Gaining Maisy

by Graystone, Summer

  “Well, I feel like shit, too,” he replied as he lifted a finger to call the bartender. They both ordered scotch on the rocks, and as soon as the drink was placed in front of Carter he chugged it down, grimacing slightly as it hit the back of his throat. Then he pointed at his glass for a refill.

  Jesse watched him, noticing the faint lines of strain around his mouth; more than that, he knew that there was something wrong with his friend.

  “Apparently you’ve been acting like it, too,” he said to Carter as he took a sip of his drink.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, Tracy called me.”

  “And?” Carter asked, looking confused and not in the mood at all for whatever Jesse was trying to drive at.

  “You shouted at Tracy, screamed at her for messing up a schedule by five minutes. Five minutes?”

  “I already apologized for that.” Carter looked down guiltily at his drink, knowing Jesse was right.

  “Then not only that, but you’ve been surly and snarly at the gym and it’s so bad people are noticing and talking. What’s going on, Carter?”

  “What do you mean, what’s going on? One bad day, one mistake, and everyone is blowing it out of proportion!” Carter was almost shouting now, and all Jesse had to do was look at him to realize he was actually doing what he was trying to deny doing. Angry now, but mostly at himself, he stood up and dropped some money on the bar.

  “I’ve got to go; got some business at the gym I have to take care of.”

  “Come on, Carter. What the hell? You just going to blow me over because I tell you something you know is true? Whatever the hell is happening, we’ve been friends far too long for you to try to hide anything from me.”

  “It isn’t that, Jesse.” Carter tried a smile. “It’s just something I’ve got to work on. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” He picked his jacket from the stool and, with a wave, left the bar.

  As he walked out, he thought of what he’d said to Jesse, about working on it, and wasn’t sure how the hell he was going to do that. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what the problem was. As he slowly trudged home he realized he was now walking in front of Ralph’s, and his mind was instantly taken back to the night he had had dinner there with Maisy. He glanced at the table where the three of them had sat and saw a happy couple sitting there. And maybe it was seeing two people clearly in love that finally made him begin to realize what his problem was. Then to the side of the happy couple, he felt the breath rush out of his lungs as he saw Maisy.

  He quickly ran to the glass and pressed his face against it, confirming that it indeed was Maisy.

  She looked absolutely stunning, her hair wavy and flowing around a face that looked so perfect. Even from where he was sitting, he could see she had gotten slimmer than when he had seen her last, and knew she had continued with her workouts. He wondered where and with whom, then remembered what he had done with her during their workout, and promptly snarled at the thought of any guy putting a hand on her. Then he saw that she wasn’t sitting alone, and that there was a guy beside her, and they seemed to be in earnest conversation. He didn’t have to worry too much as he saw Maisy stand up, waving at the guy in a dismissive manner as she attempted to leave the table. Then his vision went red as he saw the guy grab Maisy by her arm and attempt to drag her back. Without thinking, he rushed into the restaurant and headed straight for them.

  Chapter 20

  Maisy sat across from Eric at Ralph’s, wondering why the hell she had even agreed to meet him. She glanced at the menu that had been delivered to them, all the while trying to ignore the fact that Eric was still staring at her. Actually, leering at her would be more accurate, and it felt kind of creepy. Not that she could blame him. She looked fabulous, and she knew it. A far cry from the slightly heavier Maisy that he used to know. She had finally reached her target weight, and if she wanted to be truthful to herself most of it was thanks to Carter, or specifically the pain of their breakup. She could still remember that night, how she had managed to get herself home. Then cried herself to sleep. The next day she had woken up to learn that sleep had done nothing to diminish the pain. She found herself craving the physical pain of her daily workout to distract her from the more painful sensation in her heart. But when she stood up to go to the gym, she realized she wasn’t ready to see him, or talk to him.

