BEAST

by Pace, Pepper

  His expression became concerned. “Are you okay to work out?”

  “Yes, my doctor gave me a clean bill of health. In fact he encourages me to exercise. I just have to take it slow.”

  He cleared his throat. “Um…if you like I can give you some pointers. I noticed that you don’t follow a regimen and I can suggest one that will be more effective and take half the time.”

  “Half the time?” She allowed her eyes to scan his awesome body before she looked down. “But I wouldn’t want to take you away from your workout or anything.”

  “Well…” Christopher cleared his throat and she saw his face turn red. When that happened the scars on his face stood out like white stripes. She tried not to stare and focused on his eyes. He had charcoal grey eyes; a contrast in light and dark, “I could work out with you.” He said hesitantly.

  Of course she would accept his kind offer. Who wouldn’t accept the offer of a free workout coach from a man with a perfect body? Obviously he knew what he was doing.

  “Since you workout every day and I workout every day, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t workout together. It would make it more interesting; that and the music.” She glanced at the boom box. Time had ended and another Pink Floyd song was playing. “I don’t know that song but I know the album; The Dark Side of the Moon.”

  “Us and Them,” he said while staring at her. “You like Pink Floyd?”

  “This album is the only thing I know by the group…well except that song about the Wall. My friend and I watched The Wizard of Oz and he said that if you played this album it would be like a soundtrack to the movie.”

  “Ah…The Darkside of the Rainbow. Yes, it’s pretty cool.”

  She was surprised. “You’ve done it too?”

  “A few times, actually.”

  “Me too, a few times,” she admitted. She had loved the experience of watching one of her favorite fantasy movies against the strange ethereal backdrop of music. It gave a new, funky dynamic to the classic. “I remember that while this song played they were dancing down the yellow brick road and the music perfectly matched their footsteps.”

  “Yep, remember when the house got carried away by the tornado? The Great Gig in the Sky was playing and it was almost impossible to imagine that it was only coincidence that the music and action matched so perfectly.”

  “I was thinking the same thing! There was cackling laughter playing while Dorothy saw visions of the wicked witch!” She exclaimed. She could barely believe that this big tough guy had confessed to watching The Wizard of Oz…and more than once. She couldn’t even beg DeAngelo to watch it with her even with the backdrop of Pink Floyd’s music. As a matter of fact he had said he didn’t want to listen to ‘white people music’. He was so dumb. Wait…did she really think that? Yeah, she had and he was!

  “Ready?” He asked flashing her that crooked grin again, she smiled back.

  “Ready.” He made her tell him exactly what she’d had to eat this morning and he nodded in approval. And then they went through a routine that was both fun and much quicker. There were ten reps. He told her to spend only sixty seconds on each, no more, no less. Take a 30 second break between each and then start the next exercise. At first she gave him a questioning look because it seemed way too easy. After stretching they began with jumping jacks. Sixty seconds of jumping jacks wasn’t really that hard—other than the fact that she’d neglected to wear a sports bra and her boobs bounced around harder than she did.

  Christopher was kind enough not to look and she was very embarrassed. He had a stop watch and when he called time they just stood around and talked, about music about exercise and then they went on to the next exercise and on and on through ten exercises. She was sweating like a pig at the end but she also felt good.

  “Are you okay, Ashleigh?” He asked when she leaned over her knees and caught her breath. She nodded and swiped her brow. He passed her her bottled water. “Stay hydrated.” She nodded and took a long drink. “You’re not going to pass out are you?” He looked concerned, worrying that he had worked her too hard.

  “No.” She said while straightening. “But I do have to go and check my blood sugar level. Hey, Christopher, you think we can start working out at six instead of 5:30? I’m going to have all kinds of extra time on my hands at this rate.”

  “That works for me.”

  She smiled at him. “See you tomorrow. And thanks again.” She figured that he was only doing this to help her out and she really appreciated it—even if it was just because he felt sorry for the fat lady. He certainly didn’t need to work out. He was perfect.

  ~***~

  Christopher stood there momentarily before remembering the camera and then he tucked his head down and left the small gymnasium and headed for the security office. They had different locker rooms than the civilians and as he walked purposefully toward them he noted that not one person gave him a strange look, made offensive references or gave him a hard time for working out with the civilian. He knew they’d been watching because what else was there to do? So why…?

  Damnit, they had a bet on him!

  He didn’t mention it and no one tried to encourage him one way or the other. But he wanted no parts of their games and was happy to be left alone. That night he stopped at the supermarket. He’d already picked up his normal groceries for the week Saturday morning. But now he needed extras, like fruit and fresh vegetables. He wasn’t sure what kind…so he just picked several different kinds.

