Working out with Ruby

Normally you wouldn’t be at the gym this early, but Ruby asked you to help her work out since her normal partner was sick. As you pass by the dim yellow streetlights, you spot Ruby standing by the gym’s entrance.

You glance down at your watch. 5:59 AM, one minute before the doors unlock.

“Ruby,” you call out, as the redhead turns towards you.

“Hey Alex!” she replies, shooting you a crooked half-smile and waving you over.

You hurry the last stretch to where she stands, under the much brighter floodlights illuminating the front of the gym. You try to hide your slight disappointment at her gym-going outfit, a loose pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt, hiding her ample curves and cleavage, but it’s probably for the best that you won’t be caught staring when it’s just the two of you in there.

“Pretty early to work out, huh?”

“Oh, no it’s actually-”

She’s cut off by the sudden sound of the door’s lock clicking open. She pushes in ahead of you, the lights coming on as the two of you walk inside.

“I get everything done in thirty-five minutes—no more, no less, so we’ve got to get started right away.”

You drop your bag by the entrance, figuring the gym won’t be filled until the both of you are ready to leave.

“So where do we get to first?” you turn back around to ask, before realising that Ruby’s already rushing off towards the stationary bikes. You quickly jog after her, catching up just as she mounts the seat, maxing out the incline and resistance, pedaling furiously.

You may as well join in. You get onto the bike beside her and start pedaling away. You had figured your cardio was pretty good, but Ruby is outpacing you with ease as you begin to pant.

“You ride a lot?” you ask her, half out of breath.

She turns to face you, her legs still working away, smiling, “I’m something of an expert at riding.”

That leaves you staring for half a moment after she turns her focus back to the bike before you continue. Then a minute later, she hops off, wiping the seat off, and you follow her over the squat rack, the slight lead she has on you seeing her already having gotten the weights onto the bar already.

“Spot me?”

You step around behind her, and suddenly become extremely conscious of where your hands are, feeling them shake slightly with each squat, trying not to accidentally move them and brush up against her. Then, before you have a chance to think about it, she’s done and you’ve taken her place, powering through a couple sets, noticing the way her hands subtly press up against your chest before you also finish.

After the two of you burn through the dumbbell lifts, she turns to you once again, a sheen of sweat across her forehead, still smiling.

“Alright, we’ve just got to get through the last portion of the work out now,” she checks her watch, “seven minutes to go, so we’re right on time.”

You nod, almost exhausted by the rapid-fire pace of the exercise as you move onto the ground for sit-ups and push-ups. Before you knew it, her watch beeps, and she helps you to your feet.

“Pretty cool work out, huh?”

“Yeah,” you agree, hiding your exhaustion.

You look around and see a few people start to trickle into the gym.

“Time to hit the showers,” Ruby says, striding towards the locker room.

You start to follow her before she turns her head back towards you.

“Though I might enjoy it, I don’t think that the other women would appreciate having you in the women’s locker room.”

You do a double take and realise that you had been about to follow her into the wrong changing room.

“Yeah,” you stammer out as she opens the door.

“Maybe we can work out together again soon,” she calls out, letting the door swing close behind her.

Ruby +10

Credit to Kallitseren for the chapter! Have a very Merry Christmas :)