by Sam Crescent
“Hold your horses.” He leaned against the car and scanned the pages.
She waited patiently, flicking the ring of her keys around her finger.
“Okay, I think I can see where we can make some adjustments.”
“You want to talk about it now?”
“Would you like to go somewhere else to talk about it?”
“How about we work out and then talk about it?”
“Fine, after we’ve worked out, there’s a cute little deli a few blocks from here, and we can go over this then.” He placed the diary in his sack, and together they headed into the gym. Sarah was on the front desk, and she offered them both good mornings. “This one is cranky today.”
“That’s because for a date you’re taking her to the gym. Shame on you, Noah.”
“This is not a date,” Elsa said.
“It’s not?”
“I’m helping her out.”
Sarah looked from Elsa then at Noah, and back again. “Shame, you’d make a really cute couple.”
“I’m going to go and get changed.” Elsa escaped into the ladies’ room, and quickly changed into her workout gear. By the time she got out, he was already there. “How did you get here before me?”
“I don’t like wasting time.”
They made their way down to the weight rooms where they were able to do some stretches.
“How do you feel to adding some swimming in say a week’s time?”
“Sure, I don’t mind. You’re the boss. I’m just doing as I’m told.”
“Right, I’m making Sunday our weigh in and measurements.”
Elsa stopped stretching. “Why? Can’t we do them today?”
“We could, but I’d rather do it before the next week. Each week we can start afresh.”
“Ugh, I don’t know if I can get away.”
“We’re ten, twenty minutes apart? We can figure something out.”
“I don’t want my mother to find out.”
“She won’t. I’m good at keeping a secret. Besides, we can always say we’re working on a project together.”
Elsa started to stretch up and then down, touching her toes.
Noah released a noise, and she glanced behind her to make sure he was okay. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing, I’m all good. You continue your stretches.”
“Considering I’m the nerd, you’re acting weird.”
He laughed. “Stretch, baby.”
Elsa went through all of her stretches, and this time for weights, she used her legs and thighs. She liked that Noah always alternated, and what she enjoyed was the fact they talked about everything.
“Have you heard Kurt is stalking Kim?” she asked.
“I talked to him about that. He says he’s intrigued by her lack of interest in him. Sucker thinks he’s got a chance with her.”
She laughed. “He hasn’t. I can assure you.”
After thirty minutes on the weights, they headed into the treadmill room.
Climbing onto the machine, she waited for Noah to program her. He always ran beside her. She would start on a steady walk, building it up to reach a run. She hated running. No matter how tight she put her sports bra on, her boobs always bounced, and not only did it hurt, it made her aware of how big they were. The boys made fun of her running, whether it was her body moving, or her boobs bouncing. Ever since she’d grown breasts, she had avoided running at all costs.
Starting off on a walk, she accepted the water from Noah, and watched him out of the corner of her eye as he climbed on the treadmill, and started off jogging.
“You just like to show off, don’t you?”
“My smoking hot body is used to showing off.”
She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of her body just taking a steady walk. The machine she was on beeped, and she picked up the pace. Noah always leaned over, messing with the setting to make sure she kept on walking. It was easier to do this.
More beeps, and she went a little faster.
He pushed further until she was running, and again, she did so with her eyes closed. It was strange at first, but she found the only way to run comfortably was by pretending no one was watching her. Also, it allowed her the chance to pretend she wasn’t running. It didn’t stop her from getting out of breath.
She wouldn’t open them until he started to slow everything back down to a walk. Time passed, she didn’t know how much, and when she was back to walking, she looked over at Noah and smiled. “I’m getting used to this.”
“You look weird with your eyes closed. Don’t ever go running in a park or something. You’d crash into stuff.”
“I trust you. Besides, I can do the whole running thing with my eyes closed, not open.”
“Is that some kind of sickness?” They had stepped off the treadmills, and Noah handed her some water.
“Not sickness.”
“Then why?”
“You really don’t know?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I knew.”
Elsa sighed, and then told him the story of the boys, and her body when she ran. She was even telling him stuff she hated admitting out loud. “You should know. You were there, and one of the guys laughing your asses off because some of us girls have been cursed with big ones. If I was allowed, I’d get them reduced.”
“Don’t do that!” He snapped the words out, making her jump.
“Whoa, where did that come from?”
“You don’t need to change yourself. Your tits are fine.”
She frowned at him, but decided to let it go. “There you have it, the reason I hate running, or working out in general. My body, it moves with me. I’m just not comfortable doing stuff like that, and a treadmill means I don’t have to worry about it. Are we stretching again?”
“Yes.”
“When do you want me to bring a costume for the pool?” She didn’t actually own one so she’d have no choice but to go ahead and buy one.
“A week after next?”
“I can do that.”
After they warmed up, Elsa made her way to the changing rooms, grabbed her stuff, and waited outside for Noah.
