for Kirk to join.
Kirk gulped, and then sat down so close to Lance he could smell the man’s musk wafting off of him. “Right, the Siege of Tyre was a great ah... well, a siege, by Alexander the Great of the island of Tyre. Basically, this island was impenetrable. Impossible to take, as it was out in the middle of the ocean. But Alexander the Great was... well, he was great, wasn’t he?” A nervous chuckle. A deep breath. “He saw the siege as a challenge to overcome, one he knew he would overcome. So, he planned to build a bridge out to the island, one made up of ships that lined up next to each other.”
“And he did it, right? After months and months of planning?”
“Actually, it was only a few days of planning,” Kirk grimaced. He then hurried, “But the first time he failed. Absolutely miffed it. So, he went back to planning, longer this time. Harder. He took his time, learned from his mistakes, and then when he tried again, he succeeded. Took the island and killed everyone on it.” Kirk gave a nervous laugh.
Lance was silent for a moment. He stared down at his feet, brow scrunched, deep in thought. The silence was so profound that for a few long seconds, Kirk was sure he’d said something wrong.
“Right.” Lance gave his head a sudden shake. “Exactly. The point is, these things don’t happen overnight. More to that point, mistakes happen too. Wrong paths... missed chances. But... if you apply yourself, give it time and take the right approach, you’ll get there.” Lance then clapped his hands together and stood up. He suddenly looked determined. “Building muscle doesn’t happen over-night, Kirk. But it does happen. And you keep at it like this and I promise you that soon, you’ll see results.”
“Really?” Kirk pressed his lips together.
“Only if you trust me,” Lance then said. He held his hand down for Kirk to take so he could lift him to his feet. “Do you?”
Kirk looked at the hand, and then at the man it belonged to. In that moment, he’d jump off a damn bridge if he were asked. Lucky, that wasn’t the case. “Of course, I do.” Kirk took the hand and allowed himself to be lifted to his feet.
The workout ended soon after, which Kirk was actually grateful for. The fact he’d managed to get through that story about the Siege of Tyre without sounding like a complete idiot, was a miracle unto itself. And if he never saw Lance again, he would like to think that he had left a decent final impression.
Although... truth be told... he also hoped that he did get to see Lance again. Even if it was only from a distance. He’d worked out with Carlo three times already, but this session was the best yet. And not just because Lance was a cut above all else, but because the session itself was superior. When Kirk walked out of the gym that morning, he did so with a stride and sense of self-achievement he had not felt in a very long time.
Maybe this whole gym thing wasn’t so bad after all?
Chapter Four
Lance’s head spun as he stumbled off the gym floor and headed toward the locker room. It was excitement that caused this reaction; pure, unadulterated joy really. The last time he’d felt this way was when he had first come up with his protein-smoothie bar idea all those weeks ago.
He knew what the cause was, of course. It was the client he had just trained, Kirk Little. A nice enough guy, truth be told, if not a little shy and definitely lacking in confidence and self-esteem. He was also in desperate need of a stylist, and a few more months in the gym certainly wouldn’t go astray. But none of that really mattered. It was what he had been saying that had Lance in a state, which had him actually wanting to go back and keep speaking to the guy. The only reason he hadn’t was because there was something he had to do... right now!
Once he made it to the locker room, Lance went straight for his own locker and hurriedly opened it. The inside of the locker was a mass of gym clothes, towels, bands and other random pieces of equipment he’d accumulated over time. There was also his gym bag, food stuffs and most importantly a single red folder tucked into the very back, hidden from view so