Ashleigh got dressed in her ratty grey sweat pants and a pink shirt that had SUPERSTAR written out in rhinestones across the front. She'd been serious about working out when she had invested $90 in cross training shoes because the salesman had said it would maximize her workout. She had purposely arrived at 5:30 even though she didn't have to be at work until 8:00. She figured she would work out for an hour to an hour and a half, take forty-five minutes to get showered and dressed, and another half hour to have breakfast in the cafeteria. She'd seen that they had egg white omelets and turkey sausage now. She'd have time to kickback and recuperate before starting her day. But best of all, by coming so early she'd get to the gym before anyone else showed up.The Federal Building was quiet when she arrived. No one had yet arrived to visit the Social Security Office or to have their taxes prepared. None of the workers were crowding into the building carrying their cups of piping hot St
In theory, Ashleigh's plan was great. But nothing worked out as planned. She'd sweated her hair until it was soaking wet and once she got to the locker she'd had to wash it. Her hair was too short to just pull back into a ponytail, and it took her forty-five minutes alone just getting her short hair blow dried and curled into a passable manner. She spent fifteen more minutes on makeup and ten minutes to get dressed. She'd only had time to grab a breakfast wrap and a bottle of juice and to get up to her office where she gobbled it up. Kendra and Lance came into her office and looked her up and down. "Did you work out?" Kendra asked in disappointment. "I did!" She said defensively. "My freaking legs are knotted up and I'm limping," she added.Lance gave her a doubtful look. "Girlfriend, you look like you just left the spa. Make-up and clothes are flawless."Ashleigh smiled. Lance was so sweet, even if he thought she looked too good to have just put in over an hour on her first work
Christopher's back straightened. Did she hurt herself? Should he go check on her? He was contemplating this when she pulled herself back up to her feet. She moved stiffly back to the treadmill. She started it again and got back on it!Christopher placed his hands on his hips and watched. She was going to walk it out, he thought. That was good. But then he saw her pushing up the speed and she began running again. Damn…Christopher tapped the controls and zoomed in on her face. Sweat and tears were evident but he could see that her brow was drawn and he saw that she wasn't going to stop until she met her own personal goal. He heard Carlos come up behind him and he quickly flipped the screen to the corridors. He didn't want any of the guys seeing her cry.~*~Ashleigh hurt so bad that even though she knew she shouldn't, she came straight home, popped ibuprofen, took a hot bath and then crawled into bed without dinner. The next day when she went to the gym she was walking stiffly
Christopher heard the door to the gym open. He was surprised. He half expected her to change her workout time though he no longer expected her to give up. It hadn't been a week yet but there was something in her face that drove her and somehow he didn't think she'd be easily swayed from her unknown goal. He still wore the hood but he didn't allow it to cover his face as completely. He glimpsed her through the mirror going through her stretching. She was moving gingerly. He hoped she understood that her muscles had to tear down in order to rebuild themselves even stronger. He hoped she didn't take the pain as a sign to give up when it was actually a sign that her efforts were working for her. He saw her get on the recumbent bike. She was wearing grey sweats and a t-shirt that was too big. A cap concealed her hair but he was willing to bet that she hadn't combed it this morning. He liked that she didn't come in wearing make-up, though that could just be an indication that he wasn't c
Ashleigh felt weak and tired when she dragged herself out of bed Wednesday morning; two months into her workout. She'd again skipped dinner the night before and her stomach hurt because it was so empty. She grabbed a banana and ate it as she drove in to work. God, she was tired.She put her things into the locker room and headed for the gym. She was so tired that she didn't even pay attention to what song was playing, only happy that it was something with a heavy bass line so that she could get motivated. She glanced at Mr. Mysterious, as always, pounding away on that treadmill. He never used the weights or anything else, just the treadmill. She plopped down on the recumbent bike, too tired to even think about the elliptical. Then she began pedaling. I'm getting skinnier, she thought. Each pedal I'm getting skinnier. Each bead of sweat is a drop of fat melting off my body. Push it girl, push it…Her ears began to ring and her body began to tremble as black dots began to form in fro
TK walked into the commissary then. He eyed the two of them and then gave a lascivious grin. He gripped his crotch suggestively. Christopher put on his meanest expression and gestured with his head for TK to get lost. The other man silently went to the vending machines and got himself a soda. He could tell that their wordless conversation had tickled the black man who raised his ever-present sunglasses to look at the two of them and then blow him a quick kiss.Christopher scowled but it disappeared as soon as he looked down into the woman's peaceful face. She was beautiful, she had a teeny little peanut nose and perfectly formed lips. He used to look at pictures and photographs of lips; ones with perfect cupid bows; like hers. Her face was round and girlish. He figured that she was in her late twenties. Her long lashes left dark shadows on her golden brown cheeks. She wasn't pink, she was gold and brown like hot buttered toast.He wished that she would sleep like this forever. Ash
Christopher spent the morning filling out reports; incident reports, breach of security report, points of contact reports. When he was done he went down into the gym room and retrieved the CD and Ashleigh's cap. He quietly stared at the monitors, ran his sweeps, but his mind was deep in thought. No one bothered him. Carlos mumbled, "She's going to be alright, Beast."He gave the man a surprised look. But Carlos tucked his head down and hurried away. Bruce walked into the security room later that evening. Christopher looked up from the screens waiting to get his ass chewed for leaving the area without permission."I got a report from the hospital. The civilian…uh the girl, Miss Dalton has been released and she's doing just fine." Christopher sighed. "Go down into the lockers and secure her property. I don't want any of her belongings getting stolen.""Yes, sir." He stood up quickly and hurried out the door, but paused and turned back to Bruce. "Thank you, sir.""She's a tough, cooki
Monday morning, Ashleigh got out of bed early enough to make herself a breakfast of oatmeal and a slice of wheat toast. She dressed in sweatpants that were no longer quite as tight and an oversized shirt. She looked at herself in her full-sized mirror. Why was she still fat? Okay, she was smaller; the scale said it and so did her clothes but she was still round…well, her breasts had deflated. It was the one thing she hadn't minded being oversized.Ashleigh scowled and drove to work. She had to rush if she wanted to get in a full hour. As she headed for the gym she heard the faint clanging sound of bells. She hesitated, alarms, bells…clocks? And then she realized that it was part of a song. She picked up her pace and a smile came over her face. It was the Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd! Lt. Christopher Jamieson was a god among men for playing Time at 5:30 am!He was pounding on the treadmill but this time he wasn't wearing his hoodie, just a t-shirt and sweat pants. She caught he