My daughter smiles and stretches before switching on the kettle. ‘Not much Aunty Cass. Thought I’d relax this morning then get some studying in after lunch.’
‘Great! Then you won’t mind if I steal your mother for an hour, will you?’
Janis eyes Cassie then me and offers a smile. ‘Of course not. You ladies go have some fun.’ She makes herself a coffee then shuffles off to the living room to sit with her siblings.
I place my mug on the worktop and let defeat consume me. My Saturday morning of productivity has been stolen away and in its place I foresee pain and humiliation. A lot of pain. In fact, what is it that wrestler says? Something about a whole world of pain.
And my torturer is standing in my kitchen clad in Lycra and grinning at me like some kind of insane fashion doll come to life.
A World of Pain
I wanted to wear my baggy old joggers but Cassie wouldn’t allow it. She had a slightly larger pair of Lycra running pants and a sports bra and she made me change into them. They almost fit, although I have serious side-boob coming out of the bra’s armpits. Cassie’s only concession was letting me put my t-shirt back on over the bra, so at least half of me is covered up, although I’m really not happy with the way that these trousers cling to my bum and thighs; it’s like wearing a full-body corset and I’m almost afraid to move in case I burst a seam.
However, Cassie forces me out the door and we walk briskly to the local park where Vlad is meeting us. My stomach churns in a mess of fear and apprehension. What if Vlad isn’t happy that Cassie has brought along her neighbour? What if I’m so unfit that I have some sort of attack during the workout that renders me helpless? My children need me. How would they manage if I wasn’t there to care for them and to earn a living? What if I’m as bad at this as I was at PE during my own school days?
Then another thought overpowers the others: Why am I so worried about a stupid workout session? It might actually be fun.
‘Come on, Annie!’ Cassie scolds, taking hold of my arm and leading me through the gates into the pre-spring confines of the park. I notice that the warning sign about letting dogs off their leads hangs at an angle on the fence, so the black silhouette dog looks like it’s doing a circus trick by balancing on its nose. I snigger. No letting your dog do circus tricks in the park or you face a possible fine of up to one thousand pounds. I can’t imagine Dragon managing to get up on his big squishy nose unless he overexerted himself sniffing the ground after Fairy Princess had done a wee.
‘Is that him?’ I ask, swallowing hard against the lump that lodges in my throat when I spy a giant Adonis up ahead. He’s so gorgeous that I swear the sun is actually breaking through the clouds above his head and filtering down upon him to make him glow like some kind of spirit. But this man is no apparition; he is clearly, undeniably, evidently, one hundred percent flesh and bone. So much hard male flesh and muscle. Cassie follows my pointing finger and nods.
‘Oh yes, that is Vlad.’ She quickly pulls a compact out of her cleavage and applies some lipstick. How on earth did she fit the mirror and lipstick in there? She notices me staring in confusion and winks. ‘It’s the implants, honey. They cradle anything, even a big, hard…’ My cheeks flame as she winks again. For a moment, as we approach Vlad, I ponder the sex act she referred to and wonder if it’s possible. Apart from a few high school fumbles, there was only ever Dex and our very tame and infrequent sex life – which confused me at the time but was understandable when he finally came out – and before him, Evan. Sex with Dex was quick and quiet but sex with Evan was so…
I can’t think about it right now. I shouldn’t think about it.
Ever.
Vlad is huge and as we stand before him I have to force my mouth shut. I mean, gaping like an idiot would not go down well. At all. But, just, wow! I take him in from his cropped honey blond hair to his strong square jaw, his tree trunk thick neck to his shoulders the width of a Chevy bonnet, then down his muscular arms which bulge out from a tight black t-shirt.
I only stop staring because someone is saying my name.
I blink.
And again.
‘Annie!’ It’s Cassie.
‘Uh… yeah?’ I lick my lips and drag my attention away from Vlad to meet my friend’s curious gaze.
‘I just introduced you to Vlad. Say hello.’ She gestures at him and as I turn to look at him again and meet his twinkling eyes, my cheeks fill with heat. He holds out a hand the size of a spade and I shake it. His grip is vice-like and I realise that he could snap me like a twig. He reminds me of a Viking as he stands before me, all raw masculinity, bulging biceps and energy. It occurs to me that it’s been a long time since I’ve ogled a man and I quite like it. Standing before him I feel womanly, I feel good, I feel… alive.
‘Annie, I am pleased to meet you.’ His English is gently accented and it makes me think of Bond villains. Why does he have to be a villain though? His eyes are kind. He has a nice smile. But a villain has that naughty sex appeal I guess. ‘Cassie says you want to get fit?’ He eyes my less-than-toned frame and my blush deepens.
‘Well, I guess I could use some toning up,’ I say. Understatement of the century.
‘You have a good shape, Annie.’ His smile broadens but he’s not mocking me. The heat in my cheeks subsides a little at his warm tone. ‘Plenty of potential.’
I nod graciously. He said I had a good shape and potential. I glance at Cassie and flash her a victorious smile. See! I’m not so bad after all. She returns my smile in her usual magnanimous way, evidently just pleased to have me along for the ride. When I return my gaze to Vlad again, I catch a softening in his expression as he looks at Cassie, but it quickly disappears and I wonder if I actually saw it at all.
‘First thing we’ll do is a gentle walk to warm up.’ Vlad gestures at the path that circles the park’s green. The grass is short and neat but the trees are bare and the landscape still has that bleak winter appearance. The twigs and branches stretch towards the sky like dark gnarled fingers and they make me feel glad that winter is behind us and that spring lies ahead. As we set off, arms swinging gently with Vlad leading the way, I allow myself to imagine how I will look by the summer after six months of fitness. When the flowers bloom in the hedgerows and the birds sing in their chick-filled nests, I will be toned and tanned from my active time outdoors. My hair will be shiny, my skin flawless, my tummy flat and my breasts and bottom high and firm. I will be happy, and possibly dating, and maybe I’ll even have quit teaching! And I will, of course, be twenty-one again!
Never going to happen…
I walk faster, determined to make some sort of a difference to my physique, even if I can’t turn back the clock.
‘Not too quickly, Annie,’ Vlad says, catching my upper arm in his hand. His fingers curl around my limb as mine would around a pen. A man this big can make even the curviest woman feel small and feminine. A flash of something hot curls in my abdomen and I shiver. Was that lust? It’s been so long since I felt it that I’m actually unsure. I smile at him and slow my pace, trying to figure out what it is that I’m feeling. But before I can figure it out, he releases me then walks instead at my side. ‘Now to get you loosened up!’ He points at the patchy winter-damaged grass and Cassie and I follow him into the centre.
We spend the next half an hour copying Vlad as he stretches and flexes, contorting his huge frame into a variety of poses that make me think about the Kama Sutra. I can’t help it. But instead of picturing Vlad with me in those poses, my mind drifts to Evan and the time we bought a copy of the flexy sex guide from a flea market then rushed back to his student lodgings to try it out. We’d ended up in fits of giggles as we