by Jane Josephs
A variety of equipment had been stacked by the ship’s railing. Alison caught Kayla’s arm. “Okay, I know those bars are for pull-ups, but what’s all this other equipment for?”
Kayla pointed to green balls with handles. “Those are called kettlebells. You swing them over your head and between your legs in one smooth motion without a break. Beside those are the seventy-five-pound slam balls. The competitors will pick those up and roll them over their shoulder.”
“A whole lot of times, I’ll bet.”
“Yeah, CrossFit always includes repetitions. Not sure how many reps they’ll do today, but I’m sure it’s going to be a lot.” Kayla pointed to another piece of equipment with wheels. “Not sure what these are called, but I know the teams will do squat-thruster reps, so these probably get transformed somehow.” Kayla turned. “The last piece is the box.” She pointed to a square plywood box about eighteen inches high. “And that’s it. Easy, right?” She laughed. “Let’s get over to our group. I want you to meet everyone.”
Several groups had already set up pop-up canopies around the perimeter of the deck to provide shelter from the rain. Portable lawn chairs and coolers were clustered under them. Alison skirted around a man and two women who were warming up for the competition and hurried after Kayla.
A light drizzle began to fall. The lawn chair she had borrowed flapped against her backside as she walked. Her backpack, barely clinging to her other shoulder, slid down her arm, and she almost bumped into Tony trying to catch it.
“Hi, gang,” Tony said, coming to stand under a blue pop-up.
Alison studied three men who were talking at the back of the pop-up, all of them tall and lean. They greeted Tony and Kayla and passed over her with a quick glance. One of them leaned in to speak to a very attractive young woman with a baby in her lap. At her side, a wagon held blankets, a few toys, and other baby gear. The man lifted the baby out of the woman’s arms and came to greet Tony.
“CJ!” The men high-fived. “Glad you could make it. I don’t see Nick or Spitz. They here?” Tony rubbed the baby’s head and stroked his cheek.
“Spitz called. He’s at Starbucks, so he’ll be here in a few. Nick’s probably right behind him.”
Kayla turned to Alison. “Just leave your stuff for now. Let me introduce you to everybody.”
Alison dropped her backpack and the bag holding the lawn chair near the edge of the pop-up. She turned in time to see two of the guys walking away. “Looks like we lost a couple.”
“Don’t worry about them. We’ll catch them later.” Kayla squatted beside the woman who had been holding the baby. “Hey, Katie. How’s married life?”
Katie beamed, her smile a mile wide. “Couldn’t be better. The Lord is so good!” Katie glanced at the man holding the baby and smiled. “CJ’s a great dad, too.”
Kayla pulled Alison forward. “Katie Jansen meet Alison Dockerty. She joined CrossFit just two weeks ago. I talked her into coming with us today.”
“Hey, Alison. It’s so nice to meet you,” Katie said, with just a trace of a Southern accent.
“You have a darling baby,” Alison said. “What’s his name and how old is he?”
“We call him Timmy, and he’s eight months old. Which means he’s into everything!”
“Now I see why you brought the wagon.” Alison grinned.
Kayla patted Alison’s shoulder. “I talked Alison into coming to the party tonight, too.”
“That’s great. We’re coming, too . . . for a little while, at least. We don’t want to miss the celebration, since we’re praying that all our guys win today!”
“Amen to that,” Kayla replied.
Alison stepped back. What kind of people had she gotten herself mixed up with? Were they going to start in on her like her mother did, quoting Bible verses that made no sense to her? Just then, Tony let out a whoop, startling her from her thoughts. Alison turned and caught her breath. The most gorgeous guy she had ever seen high-fived Tony and dropped his bag next to hers.
Chapter 2
More people had joined the group by the time Kayla signaled Alison to come forward. “Hey, everybody! This is Alison Dockerty.” She began naming the people in the group one by one. “You met Katie and baby Timmy already. This is CJ, Katie’s husband. And this is his partner, Dustin. They’re Team One.” She gestured to the cute girl standing beside him. “This is Ashley, Dustin’s girlfriend.”
