It’s a struggle, of course, but Jason isn’t as out of shape as he’d feared.

Chapter 3 – Putting a Plan Together (continued)

When they arrived at her gym, Kate helped him get in on a guest pass, then led him toward the locker rooms.

“Go ahead and change, and stash your bag, and meet me over at the indoor track.” She pointed out the location where she wanted to meet, and he nodded before heading into the men’s locker room.

Kate was already stretching at one side of the large room when Jason caught up to her. He quickly and easily fell into his own stretches, which his body seemed to remember from when he’d been in track, though it protested its years of disuse. He noticed Kate watching him, though she averted her gaze when she noticed him watching her back.

“I take it we’re going to do some running first?” He asked while bending as low as he could go to stretch his calves.

“Yeah.” Kate said softly, “Do you just want to focus on training, or do you maybe want to make a competition of it?” She asked after a moment.

“What did you have in mind?” He asked.

She wouldn’t meet his gaze as she explained, “Well, I know you’re not in as good a shape as you used to be, and while I’m in better shape overall, I’m not focused on running like you were, so our advantages might even out.”

Jason nodded, and motioned for her to continue, “So, uh… I thought we could see who would win a race. We could do… say two laps? That’s about half a mile.” She finished.

Jason thought about it for a moment, but ultimately agreed. “Let’s do it then, though if I start getting a cramp or anything, I’m not going to push it.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Let’s go.” Kate said a bit more animatedly. It had been a while since Jason had seen her even begin to relax like this around him.

As they moved to a starting position on the track, he asked, “So are we competing for anything?”

“You mean, like a wager?” She clarified.

“Yeah, what does the winner get?” Jason asked, trotting in place slightly to ensure he was fully loosened up.

“Um…” Kate was suddenly looking uncertain again.

Jason didn’t want her nervousness to overtake her, so he quickly jumped in, “How about, the loser pays for lunch? We’ll just go to a fast-food place or something.”

She sighed, “I don’t really eat fast food.”

“Oh.” Now that Jason thought about it, she was pretty strict with her diet. The left-over fried chicken he’d put into her burrito was the closest he’d seen her get to eating actual fast food.

“How about a kiss?” Kate suggested. Jason’s shock at the suggestion must have shown on his face, because she quickly added, “Why not?”

“Isn’t it supposed to be a negative for the loser?” He asked.

Kate blushed fiercely, but stuttered, “N-not on the lips!” She insisted. “Like, the loser has to kiss the feet of the winner, or maybe the butt, if you’d prefer. And they do it in front of Alex and Heather, so everyone knows it’s a punishment. What?” She blinked at Jason’s smile.

He found her word choice to be quite cute in this instance. “Who decides if the kiss is on the feet or the ‘butt’?” He asked, “The loser or the winner?”

“Well, the winner gets to receive the kiss, so the loser would decide which they are more comfortable with, I guess.” She shrugged, finding it difficult to meet his gaze.

“Alright, it’s a bet.” Jason agreed finally, offering his hand to shake on it.

Kate shook his hand, then turned and got into a starting position in the second lane on the track. Jason moved to the first lane, a little behind her, and took his own starting position, trying his best not to be distracted by her toned ass outlined by her sweat pants. He had just enough time to wonder why she was still wearing them and not something a little lighter like his running shorts when she began counting down from three.

Right off the line, Kate pulled quickly ahead, her body moving explosively into a substantial lead. But it didn’t take Jason long to find his rhythm; his muscle memory kicking in as he gradually ramped up his speed. Bit by bit, he closed the distance, even as the muscles in his lungs and legs began to protest the unaccustomed level of activity he was demanding of them.

By the end of the first lap, Jason was several seconds ahead of her, but about three quarters of the way around the second lap, his lungs were starting to burn with every breath. He tried to push himself a little longer, but that only made it worse, and Kate passed him as he slowed down in the final stretch.

He barely made it to the finish line, but had to stop there, panting and shaking, though at least he wasn’t covered in sweat. He’d stopped before injuring himself, but it was a near thing. In truth, however, the burn and the soreness felt refreshing, even if he was at his limit.

Kate turned and jogged back to him, keeping her legs moving to cool down, “You okay?” She asked, concern and worry on her freckled features.

“Yeah, I should be fine; just a bit too much for my first time back on the track. If we’d done one lap, I would have beaten you, but this one’s yours.”

She smiled, “Well, that was still super impressive. I’m not exactly slow, but you really got moving there. Guess you’re gonna be kissing my feet!”

