Jack did find a new place to shop for his groceries. The store was not as nice, but at least he wasn't running into a married woman that he had found himself thinking about. But a few weeks had gone by and he was thinking of her less and less. He was sure that she had forgotten all about him.
Jack's life continued to settle as he adjusted to his new home. The dreams, however, did not stop. So Jack threw himself into his work. He worked longer hours than was necessary, but it kept him occupied. But there was one thing that Jack didn't want to give up. He'd been working out for quite a few years and it always seemed to energize him. He'd work out early in the morning and then was ready to work a full day.
So he began to look for a club that was reasonably priced, but provided all of the services he was looking for. He tried a few out until he found what he thought was the right place for him. He had been working out there for a week, getting back into his routine. He found himself a little more winded and his muscles stiffer than he was used to. But it had been quite some time since he had worked out regularly.
He was just starting a 30 minute routine on one of the cardio machines when he heard, "Hi Jack." He turned and saw Kelli getting on the machine next to him.
"Hello Kelli. I didn't know you were a member here."
"Well now that you know, please don't move somewhere else to avoid me. I really won't bite you," said Kelli.
Jack blushed and almost stopped his workout on the cardio machine. "I .... I'm sorry, Kelli. It's just ..."
"No. I'm sorry Jack. That was an awful thing for me to say." Kelli paused and then said, "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable the last time we talked. Yes, I'm married. But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."
"I'd like that, Kelli," said Jack. "But I don't want to cause you any problems. And you definitely don't need to hear about mine." Jack started on the machine again.
Kelli started her routine as well, but looked at Jack and smiled, "I'll tell you what. You decide what you want to tell me. And I promise to keep my hands to myself."
Jack laughed at that and blushed again. "Deal."
After their workout, they walked the track to cool down. They talked about things they might have in common. They talked about places to eat in town, things to do for entertainment, what movies they wanted to see. They found that they had a lot of things in common. Jack learned that Kelli had not worked in a number of years. She had a promising career in marketing, but she had stopped working when her husband had risen quickly in his company. They were quite well off financially. He had insisted that Kelli stop working and keep up a proper home for them. She also entertained for him often when he had clients in town. Jack noticed that she sounded wistful when she spoke of her own career.
After walking a couple of laps, they sat down in a rest area to have a cup of coffee. Jack noticed that Kelli was rubbing her upper arm. "Are you ok?" asked Jack. "You're arm seems to bother you a little."
Kelli wasn't sure what to say at first, but finally said, "It's just a pulled muscle. I'll be fine."
"Do what I do after the workout is done. Go sit in the hot tub in the locker room. I think of it as my reward after a good workout," said Jack.
"Thanks. I'll do that," said Kelli.
Jack and Kelli saw each other every morning. Jack lifted weights every other morning on several of the weight machines. Kelli had not done much with weights and wanted to learn how to include them in her routine.
"I've always included three things to a good workout. I need to stretch, especially at my age. I also do cardio for a healthy heart and circulatory system. And then I lift every other day. That adds strength and tone to the body, but it also increases your metabolism."
Kelli was impressed. "I've always known about stretching and cardio. Like you, I learned that stretching helped to keep my old body limber. But I've never done anything with weights."