Alison nodded and smiled. “Hi, nice to meet you.”
Then Kayla turned to two men Alison had seen earlier standing at the back of the pop-up. “These two clowns are Spitz and Joe. They’re Team Three.”
Joe groaned, and Spitz quipped, “Hey! At least we’re funny!”
“And this is Nick, Tony’s partner on Team Two.”
“Hi,” Nick mumbled, and walked away.
“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Alison said. “Good luck today.”
Turning away, Alison set up her lawn chair and reviewed the names of the people in the group in her head. But it was Nick, with his dark hair and sexy eyes, that made her heart race. Alison smiled to herself, already imagining the blog she could write. But he had barely said hi before walking away. Did he have a girlfriend, too? Alison sighed, hoping he didn’t. She was here to make friends and get inspiration for her blog. But, if a little something more developed, well, she wouldn’t complain. It had been a year since her last crush ended and she didn’t like going out alone.
A couple of the guys followed Tony out from under the pop-up. Joe stopped beside her.
“It’s nice of you to come today, Alison. Especially in this weather.” He lifted his cap and resettled it on his reddish-brown hair. “Did I hear Kayla say you’ve only been doing CrossFit for two weeks? How’s it going for you?”
Alison laughed. “It’s killing me. I don’t know what I was thinking, since I haven’t ever done anything like CrossFit before. I’m a history buff, so reading and traveling are more my thing.”
Joe nodded, “History, huh? That’s cool. Any particular period in history?”
Before she could answer, a woman called his name. Joe’s face lit up and he turned.
“Oh, good. You’re here. Alison, this is Olivia, my girlfriend. She’s in the women’s competition today.”
Olivia and Joe kissed, just a brief touch of their lips, but even so, Joe’s cheeks turned pink. Alison grinned at his discomfort and studied Olivia. She had a round face, dimpled cheeks, platinum blonde hair that trailed down her back in a long braid, and a body that confirmed a serious commitment to working out. She draped one hand on Joe’s shoulder and stuck out the other one in greeting. “Hi, Alison. Nice to meet you. Are you in the competition today, too?”
“No, no. There’s no way I’ll ever be ready for this.”
Olivia’s eyes sparkled with energy and passion. “Oh, never say never. Once you get into the routine of things, it’s fun to push yourself as hard as you can in competitions. And no matter what, your box is the best support ever. They’re there for you.”
Still learning the lingo, it took Alison several seconds before she remembered that ‘box’ referred to her exercise facility and the people who trained there regularly. “Oh, right,” she said.
Olivia smiled. “They’re kicking your butt, aren’t they? I remember what it was like when I first started.”
“You’re right about that,” Alison said.
Joe scanned the area. “Well, we should probably find Becca.”
“She’s my teammate,” Olivia said as she tucked her hand in Joe’s and turned to go. “We’ll catch you later. Keep up the good work.”
“I’ll try,” Alison said, and went in the opposite direction to look for the restroom.
~ ~ ~
The first meet had started by the time Alison returned. She crow
ded into an open space next to Kayla to see the action. Eight teams were already in place in a circle in the middle of the deck. One guy from each team stood swinging the green kettlebell between his legs, then over his head in a smooth repetitive move. Tony made swinging the kettlebell look easy, despite having a cumbersome-looking scuba-type tank on his back.
“Why aren’t Joe and Spitz out there? Alison asked, her gaze shifting across the circle to see CJ swing the kettlebell while Dustin, Joe, and Spitz stood on the sidelines with Ashley, Timmy, and Katie.
“There are twenty-four men’s teams competing today, so they’re in the next group.”
“That’s a lot of muscle in one place!” Alison laughed. “How much do those things they’re swinging weigh and how many swings do they have to do?” she asked, leaning into Kayla.
“The kettlebells weigh fifty pounds. Each guy will do a set of thirty reps with it followed by thirty reps of squat-thrusters. Then, the other guy on the team goes in and does the same drill. We didn’t know until we got here that the guys had to wear those tanks on their backs. They add fifteen pounds.
