Now she walked to the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee as she sat down at the island. She thought about making toast, then decided she would have a proper breakfast after she came back from the gym. Besides, she was getting weighed again this morning, and Maisy didn’t want anything that would affect the results in any way. Frankly, she knew at this point, what she weighed was basically a formality as she could already see the massive change her body had undergone. It was about twelve weeks since she started training with Carter, and she had already had to change most of her wardrobe. Even though she wasn’t ready to wear a thong to the beach just yet, she still remembered how it had felt the day she had tried to wear a pair of her jeans and found out they were too big for her. She was so happy, the first thing she had done when she saw Carter in the gym that evening was drop to her knees and take him into her mouth. Remembering it now made Maisy grin and, all of a sudden, she wanted to get to the gym as quickly as possible. It wasn’t like they had sex every day or every time she went to the gym, but they did it enough times that Maisy considered it a small miracle they had yet to be caught.
She went back into the bedroom, and after a quick shower changed into her workout clothes. Then she poured the rest of the coffee into a thermos travel mug and set off on a brisk walk to the gym. She got there early enough that she found out that Carter wasn’t yet around, which rarely happened. Letting herself in with the spare key he had given her after one such occasion before, she went straight to their workout room. She let out a deep breath as she looked at the surroundings that over the last few weeks had become more familiar to her than even the walls of her bedroom.
Except when she had something to do, she was almost always here in the gym. Either working out alone, or she joined a group when she felt like it or wanted to learn something. Already she was making new friends with some of the women in the gym, and had even helped Linda, the trainer, handle a class when she had to leave the gym during a workout session to attend to her son. She had stopped working exclusively with Carter, and now came in to the gym anytime she wanted to work out. But she never missed her sessions with Carter, either late in the evening or at noon.
Maisy placed the now-almost empty cup on the counter in the front of the room, then went to the locker at one side of the room to take off the pullover she had worn over her workout clothes. She came back to the center of the room and spent the first few minutes looking at herself in the mirror, still surprised, as she almost always was, by the transformation. The image in the mirror was the only motivation she needed as she got on the floor and started stretching. She was just about to hit the cycling machine when Carter strolled into the room, carrying his bag and looking sinfully gorgeous.
Aware of the hitch in her breath she always got when he entered the room, or looked at her, or when she thought of him, or the million other scenarios that had to do with him, Maisy said a casual hello to him.
“Morning,” he replied. Then he reached for his waist to pull off his vest, which meant he was most likely going to be working right alongside with her. Which meant Maisy was going to be having a hard time choosing whether to concentrate on her workout, or the flexing of his muscles as he lifted this or pulled that. Swallowing hard, she got on the bike and started cycling, noting from the corner of her eye that Connor had gone to the weight rack.
Two hours later, Maisy’s clothes were drenched in sweat and felt even heavier than the 25-pound dumbbells she struggled to get back on the rack. Beside her, Carter was just as sweaty as she was, but whereas she was panting and breathing fast, he looked calm, relaxed, and like he could do a repeat of the last two hours all over again. So she wasn’t surprised when he grabbed her by her waist and kissed her hard, nor was she surprised when she found the energy to return the kiss with almost equal fervor. She moaned when he slipped a finger inside her panties to tease her pussy to life, but the kiss had already done that, and his fingers came back sopping wet. He grabbed her shorts and panties and pulled them both down at once.
Understanding him, Maisy reached for the waistband of his pants, freeing his erection. The sight of his engorged cock made her want to go down and take him into her mouth, but she didn’t complain when he spun her around and slammed into her. He started thrusting into her immediately, and then reached forward to muffle the sound of her orgasm. Then he turned her right around with her back against the wall and this time it was Maisy who grabbed his cock and shoved it into her as he kissed her hard. When they both came this time, their groans of ecstasy were muffled by their kiss.
Still reeling from the shock of the orgasm, with her legs around Carter’s waist, Maisy looked into his eyes, seeking, searching. Hoping to find even just a hint of what she saw in her eyes when she looked in the mirror as she thought of him. Just the slightest hint of any feelings in his eyes apart from lust, or sexual satisfaction. And came back with the same result she had gotten the last few weeks. Nothing.
Chapter 17
Carter took a seat beside Jesse at the bar, glancing at the TV screen above them to see that they were showing highlights from the game the night before.
“Well, well, well. So, you’re still alive,” Jesse joked as he motioned to Steve the bartender. “I was beginning to think you were buried under one of those ridiculous weights you like showing off with.”
“Just because it almost happened to you doesn’t mean it would happen to me. Besides, you don’t drop by the gym anymore. Why?”
“Been busy at work; business has been really good. Which actually means work has been crazy lately, so I don’t really have the time. Besides, I sent you all those messages and you never replied to any of them. Not even once.” Now Jesse sounded a little accusatory.
“Well, you could say I’ve also been kind of busy lately, too,” Carter replied, feeling a little bit bad for having abandoned his friend like that.
“This thing you’re busy with the reason you’re always on the phone at midnight when I try to call you?”
