8
I'm grateful for the road. It gets me in shape. I feel like I'm twenty-five years old after the first or second week.—Steven Tyler
One of the benefits to staying in Mel's building was the fitness room on one of the lower levels. Rhett used it every day, not because she liked exercising because she totally didn’t, but because she saw results from her daily turn on the elliptical trainer. And results were what she was after.
About the time she started her ill-fated job at Metal Specialties she decided she’d better do something about that before she had no muscles left and began doing crunches at home and taking brisk walks around her neighborhood when the weather was nice.
It helped, and she saw definite improvements in her abs and legs.
But she longed for a better body overall, and she knew that only came with a dedicated exercise regimen.
The idea of spending money to go to the gym was anathema.
Money aside, there was only one gym in Claiborne, and all the Golden Girls who made her life so miserable were members.
Sure, she could have bought a treadmill or something, but there was that whole spending money thing again.
But the fitness room at Mel's building was free, and Rhett had utilized it almost every day since she moved to Dallas on her quest to keep herself fit and healthy.
Ten o'clock in the morning on weekdays seemed to be the best time to use the room.
The majority of the building's residents were at work then, and Rhett didn't have to worry about being watched while she sweated.
On weekends she did light weight training with Mel to tone her arms, an exercise she felt comfortable doing while other people were about.
But her jaunts on the elliptical were something she'd rather not have observed since they were far from pretty.
So, she was irritated when she entered the room on Monday to work off the weekend's tacos and discovered someone else there.
Irritation changed to a mixture of elation and anxiety when she recognized that someone as Rhys.
Yes, she was elated to see him again so soon, but anxious didn't even begin to describe her mindset at the thought of turning into a red-faced, sweating hag in his presence.
"Hello there," he greeted her with a smile.
Rhett's anxiety dialed back a notch when she noticed he was mopping sweat from his face with a towel. It appeared he already completed his workout, so maybe she wouldn't have to do her own exercises under his regard.
"Working off those burritos, huh?" She put her own towel and keys down on a nearby weight bench.
"I do love to indulge, but it's a bitch afterward.
" He hung his towel around his neck and picked up a bottle of water.
"It's not just that, though. I mainly work out to keep up my endurance.
If I don't, I'd never make it through a tour.
I like to be able to end my shows upright instead of sprawled face down on the stage, gasping for breath. "
That was something Rhett hadn't thought about, the intense physical output of putting on a concert.
Of course, she'd never seen a concert live, but she had watched them on video and DVD.
Now that she thought about it, all the members of Illicit were exceptional physical specimens.
The lead guitarist, Ross Kellum, was built like a freakin' tank, and the band's drummer, David Moore, had arms like tree trunks.
Even Drew Cooper and Parker McKay, the rhythm guitarist and bass player, were cut.
And speaking of cut, the man before her was a textbook definition.
His white, sleeveless T-shirt was plastered to his body, revealing beautifully toned pecs and abs, and showed his biceps to their best advantage as he tipped the water bottle to his mouth.
If he wasn't wearing those baggy sweatpants she'd be able to check out his legs.
Of course, she'd already seen what an amazing butt he had the day she met him.
Rhett gave herself a mental shake and jerked her gaze back to his face before he could catch her in another bout of ogling.
"Well, I hope having an episode of Charmed running on the DVD player won't disturb you too much," she said, holding up the disc in her hand.
Rhys lowered the bottle and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "Prue or Paige?"
"I've reached the second season of the Paige years," she replied with a laugh. "I'd never have taken you for a Charmed fan."
"When you spend as much time as I do in hotel rooms, you end up watching a lot of television re-runs at odd hours. And Charmed is far more entertaining than a lot of things I've seen." He ran the ends of the towel over his face again. "You watch it while you work out?"
"Yeah. I turn it on and get on the elliptical, and it makes the time go by faster. One episode and I've gotten in forty to forty-five minutes of a workout. And whenever the show transitions where a commercial break should be, I increase the incline or the resistance on the machine."
"What a brilliant idea," he said. "I'll have to remember that.
But much as I'd like to spend time with you and the Halliwell sisters, I've got to hit the shower.
I'm flying up to Chicago this afternoon to take Dax shopping for a new car.
Some idiot hit his while it was in a parking lot and mangled the damn thing. "
She beat back a wave of disappointment that she wouldn't be running into him while he was gone and held up the DVD once more. "We'll just get witchy when you get back then. Enjoy your shower."
His pupils seemed to dilate as he looked at her, and Rhett's breath caught in her throat.
"Get witchy, huh?" he asked softly. "I'll look forward to that. Later, Rhett."