“Ugh,” Alison groaned and sneaked a peek at Nick, waiting to relieve Tony. Arms folded across his chest, he stood with his legs apart, watching his teammate. A day’s worth of facial hair accentuated his dark, classic good looks. His gaze shifted from Tony to the other contestants and back again before he caught her staring at him. She turned away quickly, her pulse racing.
In the next few minutes, Tony finished the thirty reps and moved to stand on a small platform in front of a pole with weights on either end. Shoving his feet into foot clamps on the platform, he hoisted a barbell, attached by elastic cords on either end of the platform, off the ground and over his head. When he brought the barbell back to his chest, he squatted and repeated the move. Thirty times.
The Dirty Boat Guys’ fans began to cheer. Alison joined in, pumping her fist in the air. On the other side of the circle, CJ finished his thrusts and changed places with Dustin.
Nick moved to take Tony’s place and grabbed the kettlebell.
Alison pursed her lips and exhaled slowly at the sight of Nick executing the kettlebell repetitions, his body moving in perfect rhythm with each swing. The Dirty Boat Guys were a good-looking bunch, but none as smoking-hot as Nick. Finally remembering to breathe normally, Alison studied him. He wore a brown T-shirt, imprinted with the team name. The cotton conformed to his broad chest; the sleeves barely covered his muscled biceps. What she could see of his legs, encased in black Virus compression pants under a pair of Nike exercise shorts, revealed sculpted calf muscles. Alison licked her lips, enjoying the view. Since others were taking pictures and videos, she moved away from Kayla to take a couple of pictures of Nick with her phone. In her mind, she began crafting the fantasy that would fill her next blog post. What would it be like to be with a Dirty Boat Guy as hot as Nick?
~ ~ ~
With one foot on the bottom rail, Nick leaned his forearms on the top railing of the Iowa and stared across the water at the dock where hundreds of cargo containers waited for shipment. Several tall cranes filled the skyline, while below on the dock a frenzy of trucks came and went. Commerce. Jobs. Profits. The wheels that kept the country moving.
Without looking, he knew Alison had him in her sights. It had been like that all day. The glances, the momentary locking of eyes, the pretended indifference. The question was: Did he want to do anything about it?
She intrigued him. No doubt about that. Those black-brown eyes. Beautiful smile. That lush hair, thicker than the mane of their prized Quarter Horse, Dotty. Would it be as silky to his touch? Nick stood and turned away, clamping down hard on his thoughts. Alison Dockerty was a too-skinny beauty with teasing eyes who made friends easily and laughed often. Did she have a boyfriend? Or was she looking for one? Nick grimaced. He was here to compete, not to find a girlfriend. Hadn’t he had enough heartache with women in the past? Two of the three heats were over already. One more to go.
And then, a party.
He sighed and headed to the restroom, forcing himself to shut out the dark thoughts that tormented him. In the mirror over the sink, he stared at himself, not seeing an athlete, but a coward. Turning on the faucet, he cupped his hands and splashed water on his face several times before reaching for a paper towel. His stomach growled. He’d left his bag beside Alison’s chair early this morning and done his best to ignore it. And her. But now, it was crunch time; either he had to go talk to her or go hungry.
~ ~ ~
She had waited too long. Nick had disappeared. Alison groaned and dropped her head to her hand. Why hadn’t she gone to speak to him? If she wanted to get to know him, she obviously would have to make the first move. So far, he had practically ignored her.
The skies had cleared and most of the team had scattered, leaving her alone under the pop-up. CJ and Katie had packed Timmy in the wagon and headed down the ship gangplank with Dustin and Ashley to go out for lunch. Kayla and Tony were on the other side of the deck talking to the woman who was moderating the competition, and Joe, Olivia, and Spitz were talking with Olivia’s team.
Hoisting her backpack onto her lap, Alison railed at herself for chickening out with Nick. His bag still sat beside her chair. He had to get it sooner or later, didn’t he? Maybe not. Maybe he’d left the ship to get some lunch with the others. The next meet didn’t start until 1:30. She unzipped her bag and got out her iPad. She logged onto the website of the U.S.S. Iowa and began to read about the ship. When she looked up, her heart leaped to her throat.