Carter quickly took a drink of his beer in a bid to hide the guilty look that crossed his face. “Not every night.”
“Well,” Jesse said, not picking up on any of the guilty cues Carter was dropping, “every night I called, you were always on the phone. Also wanted to tell you that a new gym is opening across town. You know Brad, from Brad and Brooke Real Estate?” Carter nodded, indicating that he remembered Brad who was a former classmate of both Carter and Jesse. “Yeah, Brad sold them the place about some months back and they’ve been renovating since. But I think they’re opening the place next week.”
Jesse waited for some sort of reply from Carter and when he got none had to ask, “You’re not scared of the competition? Okay, maybe scared is the wrong word. How about concerned?”
“Nope,” Carter answered nonchalantly, appearing for all intents and purposes to not care. “I mean, why should I? This town is big enough for us all, besides I’m quite confident that almost none, if at any at all, of my clients would leave me.”
“You’re probably right about that. So, tell me, how have things been at the gym lately?” Jesse seemed animated, ready to hear some juicy tale about who was coming on to Carter, or any new gorgeous chick who just joined the gym. Carter quickly wondered if he should make something up, but felt that anything he made up would hit too close to home, so he said instead,
“Been pretty boring; nothing really interesting to report.”
Jesse gave him a look that told Carter he wasn’t really buying that. “Boring? That’s the last thing I would ever expect to hear you say about the gym.”
“Well, I mean, it’s not that nothing happens, just not anything that’s interesting enough to report. I mean Mrs. Feldman still flirts with me every chance she gets.” Then, seeing his friend wasn’t totally convinced, he added with a wink, “Maybe you’ve always been the one they were coming for, bro.”
Jesse laughed at that. “Yeah, right.” Then moved on to tell Carter about the recent boom in his business. They
were well into their second bottle of beer now, and Carter was coming to see that he really missed his friend. Then Jesse leaned in and whispered to him, “Check out your four o’clock. There are two gorgeous chicks there and I think they’ve been eyeing us since they walked into the bar… okay, more like eyeing you. You wanna give it a shot?”
The minute Carter heard the proposition, his reaction to it was a strong and violent no. He had no desire at all to pursue said avenue, and before he knew it, he found himself conveying his thoughts to Jesse.
“No, definitely not interested in any of them.”
“What, are you kidding me? The one on the right seems to be exactly your type.” Jesse sounded really surprised that Carter was turning down so quickly the potential of hooking up with two really good-looking ladies, without even considering it first. It wasn’t that Carter was particularly promiscuous, but at least he looked first before deciding he was interested or not, not shooting it down right off the bat.
“Come on, Jesse. I came here to spend some time with you. Not some meaningless hookup,” Carter said, trying to shut down the hookup angle as quickly as possible. And it seemed to work when Jesse smiled and said, “I knew your sorry ass really missed me. So how’s Alicia?”
They talked till really late in the night. Saying their goodbyes, with promises to try to keep in touch more, they departed. As Carter’s taxi took him to his house, he couldn’t help but think back to the moment when Jesse had suggested they hook up with the two ladies at their back. He wasn’t really bothered by the fact that he had refused; it wasn’t the first time Jesse would suggest they hook up with random chicks and, depending on his mood, Carter either went along or refused. What bothered him was how unappealing the thought of sleeping with anyone had sounded. That, and the fact that Maisy was the first thing that popped into his head immediately after he heard Jesse’s idea.
Apart from a serious relationship he had before he returned to Ashborne, this was the longest Carter had been with just one person. It was true sex with Maisy was amazing, probably the best he’d ever had in his life. And he almost convinced himself that was why he was still doing it. But thinking about it at the back of the taxi, he had to admit it was more than that. He loved talking to her, could spend hours on things as mundane as what type of frosting she should put on a cake, or just about anything. He loved her spirit, her determination, and the way she came in each day dedicated to her goal of losing weight.
He loved how cute she looked when she had her legs around him, and how exasperated she made him feel when those little doubts started to crop up in her mind. Of course, he also loved spanking her for having those thoughts which usually led to her making those cute noises which made him want to do other things to her. The thing was, he was starting to like so many things about her he was scared he was even starting to like her, and not just like-like her. But really, really, like her. The kind of like that made a guy want to do things for a woman to make her happy, because making her happy made him happy. The kind of like that made a guy start to feel things for said woman.
Carter paid his cab fare and got out in front of his house, taking his key out of his pocket. He was glad he had opted for a house rather than an apartment when he came back to Ashborne, and even though sometimes the mortgage payment was like a noose around his neck, he still loved it. But looking at it today, the first thought that popped into his head was how perfect it would be for a family. And that thought was scary enough that Carter decided it was time. Time to end it with Maisy, because whatever it was that was between them just didn’t seem to lead to anything he wanted in his life right now. Decision made, he got ready for bed and spent the whole night tossing and turning, unable to get even a wink of sleep.
