Ghosts (A Christian Yelich Story)

Chapter Fourteen: Can We Talk About Last Night?

"What's going on with you two? You're looking at her like she's lunch." Nick winked at me, as we watched Annie, who was jumping rope across the gym.

I took a deep breath. "I don't know exactly. We hooked up last night, and I woke up this morning feeling better than I have in a long time. But she was a little weird about it."

"How so?" Nick asked.

"She seemed a little jumpy when I touched her.
She didn't push me away or anything. She just didn't seem completely comfortable. We showered together and made out a lot, and she was a bit shaky. I probably shouldn't have told you any of this."

"It's fine. I won't tell anyone you're screwing a famous actress. She was probably just nervous . . . Or
hungry. How was it, anyway?"

"Mind blowing," I said genuinely. "Best I've ever had. Haven't stopped thinking about it."

"Whoa," Nick exclaimed, not expecting my response. "Pretty high praise coming from you. And she's not even your type — she's way too smart!" Nick quipped.

"Shut it," I said, shoving Nick's shoulder.

"She's really weirdly hot in a hipster English teacher meets Hollywood sort of way."

"That's oddly specific, and I have no idea what you're talking about," I joked.

"Amazing ass and tits. As her temporary trainer, I should probably stop objectifying her, though."

"You think?" I said, shoving him a little bit again.

"You're a lucky dude. What are your plans with her?"

Before I could respond, Annie was making her way over to us. "You guys make it really obvious when you're talking about someone." She handed her jump rope to Nick and gave me a shy smile. "What should I do next?"

"Walking lunges with a 25-pound plate overhead," Nick responded. "100 total. We'll then get you and Christian going on some interval training."

She glared at Nick. "I hate walking lunges."

"I know, babe. You told me yesterday. That's why we're programming them today."

"You're my new least favorite person, and I'm staying in the same castle as my asshole ex."

"Get to it!" Nick instructed before turning back to me. Annie scoffed and turned away, picking up a bumper plate and throwing it over head. "I sort of hate you!" she shouted at Nick before taking her first step.

"Man, she's great," Nick said. "If you don't ask her on a date, I'm going to."

"You think that should be my plan of action?"

"Yeah, dude, you need to show her you're actually interested in her if you're trying to wife her."

"I'm not trying to wife her."

"You sure? You seem pretty smitten."

"Smitten?"

"Listen, when you hook up with a woman, you usually just say things are fine and the sex was okay. Even with your exes. You seem pretty pumped about this. Give it an actual shot." Nick offered his advice and then placed Annie's jump rope in my hand. "Do some cardio."

Instead of jumping rope, I grabbed a 45-pound plate and joined Annie. "Hey," I said, sort of nervously.

"Hi. Do you think he'd notice if I only do 50?"

I laughed. "Probably."

"Damn. I really do suck at these."

"Me too." I paused to think of what to say next. "Can we talk about last night and this morning?"

She looked at me and set her plate on the ground. "Sure. What's up?"

"I want to take you out. Maybe we won't be able to do it until our off day, but I want to take you on an actual date. I also want to continue fucking you. I want both of these things. A lot." Verbal diarrhea.

She looked up at me and took a few moments to gather her thoughts, which made me feel even more uneasy. When did I get this nervous talking to women? "Yes and yes. Yes to the date and yes to the sex."

I chuckled and before I could think more about it, I kissed her.

"Get back to work or get a room!" Nick shouted.

Annie smiled against my lips, and I kissed her even more deeply. Nick made gagging sounds in the background.

God, I was I trouble. This was the last thing I expected when I signed up for this.

After only two days, I was developing feelings for a goofy, smart, and endearingly sexy actress from the Midwest.