She didn’t have to wait long. Neither of them had changed out of their workout gear. There was no way she was going to take a shower here. She hated the feel of exposure while everyone was moving around.
They headed out, dumped their bags in their cars, and walked toward the deli. Elsa was starving. She looked forward to finding out what Noah thought of her diet. Personally, she didn’t think it was all that bad. Yes, there were a few snacks and stuff she could cut out, which she’d do easily.
The deli was busy, so they stood in the queue together.
“What are you in the mood for?” he asked.
“Seeing as you’re the guy in charge of my diet, why don’t you order for me?”
“Will do. Do you want to go and get us a seat?”
“Sure.” She left the queue, and found the private table toward the back. Checking through her cell phone, she saw there was a message from her mother.
Mom: I’m at the country club. Call me if you need me.
Elsa wouldn’t call her mother. One of the few things that was guaranteed to put a smile on her mother’s face was that club.
Deleting the message, she glanced across the deli to see Noah being served. She didn’t know why she was telling him all of this stuff, and it really unnerved her with how easy it was to talk to him. He didn’t judge her.
This guy, he was like an entirely different guy from the one in high school, and yet, he wasn’t.
Thinking back hard, Elsa couldn’t actually recall Noah doing or saying anything mean to her directly. The only drama she remembered was that of his ex, Jessica.
It didn’t matter.
She didn’t understand why she was thinking about him or their past together. They’d always been near to each other, just never friends. Pushing her crazy thoughts aside, she watched as he placed a bagel with low fat spread and ch
icken in front of her.
“Wow, I have to say I thought I was going to get cardboard,” she said.
“Nah. Believe it or not, I do have a need for proper food. Preferably homemade. I don’t like crap in my diet. I even believe in eating dessert as well, but that’s a strict treat.”
Elsa chuckled. “What do you think of my eating diary?”
“I can see where you can make some changes. I grabbed a pen from the lady behind the counter.”
He opened her book and started making notes.
****
Noah didn’t know what to do. On the one hand, he wanted her to lose weight for her mother. When he actually thought about it, he didn’t want to help her for her mother. Elsa was fine. Yes, her figure was bigger than a lot of the girls he’d been with, but she was fucking hot. He wished he could get her into clothes that actually showed off that hourglass figure. She’d have guys drooling after her. Of course, then when he thought about it, he didn’t want to allow her to have others know.
It had been one week of training with her, and he liked her. He really liked her. She was fun, and honest. When they were together, she wasn’t always holding a mirror up to her face, or thrusting a camera begging for him to tell him how he felt.
For once in his life, he really liked a girl.
There had been lots of girls, and women, along the way ever since he’d discovered how much he liked sex, and he liked it a lot. None of the women had ever made he feel like this. He’d certainly never felt relaxed in the gym, working out with one of them.
Having Elsa close her eyes while she ran, gave him the perfect opportunity to observe her, without her even knowing it. Her tits, they had given him a boner, which he had to think of his grandmother to get rid of.
Earlier, when she had been bent over, he’d been unable to ignore how hot she was. Her ass thrust up, almost begging for him to sink his cock inside her.
Damn, he was bad. Fuck. Elsa was trusting him, and all he could think about was getting her naked, and fucking her.
They were both eighteen years old, and he’d never pressure her.
She doesn’t even know that you like her!
Staring down at her food diary, he saw that she actually ate pretty well. There were exercises that Elsa could do that would keep her figure, improve her fitness, and it meant she’d stay the shape she was but be healthy.
“What is it?” she asked. She took a bite of the bagel he’d bought her, and she moaned, her eyes closing as she licked the cream cheese from her lips. “That is so damn tasty. How did I not know about this place?”
“It’s a closely guarded secret.”
“Well, I’m glad that I’m on your side. I get to share in your secret.” She winked at him. “So, boss, where do you think I need to improve my awesomeness?”
“We can cut out the snacks, and change your soda for some smoothies or water.” He made a few more notes and handed it back to her. “I want you to keep up with this, and at the end, we’ll do some results.” He took a bite of his bagel, and watched as she nodded.
“None of this will alert my mom?” she asked.
“None at all. The smoothies can just be down to a preference. Maybe say you had it with a friend.”
“I like that. I must get Kim to like those smoothies.”
He grabbed his cell phone, and started locating a great website. “What’s your phone number?”
“Why?”
“I can email you this good site with great smoothie recipes.”
“Oh, of course, silly me.” She gave him her number and her email address.
“Great.” He took another bite of his bagel.
“This is really good stuff.”
“You’re doing really good. There is one thing I’m going to ask though, and I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”
“Hit me with it.”
“I should have asked you last week, but I forgot, and to be honest I didn’t think you’d stick with it.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“I need to take a picture of you, for my paper.”
“Why?”
“It’s a before, and then I’ll take an after shot.”
