Read Chapter 1 of Forever Friend Zoned

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Chapter One
Jeff

I loved the heat, but it had been a long time since I’d been back to Arizona. When people asked, I said I was from Phoenix, but really, I was born and raised in Buckeye, a Phoenix suburb. I didn’t consider the place my home anymore. Dallas was home now. 

Buckeye had changed a lot since I was fourteen. The walk down memory lane had been fun, but my hometown was not for me. 

“What do you think?” the pretty redhead I was following asked. Fran was the manager of the gym. She was one of those go-getter types. I had a feeling she would step on small children if that was what it took for her to get ahead. 

I looked around the massive gym that was a ridiculous three stories high. “It’s nice.”

She smiled, flashing a set of perfectly white teeth. “Nice? Is that really the appropriate word?”

I shrugged and looked around at the state-of-the-art equipment in the huge open gym. “I’m still trying to get my head around the idea there is a gym sitting in the middle of the place I played baseball with my friends when I was younger.”

“Uh oh, are you one of those sentimental types?” she teased. 

“Not at all.”

“Why don’t we go up to the mats?” she offered. 

“Do I look like the gymnastic type?” I asked.

She winked, her eyes raking over me. “It’s never a bad time to work on your flexibility.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“What do you think?” she asked. The way she said it made me wonder if she was talking about the gym or her. 

“I think this is a massive gym.”

“It’s the biggest in town.” She grinned. “Best equipment. Best juice bar. Best of everything. We’re still new and working on increasing our membership, but we are going to be the biggest gym in the state once we get going.”

“It’s a great gym, but I live in Dallas. I’m not looking to leave.”

“Oh, come on now, Jefferson. Look at this place.”

“Please, call me Jeff,” I corrected her for at least the fifth time. When she called me Jefferson, I was certain my mother was about to rip me a new one for doing something wrong. 

“Jeff, with your skills and your reputation in the fitness world, you could pick up new clients here. I’m talking professional athletes. People that will pay you big money to whip their asses into shape.”

“I appreciate that, but I have a solid client list at home.”

“You could be a personal trainer to the top celebrities and football players in the country. Phoenix, Buckeye especially, is growing by leaps and bounds. The secret about this place is out and everyone wants to live here.”

I offered her a smile. “It’s a great place, but I don’t think it’s the place for me.”

“Why did you agree to come out here if you weren’t interested?” she asked, her green eyes flashing. She was growing irritated. 

“I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I figured it couldn’t hurt to visit my old stomping grounds and see what changed. It turns out, a lot has changed.”

“Change is a good thing. Isn’t that how we stay in business? We tell anyone that walks through the door that we can change their life for the better. We promise their bodies will change and their health will improve. I love change.”

“I have to say, the changes I’m seeing in my hometown are a lot. I’ve changed since I’ve been away. I don’t think I fit in here anymore. I’ve built a life and a career in Dallas. I really love Texas. I have a long, loyal client list at the gym I work at now.”

“Ah, but The Zone is going to be the biggest thing since Gold’s Gym. We are building an elite team of trainers that will attract even more members. We are going to be nationwide, but that has to start here.”

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I am flattered you want me on board, but I’ve made a home for myself in Texas.”

“I reached out to you because I figured a guy like you would like to return to your roots.”

I raised an eyebrow. “A guy like me?”

Her eyes flashed with mischief. “Yes, I did my research.”

“I’m afraid to ask,” I muttered. 

“You were the chubby kid.”

She made a face. “I bet you used to say you loved Arizona.”

She wasn’t wrong. I did love Arizona, but coming back, it was like revisiting a weird dream. There were bits and pieces of that life, but none of it really felt quite the same as when I was in the dream. I felt out of place in Arizona. I didn’t know anyone, not anymore. The town had changed. Our old house had probably been razed to the ground and some new fancy subdivision was in its place. You could never go back. 

“I did, but—” I stopped midsentence. 

My eyes were drawn to the back of a woman’s head. I cocked my head to the side, staring at the dark blonde hair piled on top of her head. I couldn’t see much of her body at all. She was behind a large piece of equipment. 

“Did I mention how much this job pays?” she asked. 

I blinked and gave myself a mental shake. I couldn’t stare at the members. That was not going to win me any points with my potential boss or the women trying to work out. “Yes, you mentioned that in your email.”

“I know there is no way you are making that kind of money at your gym in Dallas.”

I smirked. “No, I’m not, but sometimes money isn’t everything. My gym has been good to me. They hired me when I was no one. They gave me a chance and I’ve soared because of their faith in me.”

