Blonde hair, hints of brown intermingled, hung in a straight wave to just below her shoulders. Cerulean blue eyes glanced towards Drake, a smile emerging that was reserved for only between lovers. She was petite and slender, yet the tilt of her jaw, angled upwards slightly, screamed of a hidden strength.

"Hey Baby," She said to Drake, her words eliciting a goofy smile from the man. Her eyes turned to regard me with an uncanny frankness, assessing. "Who is this?"

"Tro- Nicole, this is Grayson. Grayson, this is my wife, Nicole." Drake went about introducing. "He is here about the personal training job... Where is Syl?"

"She's in the car with Alyssa. We just stopped in to see if you wanted to go for lunch if you aren't busy."

"That sounds exactly what I need. An hour with my two favorite girls. And Alyssa too, I suppose."

"Good. Now, how does Grayson look?" She asked, snatching my resume away from Drake. Taking the seat beside mine, she crossed her legs before scanning the page - eyes glancing over the top occasionally at me.

"Ten years in the army, huh?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Ooo," She giggled, the sound like that of chimes tinkling. "I could get used to being called ma'am." As she turned towards her husband, she asked, "How come you never call me ma'am? Huh?"

Drake offered me a pointed look, "I won't have you starting drama in the workplace."

"How long have you been back home?" Nicole asked, drawing my attention back to her.

"Just over a week."

"We should play matchmaker," Nicole mused, a thoughtful expression emerging. "Maybe Vicky? What do you think?"

"Nicole..."

She glanced at Drake, "You're right," she began, as if his simple word held a deeper meaning. "Maybe Kayla? She could use a firm hand to reign her in."

"He already survived one war." Drake offered, his eyes still remaining fixated on the paperwork in front of him. "Do you really want to subject him to Kayla?"

Nicole merely nodded, pondering his words with a serious expression to her countenance.

With a snap of her fingers, "What about Michelle!"

Her face held a triumphant expression as she regarded me, daring me to disagree with her. As if I even knew who any of these names belonged to.

I felt off kilter.

'Were all job interviews like this now and days?' I thought, seriously tempted to voice it.

"Michelle is a lesbian," Drake offered once more.

"Oh... Right." Nicole replied, the triumphant expression slipping from her face to be replaced by that of an almost crestfallen look. The corners of her lip ticked, eyes narrowing slightly as she apparently lost herself in thought once more. Likely digging through the recesses of her mind for another name to throw forward.

I knew I was both correct and in trouble the second her face lit up once more, eyes just screaming mischief. It was similar to a look I was so oft of seeing in Hayden's eyes. It had the hairs on the back of my neck standing in an instant. Wariness rushing in.

Regarding me with far too much candor for my liking, her next words voiced my fears. "I don't know... Maybe with a little bit of makeup..."

She let her words trail off, as if she expected me to take them up with enthusiasm.

"Nicole. Stop it." Drake addressed, finally looking up to pin his wife with a hard look. Turning towards me, he apologized, "I'm sorry about her. She's been reading far too many romance novels lately."

"Have to get it from somewhere." Nicole mumbled softly, eyes daring Drake.

The flash of indignation within Drake's eyes was unmistakable, a growl echoing up from within his chest.

"You know damn well you get enough romance from me, Trouble. Just last night you got a back massage, did you not?"

'Trouble?'

"For all of five seconds before you asked me to roll over!"

Drake at least had the decency to flush in response to his woman's words, grumbling softly to himself about a hand cramping.

'I wonder if they can pause for a second while I grab popcorn.'

I was taken off guard as Nicole quickly turned back towards me, asking "Are you single?"

Her blue eyes were piercing, holding me pinned in place. It was the same look Hayden could level me with. I wondered if it was a look shared amongst women. It had to be. Far too similar to be a mere coincidence. Maybe they even couldn't use it while another woman used it - like that of men and the brain we share.

"Yes." I finally answered, trying to appear cool and collected lest my interrogator smell fear.

"Oh? And why was there a slight hesitation?"

'Fuck, you idiot. She smelled fear!'

"There was no hesitation." I answered flatly.

