Exercises

The two girls stand still, looking at Joshua. The man places the package on the table, and then asks once again:

"What's going on?"

Thabata's face changes completely: the hostility previously shown turns into contemplation, politeness, and concern.

"Hi, dear. Thank you for bringing what I asked for!" She hugs him, but Joshua does not enthusiastically reciprocate. "Emanuele and I were talking about the horrible night she had last night. She came to apologize to me for locking herself in her room."

Emanuele could knock down a wall of so much hate, but she decided to play along. All she didn't need now was to be the enemy of the apartment owner's brother.

"Yes, I... I came to get something to eat and took the opportunity to apologize. But I saw that you had left. So I will apologize to you now. It was very rude of me to do what I did.... I'm sorry."

Joshua raises his hand in a soothing gesture.

"It was nothing. It's all right." Then he turns to Thabata, a gleam appearing in his eyes. "I'm glad you two are getting along. In the future, maybe we can go out; have a little drink the three of us.

The mere idea almost made Emanuele laugh with debauchery, but she restrained herself.

Thabata got around the situation easily, using the greatest weapon in her arsenal: manipulation.

"Ah, honey, I don't know if in Emanuele's town they usually go out in threesomes. She might get uncomfortable." 

"É. I would be," Emanuele replies. "Well, I think I'll get something to eat now."

"And I have to go," Thabata bids her boyfriend goodbye with a fond kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for bringing my skin creams. I can't be without them."

"Anything for you," the man almost melts from so much passion in his tone of voice.

Emanuele does not stay to watch the rest of the honeyed words. Heading to the kitchen, she pays attention to what is available to eat. So she opts for orange juice, toast with jam, and a small portion of yogurt.

Just as she is finishing putting the jam on the bread, Joshua appears in the kitchen doorway.

"Hi."

"Hi.", Emanuele politely replies.

"I think we need to... Start everything from the beginning."

"What do you mean?"

"Our presentation was a bit turbulent. I think we should start over. Present ourselves properly."

The girl remains focused on the amount of jam.

"You think?"

"Yes. Is there something you want to ask me?"

Indeed, if Emanuele could simply throw up a mountain of questions for Joshua, she would do so at that moment. However, besides needing to behave to the best of her ability because she was in the presence of a total stranger, there was the more important issue: the original landlady wouldn't like it at all if the new tenant didn't respect her older brother. By the way... There was something, yes, that she would love to ask.

"That trip Alexandra took...," Emanuele begins, squinting at Joshua. "What happened? Why did she need to rush out?"

His eyes turn cold.

"A member of our family is quite ill, and she went to help him."

"A member?"

"Yes. And she has great esteem for this person, so she decided to visit him."

"But... He is also your relative, isn't he?"

"Yes."

Emanuele wanted to ask the next question, to question why he wasn't also concerned. But Joshua, foreseeing this, subtly decided to cut the subject short.

"I don't live very far from here. So Alexandra asked me to look after her apartment. She also told me that you were coming, and for me to be.... Nice to you." He almost laughed.

"I see."

"Speaking of which, do you work? Since you came from far away, I guess it's hard for you to commute there every day."

"I work by cell phone," Emanuele replied. She assembled all the breakfast items on the tray.

"Is that right?"

"Yes."

"Interesting."

"É."

Uncomfortable silence. As Emanuele begins to make her way to the living room and settle in, she asks:

"What about you? Is this your day off?"

"Actually, yes. I'm a teacher."

"Cool."

More seconds of silence. Emanuele wants to talk to Alexandra's older brother; to meet him. But she had always been terrible in social situations, and he was so... Attractive. It was hard not to stare at his biceps, pecs, and all the rest of the spectacular ensemble he hid behind long-sleeved shirts. Also.

"Physical education." Joshua says.

Emanuele blinks.

"What?"

"I'm a physical education teacher."

"Ah. I hate physical education."

Joshua laughs openly. The girl is genuinely surprised to see the intensity of Joshua's expression, who usually presented a neutral expression all the time.

After getting his breath back, the teacher says:

"It's always good to do some exercises."

"It's easy for you to talk."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, look at the size of you! Of course, exercising should be pretty easy for you."

Emanuele realizes too late that she is staring into Joshua's arms. He notices the girl's gaze, and for a second that seemed to pass extremely slowly, he seems to enjoy that, that attention.

