TGIF was all I kept thinking as I put the finishing touches on my last project. It had been a long week full of deadlines. I was so ready to go home and relax with a glass of wine and a good book. Who needed a love life when you had romance novels?

My phone vibrated on my desk.

Noel: Drinks tonight?

Me: What about Zumba?

Noel: We'll try next week. Plus we have our session Saturday.

Me: I'm tired. Think I'll stay in.

Noel: You always stay in and read your fairy tales. Come out so you can meet your real life prince charming.

Reed's muscled body popped into my head. The feel of his large hand on my hip gave me tingles down below. Ugh, I was not looking for a prince charming. Why Reed popped into my mind at Noel's ridiculous suggestion, I have no idea.

Me: I don't need a prince charming. I'm an independent woman. 

Noel: Independence won't fulfill your needs in the bedroom. Come on, we won't stay out long.

Me: Fine. I'm not staying out past ten. I need to be rested before our dreaded session in the morning.

Noel: At least we’ll  have eye candy! :) Meet at our spot at six-thirty.

Feeling good about my work I left the office. Once I got home, I freshened up my makeup. I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my bedroom debating between a flowy off the shoulder dress or simple jeans and a cute top. I settled on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans that hugged my curves, black pumps, and a maroon blouse.

Our favorite bar was a pretty low key place. They played mostly R&B and had decently priced drinks. When I arrived Noel was sitting at the bar chatting with a very sexy man. I could tell as soon as I saw her that she was in full charmer mode.

"Hey, Pen!" Noel enveloped me into a hug. "This is James. He's a partner at a law firm."

This was her way of telling me he had money without being super blatant. I offered my hand for a shake. He took it in his and greeted me with a smile. The three of us sat around drinking and talking for a few hours. James seemed to be feeling Noel as much as she was him. I didn’t doubt that Noel wouldn’t be going home alone.

I was getting sleepy and tired of feeling like a third wheel. I decided it was time for me to make my exit.

"Noel, I'm beat. I'm going to head home. I want to be well rested for tomorrow."

Noel gave me a pouty face, but I knew she wasn't really sad. If the night ended how she wanted, her and James wouldn’t be far behind me.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning then."

I gave her a quick hug and told her to be safe. I sent a small wave to James and headed out to my car. I was happy to be getting home earlier than expected.

The next morning my alarm went off at eight. I didn't need much time to get ready, and the gym wasn't far from my place. After dressing in yoga pants and an old t-shirt I grabbed a bottle of water and headed for the door.

I called Noel on my way to the gym, but her phone rang until voicemail picked up. I didn't bother leaving her a message because I knew she wouldn't listen to it. I'd just have to see her there. Ten minutes later I was standing outside of the gym. I tried to call Noel again, but it went to voicemail.

Me: Where are you? It's 8:55!

I waited a minute for her response before walking into the lobby. Reed was standing behind the counter speaking with a petite blonde. He must have heard the door jingle because he looked up and right at me. A gorgeous smile split his face. I think my heart stopped for a brief moment.

I offered him a small wave as he cut off his conversation with the blonde and made his way around the counter toward me.

"You made it," he said.

"Yep, I'm here. I just hope I make it out alive."

This got a chuckle from him. "You will be fine, I promise."

He was only about a few feet away from me. I could smell his clean scent. It smelled like he himself had rolled fresh out of a washing machine.

"I'm waiting on Noel. I tried to call her, but she isn't answering my calls or text."

"We could start stretching if you want while we wait."

I hesitated. I didn't know if I wanted to be alone with him. Logically I knew there were other people in the gym, but I wasn't typically the conversationalist. Noel was, and she was not there. I also knew that his time was valuable, and I didn't want to be rude and waste it.

"Okay, that would be fine."

He led me over to an area with mats.

"Have a seat." he instructed.

I set on the mat and he sat across from me. I mimicked the poses he did as he explained each one.

"So Penelope, what made you want to get into fitness?"

"I don't know if 'want' is the word I would use, more like need. I have a family history of diabetes and heart disease. I want to try to prevent those things. Plus the obvious, my size."

He looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"I don't see anything wrong with you. You look good to me."

What the... did he just say I looked good? Surely he didn't mean what I wished he meant.

"I can stand to lose a few pounds, tighten up a bit. I don't want to be skinny, per se, just healthy."

"Hm," was his only response as his eyes did a perusal of my body.

'How does your boyfriend feel about all of this?"

"I don't have a boyfriend. Even if I did, I don't need anyone's approval."

That earned me another one of his panty dropping smiles. He looked up at the clock.

"It looks like we are going to be doing a one-on-one today."

I followed his eyes to the clock. It was already nine-twenty. It was safe to say Noel was a no show. That girl was going to get an ear full as soon as I left.

"So, I thought we could start out with some weight machines first and then we can move to cardio."

"You're the boss, lead the way."

He took me around two different machines showing me how to use them and then having me do several sets on each. I was surprised to find that I didn’t  hate it as much as I expected. He made small talk but kept it mostly to the exercises. I was relieved.

I was on a machine that was supposed to be working my back according to the little picture on it. Reed moved behind me and my arms faltered.

"Relax," he said close enough that I could feel his breath on my ear. "You want to do these slow. Make sure you are really squeezing the back muscles when you pull toward your body."

He placed his hands over mine. It felt like fire was radiating off of his skin. My concentration was shot. He guided my arms back with his. When we released the move back to the starting position, his back was flush against mine.

"You're doing great," he said.

His mouth was only a few inches from my ear. My body shivered at the feel of his breath on my neck.

"You cold?"

"On the contrary." My voice was shaky.

"I think we've done enough weights for the day. Let's move on to the elliptical."

I felt relieved to be moving from the weights. My body and mind couldn't take any more of his close proximity. I couldn't think straight with him touching me.

Reed set my elliptical at a moderate pace before hopping on the one next to me.

"So, how are you feeling about today's workout?"

Aside from his being all up in my personal space?

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Weight lifting is kind of fun."

"I'm glad to hear you liked it. The best thing will be to find something you like. It's easier to stick to then."

"I could see that."

"What do you think about keeping the personal training up? I would be glad to be your trainer."

Was he insane? I couldn't train with him every week. I would burst into flames from the heat wave that passed through his body to mine.

"I'm not sure about that."

"Give it some thought. I can probably even come up with a deal for you."

" I'll think about it."

I wasn't thinking about a thing, but he didn't need to know that.

We finished up on the elliptical and did a quick cool down stretch.

"Follow me to the front and I’ll give you my card. You can call me directly to set up your sessions."

He reached behind the desk and pulled a card out jotting something down on the back. 

"The front is the number to the gym. I wrote my cell on the back. You can call or text, either one."

"Okay, thanks for this and thanks for today."

“It was my pleasure.”

Feeling bashful and not sure what else to say I turned toward the door to leave. I was just about to push it open when Reed appeared at my side.

"Hey Penelope, you wouldn't want to go get coffee would you?"

My head tilted to the side. This was out of left field.

"Now?"

He lifted his hand and absently kneaded his shoulder.

"Yeah, I have an hour and a half until my next client. I thought maybe we could talk,"

"Oh, I should probably get home. I'm all sweaty. I need to shower," my words trailed off. 

"Of course, maybe next time."

The smile on his face faltered, but he tried to paste it back on. It wasn't convincing.

I got ready to push the door open when my conversation with Noel popped into my head. I hated to admit that she was right. I would never find my prince charming if I didn't put myself out there. Maybe he wasn't it, but he could be practice.

"You know what, on second thought, I could go for a cup."