-Bennett-

I cursed under my breath while searching through my pockets for the fifth time, regretting not double-checking that I had everything I needed before leaving the house. I'd been so preoccupied with shamelessly missing all of my classes after oversleeping that I hadn't even bothered to make sure I had my ID card. What now?

We had a semi-strict policy regarding IDs, which required one to have a physical gym ID card to enter the premises. It was a security measure, and the rule automatically applied to the entire staff as well, which typically wouldn't matter if Jonah or someone else was on front desk duty.

Except, Marissa was on front desk duty today, and oh boy did she care. Her name was Marissa, but holy shit was she a Karen. Yet, she was also the floor manager, so I put on an apologetic smile and prayed.

I nervously walked up to the front desk, flashing a weak smile. "Hi, there! How are you doing, Marissa?"

"ID?" she asked while impatiently waving the scanner, sarcastically looking around despite knowing damn well I didn't have it with me.

"Can I give you my number... just for today?" I pleaded. Usually, members could just provide their phone number to confirm their identity in cases of emergency.

"You know the rules..."

"Huh?" I asked, feigning ignorance despite knowing damn well that would get me nowhere with her. "What? No, I'm actually not even on shift today... I'm just, uh, here to work out, is all!"

"I know your schedule, idiot."

"Hah... right," I blurted out, flashing a weak smile. "You sure do."

"The search system's not working right now anyway," she retorted without even checking, lying through her goddamn teeth. "So, no ID?"

I sighed, resentfully frowning at her. It wasn't like I could just call her out on her bullshit with customers watching us, though. "About that..."

"Well, you know gym policies," she explained, forcing an apologetic pout. "I might have to write you up for that too."

"I can see my kids from here!" I complained, pointing at the open room across the lobby. "Just... please let me in or I'll be late. I'll owe you one, alright?"

"Would you like to purchase a new ID card? It might take some time to fill out the new form, though," she pondered aloud, despite knowing damn well she'd immediately chase me down once I'd crossed into the gym to write me up for being late to my shift.

I gritted my teeth, wondering why she couldn't just cut me some slack. There was no way she'd get in trouble for this. "Marissa, please. I'm already having a shitty Monday." This was honestly the last thing I needed after spending the whole weekend dealing with my father's bullshit, not even being able to leave the house after making the grave mistake of looking annoyed during Friday night's dinner.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before—"

She was cut off by the slam of a hand hitting the desk, the edge of a white card peeking out from underneath. "I still haven't used the complimentary 'three-day pass' that comes with my membership," a deep voice announced from right behind me, sounding worryingly irritated. "I'd like to redeem it now. He's my plus-one."

I stared down at the large, muscular arm reaching past me before slowly following it back to its owner, peeking up to see him standing right there, the same man I'd accidentally tackled just last Friday. I took a step forward, bumping into the desk before awkwardly shuffling to the side, trying to muster up the courage to say something in response.

"You're okay with that, right?" he asked me suddenly, not even bothering to look my way as he held a glaring match with Marissa.

Still, that was enough to have me frantically nodding my head in agreement, a traitorous smile of relief finding its way onto my face. "Dude, thank you so much. I—I really appreciate it."

He shrugged, still staring daggers at Marissa. "Can he go in now?"

"That pass only applies to new members," Marissa retorted angrily, narrowing her eyes.

Mason frowned, staring at the card, front and back, before tilting his head. "There sure doesn't seem to be anything on the card about that. Maybe we should call your boss and ask him what he thinks about this, then?"

Marissa let out an exasperated sigh. "T-that won't be necessary," she explained before turning towards me. "Even if I let him in, staff still need to have their IDs at all—"

"He left it in his locker," the man lied smoothly, before flashing me a small smile. "Didn't you?"

I stared at him in disbelief, transfixed by just how far he was willing to go for someone he didn't even know. I jolted at the sound of Marissa clearing her throat before awkwardly nodding my head in agreement. We didn't even have assigned lockers, yet the confidence with which he said it almost had me questioning whether that may be the case. "Yeah, I did. Thanks."

