Changing the setting of the treadmill she was using, Stevie slowed down until she was just walking. She reached for her towel and wiped the sweat off her face. Tapping her earbud, she then took it out and looked over to her right.
"What's going on?" Stevie asked and it took Olivia a moment to realize that the question was directed at her. "Is everything alright?"
Olivia came to a near stop as well and grabbed her water bottle. She took a couple of big gulps before speaking up. "What makes you think something's wrong?"
"Well, usually I don't make it through one song." Stevie offered a sympathetic smile. "You've been really quiet."
"It- nothing. Nothing, I'm just fine." Olivia waved it off, but she could tell, she wasn't fooling anyone. "Well..."
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Stevie shrugged. "But if you do, go ahead."
Olivia was one of the very few people Stevie cared to get to know since the move. She was only friendly with a couple of neighbors and and older cashier at a local grocery store. She just didn't feel like making an effort. Mostly everyone she'd cared about left her, so what was even the point? However, Olivia seemed nice. She approached her on the first day Stevie stepped into the gym and seemed a little lost. At times, she found Olivia to be a bit too much, but all in all, she was pleasant enough to be around.
"It's my boyfriend." Olivia said eventually. "Big surprise, huh?"
"What about him?" Stevie glanced at the younger woman, seeing that she was struggling with whatever problem she had.
"A few days ago, we went out to dinner." She recalled. "We had a great time. At one point, he took me by the hand and started telling me all of these wonderful things. I saw him reach into his pocket, I thought..." She swallowed uneasily, then sighed. "I thought, he was going to propose. I knew, he was."
"What happened?" Stevie asked, hoping she didn't sound too nosy.
"He got interrupted." Olivia pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Some guy, an old friend of his, just popped out of nowhere and I was forgotten just like that." She snapped her fingers for emphasis. "What's worse, that man jokingly said something about the last time he and my boyfriend saw each other, how he was climbing out of the guy's sister's bedroom window."
Stevie frowned, not really following. "What's so bad about that? I'm sure it was just a joke."
"Yeah, but Lindsey went pale and couldn't speak, the more he heard about his ex." Olivia explained, rolling her eyes.
Lindsey. Lindsey. Lindsey. Just a coincidence, Stevie tried to convince herself. There had to be more than one guy, whose name was Lindsey out there in the world even if she hadn't met another one in her life.
"It is bad, isn't it?" Olivia questioned, when Stevie remained quiet. "I thought, we were doing so well. We've been together for over a year and most of the time he's just amazing. I've asked him about his past relationships a few times before, but his answer's always - nothing special." She rambled on, clearly grateful that she was able to get it off her chest. "And now I'm convinced that my wonderful boyfriend has unresolved feelings for some woman."
Just a coincidence.
"Well, don't stress too much about it." Stevie lay her hand on Olivia's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure that it's nothing. He wouldn't have thought of proposing to you if what you said was true, right?"
Considering it for a minute, Olivia sighed with a shrug. "I don't know. Maybe. I hope so." She added.
Just a coincidence.
