Page 51 of The One Where They Fall in Love

“What I don’t understand is why you set her up withmewhenyouclearly like her,” he says, coming around the cage and leaning against it. He crosses his arms in front of him and glares at me.

“I never said—”

“You didn’t have to say it, asshole,” he snaps back. The few patrons that are still moseying around the gym give usan awkward glance. I glare at him. “Sorry, but you are being a dick. You like this girl. She’s awesome and is clearly into you. Why is this such a Greek tragedy? Just do something about it.”

“A Greek tragedy?” I ask, tilting my head.

“Yeah, that didn’t make sense. But you get what I mean. What is all themelodramaabout?”

“Melodrama? Have you been watching the Hallmark channel or something?”

“Imayhave gotten sucked into a cheesy, romantic movie when I was at my sister’s house last weekend, but that is beside the point. What is your problem?”

“She wants things that I can’t give her,” I admit, rubbing my temples.

“I swear that was a line in the movie,” Henry says. I scowl at him. “That’s ridiculous. What can’t you give her?”

“She’sliterallya romance editor, she believes in happily ever afters and—”

“And you’re the most relationship-centered guy I’ve ever met. I’m sure if I told all the girls who come into the gym that my friend is a single doctor who works out, there would be a stampede.”

“Well, thank you for the boost to my ego, but I can’t get myself into that again.”

“Into what?”

“A relationship,” I say, standing up. I’m so embarrassed by this conversation that my voice has turned into a whisper. “I’m too fucked up. Yeah, girls might like me to start with, but once they get to know me and the crazy shows, I fuck it up. They run. I don’t want to do that anymore.” I let out a loud breath, avoiding my own gaze in the mirror. “And it’snot just that. I’m not a doctor yet. And I don’t know if I ever will be.” I haven’t admitted that out loud to anyone, and I can’t believe it just slipped out.

“What do you mean?”

I lean against the wall, pulling my shirt around my waist. Thor picks his head up from his spot behind the front desk when he sees me move.

“I mean I’m miserable. Internal medicine was never my first choice. Neither was the ER.” I slide down the wall until I’m sitting on the floor, and Thor bounds over to sit next to me. I scratch behind his ears when he plops down. “And I didn’t even earn the spot I have. Nothing about it feels right.”

“And what does that have to do with Elle?”

“She wants a future with someone. How can I give that to her when I don’t know what mine will look like? I’m thinking about quitting a residency that thousands of medical students would kill for and completely upending my career.” I wave my hands too enthusiastically on the last part, so I let them drop to my sides and I rest my head on the wall behind me. Thor twists his head to look up at me, confused about why I stopped petting him.

Henry blows out a breath, considering everything I just said. “That’s a fuck ton of pressure you’re putting on yourself man. You’re thirty. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to have everything about your life figured out.” I squint an eye open at him. “And if I know Elle like I think I do, she would want you to do something that makes you happy. If it takes you some time to figure that out, I think she’d be pretty supportive of that.”

“Thatsounds like too much pressure, right there,” I say, pointing at him.

“So you’re going to be alone all your life?” he says, looking at me like I’m an idiot. Which, honestly, I can’t blame him for. “How does that make sense, Oliver?”

“If I admit that it doesn’t, then can we please stop having this conversation?”

“No!I have a whole speech prepared from the movie.” He clears his throat. “You see, Oliver, when life gives you opportunities—”

“Oh, would you shut up?” I stand up and wrap an arm around Henry’s neck, grunting as I pretend to strangle him. He chuckles and ducks out of my grasp, cracking up at his own joke as he walks towards the back of the gym. I shake my head.

He makes it all sound so simple. I wish it was.

*

“DJ Night? Seriously?” I ask Henry as I follow him into a restaurant at the end of my block.

“Yeah, we can ignore that. It’s a nice bar with good food, and I’m starving,” he says with a grunt. We’ve just closed his gym for the night, and after a few miles on the treadmill, I’m pretty hungry as well, so I’m in no position to argue. Thankfully I was able to shower in his locker room while he closed up, otherwise it would not be acceptable for me to be out in public. We dropped Thor at my apartment quickly and set him up with his dinner and a chewing bone, and headed back out before Henry crashed through the wall like the Kool-Aid man looking for something to eat.

We take a seat at the bar and order some beers and appetizers. I check the camera on my phone and see Thor chomping away at the bone I left him with. I’ll only be gonean hour or so, so hopefully he won’t tear up the carpet before I get back. My thoughts drift to Elle. I know she had a dress fitting or something with Lucy today. Just as I get my phone out to message her and see how it went, I stop myself. My conversation with Henry has given me a knot in my gut that I can’t shake.