"One more," I said as I helped my client with her push-ups. "Good," I lied to her as she got up. The lady smiled at me as she stood.
"Really?" she asked.
I felt like saying no, that she had done better the day she had started, but her husband was paying for the top tier of our training. Not many people paid for the top level because it was ridiculous to pay that much for the training.
"A little," I compromised. "Have you been following my diet plan?"
The answer was no, I could tell just by looking at her, instead of losing weight she had gained. "Well," the lady said as she looked at me.
"Teresa, you will not get into that dress for your sister's wedding, if you…" I started to say.
"I know, Robin," Teresa said.
"No excuses," I shook my head. "Forty minutes on the treadmill."
"Forty?" Teresa said.
I looked at her with my 'do as I say' face.
"Okay," Teresa said as she shuffled her fat ass over to the treadmill.
"You were rough on the girl, weren't you?" Thomas said as he was making his rounds.
"I spend four days making a meal plan for her, and she throws it away, then has the nerve to ask if she is losing weight?" I said, "No, I was nice, being mean would be telling her fat cow butt to get out of here."
"Calm down, snappy turtle," Thomas said.
I took a deep breath and relaxed. "I will apologize," I nodded.
"Thank you," Thomas nodded.
The new guy had moved in, and having two guys in the house was getting on my nerves. One of which was still trying to get rich as quick as possible, and the other was plain annoying. He crept around the house, trying not to make noise, which made more noise than if he just walked around regularly. Then on top of that, my story had gotten bad reviews and downvoted.
A lot of the readers were blaming Betty for sleeping with a married man, not only that none of the comments seemed to be mad about the man cheating on his wife. I thought it should be the other way around. The man was married, Betty didn't make the vows to her, he did. If they were to be mad at anyone, it should be him.
But of course, bringing that up in the forums had caused a firestorm. Some had said it was because Betty was provocatively dressed that made him cheat, others said that she shouldn't have returned his flirts. Either way, it had made me rethink my thoughts.
I had made the vows to my husband, for better or for worse. There were other wives with husbands in worse shape than my Jeff, and they had no desire to cheat on them. So why should I?
"Hey," a voice snapped me back to reality.
"Trevor," I responded, slightly annoyed at the man in front of me.
"Did you get a chance to think about what we talked about…?" Trevor started to say.
"No," I shook my head as I started cleaning up. It was a daily chore picking up after the members of our club. Weights not put onto the racks, equipment lying on the floor, towels thrown everywhere.
"No," Trevor responded. "You've been saying no for the past…"
"Look," I said, turning around to face him. "You're not my type."
"Because I am…"
"No," I interrupted him again. "It's because you're desperate, you can have most of the women in here, but yet here you are, clinging to something you will never, and I mean never get."
"And that's why I am here," Trevor said with a broad grin across his face. "Why go for something easy?"
He held up his hand before I could retaliate. "Talk tomorrow," he said as he walked away.
I shook my head. I could easily go to the office and tell them that he was sexually harassing me. But the truth of the matter, he was an excellent trainer, better than me by leaps and bounds. Most of his clients were high end, and they were getting fast results. If it came down to it, they would get rid of me. "Teresa!" I yelled as I spotted her talking on the phone with the treadmill at it's lowest setting.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I lay in the bathtub with both of my dogs laid out on the floor. They both loved me more than Jeff, even though he was the one that came home with them. It was part of a deal from one of his failed get-rich schemes.
Now they wouldn't leave me alone. From the moment I got home to the moment I left for work in the morning, they were there.
Two large German Shepherds, they hated any person coming near me, which sometimes included Jeff. For social nights I had to lock them away in our room.
Gwen's ears perked up as she heard the front door. "It's just the new guy," I said, calming her down. Gwen was the quickly excited one, where Gary was the bodyguard. He wouldn't move until he knew the person was a direct threat, Gwen would chase a squirrel if it got too near.
I couldn't wait for the weekend, the trailer would be finished, and he would move out and be out there instead of in here.
The front door opened again. "That will be your dad," I said as Gwen's ears perked up again. I slowly got out of the tub. I had pruned skin all over my hands. I loved to lay in the tub for hours. It helped my back, especially with these monsters attached to my chest.
"Long day, huh?" Jeff asked as he saw me cutting my nails in the bedroom. I wasn't one of those women that loved long nails.
"Can say that," I replied.
"Anything I can help with?" Jeff said, sitting beside me.
"Meal plan for a fat slob that can't follow simple fucking directions," I shook my head.
"Teresa again?" Jeff shook his head.
"Yes!" I shook my head. "Her husband should get it through his thick skull. She won't be his trophy wife again."
"Marcus is a good guy. I will talk to him tomorrow," Jeff said. He started to massage my shoulders.
"Don't," I said, shaking my head. I knew he just wanted to have sex. I wasn't in the mood. There was a low growl from under the bed.
"They are here?" Jeff said as he stopped.
"Where else will they be?" I said as I clicked my fingers. Both dogs came from under the bed. "Come on," I said with my towel wrapped around me. I walked them out of the room and into their room down the hall.
"Stay!"
"I don't get them," Jeff said, shaking his head. "I try to be nice and they…"
"They appreciate a leader, Jeff," I shook my head. "A pack leader, they don't get that feel from you."
"But I am the man of the house," Jeff shouted.
"Really?" I shook my head as I entered the bathroom. I was tired, aggravated, and fed up.
"What does that mean?" Jeff said as he stood at the entrance of the bathroom.
"Okay," I said, turning the tap off and putting the toothbrush down. "You mentioned how much you got this house for and how you got them to drop the price, right?"
"Not this again," Jeff shook his head.
"No, you started this conversation," I said, following him back into the bedroom. "I was the one that got the numbers for you, I told you how much I thought we should pay, and I told you what company we should use."
