What race is your fantasy partner? You are limited to human racial descriptions for this question. There will be another question for non-human races further along.

What race is your fantasy partner? You are limited to human racial descriptions for this question. There will be another question for non-human races further along.

***

“Alright!” Kai clapped as I finished another pull up. “Damn girl, that’s three more than Sunday.” She added as I dropped off the bar, putting her curly hair up in a pony tail. Kai was my new personal trainer. I didn’t exactly need one, but Charlie was right. It was an easy way to make a friend.

“Really?” I asked, trying to count the number of pull ups I’d just done. “It didn’t feel that hard.” I’d been stuck on five since I’d started working out. My biceps and back were just never a priority.

“Well, you must just be getting back into the swing of things.” She shrugged. I nodded in agreement, but only because I lacked another explanation.

Kai and I hit it off immediately. Charlie liked her, too, which relieved me, because I did not want a male trainer. She was fun, young, and easy to talk to, with a disarming cheeriness that I admired. She was a little excitable, but it was better than shallow vapid narcissists I used to hang out with.

I picked up my water bottle and chugged a big gulp before we worked over to the rowing machines. “I told you not to push yourself, though. There’s no need to show off.” Kai giggled.

“I promise I wasn’t pushing myself.” I smiled, setting my stuff down.

“Girl, look how much you’re sweating and tell me you’re not pushing yourself.” She pointed to the large dark stains under the arms of my cropped track jacket.

“Oh my god!” I shot my arms into my ribs to hide the sweat stains. “I must smell awful.”

“Not at all, actually. What deodorant do you use?”

“I don’t know, whatever’s cheapest.” I felt under my arms. 100% soaked. But I didn’t feel particularly exerted. A little thirsty, maybe, but we hadn’t been going all that hard. “I swear I’m just running hot, today.”

“Well, it makes your abs look good.”

“You think so?”

She nodded enthusiastically.

“Well, there’s an upside. My husband loves these things.” I chuckled, giving my abs a solid knock.

“Uh, oh. Dry spell?”

“You have no i—“ I stopped myself. “Uh, sorry, I really shouldn’t be talking about this.”

“Woah, sorry to overstep. Just seemed like you needed some girl talk.”

I scoffed, more at my past self than at Kai. “Take it from me, girl talk can really distort your sense of reality.” I said, reaching over for the bar and beginning the set to hopefully mark the end of the conversation. My hands would have be shaking if I hadn’t been rowing.

“Ah, yeah. See that a lot.” Kai agreed. “Straighten your back. Keep those shoulders. See, some girls just don’t know how to be miserable alone. Call you a friend—loosen that grip—then do what they can to drag you down to their level.” She crouched down. “Most women, I don’t even think they like their men. Me? My Frankie’s not perfect, but I ain’t gonna trash talk him.”

“You have a boyfriend?”

“Yeah! Three years. He’s a trainer at another gym—steady breaths, please. How long you and uh…”

“Charlie. Four years married. Five in October.”

“Hell yeah.”

I looked up, pausing for a second to see if she was making fun of me. She didn’t seem to be. “Yeah. I guess it is hell yeah.” I nodded, going back to rowing. “How’d you meet your boyfriend?”

“College. We had a lot of classes together and did a few group projects. He spoke Spanish, so he was able to explain things to me in my native tongue which was a big help.”

“That’s really sweet.”

“You guys?”

“I, uh, kinda always knew him. Always seemed to be friends with most of my friends, but we never really interacted until college. He drove me home from the bar once and my drunk ass just kinda told him we were dating.” I answered, surprised at how quickly the story had ended. “Charlie, he uh, usually tells the story. Makes it sound more romantic. And takes about fifteen minutes.” I chuckled nervously. I’d come to hate people asking how we met, knowing Charlie was about to dramatize and drag out the story I’d heard a million times. But if that was the best I could manage, then he most definitely needed to tell it instead of me.

Kai and I spoke for a while about our partners while we worked out. Kai did most of the talking. I felt a great deal of anxiety talking about Charlie in his absence. Always looking over my shoulder before downplaying and obfuscating details.

“Maybe you guys can join us for karaoke, friday?” Kai suggested as we walked to the locker room. I was most certainly drenched in sweat, now, prompting me to skip the sauna, despite the soreness. I’d soak in the bath at home. “Since you’re new to the area, could invite a bunch of people?”

“Oh, uh, I’ll have to confirm with my husband, but I think that could be fun.”

“Well, even if he can’t come, it’d be nice to have you.”

I nodded, fishing my phone out of my pocket. “Oh, my husband’s here to pick me up. I’ll have an answer at our next session!” I promised, unzipping my track jacket to show off some cleavage.