“You want a before picture of me?”
“Yes. It will help with my paper. It’s no big deal, and it doesn’t even have to be with your head on.”
She laughed. “Yeah, it kind of does, but I know what you mean. A picture from the neck down. I’ve seen a lot of them. Erm, sure, where do you want to do it?”
“Maybe back at my place again. We can drive over now, after lunch, I can take some pics, and that’ll be it.”
“Oh, wait, what about tomorrow?” she asked.
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’m walking to your place to get measured, why don’t we just do the pictures then? It could be fun.” She finished her bagel, licking her lips.
“Sure, we’ll do it then.” He was happy to have an excuse to spend some time with her tomorrow, but he was also gutted that he’d not been able to think of something reasonable to keep them together longer today.
Fuck!
“What are you doing today?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Probably do some more weights when I get home.”
“Seriously? You don’t think you work out enough?”
“What else is there to do?”
“I don’t know. Watch a movie, go and see some beautiful sights.”
“We live in a neighborhood where everything is pristine, and beautiful, and there’s nothing out of place. It’s clinical.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’ve just not been looking hard enough. Come on.” She stood up, throwing him some notes.
“What?”
“Go pay, and I’ll grab my car. Come on.” He found her giggle intoxicating.
Paying for their food, he met her outside. Climbing into her car, he did his seatbelt, and waited. “Okay, where is this fun?”
“Relaxation, my friend.” She pulled away from the deli, and went up onto the highway.
“Where are we going?”
“Just relax. I know what I’m doing. So, about two years ago, Dad was super stressed about a murder case he was working on. It was a big deal. Mom and Dad were fighting, and everything was going to shit, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
“It’s just us here.”
“I know. I know. Anyway, Mom threatened him with a divorce unless he slowed down. To be honest, I think he was going to die from all the stress anyway, but, one weekend he took us on a camping vacation. I don’t mean hotels either, I mean actual camping, tents, beds, a gas stove, you name it. It completely rocked. Probably the best weekend of my life with my parents.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“All you do is work out, and I know it’s for fun, but I want you to have a chance to relax, and just to see the world a little differently. I’m not saying stop, and turn into a slob. You still need all of those girls to lose themselves over you.”
“Wow, Elsa, are you paying me a compliment?”
“Yeah, come on, you know you’re hot. Everyone knows you’re hot. You hang out with the hot brigade.”
He laughed. “I didn’t know you were an admirer.”
“So, what I’m thinking is I show you the world through a new perspective.”
“How did you get on with camping?” he asked.
“At first I didn’t like it. In a tent around lots of people with bugs, and the risk of getting murdered in my sleep, but being around my parents with nothing to distract them, it was awesome. No phone, no laptop, no other world but the one we made.”
“It sounds great.”
“It was.”
They drove for over an hour, and Noah relaxed, enjoying the ride. She didn’t pull up into a camping zone, however. She pulled up in a parking lot that had several cars already there. Some people were packing away equipment.
“Come on.”
“This is where you camped?”
“Oh, no. That weekend, we explored the beauty surrounding the camp, which is probably an hour’s walk that way.” She pointed somewhere west. Leaving the car, she grabbed his hand. “Let’s go.”
There was a walkway with trees on either side, and within seconds they were surrounded by woodland.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll know it when you see it.”
Noah followed her up a steep incline, using the excuse of steadying her to hold onto her hips to help her up.
They had been walking and climbing for a good twenty minutes, and then there was a clearing at the top. Everything opened up, and he saw a railing in place. Moving toward it, he looked down and gasped. It was really high up.
“Some people use this to parachute, but look,” she said, pointing across.
He followed her finger and overlooked the beautiful country. The mass of forest, and he even caught sight of a lake—it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
“Wow,” he said.
“It’s pretty awesome right? Bird watchers come here, hikers, and photographers alike. They all love the view, and it’s so magical.”
He saw it. Noah saw it all. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“I come here to think about the world, and what I’d like to be. This, the beauty, the nature, it puts everything into perspective.”
Noah stared at her, and he was struck by how beautiful she was. “Yeah, it really does.”
Chapter Five
“Where are you going?” her mother asked.
Elsa glanced across the kitchen island to see her mother staring at her. “To a friend.” She tapped her bag. “We’ve got to work on our English assignment.”
“Oh¸ you didn’t say anything about going out today.”
“I’ll be back for dinner.”
Lorna, her mother, nodded. “I was hoping we could go to the country club today, maybe have some dinner. I put you a dress on your bed. I thought you might like to wear it.”
She’d seen the dress. It was an old fifties style dress that nipped in at the waist, and flared out. Elsa had tried it on last night, and of course she couldn’t do it up. The dress was a size too small.
“Erm, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want to go to the country club, Lorna. I’ll take you out to dinner. We can bring something back for Elsa, right?”