Page 134 of Lily In The Valley
“There she is,” he said, his eyes warm. “Next, we got squats. Go grab Karter and hold him to your chest.”
“That sounds terrible,” I said between quick breaths.
“You love me anyway.”
I paused. Not because I hadn’t heard it before, but because he said it like a fact we both lived inside now, not a question thrown into a storm. I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to. He saw the agreement in my face and nodded his reassurance, like he’d put something gentle on a shelf to admire later.
I moved to grab Karter, then continued following Khalil’s directions. Karter jerked against my chest while I did slow squats, where Khalil reminded me to press through my heels and let my knees hover over my toes. He let me know when I clenched my jaw. The weighted squats turned to lunges with Karter being raised over my head. Between balancing his movements above me and trying to keep my form, I’d long forgotten about the stress of my day.
Khalil’s phone tilted a bit when he demonstrated a plank. He propped it up against the feet of the bench and dropped back to his forearms. “Thirty seconds. Breathe through it. Feel how strong you are.”
I held the plank, my body a straight, shaking line. Sweat stung my eyes. My brain tried to sprint again. Khalil counteddown. When he reached zero, I collapsed to the mat, breathing hard.
“That was one. Four more to go,” he huffed.
“Four?! Nah, I have one, maybe two more in me.”
“Let’s go.” He counted us off. The burn started in my shoulders then traveled to my core.
“Fuck! I should’ve stuck with pilates.” I tried catching my breath, but it was futile. “Fuck, fuck fuck.”
“Breathe through it, baby. Halfway there.”
I looked at my phone’s screen. He seemed to be calm, too still, like we hadn’t just done a whole other set of exercises that had my body screaming. By the time Khalil started his countdown from five, my whole body shook like a stripper.
“Zero,” Khalil groaned. “Ready for the last one?”
I shot lasers at him.
“You doing so good, Lily-Girl. Give me one more?”
“I hate you,” I lied, breathless.
“No you don’t. Let’s go.”
We started the last hold. Karter trotted over and stuck his nose against my bun. He licked the sweat at my temples and backed up, tilting his head. He barked once, and I swore I saw a devilish grin cross his mouth. He trotted to my side and placed a paw on my back.
“Karter, no,” I rushed out between breaths. He paid me dust as he climbed on my back and made himself comfortable. “Fuck! Karter, get down!”
For the first time, Khalil’s steel composure in each move broke. He shook with laughter as he tried to keep his form.
“Don’t laugh at me!” I snapped, trying to shake Karter off my back. “Karter, get down now!” The stubborn dog stayed put. My arms cried out for relief. My eyes went bleary from the sweat pouring into them.
“Thirty more seconds,” Khalil called out.
“The fuck do you mean, thirty more seconds?” I rushed out.
“We gotta finish strong.” He smiled. I looked down at the mat, working hard to calm the burn building in my muscles. I felt Karter stand on all fours as he barked back at Khalil. My mind started to run wild, frenzied, and unfocused. I pulled it back by my breath like a kite string. I counted a slow four count for each inhale and exhale like a metronome I could lean against. The apartment softened around the edges.
This time, when he reached zero, I collapsed to the mat, laughing into the crook of my elbow. It sounded loud in my living room. Karter cursed me out through his barks and went back to his bed.
“How we doing?” Khalil asked, on his back now, chest rising like a tide.
“Murderous…but I’m too tired.” I watched as he wiped down his equipment and made his way back to his car, taking occasional gulps from his water bottle.
He started his car and leaned back in his seat. The soft glow from the dashboard outlines the chiseled features of his face, still dewy from the sweat of our workout. An ache rose within me, this time from the heated juncture between my thighs.
“Tell me one thing about today that doesn’t involve a frown.”
