Sweat Box

Elle frowned at her figure in the mirror. Thanksgiving dinner had been gratifying but had left behind extra rolls, bulges and dips in her frame. Elle had lost about 60 pounds last year, but slowly (yet surely) the weight was creeping back.

“That’s it.” She said to herself. “I’m going back to the gym.” Elle turned to the side and patted her tummy. “I knew my 16’s were getting a little snug.”  To most, a size 16 may seem like a big, but for Elle who had begun her weight loss journey in a size 24, it was the smallest she had ever been. Elle was a beautiful girl, but she was still shy about her weight.  She lacked the confidence to go after guys but she always had the confidence and determination needed to pursue any other goal.  This weight situation was no different. She was sure she could muster enough energy to work out if it meant knocking out some weight loss goals.

Elle went to her dresser and pulled out her soft pink velour sweatpants which clung tightly to her curvy body. The snug fit of the pants caused her to wrinkle her nose in disgust and she quickly pulled on a white v-neck cotton tee-shirt to conceal it.“Yep. Definitely need to lose some weight.” She  swiped the keys off her desk and walked out of the door despite the fact that it was 8:30p.m.on a Saturday night. She was seriously dreading this workout and was only going to the gym because she had to, not because she wanted to.

After traveling for about 20 minutes, Elle whipped into the parking lot and only saw three cars. She was baffled. Was the gym even open?  Probably not. She hadn’t been to the gym in a long time. Squinting at the building, she notice that the lights were still on.  She got out of her car to investigate further  and walked up to the door . According to the sign adorning the door, the gym stayed open on  Saturday nights until 10. It was only 8:55 so she decided that she had time to sneak in a quick workout. “I guess other people just have better ways to spend their Saturday nights.” She trudged to the car to grab her workout bag . It was a must because Elle got so sweaty after workouts and it drove her crazy. She always had to shower after her workout.

Elle pulled on the door and peered in.  There was absolutely no one in there except the front desk clerk who greeted her with a smile. “Private workout session, huh?”

“Looks like it.“  Elle grinned back. “Well you’ve got the gym all to yourself so you can have your pick of the machines. Usually there’s like a waiting list you know.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Elle put her bag in the locker room and strolled into the gym to begin her stretches. “This is probably for the best,” she thought.  “Now I don’t have to worry about embarrassing myself in front of anyone.”  Elle walked over to elliptical and popped on her ipod shuffle. She set her time for thirty five minutes and began working out. The music through her headphones streamed in and spurred her on through her workout. Before she knew it the 35 minutes were up.  She looked at her watch and knew she needed to prepare to leave; she just wanted to do a few reps on the lat bar located at the very back of the gym and then she would shower and leave. Normally the lat bar was too crowded to try out, but tonight the gym was empty so she strolled over to the weight room located behind a small wall. Thanking God for small miracles, Elle reached up and began pulling on the lat bar until her bottom rested on the bench. Her eyebrows knitted and her tongue hanging out trying to pump out the reps quickly so she would have time to shower before the gym closed.

Elle had been so focused on getting through her workouts that she hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t alone. “Excuse me.” Elle looked up to see an attractive light skinned black man standing on the other side of her. He had nice full lips, a closely shaved head, and eyes that twinkled with mischief. Her eyes drank in his handsome face and then clouded in confusion as to who he could be. No one else was in here when she had arrived and she hadn’t seen anyone else come in. 

“Sorry. You probably want to use the lat bar and I’ve been hogging it. I’ll be done in a few minutes. I didn’t know someone was waiting.” Elle apologized. “Actually no.” he gestured to his chest and his soft lips curled into a smile. Elle was trying hard to remain impassive, but she was losing the battle. Her breath quickened as her gaze poured over his impressive body and took in his firm chest, strong shoulders and sculpted arms. Elle licked her lips and attempted to will her nipples from reacting as her eyes fell on a large cross tattoo feathered across his biceps. She almost succeeded but, then she noticed his defined calves and thick thighs peeking from under his workout shorts.

“I’m a trainer here at Platinum Gym.” He continued ignoring her examining eyes. “I thought I could help you out.” He offered.  “Huh?” Elle was confused until she looked at his chest again and noticed the word TRAINER printed on the front of his chest. “Oh.”

“Yeah. I noticed you working on the lat machine. Most women try to avoid it and just stick to cardio, but lifting weights only enhances the workout.”

 “Oh.”

“Yeah.  I noticed that you were not doing the lat pull correctly. You mind if I show you the proper technique?” he grinned.  “As a trainer it’s just my nature.”