Page 6 of Training Maisy

Chapter 4

The next day, Maisy stepped out of her house in a tracksuit big enough to double as a makeshift parachute. Not that there was the possibility of the gentle breeze carrying her up and away. She saw her neighbor to the right pushing out her trash and waved shyly, not sure if the people here were the friendly sort. Her question was answered when the pretty blonde woman waved at her enthusiastically, then jogged over.

“Oh hi, you must be the new neighbor,” she said rather gaily, and Maisy was pleased to see that she was friendly enough.

“Umm, yeah. Just moved in yesterday,” she said, smiling a little herself.

“I was surprised when Jesse said someone was buying the Harrisons’ place, without even checking it out. Sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Chloe. I live next door,” she said with an infectious smile that immediately made Maisy feel completely at ease.

“I’m Maisy, and I wasn’t aware Jesse knew you,” Maisy told her, happy to see a friendly face.

“We went to high school together. He even tried to ask me out once. But I had my eye on another guy at that time,” Chloe explained, laughing lightly.

“Well, seems you guys are really close around here.”

“Well, most of us grew up here, so that’s to be expected, I guess. Anyways, gotta run back inside; got something in the oven. Just know that if you need anything, you can stop by my place, and I’ll be glad to help, okay?”

“Sure, and thanks,” Maisy said, feeling optimistic about Ashborne. Glad at how the day had started, she strolled happily to the gym.

It was exactly where Jesse had described it would be, and Maisy saw the sign for the gym right as she turned around the corner of her street. Even from where she was, she saw the gym was a busy place. Feeling rather self-conscious, she almost turned to go back home. But she mustered up her courage and walked up to the door. With a deep breath, she pulled it open and walked in. Immediately, it felt like she had stepped into another world, as all around her she could see people working on different machines. The gym was kind of big and sectioned off into different areas. Right in the main hall where she was standing, there was a group of gorgeous, sexy women walking on treadmills. Maisy could only stare in part shock and part embarrassment as she saw that virtually everyone in the group was fit and toned. Sports bras cut at the midriff showed flat stomachs and nice arm muscles. Maisy felt like she had stepped into a television commercial, at least until she saw that among the group there were some ladies who were still working on their bodies. She also realized this was a real gym; everyone was here to work on their physique and not to show off or anything. Real machines, real sweat, and the breathing and panting she was hearing was real. But looking at the group, Maisy wasn’t sure she was ready to work out in a crowd just yet, still feeling too self-conscious about her body to expose herself like that. Then on a poster taped to the giant board, she saw the gym did indeed offer private, one-on-one lessons. Deciding to go with that option, she started to walk to the reception desk when she saw a group of men who had just finished their workout come out of one of the rooms.

Maisy suddenly stopped and couldn’t help but stare at men who looked like their bodies had been sculpted from clay. But her gaze fell on the man who seemed to be the one leading the rest. It was clear he spent a lot of time there, judging from how ripped and fit he was, but not in a steroid-driven way. His body looked like it had been sculpted by the hands of an exceptionally gifted artist or drawn by a comic writer; muscular but not bulky. All his lines and curves sang to a primal part of Maisy. The closer he moved, the more Maisy realized how tall he was. Her whole concentration was focused on him and the striking blue shade of his eyes that were oddly hypnotic. She saw him smile, and for the first time in a long time, Maisy thought of taking Brittany’s advice and letting him have hot, steamy sex with her. She was still lost in wonderland, a small part of her brain wondering why the current star of her fantasies was getting bigger and bigger, when she was broken out of her reverie by the sexiest voice ever to grace her ears.

“Umm, you do know you’re standing in the middle of the room, right?”

Jolting back to reality, she stared as the hot man she was just mentally undressing looked at her with a smile and a faint hint of disapproval. Mentally kicking herself in the head, she mumbled a few words of apology and quickly walked off to the front desk. She heard the group laughing, at her no doubt. She glanced back and registered the slight look of curiosity that crossed his face before he turned to continue talking with the group. Intrigued by this for reasons she couldn’t quite fathom, but not ready to find out why, Maisy made her way to the front desk.

