Short summary since it's been a while: Tom and Aurelia used to be best friends, and even dated in high school, sharing most of their first experiences until she dumped him. After a few years studying abroad, Tom is back in town, rekindling his friendship with Aurelia who now lives with her boyfriend, Finn.
Aurelia and I never spoke of that night again. I woke up alone on Marco's couch, the pillow still warm and her scent faint on the fabric. I figured that was it. That I'd never see her again.
But a few hours later, she showed up at my new place, hair tidy, blouse buttoned, glasses on. Back to her neat, picture-perfect girlfriend impression. She had the check for the deposit. And when the landlady insisted, she even agreed to sign the lease with me, leaving me confused but grateful.
Aurelia then spent the rest of the weekend helping me decorate, bossing me around, and bemoaning my lack of taste.
For the next few weeks, we went right back to where we were before our MDMA-fueled, lusty craze. We would spend most of our free time together, but come the evening, she'd bid me goodnight and dutifully return to her boyfriend, Finn.
We were getting better at being 'just friends.' But this did not stop the images from replaying in my mind. Aurelia's tangled red hair spilled over that stranger's thighs. Her hungry eyes when she knelt between my legs. The yelps she let out when my lips first touched her swollen pussy.
I tried not to spiral. Kept busy. Spent time with Marco and the old crew.
Bela's date ghosted her after she took my advice to sleep with him. She cut me off for a while, which stung more than I cared to admit.
Halfheartedly, I swiped through apps and went on a couple of dull dates.
I even ended up in bed once with a marketing student who insisted on keeping the lights off. That was the last one, for a while anyway.
One evening, Nat and I ended up getting dragged into a gym session with Aurelia. I was unable to come up with a convincing excuse, and Nat's fiancé was out of town.
"Fuck that," Nat grumbled, jumping off the treadmill. "This is so fucking stupid."
I chuckled, still amazed by how Nathalie Tran, usually so composed and serious, turned into a cranky teenager from even the lightest workout. It was a small miracle she managed to keep so trim despite that lack of predilection.
"Weights?" I offered. "Might be more fun?"
She puffed her cheeks, making her face look even rounder, and I followed behind her. Aurelia had disappeared for a water run, leaving us in the deserted gym. The reddish lights of the city's setting sun filtered from the wide windows, playing over the idle machines and giving the whole scene an eerie vibe.
Nat loaded some cable contraption and plopped down on the cushioned seat. I took the one across from her. We were not gym people.
"How's the job going?" she asked after a few clumsy chest flies.
"Shitty, as usual," I said, unable to try and spin my soul-sucking corporate consulting gig.
"You know, I get along with one of the back-office leads at my firm. I bet she could find something for you."
Nat dropped that so casually.
"Really?" I tried not to appear too desperate. "That'd be a huge step up."
"Come on," she smirked, happy to throw me off balance so easily. "Ivy League educated and a background in tech? She'd cream her pants."
We shared a stupid laugh. My startup's implosion had become common knowledge by now. Primarily thanks to Nat, who never failed to mention it when we ran into new people.
"Besides," she continued. "I know you're strapped for cash. You can be low-balled, and I'd get a juicy finder's fee."
"You should stop working out, Nat," I said in mock offense. "Makes you sound mean."
"I'll send her your info," she countered with a shit-eating grin.
Another set of unconvincing reps.
"You and Aurelia are spending a lot of time together, right?" Nat's tone had cooled, back to her cautious self. The question felt rehearsed.
"I guess..."
"She can't stop talking about you."
I swallowed hard.
"Yeah, well, she has a boyfriend."
Right as I said that, a light giggle ran through the empty gym. Aurelia emerged from a side corridor next to a tall gym bro, tank top, perfect hair, oversized muscles, and all. She just had a way of summoning these types wherever we went.
Her plastic bottle was still empty.
She doubled over his forearm from a joke we couldn't hear.
"And Finn's
always
at the top of her mind," Nat said, sounding snide.
I barely managed to follow our conversation for the next few minutes. My eyes kept darting to Aurelia and the handsome stranger as they worked out and flirted outrageously just a few machines away from us.
"She kept her ex-husband's last name," I dropped unprompted, leading Nat to shoot me a baffled look.
"Who? Aurelia?"
I gave her a short nod.
