Chapter 8
I don't date.
Yeah. I know what I said…but he piqued my interest and that's hard to do. I wasn't against relationships; I just wasn't na?ve enough to believe that a man would be okay with my work. I also wasn't sure if I was ready to allow a man to dictate how I moved.
I loved being independent. Being free. Doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Me and Ronnie could hop on a flight at any time and travel. Our bank accounts guaranteed that. The luxury of freedom was priceless for me.
But maybe…Remy and I could just have some fun together.
Hang out.
Do some cute shit around town.
That wasn't dating per se…right?
But even as I carefully placed my hair into a ponytail, I knew I was lying to myself.
Fuck it though. I had already reached out, so now, I just wanted to see what the vibes were like.
I was free for a few hours until the evening anyway.
Typically, I would sleep in, but I felt full of energy, and I needed to blow off some tension.
I was able to get a personal training session in with me and Ronnie's trainer, and I decided to rope Remy in.
I laughed to myself as I slid in my car.
He had no idea how hard he was about to work.
I got to the gym fifteen minutes before one and was greeted by our trainer Tia.
Tia's body was insane. Athletic, but still soft.
She had the roundest ass and the smallest waist I've ever seen.
Abs defined, biceps tight. She was a vison.
Thanks to her, my body had never looked better. Thick but toned.
We shared a tight hug as soon as I got in.
"So…you're bringing a new friend, huh?" She smiled.
I nodded. "Yeah. This guy named Remy. He looks pretty fit, but I don't know…" I gave her a mischievous smile. "I think we can test that a little bit."
Tia chuckled lightly. "You wanna see if he can hang?"
I grinned. "I do. I wanna see how he handles pressure. If he can stay level-headed and not cuss you out during one of your workouts… then he has my attention."
Me and Tia laughed and high-fived.
"This is gonna be fun," she replied rubbing her hands together.
I noticed a maroon Escalade pull into the parking lot. Moments later, Remy stepped out. "There he is." I pointed.
Tia nodded with approval. "He's cute. Good body too." She planted her hands on her hips. "Let's see if Mr. Remy's muscles are just for show."
My smile deepened as I watched him walk towards the door, sun glistening off his caramel skin. "Yeah. Let's see," I murmured ignoring the flutter in my belly.
Remy opened the door, water bottle in his hand and a curious, but a hesitant look on his face as he looked around.
"Remy," I called out waving at him.
His head turned towards my voice and a smile stretched across his face. God he was adorable. My stomach fluttered more as he approached.
"Hey, beautiful."
"Hey, you." I smiled.
He held out his arms. "Can I get a hug?"
I stepped into his strong arms which he wrapped tight around me, pulling me close. He smelled amazing. Felt good too. I felt him exhale against my shoulder.
We pulled apart and he looked around again. "I wasn't expecting this, but I'm glad I came prepared," he remarked.
"Something different." I shrugged with a smirk and one shoulder shrug. I held out my hand. "This is my trainer, Tia. Tia—this is Remy."
Remy held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Tia."
"You as well, Remy."
Tia shook his hand firmer than necessary and I could see him wince slightly at her grip. I bit back a smile when she let go and he subtly flexed his fingers.
"You look like you work out pretty often, Remy," Tia said. She pointed to his biceps. "Do you mind?"
He glanced at me before nodding. "Uh—yeah, sure."
Tia squeezed his biceps. "Nice. Very nice," she murmured. "What are you lifting— around 220? 250 on a good day?"
"300 on a good day," he corrected, puffing his chest out.
Me and Tia shared a sneaky smile.
She grinned. "Wow. 300. That's impressive."
"Very impressive," I agreed snickering.
Remy's eyes narrowed at me. "You got an agenda here, beautiful?"
I laughed lightly. "Not at all, handsome. I just needed a workout partner and thought you would be good."
His brows pinched together but there was soft smile on his face. "Okay. If you say so."
"Well let's get to it people." Tia clapped her hands twice. "Time to see you sweat."
She led us down the hallway to one of the private training rooms. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors lined one wall; racks of weights and resistance bands were organized along the other. A row of kettlebells sat in the corner next to a stack of medicine balls.
Remy stepped inside and looked around slowly. “Is this where you torture people?” he asked jokingly.
Tia grinned. “I prefer the term transform.”
I leaned against the wall stretching my hamstrings. “Same difference.”
Remy glanced between us.
“Relax,” I teased. “It’s just a workout.”
Tia clapped her hands once. “Alright. Warm-up first. Let’s get the blood moving.”
She started us off with jumping jacks, arm circles, and bodyweight squats. Remy fell right into rhythm, movements controlled and steady.