Nick was coming her way.
“Hi,” he said, squatting to unzip his bag. “You all alone over here? Where is everybody?”
Alison shrugged. “Some went to lunch, and everybody else just sort-of drifted off.” She glanced at the iPad in her hands, self-conscious at being abandoned. Before Nick could leave, she blurted out, “Did you know this ship has a bathtub?” The minute the information was out of her mouth, Alison blushed. Is that the best you can do?
Nick stopped, a protein bar and a baggie of chicken in his hands. He chuckled. “No. Is that right? I had no idea.”
Alison barely controlled a giggle. The electricity crackled between them. He was beyond cute when he laughed. “See, it says so right here on the museum website. There’s even a picture.” She leaned in to show him the page.
He leaned in to look, his head inches from hers.
She inhaled the fragrance of him.
He glanced at her and just as quickly looked back at the iPad. A hint of pink filled his cheeks. “You’re right. They installed it for President Roosevelt.” He leaned back. “Well, I guess that makes sense. In the 1940s, they didn’t make showers that were wheelchair accessible.”
He opened his bag of chicken. “Did you bring some lunch? If not, I could share.” He held out the bag and their eyes met.
Alison’s breath caught. “Oh, no, but thanks. I brought a sandwich. Peanut butter. I’m not a vegetarian. I just didn’t have anything else handy.” She dropped her iPad into her lap and dug in her backpack. A crazy happy dance pounded in her chest at his closeness. After a minute of searching, she retrieved a very smashed sandwich from her backpack. “Good thing I didn’t have time to add jelly. That would have been a total mess.” Opening the baggie, she pulled out the sandwich, took a big bite, and instantly regretted it. The peanut butter stuck to the roof of her mouth, making it hard to swallow.
In typical guy fashion, Nick ate quickly without speaking. He found a bottle of water in his bag and offered it to her. “Do you need this? I have an insulated water bottle, and I re-filled it after that second meet, so I don’t need it.”
She held up her Starbucks cup. “I used this to get some water in the restroom after I finished my coffee. It still smells like coffee, but it works. But thanks.” Her sandwich forgotten, she asked, “Would you like an
apple?” Putting her coffee cup in the chair cup holder, she hoisted her backpack on her lap and smiled. “I’ve . . . got one . . . right here.” She frantically pushed clothing around her backpack until she found the apple and held it up. “It’s a Pink Lady.”
His eyes twinkled. “Pink Lady, huh? That fits you.” He made a point of inspecting her pink hoodie before looking at her apple. “You’re not going to eat it?”
“No, no, it’s all yours.” His hand brushed hers as he took the apple, and Alison shivered.
“Thanks.” He licked his lips and shot her a glance. “I’m partial to Pink Ladies. Apples, that is. Pink Lady apples.” He ducked his head and took a big bite.
Alison’s stomach lurched. Was he flirting with her? She dropped her backpack beside her chair.
Nick pointed at the iPad. “What else did you learn about the Iowa?”
“Oh, yes.” She lifted the tablet to read from the website, her sandwich forgotten. “Well, this is the crazy part. One of those little-known stories that make history so interesting and fun to study.” She glanced at Nick.
“Go on.” A smile lurked on his lips. He finished the apple and stuffed the core in his used baggie.
“Okay, well, it seems that while President Roosevelt was on the ship heading to Casablanca, he asked the crew on the Iowa to conduct an anti-aircraft drill. So, they released balloons to use as targets, and they shot some down. But a few drifted toward one of their escort ships, the U.S.S. William Porter, which shot down the rest. Then the Porter demonstrated a torpedo drill by simulating a launch at the Iowa.” Alison glanced at Nick and shook her head. “Well, you guessed it. The drill went awry, and a torpedo accidentally fired and headed toward the Iowa. Meanwhile, Roosevelt had asked his Secret Service men to move him in his wheelchair to the side of the battleship, so he could see the action. The Iowa had to turn hard right to avoid being hit, and the torpedo exploded in the ship’s wake.”