The receptionist was a pretty blonde who seemed upbeat; she had perky breasts in a sports bra, and revealing arms that showed she didn’t just work at the gym but used it, too. Her nametag said she was Alicia, and the smile she gave was certainly welcoming. It was at that moment Maisy realized she was expecting people to judge her for her weight or look at her mockingly. But looking at Alicia, whose smile seemed genuine enough and who didn’t even bat a single eyelash at Maisy’s weight, Maisy felt just a little bit ashamed for thinking the worst about people. Cursing Eric for yet another thing he had caused in her life, she walked up and said hello. Maisy had to hold back a groan when she saw that, instead of a chair, Alicia was sitting on a fitness ball. Her chair had been moved to one side to make way for the fitness ball. From how comfortable she was on it, Maisy surmised she had been doing it for a long time and had already gotten used to it. Seeing that Maisy was staring at the fitness ball, Alicia said, “Sorry; just thought I’d tone my abs while I work. So, you here to join?” she asked, then when she saw a look of hurt cross Maisy’s face, she quickly explained.

“It’s just that I’ve never seen you here before, and I pretty much know everyone who comes here.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking of joining,” Maisy responded, faking a sense of bravado she didn’t possess. “Thinking of dropping a few pounds.”

“Okay,” Alicia said as she moved closer to the table and picked up a small leaflet. “Have a look at the services we offer,” she said, and handed the leaflet to Maisy.

“As you can see, there are different ways to join the gym. In the smallest package there, you join and determine your exercise regimen yourself. Or you could have someone help you draw up an exercise regimen.”

“Actually, I was thinking of having private, personal coaching,” Maisy interrupted her.

“Oh, that. That’s the most expensive package we have,” Alicia said, turning the paper in Maisy’s hand to the back.

“Don’t worry about the money. I just want to know if it’s something that you offer here,” Maisy responded, becoming a little bit impatient.

“Yes, we do offer it here. You would be assigned someone who would closely work with you. Determine what your exercise regimen would be, and, to an extent, what your nutritional requirements are during the period of the program.”

“No problem. How do I start?”

“Well, first you pay twenty dollars as your registration fee, then twenty-five dollars for your monthly gym membership fee.”

Bringing out her debit card from the pocket of her tracksuit, Maisy paid the registration fee, then went ahead and paid the gym membership fee for three months. She collected the form Alicia handed to her and went to sit down to fill it out, giddy to be doing something positive for once. She felt happy with herself for the action she was taking and couldn’t hide the spring in her step. She quickly filled out the form, supplying only the most basic information and filling in everything she knew about herself. On the line that asked for her current weight, she nearly lied, but, in the end, decided it would do more harm than good. She wrote in 254 pounds, then in projected weight for the program she wrote 180 pounds. A part of her wondered if it was even possible. After checking to see that she had filled out the form as best as she could, she went and submitted it to Alicia.

“Okay, thanks.” Alicia started to process the application.

“So, when do I start?” Maisy asked, anxious to begin, and at the same time, scared if she didn’t become emotionally invested in the program now, she might lose her zeal for it.

“Now if you want. You would be working with Carter Lewis. He’s the best here. Owns this place, actually.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“Look, here he comes now,” Alicia said, smiling at someone who was approaching the desk, with a smile that was friendly, but Maisy could also detect some hint of sexual longing in. Intrigued, she turned to see who this Carter Lewis was and then immediately felt her heart slam into her ribcage as she saw the guy she just had her most recent erotic fantasy about walking towards them. Her mouth remained closed and her legs wooden as she watched him shoot Alicia a smile — one that suddenly made the room seem a little bit brighter and devoid of oxygen as Maisy started to hyperventilate slightly, breathing in and out of her mouth and nose at the same time.

“Hey, Carter. This is Maisy, your new client,” Alicia said, pointing at Maisy who at the time was only seeing a picture of herself, gasping for breath on the treadmill, while her hot, sexy, personal trainer looked on. Another picture took root in her head as she saw Carter standing beside her, staring at her big, fat behind and shaking his head in disapproval. Suddenly, Maisy felt so body-conscious she got the sudden urge to leave the place right there and then, too embarrassed to think of even working with someone as hot as him. Without a word to either of them, Maisy turned on her heel and walked quickly out of the gym. As she walked out the door, she saw her neighbor, Chloe, walk in and quickly returned the wave she was given in greeting. Then, not in the mood for any chit-chat, she swiftly made her way home. Every step she took brought on a wave of shame so deep she nearly started crying on the road. But she managed to get into the house before the first tear fell. Then, falling onto the couch, she let go and cried silent tears, cursing her weight and cursing Eric for making her so conscious of it.

---