ODDS OF LOVE : SEASON ELEVEN

Episode 60

When the doctor at the hospital after he was shot by that fool Skip Sands told him he was not only extremely overweight but at risk of dying sooner than he wanted to Gerald got a huge wake up call.

His blood pressure was higher than was normal and safe according to the doctor. So was his cholesterol. Maybe that explained his occasional dizziness and fatigue at times. The doctor was insistent on his changing his ways if he really wanted to keep living.

And keep living he did want to do. Especially with the possibility of a real relationship with Alfred opening up for him. He did not want to die just when he was starting to live. And love.

So he had joined...... a gym.

Which was why he was currently standing in the middle of the Fitness Blast gym inside the Mall At Prince George's. Surrounded by the most bizarre devices. Treadmills , exercise bikes and all kinds of weights that looked way too complicated to him. And everyone else there were in so much better shape than him in his big baggy shapeless Fitness Blast tee-shirt( sold in the gym's gift shoppe for 19.99 plus taxes ) and his brand new track suit bottoms ( the actual size on the label inside those bottoms had been a primary selling point in his going on a strict diet and exercise routine).

But as unfamiliar as this all was to him , master of academia , eater of delicious scones with homemade jams and jellies , who had not been on a bicycle that actually moved much less one that did not in years it was what he needed to undertake. For him and his own disastrous health. For Alfred who he still was leery about dating. First he was his immediate supervisor at the school. Second in spite of his disability Alfred was an extremely handsome and intelligent young man who could get any man if he wanted to. He wanted to ensure that in the end the teacher kept choosing him as his forever man. His happily ever after like in the fairy tale stories his governess had once read him as a child.

" You new here ! , " he heard a deep voice bellow from behind him in the overcrowded noisy space of sweating grunting bodies. He turned his tall broad body around to stare at the equally tall but gorgeous and well built young man standing before him in an expensive tracksuit and Fitness Blast shirt that said STAFF on it as well.

Gerald wanted to leave. He didn't belong there. It was so obvious. He was too old and set in his ways to change. To try to fight against and win with men like this. He could so easily see Alfred wanting a man like this. Look at Scott Sands. Look at the one he had been on a date with when all hell broke out. Why was he doing this ?

" Yes. I am new here. I just started. "

The man looked him over and then took a long swig from his bottle of Fitness Blast water ( complimentary with memberships but otherwise 4.99 in the gift shoppe ). " Yeah. I can tell. Name's Rocky. I'm going to change your life. For the better ! Weight and height ? "

" Excuse me ? "

" How much do you weigh ? How tall are you ? And don't feed me that bullshit about you not knowing. Everyone here knows. Look. I was once where you are now. I was worst actually. I was at one time over four hundred pounds. I couldn't leave my house. I lost family and friends over it. I lost my fiance. Now I'm a stud. It took time and a lot of work. You willing to put that time and work in ? "

Gerald swallowed and flushed red with embarrassment. " My name is Gerald HighTower. Dr. Gerald HighTower. I am currently 5'10. And I weigh three hundred pounds. The doctor says I am obese. " He laughed in a self conscious way and lowered his eyes to the floor.

Rocky smiled softly. " Yeah you are. But you don't have to stay that way. I'm not just a former lard ass , dude. I'm also a trained former lard ass. I am a certified athletic trainer with a bachelor degree in Sport and Exercise Science. I also have a minor in psychology. Put yourself in my hands and I will change your life. "

" What do you recommend first ?"

Rocky smiled wider. " I recommend you starting with stretches first every time you exercise. I recommend always having water handy. I recommend staying away from that energy drink shit because it doesn't work or help ! I recommend you controlling diet as much as exercise. And not those fad diets. They don't work , man. Trust me. I recommend you working out at home as well as here. Walking. Jogging. Yoga. If it's good enough for football players and boxers it's good enough for us. But right now after you stretch let's jump on the treadmill for a while. Then we'll move on to the bike. Hell , might even get you lifting weights one day ! "