Forever Enigmatic

Chapter 19

SIERRA WALKED UP TO the The Gain wanting to change trainers immediately. She pushed open the door with her goal and sauntered to the front desk. The women at the front bickered with each other, but quieted down when she arrived.

"Hey, I—"

"Sierra!" A hand brushed her arm as if in a greeting. "I'm sorry I'm late. I saw the change in the schedule this morning. Do you want to get going?" Kyle smiled down at her, welcoming and warm.

"Of course." She laughed it off. "Lead the way."

"Who knew he smiled?" One of the women whispered. Kyle frowned over at her, but she feigned as if she was looking at something on her phone.

"Alright, come on, Sierra. We have to get to work." He opened the door for her. She shyly thanked him as she walked through.

Her heart raced over the intensity of almost changing trainers. She had almost done it. She had switched her schedule over in hopes of getting Kyle confused and using the time to switch, but that failed. She had almost walked out of Kyle's life, but he intercepted it.

He smiled at her and told her that he'd wait for her in the room, as per usual. She nodded and went to the locker room to change.

With shaking hands, she stripped off her clothes and put on her normal workout attire. Tying back her hair away from her face proved to be a struggle as her nerves tried to control her. She managed, but sat down trying to calm down. She didn't want Kyle seeing her like that.

She breathed in and out, slowly and deeply. After about a minute or so, she calmed down enough to go into the training room.

"There you are," Kyle said. "What's going on? Are you okay?" He rushed to her, and she frowned, confused over his reaction.

"I'm fine," she croaked. She cleared her throat but that was no use. The pressure built up on her chest and exploded, traveling up her throat.

So much guilt.

"Can we please just start training?" She gulped. The lump in her throat went down, little by little. It burned. Her chest felt like it was on fire.

"Sierra," he grabbed both of her arms gently, "come on, let's sit."

She let him guide her to the mats. She was about to start stretching like she was used to, but he sat down right in front of her, halting her movements.

"Is everything alright?" Kyle asked.

She bit back the insensitive comment that she was used to snapping with. She nodded, sporting her casual smile, although she feared it looked more like a grimace.

"Of course," she responded almost instinctively. "Living my day to day. Taking it a little at a time."

He grabbed her hand, squeezing her fingers. "You worry me."

"Kyle, really, I'm fine."

"You look like you're about to explode."

Her smile dropped and she stared at the blue mats wishing to be anywhere in the world except there with Kyle.

"Do you want me to switch trainers?" She asked.

"What?" He asked. She stared at him trying to discern what was going on in his head. He leaned back studying her, meeting her gaze with his. His eyebrows furrowed as a frown took a hold of his features, almost identical to how he used to be when she first met him.

"Do you...? Sierra, seriously, is everything alright?" His voice turned exasperated. She had never seen him tick like that. He plunged his fingers into his hair, tousling it into a mess on his head. "I'm so confused."