Page 55 of Not That Ridiculous

It was even more ghastly than I remembered.

Once I’d finished with the dumbbells, he made me lie down on a bench that was unpleasantly warm and damp from the previous user, and he spotted me while I groaned and shook my way through a set of bench presses.

I had an unflattering view straight up Jasper’s nose as he stood at the head of the bench, ready to help me lift or to catch the barbell if my arms noodled out. I could only imagine that the view he had of me was equally unflattering. My face was hot and red and I was baring my teeth at him with effort. And, if I’m honest, with a little bit of a threat display.

He seemed to find the whole thing amusing, and I realised why when I was done and he casually lifted the bar withonehand, and set it back in the cradle.

“You’re doing great!” he told me.

I threw an arm over my sweating face to get a break from the glaring overhead lights. “Fuck off.”

“Ready for squats?”

“I am ready,” I said, “for bed.”

“We’ve been here for forty minutes.”

“I have been here since the beginning of time.”

“Come on. One set of squats and we’re done.” He tugged at my arm and said, “Ew,” when his hand slipped. He grabbed a towel and wiped me down.

I cranked up to sitting, gasping when my abdominal muscles squealed in protest. I snatched the towel off him. “Don’t blot me.”

“Fine.” He picked up my water bottle, and all but fed it to me like a baby. “Drink.”

“Oh my god.”

“You’re sweating a lot.”

“I am, if you haven’t noticed, astoundingly unfit. Of course I’m sweating. You just put me through hell. I didn’t sign up for your bootcamp.”

He snorted. “I don’t think you’d last five minutes in one of my bootcamps. Please drink your water.”

I could never resist Jasper being earnest. I lifted the bottle and drained it.

I was almost to the bottom when my eye fell on Kevin across the room. Again. As it had repeatedly done throughout my entire workout, apart from when I was on my back.

He was taking his turn on the battle ropes now, and it was a sight to behold.

He stood in a slight squat, arms moving regularly as he worked the ropes in big rippling waves at high speed.

I tilted my head. It was like a beautiful yet deadly ribbon dance.

I didn’t really know how battle ropes worked, and it wasn’t something I was all that interested in trying out. Maybe, if I became a seasoned gym pro, I’d one day move on to all the daunting-looking machines, and start flapping ropes and tossing medicine balls around, like the guy over there who let out a low scream as he hurled one at the wall, making me flinch. But probably not.

I was thinking about taking up yoga instead of all this gym nonsense.

Ray did yoga. I should ask him about it. He seemed chilled out most of the time these days. Then again, it was possible that was down to Adam rather than yoga.

“I’m thinking of taking up yoga,” I announced to Jasper. “I think that might be more my speed.”

Kevin smoothly segued into a different move. Instead of sending out alternate waves down the length of the rope, he was lifting his arms and slamming them down at the same time.

Now he looked like he was having a tantrum. Category five.

No wonder he was built the way he was.

“Cool,” Jasper said. “You still have to do cardio and weights, though.”

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