“Great! Just think of what you can achieve here. You’ve hit your ceiling there. Here, the sky is the limit. The owners of the gym have given me free rein to do whatever it takes to get this place to the top of the food chain in the world of gyms. There are going to be bonuses for those that help me make that happen.”

I had to laugh. “You are very aggressive, you know that?”

She wasn’t the least bit offended. “I do know that and so do the owners, which is why they have put me in this position.”

“I bet you just need to put an ad in a local paper, and you will have people lining up to take a job as a personal trainer.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want just anyone. I want guys like you that are used to busting the asses of rich people. They require a bit of a different approach than other folks. They want you to treat them like they are royalty, but they also want you to make them beautiful. That takes someone that has experience doing just that.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “You’ve been reading my Yelp reviews.”

“Damn straight I have. I’ve already spoken with a few of your clients.”

“How did you really hear about me?” I asked. 

“They say it’s a small world and it is. I just sold a year-long membership to a guy who said he trained with you in Dallas. He couldn’t stop raving about you.”

“Who?”

“His name is Dale, fifty-two, runs marathons.”

I nodded, knowing exactly who she was talking about. “Dale is a good guy. When he told me he was moving to Phoenix, I told him about growing up here.”

She was smiling. “Yes, you did, which is why I thought bringing you back was a great plan.”

It was all starting to make sense now. I was wondering how she found me. Out of all the trainers in all the country, she found me. Now I realized I had Dale to thank. “Again, I really appreciate the offer, but I am just not in a position to pick up and move.”

The moment I said it, the woman with the messy bun walked past the window. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. It was her. It was Alora. 

Alora fucking Springfield. 

She was staring at a weight machine with a combination of fear and confusion. 

“This—” Fran started to say. 

“Can I tour your gym? Not out here, but in there?” I pointed through the window at the four-thousand-square-foot area with tall windows and every high-tech exercise machine one could imagine. 

“Absolutely!” 

She slid a keycard through a reader and pushed open the doors. Cool air hit me. Hints of sweat and deodorant mingled in the air. Music was pumping through hidden overhead speakers. The space was enormous. My eyes scanned the area. I saw her standing next to an overhead press machine. She slowly walked around the thing before taking a seat. 

We were far enough away and on the move, so she never saw me. I was able to stare at her without openly staring. I pretended to be looking around. She looked the same but different. I would recognize her walk anywhere and the way she always tilted her head when she was trying to figure something out. Fran was carrying on about the amount of money they spent buying all the top machinery in the industry. Some I had never seen before. 

We rounded a corner, walking past a row of treadmills. Alora slapped the machine she’d hopelessly been trying to use and walked toward the wide-open part of the gym that was used for kettle-bell exercises and the battle ropes. I had to hold back my laughter when she bent down and picked up one of the ropes. With both hands, she tried to bounce it. 

She must have realized she was doing something wrong and struggled to pick up the other rope. I wanted to help the poor woman. I noticed a few of the other people working out in the gym watching her as well. She ended up dropping the ropes on the floor and leaving the main gym. I watched her through the glass as she walked up to the juice bar and sat down on one of the stools. 

She’d given up. I wasn’t sure why no one offered to help her or why she wasn’t using a trainer if she was that clueless about how the gym worked. In that moment, watching her and being transported back in time, I made a decision. 

“Fran, I’ll do it.”

She stopped walking. “What?”

“I’ll take the job.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“I knew you’d be sold once you saw the equipment in here. Meatheads like us can’t resist a good machine.”

I smiled. “Yes, you’re right.”

I didn’t tell her it wasn’t the machines that I couldn’t resist. It was her. The girl who broke my heart twelve years ago.

“Let’s go to my office. We’ll go over the details and get the ball rolling. You will not be disappointed, Jeff. This place is awesome, and I know you will love working here.”

I slowly nodded, following her out of the gym. I took one last look at Alora sitting at the juice bar. She was smiling at the man mixing her smoothie. She had the same features with a more womanly figure, but not much else had changed. I remembered her dark brown eyes framed by beautiful dark lashes. I remembered how her nose crinkled when she smiled and how she laughed. 

Seeing her again was like running smack into my past. It was a chapter of my life I had closed the book on, but now I was back. I was probably making a huge mistake, but I needed to know her again. I wanted to know who she’d become and why she was wandering around a gym she was obviously unfamiliar with. I picked up on a hint of loneliness. 

I wanted to know why the most beautiful woman in the world was lonely.