Free Bender by Stacy Borel Page A

the wrong tree. But knock yourself out.”
    “Why don’t you come to the gym with me tonight?”
    I balked. “So your first order of business is to take away the curves that you say are attractive and turn me into one of those skinny chicks? No thanks, Dodger, I’m not interested.” I was turning to walk away.
    He grabbed my forearm and stopped me. His baby blue eye searched mine. “You’re not hearing me. I’m not trying to change you, Keegan, I’m trying to help you. You think you look a certain way, when I don’t see anything wrong with it. My solution is to change the way you see yourself.” He looked genuinely unsure about whether he was reaching me.
    A few seconds passed before I wiped under my eyes to rid the moisture and straightened my back. “Fine.” Dodger was truly not trying to hurt my feelings by saying what he did. “Come get me after six, I should be home from work by then.”
    He nodded. “Aren’t I still coming to lunch with you?”
    “No, I need a little bit of time alone with Macie, if that’s alright. I don’t mean to be rude.”
    “Not rude at all. I’ll catch ya after work. Tell your friend I said hi.” And with that Dodger turned and walked toward the student parking.
    I continued on to the café, ready to dump all of the swirling negativity on Macie’s lap. I wanted to get her take on everything. I really felt adamant about going to The Dugout and possibly running into Camden. He was at the forefront of my mind when Dodger mentioned taking me with him. If I went, it would feel like I was conceding to every word Camden said to me this weekend, and it ticked me off. I didn’t want him to think he got his way, and he somehow got his chubby roommate into the gym. I swear I could practically hear him laughing about it now while giving me an ‘I told you so’ face. I balled my fists until my nails were biting into my palms. Just the idea of it made me feel murderous. I knew Dodger wouldn’t let me back out. Little did Macie know, I was going to drag her along. At least she could act as a buffer while I was there. All of the guys would be paying attention to her instead of watching me huff and puff on the elliptical. I’d survive this. I promised I’d go with him tonight, but that didn’t mean every night after that. And one evening in the gym wasn’t going to change the way I saw myself. As I approached the café, I felt resolute that this was going to be a one-time deal. After that, Dodger would have to find a new way to show me how I should be seeing myself. I’d also be crossing my fingers that Camden had better things to do than be at work that late in the evening.

I’ D JUST PULLED ON A PAIR of black yoga pants when I heard the front door open. Grabbing a rubber band to pull my long hair up, I bounded down the steps. Macie was sitting on the couch, reading some gossip magazine, looking cute as ever in her workout clothes and pristine makeup. Dodger was grabbing some water bottles from the fridge in the kitchen, glancing at Macie over his shoulder. I wasn’t sure how I felt about his interest in her, but that was a bridge I’d cross when I got to it.
    “You ready?” Dodger asked, while zipping up a gym bag.
    I shrugged. I truly had been dreading this all day, and I scolded myself for even agreeing to it. I’ve been to the gym before, but I was the type that went in once, felt self-conscious, and never went again. I was much more comfortable exercising in my own home, which of course I never did.
    Macie stood up from the couch, and I couldn’t help but admire her confidence in this moment. She wasn’t agonizing over how she looked. She didn’t have to. Her long lean legs were perfectly proportionate to the rest of her body. She was wearing a pair of short black spandex shorts with a hot pink, skin tight tank top. Her brown hair was up in a messy ponytail that she pulled off flawlessly. Her body was incredible, and I almost hated her for it. I glanced down at my