Our Romantic Horror Story

V

Alex

Stretching, I extended my arms to my toes and did all of the things that my trainer usually told me to do before our workouts. With music playing in my ears, I began with a slow jog to warm up for my morning training. I planned to jog my usual route down to the pier and along to my trainer's gym where I would do my usual morning session. These days, he had me in the gym twice a day, everyday.

Over the sound of my music, I could hear my feet slapping rhythmically against the concrete pavement as I fastened my pace. I jogged down the empty pavement, which was always the good thing about starting these workouts so early, everyone else on earth seemed to be absent from the world. Sand eventually appeared either side of the path as I got down to the beach and I looked out across the blue ocean, admiring how stunning it looked with the rising orange sun behind it. I much preferred these workouts to my evening ones alone in my home-gym lifting weights.

My feet continued slapping against the floor and I let out panting breaths as sweat began to lightly sheen across my forehead. I turned down the music slightly so that I could hear the sound of the waves collapsing in on themselves as I ran, enjoying even the sound of the squawking seagulls. The weather was lovely and the sea-breeze was just as good as a cup of black coffee at waking me up.

As I thought about how beautiful the sunrise was, I couldn't help but think back to the guy in the park, sat with a golden ring of sunset around him. I had found myself thinking about him a lot recently. Whenever I had a dull moment, stuck in traffic or responding to emails, I saw his face. His wide-eyed, innocent stare had had a profound effect on me. I knew that I had a chance to see him today and I suppose that's why I had a perkier pep to my step. The chance was low, but there was a chance.

I made it to the start of the small, wooden pier and began to jog along it, the sound of my feet slamming against the wood a welcomed change. As I got to the end, I slowed my pace and allowed myself to come to a complete stop to truly take a moment to appreciate the view. If my trainer was here, he'd scold me for losing my momentum, but I didn't really care. The sun was rising and the orange and pink colours that were splashed across the sky and reflected in the waves were immensely worth it.

Leaning against the rail that blocked me from falling into the ocean, I let out a shaky breath, partly due to breathlessness from exercise and partly due to nerves. I sincerely hoped today went the way I had been daydreaming it would.

Putting it to the back of my mind, however, I continued with my run and made my way to the beachfront gym. My trainer, Michael, greeted me at the desk and we launched into my workout. My trainer was careful to keep me lean enough that I didn't look like a gym rat and that's why I had always been loyal to him; I wasn't a fan of the mega-ripped look with tri-ceps on top of their bi-ceps.

"Something on your mind, man? You've been spaced out the last few sessions." Michael asked earnestly, handing me a towel at the end of our workout.

"It's noticeable?" I chuckled, "Just looking forward to this event later."

Michael seemed taken aback by that, albeit while remaining professional enough to not comment on it, and it made me revaluate things for a second. He had probably never heard me laugh so openly, or speak about enjoying work without being sarcastic. He usually commented on how tense I was after long periods of filming and recommended I go for some kind of massage or deep-tissue something.

After a shower and a change into the suit that Jenny had arrived with, I was ready for today. I had sprayed extra cologne, just in case, and I felt like a teenage boy getting ready for his first date. Jenny had also picked up on a change in my behaviour over the last week or so because she noticeably sniffed the air as I stepped out of the changing rooms.