  Not sure her heart could handle any contact with him, and knowing she had no claim to him, she joined the new gym that just opened across town, and directed all her feelings of pain and anger towards the equipment. She ran till her legs almost gave way, did pull-ups, pushups, lifted weights till she was way more fit than she ever imagined she could be. Yet the pain never fully left her, and even the smallest thing was enough to set her off. The color of a shirt, a man pushing weights, someone handing her a bottle of water, and she was immediately thinking of her Carter. Brittany was already talking of going out and maybe meeting someone new. But Maisy was not in the mood for that. Neither was she in the mood to take up any of the offers she had been getting of late. Guys asking her out for a cup of coffee, or some even for a date, all got the same polite thanks but no thanks.

  One thing she could thank Carter for, though, was exposing her to the joy of working out, exercising. It had helped a lot with the pain and soon it had turned into something she loved. Loved so much that even other people had noticed and soon she was asked to take one class, then another. And now she taught an afternoon class at her new gym. The pay wasn’t great but she loved it, loved her class and her trainees. Loved seeing people work hard and then seeing the result of their hard work as they strove to reach their target weight.

  Then a week ago she had gotten a call from Eric, saying he was thinking about her and how she had been doing since their ‘little spat’. Maisy had been too shocked to even muster a reply, so she just stood with the phone in her hand as Eric prattled on and on about all he had been up to. Mostly bragging about himself, then the last thing he said was that he may be in the area and he would drop by to see her. But she laughed at that, thinking there was no way he could know she had moved away. Then he had called yesterday and said he was in Ashborne and could he see her. Maisy had no idea why she had said yes. Maybe it was because she had been standing in front of the wall-to-wall mirror in the gym, admiring her now-fabulous form, and wondered how it would feel for him to see the new her. So she had said yes, and now she was regretting it.

  He had greeted her at the entrance of the restaurant, acting as if nothing had happened. But now Maisy saw the charming act for what it was. They sat down and Eric continued with his charm talk, and Maisy found it easy to ignore him, for the most part. Actually, she was starting to regret agreeing to this meeting. Somewhere during the time when Eric bragged about his new raise and the car he was thinking of buying, Maisy realized she didn’t even care anymore what Eric thought about her. At least till she heard him say, “Got to say, it’s good you took my advice and lost all that ugly weight. You look better, way better.”

  Maisy could only stare in shock at his statement, wondering what gave him the right to lay any claim to her story. Then he continued, “So the guys in my office are throwing a retirement party for my boss, and I’m thinking, why don’t you come with me? I bet they would be surprised to see how sexy you’ve become.”

  That was when Maisy realized Eric was an insecure prick she absolutely had no reason to deal with, and felt just a bit sorry for him. Not sorry enough to forget all the years of heartache he had caused, though. So without waiting for her food, she picked up her purse and looked him straight in the eye. “You know all those years I spent trying to please you, thinking I was the one at fault, and now I realize you’re the one with the problem, not me. I was good to you, good for you, and you abused me, humiliated me, and treated me like shit. But now, I’m free from you; trust me, not only do I pity the next girl you’re going to punish for your childish pathetic insecurities, but you’d best believe I would never ever be that girl again. Take a
good look, Eric. All of this is me and for me. You had no hand in this, and you can keep deceiving yourself that you did. But just don’t let me ever hear from you again, or you’ll find out exactly how easy it is for me to bench-press your weight.”

  The last statement was said while she looked directly at his face, and the look she gave him made him flinch out of fear. Maisy stood up from the table. But she hadn’t taken two steps when Eric wrapped his hand around her arm and attempted to drag her back. Maisy heard the gasp around the room as most of the patrons in the restaurant noticed the commotion. She jerked her hand from Eric, and noticed another commotion in the room. Then, before she could blink, she saw Carter by her side as he, without any preamble, punched Eric right in the face.