“Unless I decide to kiss your ass instead.” Jason retorted, causing her to gape at him for a moment.

“It sounds worse when you say it like that.” She muttered. “But yeah, I guess it’s your choice. Shall we?” She gestured back to the hallway, and Jason allowed her to lead him to the weight room.

Kate had a well-established routine, so Jason simply followed her from machine to machine, spotting her as she worked out, and then changing places and having her spot him as well. He may have been a little out of shape, but he was still big and overall healthy, and was happy to note that he was keeping up with her in weight on most the machines, if not the reps she could pull off.

They’d been at it for about forty minutes, and Jason had caught his sister’s friend periodically glancing at a fight ring in the next room over from the weight machines. So Jason nodded in that direction when he was finished on the last machine, and asked, “Do you spar up there?”

Kate nodded, “Bit of boxing and some MMA. I’m an enforcer, afterall.”

“Did you want to spar with me then?”

She blinked at him, glanced at the ring then back at him, “Uh yeah. Didn’t know you were into that at all.”

“I’m not.” He admitted, “But I did a little jujitsu as a kid. I doubt I remember much of it, but I can still help you train.”

“I wasn’t going to do that today, because I didn’t want to do something you might not be able to do with me.” She admitted.

“It could be fun, let’s give it a try.” He offered a smile, and she returned it.

They made their way to the ring, and got Jason sized for gloves, vest, and a helmet (Jason was surprised they actually had gear that fit him), before gearing up and getting up on to the ring after the previous pair had finished. They did a little warming up, and Jason tried to remember any of his stances and forms, and then turned to face off against Kate.

“We’ll start off simple and easy, see how much you can do.” She suggested, and he nodded. “We’re wearing protective gear, but we’re still going to avoid the head, anywhere else is fair game, but try to pull your punches. You may not have a ton of muscle, but you’ve still got more mass than me, and that means you can hit harder if your form is even halfway decent.”

Jason nodded.

He was a little hesitant, so Kate ended up making the first move. She was fast, closing in and tagging him twice in the chest before he had a chance to react, but she danced back out of reach before he could hit back.

Then she did it again, though Jason managed to block her first jab before her shin connected with his side with almost enough **** to knock the wind out of him. She withdrew and gave him a questioning look, but he took a few deep breaths and nodded for her to continue.

This time when she came at him, he blocked another jab, then the follow-up kick, and finally landed a glancing blow on her left arm before she could retreat.

“Goog!” She complimented around her mouth guard. Then she was immediately in his space again.

She wasn’t hitting hard, but he had a feeling he’d end up with a few bruises when this was over. But then the tables turned when he not only blocked a kick to his leg, but managed to grab her leg in the process.

Her eyes went wide as he turned the grab into a throw, calling upon long disused jujitsu training to take her to the mat and pin her handily. She struggled, and tried to dislodge him, but he just kept his weight on her back and she finally tapped out.

Kate got to her feet and took out her mouth guard, “Darn.” She was panting a little, “That was a textbook takedown.”

“I just followed my instincts.” Jason removed his own mouth guard to reply.

“If this were a real fight, I think I’d be in trouble.” Kate admitted.

“You’re in so much better shape than me, though.” Jason protested.

“Doesn’t matter. You’ve got enough skills to grab me, and you’re what, one-ninety?”

“A little over two hundred ten, last time I weighed myself, actually.”

“That’s almost a third-again my weight, I tend to hover around one sixty, one seventy. I just don’t have the mass to move you if I don’t have leverage.”

She was still breathing heavily, and Jason felt some amount of concern. “Are you alright? Your face is a bit red.”

“It’s just hot in here, I’ll cool down soon enough.” She went to the corner where she’d left her water bottle.

“You’d cool down faster without the hoodie.” He suggested.

She looked back at him, and if anything got even more red, “I’m not… I mean, I don’t usually work out with…”

“Sorry, I thought you were wearing a t-shirt or something under there.” He blushed when he realized what she was getting at.

“It’s not that!” She gasped, and turned away.

“Okay, then what?” Jason asked, confused.

She sighed, “I guess I’m just a little self-conscious. It’s one thing when it’s just me or when I’m with Breanne…”

“It’s different with a guy?” Jason took a guess at finishing her thought.

“It’s not even that either.”

“You know what?” Jason offered, “If you’re in any way uncomfortable, just don’t worry about it, okay?”

Kate turned and offered him a pretty smile, her blush extending to her ears now, which he suddenly realized also had freckles, though they were lighter than the ones on her face. “No, you are right, I’m being silly. It shouldn’t matter that you and I are closer than anyone else I’ve been to the gym with.”

