I awoke suddenly in the darkness of very early morning, extremely awake. I had been dreaming of sex with a faceless male body, but now I was alert, listening with baited breath. The AC revved up to full power, and I realize I had been woken up by the sound of it kicking on.
I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly, calming myself, and pick up my phone to look at the time. 3AM. My calming breath turns into a groan. I don't need to be up for HOURS.
There is no way I am going to be able to get back to sleep, not with this adrenaline. So what do I do? Just lay here in the dark? If I get up to start my day I'll likely wake the whole house, and I do NOT want to deal with cranky kids.
My mind wanders over to what I was planning to get done today, and on my list of things to do was a trip to the gym. I will have to wait until I get the kids on the bus before I can make the 5 minute drive over.
Or do I?
They still have 3 hours of sleep! I could go the gym right now, do my workout, AND get a shower before they even wake up!
I jump out of bed, newly motivated, and dig into my drawers for leggings and a sports bra. Then I tiptoe through the silent house, retrieving my purse, putting on my sneakers and a black hoodie, leaving out the back door.
The air outside is cool and humid, the morning dew has not yet settled over the grass, the moisture still clings to the air. I shiver while I let my car warm up, and then back out of the driveway with the lights off, turning on my headlamps when I am sure they won't shine through the windows of my home.
When I get to the gym, the whole strip mall is completely empty, all of the stores being closed at this time of day. Even the gas station is closed. There are street lights, but the only store front with lights on is the gym, which is available for use 24 hours a day if you have a membership, though it is unstaffed.
I swiped my key tag on the door frame, waiting for the green light to indict the electromagnetic lock disengaged, and then pull the door open.
"Helloooo?" I call out experimentally, looking all around to see if any other people happened to be lurking around a corner.
No answer. The gym appears to be completely empty except for me. Excellent! I love having the gym to myself!
I go back to the cubbies at the front and drop off my keys and my phone. Usually I would wear my hoodie while I work out, but no one else is here! I strip it off and stuffed it in a cubbie as well.
I swing my arms back and forth to loosen them up a bit, reveling in the freedom of being unobserved, and then head over to the treadmill to do my warm-up cardio. The music over the loudspeakers blares out mindless synth-pop that I don't really care about, but it has a good beat to set a steady pace.
After I work up a decent sweat, I hop off and do a short series of stretches. Next I move on to weights. Maybe I can try free weights today! They have a higher difficulty, and require more concentration on proper technique, but I'm here totally alone now. No one is here to distract me or make me feel self-conscious.
I examine the rack of dumbbells, and then turn to the rack of kettle bells, trying to figure out why they are different. Which one is better suited for my needs?
I settle down on all fours, a modest 5lb dumbbell in my right hand, and slowly start to bring up that elbow, concentrating on keeping that weight parallel to the ground, and what do I hear? The lock at the front door disengaging.
I resist the urge to turn around and look, painfully aware of the fact that my ass is facing the door, and my leggings are skin tight. I try to sneak a glance in the mirrored wall instead, getting a quick impression of big muscles in a loose tank top.
