared to get started as I reviewed the note in my phone with the exercises I wanted to do as well as the number of repetitions. After I re-pocketed my phone in my leggings and turned my playlist on, I glanced up at my giant of a brother, who was focused intently on himself in the mirror as he did bicep curls. His sleek black hair was twisted up in a bun, and he had rivulets of sweat slipping down his face. His dark eyes were completely trained on his arms, making sure his form was steady, and his mouth was set in a firm line. He looked a bit scary. 

I lightly rolled my eyes before I started out on my circuit - I had decided to focus on my biceps and shoulders today, with added tricep and core work. Kyrie had decided to do his own thing today, which I didn’t take offense to. He and I were close, but I couldn’t exactly say we were buddy-buddy to the point of wanting to do absolutely everything together. To be fair, the last time we had decided to work out together in our garage, I had accidentally kicked him in his squirrel stash.

I still felt super bad about that.

As I got into the rhythm of my music, I began knocking out my reps like crazy, my heart pumping and my body feeling strong. It felt amazing. I loved working out, and I was super grateful that despite Ridge Rock’s small size and small-town feel, we had a gym not too far from Rejavanate, in the area called ‘the village,’ which was a lovely mix of modern and old-timey feel. It’s where most of the town’s good stuff was: the ice cream shop, the tattoo place, the single bar, the pizza place, a couple of restaurants, and then the grocery store and gym. There was other stuff, but these were the staples, and I honestly liked the simplicity of having limited options for entertainment and hang-out spots. I was never a fan of big cities, and I liked the small populous of Ridge Rock, too. Everyone was super chill and nice, and I was very happy to live in a place like this. 

Every Saturday, like today, Kyrie and I would get up around 7, mix up some protein shakes, and hit the road for the oh-so-grueling fifteen-minute drive to Rock Giant Gym. The staff was friendly and the gym’s appearance was deceiving. It looked small, but inside, it was massive, well-stocked with all sorts of equipment, and its name came in part from the fact there were rock-climbing walls inside. 

Honestly, it was kind of charming how everything in Ridge Rock seemed related to, well, rocks. We had our college, Cragright. We had Rock Giant Gym, King’s Peak Pizza, Mountaintop Market, Stone Circle Brewery, and Carabiner Cliff Coffee House, which had nothing on Rejavanate. It was kind of bizarre, but like I said, it was charming. And at least it was definitely memorable. And hey, if I ever wanted to feel wild as people my age sometimes do, I could drive twenty minutes to the neighboring ‘city’ of Snowcat and have the pick of not one, but three bars. What a freaking score. 

All in all, Ridge Rock was an amazingly well-kept secret - a gem that hadn’t been tarnished by a hellish amount of annoying tourists who crowded the area in search of actual seasons. I’m mainly talking about the people who would drive up from the LA area and decided they were too good for places like Big Bear. No one really paid attention to Ridge Rock. It was a blip on a map, but was full of life and good people. I feared the day that it started to become overpopulated like the rest of this state, but for now, we seemed to remain tucked away. 

I was happy. 

I brought my attention back to my rooted spot on the gym floor as I finished my second circuit. I was panting a bit, but I felt great still. I was happy with the amount of stamina I had today - I really needed to work off all of the cake I had at Elliot’s birthday party yesterday. I might have snuck a third slice. What can I say? A girl’s gotta eat, and I don’t mess around when it comes to good dessert. 

Kyrie had replaced his forty-pound dumbbells and was now doing a triset of diamond pushups, weighted sit-ups with a plate, and side planks. His movements were fluid and full of poise, which seemed strange since he was a lanky six-foot-four weirdo. I seriously don’t know how he kept control of his limbs and lived his life - he spent a good amount of time ducking, and watching him drive was like watching Bambi on ice: awkward, and a lot less cute. It was hilarious. 

He noticed me watching him as he rolled over from his pushups and into his sit-ups. He smirked a little as he hoisted the plate over his head. 

