With that, she exits my office. I slouch back in my chair, rubbing my face in my hands. “Take it slow”… as if I needed the reminder.
On my way into Trevor’s gym the next day, my phone buzzes with a text. Like I always do, I glance down at the screen, hoping it’s Bex. An uncontrollable grin spreads across my face when I see her name on my screen.
Bex:still good to chat tonight?
I pause, reading her text and tapping out a response before shouldering my way through the door.
Corey:been looking forward to it all day!
Bex:same… I can’t wait to show you something
Her response came so quickly, I stop again to respond.
Corey: … you can’t leave me hanging like that princess. any hints?
Bex:see you later, big boy (wink emoji)
“Dude, you know the rules,” Trevor calls out from behind the reception desk.
“Yeah, yeah,” I say, slipping my phone into my bag and walking past the desk. Trevor passes some papers off to the receptionist and stands to follow me. “Check my distractions at the door.”
“You’re here to—”
“Focus. Grow. Build,” I recite Trevor’s personal gym motto. The guy can be focused to the point of obsessiveness when it comes to structure and routines, but that’s part of the reason he’s one of the best personal trainers in LA.
“Right. Sorry I missed your morning workout, but I trust Jeff had you sweating?” Trevor passes me in the hallway and pushes open the door for the locker room.
“Like a motherfucker,” I say, my muscles still groaning in protest from my first workout earlier today.
Trevor laughs and claps a hand on my shoulder. “Good. You’re a little out of shape, huh, old man?”
Glaring at him, I toss my bag down on the bench and pull out my shorts. I’m forty-five, but haven’t felt it… til this morning, when Trevor’s assistant, Jeff, had me grinding out the hardest workout I’ve probably done in the last ten years.
“Getting you into peak condition in four weeks is gonna be tough,” he says, watching me as I change. Not in a creepy way, but in the “let’s see what we’re working with” way.
“Nothing we haven’t done before,” I say, tossing my bag into a locker.
Trevor gives me a look. “The last time we trained like this was five years ago.”
Tilting my head, I pause before saying, “Seriously?” How has it been five years since I had to get absolutely shredded for a role?
“Yeah, when you played the main guy in thatRoad Houseparody. This shit gets harder as you get older,” he laughs, motioning for me to follow him through to the gym.
Stepping into the large open room, I am happy to see this would be a private session. Sometimes, like this morning, there’s more than one trainer in the gym with their client. And while most of us in LA politely ignore if someone famous is around us, a Real Housewife of No One Fucking Cares was training on light weights, and she wouldn’t stop staring at me. At some point, I’m pretty sure she was drooling.
But this afternoon, it’s just me, Trevor, and Sam Tinnesz on my headphones. We go through mobility and flexor moves, a bit of cardio, jump roping, and by the end of two hours, I am dripping with sweat. Trevor wasn’t lying. It’s a lot fucking harder this side of forty to swing back into it. Two-a-days might not even be enough to get me where the director wants me in four weeks, but I’ll do my damn best to get close.
It feels so good to take a cold shower afterward, but it feels even better to change into fresh clothes and slip my phone out of my bag. No new texts. I’m a bit disappointed that Bex didn’t drop any more hints while I was busy, but it doesn’t matter.
Tossing my bag over my shoulder, I wave to Trevor and the receptionist on my way out. “See you in the morning!”
The receptionist—damn, I feel bad that I can’t remember her name—doesn’t even look at me because she can’t take her eyes off Trevor. Hmmm, wonder if he notices that?
“First thing, buddy,” Trevor says. “No alcohol tonight, and a solid eight hours of sleep!”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say, waving him off.
The sun is setting as I turn my Aston Martin onto the freeway toward home. I have a video chat with my woman tonight and, after not seeing her for an entire week, there’s nothing more I need than to see her smile and hear her laugh.
