Her Coach Wouldn't Take My Money, So I Paid Her Another Way novel · Chapter 11 of 24
Chapter 11: Stay Angry
The gym emptied out after midnight.
I stayed in my corner of the ring with the bucket and the towels while volunteers folded chairs.
Sasha went home with her mother and a bag of frozen peas on her lip.
Cosima squeezed my hand on her way out and mouthed, "Call me."
Gina said nothing to me for an hour.
She shook hands, carried the cash box to the back office, and thanked the last twenty people one at a time.
When the door finally locked and the lights went down, she turned and looked at me.
"Upstairs," she said.
I climbed the stairs behind her with my fists clenched.
In the green doorway I stopped.
"Did you know who I was?"
"Yes."
The word dropped into the room.
"When?"
"When Sasha said your name eleven days ago. And again when you wrote it on my clipboard."
"You let me walk in here and sign up."
"I did."
"You let me." My voice cracked. "You let me tell you about my mother. You held me while I told you."
"Rae."
"Did you sleep with me because of what you knew?"
"No."
"How do I know that?"
Gina crossed the floor and stopped an arm's length away.
She didn't touch me.
"You don't," she said.
"That's why I couldn't say it. If I told you, you'd never know whether I wanted you or whether I wanted what you are. I wanted to be sure for myself first."
"What I am?"
"I can't say it standing here angry at me. I want you to read it, not hear it. I'll give you the key tomorrow. But tonight I need you to know one thing."
"What?"
Her eyes were wet and absolutely direct.
"I didn't touch you on Thursday because of anything I knew. I touched you because you made me laugh with a lumpy wrap and a stubborn chin, and nothing in my life has ever felt as good."
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