by Twyla Turner
“Dude! Some of the outfits last year…” Zach shook his head in wonder. “This year, I might have to duct tape my dick down to keep from walking around with a tent in my pants.”
Payton cringed at the vulgar conversation. She had avoided paying any real attention to what guys talked about outside of work. She took a deep breath and mentally shrugged, figuring it was just something she’d have to deal with.
“…aw man, no! You liked her?! That girl had a butterface.” Ben cringed as Payton came back in on their conversation.
“Better to have a butterface than a nasty body.” Zach defended.
“True. True.” Ben nodded and then grinned slyly. “You can always put a paper bag over her face while you’re banging her.”
Payton scowled at the two men across from her. She felt the diarrhea of the mouth bubbling up in her throat. She opened her mouth and it, unfortunately, spilled out.
“I find it quite fascinating that two average looking men, with rather unexceptional bodies and marginally interesting personalities, would feel that they have the right to judge a woman’s body. It must be that male privilege deluding you into thinking that any girl butterface or otherwise would be interested in two unremarkable ass clowns.” Payton finished her tirade, made extra colorful by using some of the phrases her friends often employed. The two men just blinked at her in shock as she got up and moved seats in the conference room.
She may not have been the most socially perceptive person, but Payton knew they were wrong and being assholes. Her other co-workers that witnessed the confrontation, looked at her in shock. The few females in the room that overheard, gave her a conspiratorial smile. A few even gave her the thumbs up. It was apparent that she wasn’t the only one fed up with the bullshit of the males in their department.
It was also obvious that Payton was going to have to pick a different guy to try and talk to. She was not someone with a banging body, as they put it. Or maybe it was time to hit the gym. At the very least to tighten some things up, because she was pretty sure that if Zach and Ben thought that way, more than likely, many others thought that way too. Though Payton avoided physical activities like the plague. Not because she wasn’t interested in fun activities to do, but because she was the most uncoordinated person to have ever stumbled along the planet.
Even though it was the last thing she wanted to do, Payton had noticed some changes in her body from having such a sedentary job. She was beginning to have aches and pains from the lack of physical activity. That, combined with the guys’ comments and her new project to find someone to date, made her realize that she was going to have to do the thing she dreaded most. Workout. And in front of people.
I don’t even know where to start or where to go.
~~~
Payton saw Ayumi chatting with a bunch of guys that were surrounding her. Ayumi was that girl, nerdy girls wished they could be like. Ayumi was that naturally geeky chic girl. The girl, for which, the term geeky chic came from. Where her geekiness was adorable and her chicness was effortless. She was Japanese American, with a cute face and fit body. Her vintage tees always fit perfectly, accentuating her perfect body. Payton had overheard Ayumi talking about an awesome gym that she’d been going to for a few months. So she waited for an opening to ask Ayumi about the gym. When the lovesick guys who surrounded her finally walked away, Payton made her move.
“Uh… Hey, Ayumi!” Payton shouted and then cringed at how loud the greeting came out.
“Hey, Payton!” Ayumi greeted. Open and friendly.
Of course, she would, she’s perfect.
“Hey! I heard about what you said to Zach and Ben at the meeting today. Fucking awesome!” She exclaimed in a whisper. “You’re my hero.”
“Me?!” Payton blinked in surprise.
“Heck yeah! You always say what you’re thinking, no matter what. I wish I could be like that.” Ayumi confessed, to Payton’s astonishment.
“Uh…thanks.” Payton frowned, unsure of what to say after that. Aren’t you supposed to compliment someone after they compliment you? “Well, sometimes I wish I were you, because you’re super cute in your geekdom, unlike me. All the guys want you.”
“Aw! Thanks, Payton!” Ayumi smiled happily before she moved to walk away.
Payton quickly remembered why she’d called Ayumi over in the first place and gripped her arm to stop her.
“Um, Ayumi. I have a question.” Payton nervously pushed her glasses up her nose. “I-uh-am interested in starting to go to the gym, but I don’t know where to go or where to start.”
