Page 28 of Flex Appeal
The noise fades.
This is what it was all for. The long nights. The risks. The moments I wasn’t sure I’d ever get here. I didn’t just build a gym. I built a life. One where I get to help people feel strong, where I’m valued for more than how I look, and where the woman I love is building something of her own right alongside me.
Love you, she mouths.
Kari
If someone told me a year ago that I’d be at Grey’s gym grand opening, juggling clipboards, QR codes, and three different Instagram handles at once, I would’ve laughed and asked what they were smoking.
Yet here I am.
“Can you send me your pricing?” someone asks for the third time in ten minutes.
“I’ll email it,” I say, already typing a note into my phone. “I’m booking out about six weeks right now.”
Six weeks. The thought still knocks the breath out of me a little.
Grey’s social presence took off faster than either of us expected once we cleaned it up and focused on what he actually cared about—education, strength, sustainability. When his audience grew, other creators noticed. Trainers. Wellness coaches. A nutritionist with a cult following and a terrifying spreadsheet system. They asked who ran his backend.
That’s me.
I’ve had to turn people away. Me. The girl who once worried adulthood had passed her by.
I’m not living with my parents anymore. Grey asked me to move in right away. I secretly think he wanted Darby off his couch, but she was ready to get her own place, too. Our apartment feels lived in—shared coffee mugs, workout bands tangled with phone chargers, my shoes by the door next to his gym sneakers. It’s home.
I glance toward the entrance where Grey’s holding court. He catches me looking and smiles.
My chest still does that thing. Galloping like a race horse when he looks at me, touches me. I’ll never get enough.
Next weekend is Kelly’s wedding. The final fitting for my dress was last week, and I nearly laughed out loud when I saw myself in the mirror. The neckline plunges. The back is bare. I won’t pretend I didn’t hesitate—but damn, I looked good.
Not perfect. Not sculpted into something I’m not. Soft where I’m soft. Strong where I’m strong. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t wish any of it away.
When Kelly mentioned how lucky I was to have boobs and a curvy ass, I about fell over. Turns out, she has insecurities about her body, too. Which made me realize that we’re more alike than different. Neither of us are perfect, but we’re sexy as hell exactly as we are. Anyone who doesn’t think so can go fly a freaking kite.
I’m loved because of who I am.
I watch Grey cut the ribbon, applause breaking out as the doors officially open, and something settles deep in my chest.
This is what growth looks like. Not shrinking. Not striving to be less. Just… standing where you are and realizing it’s enough.
Grey looks over again, finds me in the crowd.
Love you, he mouths.
