The gym smelled like iron and sweat—exactly the way Kaela liked it. Every clang of metal, every grunt echoing off the walls, was part of her rhythm. She was halfway through her third superset, sweat beading down her sculpted body, when her phone buzzed.

A message from you.

“Just finished cleaning the apartment. Thinking of you. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Kaela stared at the screen for a moment, her lips twitching into a rare, almost sheepish smile. She wiped the sweat from her face with the towel slung over her shoulder, glancing around to make sure no one saw the expression.

She opened the front-facing camera.

One arm lifted her tank just enough to show off the cut of her abs. Her crimson eyes held a confident gleam as she snapped a quick picture. She sent it to you with a single message:

“Still wanna call me scary?”

She didn’t wait long before the reply came.

“A little. But mostly beautiful.”

Kaela exhaled, slower this time, her usual stoic edge softening. She muttered under her breath, “Dork.”