Thinking about Maisy, he decided that even though he didn’t know what she was looking for here in town, he was pretty sure Ashborne was the best place to find it.
Chapter 3
As Maisy prepared to go to sleep that night, she picked up her phone and called Brittany, knowing her friend would still be awake. This was confirmed when her call was answered on the second ring.
“Let me guess, you’re currently in your living room with a bunch of papers scattered in front of you and a glass of red wine in your hand.”
Maisy could almost hear the smile in her friend’s voice “Very close; I’m actually in bed, and I went for white today, not red. Right about the bunch of paper thing. Have to finish the briefs for a big client I’m seeing tomorrow.”
“Oh, maybe I shouldn’t disturb you then,” Maisy said, aware that in Brittany’s world, big clients meant million-dollar deals.
“Are you kidding? I welcome the intrusion. Was getting bored out of my skull here. So, tell me, how’s the new place?” Brittany asked, seemingly happy to take a break from work.
“Perfect actually. Everything looks just like the pictures. Hell, the kitchen is even better than I imagined it would be. Plus, it has this big-ass fridge you could almost fit a body in,” Maisy gushed, clearly happy and content in her new place. Brittany couldn’t be happier for her.
“Well, I’m really glad you love the place. Although, I am still a little bit pissed at you for just up and taking off all of a sudden. If you had waited till the weekend, I would have come with you so we could check out the place together.”
“Sorry about that. Just woke up and felt the sudden urge to take the risk. You know if I hadn’t gotten out when I did, I probably would never get out. Besides, weren’t you the one who told me to take more risks?”
“Well, yeah. Risks, as in go bungee jumping or finally wearing that dress I bought you. Not move into a place we aren’t sure if it is or isn’t inhabited by a group of serial killers who love to prey on beautiful, sexy women.”
“Stop being so melodramatic. Besides, if that were the case, I don’t think I would be in much danger,” Maisy said, a comment that showed how deeply her self-confidence had been affected by the breakup.
“I told you not to talk like that again,” Brittany chided her friend, suddenly glad Maisy had made the move. At least now she could get the chance to heal properly.
“I’m okay,” Maisy assured her friend, adding on a cheerful note, “Besides, if the guys here are serial killers, they’re definitely the cutest ones I’ve ever seen.”
“Really? We talking real-life cute, or Maisy-type cute?” Brittany asked with a note of disbelief, knowing her friend well.
“Well, let’s say Jake Gyllenhaal-cute.”
“Well, that is cute. Who is he?”
“My realtor,” Maisy said and laughed as she imagined the shocked expression that Brittany would have on her face.
“Well, that’s a surprise,” Brittany said after a few seconds. “So, when’s your first date?”
“Date? Funny. He may be cute, but he isn’t my type.”
“And define your type,” Brittany said, sounding a little bit more serious.
“For now, let’s just say nonexistent. I’m not mentally ready to deal with a relationship of any kind.”
“Okay, I understand. So, anything else?” Brittany asked, changing the subject.
“Well, I’m thinking about joining a gym,” Maisy said, unable to hide that fact from her friend. Then she waited as Brittany went silent for a few minutes.
“Okay, you’re thinking of joining a gym. May I ask why?” Brittany said, sounding a little bit wary and concerned for her friend.
“Nothing, just thinking of it; you know, trying to be healthy and all that shit,” Maisy lied to her friend, hoping her voice didn’t betray her. But Brittany knew her all too well; their friendship long enough that she understood Maisy’s real reason for wanting to attend a gym.
“Don’t tell me it was because of what that prick said.” Brittany sounded really furious now, but Maisy knew she was angry for her and not at her.
“Of course not. I’m doing this for me,” Maisy protested, but she didn’t convince Brittany one bit.
“Okay. If you say so,” Brittany said, dropping the topic for now.
“Just promise me that if you get the opportunity to have hot, steamy sex with a gorgeous guy from the gym, you won’t refuse.”
“Okay, if I get the chance to have hot, steamy sex, I won’t refuse,” Maisy said, conceding to her friend.
“Good, well I have to go back to work now. Call me if there is anything, okay? And I’ll see if I can come down there this weekend.”
“Okay, Brittany, talk to you later. Love you,” Maisy said, suddenly missing her friend so much.
“Love you, too, babe,” Brittany replied.
After the call, it took Maisy a while to fall asleep as she lay on her bed just thinking and now questioning her decision to move down to Ashborne. Then she remembered how difficult living in Chicago had been for her after the breakup. Even the smallest things were enough to evoke memories in her that sent her into another bout of depression. Like the time she heard a cab driver yelling in Spanish, and immediately remembered a ride she had with Eric where the cab driver spoke in Spanish nonstop, not caring that they both couldn’t understand a word he was saying. At the time, it had been hilarious. But reminded of it now, it made Maisy feel depressed. It was hard going over her relationship with Eric and attempting to pick out where things had gone wrong, and sometimes she had to wonder if his animosity hadn’t started from the first day. The more she tossed and turned on her bed, the hungrier she got, and soon, she realized that the plate of salad she put together wasn’t doing anything for her. She was about to go fix herself something to eat when she suddenly remembered a time when she had gone to have a midnight snack and found the door to the kitchen locked. Confused, she had jiggled the handle a few times to confirm that it was indeed locked, and after searching for a while and not seeing the key, she went to wake Eric, annoyed at his action.