“Okay,” Tia said after a minute, nodding approvingly. “Not bad.”
Remy shot me a look like, see? I shrugged innocently.
Next came lunges, high knees, and some light kettlebell swings. Sweat started to gather along his temples, but he was still breathing evenly.
Tia glanced at me. “He’s holding up.”
“Mmhm,” I hummed casually. “For now.”
Remy caught that. “For now?” he repeated.
Tia smiled slowly. “That was just the warm-up.”
His eyes widened. “Oh, y’all serious?”
I laughed. “You thought we came here to stretch and be cute?”
Tia walked over to the whiteboard and picked up a marker. “Alright, Remy. Welcome to HIIT.”
She wrote out the circuit:
Battle ropes – 60 seconds
Box jumps – 60 seconds
Burpees – 60 seconds
Rest – 40 seconds
Eight rounds.
Remy squinted at the board. “Hold up,” he said. “Burpees too?”
Tia rubbed her hands together practically gleeful. “Absolutely.”
He looked at me. “You planned this?”
I just laughed. "You scared now?" I teased.
He licked his lips, stroking his beard. "Never. I'm competitive by nature, beautiful."
"It's not a competition though." I tilted my head slightly to the side looking him up and down.
He shook his head. "I don’t believe you."
My brow rose and I placed my hands on my full hips. "Oh really?"
He stepped closer until he was standing right in front of me looking at me with eyes that made my breathing shallow.
"Really, beautiful. You made it one when you brought me here. So—" his voice dipped lower. "What do I win if I excel?"
"The satisfaction of knowing you've done a good job." I smiled.
Remy chuckled. "That's nice, but I would like something more tangible."
"Such as?"
His eyes held mine. "Dinner with me. Tonight."
"Tonight," I echoed with a small sigh. "I'm busy tonight."
"Okay…when aren't you busy? Pencil me in at your earliest availability. Hell, I'll take breakfast too."
Ugh! I could feel the heat flushing my cheeks as he stared at me. He was not going to make it easy to say no to him. I could feel Tia's eyes on us as she watched like this was a reality show.
Sighing again, I nodded. "Okay. Dinner it is. We can figure out a time later."
His smiled widened. "Shake on it." He held out his hand.
I placed my hand in his. He brought it up to his lips placing a soft kiss on top. My stomach fluttered again.
Letting it go he turned to Tia. "Let's do it."
Shit. He had flipped the script on me. I could keep it cute and ease up—let him win. Or… I could make it hard and kick his ass in circuit training. I rolled my shoulders. I may have been easygoing, but I wasn't an easy bitch. He was going to work for this dinner.
"I'm ready." I looked at Tia. She knew that look.
Tia’s grin spread slowly when she saw the look on my face. “Oh yeah,” she said, pointing between the two of us. “Now it’s personal.”
Remy rolled his shoulders and stepped toward the battle ropes like a man preparing for war.
“Let’s go then,” he said.
Tia set the timer. “Sixty seconds. Go!”
The ropes cracked against the floor as Remy started whipping them, muscles in his shoulders and arms tightening with each swing. The confidence he had earlier was still there, but now there was focus too. Sweat started rolling down his temples.
“Faster!” Tia called.
Remy gritted his teeth and pushed harder.
I was right there with him, pushing past the burn in my arms.
The timer beeped.
“Box jumps!” Tia called.
Me and Remy moved quickly to the platform and started jumping. His first few were smooth. By the eighth jump his breathing got heavier.
“Come on, Remy!” Tia shouted. “Explode off the floor!”
He landed another jump and shook his head, already winded.
I laughed, breathing hard and glancing at him quickly. “You said you were competitive.”
“I am,” he puffed, jumping again.
The timer beeped.
“Burpees!” Tia yelled.
Me and Remy dropped down and started the burpees. The first few were clean. By number seven his chest was heaving. By ten he paused with his hands on his knees. I despised burpees, but thanks to Tia, I had become significantly better at them. Better than him apparently.
“Oh my God,” he gasped.
Tia shook her head. “No breaks. Up!”
He looked at me like I had personally betrayed him. “You're too pretty to be evil.”
“Come on, muscles," I teased. "Don’t tell me you're giving up already.”
He forced himself through the last few before the timer beeped again.
“Rest!” Tia called.
Remy bent forward, hands on his knees, breathing hard.
“Round one done,” Tia said cheerfully.
He lifted his head slowly. “Jesus Christ. I need a new set of lungs.”
I burst out laughing. “You still got seven more.”
He straightened, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. Then he looked at me again, determination flashing behind the exhaustion. “Oh I’m finishing this,” he said.
“Good,” I replied with a wink.
Tia reset the timer. “Round two!”