The gym was your escape.

A place where you could escape the anxiety and stress that your corporate job gave you. Your ridiculous schedule barely gave you enough free time, considering how often you had to re-type documents multiple times and re-do projects at the last minute. So, at first, you didn't want to go to the gym at all, but you felt like you needed to exercise just to keep your back from giving out.

However, you soon found solace in it. Lifting weights and doing various squats weren't the exercises you enjoyed, but when it came to running and stretching...

Soon, going to the gym became a part of your routine, and perhaps the only part you truly loved and looked forward to. You had a special playlist, good headphones, and even purchased pretty sportswear.

Perfect. Practical. Therapeutic.

But then, there became another reason to visit the gym. Him.

You didn't know his name, or even what he looked like. The others, especially the guys, looked at his face, hidden by the balaclava, with disapproval and even contempt. But he, such a tall and well-built man, didn't care about other people's opinions. He was here to train, and that's what he was doing.

You didn't realize it at first, but you started running into each other every day, and your exercise sessions started to coincide. But when you walked in and got on the treadmill to warm up, he was already there, a few feet away, finishing his run and moving on to the equipment you were avoiding. When you approached and laid out your yoga mat, he was standing in front of the mirror, lifting weights in his hands with a steady rhythm, his biceps taut.

Up, down, up, down.

Gym crush. That's what they called it on social media. When you started to like someone you regularly saw at the gym. Maybe you did, but you definitely weren't crazy about him, no. Although, you often froze in place in a bridge stretch position, staring upside down as he did squats. And on one of those days, he would probably catch you on it.

Like now.

"Shit..." You whispered, immediately turning your head away and sinking down to your yoga mat.

Awkward.

But what you didn't know was that he wanted to catch you. It was just an excuse for him to finally talk to you.