“Why is the kitchen locked?” she asked him, not caring that she had disturbed his sleep.
“Locked?” he looked confused for a while, then realization dawned on him.
“Oh yeah, I locked it before coming to bed,” he said, as if that explained anything at all.
“Why?”
“Well, because of what’s happening right now,” he replied, sounding slightly miffed that she was disturbing his rest.
“What’s happening now?”
“You, wanting to go and stuff your face with food at two in the morning. I told you, your body metabolism slows down at night, and all the junk you eat just piles up on your hips.”
“I just wanted a small slice of cake,” Maisy said, suddenly feeling ashamed and embarrassed.
“That small slice is why the jeans I bought you just three months ago don’t fit anymore.”
“Those jeans were already tight when you gave them to me,” Maisy replied, in a voice so low it was almost a whisper. The fight had gone out of her as she couldn’t dismiss Eric’s words.
“Yeah, that was a hint. A hint you conveniently ignored. Come on, baby, come to bed. Tomorrow morning, you’ll get to eat breakfast,” Eric said in a surprisingly gentle and almost endearing tone. Maisy climbed into bed, ashamed of herself and her weight. Eric was right; she was indeed getting fat.
Now, remembering that incident, Maisy laid back down in bed and closed her eyes as she willed herself to sleep, ignoring the craving in her stomach that told her to go down to the kitchen and grab the box of chocolate Brittany had told her she had hidden in her bag. Tomorrow, I’ll check out that gym Jesse told me about.
Chapter 4
The next day, Maisy stepped out of her house in a tracksuit big enough to double as a makeshift parachute. Not that there was the possibility of the gentle breeze carrying her up and away. She saw her neighbor to the right pushin
g out her trash and waved shyly, not sure if the people here were the friendly sort. Her question was answered when the pretty blonde woman waved at her enthusiastically, then jogged over.
“Oh hi, you must be the new neighbor,” she said rather gaily, and Maisy was pleased to see that she was friendly enough.
“Umm, yeah. Just moved in yesterday,” she said, smiling a little herself.
“I was surprised when Jesse said someone was buying the Harrisons’ place, without even checking it out. Sorry, I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Chloe. I live next door,” she said with an infectious smile that immediately made Maisy feel completely at ease.
“I’m Maisy, and I wasn’t aware Jesse knew you,” Maisy told her, happy to see a friendly face.
“We went to high school together. He even tried to ask me out once. But I had my eye on another guy at that time,” Chloe explained, laughing lightly.
“Well, seems you guys are really close around here.”
“Well, most of us grew up here, so that’s to be expected, I guess. Anyways, gotta run back inside; got something in the oven. Just know that if you need anything, you can stop by my place, and I’ll be glad to help, okay?”
“Sure, and thanks,” Maisy said, feeling optimistic about Ashborne. Glad at how the day had started, she strolled happily to the gym.
It was exactly where Jesse had described it would be, and Maisy saw the sign for the gym right as she turned around the corner of her street. Even from where she was, she saw the gym was a busy place. Feeling rather self-conscious, she almost turned to go back home. But she mustered up her courage and walked up to the door. With a deep breath, she pulled it open and walked in. Immediately, it felt like she had stepped into another world, as all around her she could see people working on different machines. The gym was kind of big and sectioned off into different areas. Right in the main hall where she was standing, there was a group of gorgeous, sexy women walking on treadmills. Maisy could only stare in part shock and part embarrassment as she saw that virtually everyone in the group was fit and toned. Sports bras cut at the midriff showed flat stomachs and nice arm muscles. Maisy felt like she had stepped into a television commercial, at least until she saw that among the group there were some ladies who were still working on their bodies. She also realized this was a real gym; everyone was here to work on their physique and not to show off or anything. Real machines, real sweat, and the breathing and panting she was hearing was real. But looking at the group, Maisy wasn’t sure she was ready to work out in a crowd just yet, still feeling too self-conscious about her body to expose herself like that. Then on a poster taped to the giant board, she saw the gym did indeed offer private, one-on-one lessons. Deciding to go with that option, she started to walk to the reception desk when she saw a group of men who had just finished their workout come out of one of the rooms.
