Stefanielle/Marina One Shots

Gym Partner (Stefanielle)

Six out of the seven days of the week, you would find Danielle Savre at the gym. Sometimes seven out of seven. She'd been going to the same gym for the past two years and made great friends with the gym staff and other gym regulars. She called it her home away from home where she could get any pent up emotions out of her system and be able to confidently look at herself in the mirror and be happy with what she saw.

Danielle was coming to the end of her workout, sweat dripping down the side of her face as she powered through the last thirty seconds on the treadmill. It was perfect timing as the song that was blasting through her headphones came to an end, right as she finished her run. She let out a deep exhale and wiped her forehead with her hand towel then grabbed her water bottle, taking a large gulp.

She slowly got off of the machine pushed herself up on to her toes, stretching her calves then lowering back down. She was more than happy with her workout and was quite ready to have a cool shower. Danielle wiped down the machine that she was using then began to walk through the gym towards the changing room, smiling at herself in the mirror as she placed her headphones on the counter and the noise of the tacky gym music filled her ears.

She turned to the side and flexed, balling her hands up into fists and twisting her left leg behind her. She looked good and she knew it. It was a great feeling knowing that all of her hard work had paid off. After a few more poses in the mirror, with luckily no one else around, Danielle unlocked her locker and set her towel and shower gel to the side before stripping off her gym wear and leaving her in her sports bra and thong.

The only thing about the showers at the gym, they were usually either too hot or too cold, resulting in Danielle springing away from the stream of water. Once Danielle was naked and in the privacy of her cubicle, she tentatively turned the shower on, testing it with her hand. Cold, but tolerable. There were benefits that came with having cold showers anyway so Danielle braved it and quickly washed off the essence of the gym, leaving her smelling like cherry blossom.

After drying herself off and changing into non sweaty clothes, Danielle emerged from the changing rooms and was headed towards the exit, though her eye caught a woman she was certain she hadn't seen before, struggling to set up the lat pulldown machine. Danielle fixed her backpack and moved one side of her headphones off of her ear as she approached the woman.

"Do you need some help?" Danielle asked, catching her eyeline and smiling at her. She knew how nerve wracking it can be to go to the gym at all.

"Uh, yes please. I'm not used to this," The woman replied, taking a step back as Danielle unhooked the bar and then attached a carbine hook before adding another extension.

"Which one are you using?" Danielle asked, motioning to the different bars and attachments that were scattered around.

"Just this one," She replied, tapping the long bar. Danielle nodded and securely attached it then took a step back once she was finished. "Thank you,"

"No problem," Danielle smiled at her then made her way to the exit, trying her best to think back to a time she had seen her before, but her mind was pulling a blank. Perhaps she was new to her gym.

***

A few days later, Danielle was laid on the floor in the free weights section of the gym, scrolling through her phone after finishing her three sets of hips thrusts while trying to psych herself up to hold a plank position for more than a minute. She loved working out, but some exercises were tedious. Danielle was almost certain that time slowed whilst she did the plank.

"Okay," Danielle sighed as she sat up and turned to look at herself in the mirror, tucking the few loose strands of her hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. She scrolled through her Spotify playlist to try and pick a song that pumped her up the most, but got distracted when she glanced next to her to see the same woman from a few days ago, effortlessly holding a plank.