I guess this is my New Years gift to all. Enjoy 2009!
Early Saturday mornings were for sleeping in; not heading to the gym at 5:45 in the morning to think of the concern of a certain someone.
A certain someone who happened to be born to fit the phrase 'tall, dark, and handsome'.
This was what rolled into Calleigh Duquesne's mind as she stepped out of her lone car in the parking lot of the nearest Lifetime Fitness, with which she had a membership.
The receptionist was normally late at this time in the morning, so it was her and the two or three others until somewhere around 6:15 or so. Calleigh had a regular routine when she went to the gym. First she liked to run three miles on the treadmill, which overlooked the swimming pool below. Then she tried to do three sets of 25 crunches on an exercise ball, and finish her work-out with half an hour of yoga. And she planned to follow that plan even though Eric Delko had just entered the natatorium below.
Still surprised to see him, she stopped running for a minute to watch him strip his shirt, revealing that marvelous chest and those washboard abs of his. Kicking off his shoes and hopping in, Calleigh realized that he wasn't there to swim for a work out; otherwise he would have been wearing his racing pants instead of the orange flowery trunks he was now. He was just there to be in the water.
Calleigh hurried and finished the rest of the second mile, did only one set of crunches and skipped the yoga entirely. Rushing into the still-empty locker room, she knew that she left her Speedo there from a class she had taken a couple of months ago, just in case she wanted to take a swim after a work out. She stared at the unattractive bathing suit; she didn't think any one of her colleagues had ever seen her in a bathing suit before, but darn her if she wasn't going to use this as an opportunity to talk to Eric privately, without the complete privacy of her home.
With barely a second thought, she changed out of her shirt and shorts and into the black swimsuit, grabbed her towel and began her way down the hall to the pool. As soon as she opened the door, a rush of air smelling of nothing but chlorine filled her nostrils.
She spotted him in the third lane, doing a lazy backstroke and staring at the ceiling, his eyes deep in thought. Remembering that he had once told her that he came to this pool to think, his early morning surprise made more sense now. Unwrapping the towel from around her body and placing it neatly on the ledge of the pool next to her flip-flops, she dipped her calves gingerly into the cool water, not bothering with the ladder.
He went under the water and turned around, facing her better this time. Spotting her, his eyes lit up and he swam under the ropes to her.
"What are you doing here so early on your day off?" Eric asked, lying on his back once more in front of her.
Calleigh smiled. His position was giving her a very nice view of his toned chest, but she remembered that she had to take her eyes off of his perfect body and answer his question. "I come here to work out, like normal people do at the gym," she teased, splashing a little bit of water in his face with her toes.
Eric was on his feet again and was directly facing her now. "Now, Cal, that wasn't very nice."
And with that, he took her hands and tugged her into the cold water unexpectedly. She gasped at the shock and scolded him for it, but he just laughed. "Come and get me if you're that angry," he teased, diving under the water. Calleigh giggled herself and took off after him.
A few more people had entered the gym above and were facing opposite them, so Calleigh, for the time being, took no worry in getting caught acting like a love-struck fourteen year old girl. She dunked her head under once more, opening her eyes and looking for the dark blurry figure of his legs. Spotting them in the middle of the twelve-feet-deep water, she swam up behind him.
Silently coming up, not needing to take a deep breath, she snuck up from behind him, and poked his sides, hard. He yelped and turned around. Calleigh had figured out a long time ago that Eric was extremely ticklish, especially in the sides.
"I guess I got you," she said, jabbing a finger into his stomach this time, another ticklish spot. He doubled over in the water.
"Fine, Cal, I'll admit it if you stop abusing me," he whined, his lower lip pouting pathetically.
Calleigh laughed again, swimming past him and heading to the four-feet once more. "Oh, you know you love my abuse," she joked, reaching the other side in a matter of seconds. Eric grinned and followed.
Pulling herself out of the water, she wrapped the towel around her shoulders for momentary warmth. Momentary, because a new kind of heated sensation filled her when she looked down at Eric, who remained in the water, caressing her foot and the back of her calf.
"So I take it you didn't come here to chase me around the pool?" he asked, tempted to place his lips on that luxuriously soft leg currently in his hands.
"No," Calleigh admitted, tracing her fingers over his scar so lightly it was like the touch wasn't even there. "I came to talk."
Eric paused his stroking for a second, then continued as if he hadn't stopped in the first place. "Oh."
There was silence except for that of voices as the gym grew more crowded. Calleigh glanced up and saw that several people had come into the natatorium.
"Why don't we continue this at the restaurant down the street?" she suggested, referring to the little coffee house/bakery that was open extra early for business workers who needed a decent cup of coffee at five in the morning. Eric nodded and reluctantly moved away from Calleigh, pulling himself out of the water and offering Calleigh his hand once he was standing. Once Calleigh was on her feet, she picked up her towel and agreed to meet Eric at the front entrance in fifteen minutes time.
Once she had rinsed the chlorine off of her body, Calleigh changed into a fresh pair of shorts and a tank top, pulling an LSU sweatshirt over her half-dried hair. She tied her shoes, grabbed her things, and walked the short distance to meet Eric by the front doors. His hair, what little he had, was completely dry, and his attire was very similar to Calleigh's.
"We can take my car," Eric offered. "Yours makes me feel claustrophobic."
They both grinned. "To be honest with you, I was more concerned with being able to see above the wheel. You know, being two inches above five feet tall presents that kind of problem."
A/N: Well, what do ya think? To tell you the truth, I've got only got an idea the size of my pinky fingernail as to where I'm going with this. My main intention when writing is to make the reader believe that they have not wasted their precious time and to give them what they enjoy reading. Send in your reviews and add what you think Calleigh and Eric should talk about.