I walked to Genesis since it was a few blocks away. I was proud of my “triangle of efficiency.” My office, my condo, and the gym were all in walking distance from each other, near Battery Park.
The gym was relatively full when I arrived, but it didn’t feel crowded. While I changed, Ian texted me that he was going to drop by the gym too. I went straight to the treadmill, setting the timer for forty minutes. Running gave me a sense of freedom. Growing up in Montana, I was outdoors a lot. Running while overlooking the Hudson River reminded me a bit of home.
Twenty minutes into the workout, a sinful distraction named Mel appeared.
Finally.
I’d come here every day since I’d signed up three days ago, but I hadn’t seen her again since that first time. I ended my workout early and stepped down as she approached with a huge smile. Her eyes were strikingly beautiful, not just because they were vivid green, but their round shape was simply gorgeous. She’d pulled her dark brown hair on top of her head. I wanted to run my hands through it to feel its silkiness. Even though she was tall, I still towered over her by several inches. Up close, I now noticed a dimple at the right corner of her mouth, something I’d not seen before.
“Hey. Where have you been the last few days?” Mel asked.
Nice to know she missed me.
“You’ve been keeping an eye out for me?” I teased.
She blushed. “I figured maybe you decided not to join after all.”
“I was already signed up. And if I weren’t, meeting you definitely sold me on the gym.”
“How did I manage that? By fainting on you?” she asked with a giggle.
“By promising to spill some secrets next time we meet.”
Her blush intensified. I enjoyed it immensely.
“Oh, that? You remember, huh?”
“Told you that you’re not off the hook.”
“I thought you might say that.”
“Is this why I haven’t seen you around these past few days? Were you hiding?”
Her lips curled in a half smile. They were so fucking tempting that I was itching to touch and taste them.
“So you’ve been keeping an eye out for me too, huh?”
“Both eyes.” I did my two-finger-me-to-you eye point.
She licked her lower lip, glancing away. “Okay... so how many times a week do you train?"
The change of subject surprised me, but I went for it. “I come in daily. But it's more than a workout for me. It's a way to blow off steam. Otherwise, I have far too much adrenaline to sleep, so I need to work it off."
“Hmm." She tilted her head to one side, surveying me. "Yes, I can tell by the rigidness of your shoulders that you're stressed. That means the workout didn't really help you all that much."
“I'm not done yet," I clarified. "I'm hitting the weight area next."
“Well, I have free time on my hands. If you want, I can watch you work out and see if I can give you any tips."
Isabelle's warning rang in my mind, but I wanted to spend time with Mel too much to pay it any attention. I couldn't explain what drew me to her. Last time, I'd put it all down to the protective instincts of mine kicking in. I'd wanted to make sure she was all right; that was why I hung around, as any gentleman would have done. But today was different, and I couldn't use that excuse anymore. She’d been on my mind ever since her unintentional flirty text.
“Sure, why not? I have a weight training program that one of the trainers here designed for me when I joined."
"Why don't you have a personal trainer?" she asked.
"Honestly, it didn't seem like it was necessary, and I didn't want to have to make appointments. I like coming and going whenever I please."
She looked at me with a wry smile. "Okay. Do the exercises, and I'll correct your posture and give you tips."
I started with weights for my back. She looked at me carefully, her eyes wandering up and down my body in more than a professional assessment. I was filing that in my memory; I was sure I'd have the opportunity to tease her later on.
"Why don't you tell me about yourself while you watch me?" I suggested.
She laughed. "You and Isabelle are the same. She always wants to keep me talking when she works out. She says it distracts her."
"Really?" I had completely different intentions when it came to Melanie. I didn't want her to distract me. I just wanted to know more about her.
"Well, unfortunately, I cannot multitask," she said. "With Isabelle, I do the mat exercises as well. But weight training is a different beast, so I’ll watch you and pay attention to your posture. Oh, look, see? The moment you don't focus, you make a mistake. If you're going to keep your shoulders hunched like this, it won’t help you relax. If anything, you're going to get a muscle strain." She went behind me, flattening her palm between my shoulder blades. " I'll apply some pressure here, so you remember to keep your back straight, okay? Now do another set."
I could see her in the mirror. I was watching her instead of myself. Feeling that small palm on my back was messing with my mind. I imagined her hand elsewhere already. Her hair was tied up on top of her head, leaving her neck completely free. Like last time, she was wearing tight pants, and the short top left nothing to the imagination. Her body was delicious. I'd do anything to explore her curves.
After I finished the set, she said, "Okay, good. Well, you should take a three-minute break now to give your muscles a chance to relax."
"Will you spend that break with me?"
She grinned. "Do you want me to?"
"Fuck yes."
Her eyes widened a little at my response. Then she asked, "So what else do you do for relaxation besides working out?"
I didn't have to think about it too long. "Absolutely nothing."
"Come on, that's not healthy."
"What do you do to relax, Melanie? Come on, help a guy out here."
To my astonishment, she blushed. "Right, I don't think my tips will help you very much. They're particular to me."
“Tell me.”
"You're that curious, are you?"
“Very.” Only when it came to her. I didn't say that out loud, though.
“Well, I go for a walk, watch a movie. Sometimes I meditate. I also listen to audiobooks.”
Something in the way she quickly glanced away when she said “audiobooks” clued me in that there was more to that.
“What kind of audiobooks?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You won’t get all my secrets today, Dylan.”
“That’s a secret, then? Good to know. Okay, you’re off the hook for now. What else do you do to relax?”
“I visit my dad.”
“He also lives in the city?" I asked.
"Just outside the city. I visit him a few times a week. He’s housebound. " Her eyes clouded, and those protective instincts from last time we met kicked in.
"I bet he's happy when he sees you," I said.
"Yes. Even when I don't visit, I call and keep him informed of everything in my life. Thank god for FaceTime and all this modern technology."
The affection in her tone stirred something inside me. I hadn't been expecting that at all. I thought I was hollow inside when it came to anyone but my family. I didn't know I could feel anything anymore, but here Mel was proving me wrong. I wanted to learn more about her life and what drove her, what inspired her.