Chapter 17 #2
I drop my eyes and continue my set, panicking internally as she walks over. She steps into a nearby rack and ducks under the bar, resting it on her shoulders. “Can you spot me, Mr. Hottest Eligible Bachelor?”
I’d rather not get involved with her workout, but it’s bad form to deny someone a spot. They could get seriously injured and this whole weekend will be a bust if Edward’s wife gets injured on my account.
I reluctantly put my bar down and step over. “What do you want me to hold?”
“Whatever catches your eye,” she says, shooting me a challenging look over her shoulder. “It’s all up for grabs.”
I keep my hands close, but I don’t touch her as she starts squatting up and down slowly, moaning and whimpering as she moves. I suspect the noises are part of the attempted seduction because there isn’t much weight on the bar.
“I can feel it burning,” she moans. “It feels so good.”
I’m beginning to think she didn’t need a spot after all.
“Wanna feel?” she asks as she bends down low, thrusting her butt out. “I won’t tell your little wifey.”
Just then, Faye rushes in wearing her workout clothes. She’s already huffing and puffing even though she hasn’t started exercising yet.
“I’m here, I’m here,” she says, taking deep breaths.
“Where were you?” I hiss as I hurry over.
“Edward ambushed me in the kitchen,” she whispers, holding her side. “He is a talker in the morning and he had waffles ready so it would have been rude to say no.”
“You ate waffles? Before a workout?”
“Is that bad? He put whipped cream on them and I couldn’t resist.”
Cassandra stands back up and drops the bar onto the rack with a loud clank.
“Oh,” she says, clearly annoyed. “You’re joining us?”
“Definitely,” Faye says, thrusting her chin in the air as she marches over to the rack. “What are we doing? Squats?”
She glares at Cassandra as she dips under the bar and puts it on her shoulders.
“Are you okay?” I ask, hurrying to help. “I’ll take some weight off.”
“This?” she laughs, lifting it up. “Please. This is nothing.”
Her face goes bright red and her eyes pop out a little as she lifts the bar and takes the entire weight. Her whole body starts shaking violently. Her legs tremble.
Cassandra snickers as I rush behind Faye to help in case she falls. Or breaks in half.
“Piece of cake,” she says in a strained voice as she slowly moves down.
“You don’t have to do this,” I whisper, leaning into her ear.
“Yes, I do,” she whispers back. “Is it supposed to feel like my spine is bending the wrong way?”
That’s enough. I grab the bar off her and put it back on the rack.
The look of relief on her face makes me smile.
“Great warm-up,” she says, smacking her hands together and wincing as she straightens up. “What’s next? The ball thing with the handle? Kettle corn?”
Cassandra laughs as she wanders over to the pull-up bar. She easily pulls herself up and makes it look effortless as she gracefully completes ten.
“Let’s see how many you can do, Owen,” Cassandra says, grinning at me. “I bet those big shoulders can go all day.”
“Actually, it’s my turn,” Faye says, rolling up her sleeves as she marches over.
The two women couldn’t look any different.
Cassandra is practically naked in her stylish gym gear with flawless hair and makeup, while Faye is in old jogging pants and an oversized long-sleeved shirt.
She has no makeup on and her hair is tied back in a messy ponytail. I can’t take my eyes off her.
“I love pull-ups,” she says, taking a deep breath as she looks up at the bar.
Cassandra crosses her arms and watches with a grin.
Faye takes a deep breath and jumps up to grab it. She has about a one-inch vertical and misses wildly.
“Need a booster?” Cassandra asks.
Faye gives her a fake smile and then jumps again. Not even close.
“Yes, please,” she says.
Cassandra grabs a plyometric box and puts it under the bar. Faye steps on it, grabs the bar, and kicks the box away.
I see the panic in her eyes as she hangs there, struggling with everything she has to pull herself up. I appreciate the determination, but she just doesn’t have the required upper body strength to complete the exercise.
Her little legs kick wildly for a few moments and then she drops to the ground.
“Cool,” she says, brushing her hands together like she’s all done. “What’s next?”
“How about some burpees?” Cassandra says, loving this.
“Sure,” Faye says, rolling her shoulders. “I love burpees. I can burpee the alphabet.”
I shake my head as they walk over to the empty area by the mirrors.
“Owen, you keep count,” Cassandra says as she shakes her arms out. “A little friendly competition on who can do more.”
“Great,” Faye says, glaring at her. “Get ready for it. I’m going to burp your brains out.”
“What?” Cassandra says, looking at her funny.
“Ready, set, go,” Faye shouts, jumping to the floor in a push-up position. Cassandra quickly follows.
Faye grunts as she pushes herself back up. Cassandra is quite proficient at the exercise and quickly surpasses Faye. She’s already back down while Faye is jumping into the air while groaning like an old man struggling to get out of a recliner.
Faye does her third burpee while Cassandra is on her tenth. And Faye is slowing down considerably while Cassandra shows no sign of decline. Faye barely leaves the floor when she jumps and she lies on the floor considerably longer than Cassandra before she forces herself back up.
“Cassandra, dear,” Edward says, popping his head into the gym. “The wine delivery arrived and nobody knows where you want it. They’ve been standing at the dock for twenty minutes.”
She snatches her water bottle off the bench and storms over. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Edward. We have a wine cellar, it’s not that bloody complicated.”
“Last time you freaked out because I put the boxes in the wine cellar,” he says as they leave.
Faye is lying on the floor, looking like she may not have the strength to get up. Her cheek is resting on the padding and she’s breathing so hard like there’s not enough oxygen on the planet for her to suck in.
“Are you okay?” I ask, dropping to the floor beside her.
“I shouldn’t have had those waffles.”
“Probably not,” I laugh. “You did good.”
She forces her head up and looks at me with dead eyes.
“It was… interesting,” I correct. “If it helps, I could watch you work out all day.”
“Never going to happen, because I’d barely last ten minutes.”
I help her up and she sits on the plyometric box as she catches her breath. I hurry over and grab her water bottle.
“Thank you,” she says when I give it to her.
I give her a minute, letting her take a drink and catch her breath.
“I didn’t know pull-ups were so hard,” she says, staring at the bar in disbelief. “She made it look so easy.”
“You almost had it.”
The ‘yeah right’ look she gives me makes me laugh.
“My arms would have ripped out of my sockets before I got my chin over that bar.”
I just run my hand through my hair and smile. She always has a way of putting things that makes it fun.
“I have some bad news,” she says. “Edward told me we’re heading into Port Carling for dinner tonight.”
“That’s not so bad,” I say, feeling a sense of relief. “I could use a break from this place.”
“Did you get your little Love Bot situation taken care of?”
“Not yet, no.”
She tilts her head as she looks at me seriously. “Then it’s bad. It’s very bad.”
My stomach starts churning as I remember how it felt to have all those frantic women accosting me in public. If it’s anything like that, then I’m in for a whole world of trouble.
Yes, this turn of events is bad.
It is very bad.