Page 3 of Sweet on You
2
Ronnie
The gym floors were a mix of hardwood and rubber pads—easy on the joints and feet, but still durable. Well, hardwood floors weren’t so durable, but I wasn’t blind to the fact that CrossFit was a trend right now, and even though I loved it, it might not last. So, I wanted this to be a fully functioning gym without the CrossFit angle. The hardwood floors allowed that. I could do spin and yoga classes; I even had a dance instructor come once a week to teach hip hop. There was something for everyone here, even though the central focus was CrossFit.
However, when people signed up for one-on-one training? They weren’t coming in for a spin class—or a dance class. They wanted their asses kicked. And that was my specialty.
“Lex,” I greeted him as I approached, my sneakers squeaking against the hardwood floors. “I had no idea you were my four o’clock until Callie just told me.” I did my best to give him a casual smile, hoping it didn’t come across like a grimace.
“Hey, Lex,” Callie said from behind me and moved behind the counter to take her shift answering phones.
“I hope that’s okay,” Lex said.
“Why the sudden interest in fitness?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Well, you know,” he said. I had almost forgotten how sexy his British accent was.Almost. “Lifting those sacks of flour has been getting harder and harder. Plus, my insurance covers four training sessions and a gym membership yearly as long as I go 150 times in the year.” He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “So, here I am.”
“We don’t take insurance here.”
“No, no, they reimburse me. You do nothing.”
I took a swig from my water bottle and it went down my throat like sand. “Gotchya. So… what are your fitness goals?”
My eyes traveled down his boyish face, with only the slightest lines around his eyes and mouth. “My fitness goals?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I never even thought about that, to be honest.”
“Well, I had a client last year whose goal was to be able to do a split before her next birthday, so we focused on flexibility. Another one of my clients wanted to run her first half-marathon. Another man wanted to lose twenty pounds.”
“Right. Well, for me, I just want to be my healthiest self. I want to live a long life. And when I was younger, my weight was a lot easier to maintain. In my line of work, it’s a hazard of the job—taste testing my baking creations and whatnot.”
I avoided the urge to slide my gaze down his lean, but strong body. I’d seen him shirtless before while hiking. He was the only person I knew who went hiking with his cat. That cat was more dog-like than my best friend, Yvonne’s damn chihuahua. “Sure. My dad used to say that skinny chefs can’t be trusted.”
Lex laughed at that and his smile was like a beacon of light. Women gravitated to it. And to his easy charm and conversational attitude. Problem was, it came across as flirting. I should know. Andheshould be more careful. Women all over this town thought he liked them because he was so damn nice. So polite. Stupid British mannerisms.
“So,” I said in an effort to get my brain back on track. “Overall health. Got it.”
A sliver of his pink tongue peeked out and swept across his bottom lip. “Also…” he faded off.
“Also?”
“My doctor said that my blood pressure was a tad high. I thought maybe exercise could help.”
I nodded. “Exercise can definitely help with that. Is there any sort of work out that sounds specifically exciting to you? Or interests you?”
He looked around the gym. “I have to admit, I’m not a very sporty guy. I tend to prefer reading a book to going to see American football. But, I like being outside. I like hiking. And I’ve always wanted to learn how to do that.” He pointed across the gym to the rock climbing wall.
My brows rose. “Rock climbing? I’m impressed. I’ll need to give you a tutorial on it first. And you might want to work your way up to it. I do a monthly beginner class the first Sunday of every month.”
Lex’s eyes lit up at that. “Oh yeah? Is it hard?”
“It’s not too hard… just different. Why don’t I show you around and then we can get started?”
Ten minutes later, I’d given Lex a quick tour of the gym—everything from the locker rooms and steam rooms to the climbing wall. Now, we were outside on the sidewalk just one block away from the town center. In front of us were kettle bells and a tire.
Lex shifted his weight, looking around the busy sidewalk. “Isn’t it kind of crowded out here?”
“You said you like being outside, right?”
“Well… yeah. But I meant more like, I enjoy fresh air and going hiking. Not exercising while vacationers get ice cream and give me weird looks.”