“Stay in your lane, C,” he muttered, starting his reps. 

“Don’t act you don’t like being watched,” I shot back, sticking my tongue out at him. 

He rolled his eyes and started doing his sit-ups, and I continued on in my own workout. 

I loved my brother, but I also loved teasing my brother. It was a wonderful combination that made our relationship rich and deep, despite the fact we were vastly different. Kyrie was lanky, lean, and limber, with long black hair and slightly slanted brown eyes. He looked perpetually tired, but in reality, he was just incredibly mellow. His voice was low and husky, and he rarely said what he was thinking or feeling. On the flip side, I was short and a bit stocky, and I kept my own dark hair cropped into a bob. I was super loud, I spoke my mind, and I wasn’t afraid to both start fights and finish them. I knew what I deserved and what I didn’t, and I often had to cover Kyrie’s ass when he got picked on because he didn’t stand up for himself. When I was a freshman at Grandview High, Kyrie was a junior, and everyone knew him because of me: my boisterous presence got a lot of attention, and I earned popularity because of my outgoing personality. So, when I heard that Kyrie was getting called Freakie, short for ‘freak of nature,’ I had fought back by exerting my status as someone to not mess with. I both told his bullies to shut the hell up and teasingly called Kyrie Frankie instead, both because he was tall like Frankenstein’s monster and also because it was an offshoot of the meaner nickname. He acted like he hated it, but I knew he was thankful for how I was. And I was thankful for him, too. Balance is always nice. I think we drove our parents a bit nuts sometimes, but what good kids don't do that? 

It’s what makes life interesting. 

We both finished up our workouts, and I placed my dumbbells on the gym floor, breathing hard and grinning. 

“Damn, that was a good one,” I managed to say, straightening back up and stretching my arms skyward, shaking them out as I brought them to my sides. “I’m spent.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Kyrie replied, trying to catch his own breath. “I hate diamond pushups.”

“Then why do you do them?” I teased, picking the weights back up to go put them away.

“Because if I hate it, that means I need to get better at it,” he replied, getting to his feet and picking up the plate to re-rack it. 

“Valid,” I said, putting the dumbbells away and using the towel tucked into my leggings to dry off my face. I readjusted my short ponytail and then grabbed both of our shaker bottles from the corner where we had dropped our gym bags. 

I handed Kyrie his and then popped the lid on mine. 

“Cheers!” I said, tapping my bottle to his and then tilting my head back to greedily suck down the shake. 

Kyrie grimaced at my display of desperation to get some of that chocolatey goodness into my mouth and began sipping away at his own shake: vanilla, his preferred flavor.

“Ahhhh,” I said, bringing my head back up and exaggeratedly sighing with contentment, grinning at Kyrie. 

“You are so weird,” he muttered, shaking his head slightly.

“Thank you,” I said, curtsying. “That means you are weird by default, oh brother of mine.”

“Yikes,” is all he said as he began making his way towards the lobby, ready to take off back home for a shower. 

I giggled and followed him, skipping a few steps with my shorter legs to catch up. 

We made our way out of the gym side-by-side, sipping away at our shakes. I glanced around as we got closer to the doors, but then I slowed as I noticed a buff dude with an undercut getting up from the bench press. 

“Hey, is that Jackson?” I said out loud, more to myself than to Kyrie. 

“Who?” Kyrie asked, licking a bit of stray vanilla off his upper lip. 

I knew Kyrie wasn’t super knowledgeable of my friend group - he liked to act like he was some lone-wolf cool dude, so he didn’t have many friends. At least, no one I knew of. He kept to himself and was generally overall super reserved and quiet. 

“You know Chase, my coworker. Jackson is one of his roommates,” I explained, meandering over to say hi to the jacked teddy bear of a guy. 

Jackson was toweling his face off as I approached, so he didn’t notice when I had stopped in front of him. He pulled the cloth from his face and his eyes shot wide when he saw me standing there. He sputtered and jumped a bit, nearly knocking his head against one of the bars of the Olympic bench. 

