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“Nah.” Sully waved away the offer. “If $65 is your price, that’s fine.” Yes, Sully prided himself on being frugal, but where it mattered, he was always willing to pay top dollar. Small local businesses were definitely in the “it matters” category, along with top-notch computer and gaming equipment.
“Cool.” Cam set a few forms in front of Sully. “Go ahead and fill these out. So, what brings you to—”
The rock music suddenly cut out. After a moment of silence, the immortal first beats ofToxicby Britney Spears keened over the speakers.
“Hey!” Cam growled, his hands balling into mighty fists on the desk. “We agreed NO BRITNEY SPEARS!”
“You agreed!” came the mysterious voice from on high. “I did not.” The small crowd on the balcony parted to reveal a tall, imperious woman with rich chocolate skin and gray hair twisted into two braids down her back. Her matching blue tank-top and workout pants showed off an impressively toned body.
“Mom, come on,” Cam whined. “No Britney at Junkyard Dogs. This place has a reputation.”
The woman was having none of it. “This is my aerobics class, and my ladies love Britney.” Several voices from the balcony rose up in agreement.
“Me too,” added a pot-bellied man in battered jeans.
“See? Earl enjoys Britney, too,” the woman said proudly.
“Earl, come on, man,” Cam groaned.
From the balcony, Earl shrugged his shoulders. “My girls loved her growing up. It was on in the truck all the time.”
“I’ll put your rock and roll back on when my class is done,” the woman said, then disappeared through the crowd. “All right group, let’s start feeling the beat.” The men and women on the balcony began to step from side to side.
Cam gave Sully a resigned look. “Sorry about this, man. Not the best first impression, huh?”
“Your… mom?” Sully asked. He looked between the blond-haired, blue-eyed Cameron to the dark-eyed, cocoa-skinned woman who now led the class in air squats up on the balcony.
“What? You don’t see the resemblance? It’s all in the attitude,” Cam joked. He laughed when he saw Sully’s continued confusion. “She’s my step-mom, technically speaking, but speaking from here,” the big man tapped his chest over his heart, “She’s Mom. You good with that?”
“Of course.” Sully was smart enough to know that family wasn’t always about blood. He bent over his forms, quickly filling in the lines. A bright yellow flyer taped to the desk momentarily caught his attention.
AWARENESS UNTO THE VOID – A THREE-ACT PLAY – WILL BE PRESENTED AT THE LOOKING GLASS ARTS STUDIO ON MARCH 28th AT 6:00 PM. PREPARE TO SURRENDER YOUR PERCEPTION OF REALITY.
“You ever gone to a play at The Looking Glass?” Cam asked, following Sully’s gaze.
Sully shook his head.
“It’s an experience, that’s for sure. Really puts the “community” in community theater. I’ve heard this play includes flying rhinoceros in Act III.”
“That, I’d like to see,” Sully confessed as he finished his forms and slid them across the counter.
“Welcome to Junkyard Dogs.” Cam gave him a wide, genuine smile. “So, what brings you in today?”
“Right. Well, I, uh…”Completely humiliated myself in front of a beautiful woman yesterday and thought tossing some barbells around in a manly fashion might help salvage my ego.
Ignoring his inner monologue, Sully said, “I want to add some muscle.” Weightlifting: Subtask 6 ofThe Sully Project.“I’ve got a pretty consistent cardio and bodyweight fitness routine going,” he explained, “but I want to add in strength training.”
Annnnd, maybe pounding through some deadlifts could also help him burn Alanna’s face out of his brain stem.
“Great man, great!” Cam was saying. “I know a thing or two about building muscle.” He chuckled, then scowled as the pulsating Britney song transitioned to Christina Aguilera. “If you’d like any advice, I’m always happy to share what I know.”
Sully pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Some feedback would be great. I spent some time…”i.e., six hours last night,“…researching beginning strength-training routines.” He unlocked his phone and jumped into his documents, which were now filled with notes about macros, protein powders, rep schemes, and one-rep-max ratios. “Would you mind reviewing some of my data to see if I’ve put together a good starter program?”
Cam took his phone—the thing looked like a child’s toy in his hand—and scrolled through the notes. His brow creased. Finally, he scoffed and shoved the phone back at Sully.
“Put your stuff in one of those cubbies, then meet me in the back,” he said. Upstairs, the men and women waggled their hips in unison.
“Woo!” Mamma Cam called. “I’m feeling it! Are you?”