Ayumi’s face literally lit up like a Christmas tree and she gripped Payton’s hands tightly. “Oh my God! I have the perfect place for you. You’re gonna love it! It’s called The Red Scot’s Ultimate Gym and it has everything!”
Payton nodded and tried to absorb the information that Ayumi was giving her at 100 mph.
“It's owned by this awesome MMA fighter and it’s huge! You can do regular gym stuff, like run on the treadmill, lift weights, and swimming. But it also has training for boxers and mixed martial arts for other fighters. They have personal trainers to help you with your weight loss goals. It has a rock wall, Zumba classes, kickboxing classes, spin classes, etc. They even have self-defense classes. It literally does have everything. It’s this huge complex that you could get lost in. I love it!” Ayumi finally finished.
They should hire her as their spokesperson. Sheesh!
“Uh. That sounds a little too complicated for me. I was thinking more like a Curves or something like that.” Payton frowned. “Besides, it sounds like there would be a lot of men there. And muscular ones at that.”
Ayumi brushed off Payton’s concerns with a swipe of her hand. “Oh Payton, don’t even worry about that. Everyone is super respectful and minds their own business. It isn’t allowed for the members to bother or make unwanted advances towards other members. If there are any complaints, that person gets their membership revoked. The guy who owns it, wanted it to be a place where women also felt welcome and at ease. I promise you’ll love it.”
“If you say so,” Payton said, mentally crossing the mega-gym off of her list of places to go.
“How about this? Bring a change of clothes with you tomorrow and instead of going in the morning like I usually do, we’ll go together after work, so you can get a feel for the place. I get one free guest per month. If you like it, you can sign up.”
Payton took a deep breath and blew it out through her nose, unsure of what she’d just gotten herself into.
“Alright.”
“Sweet! This is gonna be life-changing for you!”
Chapter Three
Bradyn MacTavish pounded his gloved hands together and hopped from foot to foot, squaring off against one of their newer students at the gym. He grinned at the anxious young man, showing off the black mouth guard that was protecting his teeth. Bradyn moved his head quickly from side to side, and a series of loud pops echoed in the open space as he cracked his neck.
“Let’s go, lad,” Bradyn mumbled past his mouth guard.
The kid swallowed loudly as Bradyn circled around the ring. The boy reminded Bradyn a lot of himself when he was younger. Hefty, awkward, scared of his own shadow. It was obvious the kid needed a champion. Someone who believed in him and pushed him enough to find his inner beast. Bradyn felt like he was just the man to do it. Plus, he could use this as a warm up for his real workout later.
Bradyn advanced on the teen and he immediately backed up against the ropes, cowering in fear.
“Aw! Come on, lad! I ken ye can do better than that.” Bradyn coaxed after pulling out his mouth guard.
“Huh?” The kid frowned not understanding Bradyn’s Scottish brogue.
“I know you can do better than that,” he tried to pronounce more clearly.
The kid nodded his head resolutely. Bradyn shoved the guard back in his mouth and stepped into a wide stance, ready to give it a go once more. As he began to advance on the kid, somet
hing caught his eye and he glanced over to the movement. Later on, down the road, when he looked back at this moment and had to describe what happened, he’d say, ‘the world fell away.’ That’s literally what it felt like. In an instant, all things ceased to exist for those first initial seconds. Everything became out of focus and hazy. All except for the woman that walked towards a row of elliptical machines.
All around him, Bradyn had women with lithe bodies in tight, skimpy outfits of Lycra and spandex, and in full makeup and sexy perfectly mussed hair. They eye-fucked him every single day. But every day, his interest never got further than mild passing attraction.
This woman, though. Her skin was a deep, rich coffee color. Her jet black hair was pulled back into a haphazard ponytail, with a fringe falling over her forehead and framing her face. Sexy black, horn-rimmed glasses slipped down her nose and she continued to push them back up. It reminded Bradyn of a schoolteacher or librarian. Her outfit was made up of a simple gray, oversized t-shirt, black cropped leggings, and colorful sneakers.
