You are My Passion

Gym life

Nikita was burning up the calories on the treadmill, the gym still abuzz with different people doing their thing alone or in a class group

Thirty minutes into her run, Nikita looked over at Max as he ended the aerobics and began the abs class and she was interested. 

Nora beckoned on her to go join them as she stepped out to freshen up and man her desk

Nikita nodded, stepping off the treadmill and she walked over to the center area where twelve others were arranged in rows seated on their exercise mats.

Max was seated in a yoga pose in front of the class as he watched her approach. He smiled and corked his brow... 'Interested?' he asked, his face lighting up unconsciously making the other clients turn to look at what made their Coach all flustered

Nikita nodded smiling back and she thought she heard one or two snickers but she ignored it. Nothing new here it was the life in the gym…. gossips and envy, she shrugged.

Max pointed to the stack of mats at the corner 'Grab your mat and sit here’ he instructed, pointing to the spot directly in front of him

She did that and as she settled on the mat she noticed her next neighbor was Carla from earlier and she sighed inwardly When did she get here?

She managed a smile to the other gym clients and they responded same way, already doing their first routine Max had instructed

‘We will start with some stretches and then do some repeats (reps) of sit ups and leg raises okay?’ Max said, doing a demonstration of all he just said

The class nodded and began their reps, with occasional nods and prods from Max as he noted their form 

‘Good one. Nice one’ chimed the assistant coach Terra as he watched from the side

Nikita stared at Max laid out in front of her as he took time to explain each exercise and the benefits to the body. Every so often he would catch her gaze and smile as he continued leading them in the abdominal stretches.

The class was almost all females with a handful of men, some of who recently joined the gym, so Max would go and crouch beside anyone who was not getting the routine right and guide until it was done correctly. He knew his job and loved it, cracking jokes and making them laugh through it all

Max was impressed at Nikita’s exercise form and praised her so much whenever she got a routine correctly. Carla and a few others began jostling for attention soon afterwards but Max quickly ended the session calling out for the next set

‘We finish off with the jumps… Manny style’ he announced standing to his feet and beckoning to the older coach

‘Susan turn off the AC, I want them to sweat a bit’ Manny said to the other Trainer as he came to take over the class from Max

Nikita stood up with the class to put away their mats. She was about to walk away to continue on one of the elliptical machines when Max stopped her

‘Join the class Nikita I promise you'll love this one’ he said coaxingly, taking a seat close by

‘Well okay’ she answered reluctantly, going over to the class just as the Coach began giving instructions

'We will do something called tabitha workouts and let's see if you can hit your weightloss goals for the week in the next 15 minutes' Manny said pumping his fists into his hand enthusiastically

The clients whined playfully in protest, some sprawling on the ground feigning tiredness. The Trainers laughed at their theatrics

‘Come on now…you know the drill’ Coach Manny shouted, clapping his hands loudly and walking around making them all stand up grudgingly

‘Yeah yeah Coach….no pain no gain’ muttered a few voices

‘Yeah! nobody dies’ Nikita chimed, making everyone burst out laughing, Max smiling from ear to ear as he looked at her

‘Yup…we love you already’ Coach Manny said jokingly, turning to wriggle his brow at Max suggestively, knowing his Boss and friend was smitten with her. Max chuckled and looked away, pretending not to catch his meaning

The class was intense and had Nikita working up a sweat. She found herself enjoying the cardio sets and with each round she got better and the Coach would praise her often

Max had moved across the room to train with a bunch of guys who were obviously weightlifters or bodybuilders judging from their buff muscles and size of weights they were attempting to lift. 

He would listen to Manny's belching voice once in a while and look over at Nikita as she did the Tabitha, his heart warming to the fact that she was good at the intensive exercise routines

'Really good' he mumbled, impressed, giving her an intense gaze as she looked over to him at that moment

‘Yeah’ said Terra from beside him, following his gaze

Max was taken aback. He did not know the younger man was staring at Nikita as well. He looked at him and frowned, barking at him to focus on his lifts

Terra was shocked at his abrasiveness but said nothing and would later understand what was going on from the looks Max and Nikita were stealing at each other 

‘Those two seem to be checking each other out’ Susan whispered to Terra as he took a break some minutes later, sitting by a wall 

‘Yeah well there must be something brewing there’ Terra chuckled in reply. ‘He nearly snapped my head off when he saw me looking at her’ he said

‘Really?... well she had better tread carefully… Max is mine’ Susan said, narrowing her eyes at Nikita who had finished her workout and was discussing freely with Manny and the few class members

He laughed out loud, giving her an amused look

Terra, 25 years old, was regarded as the gym comedian, always having something funny to talk about. As Max's protégé, he is determined to be the next champ in the track and field events that Max held trophies for in his day.

‘Since when girl?’ he jabbed

‘Since ever!’ Susan retorted indignantly, displeased at his behavior. 

Susan did not have such a pretty face but she had an appealing knock-out body and was very strong at 23 years old, benching the press at high weights. She could train both male and female clients with ease, one of the things that had attracted her to Max when he had first hired her

‘Sorry to burst your bubbles girl but you both are no longer an item’ Terra said in a low voice leaning over  ‘…not since you used to go all gaga for him…clingy clingy’ he mocked, laughing

‘Shut up’ Susan snapped and stood up, looked at Nikita coldly before storming out of the gym, the other lady oblivious to the jealous outburst.

Coach Manny dismissed the class and called out ‘Susan put the ACs back on…. Susan…?’ he looked around

‘Where did she go?’ he called out to Terra, recalling he saw them together earlier

‘She went to cool off’ Terra answered, chuckling, getting up to go start his track training

Manny raised his hands in exasperation, muttering to himself as he went to turn on the air conditioners himself

Max was engrossed in doing some press ups with the guys and knowing Nikita was a standing close by ogling him, he deliberated did some more with weight discs added to his back to impress her

Manny shook his head at him, laughing as he announced ‘Class over guys see you all tomorrow…. bright and early….’