"You're not supposed to leave things in the lockers overnight," Marissa muttered under her breath, very clearly disbelieving us. However, there was not much else she could do at this point; well, not unless she wanted to get yelled at by our boss for "antagonizing" a gym member. She huffed under her breath, taking the card, and begrudgingly scanning it to pull up his account on the computer.

The machine, which had supposedly not been working just a few minutes prior, pulled up his info right away.

"There's a form that needs to be filled out," she murmured while reaching for one of the 'three-day pass' forms from underneath the desk, handing it to him before rolling her eyes at me. "Please step aside and fill that out while I deal with the other members," she continued, not even bothering to sound polite as she shooed us away.

I wanted to point out that there was no need to use his '3-Day pass' if the computer was "suddenly" working again, but the thought of rocking the boat any further had me swallowing down my words instead; if I gave her a chance to keep debating me about this, she would.

I didn't doubt it for a second.

"Alright," he replied while glancing the form over, grabbing one of the pens and sliding it over to me as we both scooted further down the desk. "Just write your basic info down, sign, and I'll fill out the rest of the form, okay?"

"Huh?" I asked while picking up the pen, glancing down at the paper somewhat dazedly.

"You're going to be late for your class, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow before his eyes suddenly widened, and I could've sworn I saw the faintest glint of panic in his icy, blue eyes before it vanished behind a thick veil of stoic disinterest. "I—uh, I overheard you saying it just now, when you were arguing with her."

I darted my eyes between him and the door before nodding my head, still feeling a bit shaken up even as I rapidly scribbled my name on the appropriate line. "Uh, yeah. Not that I—uh—take the class. Because, well, I mean... they're for children, y'know? Hell, I don't even think I could, like, sign up for it... even if—not that I would even—Ugh, I teach it, is what I mean."

Fucking smooth.

There was the briefest moment of unguarded puzzlement on his face before the cold gaze returned once more. He released a dry chuckle while glancing down at the form as I slid it back to him. "Just go, Bennett."

"Oh, okay."

I awkwardly made my way to the other side of the lobby, glancing down at my phone to make sure I still had time and then just kind of... hanging around, even though my mind kept screaming at me to stop being weird and scram. I took off my backpack and clutched it in front of my chest, awkwardly holding it there like a make-shift shield as I waited. It helped relieve some of the restlessness, somehow.

The towering stranger seemed somewhat irked while filling out the rest of the form and waiting for the line to dissipate, pacing about while waiting to speak with Marissa once more. I found myself pacing a bit too, shuffling back and forth while I waited for him to tell me to just go away.

He didn't, though.

I tried not to stare, but I still caught myself taking uncomfortably long peeks at him every so often. It was like my eyes refused to look away, no matter how embarrassed I felt at the notion of being caught. He was unsurprisingly taller now that I wasn't looking down at him from atop the stairs, somehow all sharp edges and firm muscles that nicely stretched out the fabric of his dark workout clothes.

I tensed up at the way his tank top stretched slightly under the strain of his shifting pecs, my eyes widening as he leaned over to hand the form back to Marissa... finally getting to return the form now that the line had cleared up.

Damn it, how many times had I looked at someone so athletic and felt myself fill up with an unreasonably fervid sense of envy? It was unfair, truly, how inadequate I felt even looking his way. Or how sadistically flustered that feeling of inadequacy made me feel, bizarrely enough.

"You didn't have to wait around," the tall man muttered after successfully making it past Marissa as well, even as he approached me. He was wearing grey sweatpants of all things, which I shamelessly ogled at now that he wasn't standing behind the desk.

If he caught me sneaking a peek, he didn't mention it, though. And for that, I was perhaps more grateful than with his help getting past Marissa's untimely wrath. What could I have even said, though? Excuse me, sir, it looked at me first.

"It just felt weird to... leave," I confessed while scratching the back of my head, unconsciously taking steps back the closer he got, at least until I flinched from the sudden coolness as my back pressed against the wall behind me. "Thank you."

