after class catch up

Jerry walked down the quiet hallway toward the Personal Training Offices, still shaky from the spin class. His legs felt like warm rubber, and every brush of the lavender athletic dress against his thighs reminded him of Camille’s hands guiding him, correcting him, touching him with confident pressure he could still feel.

He reached Reina’s door. It was open.

The exhausted man saw the beautiful Reina look up from her tablet, her smile warm and instantly softening when she saw his exhausted posture.“There you are. Come sit before your legs give out.”

Jerry didn’t argue. He lowered himself into the chair opposite her desk, trying to smooth the dress instinctively so it didn't bunch up, not knowing how feminine the gesture appeared.

As soon as he sat, a soft hum blended with the office air too faint to recognize as anything other than ambience.

All employees should always be polite to coworkers; we are like family.

Jerry didn’t hear the words consciously, but something in the room made him sit a little straighter, soften his expression, and breathe more evenly.

Reina set her tablet aside and leaned forward slightly.

“You look tired, but I am proud of you. Truly. SpinGoddess is not an easy class for beginners.”

Jerry laughed weakly. “Yeah… it was way harder than I thought.”

Reina’s smile held, but her eyes sharpened with subtle irritation when she continued.

“I heard Camille invited you to her Goddess Steps class.”

Jerry’s stomach twisted. “Yeah. She said I should come.”

Reina’s fingers tightened for the briefest moment on the edge of her desk before she relaxed them again. Her voice never lost its calm sweetness.

“Already. She moves fast with new riders.”

Jerry blinked. “Is that… bad?”

Reina walked around the desk and sat beside him rather than across from him. It made the room feel more intimate, safer.

“Not bad,” she said gently. “Just thoughtless. She does not always consider whether someone is ready. I prefer to take things step by step so my clients build real confidence.”

The word clients hit Jerry strangely, heavy somehow. He didn’t know why. He tried to shake off the feeling.

Reina let a moment pass, then tilted her head.

“Now tell me,” she asked softly, “you have worn that dress for a while now. How do you feel in it?”

Jerry stiffened.

That question hit deeper than it should have.

He swallowed.

“Well… I mean… it’s a dress. I know I’m not supposed to feel… comfortable in it.”

Reina nodded, listening without judgment.

“But,” Jerry continued, voice stumbling, “no one stared at me. No one laughed. And during the stretches, it didn’t feel as weird as I thought it would. I mean, it’s still weird, obviously. But I wasn’t dying of embarrassment.”

As soon as he finished speaking, another whisper rose faintly in his memory, blending with the soft office hum.

It is okay to show your feminine side. You feel more confident being feminine.

He didn’t notice the words themselves, only the warm looseness they left in his thoughts.

“Honestly,” Jerry said slowly, surprising himself, “it wasn’t as bad as I expected.”

Reina’s smile brightened, warm and deeply approving.

“That is wonderful progress. You handled yourself beautifully today.”

Jerry felt warmth rise in his chest at her praise. Like her approval washed away the doubts he’d started with.

Reina rested her hand gently over his.

“And you trusted yourself in a new situation. That matters.”

Jerry nodded, feeling that soft internal echo again:

You trust your personal trainer. They want to help you, be the real you.

Reina held his gaze a moment longer, protective and quietly territorial.

“Let us talk about what truly comes next for you,” she said softly.

And Jerry felt himself relax, ready to listen, ready to trust her without even knowing why.

Reina kept her hand lightly over Jerry’s for a moment, letting them settle. When she finally withdrew it, her expression warmed even more.

“There is something else I want to ask about,” she said softly. “Something that affects your comfort at home. How have things been with Travis lately?”

Jerry blinked. The question felt random at first, but Reina always seemed to care about the whole picture, not just gym performance, that and he remembered thinking she might be interested in him, a disappointment but just because he liked didn't give him ant claim over another person. He shrugged a little. “Um… fine, I guess.”

Reina tilted her head, gently curious.”Tell me about him.”

Nodding Jerry leaned his head back thinking about his friend. "Tall, unlike me. Annoyingly handsome I mean if girls knew how much of a slob he was maybe he would always going on dates.

“And you would rather him spend time with you?”

The answer to that was complicated. “Yeah, I guess, I'm okay being alone not like I'm off dating.”

