by Maxene Novak
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “Let’s get you in the water. You okay?”
Belle nodded, gritting her teeth. He waded down the steps. She braced for cold, but the pool was heated to a balmy temperature. She barely felt it, apart from the difference in pressure and buoyancy.
“Is the temperature okay?” he asked, as if reading her mind.
“It’s perfect,” she said, still surprised.
“Good. They usually bring it up to ninety-eight on Tuesdays.”
“How come?”
“Got the geriatric group coming in in…” He glanced up at the clock on the wall. “About fifteen minutes. Gotta keep the water a little warmer for them.”
“The geriatric class?” Belle’s face grew hot with anger. “You set this up so I’d have to work out with old people? Are you trying to humiliate me, or does it just come naturally to you?” She kicked away from him with her good leg and anchored herself to the wall, glaring at him with every ounce of hatred she had in her.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he said, raising his hands in a truce. “Now hold on a second, blondie. I set you up to join… or at least watch… this class, because I thought you could use the inspiration. Some of these folks have been through more life-altering illnesses and injuries than you could imagine, and they’re still here every Tuesday and Thursday like clockwork. Figured they could give you a shot of motivation.”
Belle crossed her arms and glowered. “I don’t need motivation,” she snapped. “I need a new goddamn leg.”
“Well I can’t give you that,” he snapped back. “What I can give you are examples of people who have overcome the impossible. Now. Do you want to work, or do you want to pout?”
His tone reminded Belle of her favorite hard-ass instructor. She checked herself, and pulled herself out of her defensive slouch, meeting his eyes with the fierce determination she’d pulled into place back in the locker room.
“Let’s do it,” she said.
Colt nodded briskly and waded toward her. “Alright. What I’m going to do is press my hand against your thigh. I want you to try and move it. Okay?”
“Okay.”
She could have twisted the words to change the meaning, but she followed his cue and kept it professional. Even so, his hand on her bare thigh made her mind wander to other things she could be doing in the pool. She couldn’t seem to get enough of it, between Ruger and Colt. To be fair, the last man to touch her in any kind of sensual way had been Ramone, and for all the romance and erotic tension they gave the audience, it was strictly professional between them.
She’d never had time for much else; she took a lover here and there as she toured, but they were few and far between. Ramone took so much of her emotional and physical energy, and fed her so much in return, that she’d never missed it before. The last couple months had brought the loneliness of her existence into the sphere of her awareness, and now she craved something she never had before. Colt’s benign, clinical touch on her naked skin was like crumbs of food to her starving soul, whetting her appetite.
She swallowed against the feeling and ignored the heat building in her belly. She pressed her thigh against his hand until it hurt, bringing her sharply back down to earth.
“Alright, that’s good,” he said quietly.
His voice had taken on a husky tone, and she wondered if he was feeling what she’d felt. She didn’t meet his eyes. She couldn’t predict what she would do if she did.
“Now turn this way… hold onto the side there, very good… I’m going to do the same thing on the outside of your thigh. Push against me again.”
He was behind her now, his hand flat against her thigh. It felt like dancing, and she reminded her muscles that they knew this one. They tried to please her, and they made a valiant effort, but it was too much. There was too much damage there, and she’d barely pressed at all when it hurt.
“Alright, good job. Now to the back.”
She pressed against him and didn’t even ripple the water.
“Very good. Now I want you to hook your arms over the wall… just like that, good… and let your legs float up.”
She tried. Her right leg floated up just fine, though it felt a little stiff. But her left leg hung at an awkward angle, unable to make a true right angle without some pressure from underneath.
“Relax your knee, see how it bends on its own,” he instructed.
Her knee bent, almost imperceptibly.
“Alright, good. What I want you to do now is relax completely. I’m going to move your leg at the joints, I don’t want you to resist or assist at all. You’re a doll, you have no control over this leg at all. Understand?”
“Understood,” she told him.
She couldn’t suppress the quiver in her belly when he took control of her body. He manipulated her leg with gentle, firm pressure. Exactly the right kind. His hands slid from ankle to knee to hip and back down again, waking up nerves that had been in a shock-induced coma for entirely too long. It felt wonderful.
And then, all of a sudden, it really, really didn’t. As blood began to circulate unhindered through her damaged tissues, her leg throbbed and swelled painfully.
“Stop, please, enough,” she gasped.
“Sharp pain?” he asked.
“No… throbbing… all through it,” she said with a grimace.
“Like you worked out too hard, or like you tore something?”
“The first one, but… more so?”
Colt nodded, as if that made sense. He checked the clock on the wall.
“We only have a couple minutes before I have to let the class in. Come sit over on the stairs for a minute and just let your legs float free. We’re waking it up, and it’s not going to be happy about it. I’d like you to try to join the class, but don’t push too hard. It’s just day one, remember. We’ve got months of work ahead of us.”
With that, he left her to open the doors for the geriatric aquasize class.
