8 - His Home Gym
MF / BDSM / Toys / Bondage / Dom/sub
“I’m telling you, Holly, you should go and see him. He’ll change your life,” Jenny said. Her face glowed as she spoke, and her eyes swam with something that I hadn’t seen or felt for a long time.
I felt an uneasy twitch in the pit of my stomach.
“I’m not sure about that. I don’t think I want my life to be changed.”
Jenny rolled her eyes. “I love you, Holly, but let’s be honest, you’ve lost yourself a little bit. And that’s nothing against you,” she was quick to add, placing a hand on my arm.
I always noticed when people touched me now because it was so unusual.
It was something that I’d had to get used to quickly after being in a relationship, missing those frequent, gentle touches that were completely innocuous and never forced.
They were just a simple way of life, but when a relationship ended, there was always a vacuum left behind, an emptiness that was all consuming.
“It’s just the way things are. Your confidence has been knocked, and you just need to get back to your best. I don’t like seeing you fall into this routine of being alone.”
“I don’t mind being alone, Jenny. There’s nothing wrong with being alone.”
“I’m not saying there is, but life is about other people, and you can’t just act like a hermit the whole time.
I get it, the dating world is scary out there.
Christ, you think, once you got married, that would be the end of it.
You never think that you’re going to have to go back into those shark-infested waters and begin again.
We’re far too old for all that, but the fact is that this is where our lives have led us.
The rats we called husbands betrayed us and left us needing to salvage what’s left of our dignity.
I promise you, an hour with Jason will change your life.
He’ll have you acting and feeling like a new woman. ”
I wore a skeptical look as I sighed. For a few weeks now, Jenny had been going on and on about Jason, almost like she was a part of a cult. I didn’t think there should be this much fanaticism surrounding one man, but as soon as my divorce had been finalized, Jenny had suggested it to me.
“There’s nothing wrong with getting into shape a bit. It’ll give you this whole new confidence,” Jenny said.
I still wasn’t sure, but the truth was that I was getting tired of spending every night alone.
There were so many things I hadn’t realized I was going to miss when things with Lee had ended.
It wasn’t just the life we had built together; it was the plans we had made that were never going to come to fruition, like buds of flowers that were snipped off before they could bloom.
Before this, my life had been a path in front of me with all the signposts waiting, but now I was caught in a fog, and I had no idea which way was the right way to go.
I had done everything right, but everything had turned out wrong.
I was losing life without ever having made a mistake.
Although, I guess falling in love with the wrong man counted as a mistake, not that he seemed wrong at the time.
“I suppose I could give it a try,” I said reluctantly.
Jenny clapped her hands together and beamed.
“You’re not going to regret this. Here’s his number.
Call him any time of the day, and he’ll fit you in.
He’s good like that.” Then she lowered her voice and leaned in, as though she was sharing some deep secret.
“When you’re there, ask him for the private training, down in his basement.
You won’t regret it. It gets … intense,” she said, her eyes gleaming in that strange way again.
It made me slightly unsettled, but I couldn’t really argue with the results.
Jenny had been bitter and angry before she had started working out with Jason, but since she had begun her program with him, her mood had been lighter, and sometimes it was as though she was walking on air.
It wasn’t that bad to think about things changing for me, even though it was hard to fathom when lost in the bleak loneliness of despair.
I had suffered after Lee left, unfairly so.
I was the one who had been wronged, yet he was the one who got to flaunt his new girlfriend, the girl twenty years younger than me.
I thought love was supposed to conquer all these things, but it seemed as though beauty was the one factor that defined everything.
After I spent time with Jenny, I returned home.
Later that night, I stood in front of the mirror after having a glass of wine.
I looked at myself in my underwear. Auburn hair spilled down my shoulders, looking stark against my pale skin.
My large breasts swelled, and my waist narrowed.
I ran my hands down my belly, my skin smooth.
I wasn’t as I had been in my youth, and perhaps it wouldn’t do me any harm to tone up.
I figured, if it didn’t work out for me, then I could always stop. There was no harm in it.