Maisy suddenly stopped and couldn’t help but stare at men who looked like their bodies had been sculpted from clay. But her gaze fell on the man who seemed to be the one leading the rest. It was clear he spent a lot of time there, judging from how ripped and fit he was, but not in a steroid-driven way. His body looked like it had been sculpted by the hands of an exceptionally gifted artist or drawn by a comic writer; muscular but not bulky. All his lines and curves sang to a primal part of Maisy. The closer he moved, the more Maisy realized how tall he was. Her whole concentration was focused on him and the striking blue shade of his eyes that were oddly hypnotic. She saw him smile, and for the first time in a long time, Maisy thought of taking Brittany’s advice and letting him have hot, steamy sex with her. She was still lost in wonderland, a small part of her brain wondering why the current star of her fantasies was getting bigger and bigger, when she was broken out of her reverie by the sexiest voice ever to grace her ears.
“Umm, you do know you’re standing in the middle of the room, right?”
Jolting back to reality, she stared as the hot man she was just mentally undressing looked at her with a smile and a faint hint of disapproval. Mentally kicking herself in the head, she mumbled a few words of apology and quickly walked off to the front desk. She heard the group laughing, at her no doubt. She glanced back and registered the slight look of curiosity that crossed his face before he turned to continue talking with the group. Intrigued by this for reasons she couldn’t quite fathom, but not ready to find out why, Maisy made her way to the front desk.
The receptionist was a pretty blonde who seemed upbeat; she had perky breasts in a sports bra, and revealing arms that showed she didn’t just work at the gym but used it, too. Her nametag said she was Alicia, and the smile she gave was certainly welcoming. It was at that moment Maisy realized she was expecting people to judge her for her weight or look at her mockingly. But looking at Alicia, whose smile seemed genuine enough and who didn’t even bat a single eyelash at Maisy’s weight, Maisy felt just a little bit ashamed for thinking the worst about people. Cursing Eric for yet another thing he had caused in her life, she walked up and said hello. Maisy had to hold back a groan when she saw that, instead of a chair, Alicia was sitting on a fitness ball. Her chair had been moved to one side to make way for the fitness ball. From how comfortable she was on it, Maisy surmised she had been doing it for a long time and had already gotten used to it. Seeing that Maisy was staring at the fitness ball, Alicia said, “Sorry; just thought I’d tone my abs while I work. So, you here to join?” she asked, then when she saw a look of hurt cross Maisy’s face, she quickly explained.
“It’s just that I’ve never seen you here before, and I pretty much know everyone who comes here.”
“Yeah, I’m thinking of joining,” Maisy responded, faking a sense of bravado she didn’t possess. “Thinking of dropping a few pounds.”
“Okay,” Alicia said as she moved closer to the table and picked up a small leaflet. “Have a look at the services we offer,” she said, and handed the leaflet to Maisy.
“As you can see, there are different ways to join the gym. In the smallest package there, you join and determine your exercise regimen yourself. Or you could have someone help you draw up an exercise regimen.”
“Actually, I was thinking of having private, personal coaching,” Maisy interrupted her.
“Oh, that. That’s the most expensive package we have,” Alicia said, turning the paper in Maisy’s hand to the back.
“Don’t worry about the money. I just want to know if it’s something that you offer here,” Maisy responded, becoming a little bit impatient.
“Yes, we do offer it here. You would be assigned someone who would closely work with you. Determine what your exercise regimen would be, and, to an extent, what your nutritional requirements are during the period of the program.”
“No problem. How do I start?”
“Well, first you pay twenty dollars as your registration fee, then twenty-five dollars for your monthly gym membership fee.”
Bringing out her debit card from the pocket of her tracksuit, Maisy paid the registration fee, then went ahead and paid the gym membership fee for three months. She collected the form Alicia handed to her and went to sit down to fill it out, giddy to be doing something positive for once. She felt happy with herself for the action she was taking and couldn’t hide the spring in her step. She quickly filled out the form, supplying only the most basic information and filling in everything she knew about herself. On the line that asked for her current weight, she nearly lied, but, in the end, decided it would do more harm than good. She wrote in 254 pounds, then in projected weight for the program she wrote 180 pounds. A part of her wondered if it was even possible. After checking to see that she had filled out the form as best as she could, she went and submitted it to Alicia.
“Okay, thanks.” Alicia started to process the application.
“So, when do I start?” Maisy asked, anxious to begin, and at the same time, scared if she didn’t become emotionally invested in the program now, she might lose her zeal for it.
“Now if you want.
You would be working with Carter Lewis. He’s the best here. Owns this place, actually.”
“Oh, that’s nice.”
“Look, here he comes now,” Alicia said, smiling at someone who was approaching the desk, with a smile that was friendly, but Maisy could also detect some hint of sexual longing in. Intrigued, she turned to see who this Carter Lewis was and then immediately felt her heart slam into her ribcage as she saw the guy she just had her most recent erotic fantasy about walking towards them. Her mouth remained closed and her legs wooden as she watched him shoot Alicia a smile — one that suddenly made the room seem a little bit brighter and devoid of oxygen as Maisy started to hyperventilate slightly, breathing in and out of her mouth and nose at the same time.
Training Maisy Page 2