'Six….seven…eight.'
Korra set her weights on the ground and stood up from the bench.
'Low reps, heavy weight' she thought as she looked down at the two seventy pound weights she had just been utilizing for dumbbell chest presses. She was quite proud of herself for the amount of progress she'd made in the last year with her weightlifting. It wasn't anything she wanted to pursue professionally; she simply liked the new look of her fit and muscular body.
With that thought in mind she turned to the wall of mirrors that spanned the area of the free weight section in the gym. Before she had the chance to do some self-admiration, something, or rather, someone caught her attention.
Weaving in and out of the weight machines at the front of the gym was the most breathtakingly beautiful woman Korra had ever seen. Looking only through the mirror, she followed the woman with her eyes. She had long black hair pulled back in a loose ponytail and her lips were accentuated with red lipstick.
'Wow she is gorgeous… that long hair…. Those lips… and what a bod…woah, rude," She averted her eyes, berating herself for ogling this woman in that manner. She tried her best to keep from seeking out the woman, but her eyes betrayed her and were once again drawn to the woman. Looking through the mirror, she took notice that she had stopped among the machines and was looking around, as if lost.
'She must be new to the gym' Korra figured. It was at that moment the mystery woman's face lit up, as it appeared she found what she was looking for.
Korra's line of sight followed the woman as she approached a treadmill and hopped on. Once the she had begun the machine Korra dropped her attention from the woman back to weights on the floor by her feet. She had one last set to get in before she heading to the sauna to let the heat relax her aching muscles. She heaved up the weights, laid back, and pushed out one last set without a hitch. As she got up to re-rack her weights, she turned her head around to get another glimpse at the new gym member. When she did it appeared as if the woman was looking directly at her. Korra dropped her gaze immediately, almost dropping her weights in the process.
'Shit! Did she catch me staring? Was she staring at me?' Korra panicked. 'No, she could have been staring anyone over here,' Korra figured. As Korra turned back around to head to the sauna she chanced a quick glance back at the woman but was disheartened to see that her focus was on the display on the treadmill.
Korra continued on to the sauna. 'Hmm, I wonder if she's gonna be a regular here…"
Korra found out quickly that she was, in fact, going to be a regular at the gym. This fact turned out to be quite a disadvantage to Korra. She realized pretty quickly that having this woman within her line of sight distracted her from her daily workouts. It wasn't so much that Korra thought the woman was gorgeous and couldn't keep her eyes off her, it was more so the fact that nearly everyday a guy would approach her and appeared to be trying to hit on her. Every time Korra noticed this happening she would stop mid-workout and discreetly watch the interactions. Korra didn't know why, but she was thrilled each time every man was turned away. And they were turned away every time. Luckily, after a few weeks of the woman regularly showing up to the gym, the approaches from the surrounding men began to die off.
One day, Korra saw the young woman come into the gym and was distracted once again for just a moment. 'I wonder if I could try…. nah I probably shouldn't. That would make me just as much as a pest as the rest of them." Korra sighed and turned back to the bench she was working out on. She set up her usual weight on the bar and fell back onto the bench. She got into form and lifted the bar from the rack.
'Oh fuck, this shouldn't be this heavy," Korra strained as she pushed up for the first rep. It was then that she realized that her 'distractions' were causing her to lose some of her hard earned strength.
'This is ridiculous' Korra huffed as she struggled with her last rep. She sat up from the bench, preparing to get up to remove some weight when she noticed the woman setting up on the bench straight across from her. Korra stopped all her movements and took notice of the woman's demeanor.
'She seems hesitant… actually this is the first time I've seen her do anything with free weights… Should I ask her if she needs a spotter? No, she'll probably just turn me down like every other person that's come up to her.'
Deciding not to drop the weight on her bar, unconsciously hoping to impress the woman, Korra shook out her arms and set back up for her next set. She pushed them out as quickly as she could then popped up to see if the mystery woman had committed to the bench press. To Korra's surprise, the woman was gone; her bench however was still set up.
'Hmm odd…. Bad etiquette not re-racking her weights though' Korra thought absentmindedly.
Korra reclined once again on her bench to pump out another set, but as her head met the bench she found herself staring into the face of the mystery woman.
Korra jumped back up, nearly hitting her head on the bar.
"Oh god! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Exclaimed the woman to Korra
"No! No, no, you didn't scare me, just…uhm… just surprised me…that's all." Korra gave a sheepish smile, scratching the back of her head.
"Well either way I apologize," the woman grinned. "Actually, I couldn't help but notice that you seem like a pro when it comes to weight lifting, and I was wondering if you'd spot me."