"You already said that."

I winced. Right.

"Oh, yeah! If you want, I can, uh, get you a replacement pass card to redeem for later," I mentioned while forming the shape of a card with my hands, somewhat guilty about him wasting his pass on me. We sometimes distributed small, physical free passes when doing promotions, aside from automatically offering them to members; I could easily ask Jonah where we kept them... since he'd wasted the one associated with his account on me. "If you want?"

"Don't bother," he replied disinterestedly, glancing around as if eager to leave. Which, I couldn't really blame him for that. "I doubt I'll use it anyways."

"No friends?" I blurted out jokingly. "What a mood."

"Huh?"

"That's—I was kidding. Sorry. That was a lame joke," I cringed, internally screaming at my idiocy. Shit, why couldn't I pull myself together for once?

The man snorted, the corner of his mouth quirking up the slightest bit. Not enough to be considered a smile, but perhaps at least sufficiently to signify a hint of amusement.

I sighed, awkwardly shuffling from one foot to the next, wondering if it was best to just walk away while he wasn't visibly upset. "Are—Are you sure you don't want the pass?" I tried once more while tightening the grip on my backpack, feeling rather persistent even as shaky words left my mouth.

He stopped to consider it... and then nodded his head, albeit somewhat hesitantly. "Maybe I'll let Eric tag along sometime," he muttered to himself before shrugging. "Fine. I'll be here tomorrow anyways. Around this time works for you, right?"

"Yeah, that works!" I replied, a bit too eagerly.

"Let's meet up here... in the lobby. You better not be late," he mentioned off-handedly, clearing his throat before signaling towards the locker room. "I should go."

I flashed an apologetic smile and waved, thanking him a few more times, and wincing when I realized that he seemed more troubled by me than he had at the loss of his free pass. Still, I had to push the embarrassment down and ask just one final thing before he walked away.

"Hey, what's your name?" I forced myself to ask, unable to hide the hopefulness in my voice.

He glanced up at me curiously, letting out a deep breath, as if pressing himself to continue talking to me. "Mason Locke."

"Thank you, Mason," I reiterated, grinning up at him before remembering where we were. "I mean, uh, Mr. Locke. Shit, I—I work here."

"Mason's fine; I'm not one of your students," Mason shrugged, glancing back at the doors behind me, and the corner of his mouth quirking up once more. It felt like a win, so I let myself relax at the sight.

"Oh, right."

"I don't think I could, like, sign up for it either, y'know?" Mason jokingly replied, before fully smirking down at me. "I heard they're for children."

And damn it, he had a really nice smile, even if he was technically making fun of me for being a rambling mess. "I'm not usually this awkward," I promised, which was not entirely untrue; sometimes, I was even worse.

"Don't sweat it, Bennett," Mason replied before walking towards the locker room.

I waved like an absolute loser, unable to fight the dopey grin that made its way onto my face once he was finally out of sight. Of course, it would be just like me to get all giddy at the slightest interaction with a guy who was way out of my league and could only somewhat stand me.

-Mason-

I refused to step foot on the indoor track for the day, even as I glared from the staircase, dreading having to miss his class. I reached out to open the door many times, but every single time I found myself stepping back at the last second.

It'd be too obvious, right? Now that he was conscious of me, there was no way he wouldn't spot me up there, circling around him like a goddamn vulture.

"I can't believe I did that," I whispered under my breath, my heart still pounding furiously against my chest. I'd had to rudely shove my way through three people back in that line to make my way up to Bennett and help him out, silently thankful that none of them had cared enough to complain about me cutting the line.

And the way he looked at me... Oh god, the way he beamed at me had shaken me to the very core, his timid eyes gazing into my soul as he nervously thanked me over and over... acting as if I'd saved his life when I'd done the absolute bare minimum. I'd had to keep myself from embracing him right then and there, legitimately holding back the urge to wrap him up in my arms until there wasn't even a fragment of shyness left in his precious, overly-expressive brown eyes.