Reina pursed her lips tilting her head, gently curious. “Has he been giving you more attention recently?”

Frowning in thought, Jerry answered honestly. “Sort of, I guess. I mean… he asks me for help with things more often. And I’ve been doing his laundry lately.”

Reina’s eyebrows lifted, her smile small but knowing. “That sounds like he trusts you.”

Jerry huffed a small laugh. “I think he just hates laundry.”

“That can still be a form of appreciation,” Reina said lightly. Then, with just enough sweetness to hide the professional edge beneath it, she added, “And how does that attention feel for you? Good, I hope.”

Jerry shifted in his chair, the skirt of the dress sliding softly against his legs. It was strange to talk about this with someone so calm and encouraging, but the office air made everything feel natural, softened.

“It’s… nice,” he admitted. “I’ve never really had people depend on me before. It feels good to be… included.”

Reina’s smile deepened, dark eyes warm. “That is wonderful. It sounds like the two of you are getting along well.”

A faint hum threaded through the room again, settling along the back of Jerry’s thoughts.

You trust your personal trainer. They want to help you, be the real you.

He breathed out slowly, relaxing without realizing it.

Reina studied him for a moment, then asked gently, “When you go home today, do you want to feel that same confidence around him? The confidence you showed in class?”

Jerry blinked. “I mean… sure. Yeah.”

Reina nodded as if he had confirmed exactly what she expected.

“Good. Because confidence grows when you reinforce it. When you show the people in your life that you are improving. That you are taking care of yourself.”

Jerry felt his chest warm at the praise again, he rolled his shoulders feeling the straps of the sports bra and compression around hid middle, feeling happy for the compression and support after that class. ‘Tina was right, she did destroy me on that last push.’

Reina’s tone softened even further, careful, guiding.

“And if you showed Travis the progress you made today, he would see that confidence as well. Do you think he would laugh at you for working hard?”

Jerry shook his head quickly. “No. He’d probably say it was funny, but… not mean. Travis just jokes about everything.”

“Exactly,” Reina murmured, pleased. “So if he sees you in the dress, he will think you were just pushing yourself and he would be happy for you.. Nothing embarrassing. You worked very hard today. Why hide that?”

Jerry swallowed. Something inside him twisted anxiously, but the thought of disappointing her twisted harder.

Reina placed one hand lightly on his knee, gentle but anchoring. “Trust me. You handled yourself beautifully today. I want you to feel proud of that. If you go home wearing your training outfit, you will show him that you are committed.”

Her touch, her voice, the hum of the office, the leftover rhythm of the subliminals pooled together in Jerry’s senses.

You trust your personal trainer.

He nodded weakly. “I… guess that makes sense.”

Reina smiled with soft triumph.

“Good. And before you go, there is one more thing we should do to make sure you stay comfortable.”

Jerry’s eyebrows lifted. “What do you mean?”

Reina stood, brushing her hands off as though preparing for a new task.

“Your boxers were bothering you during stretching, remember? Riding up, shifting, distracting you. That cannot happen again. Not if you want to improve.”

Jerry stiffened, embarrassed.

Reina’s voice stayed gentle, matter of fact.

“So before you go home, let us fix that. I will help you choose the right athletic underwear so you perform your best tomorrow. I promised to go shopping with you, and I have time doesnt that sound fun?”

Jerry’s breath caught. ‘The shopping date!’ he thought, getting animatedly excited.

“Do i need to go shopping in the dresses? He asked hesitantly.

“You are Geraldine the spear ruler! You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but no you don't have to. Let me make you a deal, you don't wear the dress shopping but when we are out we are going to pick out a cute one for you to wear home for Travis.”

‘He is just going to laugh either way so really it would be less embarrassing.’ Jerry reasoned. “ Deal but…but…” he hesitated, feeling like now was a good moment to shoot his shot. “Only if we get coffee.”

Clapping excitedly, Reina nodded. “ Oh yes! I could use a pick me up! It will be on me.”

The pretty girl agreeing so quickly even clapping made Jerry’s heart soar. “Normally the guy buys but I can agree to that.”

Reina snickered, “sure but it is just us here. That gives me an idea for you though, with you doing Travis’s laundry tell him he owes you dinner somewhere nice.”

Smirking Jerry couldn't agree more, washing someone's underwear should at least entitle him to a dinner.