[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 130 & 131. (Patreon)

Chapter 130: Learning.

First thing we did was tour the place. Mom showed me all the important facilities and rooms that I would be using and that I could use if I wanted to. There was a huge pool where around thirty people or so were following a routine led by an instructor.

The machines were in the main area. A long row of treadmills was facing a nice looking garden at the back, visible through chest-high windows. Mirrors lined up several walls, and many people were working out in front of them to watch their form.

“This is your first time in a gym, right?” Mom asked me.

“Yeah.”

“Wait,” mom exclaimed, brow furrowing. “Didn’t you say you went to the gym with a friend last weekend?”

Oh crap. See why I don’t like lying? You forget about it and get caught like this. What to say? If I told her the gym was in her house, she’d know I lied.

“I… don’t count that? I barely did anything. I mainly just looked around.” It was a nice save, but I could’ve sounded more sure of myself, but that was advice I could use in general.

“Mmm. Well, if that’s the case, then I think it’s better that I show you how to use the equipment today. How about it?”

I nodded.

“But first, warm up.”

“Oh. Right.”

We did a five-minute warm up session consisting of knee bends, shoulder rolls, running in place, knee lifts and heel digs. After that, I followed her as we walked around.

“There’s this well known saying,” she continued. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Though looking at you I’d say you knew that already.” Mom looked me up and down, and I had to stiffen not to shift uncomfortably under her gaze. “Still, you shouldn’t rush towards results, okay? Don’t overextend yourself. Don’t try to lift more than you’re comfortable with until you’re sure you can push it. Don’t work out when you’re feeling ill or you’re injured. This is especially true here at the gym, where you’ll be working with heavy equipment.” I kept quiet and listened. We were getting close to a line of identical machines.

“This is the leg press.” Mom sat down on the machine to demonstrate. She sat with her back on the cushioned backrest facing the bulk of the machine. The seat was at a steep angle, so she was nearly laying back and facing diagonally up. There was a square metal board in front of her with bars at the sides to put more weight plates on them.

“You sit here with your glutes on both the seat and the start of the backrest. Put both feet on the board. Press with the whole foot, okay? Not just the tips. Then you just push up.”

Mom pushed with her legs and the board easily went up. There were no weight plates on the sides. She then bent her legs to let the board lower itself before she pushed again, all the while instructing me in the proper form.

She then let me try it. First without weights, then with 20 kilos, then with 40. I would say mom was underestimating me because even 40 kilos felt quite light, but I had no idea how much I could lift with my legs, so this was good to find out. It started feeling a lot more difficult when I reached 180.

Mom let out an impressed whistle. “Oh my. You’re definitely no beginner.”

I got up from the machine, slowly and carefully. It felt weird. I felt like I was gonna get found out. There was no way one could get this strong just by working out at home, right?

“Remember this, however,” mom continued. “If what you want is to stay fit, looking like you do now, you need to focus on resistance training more than strength training. That means lifting less, but with more reps. Strength training is different.”

I nodded in understanding. “I think I talked about this with a friend, yeah.”

“It’s also important to note that you won’t get much coming to the gym just once a week. Two or three times would be ideal.”

I blinked. “But… don’t you come just once a week?”

“To this gym? Yes.” Mom smiled. “But there’s a small one in my office building and they gave us all a free subscription at work. We can use it twice a week even during work hours, so I come here for my third because it’s cheaper.”

“I… I didn’t know that.” I felt kind of ashamed of it, even.

“That’s because we don’t talk a lot.”

I grimaced. “Sorry…”

Mom chuckled. “My fault too, dear. But we’re fixing that now, right?”

I smiled.

“Now, let’s move on to the next one.”

Mom showed me a lot more. She showed me the bench press, and even though Sarah taught me how to use it already, I still listened carefully. It would be worrisome if both told me something different, right? She taught me how to use the lat pull down machine, as well as how to do squats with the weights, how to do a deadlift and how to correctly use other accessories like the dumbbells.

“You know a lot,” I mused.

Mom smiled fondly. “My friends at work taught me. These are all things you should know if you’re going to use the machines. They say you need to have a goal in mind when you start working out. Mine is to keep a healthy body. What’s yours, Oliver?”

I flinched, but with a burning face, I answered. “I… I want to stay in shape.”

Mom smiled knowingly now. “A girl? A boy? Either?”

I guess I should be thankful that mom was open minded like that. “...I just wanted to stop being a scrawny weakling,” I lied.

“So you’re not ready to talk about it. That’s fine.” She saw right through me, huh? Not surprising. “Are any of your friends coming over today?”

I nodded. “Three. This afternoon. We won’t bother you.”

“I want to know them, though. Well, I don’t want to make you all uncomfortable. But remember what we talked about, and you have to at least introduce them properly.”

“Yes.”

“Very good. Now, I think it’s high time we start working out properly. If a tour was all you wanted, they do those for free.”

I followed mom’s final advice and focused on a single area to work on that day. I decided I would work on my legs on Saturdays, along with making up my mind to come to the gym two more days a week. Mom focused on her thing, I focused on mine. We didn’t talk that much after that.

As I worked out, I felt people’s eyes on me, like everyone was watching my every move. As I did my squats with the barbell on my back, I felt like everyone was critiquing my form and laughing. I was doing reps of 10 with 70 kilos on my back because it felt okay. Was I doing it wrong? I began to believe that they were wondering how a novice like me could have a body like this. It put stupid amounts of pressure on me and made me feel like my heart was going to burst.