That admission made Jason smile, but he waited for her to continue on her own time.

For about twenty seconds, they stood there in silence then Kate began removing her gloves.

Once her gloves were off she also removed her vest, then finally unzipped and removed her hoodie before starting to put the gear back on. Underneath she wore a long-sleeved t-shirt that didn’t really show much more of her, except that it hugged her figure more closely, and was a lighter weight material that would breathe a little easier.

“Better?” He asked.

She nodded, “Yeah, cooler, at least. I feel a little exposed though.”

“Doesn’t look like you’re showing much more skin.”

“Maybe not, but I’m showing more of… well my figure.”

“So what? You’re in fantastic shape!” He observed. “What have you got to be self-conscious about?”

“Don’t bullcrap me. Yeah, I work hard to stay fit, but I’ve accepted that I’m never going to be fit and pretty at the same time.” She frowned at him.

Jason stared for a moment, “You don’t think you’re pretty?” He asked, astonished.

“I know I’m not.” By that point she had her gloves back on, and seemed ready to go another round.

“Well you are. You may not be as girly as Heather, but I’ve always thought you were gorgeous in your own way.”

“Ugh. You shouldn’t be wasting time flirting with me when you’ve got a girlfriend. You’re just gonna prove Heather right. Now come on.” She put her mouth guard back in and fell into a boxing stance.

Jason sighed. This wasn’t the time or place to explain what he’d learned about Stephani, so he let the subject go for the moment. But he resolved he’d help Kate change her opinion of herself, and start to see herself the way he was just learning to see her.

Kate’s will had been focused, and try as he might, he didn’t manage to pin her again before he was too exhausted to continue sparring, at which point it was nearly time to leave. Once they’d removed their sparring gear and exited the ring, they both returned to the locker rooms, and more importantly, the showers.

Once they were heading out in to the parking lot, Jason asked, “Want to do this again next week?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” She agreed. “Though if you want to get back in shape, you should exercise more than just once a week.”

“Well, I don’t think I can fit it in on Fridays, but I can probably do Saturdays, and maybe Wednesday, though that could get tight.”

“If you just want to start with twice a week, that should make a big difference, and maybe you can adjust your schedule to go another time or two once you’re back in the swing of things, even if you have to go alone, or with Heather.”

“When does Heather usually go to the gym?” Jason asked.

“Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. The rest of the week she does her let’s plays, and she takes Mondays off.”

“So you and her work out together on Wednesdays?”

“No, she works out later in the evening, after cheer practice, and by that point I have to be at the skating rink.”

Jason nodded, and got into the driver’s seat after they both stowed their bags in the back again.

“So how are you feeling?” Kate wanted to know.

“A little sore, a little bruised, but also really good. It’s been too long since I’ve had a good workout.”

Kate’s smile was happy. She clearly was enjoying him getting into this as much as he was.

They didn’t resume talking until they were partway home, when Kate asked, “So how are things between you and Stephani. You still feeling down about the long distance strain?”

Jason sighed, and Kate’s expression turned concerned, “That bad, huh?”

“Things have gotten a little complicated with Stephani.” It felt weird to use that name after everything that had happened over the weekend, but for the moment he was still pretending to date her.

“In what way?”

“Well, I found out she actually did receive the webcam I sent.”

“That’s good, right?” Kate’s red brows drew together.

“In a way, yes. But she lied about receiving it, because her profile picture wasn’t actually her.”

“Oh. Why would she do that?”

“She explained she’d been using that picture for her profile before we started dating, but didn’t know how to tell me the truth, until just recently.”

“I guess you’re mad at her then?”

He nodded, “Yeah, a little.”

“Well, now that she’s told you the truth, you should give her a chance to earn back your trust.” Kate said, though she looked a bit sad saying it when Jason glanced at her. By that point they were pulling into the parking lot of their apartment complex.

Once they were parked, Jason turned to her and offered a smile. A part of him wanted to tell her the whole truth, but he knew now wasn’t quite the time for that yet. “Thanks for being a good friend.” Jason told her after a moment.

“Of course. You’re Alex’s brother.” She smiled back, and got out of the car. Jason caught up to her as they headed toward the house together.

“So uh… Heather is usually home by the time I get back from gym, and if Alex is still home, do you want to give me my reward when we get inside?” Kate asked, blushing again.

“Sure.” Jason agreed. In truth he didn’t think it was going to be much of a punishment, so he was happy to go along with it.