Chapter 9
Sarai
Sarai finished her five minutes, got off the treadmill, and wiped it down. She had a look around and was amazed by the people around her, all working out. Some had other personal trainers. There were male and female trainers and all kinds of machines. Alistair hadn’t showed her all of them. She noticed one that looked like an escalator. No one seemed to be using it. She walked towards it.
“Not allowed on it without Alistair's permission.” One of the other trainers said. “Try something else.”
“How come?” she asked, curious.
“It’s brand new and he’s the only one who knows how to use it.”
“What is it? Cause it looks like an escalator.”
“Yeah, I have no idea. You got to ask Alistair. He’s the only one who really knows the equipment around here. He’s the boss, you know.”
“Right. Thanks.”
There were a couple of people doing jumping jacks, a couple were jumping rope. There were weight machines, cardio machines, stretch bars, and, of course, in the other room were punching bags and a boxing ring. Alistair came back with two exercise balls.
“Ready to sit on my balls?” He winked and she laughed. “I’ll show you the best exercises to do on them.” He took them to the center of the room where the mats covered the floor. He set them up and sat on one. Sarai sat on the other one. “So, how are you?” He asked looking her over. “You look good. I understand work’s been busy.
“Oh, we’re just going to sit and chat?”
“Why not?” He shrugged. “I figured we have some catching up to do, and you didn’t really come here to work out, did you?”
“Yeah, I kind of did.” She laughed.
“Well you can work out after we catch up. I told you I’d keep it open late for you. So, how are you? Any regrets?”
“I’m good, and no, no regrets. You?”
“I’m good as well, no regrets.” He rolled his ball closer to her.
She laughed, taken by surprise. She didn’t know what she had been expecting when she returned, but she hadn’t expected this open flirting he was doing. Had he dealt with his complication? She tried to read him, but once again he was unreadable. He wore a smile, and his eyes twinkled when he looked at her, but she couldn’t tell anything else.
He reached for her hand. “I’ve been missing you, a lot. Can’t get you off my mind. The way you smell, the way you felt, the way you look. I’ve been smitten. Cupid shot his arrow right into my heart.
Sarai, before you, I didn’t think romance and love was in my cards. I thought I would end up like my father, miserable, in a loveless marriage. Now I’m not trying to rush things, or anything, but I feel like you should know how I feel. I know I'm guarded, and I still have the complication I’m working out. If you were to give me a chance, I promise never to hurt you. You’re an amazing woman, Sarai, incredible in so many ways.”
“Thanks!” she blushed. “Yeah, I’ve missed you too. Sorry, it’s been crazy at the shop. We have another wedding, and this one is a very tall order. We have special flowers flying in from Europe, almost daily. Someone has to be there to sign for them and make sure that they are put away so customers don’t try to buy them out from under us. If we have leftovers, we’ll put them on the floor. Like I said, it’s a big wedding, and we have so many bouquets to do; so many boutonnieres, corsages, and table arrangements. Then, on top of all that, they have these huge gold urns that are like six feet tall. A person could easily fit in one of them standing up.” With the mention of the urns, Alistair seemed to get shifty, fidgety. He had nearly lost his balance on his ball.
“We should get back to your training,” he said, standing up. “Ok, this is the way to exercise on these, because they are called exercise balls.” He showed her a few stretches and she caught the look on his face as she stretched over the ball. It a lustful, hungry look. She wondered if the only thing stopping him from taking advantage of the situation was that there were still plenty of people around.
“Right.” He showed her a few more exercises, and then they moved back to the machines. The rowing machine was next, but he thought she’d rather get the leg press out of the way, so he had her do the leg press. While she pushed her legs out, she continued to talk about the urns. “We’re supposed to fill them with water and then top them off with a wreath with hanging ivy vines, snapdragons, thistles, and heather. It’s going to be a breathtaking display. I guess the wedding is outside at someone’s fancy estate. There’s going to be a floral arch, which I have to special order, and then arrange the flowers on it and the tulle. I just love doing wedding flowers. I’m such a hopeless romantic. I believe in fairytales and happy ever after.”
Alistair laughed and she blushed.
“Have I told you how much I hate this machine?”
“It’s good for your legs, keep it up. If it helps, you look super sexy on it.”
“Yeah, no, I don’t, but you’re adorable for saying so.”
He laughed.
“So, other than this hellish wedding you must prepare for, how are things going? How’s your car, did you get that fixed?”
“Yeah. yeah. It got fixed. I’m going to make sure I have a spare at all at times, though. I guess the fact that I didn’t worked out to my benefit. Well, to our benefit.” She smiled.
