Love's Charade

one - taylor

"Five more." Kirk urged and I blew a gust of air out of my lungs in indignation. "Come on Taylor, five more and we're done for the day."

"I'd like to see you try." I grunted, but slowly raised my leg again.

"Breathe in time, in and out." Kirk ignored my comment and coached my breathing through each movement as I followed his instructions, my legs burning. "Alright." He eventually said and I sighed, collapsing onto the mat and rolling over to face the ceiling. Kirk crouched down next to me, resting his elbows on his knees. "All worth it for the show, remember that."

"It's hard to remember that when it feels like my limbs are going to fall off." I grumbled, but grudgingly bumped my fist against his when he extended it towards me. Kirk chuckled, shaking his head at me as he straightened up, going off to grab my water bottle. He tossed it at me and I stretched up an arm to catch it, squeezing the plastic and aiming a stream of water into my mouth.

Letting out a sigh, I placed the bottle on the mat next to my head and folded my arms over my chest, staring upwards. Even though I'd been at this training schedule for months and had improved so much, I still didn't feel entirely ready. Hell, I was due to fly out to Glendale tomorrow morning. Time had flown.

Once I'd caught my breath, I got to my feet and collected up my things, giving Kirk a sweaty hug before moving off. He had another client coming in, so I got out of the way.

Taking my bag with me, I went down to the showers and locked myself in the one at the very end, dumping my things on the bench before leaning past the curtain to turn the water on. I stripped out of my sweaty gym clothes, shoving them down one end of my bag to put in the wash later. Letting my hair down from its now messy ponytail, I stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain across, letting out a sigh as the cold water washed over my flushed skin, soothing. I ducked my head under the spray, letting it soak the strands.

Then my phone started ringing insistently, blaring its ringtone at me as I cursed and switched off the water, shoving the curtain aside. Grabbing my towel, I dried off my hands and dug around for my phone, eventually finding it to see that Tree was calling. I wasn't surprised; so much had been going on recently that meant we were in constant contact. Swiping my finger across the green button, I put the call on speaker so I didn't have to hold it against my damp hair.

"Can't even take a shower in peace huh?"

"World doesn't stop for a shower." Tree pointed out, and I nodded to myself. True. "Change of plans today. You've got one most costume fitting when you're finished at the gym."

"Alright." I sighed. "I'll be there in like half an hour. Anything else changed?"

"Not yet. See you soon."

I shoved my phone back into my bag when Tree hung up, getting back into the shower. Moving with a little more urgency than I had before, I washed my hair and lathered soap over my body, rinsing away all the sweat from the workout. I got dressed and dried my hair as much as I could with the hairdryer before wrestling it back into a plait and gathering up my things. Kirk waved at me as I left from where he stood with his next client and I lifted a hand in response as I pushed through the doors.

My security was right outside and fell into step with me as I walked to the car. I thanked him as he opened the back door, getting in as I ignored the few paps hanging around, calling out my name to stop and take a photo. Not likely.

I sank down in my seat as the driver pulled out into the road, scrolling through my recent notifications to check if there was anything important enough to reply to. Once I'd established that there wasn't, I shifted through Pinterest mindlessly. Then the car stopped and I glanced up, stuffing my phone into my pocket and shuffling over on my seat as the back door opened.