Chapter Twelve
Belle felt ridiculous in her tiny bikini as the women filed in for the class. Each of them wore a full-body suit in muted colors, with bright splashes of flowers. Most of the suits had skirts that floated around the women like tiny tutus as they entered the water. Belle felt naked and young, utterly out of place.
A lively chatter filled the pool room, and male voices joined those moments later. There were fewer men than women by half, but Belle still felt exposed. She shifted on the stairs until she was pressed firmly against the wall. Colt was busy greeting his clients, congratulating some and inquiring after their families. He seemed to know them well.
One lady took an interest in Belle, in spite of Belle’s best efforts to remain invisible.
“Are you here for the class, sugar?” she asked in a friendly drawl.
The woman was about seventy, and had short, spiked, blue hair. Old tattoos decorated her thick arms, and her freckled chest implied hundreds of summer days spent in the sun. Belle liked her immediately.
“Yeah, I, uh… I guess I am,” Belle told her.
“Well you better go get some weights before they’re gone,” the woman told her. “I can show you the best ones!”
“Thanks, but… I can’t really walk without my brace, so I guess I’m gonna go weight-free this round,” Belle said, embarrassed by the admission.
“Oh no!” The woman frowned. “Such a pretty young thing to be broken down. What a shame. That’s alright dear, I’ll get them for you.”
“Oh… thank you,” Belle said as the woman hauled herself out of the pool and walked briskly over to the rack. She was back in a moment, with twenty pounds worth of weights cradled in her arms.
“There we are!” she said brightly. “I’m Persephone by the way, but my friends call me Percy.”
She dumped the weights by the side of the pool and stuck out her hand. Belle took it and shook firmly, as she was accustomed to.
“My goodness! I might have misjudged you, maybe you need the ten pounders,”
Percy said with a grin.
“Oh, no! Five is fine,” Belle laughed. “I’m Belle, and it’s wonderful to meet you, Percy. To be honest, I wasn’t real thrilled when I found out I was going to be taking this class.”
“Found out? Did a friend sign you up? Good lord, same thing happened to me! See that round little woman over there? The bottle blonde with the gauges? Yeah, she signed me up. Didn’t even tell me just bought me a suit one day and said, ‘get in the car Percy, we’re gonna get hot bods!’” Percy laughed from her belly, and Belle found herself laughing along with her.
“Sounds like a good friend,” Belle said with a grin.
“Oh yeah, you know, she and I have been at each other’s throats since third grade,” Percy said fondly.
Suddenly music filled the room.
“Ooh, come on! You come stand by me, I’ll show you the ropes.” Percy winked at her and grabbed her hand, hauling her up off the step. Belle winced, expecting pain, but the warm water supported her perfectly and she floated behind her new friend.
“Best part of this class? The teacher’s really hot,” Percy stage whispered, pointing at Colt.
“He sure is,” Belle agreed.
“You should ask him out! You’re about the same age.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Belle said, blushing.
“Oh come on, let this old lady live vicariously through you!” Percy nudged her with her elbow, nearly tipping her over.
“Alright, alright!” Belle laughed. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good,” Percy said gleefully. “I want to hear every dirty detail on Thursday.”
Belle was just about to retort when Colt shouted for their attention. He stood at the edge of the pool, modeling movements for them while he yelled instructions. It was fun, until it began to hurt. Fortunately, Colt was sensitive to the needs of his older clients, and he frequently switched up the focal body parts.
It felt good to be training again, even if the exercise was laughable in comparison to her regular routine. What used to be her regular routine, she corrected. She wondered if she’d ever be able to punish her body the way she used to. Part of her missed it desperately. Part of her, though, was beginning to appreciate the gentle movements she was forced to make. It was easy, in a way nothing had ever been easy before.
She’d never allowed things to be easy. She’d always pushed herself, always sought the next challenge. A part of her mind was terrified that complacency was a sort of surrender, that to be happy with herself as she was would mean that she would never reach her full potential. She used to feel that potential inside her, unfurling every time she learned something new, pressing against her insides whenever she’d spent too long in one place. It had driven her first to perfection, then to destruction.
She could still feel it. Shocked and broken, but still there, urging her to learn something new, to push a little harder. She flipped the switch and turned off the pain, ignoring the steady ache building in her left side. She was in her element, in her zone; she was training now. Pain wasn’t allowed in her space until the class was over.
It hit her forty-five minutes later. Percy congratulated her on her tenacity as she hobbled out of the pool to put the weights back in their slots. Suddenly Belle’s ears were ringing and the corners of her vision darkened. Dizzy, she lost her balance and collapsed sideways into the pool in a faint.
She came to seconds later, sputtering and gasping for air. She was cradled in Colt’s arms, still in the pool.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. “Oh I’m so embarrassed.”
“Good god, are you alright?” Percy called from the side of the pool.
“She’ll be fine, thank you, Percy,” Colt replied.
Belle hid her face in his shoulder. Her face was hot and she was trembling, and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
“I thought I told you not to push it,” Colt scolded.
“I didn’t… I don’t… it’s all I know!” she wailed.
