Free Web NovelChapter 14: Like A Date?
"Hey," David said, phone tucked against his shoulder as he leaned down to unbuckle his belt. "Holly. What’s up?"
Holly=> "Nothing much! Just wanted to check in, see how gym stuff went today. Congrats on actually showing up, by the way — wasn’t sure you’d survive the first real session."
’Okay, congratulations, not exactly the opening I was hoping for,’ David thought, sliding his belt free and letting it drop to the floor. ’But fine. I can work with this.’ "Hey, I told you, I’m a man of my word. I show up. I follow through." He winced slightly at how that sounded out loud. ’Cool, very smooth, very normal thing to say.’ ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
He cleared his throat, shuffling out of his jeans one leg at a time, phone still balanced precariously against his ear.
"Actually — sorry, real quick, about picking Mrs. Walbury instead of you. I just figured a senior trainer would probably be better for someone starting completely from zero. Hope that’s not, like, weird or anything."
Holly=> "Oh my god, no, don’t even worry about it! You get to pick whoever makes you comfortable, that’s literally the whole point. I genuinely hope it works out for you."
’That’s... exactly what I was hoping she wouldn’t say.’ David’s face fell slightly, disappointment landing heavier than he expected. ’Nothing there. No hesitation, no jealousy, nothing. Just — supportive. Completely, unhelpfully supportive.’
"Right," he said, recovering fast. "Cool. Yeah. Thanks." A beat passed, and he decided to just keep the conversation going rather than let the silence sit there awkwardly. "So — how are you doing? Besides work, I mean."
Holly=> "Attending to me again?" She laughed, and he could hear the grin in it even through the phone. "I’m good. Extremely bored, actually."
"Bored...you? You’ve gotta be playing with me." he asked, stepping toward the bathroom, phone still pinned to his ear.
"Although, now I think about it, we just met so I never even got to ask — what do you even do for fun? I genuinely don’t know what your hobbies are."
Holly=> laughed outright at that. "Wow, okay. You say that like it’s a crazy question. What, did you just assume I go straight from the gym to more gym? Like I just live here?"
"I mean," David said, grinning despite himself as he flicked the bathroom light on, "you didn’t exactly disprove it yet."
Holly=> "Rude. I have hobbies, thank you very much."
"I’m just asking! I’m trying to get to know you here."
There was a short pause on the line — just half a second too long — before she spoke again, quieter. Holly=> "...Get to know me?"
David caught the shift immediately, the strange little dip in her voice. "You said that like it’s a bad thing."
Holly=> "No — no, it’s not that," she said, quick, like she was course-correcting. "I guess I’m just not used to people asking, I don’t know. If you want to know something, just ask me anything."
"Alright," David said, and then, before he could stop himself, added, "Honestly though, I’d rather ask you in person. I’m not exactly built for phone conversations."
Which wasn’t even a lie — he genuinely was better face to face, or at least he told himself that.
Holly=> "Wait — you want to ask me stuff in person?"
"Sure. But since you’re already offering—" he leaned against the sink, phone still balanced against his shoulder,
"—for starters, what do you actually do when you’re bored? What’s the Holly-off-the-clock version look like?"
Holly=> She paused for half a second before caving. "Ugh, okay, don’t laugh, but I mostly just watch Netflix. Which — I don’t even want to say what, because you’re gonna judge me."
"That already makes me want to know more," David said, grinning, leaning back against the bathroom counter. "Come on, tell me."
Holly=> "I know you’re gonna make fun of me."
"I promise I won’t. Cross my heart."
There was a pause, like she was actually weighing whether to trust him.
Holly=> "Fine. Okay. Mostly crime stuff — like Dexter, Mindhunter, that whole genre. I know it’s not exactly the cute girly stuff you’d probably expect, but I’m kind of obsessed with it."
David blinked, genuinely surprised, and it must have shown in his voice because his reaction came out more enthusiastic than planned.
"Wait, that’s actually really cool. I watched Dexter — I dropped off somewhere around when it started feeling like it was just... spinning its wheels, though."
Holly=> gasped, actual scandalized. "Okay, are you insane? That’s one of my favorite shows of all time. If you actually like crime stuff, you have to give it a real chance. I’m talking full commitment. No dropping off."
"I don’t know," David said, feigning doubt.
"Trusting your judgment on this is looking like a real fifty-fifty situation right now."
Holly=> "Okay, deal — if you watch it and you don’t like it, you owe me. Anything I want."
David’s brain immediately supplied several deeply inappropriate answers to that,
’How about letting my fondle your...’ and he shut them down almost as fast as they appeared.
’No. Bad David.’
"Deal," he said instead, voice admirably steady.
"Though, fair warning, I do better with crime shows when I’ve got someone to actually talk theories with while watching."
Holly=> "Wait, are you asking if I want to watch it together?"
"Ohh...uhh...I mean — wouldn’t be the worst idea," he said, trying to sound casual and mostly landing somewhere close to it.
There was a small pause, and then a soft, genuine laugh came through the line.
Holly=> "That... actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea. But let’s keep talking first. Get to know each other a little more — and then we can circle back to that."
Inwardly, David nearly lost it. ’Okay. Okay, this is actually going somewhere.’ He allowed himself one small, silent fist pump, right there in his bathroom, thoroughly embarrassed by his own excitement and not caring even slightly.
’I’ve got moves. Let me cook, mehn!’
"I’d like that," he said out loud, keeping his voice level.
Holly=> "I should probably go, though — but—"
"Wait," David cut in before he could stop himself, heart suddenly thudding a little harder.
He hesitated, some internal war playing out fast — ’Is this insane? She’s Holly Houston. She’s, like, the prettiest girl on campus, and somehow she’s still on the phone with me forty minutes later.’
But something about tonight — the system, the stats, whatever confidence had been quietly building in him since yesterday — made him feel like maybe, just maybe, he had a real shot worth taking.
"If you really want to get to know me," he said, "how about we just do it properly? Coffee. This week, maybe."
The line went quiet for a beat, just long enough that his stomach dropped slightly, bracing for the answer.
Holly=> "...Like a date?"
***
Hey guys, I want to thank you for your support and due to that, I thought of a friendly challenge for both of us.
For every 200 powerstones I’ll release 10+ bonus Chapters...so, if you find it worth while, you can make your decision. Thank you.🫠