  The blow sent him to the floor. There was a loud gasp as many of the patrons recognized Carter. They had also seen Eric accost Maisy, so no one was willing to help the injured Eric on the floor. He stood up and, after taking a good look at Carter, realized there was no way he could take him on. Eric looked at Maisy and was about to say something, but saw Carter standing beside her and looking like he really didn’t mind going after him again. He cursed silently and stalked out of the room, cursing at a few people who were still staring at him.

  Maisy watched Eric leave the room and, in a way, was glad she didn’t have to deal with him anymore. Then a small nudge at her back reminded her she now had someone new to deal with. Pasting the biggest smile on her face that she could, and hoping that she could get away for the next few minutes without showing any emotion, she turned to look at him. She was instantly floored by how much she’d missed him, missed his face, his touch, hearing his voice. She thought he looked a little tired, a little more worn out than she remembered, but had to admit that was probably just her looking for a reason to know that he had missed her, too.

  “Hi, Carter,” she said, glad her voice didn’t betray her emotions. “Thanks for that. But I could have dealt with Eric myself.”

  “I know that, but I’m glad I could do that for you. Guy’s an asshole, and I wish he had made one more move so I could knock him flat on his ass again.”

  He stopped talking, and they stared at each other, not saying anything. Around them, people went on with their dinner, oblivious to the two people standing in the middle of the room. Then suddenly Maisy hitched her purse on her shoulder and ran out of the restaurant. Carter stared in shock then quickly ran after her, easily catching up with her just as she was about to turn the corner. He put out a hand to stop her and Maisy whirled around, attacking him, sort of. And that was when Carter realized she was crying.

  “Why the hell couldn’t you just stay away?” she bawled as she kept hitting him, small blows that were more for show and didn’t hurt him at all. “I was just starting to get over you, maybe even starting to forget how it felt, and you brought everything back.”

  Chapter 21

  Carter let her hit him as much as she wanted, glad to have that much contact with her. Then when she got tired of that, he opened his arms and pulled her into his embrace, breathing in the scent of her hair, his heart beating right for the first time in weeks. There was a little hesitation from Maisy, but finally she gave in and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Carter placed his hands on Maisy’s face and raised it, looking into her eyes. Then suddenly they were kissing, lips meshed as they tasted each other, oblivious to the people around them.

  After a while, Carter broke the kiss and raised his hand to stop a cab. He helped Maisy in and then gave the driver the address of the gym. When they got there, he paid for the fare and led Maisy in, glad to see that the gym was empty. When they got into the gym, Maisy immediately headed for their workout space, more out of habit than anything. But as soon as she got in, she stopped in her tracks, looking around the room, recalling the memories she had in this place. Turning around, she looked at Carter and asked, “Why did you bring me here, Carter?”

  He shrugged. “Because this is the only place that seemed right for this.”

  “Right for what, Carter? To remind me of everything that happened between us?” She looked at him with a pained look on her face, and that, more than anything, hurt Carter. It scared him a little because he never wanted to see that look on her face again, much less cause it.

  “No, to tell you that I’m in love with you, Maisy,” he stated simply, hoping she would see he was telling the truth.

  Maisy stared at Carter, almost not believing what he was saying. “You’re in love with me? Why, Carter? You saw me today and thought I looked so bad you’re going to pretend to be in love with me to make me happy?”

  That was when Carter grabbed her by her shoulder. “Christ, Maisy, take a look at me and tell me if I look like someone who’s had fun this last few weeks. You left, and it may sound cliché but, as soon as you did, I realized what I lost. Nothing has been the same for me since that day, nothing tastes right, or looks right. Things are just not as good without you in my life, Maisy. I tried calling, wanting to hear your voice, even just once, and you never picked up my call, you never even tried to see me again.” He was almost shouting now, his voice not as steady as it used to be. “Then I saw you today, and it finally clicked why I’ve been so miserable all this while. It was because of you, because I love you. And I know I fucked up once, but I swear if you give me another chance you won’t regret it.”