  When he got home he picked Maggie up in his big hands and held her up, staring into her kitty face. “Guess what? I made a new friend.” She purred and batted her kitty eyes and he gave her ears a brief stroke before letting her down. He flipped on the CD player and slipped in the Dark Side of the Moon CD while he went about his nightly chores.

  The next morning while he waited for Ashleigh he looked into the camera and flipped it the bird. Then he slipped in a mixed tape that he’d just created. There was a little Joan Jett, Summer Madness by Kool and the Gang and Us and Them because he knew that she was particularly fond of those tunes. He pulled out the mats and began his stretching.

  Ashleigh came in and plopped down next to him.

  “Good morning.”

  “Morning. Um, I brought you…” He passed her a thermos.

  She accepted it curiously. “What is it?”

  “It’s a protein drink. You don’t have to drink it if you don’t…want it.”

  “No, I do. Thanks.” She said quickly, not wanting to offend the nice man but truly not wanting a protein drink. They were nasty. She took a quick sip. She took another sip. “This is a protein drink?” It was good. “What’s in it?”

  “Protein powder, fruit; mango, pineapple, apple, oranges, strawberries…I wasn’t sure which fruit you liked so I kind of made a medley.”

  “You invented this yourself?”

  “Yep.” He grabbed his thermos. “This is what I have for breakfast every morning. Well, mine has less fruit and more vegetables. But I have kind of a strange taste. Vegetables actually taste good to me.”

  “Me too.” She said while smirking. “I like all food—which is my big problem.”

  He huffed. “Yeah you say you do, but do you like brussel sprouts?”

  “Yes; baked as a casserole with sliced onions and cheese. It’s very yummy.”

  “Asparagus?”

  “On the grill with slight dusting of parmesan cheese.”

  His eyes lit up. “Eggplant?”

  “Sauteed or roasted, but best on a veggie sandwich. Believe me Christopher…I like all food.”

  “You’re a foodie?”

  “Yes.” She gave him a sincere nod. “I would even eat a cow’s eyeball if it’s sautéed in butter and garlic.”

  Christopher cracked up laughing. “I can’t quite go that far, Ashleigh. Head cheese stops me cold. I once thought I saw an eyebrow in a slice of the stuff.” He grimaced. Now it was her turn to laugh.

  Christopher never fou
nd much of a reason to laugh. Sometimes he thought some of the guys told funny jokes and stories and he would chuckle along with them. But with Ashleigh he actually laughed. She was funny without even trying. Every day he would bring her a new smoothie so that she wouldn’t have to make breakfast before their workout. And since she loved all fruits and vegetables he would blend strange combinations and have her guess them. One day it was green grapes, green apples, cucumbers and spinach. Another day it was carrots, fresh ginger, apples and pomegranate juice.

  “You must spend a ton of money on this.” She said as she enjoyed his latest invention; a grapefruit, radish and pineapple protein smoothie.

  He shrugged. It cost a lot but he enjoyed creating something that tasted good enough to make her eyes roll up into her head. It was his big quest.

  “You should let me give you some money for this.” She said. She had offered before but he had quickly declined. They had been working out together for two weeks and Ashleigh actually understood what people were talking about when they claimed to be addicted to exercising. She looked forward to getting up every morning and getting to the gym. Her body was slow to look any differently, at least to her own eye although she had resorted to pulling out the smaller outfits that she had long ago outgrown and packed away.

  She had even bought new warm up pants because once while doing jumping jacks her other pair had begun to slip down and she’d had to hold them up with one hand. Lance and Kendra kept gushing over how much smaller she was but each night she pulled off her clothes and still saw a fat woman…

  “You guys, you should meet Christopher.” She said as they met for lunch. She had a chicken Ceasar salad with balsamic vinegar and oil dressing, no cheese.

  “You mean the scary man in the basement?” Lance asked. “No thanks.”

  “He is not scary.” She stabbed a chunk of chicken and shoved it into her mouth hungrily. “He is about the nicest guy I think I’ve ever met. I kind of want to invite him to lunch with us one day.” He seemed kind of lonely to her. He never said it, but he wasn’t married, no children and whenever she asked about his evening the only thing he ever said he did was play his guitar. He never mentioned any other people except his mother and father.

  “And he works with Homeland Security?” Kendra asked with interest. “It’d be nice to have some connections in Homeland Security.”

  “Well, I suppose if you are planning a career in international terrorism.” She swirled a tomato in the dressing and popped it into her mouth.

  “They make good money.”

  “I’m sure.” He certainly spent a ton on protein shakes. “He was telling me that he has to go out and bust drug dealers and gang members.” Ashleigh found herself grimacing. “He doesn’t like talking about it but it sounds dangerous.”

  “Did you ever find out about his face?” Lance asked. He was eating a bowl of gazpacho and Ashleigh kept eyeing it. She shook her head.

