Next morning, Jo was a little worried her parents would still be annoyed about waking them up. But to her surprise, and relief, Jane immediately hugged her when she came downstairs. Her dad was happy too, but more interested in telling Jo about how the game went the other night.

Jane then sat her down and they had a talk.

She firstly reassured her daughter that she was proud of her. She told her about her first feelings having a crush on Roxie and how nervous she was when she asked her out.

Jo still found that a little gross.

Jane then asked a very important question. "So, do you actually have a crush on Ambali?"

The jockette needed a minute to think about that. In fact, she needed more than a minute.

She was still thinking about it, while she was sitting at the reception desk at her gym.

"Still need time?" Jane asked.

"I…" Jo sighed. "Probably. But, I honestly don't care about that as much as I just want her to know she's safe here. Plus…" She sulked. "...I doubt she'd return the feelings anyway. Not after I failed to keep that creep out. Or…" She nearly choked on her words. "...I don't even think she'd want to come back after that."

Jane put her hand on her daughter's back. "You did what you could. And if she doesn't want to come back, it's her loss."

"Why?"

Her mom smiled. "With how much you care about her wellbeing, she'd be an idiot to not have someone like you in her life."

"Don't call her an idiot."

"My point exactly." Jane chuckled, then went back to her office.

Jo felt better, but not fully. She didn't think Ambali was an idiot. Why would she come back to a place where a creep hit on her? The only idiot here is me for-

"Hey."

Jo looked up and she gasped.

"Good to see you." Ambali said.

The jockette choked on her words as she struggled to speak. "Uh…uh…um…" But she could only think of one thing to say. "I'm…sorry."

Ambali looked puzzled. "For what?"

Now Jo had found her voice and she stood up. "F-For the other day. It was my fault that guy got in and I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to make you feel unsafe here a-and if you still don't want to come back, I totally-"

"Woah, hold on a sec." Ambali put her hands up to calm Jo down. "Is this about not coming here yesterday?" She groaned. "I'm sorry. That family stuff lasted longer than I thought. Had I known beforehand, I would've told you."

Now it was Jo who was puzzled. "W-What? But, what about the guy from the other day?"

Ambali shrugged. "I mean, he's not coming back, is he?"

"Oh, absolutely not."

"Then it's not a problem anymore." Ambali smiled warmly.

Jo felt her entire world turn upside down. She had spent the entire day hoping to apologize to Ambali, but yet her response was so…unexpected. It's not a problem anymore?!

"I actually wanted to thank you."

Jo snapped from her trance. "What? Thank me? For what?"

"You got that guy out of there. You saw what was wrong and got him away from me. I really appreciate that."

Now she's…thanking me? Jo didn't know what to say. Ambali's demeanor was so disarming. Why was she so willing to forgive? Is she really that nice, or is she just saying it? Jo locked eyes with Ambali briefly. Without either saying anything, she had her answer. No. She's…telling the truth.

"Oh, hey. Is Rick here?"

Once again, Jo was caught off guard. "Rick? He's…over there." She pointed.

Ambali turned, then looked back at Jo. "Thanks." She then ran over to him.

Jo was now getting worried. She might've helped Ambali, but without Rick, Jo wouldn't have had a reason to kick Ethan out. He also kept her safe by looking out for him outside and walking her home.

She watched Ambali greet Rick, who immediately stopped what he was doing to talk. They chatted for a while. Jo seriously wished she had better hearing.

Then, to Jo's horror, Ambali hugged Rick. He returned it. Jo felt her heart shatter.

She…she likes Rick. After everything that happened I wouldn't blame her. Jo had to control herself from tearing up. She deserves to be happy. It's not fair to force my feelings onto her. If she doesn't see me like I want to see her, that's fine. Once they separated, Ambali went to an exercise bike. Jo looked at Rick and narrowed her eyes. Now I just need to make sure he knows what to do. She got up and went over.

"Hey."

Rick looked up. "Jo?"

The jockette pointed directly in his face. "Ambali deserves the best. You need to treat her right."

Rick raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You…heard me." Jo was choking on her words. "After all that's happened, she deserves the absolute best. She deserves someone who…can cook meals for her everyday, who…doesn't have to worry about stalkers anymore, who…makes you want to be a better person, who…you can hold at night and keep her safe, who-"

A pair of hands grabbed Jo's shoulders. "Jo!" Rick said, fully weirded out. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"What do you mean: what am I talking about?" Jo responded. "I'm making sure that you don't screw this up. Because if you do, I will boot your ass so hard, you'll be coughing up leather for a month."

