Chapter 37
January 28th, 2158
Initially Nora was thrilled with the idea of being able to witness the courtship of Mike and Atnea. However her excitement soon waned after the time and place for their first date was set. Mike and Atnea had decided that watching a movie, or sharing a meal wasn't really their style. They had to choose an activity where Logan and Nora could be present and watched over as there orders demanded. They settled on an early morning work out for a first date.
For Logan this wasn't anything out of his normal routine. In fact, Mike woke him up with the standard box of items before they met up with the women. When Mike and Logan arrived at the gym, Atnea was visibly nervous, and Nora was sitting on a weight bench sulking and half a sleep.
Logan left Mike to do his own thing, and walked over to Nora and sat down next to her. Logan couldn't help but grin at her, which made her even angrier.
"What kind of first date is this? It's not very romantic." Nora said with a huff.
"If Atnea is anything like Mike, I think the two will have a great time working out together." Logan paused rethinking his words. "What you think is romantic isn't the same as everyone else. Working out is the most relaxed and happy that i have ever seen Mike. And by lifting weights, they both can be as formal or informal as they feel comfortable with. It seems to me to be the perfect first date for them."
Nora, who already had her arms folded, hunched forward with another huff. This one was exaggerated for dramatic effect. "Well, they didn't have to wake up so early to work out did they?"
Logan laughed as he stood from the bench. "Well, I'm going for a few laps around the track. Would you care to join me? Or are you just going to be pissy all morning?"
Nora's stared daggers at Logan, "God, I hate you so much right now." She stood up and followed Logan to the track entrance.
After quickly stretching, the two began an easy pace around the track. For the first little while they ran in silence. But after they ran around the pool, through the tunnel and back into the weight room. Logan couldn't help but notice Atnea and Mike.
Atnea was bench-pressing, and Mike was spotting her. Atnea was concentrating on her form and breathing, but Mike had a wide grin on his face as he counted. Before Logan and Nora entered the curve that would take them back to the pool area, Mike and Atnea switched places. Atnea's look of concentration was quickly replaced with a smile that mirrored Mike's.
"You see that?" Logan asked Nora.
"What," Nora said without looking around.
"Look at how happy they are."
Nora raised her head and looked at Mike and Atnea. They were both laughing at an unknown joke. At the sight of it, a smile creped into the corners of Nora's mouth.
"That's what I thought," Logan said as they finished the corner and headed for the tunnel.
After several laps, Logan and Nora exited the track and the two began a light weight lifting routine. Neither Logan nor Nora was too concerned about what exercises they did, but they did make a point to give Mike and Atnea plenty of room.
Logan noticed that Mike could easily lift more weight than Atnea. However, Atnea was focused on form and control. Before having watched Atnea lift weights, Logan would have guessed that Mike had perfect form. Now he knew that Mike's form was merely good compared to Atnea's form, which was perfection.
YOU ARE READING
Contact
Science FictionAn ancient alien relic is found by an asteroid mining crew, which turns out to be much more than just a strange black opaque cube. Logan, brother to one of the miners, is whisked away along with several other specialists to work on a secret project...