WILLA
The team’s new coach, Bill Rencovitch, was in his office when I walked by on my way to the gym Wednesday morning. He didn’t even look up from the stack of paperwork he was engrossed in, and I didn’t want to interrupt him. After the morning’s workout with the guys, I’d stop by and make sure I was on his schedule so we could assess and coordinate.
It was a usual day in the gym. We warmed up with some quick sprints on the treadmill, then I paired the orcs off for a medicine ball routine. Instead of the passing sprints in the hallways, this one would involve quick footwork, weighted directional changes, and communication. I separated the orcs into groups of five, gave two medicine balls to each group, and asked them to form large circles.
“You’ll be tossing the ball to another orc in your group,” I explained. “Tossit. Don’t try to take their head off or throw the ball like you’re going for a fifty-yard pass. No one should be running to catch the ball, or moving more than a few short steps from your position in the circle. Got it?”
“Got it, ma’am,” the orcs shouted in unison.
“When you toss the ball to a group member, you need to spin around and be ready to catch it if someone throws a ball to you. When you catch the ball, I want you to also do a spin before throwing it. Alternate the direction of your spin, to the left, then to the right, then to the left again.” I demonstrated with Ugwyll a few times because I knew some of these orcs had better English skills than others. “Do not drop the ball, and do this as quickly as you can. Got it?”
“Got it, ma’am,” they shouted again.
“Good. There’s one more instruction. Before you toss the ball, I want you to call out the orc’s name who is supposed to catch it. Like this.”
“Ugwyll. Incoming.” I threw the ball to Ugwyll who easily caught it and did a spin to the left before tossing it back with a baritone “Willa. Incoming.”
“Got it?” I asked.
“Got it, ma’am,” the orcs called out.
“Then get to work!”
The noise in the gym was deafening. Surprisingly, the orcs managed to hear their names being called even with the din, and no one dropped the ball. After a few minutes, the passing game began to speed up and I watched in amazement as the guys managed to keep their attention on two balls moving at speed within their groups. The wheels began to fall off the bus after ten minutes when the constant spinning took its toll. Orcs began to stumble, barely managing to catch the balls. Stumbles turned into staggering and then falls as the guys began taking the medicine balls to the chest instead of catching them, and toppling backward to the ground.
Admirably, none of them dropped the ball even after landing flat on their backs.
I blew my whistle to signal the end of the session. A few orcs ran to nearby trashcans and began to heave up their breakfast,while others struggled to get up from where they’d fallen. I made a mental note of the guys who had survived the workout, and decided to modify this routine to be a little easier on the ones who hadn’t.
After a break to regain their balance and drink water, I set the team to climbing ropes, timing each of them and offering a can of Mountain Dew from the soda machine for the winner. I’d discovered that the orcs were highly competitive. By gamifying workouts I was able to see increased effort, and enjoyment from the team.
Ozar was the winner, and I made a big deal of presenting him with his Mountain Dew prize. The others all cheered the orc on. Not that any of them was addicted to soda, they just all wanted to win and any prize no matter how minor or ridiculous was highly coveted. I could have given the winner a crumpled gum wrapper and he’d tape it to the inside of his locker with pride.
The team went on to do some strength training, orc-style. After back squats and deadlifts, I made them do farmers’ carries with anvils, and tire flips using wheels that had come off of combines and large tractors.
Before they headed to the showers I let the team know that I’d be working with Coach Rencovitch to create a custom workout plan for each of them. Starting next week, we’d have a shorter team workout prior to their practices with the coach, then they would be expected to go through their individual workout plan later that day.
“I’ll schedule some time with each of you once a week to see your progress and make any necessary changes to your plan, but feel free to let me know if you want to meet outside of that time, or just come by to ask some questions. I’ll be working from the office next to the coach’s.”
“The one where we found magazines with pictures of naked human females?” Strike asked.
I winced. “Yes, that one.” I’d need to clean out that old office thoroughly because if it had porn mags, then it might have other, far more unsavory items.
The orcs headed to the locker room. Feeling nervous, I called out for Eng, asking if he could stay a minute. Ugwyll gave the other orc a sharp look as Eng made his way to me, and I felt like I could sink through the floor.
He smiled, stopping a respectful two feet from me. It was a warm smile, kind, loving. There was a little edge to his smile that said he wanted to pounce on me the moment locker room door closed behind the last orc, that he wanted to kiss me senseless, to push me up against the wall, yank my workout tights down, hike me up and drive himself deep inside.
I was breathless at the thought, my body ready and willing. But as fun as our flirty texts had been last night, as wonderful as the last few days of light and cozy wooing had been, I was still scared. What if it was all a ploy to get me back just so he could dump me on his own terms? I didn’t think my heart could stand it.
So I cleared my throat and tried not to think about how good his body always felt against mine.
“I…I’m hoping you could be the first of my individual workout plans.” He frowned slightly and I realized I hadn’t made myself clear. “I put together a workout plan for you, and I’d like to go over it. Today. You and me.”
Damn it all, I was babbling like a total idiot.
Instead of turning into a smirk, his smile broadened. His eyes sparkled with excitement and another emotion I darned not name.
“You created a workout plan for me? And you want to lead me through it today? Just you and me?”
