Fate Interrupted

6. Gym Hero

Ren

A long sigh of resignation exits my chest as I ride the elevator down at the end of my second week on the job. The day was long. I still haven't seen Gio again, and my friends are all too busy to go out, so I only have a night of my favorite wine and binge-watching Sex in the City ahead of me. 

I have zero plans this weekend besides apartment hunting, so I figure I should finally get my exercise routine back on track. I haven't done a lick of anything besides walking 15 minutes to work, and I'm starting to feel a bit like a slug. Dancing is just what I need to perk me back up. 

But now that The Power Gym is off the table, that leaves Gym Hero just down the street as my only local option in our small city. When I get home, I look into their dance fitness classes online, and they have a cardio hip-hop class Saturday mornings at 10 am. Perfect.

I'm surprised as I bounce out of bed in the morning with a smile on my face. I'm usually a bit of a sloth in the morning on the weekends, but I have lined up two great-looking apartments to view and am feeling really pumped to go dance. 

Upon arriving early to the gym to sign up, a very fit middle-aged woman with an orange spray tan and a name tag that reads Kymberli greets me from behind the long, modern-looking reception desk. Her eyes, flanked by spider-like clumped mascara, widen as she sees me approach.

"Welcome to Gym Hero! How can I help you today."

"I'm interested in signing up for dance classes." 

"Okay, great! Have you been a member here before?" she chirps, getting out a clipboard.

"Nope," I smile.

"Well, I'm glad you came in! We are doing a promo this month: half-off your first three months with a six-month commitment, then month to month after that—you get to try out the gym for today, and if you like it, just come back up to the front, and we'll complete the payment," she says in practically one breath. "Sound good?"

This girl has had waaaay too much coffee.

"Sounds great," I reply slowly compared to her.

She hands me a clipboard. "Just fill this out real quick." 

After I fill it out, she gives me a tour of the facilities. It's not as moody and trendy as the Crunch Fitness I went to in New York, but it's not too bad. The first thing you see is the multitude of people on the treadmills and StairMasters, trying to run off their Friday nights.

"Over here is the cardio equipment, and the locker rooms are just down here."

 We walk down a little hallway leading to two doors - marked W & M. 

"Your door is this one," she says, holding the W door open. We peek in, and it looks... normal.

"We also do personal training, and there is a sauna in each locker room."

"Nice," I remark. I look around. The facility is clean and doesn't smell... too awful. It's light and bright, with big windows and lots of glass. Tall banana palms add a bit of green to the space adding a soft, calming touch with so many hard grey machines around. I don't know why Logan said this place wasn't nice.

"Back here is the weight training area and, finally, the yoga and dance studio. Your class will be in here."

She shows me the yoga studio and dance room, which is only separated from the weight-training area by a giant wall of glass. Not ideal. The setup reminds me of what Logan said about watching the girls dance while he lifts weights, and it's giving me the creeps again. But as I think about it... many of the gyms I've been to have been similar. She opens the door for me, and I enter the room.

"See you after class!" she chips again, spins on her heel, and leaves.

The brunette instructor is crouched in the corner hooking up the stereo equipment to her phone, and a few other women of various ages are stretching in their spots on the floor. I go to join them... in the back of the class.

Hmm. I hope I like it. 

My anxiety is percolating at a low level in my stomach, but I remind myself that it's just a fitness class, and the first time is always the hardest. I breathe as I stretch out my hamstrings. The wait isn't too long before the instructor starts the class, and right away, I love it. It's super high energy and fun—the songs are current, and the moves are a mix of simple and more complex.

Near the end of class, I'm feeling good and working up a sweat. We are dancing to Poker Face by Lady Gaga, and I feel fun and sexy doing it. At the very end of the song, when the words po-po-poker face repeat, we do an eight count that includes a turn going clockwise to face the right. We do the count again and turn to face the rear glass looking out into the gym.

I'm nervous. I can't see the teacher now, and the whole class is now looking at me. I look straight ahead and keep thinking about what I'm doing. Which would have worked had I not locked eyes with a certain somebody sitting on the bench of the chest machine that's directly opposite, staring right at me.

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