Page 55 of The Weight Of It All
I still hada bounce in my step when I got to the gym the next morning. “Hey,” Reed greeted me with his usual cheerful smile. “You’re looking bright-eyed today.”
“I am. And you’re going to tell me there’s no workout today, only coffee.”
He grinned and waved a piece of paper in front of me. “Actually, I have your new workout all done. You’ll be ready for the Bay Run in two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” My voice squeaked. “What happened to next month?”
“You’re ready now,” he stated. “You could do the Bay Run today.”
“Sure I could. But I’d rather run it and then not die.”
Reed laughed. “You’re not going to die. And you’re not even going to run it. Not the whole way, anyway. I have it in your new schedule here, jogging then walking, alternating for five kilometres.”
“You mispronounced no workout only coffee. I’m pretty sure that’s what you were going to say.”
He just chuckled. “Come on. Treadmill time.”
“I hate the treadmill.”
“I thought you hated the elliptical.”
“I hate them equally. I can’t have one thinking it’s the favourite.”
I took out my water bottle and sweat towel and stepped up onto the treadmill while he programed something into it. “I can’t be running 5Ks before work. I’ll be hopeless at work all day.”
Reed jumped up onto the treadmill next to mine and pressed a bunch of buttons. “No you won’t. You’ll be surprised, Henry.”
“I’ll be surprised if I don’t die.”
He laughed again, not taking me seriously at all. And I was serious. This was going to kill me.
“So…” Reed looked at me a little apprehensively. “Any particular reason for the good mood?”
“Just a good day at work yesterday.”
His smile was immediate, as if he was relieved? “Oh, I thought Sauron might’ve finally called you back.”
“What? No, no. And even if he did,” I said without doubt, “I wouldn’t be interested.”
Now he grinned and clapped his huge hand on my shoulder. “Good. You’re better than he deserves.” Then he hit the start button on his treadmill and told me to do the same. And we jogged and walked and jogged and walked for five kilometres side by side.
I didn’t even die.
Ten
The few daysthat followed were great. I mowed through my in tray at work, chatted with people on my lunchbreak, and had several text conversations with Reed. It was absurd how excited I was for my Friday morning session at the gym, and if anyone had told me four weeks ago I’d be looking forward to exercise, I’d have busted something laughing.
Or maybe it wasn’t so much the exercise as it was the personal trainer.
I couldn’t deny that I liked Reed. He was everything I was not: confident, gorgeous, fit. Desirable.
But he was also lovely and charming and funny and intuitive and kind. He was the type of person who would help people when others weren’t looking, not for any kind of financial gain, but because of the kind of person he was.
Was he being nice to me out of pity? I didn’t think so. It wasn’t like him to do that. Was he being nice to me because it was his job? Well, that I couldn’t be sure of. He smiled at everyone like he smiled at me, didn’t he? I didn’t know whoelse he called or texted or shared recipes with or went shopping with.
As I walked into the gym, I had to wonder if my infatuation with him was real or purely for my own ego. It didn’t hurt that he boosted my self-confidence or that he starred in my dream last night, naked and glorious, and demanding…
“Hey.” Reed smiled as he walked over to me. He had obviously just finished with another client and said goodbye as they left. He then focused on me and rocked up on his toes. Jesus Christ, could he somehow tell I’d had a sex-dream that included him last night? How is that even possible? Why did he have to look at me like that, and why did I blush?
