Life of Spike Murdoch

Chapter 9 - First Date

After another decent work day at the surf shop, Spike closes down the store a bit earlier than usual. He had made the plan to meet up with Autumn after work at the gym for their first official meetup. He was a bit nervous for the meeting, seeing he's never met up with a girl like Autumn before, but it couldn't be that bad, could it? He had always hung out with Remmy and the other guys for the longest time, but never alone with a girl. He packed up his gym wear in a backpack and headed toward the gym.

The evening came as the fresh cool air blew through the air. Autumn was waiting patiently for Spike outside of the gym and he was running a bit late. Obviously not having a car to get around yet, but she didn't mind the wait. She looks through the window, seeing the other gym patrons working out inside. Hardly seeing anyone she was familiar with, she didn't want to go in by herself. She didn't come to this part of the town all too often, so she wasn't well-known to other people to be noticed. She would text her other friends in the meantime to pass the time until Spike showed up.

Tyrone, taking a break from helping out a buddy of his, grabs his water and takes a swig. He then sees the astray cat outside, looking like she was waiting for somebody. Knowing the temperature was dropping as the night went on, and seeing that the brown cat didn't have a coat on, he helped himself by opening the door, introducing himself to her.
"Hello there, young lady.", greeted Tyrone.
Autumn turns around, looking up from her phone to the donkey. "Oh, h-hello."
"Sorry to disturb you. Were you waiting for somebody? It's gonna get cold out here, and it's nice and warm in the gym."
"Ah, yea, I know. I'm just waiting for my friend. I won't get cold too easily anyways."
"Alright, just making sure. Just letting you know in case you-- oh, hey, Spikerooni!"
Autumn turned her head, seeing the hedgehog, running toward them. Tyrone waved Spike over, letting him catch his breath from running.
"Huff... sorry, I'm late!", apologizing Spike to Autumn. "Hah, sup, Ty?"
Tyrone smiled. "Hey, glad you could make it! I see that you both are together. Come on in!"

Spike and Autumn walk into the establishment with Tyrone. He leads them to an empty spot for them to workout together. As they put down their gym bags on the ground, Tyrone gives them a heads up.
"Well, I'm sure you already know the rules about the gym, Spike, but I'll go over them again for your friend here, seeing she's new around these parts. But first off, what's your name, young lady?"
"I'm Autumn.", introduced the brown cat. "Autumn Rose."
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Rose. I'm Tyrone Kulan. I'm one of the workers here, so if you ever need any assistance, just holler for me."
"Thank you, Mr. Kulan! Um, if you don't mind me asking, you look familiar to me. Do I know you from somewhere?"
"Haha, well I know I'm not a total big-shot around here, but if you meant being interviewed on the news about the old kidnapping case a few months back, then that may ring a bell."
"Oh, yes! I heard you were shot in the back by that lunatic. I'm glad to see you're recovering pretty well."
"Haha, well, aren't you a sweet flower? I'm glad to have met your girlfriend, Spike! She seems like a keeper."
Spike paused at that comment, hearing the big G word from him out of nowhere. Autumn's eyes widened, looking at Spike with a flushed expression on her face. Tyrone had the wrong implications, so Spike had to quickly correct him.
"Uh... Ty, we're not–"
"Hehe, it's okay. We are here on a date, aren't we not?", added the blushful cat.
"W-wah? Eh– er, I mean, umm..."
Spike couldn't get any words out. Completely dumbstruck at the moment. Autumn giggled, patting Spike's back.
"Come on. Let's get our bodies in shape. I'll help you with the weights."

Tyrone, after giving them a rundown of the rules, leaves them be to attend to his gym partner. As Spike and Autumn began working out together for a few hours, Spike would get nervous being so tired and sweaty around a girl after only doing a few set-ups, pull-ups and weight-lifting. He'd also be embarrassed to see that Autumn was able to barely break a sweat most of the time of their sessions. She could potentially be stronger than Spike, but that made him more inclined to keep up the pace. His arms and legs would begin to feel sore after a while, but he pushed on. He'd watch as Autumn would be lifting more of her body weight, being able to deadlift over 150 pounds, which surely shocked Spike and the other gym patrons. This girl was surely full of surprises, seeing there was no end to a mystique like her.