Who: Tyler and Carolina When: Late March Where: The gym What: Random meet-up Rating/Warning: Low/none Status: Complete
Tyler wasn’t usually impatient when it came to waiting for gym equipment. There was always something else to work out, and normally if he couldn’t use something right away, he could work out on another piece of equipment and come back when it was no longer in use. But the weight machine had been unusually busy today, and he was now at the end of his workout and had nothing else to do while he was waiting.
“How much longer are you thinking you’ll be using that machine?” Tyler asked the woman who was currently using it.
Carolina was beginning to like this gym. Between the mats, the machines, and the weights, it had everything she needed to get back in top shape - something she would likely need to be in for this place if half of what she had heard from Wash were true. She wanted to believe him, honestly she did, but it was difficult without any form of proof. Shaking her head to clear it, the redhead focused on her workout. Another benefit of getting in shape was being too focused to think about other things.
The rowing machine was her favorite, but she had yet to see one open. In fact, nearly every machine had been taken today. It had only been by a stroke of sheer luck that she had managed to catch someone leaving one of the weight machines, and she had pounced immediately. Even after a few quick modifications to add a bit of extra resistance, the seat was still warm when Carolina settled to begin her reps. Ohhh. I should’ve done this earlier. Perhaps starting with her old weight limit was not the brightest of ideas, but she was not about to back down now. Besides, she loved the way the tension sang through her arms and the rush of endorphins when the weight was finally lifted.
Time seemed to stop as her world narrowed around her. Her heartbeats began to crowd out the music from her headphones, and she matched her breathing to the rhythmic beats. So engrossed was she that she had completely missed the person who had been standing beside the machine until he had spoken. How long had he been there? How long had she been using the machine? Come to think of it, she had not asked if there were time limits on any of the machines. Well, crap.
Carolina set the weight back down and pulled out her other ear bud, the clubbing mix fading to a mere buzz. She gave the man a sheepish smile that she hoped might get her out of any rule breaking she had caused. “Sorry, I didn’t realize how long I’d been using it.”
“That happens,” Tyler said. He himself had lost track of time more than once during a particularly good workout, so he couldn't really hold it against someone, even if it was annoying. Not that he'd really been waiting long enough for it to have become especially annoying. “I haven't been waiting too long,” he said after a moment, because she seemed genuinely worried about it and Tyler was making an active effort to be a little less of a dick lately. “I just want to finish my workout before I cool down, and that,” he gestured to the machine, “is all I have left.”
“Fair enough.” Carolina shrugged out of the machine. The weights fell back into place with a loud clank! Picking up the small, gym-issued towel, she quickly wiped down the seat and the bars. Common courtesy and all that. It looked like the guy wasn’t going to kick a fuss about any rules she might (or might not) have broken, but she didn’t want to risk having to find a new gym so soon.
“There.” Carolina grabbed her water bottle and stepped aside. Now that she was free of the machine, she could see that all the other machines were still very much in use. The man would be able to finish his workout, but now she was going to have to find a free machine to continue her workout. Or change her workout time. Or both. In fact, a break while checking out the neighborhood for a good running path didn’t sound half bad. “Hey, is there a decent smoothie place around here?”
Tyler smile a little as she wiped down the equipment. He was hardly a germaphobe, but it was a little disgusting how many people decided that wiping down the equipment wasn’t necessary after they had their sweaty hands and bodies all over it.
“Smoothies?” Tyler asked, thinking about it. He wasn’t really a smoothie kind of guy, but there a couple of guys on the football team who enjoyed a smoothie laced with protein power after a heavy workout, and while Tyler generally prefered a steak or a burger after a workout, sometimes he went with them. “Yeah, actually. There’s some mom and pop place a couple of blocks down the road here.”
“A couple of blocks, huh?” Carolina mused. She loved little mom and pop shops; they tended to have good eats and never minded spoiling regular customers. Which she usually was, since she could not cook anything that was not frozen or out of a box. And if it were really only a couple blocks away, she could jog there instead to get some extra cardio in before completing the rest of her workout. “Doesn’t sound like a bad run. Would I just continue down this street?” She gestured to the front of the gym.
“Yeah, it’s an easy run, though it’s easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. It’s got a green door though, just down [street name].” Part of him was almost tempted to accompany her, but he wasn’t exactly willing to let go of the weight machine to do so, especially since he had all but kicked her off of it.