She said goodbye to Chase as she headed into the locker room and when she re-emerged, dressed in obligatory skintight lycra in the prerequisite loud colors, she saw that Chase had already reserved a station for them. It was the cable pulley machine for the back, and Chase was pulling down on the wide iron bar, the muscles in his back well-defined. She expelled an involuntary gasp. The man was huge! Dressed in a tank top and biker shorts, he was also exceedingly hot, and she had to resist the urge to stare at his pronounced front bump.
“You started without me,” she said as she walked up.
He grinned and let the weights fall down on the stack with a loud clanging sound. “Just a few warmup reps. So what do you wanna do?”
“I thought about limiting myself to the cross trainer today. Start building up that cardiovascular endurance again.”
“Or we could do some weight training first, and then finish off the session with some cardio.”
She shrugged. She wasn’t exactly a pro at this kind of stuff, and he definitely had more experience. “Have you been doing this long?”
“I started when I was sixteen, so you might say that’s a long time. My dad used to take me to the gym. I was a skinny kid and he thought I could use some bulking up. And since I was also a shy kid I was being bullied a lot and he figured some weight training might help with that as well.”
“And did it help?”
“It did. Most bullies are cowards. They don’t like to pick on guys that are bigger than them. And it didn’t take me long to get a lot bigger. Of course I had a strong incentive. These days I just do it to stay healthy and strong.”
“So no ambitions to compete?” she asked, pointing at a poster announcing an upcoming bodybuilding competition.
“Hell, no,” he said with a laugh. “To be absolutely honest I’m not sure it’s entirely healthy to do this stuff professionally. It’s a completely different ballgame.”
“It sure is,” she said as she watched a guy as big as a house pose in front of the mirror. With his veins popping and his muscles clearly visible beneath his skin, he looked a little scary. ”So what did you have in mind, coach?”
“Sit yourself down, little lady,” he said with a drawl, “and I’ll tell you exactly what I have in mind.”
So she sat down, and after he’d changed the pin in the stack, she grabbed the handles and pulled down hard. It took her some time to get into the groove again, but then she remembered this had always been one of her favorite machines, and soon she could feel her blood pumping and her heart pounding. It was a great feeling and she gave Chase a grateful smile. “This feels good!”
“Of course it does.”
She wiped her sweat with her towel and they headed for the next machine, this time focusing on chest muscles. And as they walked from machine to machine, doing a full back and chest workout, she said, “There’s been a lot of rumors going around.”
“Oh? About what?”
“About us.”
Chase was lying on a low bench, pressing two dumbbells up in a lateral motion. “Us, huh?”
“Yep,” she said as casually as possible.
“And what are they saying?”
“Well, ‘they’ seem to think we’re in a hurry to tie the knot.”
“And is there a reason for all this hurry?” he asked with a grunt as he lowered the dumbbells.
“They think I’m pregnant and wouldn’t like to walk down the aisle with a baby bump.”
He grinned as he sat upright, toweling his face. “Pregnant, huh? What do you know?”
“Yeah. It came as something of a surprise, to be honest.”
“Not to me.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Nope. I think when you take into consideration how those two lovebirds have been behaving—kissing any chance they get—it’s hardly surprising an accident would happen. And a shotgun wedding is the only way to go to spare the parents the embarrassment.”
“Those two lovebirds, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Kissing all over town.”
“That’s right.”
“Strange. As far as I know they haven’t even gone on their first date yet, not to mention that she is not aware of the way he feels about her as he hasn’t said a peep.”
“Not a peep, huh?”
“Not a single squeak.”
“What if I were to tell you that he figures all those times he joined her for dinner at her parents’ place counted as so many dates? And that the reason he hasn’t told her how he feels is that he didn’t want to rush into things?”
“I’m sure she doesn’t count a dinner at her folks as a date, seeing how she didn’t even invite him but he more or less was her uncle’s plus-one. And as for rushing into things, he should keep in mind that she’s perfectly capable of telling him when she’s feeling rushed and so far she’s feeling anything but rushed. Quite the opposite. She’s starting to wonder if he has any feelings for her at all.”
They stared at each other for a moment, then Chase took out his water bottle and quaffed deeply. “You know what?” he asked when he was done. “I think you’re right. Tagging along as your uncle’s plus-one doesn’t constitute a date. So why don’t I ask you out on a proper date right here, right now? Odelia Poole? Will you join me for dinner and a movie?”
She smiled. “I’ll think about it.”
“Why, you…” He made a grab for her but she deftly avoided his hands and fluttered off with a giggle. When she looked back, he was chasing her, a playful expression on his face. She squealed and darted away towards the back of the gym, stared after by the troop of Hells Angels, who seemed to enjoy the spectacle, judging from their loud cheers.
She flew out the back door and found herself in a small courtyard, where some old iron barbells and benches stood, probably used by the most hardcore fitness fanatics. As it was, the courtyard was empty, and as she searched around for an escape route, Chase was already upon her. He swept her up in his arms, and then kissed her deeply. She went under and gave herself up to his passionate embrace. There was nothing equivocal about his kisses this time. The man might not be great with words but his lips still told her everything she needed to know. As did his hands, which quickly roamed to places they’d never roamed before. And she wouldn’t have minded if he lay her down on one of the benches right now and had his way with her, if not a choir of voices suddenly alerted her to the fact that they were no longer alone.
“Why are Chase and Odelia fighting?” asked Dooley.
“They’re not fighting, Dooley,” said Max. “They’re kissing.”
“Kissing? But then why are his hands all over her?”
“That’s all part of the ritual. Humans who like each other touch each other all over.”
“Gran likes Odelia but I’ve never seen her touch her like this.”
“I think it’s romantic,” Harriet gushed. “The most romantic thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I think it’s disgusting,” said Brutus in his gruff voice.
“Brutus! It’s love!”
“It’s a lot of bodily fluids going into a lot of weird places. It’s unhygienic is what it is.”
“Brutus! You’re a brute!”
With extreme regret, Odelia extricated herself from Chase. It was a little hard to be caught up in the moment with this Greek choir commenting on her every move.
“Something wrong?” asked Chase, his face flushed.
She gestured with her head to the four cats, who sat on top of the wall looking down at them.
“That’s just a bunch of cats, babe.”
“That’s a bunch of my cats.”
He looked again and did a double take. “Christ, you’re right. What are they doing here?”
“I took Max and Dooley to the vet. Brutus and Harriet must have wandered off on their own.” She could hardly explain to Chase how the foursome was eager to solve the murder of Donna Bruce. She sat upright, pushing at her blond bob and adjusting her top, which had slid down with a little help from Chase.
Chase looked like he wanted to chase the cats away, but managed to resist the urge. He cleared his throat. “So what about that date, huh?”