Korra watched the woman, noticing how her eyes gave her body a once over before looking away completely.
'Did she just….Is she blushing?'
"Oh yeah! Sure I can do that for you, I know the free weights can be a little intimidating at first."
"Thank you" the woman smiled gratefully and headed back to her bench with Korra following her.
The woman sat on the bench and Korra took her place behind the bar.
"Any tips for me?' The woman asked.
"Of course! Go ahead and lay back, you want your head to be even with the top of the bench."
She laid back, listening dutifully to Korra.
"Okay now put your hands…" Korra made a grab for the woman's hands that were placed incorrectly on the bar before she stopped herself.
"Uhm….is it…is it okay…" Korra glanced at her hands.
"Oh yeah. O-of course." She answered.
Korra placed her hands on top of the woman's and maneuvered them to the correct position.
'Wow… soft hands. Really soft… Really nice…'
"Uhm, is this okay?"
Korra snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the woman's voice. She noticed her hands were still on top of hers and quickly snatched them away. She could feel her face heating up.
"Yeah, yes! That's perfect. So now go ahead and lift the bar and bring it up and down repeatedly. Try and exhale as you're pushing up."
"Okay," the woman smiled at Korra before lifting the bar off of the rack.
Korra blushed again before she focused herself and placed her hands under the bar in case the woman couldn't handle the weight. However, Korra noticed that she was having no issue lifting the amount she had placed on the bar and her form indicated that she could probably handle a bit more weight.
The woman pushed her last repetition and racked the bar.
"So how did I do?" asked the woman, turning around to face Korra.
"You looked really good," Korra replied before immediately panicking.
The woman's cheeks tinged with pink as she raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I…I mean your form! Your form looks really good! I actually think you can handle a bit more weight. That is if you feel comfortable with that?"
"Well…okay. I trust your judgment."
Korra went the weight rack and grabbed two weights and placed them on the woman's bar.
"That's an extra twenty pounds. Do you really think I can do that?"
Korra stepped up behind the bar, giving the woman a half grin, her confidence finally setting in. "I definitely think you can do this. Besides, if you feel yourself giving out, I've got you." Korra patted the bar, letting the woman know that it was okay.
"All right, I'm trusting you." the woman smiled back at Korra. It was the kind of smile that told Korra that this woman really meant that, and it made Korra's heart beat a bit faster. She had to quickly refocus when the woman took her place on the bench and lifted the bar.
Korra placed her hands underneath again and this time was helping with some of the weight. On the woman's last repetition, she made eye contact with Korra, non-verbally communicating that she would not be able to finish the final set. On that cue, Korra used her strength to lift the weight off the woman and re-rack it for her.
"See! That was awesome! Told ya you could do it!" Korra walked around to the front of the bench and helped the woman up and off.
"I really had no idea I could lift that much. Thank you so much for your help. I don't think I would have been able to do it without you."
"Hey it's no big deal. I don't mind helping at all."
"I'd offer my help, but from what I can see I think you've got it down to pat." The woman said, her eyes making brief contact with Korra's biceps before flitting away.
Korra flexed on reflex, her face immediately heating up. "Heh… well thanks. I kinda almost live here at the gym." 'Go for it Korra' "Uhm, if you want, maybe we can be gym partners. I can spot you and help you get your forms right and vice versa?"
"Actually, I was planning on asking you that, but it seems you beat me to it. So yes, I'd love that. Although I really don't think I'd be much help to you in the weightlifting department." the woman chuckled.
"No way. You'll be a lot of help. Besides, its more fun to workout when you have a partner." Korra smiled, ecstatic that she had agreed to her proposition.
There was a short silence that lingered between the two, a moment where the conversation lapsed, however, was in no way uncomfortable. Korra, fearing that the longer she stood there the more of a chance she'd embarrass herself, decided to break the silence first.
"Okay well I gotta run, but I'm pretty sure I've seen you around here the same time I am a few times," 'Understatement' "So how about we meet at this time tomorrow?" Korra asked.
"Yeah that's good for me!"
"Okay cool! See you then!" Korra turned around and started to head towards the women locker room.
"Hey wait!" The woman called for Korra.
"Hmm?" Korra asked raising her eyebrows, hoping the woman wasn't going to go back on their agreement.
"I uhm… I didn't get your name."
"Oh right, sorry! Its Korra." She answered, smiling.
"Korra…"the woman repeated, as if testing it out. "Well Korra, I'm Asami. It was real nice meeting you." Asami held out her hand for Korra. Korra took it in hers and smiled when she felt her belly do a couple of flips.
'It was nice meeting you too.'