I didn't come back to this gym to prove a point.
I came back because I had a twelve-month membership, it cost me six hundred bucks, and I wasn't about to let a breakup steal my gains. Yeah, maybe it happened to be his brother's gym but whatever. I wasn't gonna stop training legs just because my ex's brother owned the gym and there were high chances of my ex being here. He'd get over it.
It was late, around 11PM and the place was still bumping with that sharp tang of sweat, rubber mats, and pre-workout farts. "Eye of the Tiger" was blasting. Of course. Some things never change.
I kept my hoodie on as I walked in. Didn't want to be recognized. Too late. The guy at the front desk looked up, blinked, and smirked like he remembered exactly who I was, and who I used to show up with. It's like the news had travelled to him.
Didn't matter. I nodded, scanned in, and kept walking.
The main floor was mostly empty. Same racks, same bros, same girls with glute bands doing kickbacks, though they looked like they were wrapping up for the night. It was probably past closing, but I figured Drew would make an exception. I dropped my bag near the squat rack and started stretching, trying not to think about the last time I was here with Jason; spotting each other, laughing between sets, making out like idiots in the locker room.
I moved through warmups, hip thrusts first. Then calf raises. Bulgarian split squats. I could feel my ass already starting to ache, which was the point.
That's when I heard it. A voice I hadn't heard in months.
"What, you back to suck off my brother in the gym showers, or what?"
I froze.
I turned my head, and there he was: Drew.
His arms were crossed, forearms thick and tan. He wore a sleeveless black tee stretched over broad pecs, black joggers slung low on his hips, and his backwards cap made him look every inch the hot asshole he'd always been. Thirty-one, built like a fighter, with this five o'clock shadow and a vein that ran down his bicep like he bench-pressed trucks for fun.
I laughed under my breath, pulling my earbud out.
"Still a dick, huh?" I said.
He grinned and walked up, towel over one shoulder, a shaker bottle in hand. I forgot how tall he was until he got close. The dude towered.
"I told you guys not to do that shit here," he said, chuckling. "Locker room's not your little gay playground, man."
"Well, you'll be happy to know we broke up."