Temptation (3 page)

I woke up earlier than normal, cancelled my
morning meetings, and drove to the health club. The parking lot was
a lot emptier than I was used to but that didn't mean the mystery
woman wasn't there. I had no way of knowing if she was swimming
already or not unless I went inside, so that's what I did.

I greeted Steven, the key clerk at the front
desk, in the lobby and made my way to my destination. Opening the
door to the locker room, I briskly walked through it and opened the
door that led into the pool area. I peeked around the door to stare
out at the lap lanes. They were all empty, even lane one. She
wasn't here yet.

I was crazy. I was fucking crazy. I cancelled
my morning meetings, important meetings, for what? Was it that
important to find out what time my mystery woman arrived at the
gym? The lengths I'd gone just to find out how much she swam
bordered on ridiculous.

I quickly left the pool area and went back
through the locker room to the front lobby. Steven was trying to
talk to me from behind the front desk but I quickly brushed him
off, telling him I'd be back later. Once I was seated behind the
wheel of my Mercedes SLS GT Roadster, I didn't move. I had backed
it in right next to the handicap spots near the front doors of the
club. That way I had a perfect view of the parking lot. A perfect
view of when she arrived.

If my friends could have only seen me. That
was not my finest moment.

The satellite radio played my favorite
morning talk show. The two men heatedly discussed the biggest news
stories from around the world, the economy of our country, and the
DOW. My eyes would flicker to the clock every once in a while, but
then they'd go back to roam the parking lot, searching for her.
Five minutes before eight was when I spotted her. She was in jeans
and a baggy Chicago Park District t-shirt. Her hair was down and
the brown waves fell to the middle of her back. I got the smallest
glimpse of a tattoo on her lower back as she opened the door to the
backseat and bent over to retrieve her gym bag. I was too far away
to see what she had inked on there, but it was definitely a tattoo
I spotted.

When my eyes finally left her body, that's
when I noticed her car. The rusty paint job (I think the car was
originally red) was the least of her worries. Even from here I
could see that the tires were completely worn, she only had one
backlight and the bumper was missing. Add all that to the fact that
the car had to have been made in the eighties, it was a surprise
she made it to the health club each day without dying in her death
trap.

With a piece of shit car like that how could
she even afford this health club?

My wallet gets a workout to be a member here,
shelling out several hundred dollars a month. Granted, several
hundred dollars is pennies to me, but you get my point. That kind
of money paid for this top of the line facility, the view of Lake
Michigan and its exclusivity from the public. If she had the kind
of money lying around to pay for a membership here, why not get a
new car?

She started walking through the parking lot
towards the entrance of the club and my eyes stayed trained on her.
Her walk lacked confidence and confidence is another thing that I'm
hugely attracted to in a woman, yet the fact that she lacked it
didn't do anything to deter my interest from her.

My legs moved before I could think my next
move through, and I closed my car door and power walked towards the
entrance of the health club, hoping to make it to the double glass
doors first.

I beat her there by just a few steps, but it
was enough to open the door for her. She looked back at me with her
big, caramel brown eyes and smiled softly as she nodded her head in
thanks, and walked past me through the open doorway. I moved in
slightly, so her arm brushed against my side and that smallest
touch gave me a funny sensation in my stomach.

I wanted to reach out and grab her. Turn her
in my arms and smash my lips to hers until she wanted me just as
much as I wanted her.

You see, I'm sick.

Maybe...

Probably...

Slightly disturbed.

Paging the nearest Psych ward.

I followed her into the health club and waved
to Steven as I walked in and went right into the men's locker room
to change into my black jammers to swim in.

My goal was to stay in the pool for as long
as she did, just so I knew once and for all what her routine
was.

It was crazy. In those last two months I'd
gone completely nuts because I shouldn't give a fuck what her
routine was. She was no one to me. I didn't even know her name, she
drove a piece of shit car and she was most definitely not my
type.

Yet when I was done getting ready, I walked
through that door anyway and straight into the pool area. She
wasn't in the lap pool yet and I was relieved. I knew I should get
in the pool first so it didn't look like I followed her in here.
Not that she'd even really noticed me before.

The pool area was empty except for an older
man who was in the therapy pool next to the Jacuzzi. I slid into
lane two, leaving lane one open since it was the only lane I'd ever
seen her in.

I had my goggles on my head and no excuse not
to start swimming but I wanted to wait anyway. I wanted to see her
as she walked in. I wanted to observe what her routine was.

As I stalled starting to swim laps, the door
to the women's locker room opened and out she walked. With each
step her luscious curves moved. It was as if she was walking in
slow motion as Mika's
Big Girl
played in my head.

Not the most romantic song, but it expressed
something I was feeling.

This big woman walking towards me was
beautiful.

She was wearing the same blue suit, but it
didn't fit her at all. It was baggy all over and even the cups that
held her breasts had a little more room than they should.

I dipped my goggles in the water, pretending
to clean the lenses so it wasn't obvious that I was staring at her.
I kept my head down but glanced upward as she walked over to the
pool. She set her water bottle down on the ledge of lane one and
slid into the pool.

As hard as I tried to control it, my body
took over as my head lifted and my body turned her way. My eyes
roamed every inch of her figure as I watched her movements.

Her head dipped back in the water as she wet
the long strands of her hair before tying them up at the back of
her head. Most women wore swim caps when swimming laps, but not
her. She stood over the ledge and took a sip of water before
turning around and facing the lane in front of her.

Then she was on the move. She kicked off the
wall and started swimming leisurely towards the other end of the
pool. I knew she was smaller than the first time I saw her, but it
was even more evident when she was in the water with only a small
amount of material covering her body. Well, actually, it was a
rather large amount of material but that's beside the point.

