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Umm, that’s not going to stop me from telling my sister Luna about the life altering ass I saw tonight but I could respect why Xavier thought he had to mention this. I was getting all up in that guys business – metaphorically speaking.
“Yes, I do remember skimming that part.”
Xavier opens his mouth – probably something biting and mean – but he gets cut off by another woman walking up to us.
“Hi! Are you the one helping out tonight?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “I’m Lexi.”
“Nice to have you join us Lexi. I’m Sasha.” We shake hands briefly and then she looks to Xavier. “I have it from here if you want to get to your assessment.”
And in true Xavier style – I can only imagine since I just met the guy – he walks away without a word.
“He’s a real chatter box,” I joke to Sasha.
She laughs with me, waving her hand in Xavier’s direction. “You get used to it after a while. Don’t take his frown personally. He is the king of resting bitch face.” A snort escapes me at this woman’s easy sense of humor.
Clapping her hands together, she looks around with a big smile. “So. Let’s get you started and comfortable with everything before the after-work crowd begins to show up.” And then we get to it.
???
The Captain has made exactly three appearances since he disappeared into one of the offices in the back. Xavier was with him each time, leading him through exercises that exhausted me just watching them. I snuck peeks as often as I could without getting caught. I did try not to look, but Captain was like a tray of cookies cooling on the rack. You know they’re too hot to handle, you absolutely know that you should walk away, but you go for them anyways. Captain was my new cookie. I couldn’t stop looking at him whenever he was around, and my appetite for just a glance of him in his compression shorts was all-consuming.
Which was ridiculous. I never got this way about a guy. Let alone one I hadn’t even heard speak. While I wasn’t a huge fan of structure and routine, I did have rules. And one of those rules was to steer clear of men that were stupid-handsome and had trouble written all over them. There was no way I wanted to get involved with a guy who took more time in the bathroom getting ready for the day than I did. And I had been drama free for eight years now and would like to keep it that way. So thanks, but no thanks. I had been sharing a bathroom with my younger sister Luna most of my life and she was the only one I wanted to fight with about hogging the mirror.
I’m not saying that Captain would be a mirror hog or that he was nuts, but he would attract a horde of crazies with just a look.
Case in point – me! I wasn’t dating right now, had actually sworn off men for the foreseeable future, but he had grabbed my attention and dragged me under without even trying. It was madness.
Shaking my head at the thoughts zipping through my brain, I refocused on what I was doing just as another group of members walked in. They all swiped their membership cards and I directed them to where the class they had signed up for was being held that evening. I was only a couple hours into this gig but really enjoying it. I wondered why the old receptionist quit so suddenly. Maybe I could get the details from Sasha a little later.
The after-work crowd was officially in full swing, most participating in classes on the second floor but there were a fair amount of people using the free weights in the far corner and even more people outside doing some kind of drill-class-thing.
I was just filing a waiver from someone who had signed up to take a class through a third-party fitness app when Xavier spoke from right behind me, making me jump. The drawer slammed closed with more force that I intended.
“Lacey will get your schedule for next week sorted out before you leave. I’ll email you the nutrition plan that you need to stick to if you want to reach peak performance. Training starts in two days so make sure you say your goodbyes to sugar, caffeine and any other shit you’ve been eating this off-season.”
I’m horrified. I couldn’t have heard correctly. How could Xavier be so cruel?
No sugar or caffeine? How was that even possible?The need to correct him about my name, again, flew out of my head the moment he mentioned a nutrition plan. What sorcery was this? Captain was in fine shape. I mean, could it get better than that? I couldn’t even imagine what “peak performance” was for this guy. He was already the freakin’ sun, it hurt to look at him.
Captain nods at Xavier, like what he’d just been told makes total sense. Add this to the list of craziness I will be telling my sister about later.
Xavier slaps Captain on the shoulder, saying a couple other things that I can’t make out before walking back to his office. It’s then that green eyes, the exact shade of gummy bear green, flick to me. And there I go, turning into goo again.
So, of course, as my body and brain turn to compete mush, my mouth decides to disengage and go off on its own.
“Blink once if you need help. Blink twice if you actually want me to schedule you in.”
He doesn’t blink. It’s freaky.
“What?” he says, confused but taking a step closer.
“Do you need me to schedule you in under an alias so they can’t find you? Because I’m thinking no one voluntarily gives up caffeine. I like, can’t even wrap my head around the concept. Xavier telling you to cut out caffeine has me craving a soda right now. Oh God.” I flick my long purple ponytail off my shoulder as I shiver.
His lips twitch at my dramatics. Dropping his large gym bag on the floor, he leans on the desk, granting me the pleasure of getting a whiff of his woodsy scented sweat.
“You work at a gym,” he states flatly. “Shouldn’t you be more agreeable to healthy foods and shit like that?”