"Fine," Jeff threw up his hands. "You do it all, are you happy?"
"No!" I yelled back at him. He always did this, acted like I was the bully, and then used his accident as a crutch for the way he was now. "I am sorry that you are in pain every day, I am sorry it took away a lot from you, but it happened, get over it. It was your fault!"
Jeff turned to look at me with eyes that could kill. I had never said that out loud until today. The accident had been his fault. He had gotten drunk the night before, something he had never done, and when he got on stage and started posing. he slipped. The result was two discs in his lower back slipped as well as sizeable muscular damage to his entire back. The doctor said he was lucky he was able to walk.
Jeff had tried to sue the company that put the stage together, blaming them for his fall. When the committee found out that he had been drinking they tested him, they found other drugs in his system, most of them were illegal to use in the competition. He was instantly banned.
"I will pretend you didn't say that," Jeff said as he turned away from me.
"No," I said as I got close to him. "Let's have it out. You need to say it."
"Say what?" Jeff yelled as he got up.
I heard the growling from the hallway and ran for the door. I slammed it shut before my puppies got to it. They would rip Jeff apart if they got in.
Their barking filled the house, and I was sure our house guest could hear them as well as us arguing, but I didn't care. I locked the door and looked at Jeff. "Say it."
Jeff bit his tongue and shook his head.
"Say it," I said, putting my hand on his chest. "You have to," I cried, looking up at him. "It's been tearing you apart, and no matter what you do, it won't go away until you admit it."
"I," Jeff shook his head. He held my hands. "I did this," he said, looking down at me. I nodded.
"Yes," I replied.
"Fuck!" he shook his head. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have drunk," he said as he sat back on the couch. "I should have gone to bed, like all the others."
I nodded as I curled up to him. "Yes," I nodded.
"I drank, and I drank, because I felt good. I had won the prelims, and I was a shoo-in to win the finals," Jeff said.
I had heard all of this before from Doug, but never from Jeff's mouth. He wiped tears from his eyes. "I did this to both of us."
"No," I shook my head, "to you," I smiled. "I just came along for the ride."
He hugged me tightly. We talked for most of the night. Something we hadn't done since his accident. He told me everything, and I told him how I felt about his schemes and where I thought we should go from here. At the end of it all, I was going to get a second job. Jeff would put in for the promotion he had been putting off.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"That's for last night," I said as I gave my puppies some bacon. "I am sorry I closed the door on you, but it had to happen."
"Can I get some?" Ray asked.
"Absolutely," I said as I made him a plate.
"Sorry about that," I said as I put the plate down in front of him.
"It happens," Ray said as he looked down at the plate. "I didn't expect all of this," he smiled.
"Take advantage of it," I laughed. "I don't cook often, but when I do, I make a lot."
"Hey, hun," Jeff said as he entered the kitchen.
"Here," I said as I laid out his plate.
"Wow, you trying to spoil us?" Jeff laughed.
"I will eat this in my room," Ray said as he stood up.
"Okay," I said as I looked at him leave.
Raymond or Ray, as everyone called him, had been acting strange the moment he had moved in. The other thing I found weird was the pups, they never barked or growled when he entered the room. Gwen would perk her ears up, and Gary will look at him, but neither of them would move. They both reacted when Doug or anyone else came close to me.
"What's his problem?" Jeff asked.
"Probably wanted to leave us alone," I smiled.
"Thanks again," Jeff said.
"That's why I am the wife," I smiled. "Come on," I said down to the dogs. "Let dad finish his breakfast."
Today was my day off. I had no plans except for watching my television shows and maybe going for a run.
The two boys left for work, leaving me alone in my sweats and with my dogs. The two of them jumped onto the couch and swallowed me whole under their bodies. I started my binge-watching the moment I laid my head down.
The doorbell rang, and instantly the two pups took off. "It's okay," I yelled at the person at the door. I knew how it felt hearing two large dogs barking at the door. "They can't get out."
"I know," Fran replied. "I just didn't want to open the door and have them leap on me."
I laughed as I opened the door. Instantly the pups went back behind me. "I swear they are the size of wolves!" Fran said as she entered.
My two dogs were significant, even by Shepherd standards. Both of them came up way past my knees and nearly to my thighs.
"They should have used your dogs in that thrones show," Fran said as she walked into the house.
"They are my puppies," I said as I gave them hugs.
"They haven't been puppies for years now," Fran shook her head. "The moment you took them hunting with you and they scared the hogs. They lost their puppy status!"
"You scared those hogs right back where they came from, didn't you?" I said to them as they wagged their tails.
Fran sat with me as I told her about the night's events. Fran laughed loudly as she looked at me. "He cried?"
"Men can cry," I said.
"I didn't think Jeff had emotions, other than being angry," Fran said.
"He needed to let it out," I replied.
I trusted Fran with everything. There were things we told each other that stayed between us. I knew telling her anything would stay with her. Even if Doug tried his best, he wouldn't get anything from her, the same for me. I knew things about Fran that could land her in jail for a long time, but no one would get it from me, I planned to take that information to the grave.
"If you are serious about a second job, you can do part-time at my place," Fran said.
I looked over at her. Fran worked at a sports bar and restaurant, where scantily clad women walked around serving the patrons. I had turned down the offer many times, especially to Chad, the owner. I hated walking in there, especially on game nights.
"I know," Fran said as she looked at me.
"It's degrading," I said, shaking my head.
"It's a paycheck," Fran said. "A guaranteed job with a flexible schedule and tips that," Fran stopped and looked at me. "You will be racking up daily!"
I sighed. I wanted the extra money, and I had to have a fall back plan if this trainer thing fell through. Fran was right about one thing: it was guaranteed. Chad had told me all I had to was say the word, and he would hire me on the spot.