I decided to push back all thoughts of her
and started swimming. I'd pace myself for a ninety-minute swim and
if she was still swimming when the ninety minutes were up then I
would add time accordingly.

I swam freestyle. Lap after lap I tried to
control the urge to look over at her. I felt like a drug addict
looking for his next fix - the pull towards her was that strong. I
needed to get it under control. I needed to show myself that I
could control it so I kept swimming.

I swam and I swam until my ninety minutes
were up. I stopped and stood up in the water, glancing at the clock
before turning around and facing the pool. There she was, kicking
her plump, slightly toned legs as she lay on her back, swimming in
my direction.

The fatigue was starting to set in and I was
tired. I didn't want to continue swimming, but I had to. I couldn't
quit now after all of the effort I put into finding out how long
she stayed in the pool.

I kicked off the wall, deciding to switch it
up and swim the backstroke. This way I could glance at the clock
continually, and also glance over at her lane. Not to watch her
body move and fantasize about fucking her against the tile wall of
the pool, because I wasn't, but strictly to see when she got out of
the water. That's all I was there for. Just to see how long she
normally worked out.

Forty-five minutes later she was still going
and I no longer could.

Holy hell, this chick has some stamina in the
water. What should I do? I can't leave because it'll eat at me all
day, every day, until I figure out how long this woman swims for.
But I can't swim anymore either, otherwise I won't be able to go
out tonight with the guys, and I definitely won't be able to
perform for whatever lucky lady I take home with me tonight. I need
to save some of my stamina for my weekly Friday night out.

Speaking of stamina.

If my mystery woman could go over two hours
in the pool, imagine how long she could go in the bedroom. Fuck, I
bet I could take her for hours, on multiple surfaces before she
grew tired.

My balls tightened and my dick stood at
attention just thinking about it.

I needed to get my lustful thoughts under
control.

Adjusting myself before I ended up
embarrassed from getting a hard on in the pool, I pulled myself out
of the water and walked over to the therapy pool, slowly taking
each step into the warm water. It felt amazing on my skin. Just
what my muscles needed.

I glanced back over at the pool and was
shocked to see the brown haired, beautiful mystery woman staring at
me. It was only for a brief second before she glanced away, her
cheeks flushed in embarrassment at being caught. She quickly went
back to swimming her laps, but I know what I saw. She was
definitely watching me.

I mean, how could she not when I have the
body of a Greek God.

The smug smile that spread across my face was
impossible to stop. Maybe I was affecting her a little. It was only
fair since she seemed to be affecting all of my decision-making
lately. I swam a few laps in the therapy pool before moving over to
the Jacuzzi and letting the hot water and jets soothe all of my
muscles.

It was another thirty minutes before she
finally stopped swimming laps and got out of the pool. I would have
almost missed it. I had my back pushed against the wall of the
Jacuzzi and my head was leaning back against the tile floor. My
eyes were closed, enjoying every second in the water.

"Hello, Miss Ward," Steven’s voice echoed in
the large room.

My eyes burst open and I looked up just in
time to see her walking away from the lap pool and in my
direction.

"Hello, Steven." Her voice was soft and
feminine.

"It's going to be a beautiful day today. Got
any fun plans?"

"Nope, just the usual, Steven. I just love
the beginning of fall."

"Maybe you do, but I wish I was down south on
the beach, maybe in Miami, and sipping Pina Coladas from some guy
named Pedro who has washboard abs and is serving them up to me in a
thong. That would be heaven right now."

The woman giggled, her laughter filling the
room and it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. It was
light and whimsical, and I had the instant need to watch over her
and protect her.

Protect her from what? She's no damsel in
distress.

I needed to get out of here before I did
something stupid.

Standing up in the shallow water, I pulled
myself up and out of the Jacuzzi. It was then that Steven noticed
me, which was a shock because he always seemed to know exactly
where I was at the health club. His crush on me was something that
was impossible not to notice

"Mr. Rosely, I didn't see you there." The
alarm in his tone of voice was almost comical.

"It's perfectly fine, Steven. I was just
leaving."

"I came in here to give you a message,
sir."

I walked over to them, even though it was not
in my direct path to the locker room and I could easily hear Steven
from where I was standing. The woman looked down at her feet,
purposely avoiding any form of eye contact with me so I made sure
to stand directly next to her, my bare arm brushing against
hers.

"What is it, Steven?"

"Miss... I mean... Bailey would like it if
you could stop by her office on your way out."

Fucking Bailey. I was with her last night but
somehow I forgot that she worked this morning. That's how I met my
Thursday and Sunday girl. She called me into her office one day,
locked the door and then practically jumped me.

I was not in the mood to deal with her shit
today. She's a beautiful woman, great for a couple rounds in the
sack, but she's needy as hell. Somehow I knew she was going to fuck
up the great morning I was having.

I turned so I was facing Steven directly, and
purposely leant into my brunette obsession. The back of my palm
skimmed against her hip as my arm stilled against hers. She took a
small step in the other direction, breaking our connection but not
before I felt the goose bumps raise on the top of her skin.

This was good news. I affected her, too.

"I'll stop by her office on my way out,
Steven. Thank you."

I glanced at the woman next to me one last
time before turning around and walking to the men's locker room. As
I was approaching the door I heard Steven loudly whisper, "He's one
of the only reasons I don't mind staying here in the cold. Just
look at his body. Why are the good ones always straight?"

She giggled softly as I opened the door to
the locker room, pretending not to hear a word Steven said, but
basking in the glory of the small victories I've made today.

Victory number one: I have a time. She swims
for around three hours a day. That was both impressive and
completely insane.