Curves | ONC 2020 Shortlist

15. Jenny Contemplates Kettle Bells

Energized. Jenny couldn't think of a better word to describe the way she felt as she tossed her gym bag next to the couch. She'd felt energized after her training session with Juliana. No wonder people with personal trainers always looked so good. They made exercise easy!

Never mind that Jenny's actual workout time had only been fifteen minutes. Exercise always made her tired, no matter the time frame. But today was different. Today, she'd laughed and joked and actually enjoyed herself. At the gym. Totally unheard of until today.

She flopped onto the couch and couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as she recalled her hour with the beautiful Juliana. The woman had laughed at all her jokes and looked at her as if she'd been truly interested in what she had to say. Maybe she was that way with everyone, it was hard to tell. Whatever the case, Juliana had made her feel seen. She hadn't felt that way since... well, since Danielle, actually.

And look how that ended.

Jenny shook her head. Time to stop entertaining delusional fantasies involving her personal trainer. Her straight personal trainer. Her straight personal trainer who would only be hers for four more days. Sure, all the literature proudly proclaimed a week of free personal training with each membership, but it was only one business week. Juliana made sure to point that out during the "setting expectations" portion of their time together.

Was it weird that she'd spent a farcical amount of time watching Juliana's mouth pronounce words like contractual and kettle bell?

What exactly was a kettle bell anyway? She would ask tomorrow when she saw Juliana again. So she could catch tiny glimpses of Juliana's tongue when she said kettle bell.

Jenny vigorously rubbed her face with both hands. She needed to stop thinking about Juliana's tongue. And lips. And hands. Hands that had gripped her hips and rotated them into proper position for lunges.

A shower! Now was a good time for a shower. A cold one.

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