“Oh geez, sorry, hi, Jackson,” I apologized, feeling bad that I startled him. 

“Uh, hey, Christina,” he replied, righting himself on the bench. He scratched the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed. “I didn’t expect to see you here!” 

“Same for you!” I laughed, smiling. “I knew you worked out, I just haven’t seen you here before.”

“Yeah, I decided to get up early for once and get it done,” he replied, looking sheepish. “It actually feels pretty good to start my day like this.” 

He glanced past me to Kyrie, who was standing behind me a few feet away. 

“Oh hey,” Jackson said, waving to Kyrie, who remained stoic and silent. 

“Kyrie, don’t be freaking rude,” I sighed, gesturing from my brother to Jackson. “This is my brother, Kyrie. Jackson, Kyrie, Kyrie, Jackson.” 

“Hi, Kyrie!” Jackson said, as if he were trying out Kyrie’s name. I knew it was always weird for people to nail the first few times. It either came out as ‘curry’ or like ‘Kairi’ from Kingdom Hearts. In reality, it was closest to saying it like “Keer-ree’ since it was derived from Valkyrie. Jackson got it pretty close the first time. 

“Hey,” Kyrie responded, waggling his fingers a bit in a semi-wave. 

“He’s kind of quiet,” I half-whispered to Jackson with an apologetic smile. 

“Same,” Jackson replied in a not-so-subtle whisper. Jackson was anything but discreet. 

“Hey, C, I’m gonna go wait in the car, okay?” Kyrie said, turning to make his way off towards the lobby. “Nice meeting you,” he said, nodding at Jackson and then ambling away. 

“See ya, man!” Jackson called after him, returning the bro nod. 

Once Kyrie was out of earshot, I resumed my conversation with Jackson. 

“Geez, he can be so awkward,” I groaned, facepalming. “Sorry about that.”

“Nah, it’s all good! I deal with Elliot on a daily basis, nothing can faze me,” Jackson laughed, shaking his head.

“Aw, come on, Elliot can be as bad as that,” I said, gesturing to the space where Kyrie had stood. 

“Everyone’s different, who am I to judge?” Jackson replied with a chuckle, getting up from the bench. It felt like he towered over me. It was kind of impressive.

“So, whatcha up to today?” I asked as he slid the plates off of the Olympic bar and put them back on the rack.

“Eh, honestly not much,” Jackson answered, shrugging a bit. “Nothing too interesting happens on the weekends for me.” 

“I feel you on that,” I said, sighing. “I don’t have any plans today either.”

“Not hanging out with anyone?” Jackson asked, turning from the rack and facing me. “Not even your brother? He seems like a party guy,” Jackson grinned, waggling his eyebrows. 

“Oh yeah, definitely,” I laughed, shaking my head. “Nope, no hangout planned for today. Though it might be fun to try to drag Avery back here tonight. I could go for a double lift, and it would do her some good to get endorphins pumping. Might help with her depression.” 

“Aw, has she not been okay lately?” Jackson asked, his brow furrowing with concern.

“Not totally, but I know she’s been happier since she and Chase are-” I cut myself off, slapping my hand over my mouth and widening my eyes. I knew their relationship wasn’t fully ‘out’ yet to everyone. They had shown a lot of restraint yesterday at Elliot’s party, trying to not make it obvious they were a thing. And now I just goofed and blown their cover. 

Jackson blinked his doe-brown eyes as he considered what had just come out of my mouth. Then, his own eyes widened.

Crap. 

“Wait, what? Chase and Avery are…?” he repeated incredulously. Then, he broke out into a huge grin. “No way! Are they dating now?” he asked, leaning in towards me, his face like that of an excited puppy waiting for its owner to throw a ball. 

Yup. I messed up. 

“Hehehe, uhhh…” I started, looking a bit embarrassed. 