"Uh, didn't know that. Aurelia Sinclair does sound better than Aurelia Lombardi. Less mafiosa... How do you even know that?"
I couldn't quite tell her that my lease had the offending name scribbled alongside mine. This, at least, we'd managed to keep secret.
"Saw her ID when we went clubbing a while back," I answered, managing to land on my feet for once.
Nat shrugged.
"Alright then, that's enough of this for me," she squeezed my elbow and walked out, her nose wrinkling when I mentioned the locker rooms' showers.
I kept playing around with weights, doing my best to look like I was working out. However, my attention stayed locked on Aurelia, brazenly flirting with the receptive stranger.
Eventually, he popped in his headphones and jogged off toward a treadmill. Aurelia turned, caught my gaze, and her whole face lit up as she made her way over.
"Working hard, handsome?" she teased, giving my stomach a light poke.
The gut was mostly gone now, probably thanks to all the running she dragged me on rather than the rare gym outing. Still, the gesture made me squirm.
"Harder than you," I said, nodding toward her admirer.
She smacked my arm, grinning, almost coy. "Shut up and sit down. I'll help you stretch."
That came out of nowhere. I raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
She didn't answer. Just stood there, waiting for me to obey.
"Fine," I grumbled, dropping to the ground, hunched in defeat.
"There we go," she purred, already guiding my limbs. "Fold that leg, extend the other."
She then knelt behind me, warm hands settling on my shoulders.
"You free tonight?" she asked, pressing her weight into my back. "Done with that PowerPoint thing?"
You could hear my spine squeak as she pushed my torso lower.
"Don't want to think about work. Tell me something about the daycare. At least your clients respect you."
I felt Aurelia's breath on the back of my neck as she snorted.
"Well, four different toddlers asked me if I was sick today," she said, thumbs digging into my shoulder blades, holding me in place for a few instants. "Turns out I forgot to do my makeup. On the bright side, one adorable little girl fell asleep on my lap while I read the frog book they're all obsessed with. Alright, deep breath and come up."
"Cute," I groaned, my core burning as I struggled to lift my chest again.
I twisted around, expecting her next command. But her eyes were not on me. I followed them to find the mystery gym bro taking off his tank top, beads of sweat running down his toned back.
Aurelia finally snapped out of it when our gaze met.
"What?" Her voice was too fast and defensive. I wish I didn't know that well in moments like these. Nobody but me would catch the slight blush.
I just shrugged, pushing down the momentary tightness in my chest. Her face regained its signature confidence.
"Switch legs, weirdo," she said, giving my back a firm rub.
"You had your shoot with that new photographer, right?" I picked the conversation back up, desperate to clear my own awkwardness.
"Yeah, that was awesome," Aurelia always brightened right up when she got to talk about her artistic projects. "Can't wait to show you some of the stuff we're doing."
"You know I'm clueless about that stuff," I said. Better than outright calling myself a philistine, but the reality wasn't far off.
"And
you
know that I still care about your opinion," she countered in a pointed voice. I was taken aback when she landed a small peck on the top of my scalp, making her lips smack audibly. "Always have."
We finished the stretch in silence. It happened sometimes. Our familiarity coming back faster than our new, uneasy relationship really allowed.
Aurelia helped me back to my feet, then looked at me, waiting for me to talk.
"Showers, then back to my place for food and a movie?" I offered.
She nodded, then bolted off to fetch her things.
I headed into the men's locker room, peeled off my shirt, and had just started unzipping my pants when the door creaked open behind me.
In strolled Aurelia's new friend, ruining my hope for a quiet moment.
"Dude," he said, stopping at a locker beside mine, voice booming. "That redhead is fucking hot. You know her, right?"
I froze mid-zip as his stuff rumbled in his locker. His top was still off.
"Uh, Aurelia, yes," I mumbled.
"Aurelia," he spelled out her name as if he could taste the letters. "You ever tap that?"
We lost our virginities together.
"Nah," I tried to sound casual as we both dropped our pants. I felt like I was being pranked. "We're just friends."
"Well, you're a better man than I am. No way I could keep things above board with her." He glanced over. "Leo, by the way."
"Tom," I replied, shaking his offered hand without thinking, doing my best not to glance down. I still hadn't figured out where to look in locker rooms without feeling like a creep.
