Never Say Never

think you should go,” she told him. He didn’t argue, just shrugged, and then he was out the door, leaving Camila alone with her thoughts.
She sat in Jaime’s room for a while, watched his chest rise and fall, listening to his heavy breathing. It calmed her but didn’t distract her, and when she finally made her way to bed, she wished more than anything she had someone to share it with.
* * *
Emily didn’t sleep well that night.
She couldn’t stop thinking about Camila in that stupid dress. She had probably spent the night with that guy, and she wished she had been the one to drag that zipper down Camila’s back, to kiss every inch of her skin, to fall into her and never let her go.
Her thoughts burned, kept her up, invaded her mind, driving her mad until, finally, at five o’clock, she threw off the covers and headed to the nearby gym.
It was busier than she expected, and as she pushed herself on the treadmill, trying to outrun her thoughts, she wondered whether everyone around her was haunted too, because she was pretty sure no one would be there that early if they had a choice.
After thirty minutes, she felt better—a little.
Wiping the sweat off her face, she headed for the weight room. She normally avoided lifting because the room was full of guys who thought they were God’s gift to women. Sure enough, as soon as she stepped inside several guys blatantly checked out her ass.
She shrugged it off, smiling instead at the only other woman in there, a brunette with killer abs and sparkling blue eyes. Emily wouldn’t mind if she checked her out.
She warmed up with some basic stretches before she moved toward one of the benches. Just as she laid back, a shadow fell over her, and she sighed, prepared to hear someone mansplain how to do a bench press.
But when she glanced up, it was the woman who was grinning down at her. “Need a spotter?” she asked. “It’s cool if not, but I thought I’d offer before one of these know-it-alls did.”
“That’d be great, actually.” She did a few reps, feeling the burn in her muscles as her arms tensed and flexed. She set the bar down when she was done and sat up, shaking out her arms. She was going to be sore tomorrow morning. “I’m Emily.”
“Megan.” She held out a gloved hand to help Emily up, and they swapped places. Megan increased the weight, and Emily watched the muscles in her arms work as she raised the bar above her head.
She was hot, and she was strong, and when Megan caught her staring, Emily blushed and looked away.
“So how come I haven’t seen you around here before?” Megan asked, reaching for her water bottle. “You new in town?”
“Pretty new,” Emily answered. “I moved her a few weeks ago. I’ve been here before, usually at night, though.”
“Not a morning person?”
“Not really, but this morning I just felt like a change,” she lied, deciding that Megan didn’t need to hear about her real reason for being there. She realized it was the first time she had thought about Camila for a while—maybe coming to the gym had been a good idea after all.
“Well, I hope it’s a change you keep making,” Megan said, and Emily wondered if she was flirting. “It’d be nice to see you here again.”
She was about to reply when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She fished it out, prepared to press ignore if it was her sister—Cassie would definitely understand if she saw Megan—but it was Camila.
“Sorry, it’s my boss,” she said to Megan. “Hello?”
“Emily, sorry to call you so early, but something’s come up. Can you come over a little earlier this morning? Or pick Jaime up from the office?”
“Uh, sure,” Emily answered. “I can actually come over right now if you want me to.” She glanced down at her sweaty workout clothes. “Although I’d need to use your shower and maybe borrow some clothes. I’m at the gym,” she added by way of explanation. “I can pick him up from your office, if that’s easier.” She wished she had said that first—what if Stephen was still at Camila’s apartment?
“No, the apartment is fine. Of course you can use the shower.”
“Then I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thank you, Emily.”
She slipped her phone back in her pocket, unsure if she was prepared to see Camila again so soon.
“Have to go?” Megan asked.
Emily nodded. “Unfortunately. Maybe I’ll see you around?”
“I sure hope so.”
When Emily reached the door, she turned to see Megan watching her go. Instead of blushing at being caught, Megan winked, and Emily smiled. She walked to the subway with a spring in her step.
When she got to Camila’s apartment, she was in the kitchen on the phone, hand on her hip. When she saw Emily, she stopped midsentence and stared at her for long moment. Emily wondered if she had imagined Camila’s call and she wasn’t actually supposed to be there, but then Camila blinked and carried on talking like she had never even stopped.
She hung up a moment later and turned back to Emily. “Sorry to drag you out here so early.”
“It’s fine, honestly.” Emily shrugged out of her jacket and draped it over the back of a chair, and she could have sworn Camila was staring again. She wondered if maybe she should have kept her jacket on to cover the fact that Emily was just wearing a sports bra under it. Maybe Camila thought that was inappropriate, but it wasn’t like she’d planned this. She felt like she needed to apologize and folded her arms across her stomach to cover herself. “Sorry. I didn’t bring any other clothes with me.”
“That…” Camila dragged her eyes slowly down Emily’s figure and—wait, was Camila checking her out?
Was Camila flustered by her lack of clothing?
Was she dreaming?
“That’s quite all right.”
Emily dropped her arms back to her sides, watching Camila swallow as she glanced at