Page 7 of Falling for Leanne

There in the midst of them was a woman who was attentive, typing away, writing down notes as well. She paid attention to what I said, looking thoughtful rather than lustful. She was also, incidentally, beautiful. Reddish hair in a messy bun, taller and stronger than some of the women around her. She had swimmers’ shoulders, I thought, and a proud tilt to her chin. She didn’t have the reedlike delicacy a number of the female students boasted in their designer athleisure wear that exposed a toned midriff.

I assessed her even as she stood and approached me as others filed out of the auditorium. She had good posture, confident and graceful in her movements. She put out her hand and introduced herself. Not a Taylor or a Zoe like many of her peers, her name was Leanne. I wouldn’t forget her name. Or her green eyes.

When I addressed the class about the inclusive mission of my gym, I’d noticed her eyes were green. She’d met my gaze, and seemed to echo my sentiments in her expression. Could I have imagined it, her sympathy with my cause? Could I have mistaken a pretty student who was paying attention with a person who felt the same way about an issue close to my heart? I shook my head. I’d have more than one person drop the class after the way I spoke.

When Leanne came up and said she wanted to apply, I supplied her with a hard copy of the application immediately. Because she was eager, because she looked physically strong and showed apparent sympathy with my speech in class, I wanted her to apply for the internship. Then I looked away and busied myself with my email to avoid meeting her eyes again, because I had felt some kind of very intense eye contact from her earlier and couldn’t afford to go down that road. Not like my friends had, those former Bachelors’ Club members who were now husbands and fathers—married to their own former students.

It was easy to see from where I stood how quickly lines could blur. How painfully easy it would be to fall into conversation with Leanne about the gym and the internship, how it could turn into coffee or lunch and a tour of the facility, and the next thing I knew, I would have given one on one attention to a female student. It would seem like quid pro quo harassment. It was a slippery slope, and I didn’t want to slide down it.

By not striking up a conversation, I’d avoided a potential entanglement. It seemed impolite. It seemed paranoid even, but I’d watched my friends fall one by one into the trap. I had to guard against it myself. Especially since drinks with friends had turned into low key envy of their happiness.

I headed to my car and went to the gym for the remainder of the day, glad for once to get off campus quickly. Once I arrived at A+, I changed and headed out onto the floor of the main gym.

I surveyed my domain with satisfaction and checked on the schedule with the receptionist. “How’s Gabe doing?” I asked her.

“He’s doing great. Now that his tonsils are out, I’m hoping it’s the end of all the illness. It seems like he was sick all winter. Imagine if we lived someplace cold,” she shook her head. “Thanks for letting me have the time off.”

“Not a problem, Suze. You know he can hang out in my office if you have to get him from school. There’s a TV and stuff. I’ll even give you the Xbox security code,” I said.

“I won’t tell him that. He already thinks this is the coolest place on earth. If he had your Xbox PIN I’d never get him to school at all,” she chuckled. “He’d be a third grade dropout.”

“I’m serious. You know there’s juice and water in the minifridge and a couch where he could rest if he isn’t feeling up to it,” I said. “Don’t stress out. There’s plenty of us to cover the desk if we need to so you can check on him.”

“I can’t tell you how much that means to me. When Eli’s here—” she sighed.

“How much longer is he overseas?”

“At least until July. I don’t want him to take another deployment but…” she trailed off with a shrug. “I know he loves the Navy, but it’s hard holding down the fort, you know?”

“I can imagine,” I said.

“Thanks for everything, though, Aaron. Gabe loved the Sonic comics you sent him, and I appreciated the Door Dash on the night after he had surgery.”

“Glad I could help out.”

“My sister’s moving back soon. She’s staying with us a while and she’ll help out a lot with Gabe. Which is a load off my mind, especially when this one comes along,” Suze patted her baby bump with a mix of affection and nervousness. I nodded.

“Let me know if your sister wants to join the gym while she’s here—staff rate,” I offered.

“She’d love to. You know, she’s single,” Suze said with a sly grin, “her divorce was final last spring.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.” I replied. I didn’t want to be fixed up with anyone, but it was nice of Suze to think of me, so I just nodded and headed out to the floor to talk to one of my trainers.

“Hey, Mark,” I greeted him. “How’s the new blood?”

“Doing great. Check this out,” he said, indicating the older woman’s pace and incline on the treadmill. “She’s already worked up to level three. We’re going to finish out two minutes at that and then step it back down before we do some light weights.”

“Impressive. You’re Edith, right?” I asked. “I’m Aaron.”

“He owns this joint,” Mark told her in a stage whisper and she smiled.

Edith was a new client who came to us straight from PT after a mild stroke. We were going to help get her on track with gait and balance and some light core work for posture. It looked like she was doing well, and I gave Mark a glance that indicated he should stay close to her by the treadmill and make sure she kept the safety key on her in case of a stumble.

“Do you give discounts to all the pretty girls?” she asked, giving me an outrageous wink that made me laugh.

“Now Edith, that wouldn’t be ethical, but I think you and I can work something out. A looker like you,” I said, turning on the charm.

Edith got a little rosy in the cheeks and giggled. I was glad to put the sparkle in her eyes. She had a hard time getting comfortable in a gym environment, and when she and Kara, her first personal trainer, didn’t hit it off, I was glad Mark worked well with her. I headed back to the free weights where I saw Deacon working out. He’d been a member for eight years now, and a good friend as well.

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