She opens her mouth to apologize, but the man speaks:

"Tell you what, then. Today I'm going to prove that anyone, my size or not, can and should exercise."

"But-"

"I would be very happy if you would accept. I... I'm still feeling guilty about yesterday."

Despite the fright Emanuele had been through, she didn't want to talk about it at all. And although she was terrified and scared, the girl was doing everything to appear normal. This was her way of dealing with her own traumas: pretending they didn't happen.

The woman with wavy hair dyed in red dye took a sip of her juice, staring straight into Joshua's eyes. He didn't break eye contact.

She felt, deep in her chest, that he was also hiding information, just as she was. What kind of secrets could a physical education teacher who took care of his little sister's apartment keep? Not just a teacher, but a hero who saved young maidens in dark alleys.

Was there a connection between this and the close relative he obviously didn't want to talk about? Or was it mere coincidence and Emanuele was just confusing things; jumping to conclusions?

The girl replied, propping her glass up on the tray:

"When do we start?"

"As soon as you finish your breakfast."

"Are we going to do the exercises right here in the apartment?", the girl looks to the sides, clearly noticing that there was no room due to the furniture and the size of the rooms."

"There's a sports court nearby."

Whoa... Court? Sports?

Joshua noticed the change of expression on Emanuele's face.

"What?"

"I... I just don't do well in spaces like this."

"Like what?"

"... Like this."

The man frowned.

"I promise it won't take long."

Overcome by her insistence, Emanuele complies with Joshua's request. He looks quite excited.

"Good. I'm going to change my clothes. And you need to, too. Put on some lycra shorts, if you have them. Oh, and a tank top too."

Half an hour later, faithfully following her temporary host's hints, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and exercise shorts, Emanuele descended the last steps of the first floor of the apartment. The last time she had gone out, it had been raining and something horrible had happened. A shiver ran down her arms as she contemplated the memory.

But the vision was quickly replaced when she saw Joshua. He was wearing a T-shirt that showed all of his arm muscles, as well as much of his broad chest.

The shorts, although loose so as not to hinder her movements, barely hid the pronounced volume in the middle of her legs.

Emanuele's cheeks turned violently red.

Joshua didn't mind.

"Now let's go."

The two of them headed for the court that was a few meters away from the building where they lived. Aside from a few kids here and there, all that could be seen besides the sports space were a few toys and basic equipment.

"You don't think I'll be able to hang from one of these bars, do you?", Emanuele asked half jokingly, half seriously.

Like a good professional, he analyzed Emanuele's silhouette, assessing her weight and height. The girl blushed even more.

"I think you can do it. Best out of five?"

"No."

"Oh, come on. Just once."

"I told you I'm not going to make it."

Joshua pokes his head out. He seems to be having a great time.

"Okay, let's make it interesting, then."

Emanuele looks at him, puzzled.

"If you can do it twice instead of once, I'll wash all your clothes for a week."

"ALL my clothes?"

Imagining him touching her panties and bras, Emanuele gives a small groan of embarrassment. Joshua looks at her, wide-eyed.

The girl simply turns around, but is gently pulled back.

"Stop being a pain in the ass. Instead of washing your clothes, I'll do something else. Whatever you want. But at least try."

Emanuele seems to ponder seriously...

"What if I can't?"

Joshua's smile could indicate anything.

"Then I choose your punishment."

The redhead looks at him. The two stare at each other for only three seconds before she silently makes her decision and assesses the height of the bar.

Although it was at a high height, with one jump she could easily be reached. Taking a deep breath, praying that no one was looking at her, the girl jumps up and holds the bar with both hands.

"Now try to lift your chest over the bar."

Doing all the strength in the world, Emanuele begins to do what Joshua asks. He is directly below her. Did he think she would fall?

When she finally does, the girl's hands and fatigue betray her.

Because she simply loses her balance and lets go of her fingers.

Falling straight into Joshua.

And as if that were not enough, she is now on top of him, directly under his strong chest. The heat emanating from his skin is unprecedented, something she has never felt before...

She... 

She simply can't move.

Joshua's arms are on her shoulder now. His fingers are firm yet soft.

Shivers run over her skin.

Would he... kiss her?

Emanuele's heart beats quickly as she waits to see what he will do next.

She looks up at him.

Joshua is staring her straight in the face.