I brought my head back to the days when I started playing guitar. I was awful at it, naturally. I’d never played guitar before, so why would I be good at the start? It was the same with this. I’d never lifted weights or the like, so yeah, my form might be a little off. But I’d learn. I could learn. I had to remind myself why I was doing this.

The nice thing about being so self-reflecting sometimes is that it’s easier to ignore the world around you and just focus on your own thoughts. After a while, I forgot about the feeling of people staring.

It was almost a completely uneventful first day. Almost.

As I was finishing up for the day doing my final stretches with mom, I saw a reflection in the mirror that made my heart skip a beat and almost made me stumble and fall.

What the HELL was Lyla doing here!?

************

Chapter 131: Torn.

Admittedly, the answer to that question was plain. Lyla was a short girl on the chubby side, so it was easy to imagine she was here to lose a bit of weight. Well, I say short, but she was slightly taller than me. I guess the reason I always thought of her as short was because I always saw her next to Thomas.

Lyla was wearing workout clothes, her light brown hair was tied into a ponytail. She was alone and looked around nervously, almost afraid of approaching anyone and anything. Definitely her first time here.

I closed my eyes and grit my teeth while I finished my stretchers. Mom gave me an odd look, noticing my expression in  the mirror.

I had nothing to do with Lyla. She was the one who broke up with a friend and left him heartbroken. That she was at the same gym meant nothing. I didn’t need to say hello or anything.

I finished my sets, chugged the last of the water bottle I'd bought and couldn’t help but look towards the entrance again. Lyla was still there, and if I had it right, she was strongly considering leaving. Mom followed my eyes curiously.

I shuddered with frustration, clicked my tongue and started making my way to her. If mom hadn’t been with me today, that 100% would’ve been me. Mom’s eyes followed me with further curiosity as I walked, and I had to do my best to ignore it. She’d have questions later, I knew, but none that I couldn’t answer easily.

“Lyla,” I called. With my soft voice and the sound of machines, I wasn’t sure if she heard me, but she turned towards me as if I had yelled at her.

“O-Oliver?” She spoke my name nervously and started looking around. “W-Why are you here?”

“Thomas isn’t here,” I said. I immediately saw her relax. I jumped to an assumption, but I was right. “I… came here with my mom.”

Lyla smiled brightly. “Oh! That’s nice.”

Slowly, I nodded. There was an awkward silence between us. We’d never really spoken more than a few hellos at school. Why did I even approach her? Oh, right.

“Is this your first time here?” I asked her.

“Y-Yeah. I… I wanted to…” She stammered and looked down at the floor. She hesitated, but whatever her reasons to be here, I didn’t want to hear them.

“It’s my first time here, too,” I told her, and she seemed to cheer up at that. “I was just about done, but I can show you around if you want.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, thank you! This is just so intimidating I… didn’t even know where to start.”

“I’m not an expert. It’d be better if you asked one of the trainers,” I said. But if she was feeling the same way I would…

“...I’d rather you show me around, if it’s not too much trouble,” she said with a pleading smile.

I sighed internally. Yep. Better to ask someone you barely know than a total stranger. I almost considered asking my mom to give her the tour, but it didn’t feel right. I’d come to her already. I had to finish what I started.

I nodded and gestured for her to follow me. I practically gave her the exact same tour mom gave me just an hour ago, though mostly in a flat tone. I showed her the rooms, the machines and how to use them, adding that I’d only just learned all this myself, so she really was better off asking a trainer if she had doubts or she’d be risking injuries.

“And that’s about it,” I said once I finished explaining the bench press. I don’t think I’d ever spoken as much, but since Lyla was just listening, it was mostly a monologue and not a conversation. “Now… My mom is probably waiting for me, so I should go.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks a lot, Oliver. I was really nervous about coming here, but now I feel like I understand things a little better.”

I nodded.

“H-Hey.” She swallowed, nervously looking at the floor again. “Will you tell Thomas you saw me here?”

“...” I pressed my lips. “I don’t know if I should. He’s still trying to get over you.” My words may have been blunt, but in a way it was frustrating to be talking to the girl that hurt my friend.

And then my sixth sense flared up unexpectedly. I saw Lyla grimace, and a pang of pain hit my chest for a split second. I thought this only happened with Sarah, Grace and Mila, but last night it happened with Thomas and now with Lyla.

Worst was that it made me understand. Lyla was just as sexually frustrated as Thomas, and every bit as heartbroken over their breakup. I swallowed a groan. I didn’t want to understand this but it seeped into me like a sponge absorbing water. It was unsettling, but I knew that everything I was feeling was true.

“Well, good luck, Lyla.” I waved casually, and after she returned my goodbye I went back to mom. She was next to the leg press and her hands crossed under her chest and a knowing grin.

“One of your friends?” she asked.

“No,” I said flatly. “My friend’s ex-girlfriend. I didn’t want to talk to her, but… she looked lost.”

“Ah. I see.” Her grin faded, but she still smiled at me.

“Having a social life is really complicated,” I said.

Mom chuckled. “But it’s worth it, don’t you think?”

“I guess.”

We went to take our showers and met back at the car. We stopped by a restaurant to buy lunch and returned home by the time Isabelle was having her own breakfast.