That piercing look emerged once more, slicing through my carefully constructed facade as if a scalpel to skin.

Nicole slowly tilted her head to the side, a smirk forming. "Who is she?"

"Who is who?"

"The woman."

"What woman?"

Hearing our back and forth, Drake chimed in, "A word to the wise, Grayson... She isn't going to stop until you tell her what she wants to know. Believe me."

Nicole nodded in agreement, offering her husband a radiant smile which he seemed to happily soak up.

'You're a traitor to your own gender!' I was tempted to irrationally hurl at him.

"So, who is she?" Nicole asked once more, eyes alive under the fluorescent lighting. There was a tinge of madness within those depths, something that screamed she would not let this go until I eventually played along. Reluctantly or not.

I sighed, resigning myself to allow this interrogation to end sooner rather than later.

"My best friend's younger sister," I answered - voicing the truth to Nicole as much as I was to myself.

"Ah," Nicole sighed, her eyes glimmering. "So to her you were once the cool, older guy that-"

"Still am." I interjected quickly.

Her gaze was slightly haughty, that frustrating smirk emerging once again, "Debatable."

'Well that stung.'

"And does she feel the same way?"

I was tempted to ask her how the hell I should know, but wisely kept my mouth closed. Yet her question stirred thoughts within me, memories flooding me as if a door were opened. The heartfelt sigh that would resonate from deep within Hayden as she hugged me tight, the way her eyes would constantly shift towards me and the easy smile that would soon follow.

"I suppose?"

My answer didn't appear to satisfy Nicole. Not in the least.

"It's like I'm talking to a nineteen year old you."

"What?" Drake asked, finally glancing up from the paperwork he had been hastily scribbling upon.

Speaking to me, Nicole explained "When we were in high school, this loveable idiot almost didn't ask me out because he thought it was implied how he felt about me."

"Does Vicky tell you everything? Is nothing sacred?"

"Yes, and no, so you'd best remember that." Nicole answered, offering him a pointed look. "Don't think for one second that I don't know why you stopped buying those Fiber One bars I used to love."

The sheepish smile on Drake's face before he quickly looked back down left me slightly confused within the conversation. I figured it must be some inside joke or story only they were privy to.

"As I was saying... Don't let something that could be, become a might've been simply because neither side took a chance."

I merely offered her a nod in response, opting to ponder them further once I was alone.

"And if things don't work out; I can always set you up with my bestie, Sarah."

"Sarah is with Matt..." Drake pointed out, a curious look emerging.

"I know," Nicole was quick to answer. "But maybe if we toss them someone else they'll stop trying to get us to join them."

"Can't argue with that logic." Drake replied, shaking his head slightly.

"I like him," Nicole said to me as she stood up, turning to glance down at her husband. "You should hire him."

"Already filling out the paperwork." Drake answered. Speaking to me, he continued, "Would you be able to come in Monday morning, around, say, ten-ish? I'll have you take a few of my clients through a workout while I shadow you and then have some of Kurt's previous clientele lined up for you."

"That works great for me." I answered quickly, excited at the prospect of starting work so quickly. The stack of twenty resumes I had printed out earlier looked like they would be going to waste - at least for now.

---

I squinted against the glare of the sun as I emerged from the gym, Drake having promised to fast track my employment paperwork before Monday came. With the guarantee of thirty hours a week minimum to start, I was looking forward to settling into the habit of working once again. The ample free time I had been subjected to within the last few months had given my mind far too much time to wander.

Leaning against the brick walling, I hastily typed out a text to share the good news with the one whose opinion seemed to now matter most to me: Hayden.

'I got the job!''

With a smile on my face, sliding the phone back into my pocket, I made my way towards the bus stop. I had made it all of three feet before my phone buzzed, halting my movements.

The text that met me had my smile transform into that of a grin as I read Hayden's words.

'I told u!!!'

My fingers hovered just above the keypad, thoughts of what to respond with flitting through my mind. Any hopes of forming a response were laid to waste as my phone buzzed once more in my hand, Hayden's text flashing across the screen.

'Im proud of u! <3'