Just when I think my first workout is done, Max directs me back to the turf. “Now that you’ve got the hang of it, we’ll repeat each station for four rounds. Squats, rotations, rows. Ten reps each. Thirty seconds between stations. Ready?”
I widen my eyes. “I’m sorry. I could have sworn you said four rounds. I must have misheard. What?”
Max grins. “You’ve got this. Round one, Daniel. Knock it out.”
So I do what the man says and squat.
By the time I’m actually done, sweat beads on my forehead and drips down into crevices that are decidedly not meant to be wet in public. Will I be able to walk tomorrow? Time will tell. My arms are made of pudding.
Max’s warm hand lands on my damp back and squeezes my shoulder. “Nice work. You’ve got grit.”
He can’t possibly mean that, but I thank him anyway. I glance up to meet his eyes. His are hazel, ringed brown in the center and green at the edges.
“How do you feel?”
I blink. My heart pounds, and I’m gulping for air like a fish out of water, but…I feel good. Like maybe I could keep going, or I don’t know, jog somewhere or something. Not a feeling I’m accustomed to. “Great, actually.”
He leans in. He’s a head taller, but he stands close enough his breath ruffles my hair. “It’s the endorphins. They’re a rush, huh?”
“Yeah, a rush.” So this is why people work out.
His gaze lingers on mine. “You want to hit the showers?”
“Oh, I don’t need to wash up.” I didn’t come prepared for that. I don’t even have a change of clothes in my bag. “I’m going home after this. I’ll shower there.”
Max arches his dark brows and darts his tongue out, wetting his upper lip. “I didn’t ask if you needed to. I asked if you wanted to.” His eyes trail down my body like a caress and land on my groin. He looks hungry.
And now that I think about it…tasty.
“Oh.” What an offer. It’s not like me to put out on the first date, and this isn’t even date adjacent.
Orgasms fall under the umbrella of self-care, right? Opportunities like this just don’t land in my lap every day. But will sex make future training sessions awkward? I don’t want things to get weird, though rejecting him would do that too, so…
I peer up at him through my lashes, not completely lacking wiles of my own. “Now that you mention it, I am rather dirty.”
Max’s glinting smile could cut diamonds. “Right this way.”
