Page 63 of Game Over

She stepped up, adjusted her shorts and hair, took in a deep breath, and unracked the bar. I moved a few steps behind her in case she needed me. She took in a deep breath, bracing her core, and started to move. Even with 180, she was moving smoothly and easily. She quickly knocked out six reps and then reracked.

“I did it!” She turned around, beaming at me, and then threw her arms around my neck.

“See, what did I tell you? I knew you could do it.” I gave her a quick high five and moved to do my set. While in the middle of my set, she ran to the restroom, but she was still gone when I finished, so I quickly added more weight to each side, putting the overall weight at 195 pounds. It was a bit of a jump, but I had a feeling she’d be able to do this with no issue. A few seconds later, she came running back over.

“Sorry about that! Did you finish your set?” She asked as she braced the toe of her shoe against the platform, stretching her calf out.

“Yep, sure did, so it’s your turn now.”

“Alright, let's crush this.” She haphazardly tossed her phone to the ground, using the top of her foot to guide it toward the bag so it didn’t land as hard. She hadn’t looked at the plates on the bar yet. Hopefully, it stayed that way. She got under the bar, flipped her hair over, and unracked. This time, I moved a few steps closer, just in case.

Deep breath in, and she started moving.

Down. Up. One.

She took a deep breath, a small furrow between her brows.

Down. Up. Two.

Fuck she was amazing. She was going for a third rep. I could see her legs shaking from the strain.

“Come on, sweetheart, you’ve got this. Up, up, up, let’s go.” She popped back up from the bottom, her breathing heavy. “Gimme one more. I know you have one more left.” Her eyes flared, probably remembering another time when I used that phrase.

She took a deep breath.

Down. Up. Four.

Before I could say anything else, she went for a fifth rep. The strength in this woman was unmatched. After she bounced back up, she re-racked the bar.

“I don’t know—my lord.” She braced her hands on her knees and took in several deep breaths. Grabbing the water from the floor, I handed it to her and rubbed small circles on her back. I could see her legs shaking more now too. “I don’t know why that set seemed so much harder. By those last two, I didn’t think I would get back up.” I smiled at her and pointed to the end of the bar. She turned around, looking at the plates on both sides. “Wait a second…” She snatched her phone from the ground and added up the numbers three times.

I walked up right behind her and leaned in. “And you said you couldn’t do it,” I whispered in her ear, causing a slight hitch to her already uneven breaths.

“195?” She said in disbelief.

“195. I’m so proud of you.”

“I can’t believe I did it. That’s the most I’ve done!” She was basically vibrating with excitement.

“I knew you could. You’re so much stronger than you think.” I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss since more people had started to pile into the gym.

“I should start paying better attention. I didn’t even look at the plates before going. Alright, well, you gotta do the same weight now. I’ve seen your legs. I know you’re not skipping leg day, so chop chop, pretty boy.” Her gaze raked over me, lingering on my thighs. I may or may not have flexed them slightly when I noticed.

“You think I’m pretty, huh?” I smirked and crossed my arms while I leaned against the rack.

“Pretty damn full of yourself.” She huffed and rolled her eyes, acting annoyed.

“Uh-huh, whatever you gotta tell yourself, but we both know you think I’m pretty.” I shot her a wink and got into position under the bar, and did a quick five reps.

“That’s not fair, you make it look so easy.” She crossed her arms and stuck her bottom lip out in a pout.

“This also isn’t the first time I’ve done that weight love, but it has been a minute since I have. It felt heavy for me.” I stretched my legs out while we talked.

“What got you into lifting anyway? Just a hobby or more for overall health?” Allie bent down and scooped the water bottle up from the ground, popping the straw and taking a long swig. A small bead of water spilled from her lips and trailed down her chin to her sternum, mixing with the thin layer of sweat there.

“Well, I’m not really sure. I was always a stocky kid when I was young, and once I hit middle school, I gained a little more muscle. Coaches wanted me to play football, but my parents wouldn’t do it. Said it was a waste of money. They were too lazy to take me to practices or pick me up from games.” I rolled my eyes, thinking back to all the time arguments we had over that. I never got to do extracurricular activities, but my brothers could if they wanted. Another item that drove the wedge between us further and further apart.

Sensing I needed a small break, she reached out and passed the cup to me, our fingers grazing slightly as I took it from her. A small shiver ran down my spine at the touch. I took a sip of the cold water, a faint taste of vanilla on the straw from her lip balm. My throat worked as I swallowed the water down, licking the remnants of her lip balm off mine now before continuing. “Once I hit high school, I was already staying at Carson’s house more and more to be away from mine. He played baseball, so after school, I’d sometimes hang out at his practices, where they’d do lifting as part of it. I think the coaches felt bad for me, so they'd let me work out as long as I wasn’t fooling around and was careful. I kept my head down and worked hard to gain more muscle, so if my dad tried anything, I could stand a chance. From there, it turned into a love of the gym, and well, now here we are.”