Ashleigh felt weak and tired when she dragged herself out of bed Wednesday morning; two months into her workout. She'd again skipped dinner the night before and her stomach hurt because it was so empty. She grabbed a banana and ate it as she drove in to work. God, she was tired.She put her things into the locker room and headed for the gym. She was so tired that she didn't even pay attention to what song was playing, only happy that it was something with a heavy bass line so that she could get motivated. She glanced at Mr. Mysterious, as always, pounding away on that treadmill. He never used the weights or anything else, just the treadmill. She plopped down on the recumbent bike, too tired to even think about the elliptical. Then she began pedaling. I'm getting skinnier, she thought. Each pedal I'm getting skinnier. Each bead of sweat is a drop of fat melting off my body. Push it girl, push it…Her ears began to ring and her body began to tremble as black dots began to form in fro
TK walked into the commissary then. He eyed the two of them and then gave a lascivious grin. He gripped his crotch suggestively. Christopher put on his meanest expression and gestured with his head for TK to get lost. The other man silently went to the vending machines and got himself a soda. He could tell that their wordless conversation had tickled the black man who raised his ever-present sunglasses to look at the two of them and then blow him a quick kiss.Christopher scowled but it disappeared as soon as he looked down into the woman's peaceful face. She was beautiful, she had a teeny little peanut nose and perfectly formed lips. He used to look at pictures and photographs of lips; ones with perfect cupid bows; like hers. Her face was round and girlish. He figured that she was in her late twenties. Her long lashes left dark shadows on her golden brown cheeks. She wasn't pink, she was gold and brown like hot buttered toast.He wished that she would sleep like this forever. Ash
Christopher spent the morning filling out reports; incident reports, breach of security report, points of contact reports. When he was done he went down into the gym room and retrieved the CD and Ashleigh's cap. He quietly stared at the monitors, ran his sweeps, but his mind was deep in thought. No one bothered him. Carlos mumbled, "She's going to be alright, Beast."He gave the man a surprised look. But Carlos tucked his head down and hurried away. Bruce walked into the security room later that evening. Christopher looked up from the screens waiting to get his ass chewed for leaving the area without permission."I got a report from the hospital. The civilian…uh the girl, Miss Dalton has been released and she's doing just fine." Christopher sighed. "Go down into the lockers and secure her property. I don't want any of her belongings getting stolen.""Yes, sir." He stood up quickly and hurried out the door, but paused and turned back to Bruce. "Thank you, sir.""She's a tough, cooki
Monday morning, Ashleigh got out of bed early enough to make herself a breakfast of oatmeal and a slice of wheat toast. She dressed in sweatpants that were no longer quite as tight and an oversized shirt. She looked at herself in her full-sized mirror. Why was she still fat? Okay, she was smaller; the scale said it and so did her clothes but she was still round…well, her breasts had deflated. It was the one thing she hadn't minded being oversized.Ashleigh scowled and drove to work. She had to rush if she wanted to get in a full hour. As she headed for the gym she heard the faint clanging sound of bells. She hesitated, alarms, bells…clocks? And then she realized that it was part of a song. She picked up her pace and a smile came over her face. It was the Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd! Lt. Christopher Jamieson was a god among men for playing Time at 5:30 am!He was pounding on the treadmill but this time he wasn't wearing his hoodie, just a t-shirt and sweat pants. She caught he
Christopher stood there momentarily before remembering the camera and then he tucked his head down and left the small gymnasium and headed for the security office. They had different locker rooms than the civilians and as he walked purposefully toward them he noted that not one person gave him a strange look, made offensive references or gave him a hard time for working out with the civilian. He knew they'd been watching because what else was there to do? So why…?Damnit, they had a bet on him!He didn't mention it and no one tried to encourage him one way or the other. But he wanted no parts of their games and was happy to be left alone. That night he stopped at the supermarket. He'd already picked up his normal groceries for the week Saturday morning. But now he needed extras, like fruit and fresh vegetables. He wasn't sure what kind…so he just picked several different kinds. When he got home he picked Maggie up in his big hands and held her up, staring into her kitty face. "Gues
"Hey. You're kind of quiet" Christopher said, his accent heavy to Ashleigh's ears. She was sipping her smoothie in deep thought. She glanced up and smiled."Um…acai, cabbage and mango?"He chuckled. "Not even close.""Not even one?""Nope.""I give up.""Green apple, a tiny bit of watermelon, pears and green tea.""Green tea?! That's cheating. Whoever heard of a green tea smoothie?"He smiled. "It's good though, right?""Delicious." He stood and then helped her up. Whenever he gave her a hands up she was again amazed by his height, and of course his big hand swallowed hers. Being a fat woman next to a man who was feet taller than you was good for the ego. She felt dwarfed by Christopher. "What's it like being so close to the sun?" she had asked him once. His charcoal grey eyes had twinkled. "Amazing."They went through their workout and when they got to the tenth rep she didn't even believe it. "We're done?""Done.""No way…I'm still breathing.""Maybe it's an indicati
Ashleigh was looking at her roots in her mirror. She hadn't been to the hair salon in weeks and her nails had long since lost their overlay. She quickly pulled on jeans, but they were too loose and even with a belt they sagged. She pulled out a box of clothes that she'd packed away. She tried on three pairs before she found one that fit her snuggly. On a hunch she pulled the jeans off and looked at the tag in back.Size 16.She gasped and nearly choked. Size 16?! She'd lost three dress sizes! How long has it been since she first stepped into the gym? Three months. She couldn't wait to tell Christopher! Things were happening faster because of him. She had to do something nice for him!She paced while she thought about what she could do to show her appreciation. She would invite him to lunch with her, Lance and Kendra. He was her friend and she wanted her other friends to know just how cool Christopher was. Ashleigh ran to her closet and began ripping down her clothes. They were get
When Christopher got home, he walked right past Maggie who purred and followed at his feet. He sighed and then bent down and rubbed her ears gently. "Sorry, Mags. I'm not mad at you." She leaned into his fingers in contentment. "Did you miss me, girl?" He stood and placed his things neatly in the closet, popped in a John Coltrane disc and then checked his messages. His mother had called."Son, this is Mom." He smiled, as if he couldn't tell. "I hate to tell you this over the phone but Aunt Lonnie passed away today. It was quiet and she wasn't in any pain. Uncle Ray was there and the kids." Christopher blew out a deep breath and sank down into one of the dining room chairs. "The funeral is going to be Saturday down on the mountain. The funeral is going to be at the white church at two. We goin' to meet up at Aunt Lonnie and Uncle Ray's house early…before. They want you to be a pall bearer." His mother sighed again. Aunt Lonnie wasn't his mother's aunt she was his mother's sister. H