She just reached the height that was considered tall for a woman. Under her clothing, she appeared to have a plump, curvy body that Bradyn decided he’d definitely like to see more of. And even though she tried to keep her eyes down, and hid behind her glasses and fringe, she had the most stunningly beautiful face he had seen in a long time. If ever.
Bradyn took her in from head to toe within milliseconds. His eyes and mind often worked quickly to size up an opponent. They were no different when discovering a beautiful woman. Out of nowhere, Bradyn felt a punch to the side of his face. Ill prepared for the right hook, he went down like a brick. His six-foot-five, two-hundred-and-sixty-five-pound frame hit the floor with a loud thud.
“Oh shit, man! I’m sorry!” The kid apologized immediately.
“Dinna fash yerself, lad.” Bradyn brushed it off as he wiggled his jaw, making sure it was okay. “And never apologize fer successfully hitting yer opponent. It was my fault, anyway. I got distracted.”
“Dude, you talk weird.” The teen commented as he helped Bradyn stand.
“I said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’” Bradyn translated. “Aren’t ye learning context clues in yer studies? They come in handy. Ye should use them.”
Bradyn dismissed the boy and then scanned the open gym for the beautiful woman. He spotted her on one of the elliptical machines. A cute Asian girl he’d seen before, appeared to be helping her get started. The dark-skinned woman seemed awkward on the machine as she listened to whatever the other woman was saying. After a few beats she got her stride and the other girl got on the machine next to her. They took an easy pace, to get started.
He wanted nothing more than to go over and strike up a conversation, but all the machines around her were taken. And even if they weren’t, Bradyn knew that he would more than likely choke if he tried to speak to her. He might have been in the best shape of his life and one of the most popular fighters in his sport, but to him, he’d always be the unpopular, fat kid on the inside.
He was teased mercilessly as a kid. Tripped, kicked, tossed in rubbish bins, etc. You name it, and it was probably done to him. No girl would touch him with a ten-foot pole back then. It wasn’t until his last year of high school and a tragedy that befell his life that he found martial arts and a Sensei that wanted him to succeed. After a while, the pounds melted and Bradyn got better and better. So much so, that he started to compete. He learned as many fighting techniques as he could, he got on a strict diet and started lifting weights. Eventually, getting into the MMA heavyweight division. A place where he excelled.
Where he once was afraid, now, he was a beast. No opponent scared him. Each one posed their own challenges, but if he took a hit, he’d just get right back up. Even if he lost, which he rarely did, he’d take it as a learning lesson and watch the fight over and over again, until he figured out why he’d lost.
He feared no man, but he was terrified of a beautiful woman. His tongue always seemed to get tied up in the words he wanted to say. A lot of women said that he was quiet and brooding. Little did they know, he just couldn’t speak half the time. Oh, he got laid if he wanted to. Then again, you didn’t need to talk to have sex. He’d learned the art of body language, to help him communicate. Women knew when he wanted them and vice versa.
But when it came to actually wanting to be in a relationship with a woman, to actually talk to her, he was at a loss. Just thinking about it now, had his palms sweating as he watched the woman pick up her pace on the cardio machine. Bradyn had no problems talking to women he had no attraction to. And girls that threw themselves at him, having sex with them without conversation was easy. It was when it was more than sexual. When he actually wanted to get to know them. When he developed crushes. They were called crushes for a reason. And he was crushed every time they lost interest because of his silence.
Add to all of that, that this woman was possibly the most gorgeous, he personally, had ever seen. For some unknown reason, he wanted to know her thoughts. And he wanted to know what made her get out of bed in the morning. Mix all of that together, Bradyn was practically frozen in place.
“Hey, Red.” His sparring buddy, trainer, manager and best friend Mitch interrupted his thoughts. “Are we gonna go a few rounds or what? You’re standing over here like a damn statue.”