Even so, my hands were still shaking when I picked up the phone. I had always been a nervous sort, especially around new people.
The phone rang. I was surprised when he picked up. His voice was deep, masculine. It made something throb inside me.
“Hello. Is this Jason?” I asked, my voice trembling as much as my hands. I hoped he couldn’t detect my nerves through the phone.
“It is. How can I help you?”
“Well, I was recommended to call you by Jenny. Jenny Bowers. She said that she had a very positive experience with you, and she thought that I could do with a personal trainer, as well, you know, just to get my step back, I suppose. I have tried doing some exercises at home with DVDs, but I find that I can never keep the motivation,” I said, tittering with nervous laughter and feeling stupid for doing so.
If he was put off by my nerves, he didn’t say anything, though.
“Yeah, it’s always better to have someone by your side. I’m glad you called. I have an opening tomorrow, if you’d like to come on over?” he asked.
I hadn’t expected him to fit me in so soon, and I almost chickened out by saying that I had plans. But I managed to hold my nerve and agreed. He gave me his address and that was settled. I was about to embark on something new.
***
The following day, I squeezed myself into some yoga pants and wore a leotard over my clothes, as well as tying my hair back into a ponytail.
I wore a little makeup because I was afraid of it running down my face with sweat if I wore too much, but I didn’t want to go there without something of a mask on, just to cover the small wrinkles that lined my face.
I pulled up outside his house and was impressed by how nice it looked. It was a squat house with a large front yard and a wide porch with a swing. The doorbell chimed as I rang it, and then the door opened, revealing a man I can only describe as a god.
He wore a white T-shirt that showed off the outline of his muscles.
His biceps swelled, his shoulders were broad, his legs were as thick as tree trunks.
A lump formed in my throat as he smiled at me, showing off a row of white teeth and dimples.
Oh, I had always loved dimples. A mess of dirty blond hair rested atop his head, and he smelled fresh.
He was too young for me to be thinking like this, of course, and I knew it was just a symptom of having been alone for far too long, but still …
damn, he was hot. I could see now why Jenny’s mood had been so improved.
“Holly, right? It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand.
My palm fit snugly into his, and one squeeze was enough for me to get a sense of his strength. It was overpowering, and I almost folded right then and there.
“Just for future reference, you can bring your workout clothes in a bag if you’d like and change inside,” he said then welcomed me in.
He took me into his lounge first. The windows were wide and sunlight poured in.
The couch was comfortable. He had placed a jug of water down with two glasses on a coffee table in front of me.
He picked up a folder and pulled out a few sheets of paper.
I noticed a pen was also on the coffee table.
“There’s just a few things before we begin. Obviously, this place isn’t a gym, but I am a licensed personal trainer so I just need you to sign this form for insurance purposes. Take as much time as you like to read it,” he said.
I scanned it, feeling sure that if Jenny had done this, then it wasn’t going to be a scam, and signed my name. He thanked me as he took it back.
“Okay, let me tell you a bit about who I am and what this place is. So, when I was younger, my parents were big into fitness, but then Mom had an accident that meant she found it difficult to leave the house. We had a home gym installed, and she needed my help to train, which is how I first got started in all this. I then went to school and got a degree in sports science, but I was amazed by how many people were put off exercising because they didn’t want to go to the gym.
A gym can be an intimidating place, especially when you’re just starting out, and it’s not always the most convenient setting, and it can be quite expensive.
So, I wanted to offer a place where people can come, feel comfortable, and just relax while they’re exercising.
There’s not one thing that is going to fit everyone, so why don’t you tell me a little bit about why you’re here? ”
I took a sip of water before I spoke. “Well, like I said, Jenny recommended me because she had a positive experience with you.”
“That’s good to hear,” he said and seemed genuinely pleased to hear this.
“And to be honest, I just want to get a little fitter all around, I suppose. I don’t do as much exercise as I should, and I’m not getting any younger. I don’t have a bad diet—at least, I don’t think so—so it’s really just trying to keep as trim as I can while I can.”