Colt sighed. “No, it’s my fault,” he said.
“W-what?” She looked up at his face, confused.
“Professional athletes are all the same. Weight lifters, football players, whatever it is. People who train their bodies religiously. We all have our zone. I’m at fault because I didn’t recognize you. I didn’t put you in that category in my mind, and I should have. It’s my job to limit you. Let’s get you in that hot tub, see if we can’t cut down on the pain before it gets really bad.”
Belle clung to him for dear life as he waded out of the pool. As soon as she was out of the water the pain ripped through her, and she dug her nails into Colt’s back. He didn’t seem to notice. He lowered her gradually into the steaming hot tub. He sat on the bench and held her on his lap until she’d relaxed enough to release him.
“It’s okay,” he soothed her. “It’s okay. Tell me what you’re feeling.”
“It hurts,” she whispered through clenched teeth.
She deliberately relaxed and felt things pop and break in her joints and the depths of her ruined muscles. She gasped with each snapping sensation.
“It’s popping,” she said lamely.
“Scar tissue breaking up,” he explained. “A little too soon, but that’s alright. We’ll get through it. We’ll compensate.”
She leaned heavily against him and floated her legs out in front of her. He held her around her waist, anchoring her so the bubbles and heat could work their magic on her aching muscles.
“I feel so stupid,” Belle confessed. She could finally speak in something close to normal tones as the pain faded to a dull, persistent ache.
“I bet,” Colt said.
“You weren’t supposed to agree,” she said with a sharp, short laugh.
“Yeah, I know. But I do understand. Should’ve seen me the first time I broke my leg. Doctor told me to keep off of it for two weeks until I could switch to a walking cast. I think I lasted two days before I got up and limped around. Ended up having to go back and get it reset, which was really more painful than the initial break. They kept me hopped up on tranquilizers for a while after that.”
“Maybe that’s what I need,” Belle said half-jokingly. “Or maybe just an ACME hammer to the head.”
Colt chuckled. “Do you have painkillers?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got a few different things. They were very generous with them, maybe too generous. Plus the herb card. Is there a dispensary around here?”
“Couple towns over. I could get some for you, I’ve got medical professional status, so I’m allowed a certain amount every month for samples.”
“That must be nice,” Belle sighed.
“Eh, I guess. I’ve never used it for myself, I don’t like it much. It helped a few clients though.”
“I think for today I’ll stick with the hard stuff. I’m gonna want to be unconscious for a few hours, I think.”
“Yeah, I don’t blame you. Go take a long nap. Tomorrow, we’ll take it easy.”
“What do you have in mind for tomorrow?” she asked nervously.
“Massage, mostly. Some minor kinesthetics, nothing too major. Think you can handle that?”
The thought of him massaging her had her stomach all a-flutter again, but she swallowed the feeling.
“Um, yeah, that sounds fine,” she said quickly.
“Alright, awesome. How are you feeling?”
“A little pruny, but better,” she told him.
“Ready to get dried off?”
She nodded. He carried her out of the hot tub and laid her on the same gym mat he’d placed her on before. He locked the doors after checking that the sauna was empty. By the time he got back, she’d dried herself thoroughly. They repeated the brace process in reverse, until she was once again the bikini clad cyborg.
“You okay getting dressed? I could get one of the female attendants to help you if you need it,” he told her.
“I’ll be fine,” she said with a tight smile. “I wore a dre
ss and shoes I don’t have to fasten.”
“Good thinking,” he told her approvingly. “I’ll meet you out front.”
She was unfocused and hazy as she scooted through the tiled locker room. Endorphins and firing nerves battled for her attention as she rinsed her hair and changed into her thick, loose, warm clothes. The brace seemed to fit better somehow; maybe it was simply having a professional take it off and put it back on again, or maybe her leg had swollen and filled the space more thoroughly. She didn’t really care; she was looking forward to a strong pill and a long nap.
It took her longer than she’d anticipated to change. She was having trouble making decisions with any kind of confidence, and felt that she was wasting infinite amounts of time flitting around the locker room with no sense of efficiency or urgency.
By the time she made it out into the gym, Colt was waiting for her with concern etched all over his face.
“I was afraid you’d passed out in there,” Colt told her. “I was about to send in a search party.”
“Oh… I’m sorry,” she said vaguely.
“Are you going to be okay driving home?” Colt asked her.
“I… I don’t know… it’s not far,” she said.
“Yeah, but you look like you got hit by a load of bricks. Tell you what, I’ll drive you home. I’ll bring your car back when I get done for the day, alright?”
“Alright. Thank you,” she sighed.
Pain was clouding her brain again and tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.
“No problem. Come on, doll.”
He led her out into the parking lot and lifted her into his truck. She felt utterly useless. Between that and the pain, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
Colt carried her into the house and laid her on the bed.
“Painkillers?”
“Purse.”
He found what she needed and handed them to her.
“Now you stay right here and let those work,” he told her firmly. “I’ll be back over later to check on you. Alright?”
