"Hey mom," I greeted, holding my phone in front of my face as I took in my ever prim and proper mother before me, giving me that calculated stare down as always.

"We've missed you, Mabel! Why aren't you calling more? Is it too stressful to live away from us? You look tired. Are you tired?" She asked as her mouth curled downwards into a frown.

I resisted the urge to snort at the comment. Even when I was living with my parents, there was no shortage of these questions: Is working one day a week too stressful for you? Are you finding your workload too much for you?

My parents have always been on the quirky side. Both making it their sole responsibilities in life to shelter me from the evils of the world. Those including going to school in person and having any semblance of a typical childhood.

My parents were both geniuses (literally) so teaching me wasn't an issue. They were both epidemiologists and had dedicated the majority of their lives to studying the patterns of diseases and attempting to mitigate the risks - for me, this meant keeping me in a bubble from the rest of the world until I turned eighteen.

I took my first chance at moving away when I was done high school, accepting the furthest college that I could from my hometown - which turned out to be Boston.

Though I had been living here for more than two years, the distance hadn't gotten easier for them.

"I'm fine, mom. I'm sleeping great." Despite my overly sexually active neighbour keeping me up until ungodly hours. But I refrained from adding that.

My dad poked his head in front of the camera, "Are you taking your vitamins, Mabel?"

"Yes, dad," I replied stirring a spoonful of sugar into my coffee.

"Are you limiting your caffeine intake?" My mom questioned.

I stopped stirring my coffee and placed the steaming mug on my counter, "Er, yes."

A loud knock sounded at my door. "Who is that?" My mom asked curiously.

I shot her a dry look as I walked to the door, "I don't know, mom. I haven't answered it."

"Well, check the peephole first," my dad cautioned.

"And keep it locked unless you know the person," my mom continued.

"Do you still have that extra lock we sent you? You're using it, right?" My dad inquired.

"Guys! It's just someone at the door, relax! I will call you later."

"We love you, Mabel. Please be careful and stay safe. Please take your vitamins and lock your door, and get eight hours of sleep. Know that we're always here should you need anything," my mom's reply was never ending and I held my thumb over the end call button for what seemed like forever.

"Love you, bye," I rushed finally ending the call.

I opened the door and was met with Marcus, standing there, clearly just having taken a shower, his brown, wavy hair tousled and deliciously messy.

"Morning," He greeted as he pushed past me and into my apartment.

"Morning," I trailed as I watched him flop his overly large body onto my couch.

"Smells like coffee," he stated, looking around my apartment.

Ah, that reminded me of my mug waiting for me. I grabbed the cup and took it to the couch across from Marcus before sitting down and sipping it contentedly.

Marcus raised an eyebrow at me.

"What?" I slurped loudly, tucking my legs underneath me.

"Coffee?" He asked.

"Mmm, delicious."

"I have no more mugs, Mabel."

"What happened to your last one?" I asked innocently, sipping indelicately.

He threw me an irritated look before leaning across the couch and grabbing the mug from my hands. He sat back contentedly and slurped from my cup.

My jaw dropped, "M-my coffee!" I blubbered.

"Good till the last drop," he grinned sipping the beverage.

"Y-you took my coffee!"

"You should work on your hostessing skills, Maybie," he stated.

"Mabel," I corrected, grinding my teeth in irritation.

He quirked an eyebrow up, "I think I told you not to question my methods."

Oh. Oh. "We've started the training already? Shoot. I wanted some Rocky training music to get me in the mood."

"In the mood?"

"You know, for learning to wow the opposite sex."

He laughed, "You might want to consider something a little sexier to get you in the mood."

"Like a montage video!"

"No, Maybie. Definitely not like a montage video."

He stood up and stretched his muscular arms above his head, revealing a vast stretch of his chiseled abs. Stealing other people's coffee must be exhausting.

"Okay," he stated. "Show me what you got."

"What I got?" I asked as I stared at the towering man.

"Wow me. Ask me out," he curled his hand signalling that I should stand up.

I stood up and dusted my hands down my denim overalls. I stared at my bunny slippers for inspiration, but came up blank.

"What's the setting?" I asked as I finally looked up, stalling for time.

He shrugged, "We're at the gym."

"Ah the gym. Okay. I got this."

I walked to the door and took a deep breath before turning around and facing Marcus. He had his phone out, typing away.

So I waited. After a minute, he gave me an inquisitive brow. "Well?"

"Oh! Did we start already?"

"My God Maybie, just pick me up."

"Pick you up. Right."

He waved his phone in front of my face. "This is a prop. Lead the way."

I walked towards him slowly. "Hi. Hey. Hello, you."

Marcus looked up and placed his phone in his back pocket.

"You look big. Large. Buff. Er like a person who visits the gym often. What's your workout like?"

He raised an eyebrow at me so I just continued, "Because I don't know if you could tell but I frequent the gym. Pretty often. Like once a month I'd say. Mostly when I remember I still have a free six month membership. Which probably means I won't really be a gym-goer four months from now." I chuckled awkwardly, raising my arm and flexing my practically non-existent bicep, "Do you like... it?"

"Oh. My. God." He spoke slowly. "You're hopeless." He burst out laughing.

I squinted my eyes at him, not appreciating his lack of confidence in my skills.

"How have you survived this long? Are you just used to guys asking you out?" He asked, wiping at a corner of his eye with the pad of his thumb.

I snorted loudly. "Oh yeah. I get asked out all the time." The last time I had been asked out was when I ordered a coffee and dropped my wallet and then my debit card until a poor stander-by took pity on me and bought my coffee. He asked me out and we spent an hour on the most awkward date I'd ever been on. I think I asked to meet his mom at one point.

Marcus tilted his head to the side, "I don't doubt that," came his soft toned reply.

My cheeks blazed and I was lost for words.

He shook his head slightly and held a finger up to me before walking out of my apartment.

Well. Apparently my skills were even worse than I thought.

He returned after a moment, lugging a mesh bag behind him, brimming with clothes.

"You brought your laundry?" I wrinkled my nose at the bag in distaste. I forgot about this part of the deal.

"Yup," He grinned at me, his hazel eyes twinkling.

"What about my training?" I asked incredulously as I took in the overflowing bag.

"You're going to be more work than I originally thought. We'll get back to it later."

I crossed my arms in distaste, "Super."

"I have no boxers and I work tomorrow. Easy on my delicates!" He called as he left my apartment, closing the door behind him.