Marcus, the fitness instructor

Nicole quickly rushes downstairs to the door. She peeks through the blinds she always had closed and gasps. It was Marcus. Marcus never came to her door. All of their interactions were friendly and brief in the common area. She slowly opens the door.

"Hey there, well if it isn't Nicole Wending!" He says with his usual positivity and flashing his perfect white teeth. God, he was so tall and handsome.

"Yep, that's me. It would be weird if it wasn't," she laughs "because this is my apartment. How can I help you, Marcus."

"Nicole Wending, it isn't how you can help me. It's how I can help you. And by you letting me help you you'll be helping me! You follow?"

Nicole melts hearing his deep muddy bass voice, but everytime they met he tried to sell her on hiring him as an instructor. This appeared to be another one of those times. "Marcus, I told you while I'd love to have you train me I can't afford you."

He shakes his head and pushes the door open wider. "Five minutes. That's all I need. May I invade your space?"

"Um," her place wasn't a mess but it certainly wasn't tidy, but she could tell Marcus wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Yeah, I can spare five minutes."

"Alright, alright, start timing," he says somehow appearing to glide into the apartment as if on ice skates. "Nicole Wending, I've noticed you've been keeping up with your biking. I applaud the commitment, but you can do so much more. As I'm sure you've seen as I've worked with my clients around the complex I am very good at molding bodies, but, my sweet neighbor, that's only a fraction of how I help people become fuller beings."

He turns to her fridge and opens it. "I see you have my business card on your fridge, so you haven't completely ruled me out."

No, she thinks, I kept it for the fantasy that one day I'd call you and you'd come over and rail me. She doesn't say that out loud.

He starts rummaging through her fridge. "Breaking bodies. Stretching and tearing the muscles. Soothing them as they heal. It only works if you're feeding it properly. Honestly, what you have stocked in here isn't so bad, but you can do better."

"Marcus..."

"Shhh, you gave me five minutes, Nicole Wending, I'm not done. How you present yourself, even if you live alone..." he pauses "you do still live alone, right?"

She wasn't sure why he'd think she suddenly had a roommate. She replies that she does still live alone. he raises an eyebrow and smiles again. "Great, but just because you live alone your mental well-being is driven by the space in which you live." He starts walking around the apartment. He yanks the cord to the blinds hiding the big window where the stranger exposed himself to the parking lot. "You need to let the light in, Nicole Wending. Your apartment is much too dark during the day with those blinds closed. If you keep them closed all the time people will start thinking you have something to hide. Even if you don't." He winks and it makes her uncomfortable thinking about what happened in front of that window yesterday.

"And, oh my gosh, you're not a messy girl, Nicole Wending, but everything has its place, doesn't it?" Again, it's like he's gliding as he smoothly moves from the couch to the dining table where he picks up the bottle of lube she left out in case the stranger came back. Her cheeks burn and she feels absolutely humiliated. "No judgment, babygirl, but does this belong out in the open? What if your mother shows up unannounced? Your home should always be guest worthy." He holds the bottle out to her.

She sheepishly takes the bottle of lube from Marcus who just called her 'babygirl.' Her emotions were very screwed up at the moment. "Of course, you're right. It was reckless and sloppy."

"It's okay, Nicole, that's why I'm here. Body, mind, heart, and soul. I focus on the complete human being package. When I leave, put that where it belongs. Now, the often overlooked part of being the best human - the soul." he taps his chest with his fist. "Nicole Wending, I don't know you, but I always felt you were a good person. But a good person is reflected in the company they keep. This part is much more philosophical and I usually don't get to it until the end of my personal training regiment, however, I've been thinking a lot about you and your soul these last couple of days."

"You have?" Nicole swallows. Why would he be concerned with her soul?

"How am I on time?"

Nicole glances at the clock. "Less than a minute but you can..."

"Nope, I promised five minutes. Nicole, I insist you experience my introductory intense one-on-one workshop. Do you have any plans Friday evening and how early can you be off work?"

"No plans and probably around 3ish?"

"Perfect. You'll put on some work clothes and meet me at my door at 4 p.m. We're going to do a full-body workout, followed by making a healthy dinner, and I'll finish explaining how we can fix your mind and soul."

"Marcus, I really can't afford you."

"Oh no, Nicole Wending, this will be my pleasure to give it to you for free. Our orbits have been circling for a few months without connecting. I get it. I need to prove to you." He turns his back to her and walks out the door. "4 p.m. and bring a change of clothes. We'll get straight to working on dinner after the workout." The door slams shut.

Nicole is breathless. With Marcus, it was always less of a financial issue and more of a being completely intimidated and desirous. She was ashamed of that lust for a couple of reasons. One, she worried she could possibly be fetishizing him because of his skin color. Second, and mostly, because he was such a kind and positive person. Even though he only gently criticized her health choices she somehow still felt like a troll when standing next to him. She looks at the bottle of lube he left her holding and thinks he might be right. One intense life improvement session wouldn't kill her. It might even help her develop some good habits as she prepares to return to work in the office. Although, she wasn't sure about all of that soul stuff. It felt oddly accusatory like she somehow let him down even though they barely even know one another.

Nicole flops on the couch and places the lube on the coffee table. She'll find a better place for it later. Barely two minutes after she sits she hears a key in the door. The stranger stumbles into her kitchen looking more ragged than usual. He throws a bag of Taco Bell and four-sixths of a PBR tall boy six-pack on the counter. He says, "sorry, did I miss the Black Lives Matter meeting?" and Nicole's buzz from the whirlwind of Marcus quickly fades.