Chapter 18
Maisy wrapped the last batch of cake for the restaurant in foil, and placed it along with the rest in the container that would be used to transport them. She carried it out to her car and placed it in the backseat, getting into the driver’s seat and starting the engine. Her plan this morning was to drop off the consignment at Ralph’s, then rush back home and catch a long nap. She had been up most of the night baking, and after her workout in the morning all she wanted to do was crawl under the covers and zone out. She delivered the treats to Ralph and was on her way into her house when her phone rang. She brought it out of her pocket; checking the display she saw that it was Brittany calling her.
“Hey, Brittany! What’s up?”
“Hey, Maisy! Guess what I’m doing now?” Brittany answered with just a little more than her customary cheerfulness, her question baffling Maisy.
“I don’t know. At home doing laundry or maybe working? Wait, don’t tell me. You had too much fun last night and woke up in a stranger’s house?”
“Yeah, right, I wish,” Brittany snorted. “Okay, let me tell you. I’m on my way to Ashborne,” she said and waited for Maisy’s reaction. Then had to take the phone off her ear as the sound of Maisy screaming nearly damaged her eardrum.
“Knew that would get you excited.”
“So, when are you going to get here? Wait a minute, are you driving down?”
“Took a flight down here, but I’m currently in a rental driving down. And I would already have been there if this damn GPS hadn’t taken me down a wrong turn. But I’m back on track now, and if the damn thing is working well now I should be there in the next hour or so.”
“Well, just call me as soon as you get close so I can give you directions to my place, okay?.” Maisy finished the call, then quickly looked around the house before heading to the kitchen. She needed to prepare something special for her friend.
*
Maisy stood at the end of the street and began to wave her hand up and down as soon as she saw her friend. Which was kind of unnecessary since she was the only one standing on the road. The car came to a stop and Maisy quickly ran forward and got into the car, where the screams and laughter of their reunion could be heard all over the street. After a few minutes hugging and gushing about how much they’d missed each other, Brittany pulled in to the driveway beside Maisy’s car and got out of the car.
“So, welcome to my house,” Maisy said as she opened the door to usher Brittany in, carrying the small travel bag Brittany had brought with her.
“Whoa, Maisy, it’s way bigger than I imagined it was. I mean, at that price, I was definitely expecting something a lot smaller.”
“Well, I guess I got a great deal. Besides, I think the agent kinda had a thing for me. Come on, let me show you around.”
Maisy took Brittany on a tour around the house as the two of them caught up with the things they missed. Despite the fact that they spoke almost every night, they still had a lot to talk about.
“Okay, I have to say something: Look at how much weight you’ve lost! Hell, I can finally wrap my arms around you,” Brittany said, and proceeded to do just that, the two women laughing out loud and hugging each other.
“I know, right? Well you have to thank my trainer for that. Let’s just say he knows several ways to make me lose weight, and I happen to like most of them.”
“I know, I even get mini-orgasms when you tell me about them on the phone,” Brittany said with her arm around Maisy. “But I’m really glad to finally see you doing the one thing you’ve wanted to do all these years.”
“Yep, 210 pounds. That is what I weigh now. I even went bikini-shopping the other day and got those skimpy two-pieces you always tell me to get, but I don’t like.”
“Well, get ready to go to the beach with me then. They have a beach here, right?”
“Yes, they do,” Maisy, said, rolling her eyes at her friend who still thought of Ashborne as a really small town.
“So, you’re going to show me what this little town of yours is all about?” Brittany asked as she took a seat beside Maisy on the long couch.
“You would think Ashborne is a small town till you actually get to live in it. I mean, they’ve got everything here; maybe not as much as th
e big city, though.”
“Well, they also got the number one thing I want to see. That hot piece of gorgeous male hat has been scratching your itch these last couple of months.”
Maisy couldn’t help but smile widely at Brittany’s description of Carter. “Well, that gorgeous male hunk has a name, and calling what he does as scratching my itch has to be the biggest understatement of the century.”
For once Brittany didn’t smile when Maisy made a mention of Carter, but instead had a sort of pensive look on her face as she looked at her friend.
“What?” Maisy asked, noticing Brittany’s look.
“Nothing, just really want to meet the guy, I guess. So how is that going to happen?” Brittany asked, going to admire one of the paintings Maisy had put on the living room wall.
“Well, we could go to the gym this afternoon and see him. But I already booked us a place at this spa in the mall. And then after that we’re having dinner at Ralph’s, so maybe we could see him when I go in for my workout tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, and if he’s half as sexy as those badly-shot pictures of him you managed to send me, then I just might stay and have a workout myself.”
Maisy smiled at that. “Then I guess you’d better wear something you can work out in.” They both heard a knock at the door and Maisy went to check it out. It was Chloe and she was carrying a small bag with her. Maisy let her in, and they both joined Brittany who had gone to the kitchen to look inside the fridge.
“Hey, Chloe, surprised you’re up this early. I heard you go into your house pretty late last night. This is Brittany,” Maisy introduced Brittany, who popped her head out from inside the fridge to greet Chloe.
“Hi, nice to finally put a face to the name Maisy’s been mentioning all this while. Just thought that since this is Saturday, I could come over and we could raid your fridge and maybe paint our nails.” Chloe lifted the bag and Maisy saw it was a makeup bag.
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