lower lip, glancing away. “Okay... so how many times a week do you train?"
The change of subject surprised me, but I went for it. “I come in daily. But it's more than a workout for me. It's a way to blow off steam. Otherwise, I have far too much adrenaline to sleep, so I need to work it off."
“Hmm." She tilted her head to one side, surveying me. "Yes, I can tell by the rigidness of your shoulders that you're stressed. That means the workout didn't really help you all that much."
“I'm not done yet," I clarified. "I'm hitting the weight area next."
“Well, I have free time on my hands. If you want, I can watch you work out and see if I can give you any tips."
Isabelle's warning rang in my mind, but I wanted to spend time with Mel too much to pay it any attention. I couldn't explain what drew me to her. Last time, I'd put it all down to the protective instincts of mine kicking in. I'd wanted to make sure she was all right; that was why I hung around, as any gentleman would have done. But today was different, and I couldn't use that excuse anymore. She’d been on my mind ever since her unintentional flirty text.
“Sure, why not? I have a weight training program that one of the trainers here designed for me when I joined."
"Why don't you have a personal trainer?" she asked.
"Honestly, it didn't seem like it was necessary, and I didn't want to have to make appointments. I like coming and going whenever I please."
She looked at me with a wry smile. "Okay. Do the exercises, and I'll correct your posture and give you tips."
I started with weights for my back. She looked at me carefully, her eyes wandering up and down my body in more than a professional assessment. I was filing that in my memory; I was sure I'd have the opportunity to tease her later on.
"Why don't you tell me about yourself while you watch me?" I suggested.
She laughed. "You and Isabelle are the same. She always wants to keep me talking when she works out. She says it distracts her."
"Really?" I had completely different intentions when it came to Melanie. I didn't want her to distract me. I just wanted to know more about her.
"Well, unfortunately, I cannot multitask," she said. "With Isabelle, I do the mat exercises as well. But weight training is a different beast, so I’ll watch you and pay attention to your posture. Oh, look, see? The moment you don't focus, you make a mistake. If you're going to keep your shoulders hunched like this, it won’t help you relax. If anything, you're going to get a muscle strain." She went behind me, flattening her palm between my shoulder blades. " I'll apply some pressure here, so you remember to keep your back straight, okay? Now do another set."
I could see her in the mirror. I was watching her instead of myself. Feeling that small palm on my back was messing with my mind. I imagined her hand elsewhere already. Her hair was tied up on top of her head, leaving her neck completely free. Like last time, she was wearing tight pants, and the short top left nothing to the imagination. Her body was delicious. I'd do anything to explore her curves.
After I finished the set, she said, "Okay, good. Well, you should take a three-minute break now to give your muscles a chance to relax."
"Will you spend that break with me?"
She grinned. "Do you want me to?"
"Fuck yes."
Her eyes widened a little at my response. Then she asked, "So what else do you do for relaxation besides working out?"
I didn't have to think about it too long. "Absolutely nothing."
"Come on, that's not healthy."
"What do you do to relax, Melanie? Come on, help a guy out here."
To my astonishment, she blushed. "Right, I don't think my tips will help you very much. They're particular to me."
“Tell me.”
"You're that curious, are you?"
“Very.” Only when it came to her. I didn't say that out loud, though.
“Well, I go for a walk, watch a movie. Sometimes I meditate. I also listen to audiobooks.”
Something in the way she quickly glanced away when she said “audiobooks” clued me in that there was more to that.
“What kind of audiobooks?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You won’t get all my secrets today, Dylan.”
“That’s a secret, then? Good to know. Okay, you’re off the hook for now. What else do