"Screw…what up?"

"Her." Jo pointed at Ambali. "She likes you, so it's your job to make her happy."

Rick put his hands down, not looking extremely puzzled. "Where did you get the idea that she liked me?"

"You two just hugged. What else is that supposed to mean?"

Rick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "She hugged me because she wanted to thank me for what happened with Ethan. A hug doesn't instantly mean she has feelings for me. Besides, even if that is what it means, I'm gay."

Jo opened her mouth, but froze before she could say anything. "You're…what?"

"Gay."

"Yeah, I got that. What does that mean?"

"Being gay? Jo, are you serious?"

"Is that the same as being bi…or a kitchen appliance? Wait, hold on, I forgot what it was called."

"Oh wow, you are being serious." Rick sighed. "Being gay means I like guys."

"Well, I know a ton of chicks who like guys and…and you're not a chick." Jo pondered this for a weirdly long amount of time. "And you're a guy? So…being gay means liking guys, when you're already a guy, right?"

Rick nodded.

The jockette nodded to herself. "Ok, so that means you have no interest in Ambali, right?"

Again, Rick nodded.

"Oh, ok…cool."

An awkward silence followed.

"So…can I get back to working out or…?"

"I'm a lesbian. Which is like what you are, but in reverse." Jo said. "I…actually just figured that out yesterday.

To her surprise, Rick didn't have much of a reaction. He just blankly stared. "Yeah, I kinda figured. Can I please work out now?"

Jo walked away. After a few steps though, she stopped. Then she turned around. "Hey, Rick?"

Rick, midway through picking up his dumbbells, sighed. "Yeah?"

"When is your next month's membership due?"

Rick thought for a moment. "Next week, I think. Why?"

Jo considered what she was about to say. "Next month's membership- next two months are on me." She went back towards her desk.

Rick was left alone, unsurprisingly caught off guard.

Jo saw her mom already behind the reception desk. "Hey, mom, can I-"

Jane smiled. "Go ahead."

An even bigger smile formed on Jo's face. She quickly ran to the office, while Jane organized some papers on the desk. It was interrupted when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. She smirked.

"Love you too, kid."

Ambali had just gotten onto her bike and pulled out her phone. She felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned. Jo was standing in front of her, having ditched her black collared shirt and khakis for a black sports bra and sweatpants.

"Hey." She said, smiling.

"What's up?" Ambali asked.

"You wanna work out together?"

Ambali's face lit up. "Yeah, sure." She turned back to her bike. "I'm just getting some cardio in, if you want to join me?"

Jo scoffed, but got onto the bike next to her. "Cardio? At least give me a challenge."

"Alright," Ambali smirked. "Let's see who can run more miles in twenty minutes. If you beat me, we'll do what you want next."

"You're on." Jo said and got in position.

They began and, despite Jo's determination, she soon began falling behind. Ambali was good at pacing herself and had completely left Jo in the dust by the time the twenty minutes were up. Jo was panting and struggling to get out of her chair.

"Sorry." Ambali said, helping her stand. "It wasn't fair to put in something I've been doing for a lot longer."

"No…no, worries." Jo panted. "I…I made the challenge…so it's my fault I lost."

"Alright, if you say so. So, what should we do next?"

Jo was finally able to catch her breath. "What? I thought you said I could only choose if I beat you?"

"Yeah, but I want to do the thing that you want to do. So, what's next?"

Jo smirked.

"You're seriously going to stick to 185?"

"Well, unless you want to take me to the hospital afterwards, I think I'll stick to what I know I can handle."

Jo set up one side of the weights. "Oh come on. I've seen your back, you have the muscles to handle a few more pounds."

Ambali raised an eyebrow as she put a weight on her end. "You've…seen my back? What does that mean?"

The jockette froze, realizing what she just said. Her cheeks became red. "Ummm…I mean, you…came into here…and I saw what your back looked like…when you were doing this. Kinda hard to miss?"

Ambali chuckled. "Well, have you seen my abs?"

"Your…abs?" Jo looked down and her eyes nearly fell out of her skull. Dang! What are those things made of? Rocks? Oh man, you could grind meat on those things. How is this girl so tiny and cute, yet so freaking toned? Wait…wait, hold on. I've been staring too long.