  Maisy looked at him, slightly stunned by the emotion behind his words, and even more than that by the words themselves. Then, realizing what he was asking, and knowing the answer to that question, she wrapped her arms around him. “Yes, Carter; yes, I’ll give you another chance.”

  The relief that crossed his face made Maisy laugh, then his lips on her lips made her moan as they both threw themselves hard at each other, kissing hard and long till they had to come up for air, laughing the whole time.

  “You’re leaving that gym and coming back here, you know that, right?”

  Maisy smiled giddily. “Actually, I now teach a class there, Carter. Even going to community college for my degree.”

  “I know that you can teach a class here, too. You were already teaching one before you left, remember?” he said as he hefted her easily and carried her farther into the gym.

  “How did you know I was teaching a class over there?”

  “Facebook,” was his simple reply as he began to undress her, starting with the buttons on her blouse.

  “So you’ve been cyber-stalking me all this while,” Maisy coyly asked as she lifted her arms so he could take the blouse off.

  “Sure, I had to see you, Maisy. Needed to know that you were okay.” Maisy closed her eyes at the onslaught of emotions that swamped her at his statement. She reached up and kissed him softly, a meeting of just their lips as they stared into each other’s eyes.

  “Okay, I have some conditions if I’m to come back,” she said after they broke the kiss.

  “What conditions?”

  “First, I want you to double my pay…”

  “Done,” he simply said, without allowing her to finish, as he went back to undressing her.

  “Okay, something tells me I should have asked for more there. Anyway, my other condition is that we still get to come here, use this place anytime we want, just the two of us.” She looked at him so he knew what she meant, and if he didn’t the naughty smile on her face told him exactly what she meant.

  “I’d have it no other way, baby girl,” he said as he finally got her in just her panties, a mesh lacy number that sent the wiring in Carter’s head going haywire. Groaning, he reached down for a kiss as he fondled her nipples.

  “I love you, Carter,” she said, and when he lifted his head to look at her, Maisy saw the reply in his eyes even before he said it.

  “I love you more than anything in this world, baby girl.”

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later…

  “That’s it. Just six seconds more… hold it…three, two, one…” Maisy clapped and smiled as
Rebecca dropped to the ground. “You got this, girl. One day you’re gonna be able to do a full minute plank.”

  “It’s impossible,” Rebecca panted. “I could barely do fifteen seconds.”

  “Drink your water,” Maisy said with a chuckle. “One day you’ll be able to. I promise.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because nothing is impossible…” a male voice echoed behind them. She knew that voice. “Carter?” She spun around to see him holding flowers.

  “I knew I would find you here… I’ve never gotten to see you in action before. I’m so proud of you, little one.” He pulled her into a super tight hug and then looked at Rebecca. “Sorry. I used to be her trainer a long time ago, and she’s just gained so much…I’m sorry to take up your time with her.”

  “No, please. Talk to her; it’s okay. She’s killing me.”

  Carter and Maisy laughed. “Rest for a bit, Rebecca, while I talk to him.”

  “Have a seat, Maisy; we need to talk…”

  He led her to one of the spare workout benches and sat her down and took her face into his hands. “Look at me, Maisy. Look at me…there, that’s it. I love you, Maisy, and I don’t want to live without you.”

  “Whaa? What’s going on?”

  Carter bent down on one knee in front of her, and smiled as he heard the gym music stop. He felt all eyes on him but all he focused on was the beautiful girl in front of him. He took her hand and looked into her eyes. “Maisy, you’re beautiful, not only outside but inside as well. I remember when you walked into my gym, jittery as a June bug, and now you’re a stunning, kickass, confident trainer. You’re the woman I would love to spend the rest of my life with. These past six months have shown me that I can’t live without you, and I don’t want to try anymore. You have gained so much, Maisy, and I would be honored to gain you as my wife forever. Please, Maisy, will you help me make my gains and marry me?” He pulled out a strawberry ring pop and held it up to her as she burst into giggles. He knew they were her favorite.