CHAPTER EIGHT
Chapter 7
That's my trainer? Fuck my life.
Maggie
Char and I chatted and laughed till it was time for me to head next door for my self-defense meeting. Char is supposed to meet up with her brother who works there and I’m trying not to think too hard about what the next hour will bring. We head out and as we are crossing the street I see my dad leaning against the wall next to the front door of the gym checking his phone. When he spots me and Char walking toward him he smiles.
“Hey dad. This is Char. Char this is my dad, Jackson Thompson.”
Dad inclines his head toward her and opens the door for us.
“You can call me Jack. Char? Is that short for Charolette?”
We walk over to the reception area and sign in while the girl at the front desk buzzes Mike.
“Yeah, my brother couldn’t pronounce Charlotte when I was a baby so he just called me Char or sis. Almost twenty years later he hasn’t really felt like changing it so for better or worse I just go by that.”
My dad laughs and nods his head. Just then a big bulky guy, almost as big as my dad, comes around the corner from the back of the gym and in a big booming voice he said,”Jumpin’ Jackson!”
My dad gives Char a sympathetic smile and says, “Speaking of nicknames you can’t get rid of. Just try serving int he military.”
He walks over to Mike and they shake hands before giving each other brief back slapping hugs. They are both smiling when they pull away and they both turn to look at me. I didn’t realize it, but when Mike came around the corner I had backed up agains the big reception center. This dude is fucking huge. He looks to be about 6’3” and is probably 250 pounds of muscle. He has a scar running down the side of his neck starting at the bottom of his ear and disappearing into the collar of his shirt. His hands are massive. Like big giant paws massive. He’s holding a clipboard in his hand and it looks like a post-it note.
Shaking my head I try to calm my racing heart. I breathe evenly and give Mike a little wave. I have seen him before, but when I was younger. Back before men terrified me, especially large booming men who look like they could give a bear a run for his money.
Jeez what the hell did this guy eat?
Muscle jerky?
Once he saw me though he seemed to change right in front of me. He changed his stance and seemed to make himself appear smaller. He gave me a smile and the look on his face was both patient and reassuring. I instantly understood why Dr. Sasha recommended her husbands gym. In an instant he saw I was uncomfortable and made sublet changes to put me at ease. His eyes were kind and encouraging. It didn’t completely erase my anxiety but it went a long way.
“Hello, Maggie. Max is finishing up with something at the moment why don’t I show you two to the private training room we have set up for you.”
The more he talked the more I relaxed around him. Nodding I turned toward Char who had a funny look on her face like she wanted to say something but was holding herself back.
“Hey, do you maybe want to get together later in the week and do something crazy? Like lunch this time?”
Looking at me she relaxed and let out a laugh before nodding her head.
“Defiantly. Ill text you okay?”
“Cool. Talk to you soon”.
“Good luck and have some fun with it. I’ll text you tonight to see how it went.”
“Okay bye”
“Bye”
I turn around and follow Mike and Dad down the hallway Mike had come from. The hall was lined with windows along the left side so that you could see out into the entire gym as you walked along the hallway. The right side of the hallway seemed to be lined with private training rooms. Some big enough for a big workout classes with their hardwood floors and mirror tiled walls. Others seemed smaller and more private. They had mats either on the floor or against the wall. Again some where bigger than others. We got to the end of the hall and turned right and there was one room at the end. It was already open and we walked it. It wasn’t as small as some of the other rooms we had passed but it also didn’t have any windows. It seemed to be set almost in the middle of the gym.
The room we were in should have felt kind of claustrophobic to me considering it was a box, but when you looked up there was several large sky lights in the ceilings which were at least thirty feet above us. The walls were painted a neutral steel grey, there was a large mirror on the wall running the length of the room as well as a wooden bar in front of it. The floors looked to be hardwood but someone had already come in and put down really thick blue mats. I remember using them in gymnastic classes when I was ten. They were made to cushion your fall and help you bounce back off the floor. Along the back wall were a couple of folding chairs and inside the wall by the door was what looked like a speakers system to play music. The speakers where positioned in the corners of the room. It was private, but also open in a way.
Walking over to the chairs I put down my bag and pulled my ponytail holder off my wrist. Turning around I put my hair up in a ponytail as I walked over to Mike and my dad.
“So whats the plan?”
Mike looked at me and smiled that kind, reassuring smile again. I felt was more at ease with him as the minutes ticked by and I think that had a lot to do with the fact that he seemed to be very conscious of giving me my personal space. It helped that my dad was here, I knew that, but there was something about this guy. I met him a couple of times when I was younger but I honestly didn’t remember him until he walked around the corner and even then it was vague.
“Max is wrapping up his workout and then he is going to come in and we are all going to go over what comes next. The most important thing is helping you take back some control over your own safety, but we need to do that in a way that helps you without triggering you. Personal contact, touch, loud noises and fast actions are all very common triggers when you are dealing with self-defense teaching. The important thing is not to shy away from them, but acknowledge them and learn to work through them. I know that sounds like a bunch of psycho-babble you probably get with my wife, but its true.”
At that last comment I smile. This guy seems to know his stuff. I know he is really busy running his gym and training his fighters from what my dad has told me, but if he wasn’t I would ask him to train me. I think I could trust this person and thats a very rare thing for me to be considering after right after meeting someone for the first time, but hey I tried to make a friend today so maybe it was just my day for shit to go right for once.
Just as I have that thought I look over at the door and see a very large muscular, tattooed torso.
I mean its huge.
It naked.
His chest is naked.
Can you blame me for that being the first thing I see. I force myself to move my gaze away from his abs, which are very very impressive, up his hard body to his face and my breath just stops.
The most intense pair of icey blue eyes are staring at me.
No they are devouring me.
I feel myself blush at the heat I can feel coming from this guys gaze.
That intense gaze is still focused on me, making me increasingly uncomfortable with how much it is effecting me when all of the sudden its ripped away when a blond chick in a sports bra and spandex shorts slams into him from the side knocking him away from the door and out of my view.
As soon as he broke eye contact I let out the breath I was holding. It isn’t until I see Mike and my Dad making there way toward the door that I force myself to move my wobbly legs and follow them. Just as I make it to the door I peek around my dad who is standing in the middle of the hall just in time to see the blond attaching her lips to my guys neck.
Whoa.
My guy?!?!
Nope.
Not happening.
I don’t know whats going on with me but even though I see him clearly trying to disentangle her from him I reach up to rub this pain in may chest I feel at seeing her wrapped around him like that.
What the hell is my deal?
I have seen this guy for all of like five seconds and I’m already jealous of some skank who is clearly barking up the wrong tree with this guy if the pissed off look on his face is anything to go by. Just as I am about to head back in the room and wait for my trainer I hear Mike yell.
“Max! What the fuck is going on?!”
I snap my gaze back to him and see him staring at me intently right before Mike hits Max on the back of the head with his clipboard.
Wait.
Max.
Max?
As in trainer Max?
Defiantly got ahead of myself in the Things-Going-Right department.
Fuck my life.