Page 45 of Just for the Cameras
“Wait, don’t you think it would be better if we did this together?”
I ignore her and run my way down the field. When I hit one end zone, I turn around and find her at the fifty, her little legs no match for my long ones, her arms pumping at her sides, a steady effort on her end that doesn’t even come close to matching mine.
When I hit the other side of the end zone, she does the same, so I go in for one more lap and end up finishing right behind her.
“You going to go down again?” I ask.
“Uh, no.” She puts her hands above her head, catching her breath.
“Does that mean I get to say no when you ask me to do things?”
Her eyes narrow, and to her credit, she turns and takes off down the field, jogging all the way to the end and back. While I wait, I continue to warm up my legs by performing some dynamic stretches, focusing on the drills that my trainer has given me.
“You’re behind,” I say as she gets close again.
“Maybe you can…wait…for a second,” she says, breathless.
I shake my head. “I don’t have time to wait. I’m on a schedule. So…keep up.”
“Jerk,” she mutters as she starts copying the way I open my legs up and step to the side. “What the hell is this doing?”
“Waking up the hip flexors, getting us ready for the weight room.”
“Weight room?” Her eyes widen. “Like…lifting weights?”
“That’s what usually happens in a weight room.”
“But I’ve never lifted weights before.”
“Have you ever worked out before?” I ask. It comes off more dickish than I intended it to, but I’m genuinely curious so I know how hard I should push her.
“I’ve done some things,” she answers. “Definitely not to your extent. But I have to lift things at the zoo.”
So no lifting experience.
My plan to be her own personal hell slowly subsides because even though I want this experience to die as quickly as it was formed, I’m also not going to put someone at risk of hurting themselves. Looks like I’ll have to take it easy.
“What’s that look for?” she asks as I start shuffling side to side. She’s trying to copy me but is having a hard time keeping up.
“What look?”
“Like you were…feeling pity for me.”
“Not pity, just realizing that I can’t do what I wanted to do with you today.”
“And what did you want to do?”
I do knee-highs, and she does the same. “Put you through my workout.”
“Oh, I’m doing the workout.”
I roll my eyes. “With no experience, you’re not doing the workout. It wouldn’t be safe.”
“I’m not some incompetent peasant that you found on the streets.” She walks up to me, determination in her eyes as she flexes her bicep. “Look at that muscle.”
I stare down at her slender arm, holding back my smile.
“Go ahead, feel it. It’s steel. Cold, hard steel.” When I don’t move, she thrusts her arm closer. “Go ahead, don’t be shy.”