Max added his voice to that from the floor ‘Remember not to eat a bad diet when you leave here’ he said pointing to some of the class members who were already chatting away

The girls giggled and waved to him as they walked out of the gym, Nikita smiled at him and reached for her bottle of water on the table

She overheard a potbellied middle-aged man and a really overweight woman were planning on how to branch at the fast-food joint down the road, after the gym and she snickered silently

They chorused mockingly ‘Yeah coach’ ‘Weightloss and fitness diets go together… we hear you’

Nikita laughed and looked around, ready to take her leave as well when she noticed Max had a break from the rounds, she approached him

‘Good workout today’ she said, standing near his mat as he sat on his knees

‘Glad you liked’ he said, panting from his workout, he looked around the gym making sure the clients were working out well in their own routines

She made a sorry face noticing the way the guys were doing their exercise, wincing with every exhale. The guys were moving from one activity to the other as though changing batons. It was intriguing to watch the weightlifting and Nikita was no stranger to this line of sports

‘So you guys take turns?’ Nikita asked, crouching and sitting on a step-up box next to him as they watch the body builders rotate routines and take turns, helping each other lift off the barbell when done

Max nodded ‘Yes makes it all interesting’ he said, turning slightly to look at her 

‘Nice’ she answered absentmindedly as she noticed some four guys moving with Terra into another section of the complex 

Max followed her gaze ‘Racers going on track’ he said, signaling to them

‘Oh yeah?’ Nikita replied excitedly, she had always loved to watch the races

‘Mmhmm… they are gearing for the sports event coming up in town soon’ Max answered, still looking at her and seeing some hair locks out of place, he reached up and tucked them back in place away from her face

‘Um t-thanks’ she said, turning her head slightly away from him to hide her smile. She liked what he just did. It stirred some butterflies

Max had to stop himself from doing more than just smoothing her hair. 

She’s just too fine he said to himself, wishing he could just grab her and kiss those lips of hers. His eyes never leaving them as she spoke. He knew she was also drawn to him if her body language could scream any louder, but he decided to ignore the sparks for now and bid his time

He cleared his throat ‘You seem excited about the track races. You love to watch?’ he asked, leaning back on the wall behind him, spreading out his legs

Nikita nodded. she was used to the workout and competitions. her brother was a sports fanatic as well and had featured regularly as their country's representative in weightlifting at the last three Olympics

‘We do a lot of those here in the track out back’ Max said pointing in the direction Terra went.

Nikita was impressed

‘That guy Terra was a teenager when he came to me to teach him the ropes and now he is so good at it I am proud of him. He and a few others I am coaching will definitely be the next rising stars at the City tournaments this year’ he said

‘Oh wow, nice’ Nikita said, turning to look in that direction, the glass doors made it possible to catch glimpses of the guys doing their warm up laps

‘We also hold mini competitions here to get ready for the bigger state and national games. A lot of the people that come in here are professional athletes representing their school or Middletown and we use this complex as training ground’ Max explained

‘Oh?... you participate’ Nikita asked turning back to face him, intrigued at all he could do

‘Yeah... gotta’ Max said, he flexed his muscles playfully making Nikita laugh, her laughter making feel all warm inside and he inched towards her slowly

Manny passed by just then ‘He is quite the athlete you know’ smiling and pointing to Max  ‘…all track and field…the best champ… but recently shifted to only weightlifting’ he said, clasping Max on his shoulder proudly

Max shrugged, slightly irritated at the interruption ‘Yeah age and all…. I’m better off building my muscles and facing the lifts’ he said, exchanging fist bumps with Manny as he went away

‘Nice, I really didn’t grow up here, just moved here. I know someone very close to me who is also a champ in the --’ she said enthusiastically, about to start telling him about a brother of hers

But Max was suddenly distracted and replied absentmindedly ‘Okay…. well we had a good run today’ cutting her off in mid-sentence, completely off point

She frowned as she caught sight of what had stolen his attention. He seemed interested in ogling Carla and two ladies who were walking out of the gym then, their very short shorts and crop tops leaving nothing to the imagination

She grimaced Not another player, God please she thought angrily, getting up and brushing off her clothes

Max looked back and noticed her frown. He immediately regretted his action

‘Leaving now?’ he asked, quickly getting to his feet, feeling sorry he had been distracted at all

‘Yeah’ she checked her watch. ‘I have a meeting at the office in two hours…got to get home and shower and all’ she said, picking up her bottle and walking to the door

‘We have locker rooms here with good showers. So next time, you can just get ready from here and hit your office…save time’ Max said showing her a door marked ‘Dressing rooms’

She nodded, not impressed. She knew those rooms could be misused by gym clients who couldn’t keep their hormones in check. She was no stranger to all that could happen in closed shower stalls.

She had a flashback to her last boyfriend and former coach and repulsed at the bile rising in her throat as she recalled his shitty, cheating ways with her and the other females he was coaching. 

Max knew she was still pissed and thought to remedy the situation, berating himself, angry that he allowed his eyes stray to the girls.

‘Okay but we can take a smoothie before you go’ he said firmly not giving her a chance to object, walking her to the smoothie shop at the reception

‘Sure’ Nikita said resignedly ‘But just for a bit and then I really have to get going’ she said

‘Alright…a quick one’ Max said, hurriedly leading the way

They passed Susan at the door as they entered the reception and Nikita wondered what was wrong with her because she was not looking at any of them. 

Susan was definitely not looking happy or chatty as she was earlier that morning. Little did Nikita know she had unknowingly made an enemy that day