Chapter Two
Jenna watched the big man for a moment, the one who looked like he should be auditioning for the next man of steel movie, not working in a small town gym. She wasn’t sure if she should go with him.
“Look, there are cameras throughout the place.” The huge man behind the counter pointed out several dark bubbles against the ceiling. “We take our customer’s safety seriously. If anyone says anything or makes you uncomfortable, come to me. I’m here nearly all the time. I’ll take care of it.”
She looked at him, thinking he could probably break her in half without even breaking a sweat. He was huge and probably didn’t have an extra ounce of fat on him. Fat wouldn’t dare. Compared to her own soft, jiggly body, she knew there was no comparison.
Her face heated. She looked away, only to have another man catch her attention.
This one sat in a chair that looked like it had come from an old gentleman’s club.
Dark leather, worn and beat up, the chair looked like it took two or three men to move it and the man in it was almost as big as the man talking to her.
The man in the chair was slouched in a way that made her back hurt just looking at him.
The more she watched, the more she thought he might be asleep.
His eyes were closed and he barely seemed to move.
“My name’s Roadkill, I’m the manager here.” The man behind the counter said, drawing her attention back to him.
“I’m Jenna.” She held one hand across the desk automatically, offering to shake.
The man took her hand. His grip was firm, but surprisingly gentle.
As if he knew how strong he was, and was careful because of it.
It made her warm toward him, at least a little.
Though, what kind of name was Roadkill? What was his mother thinking?
And if it wasn’t his real name, who would choose to go by something like that.
“Nice to meet you, Jenna,” Roadkill said. He turned to look at the man in the out of place chair. “Phantom, cover the desk. I’m going to show Jenna around.”
“Got it.” The man in the chair, Phantom apparently, spoke but still looked like he was sleeping. She wanted to frown, but was afraid these men would take it wrong. What was with these names? Roadkill? Phantom?
“We’ll have several people coming in over the next little bit, you might actually have to stir your ass, or heaven forbid, open your eyes,” Roadkill said, still looking at Phantom.
“Got it,” Phantom said, still not stirring.
Roadkill shook his head and turned his attention back to her.
“Come on, I’ll show you around. We can talk about the equipment, the rules, and your goals. My job is to help you reach them, if you’re serious about them.” He stepped out from behind the counter and headed for the rows of machines.
Jenna hesitated only for a second, then followed.
She needed to do this. She needed to get into better shape so she could make better tips.
Either that or she had to find a second job, and that would eat into what little time she got to spend with Lacey.
Lacey was old enough she didn’t need Jenna around all the time, but she was at that age that if she didn’t have enough supervision, she could get into trouble, and not just kid stuff, but trouble that could ruin the rest of her life.
Jenna was not about to let her sister get hooked on meth at fourteen, or pregnant.
Neither would set her up for success, and since Jenna was the only one around to stop it, she was determined to do a good job of it.
“This room is pretty obvious, weights, machines, that kind of thing, treadmills and ellipticals all face that wall.” He motioned to the row of machines that faced the glass wall that fronted the building.
“So you can either see outside or watch the TV’s.
If you’re worried about some creep watching you workout, don’t.
If you didn’t notice on your way in, the glass is mirrored on the outside.
If you prefer a track we have one around the second floor.
” He pointed one finger toward the ceiling as they moved farther into the room.
“Second floor?”
Roadkill nodded. “If you catch someone inside watching you, let me know and I’ll take care of it.
Back here are the weight machines. Anything you want to use and don’t know how, let me know.
I’ll be happy to show you. Also on the second floor are the rooms for classes, as well as the hot tub and sauna. ”
“What kind of classes?”
“Right now, yoga mostly. We had an aerobics teacher, but she quit a couple of weeks ago and I haven’t had any luck finding anyone to replace her, at least not yet.
I’m still looking. Through here are the locker rooms.” He led her through a doorway to a hall that split into two directions, and had a door right in front of them marked, ‘Authorized Personnel Only’.
