Chapter Text
Ava jumps on her feet, rolls her shoulders, slaps her cheeks. Okay. You can do this. You’re strong. You’re badass. Or at least you’ll be if you follow through. And what’s the worst that could happen, uh? Some random chicks at the gym giving you a side look because you can’t do one push-up? Please. You’ve been through way worse. This is nothing. Stop being a little baby and go for it.
She takes a deep breath and walks inside the gym. The first thing hitting her is that this place is green. Ivy dangling from hanging pots, huge snake plants in the corners, a whole vegetal wall in the back. Nice. The second thing hitting her is that there are no men here. She shouldn’t be that surprised; she did choose this gym because it was for women and non-binaries only—not that she hates men, on the contrary, but this shit isn’t going to be easy and she wants to feel as comfortable as possible. Still, it’s a pleasant sight, and she mentally congrats herself for choosing this place. The third thing hitting her is a huge gymnastic ball bouncing straight to her face and almost knocking her off her feet. Thankfully, she only trips and manages not to fall face first on the ground, and she considers it a huge victory. She will not be defeated by a raging gym ball today.
“Shit! Are you okay?”
A young black woman with the most well-defined biceps Ava has ever seen rushes to her and sets a concerned hand on her shoulder.
“Yeah, yeah! I’m fine!” Ava straightens up, trying to look as nonchalant and cool as possible.
“It looked like a hard blow.”
Dammit. Time to save face with your awesome charm, Ava. “You should see the other guy,” she says with a proud grin while pointing with her thumb at the gym ball slowly rolling away.
The other girl appears as unimpressed as she’s unamused. What! That was funny, come on.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she says instead. “You’re new here? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around.”
“Oh, yes, actually! I’m Ava, first timer.”
She extends a hand and the other girl shakes it without any hesitation. Wow. Strong grip.
“Mary, instructor. Welcome to the Cat’s Cradle, Ava. I’ll let you register at the front desk, and maybe I’ll see you around, yeah?”
Ava doesn’t even have time to answer. Mary is already running after the ball, calves flexing at each move. She grabs the ball and throws it at someone else a few meters away, a tall, slender girl with copper skin, thick eyebrows and an aquiline nose, who catches it firmly.
“See Lilith?” Mary says to the girl. “That’s why you should wait after business hours to show us your new kickboxing moves.”
Lilith grunts and rolls her eyes, before turning her back to Mary. Wow. Kind of a bitch, this one. Okay, fine. A hot bitch. But still, she could have apologized for throwing a huge ball in Ava’s face.
Ava decides she doesn’t care and walks towards the front desk.
“Hi there!” the desk girl greets her with a big and warm smile. She’s pretty and kind, and it immediately brings a smile on Ava’s face. “My name is Yasmine, how can I help you today!”
“Hi Yasmine! I’m Ava, I have an appointment at 10.”
“Ava, that’s such a pretty name,” Yasmine compliments while typing on her computer. “I see you’ve booked a one-hour session with a personal trainer.”
“Yup! With Beatrice, I think?”
Yasmine nods and smiles. “She’s finishing up with another client, she should be all yours in a few minutes. Let’s create your file in the meantime! Can I have your address?”
While Ava gives Yasmine all the information she needs, she tries not to appear too excited. She doesn’t really know why yet, but she likes it here. Maybe it’s all those plants, maybe it’s the sunshine pouring through the large windows, maybe it’s the chill vibe she got from everyone there—well, maybe not from Lilith—, but she has a good feeling about this place. Plus, everyone working here seems to be very easy on the eye. Between badass hot Mary, bitchy hot Lilith and kind hot Yasmine, she sure did choose her new gym correctly. And she knows the best is yet to come.
“Okay, you’re all set! And I see Beatrice is done too, I’ll go get her for you.”
Ava watches Yasmine as she leaves her desk and walks to the back of the spacious room, beyond the treadmills, the rowing machines and all those other equipment Ava doesn’t even know the name of but is pretty sure were designed for torture rather than exercise. Yasmine’s back a few moments later, and she’s not alone. Walking alongside her is Beatrice, the trainer Ava specifically requested on the Cat’s Cradle’s website, and jesus fuck she’s even hotter in real life.
Now, before you judge, please listen. Yes, Ava likes girls (and boys). Yes, she has no trouble acknowledging when a girl is pretty, or hot, or both. Yes, horny is one of her few default mindsets. But to be fair, she’s twenty-two and very new at this. Girls, boys, romance, sex. Life. So what if she chose her personal trainer because she let out a loud “hot damn!” when she saw her picture online, along with all the martial arts she has mastered? What if she let instinct choose rather than reason? Who hasn’t? So, yeah. Let her have this, okay? Plus, she’s just looking. Discreetly. She thinks. And Beatrice does seem like she’s a great trainer, considering all the reviews Ava read about her.
