Other People

The words, "It's not you, it's me," hung in the air, piercing his soul like a knife. Adam felt the familiar sting of frustration. Their marriage, once vibrant, now felt strained and ****. The distance between them seemed hopeless.

Holly's new job meant she was away on business for weeks at a time. Leaving her husband bored with a lot of time on his hands. Instead of getting into trouble, Adam took advantage of the free time and focused on bettering himself. He committed to working out and self-improvement, making the most of his company's rarely used, high-end gym.

The cold, lonely expanse of the gym had become his solace. His hard-earned muscles and new physique fueled his wife Holly's suspicions of an affair, creating constant tension and arguments whenever they were home together.

Her last words before leaving deepened the hurt. "I think, we should see other people." It was the opposite of what Adam wanted. Holly was everything to him and he wanted to work their marriage more than anything. Never before had he felt so abandoned and alone.

Holly left for her trip to California late that afternoon after their argument. As soon as she left, Adam poured himself a drink, the lonely house amplifying the clinking of ice in his glass as he downed shot after shot, until the world faded to black.

Late the next morning, the hungover Adam rolled out of bed way later than normal. He eventually arrived at work, nearly an hour late, having missed his workout and his usual time to decompress. After an accidental nap at his desk and three meetings that could have been an email, Adam finally made it to the gym late that afternoon. Hopefully, preventing himself from sending Holly another text message she wouldn't respond to. To his surprise, he wasn't the only one at the fitness center for once.

On the far side of the gym, the rhythmic thud of a petite blonde's feet on the treadmill was almost hypnotic. It took a moment, but Adam recognized the woman as his good friend from the same department, Sara.

Unable to tear his eyes away, Adam found himself captivated by Sara's determined stride, the sheen of sweat emphasizing her toned physique that drew his attention to her subtle, enticing curves that her everyday clothing didn't show. His gaze lingered on her petite frame, her toned spandex covered legs and a baggy ripped tank, a welcome distraction from his recent dry spell.

"Hey," Sara shouted over the methodical clunking of the treadmill, breaking Adam's trance.

"Hey." Adam waved back shyly as he climbed up on the machine next to his charming coworker.

Adam always had a friendly relationship with Sara, as coworkers. Although he typically kept his distance from female colleagues, especially those he found attractive. After all, he was a married man. Sara always seemed to make keeping his distance difficult. She was always on the same projects or running into him in the breakroom. That's how Adam felt, at least. Or maybe he was nervous because he might have had a long suppressed crush on her. Her cuteness, friendliness, and ever-present cheerful smile, coupled with her helpful nature, proved too much for him to ignore, just like the faint scent of fruit that seemed to follow her everywhere.

"What are you doing in here?" Sara asked between ragged breaths.

"Same as you," Adam answered with an involuntary chuckle as he started up his mill. "Just getting my workout in a little late today."

"Well, lucky me," Sara replied, her breath still coming in short, sharp bursts. "It's good to have a little bit of company in here once in a while. It gets pretty lonely in here sometimes." She chuckled, turning to Adam with a playful smirk.

He glanced at Sara again, her face flushed with exertion, a single strand of blonde hair escaping her ponytail. The two carried on some casual banter for the next twenty minutes and forgot about everything except the shared rhythm of their workout, the subtle scent of her perfume mingling with the smell of hard earned sweat. Adam found himself strangely relaxed, the usual anxieties of work and his recent fight with Holly fading into the background.

"Well, that's enough for me." Sara hopped off the treadmill. Her tight round ass on full display as she walked away directly in eye shot of Adam, teasing his sex-starved eyes.

Sara grabbed a mat and dragged it to the empty space directly in front of Adam's machine. Adam was supposed to be finished with his warm up but couldn't will himself out of the line of sight to Sara, now stretching her tight body right in front of him. She may not have had the same curves as his wife, but her toned physique and feminine allure were impossible to ignore.

Adam watched, mesmerized, as Sara effortlessly moved through a series of teasing stretches, each one seemed designed to emphasize a different alluring curve. The nearness of her, the sight and smell of her sweat, was intoxicating. Adam's heart pounded a rhythm that competed with the rhythmic thud of the treadmill. He knew he couldn't, but what was the harm in looking? Adam thought with a lump in his throat as her lithe body swayed side to side, the soft cotton of her tank top stretched tightly against her perky breasts. Adam secretly wished for her top to slip for just a peek at her hidden sports bra. After a few minutes, the tantalizing display ended with a flirty wink from Sara.

What was that? Adam's head swam with forbidden thoughts.

Perverted daydreams clouded the rest of his gym session. The images of Sara's cool down clung to him, impossible to shake. He drove home, exhausted from a workout that felt tougher than usual, haunted by the vision of Sara. Her delicate beauty, a torment he couldn't escape, made him shift restlessly in his car seat.