Sinner

Chapter 17

Ashely's POV:

To say I'm nervous for working out today is an understatement. Let's just say physical activity is not my thing.

I pull on some black work out leggings and a camouflage t-shirt. Then I slip on my new Nikes and tie my hair in a ponytail.

I grab the keys to my apartment and fill a water bottle up with water in the kitchen. A knock comes from my door and I smile. I walk over and open it to see Ryan. He's wearing a gray graphic t-shirt and black basketball shorts. He also has some Nikes on. His hair is gelled up and I wonder why since we're just working out. Not that I mind...

"Ready?" he asks.

"Yep" I say. I step into the hallway and lock my apartment door.

We head to the elevators and within two minutes we are on the third floor of the A.S.S.'s headquarters- the work out level.

Ryan looks at me as we step off the elevator. I shift my weight from foot to foot wondering what he'll have me do first. Luckily there's no one in here to witness me if I pass out.

"I don't think you're a runner" Ryan says and smiles. This is true, and it must be obvious considering it didn't take much for him to capture me the other day.

"So I'll have you do the bikes for cardio" he says and nods towards the stationary bikes across the room.

We walk across the room and Ryan adjusts a bike to my size. "Try this" he says and I hop on. I put my feet on the pedals and Ryan pulls a strap over both my feet so they stay attached to the pedals. I pedal a little bit and it seems comfortable. I place my water bottle on a spot under the seat between my legs and glance at a mirror in front of the bikes to see how I look.

"Okay so this adjusts the gear you're in. Push it up to be in a harder gear, down for a less strenuous one. We'll start you on eight" he says pushing up a little lever between the two handlebars.

Then Ryan points to a screen behind the lever. "This shows your RPM- revolutions per minute. When you have both hands on the handlebars it will show you your heart rate too. Start pedaling and get up to 70 RPM" he instructs. I pedal and get up to 70 like he said. It's fast but not too fast, and I think I could spend a couple minutes on this without passing out.

"Good. So right now you're going at an easy pace. We'll go really hard for a minute, and then go back down to an easier pace. Whatever you do, don't stop pedaling. Keep your heart rate up" he says and I nod. I am already getting short of breath, and I start to realize this is going to be harder than I thought.

"Take it up to 80" Ryan says and I pedal faster, focusing on the RPM number on the screen.

"We'll do this for 15 minutes, then do a 15 minute circuit to work on muscle building. We'll keep switching back and forth for the next two hours. I'm gonna set up a circuit and then I'll hop on the bike in front of you" he says and walks away.

He pulls out his iPhone and taps the screen a few times, then plugs it into a stereo.

"Like Ed Sheeran?" Ryan yells over the loud music.

"Never heard of him" I say.

I see Ryan frown. "Well this is his song 'Don't'. Hope you like it" he says and walks over to an area next to the bikes, starting to place various weights in a large circle. I watch as his arms carry the weights, the sleeves of his t-shirt stretching around his large biceps. He squats as he bends to set the weights downs, and my eyes travel down to his firm-

Ryan turns around to look at me and I snap my head back to stare at the screen in front of me, as if I was checking my RPM. I feel my cheeks burn, and not from working out. My eyes widen when I see that I've been going at an RPM of 110, and I know I'm screwed for when we start to pick up speed since I'll be even more out of breath than before.