Oh…
“Trisha let her push up on you?” Tori shook her head to the negative. “Then what happened?”
“She tried me. That’s all. I didn’t like it, so I bounced. That’s it.”
Okay…
Not caring much about the girl to push her for more details, I decided to drop it. I pointed over toward the starting point of the track. “Let’s start there. Not sure how fast or long you are, but I’m here until I finish four miles, which is usually sixty minutes. You can wait or go; it’s up to you. When I’m done, I go the main gym floor for about forty-five minutes of conditioning and strengthening. After that is practice, then a massage for me. We play here at home tomorrow.” My hands swung into the air, not knowing how much more to share. It’s not like she was on my team or anything. I just wanted to be less hostile to the girl.
Without a reply, Tori took off for the starting point. I met her there, slipped my headphones on, and hit play on my iPod. Then started my clock for the time. We took off together, and naturally, she lagged behind me. I didn’t give a shit. This was my time. Sharing a track with her meant nothing to me. I released my mind to Lil’ Wayne as I glided into my run.
The first time I thought to check my watch, I saw a shadow behind me. I was flying through the middle of the second lap. The sun was fully set, and Tori was about three meters on my ass. From my quick glance, her face was tight, mouth ajar as she pushed ahead. On a mental chuckle, I continued forward, old school Biggie blasting in my ear now.
I felt sweat race down my face the next time I checked the time. I was on the third lap and my feet were heated. A curled body to my left on the track led my mind to register Tori, who was bent over, doing something with her foot. She must have wiped out, I figured, and locked back into my focus. On my fifth lap, Tori was stretched out on the track. I pushed ahead.
In the middle of my seventh lap, I breezed past her moderate jog. Running was an escape for me. It allowed me to move mentally in a way I’d love to through life; in a breeze. I could focus on a thought, or not entertain any if I wanted while sprinting. Awareness did strike on lap nine when I caught Tori slowing, hurled over coughing. Mentally, I laughed again. She needed to improve on her lungs.
Tori was back on the track for her ninth lap. She looked better, completely soaked. By lap ten, I was struggling; warring with laziness. I preserved, but slowed on my eleventh lap. My feet were swollen and chest heavy. So, I practically jogged into lap twelve. Tori basically ended with me, just as winded.
We both ended hunched over with our hands and arms on our knees. That was until Tori barreled over and stretched out on the track mat.
Winded my damn self, I laughed. “So you aren’t quitting?”
Her eyes opened and narrowed. Tori’s face was stony when she finally shook her head.
I snorted. “That could be a good thing. Flight prices are mad high now.”
She eventually stood and we started off the field. “Oh, I wasn’t paying.” Her face was to her feet. “In my BSU package is two flights this semester, for one of the holidays.” She jerked her head. “Mine would’ve just been one way.”
I nodded, not caring for much more small talk. “Let’s go do some conditioning and strength training in the weight room. Who’s your trainer?”
She shrugged then stopped to take off her shoe. She bent it, manipulating the sole, then took a whiff. Her face folded something mean. But Tori didn’t complain. She put the sneaker back on. “Luke Brown.” She wheezed. “Corny guy, but I didn’t schedule with him for this morning.”
That was odd to me, but working out with a girl was, too. We drudged to the gym. Inside, one of the training aides was crossing the foyer.
“Hey, Todd,” I called out to him. “You know who Tori’s trainer is?”
Tori and I stopped as he tapped into his tablet. “Luke? Yeah.”
“Is he in this morning?” I asked.
“Nah. Not until six tonight. But that’s her boxing trainer.”
Okay…
I didn’t realize that. What Todd was saying was her boxing trainer wasn’t scheduled with her this morning, so he wouldn’t be in the general gym randomly.
“Is there a trainer available for her now?”
“Nah. It’s okay.” Tori shook her head, body stiff. “I can hit Trisha to figure it out.”
“Tasha could be.” He pulled out his cellphone. “Let me find her.”
Ignoring Tori’s coolness, I nodded and pivoted to take off. “Cool. We’ll be in the main gym.” I swung my head for her to follow.
I opened the door for her and we walked into the gym. The usual heads were there. Dre had already been at it on the TRX Row. The treadmills were almost all occupied. The elliptical machines were going. And many of the weight benches were taken.
Mark, my trainer, approached us. “Ready, captain?” He rubbed his hands together, his playful sinister grin on display.
“You know it.” I tossed my head to Tori, who was gazing around the gym like a wild cat. “Tori’s gonna work out with us until Tasha comes. Good with you?”
“Oh, yeah. Come on, young lady!” He began toward the back of the gym where he already had my weight tools ready for me. “I’ve seen you around the admin offices. Right?” Tori nodded, stiff as usual. I emptied my pockets on a bench. “What’re you? Fifties?”
“Yeah,” Tori nodded. “I guess.”
“Yo!” I shouted over to the manager’s booth where Sam’s, the gym’s manager, booth was. “Let’s let that King of the South spit on this bitch!”
I needed to kill the top 100 pop play happening now. Seconds later, T.I.’s “What You Know” began filling the air. Mark got me started with bench presses and Tori with push presses. Less than twenty minutes later, Tasha came through and took over with Tori. They remained in the back, where I generally worked out alone with Mark before going over to the TRX Row and other things. For the next hour and fifteen minutes, we trained hard, something I knew Tori was capable of.
When I was done, a small crowd had gathered around Tori across the floor. She’d just finished up on mountain climber tuck jump burpees. Some of the female soccer players gathered a couple of crew members, and some of my team spent the last of their training time watching her work. She moved like a damn machine: eyes blank, face glistening, and entire body in swift coordination.
The crowd broke when Tori was done. Tasha gave her a few words of feedback as Tori pulled that damn sneaker off again, bending it. That shit annoyed me each time she did it, so I could only imagine how much of a distraction it was for her when working out.
I lifted my arm, pointing toward the north doors of the gym where the café was. “Protein?”
Twisting her mouth to the side, she nodded. Again, she was hesitant, but I was believing that state of mind was her thing. We walked to the small concession and ordered our drinks. I made short conversations with a few people in passing, all while noticing Tori avoided, at all cost, looking my way. When our drinks were ready, I used my card to clear mine.
“You have your meal card?” I asked her.
Tori hesitated, then pulled the card from the inner pocket of her leggings. “I can use this here?”