She wondered who authorized personnel was and what they had in there, but kept her mouth shut as she followed him.
“Normally, I stay out of the ladies’ locker room during business hours, but you’re the only woman who’s come in since lunch, so I’ll give you the full tour.
” He showed her the showers, the lockers and how they worked, as well as where to find clean towels and where to put them when they were soiled.
“What do you think?” Roadkill asked as they stepped back into the main room of the gym.
“How do you get to the second floor?” She frowned.
“Through here.”
He led her back to the door for authorized personnel and turned toward the men’s locker room, but before they reached the locker room, there were a set of stairs leading to the second floor.
Roadkill motioned for her to take the lead, then followed her up the stairs.
At the top, she found herself in the middle of the large running track, if off to one side.
There were several rooms filling the space near where she stood and windows on the sides, but the walls on either end of the long track were covered in mirrors.
A little strange, but she figured there was a reason for it. Personally, she wasn’t sure if she could run more than a few steps, and even if she could, the last thing she wanted to do was to watch all of her soft parts jiggle and bounce. Maybe she would stick to the treadmills.
“These are the classrooms,” Roadkill said walking past two of the rooms. “This one is the sauna, the timer and controls are just inside the door. And the hot tub is in this last room, along with a large tub for cold plunges as well.” He disappeared through the doorway into the last room.
Jenna followed, not sure what to expect, but the room was nice.
The hot tub was an above floor model. On the other side of the room was a large steel tub that looked like a horse trough more than anything else, but there was a drain in the bottom and what looked like a pot filler spigot on the wall beside it.
A few feet away sat one of the few things in the place she knew exactly how to use.
An industrial ice machine taller than she was.
It was even bigger than the ice machine at the Driftwood Lounge and that had been the biggest one she’d ever seen.
“What do you think?” Roadkill turned to look at her.
“What does a membership cost? I assume that’s how you run things?”
“It is,” he said with a nod. “Memberships are forty a month for a standard membership. That gets you access to the building during manned hours, roughly seven to six, Monday through Saturday. Access to all the equipment, unlimited classes. For an extra five a month you can get a keycard that will give you access to the place twenty-four/seven.”
“Do you have a guest policy? Or maybe a discount for a second person?” She needed to know, because it might be worth it to get a second membership for Lacey.
It would be excellent for her once they had an aerobics class again, or maybe she’d like to come in and workout.
Or not, the information wouldn’t hurt either way.
“You get up to five guests a month, they can be different people or the same one, we don’t care. If you need more than that, we can do a companion membership to yours, that’s half price, except for the five for the keycard.”
Jenna nodded. It was a decent chunk, but she could do it, especially if it helped her up her income.
It would mean packing lunch while she worked instead of eating the greasy burgers Hank made next door at Miller’s.
The official name was Miller’s Blacktop Burgers, but Jenna hadn’t heard anyone use that name but tourists. All the locals just called it Miller’s.
“How about we go downstairs and take a look at the paperwork?”
Jenna nodded, turning back toward the stairs. “Is there a limit to how much I can come in? Or an up charge if I’m here too much?”
“Nope. Same price if you want to spend eight hours a day seven days a week here. We do ask that you don’t put an RV in the parking lot and live here, but other than that, no limits,” Roadkill said from a few steps behind her.
“I’m also open to feedback. You think of something you’d like to see, I’ll see what we can do.
I can’t promise to do everything or keep everyone happy, but I try to provide a safe clean place for all of our patrons. ”
“Is there an age limit?”
“Obviously, I can’t have kids in here at all hours, running around and getting in the way. That would be dangerous for them as well as our members. What do you have in mind?”
“I’ve got custody of my younger sister. I was thinking I might occasionally bring her with me.”
“How old is she?”
“Fourteen.”
“She’d be welcome, assuming she’s not running around being crazy. She can even use the equipment, with supervision. What I can’t do is give you an access card for her. She could come in with you, on yours, but she’s young enough someone else needs to be here with her at all times.”