“You must be Ava,” Beatrice greets her with a small nod. “Pleased to meet you.”
God, okay. Beatrice is quite impressive in person, isn’t she? All graceful and confident and looking at her as if she’ll see right through her bullshit. Ava can’t make a fool of herself. She already almost got knocked unconscious by a plastic ball today, for fuck’s sake. She has to set the bar higher than that.
“The pleasure is mine,” she says with a grin. “I’m so excited. I have a feeling you and I are going to work out quite well!”
Oh, well. Foolish of her to assume she could control herself more than ten seconds. Beatrice smiles. It’s small, it’s polite, and Ava can already tell it’ll take more than an awesome pun to crack that shell.
“Come with me.”
Yes, ma’am. Ava follows Beatrice to a corner of the gym and sits with her on a bench framed by a water fountain and a gorgeous citrus tree sagging under the weight of dozens of oranges.
“You can take one if you want,” Beatrice says when she notices Ava staring at the fruits with awe.
“Really? Neat!”
She’s already holding out her hand, fingers stretching to catch an orange, when Beatrice intervenes.
“After you’ve earned it.”
“Dang.” Ava lets her hand flop on her lap. She catches Beatrice’s small smile, more amused than polite this time, and it immediately lifts her spirits. Not that they needed much lifting. She’s quite happy to be here.
“Okay, Ava. First, let me ask you. Is this a one-time thing, or are you looking for a long-term commitment?”
“Oh, wow. Buy me dinner first, coach!” Ava jokes, but Beatrice only raises her eyebrows, expecting a real answer, and Ava pinches her lips the way a child caught doing something wrong would. “Alright, alright. Ideally, I’d like to come back often. I don’t know for how long, but I’m not in my best form right now and I’m assuming it’d take more than a few weeks to, you know, get me in shape.”
Beatrice nods. She looks so serious. Ava bets she’s even more beautiful when she smiles. Like, really smiles.
“Why are you here?”
“To… get in shape, I just told you!” Ava says with an honest smile.
“Yes, but why? What do you want to accomplish? Do you have any specific goals, like running a full marathon one day? Is it so that you’re in good health? Is it because you want to look fitter?”
Ava’s smile slowly fades away. Straight to the existential questions, uh. When she sees Ava’s hesitation, Beatrice’s expression softens.
“I’m sorry. It might sound too personal, but I truly believe it’s important. You’re here because you want something specific, and I’m here to make sure you get exactly that, and maybe even more.”
Ava looks at her feet and fidgets on the bench. She didn’t think she’d have to share that story to a complete stranger at 10 on a Tuesday morning, but oh well. She has nothing to hide.
“I’m, um—I was in bad shape for a very long time, like, really bad shape. Like. Had-to-go-through-physical-therapy-for-years shape. And my doctors told me a week ago that I’m fully recovered, and that aside from a few control visits, I was finally free from all that crap. And I’ve been feeling so well for months now, moving without any restriction, being able to—to—walk, and carry books, and write, and hold a glass of water without spilling it everywhere, and I think I’m ready for the next step. I’m ready to really use my body. I want to be able to run on the beach, to ride a motorcycle, to surf, to just—just—”
Ava shuts up. Are those tears in her eyes? Shit. Why did she get so emotional all of a sudden? She glances at Beatrice. She’s still there, listening, gaze serious and bright.
“I want to be able to live,” Ava finally murmurs. “I want my body to handle whatever stupid things I throw at it. I want to be able to wake up one day thinking how cool it’d be to climb a tree! and to just, do it.”
Beatrice stays silent. Ugh. Way to kill the mood, Ava. Great job. But Beatrice asked for an honest answer, so there. She has it.
“Okay, Ava.” Beatrice’s still looking at her. “If that’s what you want and if you’re ready to work for it, then we’ll make it happen.”
Somehow, Ava’s relieved she’s not asking more questions.
“And why did you choose me?”
Whoops, she spoke (thought?) too soon. And of course it had to be that question. She can’t tell Beatrice she chose her because she thought she was smoking hot, right? Yeah, no, she can’t. She settles for the other truth instead.
“It says you’re trained in a lot of different martial arts on the website, and I kind of want to learn a few moves one day. You know, to impress the ladies.”
She pumps her eyebrows with a grin, and it manages to drag a short, quiet laugh from Beatrice. Well, it was more a huff than a laugh, but still. Ava decides it counts.
“Then we’ll make that happen too,” Beatrice says as she stands up. “Alright, Ava. Thank you for sharing all of this with me. I promise I won’t go easy on you.”
“Gee, thanks!” Ava laughs, but she means it. Thank you for taking me seriously. Thank you for not pitying me.
Beatrice gives her a smile. Not small, not polite, not amused. Just a genuine smile that makes Ava’s heart beat a bit faster.
“You’ll thank me when you can climb a tree.”