“Oh, you weren’t supposed to tell, were you?” Jackson asked, looking a little sly. “No worries, I won’t say a word.” He did the infamous lip-zipping gesture, acting like he was throwing away a key.

I let out a sigh of relief. I hoped Jackson would be able to uphold that promise, especially considering he was so enthusiastic and lived with Chase. He loved Avery, and knowing his personality, he would want to ask Chase all about how they got together. 

“Thanks, Jackson,” I laughed nervously. “I know they won’t keep it a secret forever, but I kind of found out because Avery let it slip to me at work.”

“Ah, got you,” he replied, smiling. “No worries, no biggie. I’ll wait to grill Chase until they announce it.”

Yup, he wanted to ask Chase, I affirmed to myself. I found it so sweet that they were close like that. 

“Anyway, I should probably get going. I don’t wanna keep Mr. Broody Moody waiting much longer,” I laughed, mimicking my brother’s awkward wave from earlier.

Jackson laughed and then paused, looking as if he were hesitant. 

“Um, hey, you said you didn’t have plans tonight right?” he asked, looking slightly uncomfortable. 

I froze.

“Yeah, I don’t have any plans! What’s up?” I asked. 

“Uh…um…well…” he stuttered, shifting a bit.

I waited patiently. 

“I was wondering…do you maybe want to hang out with me tonight?”

I felt my eyes widen. My mouth went a bit slack. 

Was he asking me out on a date? So abruptly? I barely knew the guy. 

“Wait! Oh shoot, no, I mean, not like that,” Jackson sputtered, waving his hands. “Sorry, wow, I’m really awkward myself, too,” he blushed, looking mortified. 

I let out a barking laugh: my lungs had emptied from the shock of his question, so I didn’t have much air to work with. 

“Oh,” I managed to say, still laughing a bit. 

“Yeah, sorry, I meant like to talk, not, um, a date,” he explained. His cheeks were totally red. “Sorry, Christina, I’m kind of a dork.”

“No, no, you’re fine!” I laughed, this time with actual oxygen to spend so I didn’t sound like a deranged seal. “You’re fine,” I gently patted his arm. “What did you wanna talk about?”

“Oh…um…” Jackson went back to looking nervous. “Well…I don’t know. I’ve felt really off lately, I guess. With my job and stuff. And I guess…you seem like someone I could talk to about it?” he ended in a questioning tone, his eyes on the ground.  

I didn’t expect Jackson to suddenly seem to want to open up, especially to me.

“Sure,” I answered, smiling gently.

He smiled gratefully at me. 

“But question for you,” I said, tilting my head. “Why me?” 

He blushed a bit, and wrung his hands a little. 

“Well, y’know Christina, you’ve always seemed like someone who is…motherly. Like, anyone could tell you anything and you would know what to do. I guess that’s why I feel like I can talk to you,” he said shyly. “I hope that doesn’t make you feel weird.”

“No, no! That’s really sweet of you to say. Trust me, you’re not the first person to tell me I’m like a mom,” I said, rolling my eyes lightly. Chase and Avery’s echoing chant of “Team Mom, Team Mom, Team Mom!” came ringing in my ear. I shook my head slightly and smiled up at Jackson. 

“So, no, I do not have plans later. So, yes, that means we can definitely talk. Where ya wanna go? Maybe wanna hit up a bar and just relax?”

Jackson’s eyes shone at my suggestion.

“Really? Are you sure?” he asked hopefully. 

“Saturday night chat with a bit of booze? Hell yeah, let’s do it!” I smiled. “You like Stone Circle? Or do you wanna go to Snowcat for some of that high city living?”

Jackson let out a little laugh and grinned.

“Hm…I guess Stone Circle sounds good,” he answered.     

 “Well then, I will meet you at Stone Circle,” I nodded affirmatively. “What time sounds good?”

“Hmm…maybe like 6?” Jackson asked, a small smile on his face.

“6 it is! I’ll see you there,” I answered, grinning. “Bye, Jackson.”

“Bye, Christina,” he said, waving as I turned to make my way out to Kyrie. “See you.” 

