Page 19 of Waiting for Sunshine

“Hall’s Gym. Three doors down from where we met.” He turns to walk away and a grin spreads across my face.

“I’ll take an iced vanilla latte. Preferablyina cup.” I tease. He gives me a warning look as he opens the door to his truck.

“Get your ass in the house. I’ll see you in the morning,” he smirks.

I turn to walk to the house, and Max doesn’t leave the drive until I am safely inside. The panic attack from earlier is long gone now, as my head reels with thoughts of Max. I swore to myself not even a week ago that I was done with men. That they were all trash, not trustworthy and not worth my time. Now I sit here thinking about how the safest I’ve ever felt was during one of the shittiest nights I’ve had since I graduated high school – and it’s all because of Max. I can confidently say if anyone will change my mind about men, it’ll be Max.

* * *

MAX

It’s our first week of self-defense training, and not once have I shown up without her iced coffee. My own little way of trying to make up for the first time we met. Shane is incredibly strong. She’s quick on her feet and dedicated to getting better, so she’s picking it up pretty quickly.

I was shocked when she actually showed up the day after I told her to meet me here. I saw the way that night shook her, seeing that fear wash over her face killed me, so I hope she will be more confident knowing she’s equipped to take care of herself.

We are just finishing up a session and while my pride in her progress is skyrocketing, something else is trying to as well. Watching her train every day in her little sports bra and tight ass leggings is giving my dick a mind of its own. Things are about to get worse apparently because we both decided to fit in a regular workout after today's training.

Now I get to sit here in an almost empty gym, watching her run and squat and every other damn thing that keeps her body looking as heavenly as it does.

She’s got a line running down the center of her stomach where the definition of her abs dares to show. Her waist is shaped like an hourglass, curving down to her hips that sit right above the most perfectly defined ass I’ve ever seen. Looking the way she does should be illegal.

Her long blonde ponytail whips back and forth as she runs on the treadmill. She pumps her arms and breathes so effortlessly, while everything bounces to the rhythm of her footsteps.

Goddammit, I have got to get out of here.

I walk to the back to start my usual full-body workout, leaving her to her treadmill up front. I manage to do a focused leg and chest before moving on to do my bench press. I’m doing my damn best to keep my mind preoccupied, and my eyes anywhere but on her.

I put my headphones on and start loading weights onto the bar. When I’m finally done I lay back on the bench and ready my hands to start lifting. When my eyes lift above my head I am met with a navy blue workout set sculpted to perfection and a blonde ponytail.

“Jesus, fuck.” I breathe out.

“Sorry to startle you. I tried to make myself known, but I’m guessing those headphones are pretty loud.” Shane holds up her hands and smiles at me. I take them down and look back at her.

“Uh, yeah. Kinda.” I stare at her waiting to see what she wants.

“Oh, right. I was saying, do you need a spot?” she asks, pointing to the weight bar. I can’t help but laugh.

“Are you sure you can handle this much weight?” I ask, looking at the bar holding 280 pounds.

“No, but I figure two sets of hands are better than one if it gets too heavy, right?” she playfully shrugs. This girl earns every bit of the nickname I’ve assigned to her.

“Sure, you can spot me.”

She smiles and claps her hands making me second-guess my decision. Shane stands there spotting me, daring to drag my focus to her body with each passing second. When I get to the last of my set, I start pushing for a couple more. She doesn’t say anything but she walks around to the front of the bench where my feet are set on each side. I don’t have time to worry about where she’s going because these last few reps are kicking my ass and I am struggling.

I hadn’t taken into account the workout I had gotten by sparring with her before I started this, so my arms were already tired. Right as I am about to lose the drive to finish this set, I shit you not, Shane sits down on me. Ass and dick perfectly aligned.

My arms lock, shooting the bar up and back into place and my head snaps up to look at her. She sits there, staring at me like she has no idea what she’s done.

“What the hell are you doing?” I ask. My heart rate is growing — as well as a muscle I hadn’t planned to work out today.

“I read that this helps with adrenaline to finish a set. It looked like you needed the encouragement.” She answers as she puts her hands on her hips.

“Were you done?” she asks, pointing to where I have placed the bar back in its stand already.

“I wasn’t, but I am now. Because if you stay sitting where you are much longer we’re going to have a change of conversation.” She looks at where she’s sitting and her cheeks flush.

“Alrighty, then I’m just gonna hop up.” She says and kicks her leg around the bench to stand up.

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