“I think I’m gonna go run a few miles on the treadmill,” Bradyn said absentmindedly.
“Uh, dude? You know that you need to start working on going up in weight, right? You can’t be doing cardio this close to your next match when you know you’re gonna have to put it all back on in a few weeks.” Mitch warned him.
“Och! Dinna fash.” Bradyn ignored his friend and made his way over to the line of cardio machines.
There were two rows of machines. The front row was a line of stationary bikes and rower machines. The second row was made up of half ellipticals and half treadmills. The woman that Bradyn couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of was next to the very first treadmill, but all were occupied, except the very last one on the opposite end. Bradyn quickly strode over and hopped on the last one.
He set his stride to a quick pace, surprisingly light on his feet for being such a large man. Bradyn pretended as if he was interested in the television program that was on the TV in front of him, but he was actually focused on the girl through his periphery. As well as, watching to see if anyone was getting off any of the treadmills closer to her.
As luck would have it, the third one over became available and Bradyn immediately switched machines. He was still three treadmills away from the one next to her, but he held out hope that he’d get closer. After ten more minutes, the man next to Bradyn wiped down his machine and left. He moved again.
A woman strolled along sedately next to the dark-skinned beauty, which made Bradyn clench his teeth in frustration. It felt like hours before the woman finally decided to vacate the machine. Bradyn saw a guy making a beeline towards the now open machine and he practically flew to the treadmill he had been waiting for, while giving the other guy a look that clearly said, ‘Don’t even think about it.’
Fortunately, she was so focused on her workout that she didn’t notice the battle of wills for the machine next to her. Now that he was finally beside her, Bradyn felt light and energized. He took off on the machine, running at a fast pace. Probably going a little faster than he would normally, subconsciously trying to impress her. She didn’t even look his way.
Bradyn slowed down to match her fast-paced walk. Nothing.
His mind whirled with possible ways to start a conversation.
“Hi.” No, too simple.
“Hey!” Too eager.
“Ye come here often?” Where are we? At a disco?!
“Yer a bonnie, lass.” Dude, could ye get any creeper?
“Hello, I’m Bradyn. Is this yer first time here? I own the gym and I haven’t see ye before.” Not bad. Not too creepy or desperate.
Bradyn opened his mouth. And…nothing. Not one
single thought was in his head. The few sentences he’d come up with a moment ago were gone. He closed his mouth, frowned, and then tried again. Still nothing. The Asian girl said something to his dream woman and they both slowed to a stop. He watched as they wiped down their machines and then walked away towards the women’s locker room. Bradyn’s fist clenched and his mouth flapped open and closed, but no sound made it past his throat.
He watched, deflated, as she disappeared through the door. Yer a complete knuckle-heid, MacTavish!
~~~
The cat-n-mouse game continued throughout the week. If it could even be called cat and mouse. Bradyn felt it was more like mouse and mouse because he definitely didn’t have the balls to approach her.
He had been elated when he saw her the next day. After trying to get close to her again on the machines and choking once more when he was within speaking distance, Bradyn went to the front desk and asked his worker if the woman had signed up for a membership. She had. And now he finally had a name. Payton Bailey. Not like he could actually go up to her and use it. That would be a dead giveaway that he was totally being a creepy bastard.
It was Friday, and he knew that he had one last chance before the weekend to speak to her. Bradyn had once again made his way over to the treadmill next to her favorite elliptical like he had done each day since she’d started coming in. Luckily, she didn’t have any earbuds in, so when he did actually get up the courage to speak, she’d hear him.
Bradyn slowed his pace down, preparing to speak. He opened his mouth, to begin with, ‘Hey’, but instead a strange grunt/grumble/cough came out and he scowled in frustration. The noise must have startled her because she glanced over at him. The minute she took in his furrowed brow, her eyes widened and a small ‘Eek’ passed through her full lips.