  “I don’t want to ask and he hasn’t offered to tell. It’s obvious that he has a hairlip, but the scar goes all the way up his forehead and into his scalp.”

  “Maybe he got hurt while he was on one of those dangerous missions.” Kendra said. She stared at Lance’s soup with interest, too. “Is that good?”

  He nodded. “Want some?” Both women lifted their spoons and began eating his soup to his surprise. He leaned back in his chair and smiled in amusement.

  “Rick and I are going away for the weekend.”

  “Ooo!” Kendra exclaimed.

  “Romantic weekend?” Ashleigh asked.

  His eyes rolled up in pleasure. “Romantic…most definitely romantic.”

  “He is good for you, Lance.” Ashleigh said and sighed.

  He placed his hand over hers. “You’re going to find your Mr. Right, Ash.”

  “Ivan still asks about you…” Kendra said while spooning more of Lance’s soup into her mouth. Ashleigh looked suddenly uncomfortable. “Damn, I can’t get enough of this. It’s so good.”

  Lance pulled his bowl away from her. “You are gaining all of the weight that Ashleigh is losing,” he said. And then his eyes got big. Kendra glanced away guiltily.

  “What?” Ashleigh asked while one of her friends kept staring and the other tried to avoid the stare.

  “You’re pregnant!” Lance accused.

  “What?!” Ashleigh asked. “But when?”

  “God, you bitches! You ruined the surprise. I was going to show you the ultrasound picture! Why did you have to go ruin it?!” She suddenly giggled happily and they hugged, knocking over Lance’s glass of Sangria in the process.

  “Oh my god, you’re going to be a Mommy!” Ashleigh gushed as they patted at the spilt wine with napkins. “Well how many months are you?”

  “I am five weeks.”

  “You’ve been pregnant five weeks and you haven’t told us!” Lance screeched.

  “I’ve only been certain two weeks!” She reached out and took her two best friend’s hands. “You don’t think I was going to hide my pregnancy for the full nine months, did you?”

  Ashleigh smiled but something inside of her dropped. Lance had Rick and they were falling in love. Kendra was going to have a baby. When was it going to be her turn?

  That night when she returned home from work, she slipped off her shoes, placed her jacket over the back of the dining room chair and curled up on her chez lounge still wearing her pencil skirt and silk blouse. She got up suddenly and slipped in Some Kind of Wonderful. She smiled as she watched Watts playing the drums.

  I wish I was cool like Watts, tough like Watts. I wish I was anybody but me.

  ~***~

  “Hey. You’re kind of quiet.” Christopher said, his accent heavy to Ashleigh’s ears. She was sipping her smoothie in deep thought. She glanced up and smiled.

  “Um…acai, cabbage and mango?”

  He chuckled. “Not even close.”

  “Not even one?”

  “Nope.”

  “I give up.”

  “Green apple, a tiny bit of watermelon, pears and green tea.”

  “Green tea?! That’s cheating. Whoever heard of a green tea smoothie?”

  He smiled. “It’s good though, right?”

  “Delicious.” He stood and then helped her up. Whenever he gave her a hands up she was again amazed by his height, and of course his big hand swallowed hers. Being a fat woman next to a man that was feet taller than you was good for the ego. She felt dwarfed by Christopher.

  “What’s it like being so close to the sun?” She had asked him once. His charcoal grey eyes had twinkled.

  “Amazing.”

  They went through their workout and when they got to the tenth rep she didn’t even believe it. “We’re done?”

  “Done.”

  “No way…I’m still breathing.”

  “Maybe it’s an indication that it’s time to up the reps?”

  “I’m game….um, tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow is fine.”

  “Bye Christopher.” His eyes followed her as she walked out of the room. Christopher headed to the security door grinning and humming and when it opened three guys were standing on the other side. The smile left his face.

  “If this is about y’all damn bet, I’m not interested.” He brushed past them.

  “Beast. There is no bet.”

  “Hmph.” He grunted and headed for the showers.

  “Beast. Christopher!” He stopped and turned. All three men were standing there glaring at him. “What the hell are you waiting for? Ask her out for Christ sakes!” A slow flush ran up his neck and enveloped his face.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Dude, you’ve been training her for a month. The girl likes you. Why else would she drink that shit you make every morning? And no girl works out five days a week!”

  Christopher looked away. “Don’t turn this into a game.” He turned back to them with a cold look on his face. “This isn’t a game.” His heart was drumming in his chest and
he was angry but unsure.

  Carlos stepped forward. “There is no bet. We’re all routing for you, Beast. That’s all. Just ask her out…or else.”

  He looked at Carlos in confusion. The big man flexed his muscles. He was a foot shorter than Christopher. He looked at the other two guys. They were flexing their muscles, too.

  “What in the hell do you mean, ‘or else?’” Christopher liked each of the guys he worked with. But he had never been threatened by any of them.