Mysterious

Chapter 1

Arissa and Anna pulled into their hotel early in the morning. They checked in, threw their bags down and looked at their phones. Anna started texting her boyfriend, who was at home, whining about not attending the Bruno Mars concert with her. Arissa checked her facebook and work e-mail.

Arissa was the perennial third wheel. She hated it, but Ryan and Anna loved Arissa to death and would die for the girl. She was quirky, fun, but yet still mysterious. They didn't understand why she was still single. Arissa had perfect blonde hair, a perfect boobs and was, again, fun. She threw down. They thought she was probably just a bit picky. Whatever the reasoning, they loved her like a sister and would do anything for the girl. So, the fact that Anna drug Arissa around with her was part of why Arissa asked Anna to drive the three hours to Houston with her, but another reason was that she thought Anna might catch Bruno's eye for her. And then she could make her move; in her dreams.

"Anns- The guy said there's a gym down stairs. I didn't run yesterday so I need to run today. I'm gonna only go 2 miles so I'll be back in like 30 minutes." Arissa ran to the bathroom to change. She came out in yoga pants and doo-wops and hooligans t-shirt that fit snuggly on her petite frame.

"Go get 'em lady. And Bruno Mars too."

"Yeah, like he's down there. They're probably doing sound check. "

"You never know, dude."

Arissa swiped her hotel keycard to open the swanky member's only gym. It was empty. I wonder how many people actually use a hotel gym. It's lonely in here. Oh, and thank god there's a mirror. I hate running without a mirror. It's extra concentration seeing my ugly face....oh yeaaah buddy, Ladies is pimps too. This one is so darn good. Arissa started the treadmill at 5.5 and jogged for about 3 minutes when the door opened. A whole group of people came in. A sweet smell walked past her. It was intense. She wanted to glance behind her to see what he looked like, but stopped herself. It was too small of a place. He would notice her. And if he did notice her she wouldn't be able to say anything. Her shyness always gets to her though when she sees someone cute at the gym. She knew she was getting cuter... as she glanced over to see a familiar face...that guy that sings with Bruno was at the elliptical...and wait...no...yess....oh holy shit. Oh my god. He was like 2 treadmills away from her. Hitting the button to start. "Oh...Oh..." her hand hit the pause button right before she started to slip on the treadmill.

"That would have been embarrassing..." he said to her with a laugh.

"Umm...yeah...umm...it...oh...oh shit...." She pulled out her headphones and started the treadmill again on a lower level careful not to lose her time.

"I like your shirt." he told her.

"Yeah, yeah. It's super cool." someone else yelled at her from the weights.

"I would hope that y'all would like it." she told them. She gained her footing and started jogging at a slightly faster pace.

"How fast are you going, girl?" he asked her as she looked at the mirror almost starting to ignore them.

Fuck me. Bruno god damn Mars is two treadmills away from me and I can't think of a thing to say to him. What do I say? What do I do? Do I talk to him like he's normal? Do I freak out? I'm 24. I can't do that. Oh lord. Oh my. Do I say I was listening to an illegal download of Ladies is pimps too? Oh my god oh my god oh my god. Kill me now. But I'm running at at 10 minute mile. I never run this fast without killing myself. I have to keep going. Keep running. Keep running...

"I'm only going at 6.1" she answered him as she swayed her arms. She lowered her music as he started to talk to her.

She jumped off the treadmill when she hit 2.0 miles and started to walk out the door.

"It was fabulous meeting you, Bruno..." she smiled and started to walk away, wiping a bit of sweat off her forehead with her hand.

"Wait, wait..." he paused and grabbed her hand. "Your name?"

"You'll find out later tonight." she smiled at him and walked out the door.

"Dude that girl had it going on." Phred told him after Arissa walked out the door.

"You don't have to tell me twice. She was outta this world. And wearing that shirt? Like really? And she knew we were here. It was like she was stalking us."

"Ha..." Phil laughed at him. "Yeah. Are you sure you want to get involved with that, Bruno?"

"I know I want to get involved in all of that." he motioned in a circle recreating her body.