“Brian, Brian, hey B, you still with us?”
“What?”
“He speaks! I have been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes, what’s on your mind?”
“Nothing. Just leave me alone, all right?”
“Fine, no problem. My, aren’t we the grumpy one?” Nick said sarcastically.
“Look, pig boy, I am not in the mood right now.”
“Fine….PIG BOY! Who’s a pig boy?”
“Have you seen yourself these past few days, you are getting a potbelly.”
“I am?”
“Ummm…yeah, you are in desperate need of a trip to the gym.”
“So are you!”
“For what?”
“I need to get rid of this belly and you are stressed out.”
“I don’t wanna!”
“Too bad, get your lazy behind up! We’re going…NOW!”
“Fine! But you’re driving.”
Nick rolled his eyes, “Doofus. We can just go to the one in the hotel.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”
“This is going to be one hell of a long day,” Nick muttered on the way out.
___________________________________________________________
Kevin and Ann stepped into the well equipped hotel gym. There weren’t that many people using it right then so they’d pretty much have their pick of the machinery.
Kevin was the first to speak, “Weight training or boxing? You pick.”
“Boxing, then weight training.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. Let’s go!”
Ann stretched first to warm up her muscles a bit. She gladly slipped on the much used boxing gloves Kevin handed her. Kevin had gotten her into boxing about a year and a half ago, and since then, she could never resist the opportunity to do it. She found it to be a great stress reliever; something every working New Yorker could use from time to time.
“You ready?”
She smiled, “As I’ll ever be.”
______________________________________________________
“Hey, Brian?”
“What?”
“Maybe you were right. I think we should go to an outside gym, you know, a more professional one.”
“What for? We’re already here and there’s not too big a crowd.” Brian couldn’t help but notice that his friend’s eyes had been on the same spot since they first entered the gym. Not only that but his skin was slowly turning from pink to white. “Nick, what’s wrong?”
“I would really hate to be that punching bag right now.”
Brian followed his eyes to the boxing section of the gym and felt all the wind knocked out of his chest. All he saw was Ann raining very exacting punches into the bag his cousin was holding for her. There she was. The woman he adored. His girlfriend – his EX-girlfriend, actually—with his COUSIN.
“B?”
“Yeah?”
“You okay?”
“I think so.”
“You want to go someplace else?”
“No! I mean…no…we can stay here.”
Nick was still concerned and unconvinced, “You sure?”
“I just…it feels like it’s been so long. I – I won’t start anything. I just…I just want to watch her.”
“Then, come on. Before she sees you.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Whoa, girl!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“I think we should move on to weight training before you bring some serious damage to this punching bag here – and to me.”
She smiled sweetly, “Sorry, I didn’t realize I was hitting so hard.”
“Seeing any faces in particular?”
“Don’t ask. For now, let’s just say that if I had a bowling ball and some pins, I could do some REAL damage.”
They both laughed, Kevin happy that she was finally working out some of the frustration that she had held in for so long. They walked over to the weight lifting area trying to decide which apparatus to work on. When each found a machine they were comfortable with, they settled down and got busy.
______________________________________________________
If Brian thought it was hard to live without Annie, he now knew real hardship was watching her work out and know that he might not ever get to hold that beautiful woman in his arms ever again. Though he eagerly drank in the sight of her, a small part of him wished he had never walked into the gym. He wished he didn’t have to watch his cousin spot her when she started lifting weights. “What the hell are they doing here anyway?” he wondered.
Brian felt the all too familiar pangs of jealousy beginning to grip him. He wanted to be the one congratulating her for lifting more than she had before. He wanted to toss her a towel so she could wipe off the sweat that was rolling down her cheeks and her back. “Okay, what’s going on now?” Brian wondered.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ann slung her track bag over her shoulder.
“Do you really need to leave so soon?”
“So soon? Kevin, I’ve been with you talking and working out for about three hours already.”
“I know, but I was so worried about you, and I’ve missed you. Brian wasn’t the only one who looked forward to coming to New York, you know.”
“I honestly had no idea,” she blushed at his kind words.
“Well, now you do. Look, I hope that you won’t let this whole break-up between you and Brian change your relationship with the rest of us.”
“Kevin—“
“Annie, no, I’m serious. I swear, Nick is beyond depressed that you’re not talking to him, Howie is stressing himself out, and AJ’s gonna have a damn conniption if his twin doesn’t get in touch with him.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but that means a lot.”
“I understand, and if it makes you feel any better, I’ll let you know right now that you will be going clubbing with me, AJ, and Howie before we leave next week.”
Ann laughed and nodded her head in agreement. “Okay, sounds like a plan. Well, I need to be going.”
“Yeah. Come here.” He drew her into a hug and watched her begin to walk away after he let go.
Suddenly, she turned and ran into his arms again.
“What was that for?” he asked after she squeezed all the air from his lungs and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
“It was a thank you, for everything, for being here when I need you.”
He smiled, “I always am.”
“I know. But I still wanted to thank you.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll see ya later.”
_______________________________________________________
Okay, now Brian was worried. It was bad enough to see Kevin hold her in such a close embrace, but then he had to watch her run back into Kevin’s arms. He didn’t like the conciliatory smile the two shared either. They were acting a bit too close for his comfort. “Is it just me or did I miss something?” Brian asked out loud. When the expected answer from Nick didn’t come, he turned to see that his friend had left him. “Great,” he thought, “seems like everybody’s abandoning me these days.”
_________________________________________________________
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