Second Chances

Chapter 3

It had been an entire month since mine and Leon's first encounter. We had bumped into each other a couple of times, and he'd knocked on my door to borrow something every now and then.

The night he had stayed over had been pretty chilled. I watched my show while he sat at the kitchen island typing away on his laptop. He would occasionally speak up about what I was watching. Even though he wasn't watching, he was listening, and for some reason that made me rather happy.

By the time evening had rolled around, it was time for my Sunday night ritual of takeout. Leon and I debated back and forth what we wanted and settled on pizza. He offered to pay, since I offered him a place to stay, proving his gentlemanly capabilities.

Monday lazily rolled around, dragging with it the depression that the weekend was now over, and at nine a.m. on the dot, the locksmith knocked on my door to unlock his door. Leon still had a few boxes to unpack from the moving van he'd had to hire for a further twenty-four hours. After he declined my help with the boxes, I made a point and suggested getting another key cut, just in case.

Today, I spent my day at a couple of my clients' houses. As an independent personal trainer whose services were only offered to women, I wasn't employed at a gym, but had an arrangement where I could have use of the local gym when needed; the benefits of being friends with the owner. To start, I would go to my clients' homes, taking basic items or using items in the home until they felt comfortable and ready to try the gym. It can be daunting for many women, especially those who are self-conscious about their appearance, to go to the gym, and so I slowly start to introduce them to the world of working out and the gym in the comfort of their own home - and occasionally mine as I had some specialist equipment that I am unable to take with me.

After what happened to me, I decided to live a life helping women to improve themselves and to see themselves in a better light. No one should have to feel less than what they are. Every life is precious, and I'd learned that the hard way. It made me feel good about myself that I was able to help those who feel low about themselves.

I had built really good relationships with many of my clients, and funnily enough, one of them was my best friend Ffion. I had just finished up at a clients' house when my phone started buzzing. I quickly looked and my face lit up when I saw Fi was FaceTiming me.

"Hey babes, everything okay?" I was always excited to speak to Fi. That girl was the bestest friend anyone could ask for. She knew me inside out and just seeing her bubbly face was enough to lift my mood. She was a ball of energy, a ray of sunshine, and I loved her like a sister.

"Hey sugar! Yeah, all good here, I was just wondering if you're finished at your clients? Fancy meeting for a coffee?" Her smile radiated through the phone. She was always happy, and I'd only seen her sad a handful of times, and that was usually when someone she cared about was hurting. She put everyone above herself, always.

"Oh, I'm so down, meet me at the usual place?" Coffee was my drug, one that I could happily have injected into my veins for a steady, constant flow.

"Sweet, I'll see you there in ten. Loves you, bye!"

"Loves you too, see you soon." With a blowed kiss through the phone, Fi hung up.

We always told each other we loved one another. It filled my heart. It was important to me that she knew how much I cared for her. Not just that, but if anything were to happen to either one of us, we'd regret not telling or showing the other how much we meant to one another.

I made my way to the small café on the corner, "The Coffee Hub", with a spring in my step. Fi had something up her sleeve. I could sense it. Her smile was just that little extra big today. Well. Either that or she'd finally got laid.

I found her in our usual chairs, tucked away by the window in the corner. Hearing the door shut behind me, Fi shot her head up and waved at me with the goofiest grin ever spread along her pretty face. I shook my head and giggled as I made my way over to her. She'd already got my order in. She's a good egg.

"So then, what's got you buzzing off your tits?" I wasted no time in getting straight to the point as I dropped into my seat, the cushion bouncing under my weight. There was no beating around the bush when it came to news as big as this.

She was visibly bouncing in her seat and I couldn't help but giggle at her. "OK, OK, so I met this guy and oh my god he's so FIT! He's got these big brown eyes like gooey chocolate, and he's got muscles like this." She wrapped a hand around the opposite arm with a gap between the body parts as she rambled on like a lovesick teenager. It was all I needed to know that she was infatuated with this guy.

"That's great Fi! So, what's his name? How'd you meet him?" Oh, I was going to get all the gossip. But then again, it was never hard to get juicy gossip from Ffion. She loved it just as much as I did.

"His name's Everett, he's twenty-five, so a few years older than us. I met him at work. He's the son of my boss of all things." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. As excited as she was about this, there was trepidation in her movements. She'd only had one boyfriend and he had turned out to be just as big a waste of space as Wyatt. He shattered her heart into a million pieces and left her high and dry. That's when I met her and became her personal trainer.

I placed my hands gently over hers and offered her a supportive smile.

"I'm so happy for you Fi, truly. I can't wait to meet him. But I tell you what, if he does anything to hurt you and I'll rip his balls off and shove 'em down his throat." It was threat and promise all rolled into one. She deserved all the happiness in the world. She had spent so much of her life making others happy, that she rarely put her own happiness first - it was kind of like looking in a mirror - and with her past... God knows she deserved all the happiness in the world.

She laughed out loud, tears brimming in her eyes. "Oh A, I really do love you. I can only imagine his reaction when you threaten him to his face." She was smiling and that made me ecstatic.

"Anyway, any news on Mr Sex on Legs?" I had known this was coming. I'd told her everything about him, and she was dying to meet him. Hell, I was dying to see him and talk to him properly again.

"Nah, nothing yet. I assume he's just busy with work and getting settled into his new place. I don't want to pester him and think I'm desperate." I grimaced at that. I was not the desperate type. Never had been, never will be. If I liked a guy, I only made it known if they told me first. I wasn't going to give my heart and spill my feelings to someone who didn't reciprocate them. That was a lesson I had well and truly learned the hard way.

Just then, my phone went off; an annoying buzz that vibrated the whole table. I was rather surprised when I saw who the caller was. His ears must've been burning.

"Hey, Leon. How's things? Not locked outside of your apartment again I hope." In an instant, Ffion was by my side. I had to stifle a laugh and I scooched across the seat to make room for her. I'd only said his name and she was by my side. I angled the phone between us so that we could both hear what he had to say.

We heard him laugh at the other end of the phone. "Hello to you too. No, No. It may come as a surprise, but I'm not locked out of my apartment. I was actually wondering if you would like to come to my housewarming party tonight? It's a bit late I know, but I figured I'd get settled and have a party when I had the time." It sure had been a while since I'd been to any kind of party, and with how hard I had worked recently, I damn well deserved to let loose a little. And bonus, it was a Friday so I would have the entire weekend to recuperate.

"Yeah sure, sounds like fun. Do you mind if I bring my friend with me?" Because, if I'm getting rat-arsed and going to make a tit of myself, then so is Ffion. She needed this just as much as I did.

"Sure, why not! Friend of yours is a friend of mine. It starts at seven p.m. so just come over whenever you're ready. I need to get everything prepped so I'll see you tonight." I swore I could hear him smile.

"No problem, I shall see you later then Leon." I hung up and turned to Ffion. If I thought she was buzzing about her news about her new crush, it was nothing compared to this as she took my hands in hers and held them tightly.

"You know what this means don't you... SHOPPING!"