But of course, I had to go and be an emotionally stunted asshole instead. And I'd even mocked him too, because why the hell not?

"I could've smiled back, at least," I muttered to no one in particular. "I should've just asked him out."

"Yeah, you should've!"

"No, I—wait," I stammered, turning around to find a little old lady glaring up at me.

"Can you just go to him and stop blocking my way?" the older, Black woman asked, tsking under her breath as I barged into the indoor track with my metaphorical tail between my legs, awkwardly jogging as far along the outside perimeter of the track as possible because if-Bennett-saw-me-up-here-and-connected-the-dots-I-would-fucking-die.

But now that I was jogging along the perimeter of the track, of course I stole a few glances here and there.

"God... Bennett's ass looks so good in those running shorts," I groaned under my breath while staring at the ground below my feet, refusing to sneak another shameless look at him. Honestly, had I ever stopped and properly thanked the universe for allowing 5-inch-inseam shorts to become trendy again? The fact that they were part of his work uniform genuinely made me want to go and personally shake hands with his boss.

Thank you, universe.

Damn it! Why had I been so eager to leave him downstairs, especially when he'd seemed interested in chatting with me? That would've been the perfect time to reintroduce myself and show Bennett that I wasn't an emotionally-stunted jerk. I could've at least loosened up more, right? Instead, I'd clammed up like I always did whenever I was nervous, unable to convey even a fraction of all the plethora of tender emotions I felt brewing within me at the mere sight of him.

Fuck. Bennett had even nervously stood there while I filled out the form, eagerly waiting for me. Granted, it had been to apologize and offer compensation, but... still.

I jogged somewhat closer to the rail and peeked down to see him running around the field, leading a line of small children who were desperately trying to keep up pace with him. He seemed in his element, and not just because of how great he looked while running. Or how attractive he looked in those damn running shorts, which were seemingly becoming a new fixation or whatever.

"Maybe tomorrow," I whispered to myself.

"You're right; he is cute," a voice mentioned beside me, and I fully jolted to awareness, nearly tripping before turning to stare at the same old lady in disbelief. I slowed down, desperately trying to catch my breath from the fear she'd instilled within me.

"Huh?"

"I said he's pretty cute," the gray-haired woman repeated while unabashedly peering down at him as we casually jogged along the perimeter. "I'm sure he wouldn't say no to a date. I mean, have you looked at yourself in the mirror, white boy?"

I was certain I was blushing ferociously, but I merely rolled my eyes in response, signaling for her to stop leaning so close to the rail lest he caught us creeping on him. I considered just speeding up to avoid replying, but then again... who else could I talk to about this? "I don't even know if he's into men."

"He's wearing short shorts," she pointed out.

I burst out laughing, despite myself. "Listen, lady—"

"Norma," the older woman corrected.

"Listen, Norma...those are called running shorts," I corrected. I wouldn't be surprised if Bennett were involved in track, though, with how toned his legs were. Unfortunately, as good as those shorts looked on him, they weren't necessarily the best indicators of sexual orientation. "Besides, they're just part of his work uniform."

"Do you even know his name?" she asked.

"Bennett," I said, unable to hide the smile that spread across my face at the mere sound of his name. Or that he'd even asked me for mine, unprompted. But it'd be ridiculous to look too deeply into that, right?

She burst out laughing. "Oh, you got it bad, huh?"

I huffed, not denying it. "We barely know each other, though."

"Yet, you keep sighing longingly every time you look over at the kid," Norma pointed out, reaching out to pat my shoulder. Well, I had to lean down so she could even reach it, but the intention was still there. "It's endearing, but kind of dramatic. Pack it up with the yearning, Romeo."

"Pack it up—?"

"My granddaughter taught me that one," Norma explained, quite proud of herself. "Now, are you going to ask this Bennett kid out or just keep running around in circles?"

I rubbed at my temple with shaky hands. Well, shit.

---

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please consider and commenting; I appreciate it immensely.