I shot a smile back at him and then quickly rushed through the gym to the lobby and out to the parking lot, where Kyrie stared at me forlornly from inside the car.

“Sorry, Ky, conversation took a turn I didn’t expect,” I apologized, swinging into the passenger seat quickly.

“Oh?” Kyrie replied, starting up the car and looking over his shoulder as he backed out of the space.

“Oh yeah,” I answered, replaying the conversation in my mind. 

“Nice,” he said, putting the car in drive and taking off towards the exit of the parking lot. 

“Yeah. We’re gonna go out tonight and chat,” I said, feeling a small smile on my face. 

Kyrie raised an eyebrow and looked over at me.

“You’re going on a date with the Hulk?” he asked, looking bewildered. “He doesn’t seem like your type.”

“Since when do you know my type?” I quipped. “And no, it’s not a date. He just seems to need some advice.”

“So he asked you?” Kyrie replied, still looking a bit mystified. 

“Yes, friends ask friends for advice,” I shot back. “You wouldn’t know that though, would you?”

Kyrie frowned at my comment. 

Ouch, I went too far. 

I sighed, 

“Sorry, K, I didn’t mean it like that,” I said, genuinely apologetic. “I’m just teasing.”

“Yeah, got you,” he said, nodding a bit as he drove, his eyes fixed on the road. 

Damn it, I thought. I didn’t mean it like that.

The silence stretched on, and I continued to internally kick myself for my stupid comment. Kyrie pulled the car onto our street, and then suddenly, he reached over and punched me in the shoulder. 

I jumped, startled. He had hit hard.

“Ow, geez, what the hell!?” I yelped.

Kyrie had a half-smirk on his face.

“For what you said. And for kicking me in the balls,” he said in an even tone.

I paused, considering his words, pain throbbing in my arm.

“You know what? Fair,” I said, nodding. “Fair.”

“That’s what I thought,” he replied, still smirking. 

He drove up and parked in front of our garage door, and then we both swung out of our respective seats. 

I walked around the front of the car as Kyrie shut his door and fumbled with the keys, looking for the house key. I briskly walked up and gave him a quick hug.

“Sorry for what I said,” I apologized once more. “I mean it.”

He froze up at my hug, but then relaxed. I let him go and smiled up at him.

He actually smiled back.

“Forgiven,” he said simply, scooting past me and making his way up to the front door.

He unlocked it and we both slipped inside, and then he suddenly turned and looked down at me with a mischievous grin.

“But,” he said, raising a brow. “I get to shower first.”

I sighed, and nodded.

“That’s fair, too,” I said, looking defeated.

We had three bathrooms in our house, but only two of them had showers, and Kyrie and I shared one. We felt weird using our parents’ even if it wasn’t occupied. 

“And then you can get ready for your date,” he replied, making his way off towards the bathroom. 

“It’s not a date,” I moaned, following behind him up the stairs.

“Sure, sure,” he said sarcastically. “Totally, whatever you say.”

“I’ll kick you again,” I warned.

Kyrie actually looked a bit terrified and picked up his speed on the stairs.

I laughed and chased him to the bathroom, which he quickly slipped into and shut the door. 

“You’re not safe!” I yelled, banging on the door a bit.

“Go away!” he shouted back. “Or I’ll take longer in the shower!”

Darn, he had leverage.

“Fine!” I exclaimed, going off to my room. “Just don’t forever please!”

“No promises,” I heard him say as I shut my bedroom door behind me. 

I smiled to myself as I set about putting away my gym bag and untying my shoes. Kyrie actually teased back. He must be in a good mood today. 

And now, I was at his mercy as I waited for him to finish in the shower. As I cleaned up and took my shaker bottle down to the kitchen to clean, I mulled over what I might wear tonight, and what Jackson might talk about. 

I had no clue or answers to either of these wonderings. 

I guess I would find out sooner than later. 

♥

Image source: Horimiya by HERO