Jo shook her head, then turned her attention back to Ambali. Thankfully, she didn't look concerned. Ok good. I'm getting better at that. "You're just proving my point." She countered.

Ambali shrugged. "Still not taking the chance." She placed one last weight. "Alright, I'm all set. Let's do it."

They had moved to another section of the gym. Ambali was holding Jo's bent knees, while she was doing sit ups.

"Alright, favorite movie?" She asked.

"Oh, easy. Terminator 2. It's got everything I love. Gratuitous violence…" She didn't say anything after that.

"That's it?" Ambali said, stifling a laugh.

"I don't know, I guess I like the relationship between the kid and Terminator, the effects are cool, the action's awesome and…yeah, it's just really violent. What about you?"

Ambali looked away. "It's…probably not something you'll be into."

Jo sat up. "What? And are you into Terminator?"

The black haired vlogger shrugged. "Fair point. Alright, it's The Notebook."

"Oh, my mom watched that with me. Well, okay she watched it, I made funny jokes during it and got kicked out halfway through." She chuckled to herself, then looked at Ambali. She immediately stopped. "N-Not that I wouldn't watch it again, I was just…younger and kinda stupid. I don't know, maybe it's good." It suddenly dawned on Jo that she and Ambali's faces were very close to each other. She turned away, in an attempt to hide her blush.

"If you want, next time I come back here, I can give you my DVD of it." Ambali suggested.

"Sure, yeah that works." Jo said hastily.

She returned to her sit ups.

The two had soon decided to take a break and were sitting on a bench. Ambali had her phone out, scrolling through her music. She was insistent on Jo showing her gym playlist. She was also given Ambali's phone

Jo admittedly felt awkward. She didn't get Ambali's insistence and didn't know what she was getting out of it. But, at the same time, this was a chance to find out more about her. She started scrolling.

Alright, let's see what we got here. P!NK? Looks kinda poppy. Taylor Swift? Why am I not surprised? She frowned. Dang it, I can't judge her like that. Maybe there's something in here I can relate to. Doubt it, but she'd hate me if I told her I didn't like her music. Alright, let's see. Maroon 5, Miley Cyrus, BTS, Black Sabbath, Big Time- wait, what? She scrolled back up. She has a Black Sabbath song on here…wait, no, she has the whole album.

"You listen to Black Sabbath?" Jo asked aloud.

Ambali turned. "Oh yeah. They're pretty good and their music is perfect when I want to crush my workout. I saw some on your list as well."

"Yeah, I love them. Like you said, it makes me feel like an amazon warrior when I'm working out."

"Cool." Ambali chuckled, then held up Jo's phone. "I actually wanted to ask you about this."

Jo looked and cringed a little. Ambali was showing a Kelly Clarkson song.

"Oh…yeah, that." She blushed.

"Hey, not judging. I love Kelly. Just after scrolling through all the hard rock and metal songs on here, I was totally not expecting to see one of her songs."

Jo sighed. "My…cousin bought that song when he was using my phone. I was going to delete it, but I…actually ended up kinda liking it. But just this one." She said that last part quickly.

Ambali took her phone back and looked through her songs. She soon landed on one and took out her head phones, putting one ear bud in and handing the other end to Jo. "Here. This is a good song of hers."

Jo took the earbud and put it in. Ambali hit play and the music started. Jo admittedly kinda liked it, but was more pleased about how much Ambali cared for her. Without hesitation, she had looked for a song, hoping it would be something she liked.

Once the song was over, Ambali handed Jo's phone back to her. "Alright, now it's your turn."

"Any requests?" Jo asked.

"Just nothing too…hardcore, I guess. I like Black Sabbath, but I don't know if I want to hear a guy screaming in my ears…no offense."

"None taken. Don't worry, not all my songs are like that." She continued scrolling, then stopped. "This one." She pressed play.

Ambali listened, nodding slowly. "Who is this?"

"Alter Bridge."

Ambali continued nodding along, as the beat went faster. "Oh, I like it." She closed her eyes, as if she was having her own personal concert in her head.

Jo loved the song she picked. But, right now, the only thing she loved more than the song was the person rocking out to it.

Jo and Ambali didn't go back to working out.

They spent the rest of their time on that bench. Listening to music, talking about...anything and everything they could think of. Jo didn't care that she wasn't working out. She didn't care that she was getting stared at by other gym go-ers. All she cared about was one thing. One person.

Ambali.

And how happy she was to be with her.