He shut the laptop with a lingering smile and whistled to Bud. The duo went to the library where they stayed till lunch. Jack issued himself a few books on yoga and martial arts. He read up on jiu-jitsu and wushu, which honestly seemed really complicated to him. But they were an interesting read so he continued perusing them till it was dinner time.
It was only after dinner and Bud's nightly walk that he let himself think of Inaya. Her aloofness and stern demeanour had done nothing to diminish his fascination with her. He could not believe that he was developing a crush on his personal trainer. It would be awkward for both of them in the long run, so he resolved to quash this infatuation as soon as possible. Still, his heart whispered stealthily 'maybe once this is over, there could be something...'.
And still thinking of Inaya, his warrior princess, he fell asleep.
Over the course of the next week, his stamina built up and his endurance increased as well. Inaya was relentless during training and kept pushing him to the point of collapsing. Jack, like all of the others before him, found it extremely tough to even keep up with her, especially during aerobics. However, he proved that he was made of sterner stuff, when he doggedly kept going on, despite panting and sweating all the time. Inaya looked after his fitness, weight training, Pilates and everything else that she could think of. It was her job to get him to his ideal weight. She oversaw every aspect of his training. The best part was she was not derisive, and her presence was the driving force that kept Jack's motivation levels high. One of her best strategies was to inform him of the calories that he was burning with each workout.
"This sequence is going to burn 170 calories, which is going to buy you your extra shake. Don't you want that Jack?"
"Yes," he grunted.
"Good! Work for it. That's it. Keep going!"
Galvanised by this rare praise, he continued his push-ups, counting them under his breath. A week and a half into this course, Inaya had introduced him to the basics of Jui-Jitsu and wushu. Jack picked it up surprisingly well. The only thing holding him back was his bulk. His strength and control were pretty good otherwise. She was making him practice on a dummy first. His hands and legs worked in tandem as he kept hitting the sawdust filled bag again and again till his fingers cramped.
"Again," she barked, and it started all over again. The first month had gone by and the days were slipping by like a montage with them running, swimming, practising yoga, martial arts and everything else Inaya could think of. He had lost enough weight to try aerial yoga.
"This is way difficult than it looks. Not only do you have to hoist your body weight up, but you also need to have total control over your arms and legs," said Inaya, as she demonstrated a series of flashy moved, kicking and punching in the air. She then hung from one arm and leapt on to the next swathe of cloth hanging from the beam.
Jack just kept looking at her, too awestruck to hide his admiration.
"Wow. That was wow," he whispered. And as she jumped down to the floor next to him, he carefully erased the adoration he had started feeling toward her. IT would only serve to make her uncomfortable.
And although she kept her professional distance from him at all times as well, she had also started admiring his perseverance. His crush on her was not a secret to her, but she was not inclined toward him in that way, so she gave no indication of feelings at all. At least none that would give him hope of a romance. Bur even Inaya couldn't disagree that Jack was charming, funny and an amazing conversationalist. It was just too easy to fall into a teasing repartee with him. And to give him credit, he never stopped being friendly despite knowing that she wouldn't reciprocate his friendliness. Maybe he realised that she found it very difficult to warm up to people.
As long as it is a conversation, it is harmless, she told herself, playing with something in her pocket. It was something that even Jack noticed. Whenever she was off guard, her hand would flip into her pocket. Today, he asked her about it, after days of hesitation.
"Hey, I hope you don't have treats hidden away in your pocket while poor old me sweats and starves," he joked, gesturing toward her pocket with his head. Inaya stilled completely and slowly drew out her hand. For once, there was an expression on her face which was not concentration or aggression. She looked a little confused and uncertain. "Uhhh...," she began.
Jack caught her expression and sobered up. "Listen, I was joking. I'm sure as a trainer you can eat more than me," he quipped, trying to diffuse the tension that had come between them.
Inaya gave Jack a long look, searching his eyes. And he was unable to look away. He could almost feel the air shift, and suddenly, Inaya had taken a small toy-like thing from her pocket. She held it out in her hand.
"Oh, it's just that fidget spinner you keep playing with," said Jack. Inaya was never seen without it, even the trainers all knew it, but didn't seem important enough to remark upon. Although she was not very sociable, she always had a few words for everyone. And even though she was a quiet person, she was reasonably friendly with the others to know all the gossip that was doing rounds at that time. During her time off, she was often found in the staff lounge, watching television and reading, all the while playing with it. Since she was never seen without it, the other trainers and residents often smiled and had earlier asked whether it was her good luck charm, to which she would reply, 'Maybe, let's see'.
Jack simply looked at it, knowing Inaya would not like him touching it. It was made from a metal he hadn't seen before, an alloy that was made in India, he speculated. It had three wing-like extensions and some scratchings on it. It had looked like a fidget spinner to him before, but upon a closer look, it looked nothing like one. He looked up at Inaya questioningly.
"I like to think of it as my talisman, it is not a toy," she said, putting it away again. Why did I show it to him? Why did he ask? She thought to herself. No more moments of weakness Inaya, she scolded herself. Her warrior princess persona was back again, and she resumed training. Jack was wise enough to shut up about it and followed her lead as she started teaching him some new fighting moves.
"You have to use the opponent's momentum and disable him," she said. They both put their minds and bodies back into training.
His training continued to get tougher, as changes in his body became more apparent. He had lost the dark circles that had haunted while working at the lab. His pale skin had become tanned, and his limbs were getting more toned. He was almost halfway through his transformation.
The change in her was not very apparent, and only Jack felt it. He had realised early on that she didn't see her gender as a challenge to the kind of job she did. She simply was the best and had worked her way to the top. When she had shown him her talisman, he felt like she was showing him her soul. Trusting him with it. And it humbled Jack, making him more determined than ever to meet every challenge she threw at him. HE was a better student than she could have hoped for. Although he had told her he used to work in a lab, she didn't yet know that he was a scientist. Little did he know that that was the one aspect he had she would be more fascinated in than anything else.
Taking a wild chance, he turned to her after their session and asked, "I'm going to the smoothie hut. Do you want to come?"
There were a few seconds of silence and Jack was sure she would refuse.
"Sure, I need to talk to you about your upcoming trip to Goa," she said. "Our trip," she corrected. Smiling from ear to ear, taking care that she didn't see his jubilation, they walked outside.
Slowly, she found herself accompanying him more and more even when it was not strictly required, like to the library or to the juice bar. It happened without either of them realising, they were becoming friends.