“Unique names can be a blessing and a curse. Imagine someone calling out SHELLY in a crowd and five women turning around because they all have the same name.” She pointed at her name tag, causing me to laugh out loud. She had a great sense of humor, and I felt bad for assuming that just because she was pretty and thin, she was going to be a bitch.
“We are glad to have you here at Brick & CO Fitness. We are a family-owned, black-owned gym that is open from 6 am to midnight Monday through Sunday. We offer personal training for members, monthly plans, and our motto is,treat everyone like family. We have classes that range from beginner to advanced. We offer Yoga, Pilates, Kickboxing, Water Aerobics, Spin, Zumba, Weightlifting, and more,” Shelly said as she typed quickly.
“Here are our monthly plans, and we have a startup special of $5 for your first month,” she pulled out a laminated sheetand slid it across the counter. The sheet had different tiers of membership and showed what each tier came with. The highest tier was $120 a month and the lowest was $75. The highest tier came with a personal trainer, a nutritionist, a lifestyle coach, and so many other things I would need time to read down the list.
“I can tell you the difference between the plans,” Shelly lifted up the sheet and pointed, before the other woman walked over and interjected.
“Shelly, there is a line of members waiting to scan in so they can start their workout. I told you that you take too long with each customer. This is a business, not a brunch date. I will finish up with this customer, and you take care of that line over there,” the dark-skinned girl told her rudely. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wrong about her like I had been about Shelly. She looked like the type of bitch she was. Her name tag said Trallis.I would have bet if I were an influencer or a fine nigga with muscles, she wouldn’t have been complaining about Shelly taking too long.
I hated people who judged you based on what you looked like.
“My bad, Trallis,” Shelly apologized sheepishly before looking back at me.
“It was nice to meet you, Ny’Airy,” she said as she walked over to the opposite desk and began scanning members in with their badges.
“My name is Trallis, I’m the manager and I know your time is valuable so, I’m going to give you a quick tour, get you signed up, and get you paired with a trainer and coach. You made a great decision for yourself, and you are in the right place to be held accountable,” she told me quickly as she grabbed her cell phone from the counter and slid it in her sports bra. I felt like she was more interested in rushing me than moving quickly because she valued my time.
I kept my thoughts to myself and nodded and smiled, while she typed a few things on a mini laptop that had the Brick & Co Fitness logo on it. She then clipped a walkie-talkie on her waist and came from behind the counter. I felt both intimidation and admiration for the way she took control. Unlike Shelly, she didn’t have a shy, unsure aura; she was that bitch, and she knew it.
A woman like her would have Larry on his knees begging for her to stay with him, not leaving her for another woman. I didn’t need the shy cuteness of Shelly. I needed the ferociousness of Trallis so I could make my ex come crawling back.
“You can set your bag right here on this table,” she told me as we walked past one of the mini tables set up with chairs in the very front.
“Don’t worry, we never have to worry about any thefts. We have cameras in every inch of this room, and our parking lot outside has multiple cameras showing the entire lot. We also have an off-duty cop patrolling 24 hours a day to ensure the safety of our members. I know you may have heard on the news about those few women and men who were robbed at other gyms in this area, but we don’t play that shit here. Our members are completely safe,” she assured me. I actually hadn't heard about anyone getting robbed at the gym, but it made me even happier that I chose Brick & CO. After setting my bag down, we began to walk around the room.
Rows of machines, mirrors everywhere, and large TVs were mounted on walls and floating in the air showed me exactly why the memberships were so pricey. I saw bodies of all sizes in motion, and I was glad that I hadn't judged the place from the three skinny bitches that walked past me outside. This gym was really inclusive, and everyone was so focused on their ownprogress that no one made sideway glances at the almost 500-pound man on the treadmill walking two miles per hour, or the teen girl with knock knees in the corner who was pouring sweat as her trainer encouraged her to keep going.
“This room is where our state-of-the-art swimming pool and hot tub are. We have multiple hot tubs throughout, so our highest-tiered members can relax after a hard workout. Those jet streams do wonders for sore muscles,” Trallis said as she opened the door for me to look around each room.
Suddenly, I felt a tingling on the back of my neck. It wasn’t a sound or a noise, just a hyper awareness. I turned slightly and spotted a man across the floor, standing near the weights and looking in the mirror. He was shirtless and wearing black sweatpants and sneakers. Sweat rippled off his broad shoulders, full chest, and the toned eight-pack that led down to a deeply cut V. It should have been illegal for a man to be that damn fine. He was strong and focused and looked like a Warrior. His caramel skin tone, brown eyes, and deep waves made my pussy clench, and my chest tighten. I had never been this turned on by a man outside of Larry.
“Did you hear me?” Trallis asked me as she stood in front of me with her arms folded, staring a hole into me. I hadn't even realized that I had stopped walking, and I was just standing there drooling and staring at the fine ass man.
“Umm, yeah definitely,” I stuttered as I looked away from her and back over at the fine ass man who was now looking in the mirror and staring straight in my direction while pumping the weight slowly. He grunted as he pulled it up slowly, staring intensely, and lowered it down while biting his lip and not breaking eye contact. My pussy jumped again, and I quickly looked back at Trallis.
“So, you don’t mind that we have the facility cleaned once a week?” Trallis asked, and my eyes went wide. I shook my head from side to side quickly as I stuttered.
“What? Ew, that is disgusting. Are y’all trying to give people Covid in the ass?” I frowned. I didn’t give a damn how nice their facility was; if it wasn’t being cleaned more often than once a week, this wasn’t the place for me. She rolled her eyes and smirked at me.
“Well, I just told you that we have cleaners on staff who make rounds every hour, and the gym is shut down completely for one hour every day, so it can be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Our members are not allowed entry into the facility at 2 pm. You didn’t hear me because you weren’t listening to anything I was saying.” Trallis folded her arms across her chest and stuck her hip in the opposite direction. I was caught red-handed. I blushed and looked away.
“So, what has your attention?” she smirked as she turned to look in the direction I had been looking earlier.
“Nothing,” I stuttered as I looked back towards the fine man.
To my surprise, he was no longer standing in the mirror and pumping weights he was walking towards us. My stomach dropped as I admired his deep complexion, brown eyes, and full lips. He was tall and broad, and sweat rolled down his skin as he used a white towel to wipe the sweat from his brow.
“That’s a whole lot of nothing,” Trallis purred like a cat in heat as she bit her hip lustfully.
“Let’s just finish the tour,” I told Trallis hurriedly as she watched the man approaching.
“No, you clearly want to say hi, so you should say hello,” she smiled.
“I’ll warn you, though, he’s married, so we can look all we want, but we can’t touch,” she licked her lips like she could taste him on her tongue. Watching her lust after a married man made my stomach churn. It made me wonder how many beautiful women had lusted after my ex-husband while he and I were together. While I was oblivious, packing on weight like a suitcase, Larry was just as fine as he had been in college. I always felt that his new wife was someone that he had already been with, and she was possibly the reason that he left me. I couldn’t confirm it because he had enough decency to wait until after our divorce was finalized to go public with her.
Knowing that this man was married made my pussy dry up like the desert. Any piece of attraction I felt for him withered and died like a plant that had been left in the sun without water.
“Hi ladies, how are you both doing today?” the man asked as he slung the towel over his shoulder.
