〰 Take a redhead that uses her assets to get her way in business, a curly nanny who believes in true love, a dark-haired, drop-dead gorgeous stripper and you've got a curved t(h)reat.
Then add a nerdy personal trainer, a tall, dark and handsome bo...
I wake up and stretch out. It's Monday morning, the first day of training with Noah. I feel butterflies in my stomach and jump out of bed. I walk over to the chair in the corner and look at the outfit Mona decided on. We went shopping for workout gear yesterday. I wanted to go in sweatpants and a big shirt. But she wasn't having it.
I chuckle and remember her forcefulness. She had a point though. I should show up in the gym like I would at work. Wearing the best outfit possible to get the results I want. I have to look the part if I want to give this a serious go. The right outfit always gives me confidence.
I wash up and pull my hair into a high ponytail. I grab my new sports bag and put my work clothes, new shoes and toiletries in there. I look at the shoes and smile at the camouflage pattern and the bright pink laces. I walk over to the chair and put my camouflage fitness leggings and my matching sports bra on.
I really splurged on this stuff, something I rarely do. But it all matched. Pastel camouflage with bright pink accents. I put a bright pink jacket on and zip it closed. I put on my red trainers, grab a banana, and my keys, and walk out the door. I wave at Mike, who's on the phone and he gives me a thumbs up.
I walk over to the gym at a fast pace and take a deep breath before opening the door and going in. A girl behind the reception desk wishes me a good morning and asks me if I am meeting a personal trainer or if I'm here to work out on my own. I tell her I'm meeting Noah and she tells me to walk through the glass door. She says that the locker room is on the right and that Noah will be with me shortly.
I push the glass door open and make my way over to the locker room. I take my red sneakers off and put my new ones on. I walk back out into the gym and see a tall, blonde man working out. I smile when I recognize him and move closer to him. "Well well, Mister Hollingsworth! I never thought I'd see the day that you're breaking a sweat."
He puts the weight he was lifting down and looks at me with a smirk. "Miss Sendringham! That's because you refuse to run marathons with me to raise money for my charity."
I laugh and say: "Not happening. I don't run. I love your charity and you know I donate to it generously, but running is not something you'll see me doing anytime soon."
He checks out my outfit and says: "You are here though. Training alone? Do you need some help?"
"Nope, training with Noah."
He raises his eyebrow and says: "Hmmm. Interesting. You're not his regular type. Okay, I'll get back to my workout. See you next week."
I ask a bit surprised: "Next week?"
"Yeah, you didn't think I would let my idiot employee handle the negotiations with you again, did you? You screwed me over royally with that deal. I'm handling it myself this time."
I grin and say: "I look forward to it. You better lift some more weights to make sure you're strong enough to take me on."
He chuckles and picks his dumbbell back up. My eyes scan the room and land on Noah, staring at me like I just walked in naked. And I'm still wearing my jacket here, so I'm not sure why he looks so shocked. I wonder if I should walk over to him and smile at him carefully. He smiles back and waves me over to him.
I make my way over there and he says: "Good morning! Wow, you already look the part. I need you to sign some papers, to make sure I don't end up in jail if I accidentally kill you."
I wish him a good morning too and chuckle while signing the papers. I look up at him and catch him staring at me.
He clears his throat and says: "Tell me what you've been doing so far, training-wise."
I tell him I lift some weights at home and do some resistance band exercises. He nods and writes some things down. He asks me about my favorite workout music and I tell him I have a special Spotify playlist for it. He hands me a tablet and asks me to find it.
I find the playlist for him and he guides me over to a spinning bike. He tells me to get on it and just pedal to warm up. He promises to play my music on the sound system in the room. I chuckle to myself. He's going to be in for a surprise because he might not be ready for the music I listen to when I work out.
I start pedaling and I hear 'Let's Start A Riot' by 'Three Days Grace' blast through the room. I grin and focus on my warm-up. Noah walks up to me and adjusts some things on the bike. I look up at him and he smirks. Fucker made it harder to pedal. But I'm not going to show him I'm struggling. Drops of sweat start to form on my forehead and he looks up in surprise when 'Monkey Wrench' by the 'Foo Fighters' starts to play.
He tells me I'm warmed up enough and I almost yell that I'm wet all over. But thank fuck I don't. He looks strict this morning and I kinda like it. I hate to be treated like a girl in situations like this. And he figured that out perfectly. He talks me through a kettlebell exercise, showing me how to do it. I watch the muscles in his arm contract and have to give it my all to snap out of my x-rated daydream.
Fuck he's hot. I take my jacket off while he looks at his clipboard warning me to let him know when I feel pain in any way. He looks up from his clipboard and I see him swallow. He stares at my chest and I pretend not to notice by picking the kettlebell up.
I ask him if my feet are positioned correctly this way and he stutters: "Y-yeah. J-just like th-that."
He looks embarrassed, but fuck me that's cute. I feel a tingle between my legs and try to focus on the exercise. I sing along with the lyrics of 'Die MF Die' by 'Dope' in my head, to keep my brain occupied with something other than his hands all over my body.
Noah counts and tells me to take a tiny break. He hands me a bottle of water and after a few sips, he tells me to start again. I love the way he is all business when he tells me what to do. He doesn't baby me or flirt with me and explains the results I could expect from the various exercises. He couldn't have chosen a better approach.
After forty minutes I feel like dying. Why did I think this was a good idea? I'm soaked with sweat and I can't breathe anymore. My heart feels like it's trying to escape my chest and I am sure I look horrible. Hair is sticking to my face and I can't feel my arms and legs. I try to catch my breath and look at Noah, worried he is going to come up with more torturous exercises.
He grins at me and says: "I'll show you some tai-chi moves to cool down with. And after that, you can shower and change."
He shows me the slow, fluid movements and I try to follow them as best as I can. I have to admit it does seem to make my muscles less tense. He hands me my jacket and winks at me. I show him a weak smile and drag myself over to the locker room.
♡♡♡
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That was another one from Ama's POV
Just because it felt right.
And some of you must have noticed another cameo/tribute. Toren Hollingsworth belongs to jesciehall Read her book Players to find out more about him. Love her book and her! So she had to be honored in here❣
The first training with Noah went pretty well, don't you think?
Next update will come when I feel like it. Going to ride this inspiration wave into a new chapter for In The Shadows now.
