Rahul showed the girl at the desk his membership card, then hurried down the stairs. Spinning class had started five minutes ago, and he hated to be late, but the New York traffic had been particularly bad for a Friday night. Besides, he'd make up for it by pushing extra hard tonight. Rahul hustled into the almost full Spinning room, about forty fit young people already pedaling away on a fifty-percent-resistance climb, the music blasting. Rahul searched for an open bike, and finally spotted one. He adjusted the bike seat and handle bars, at the same time kicking off his Nikes and stepping into his cleated cycling shoes. He jumped onto the saddle, locked his feet into the pedals, adjusted the bike's resistance, and started to pump away.
It wasn't until the next exercise, an out of the saddle, seventy-five-percent-resistance climb, that he even noticed who was working out in front of him. "God, would you look at the ass on her," Rahul thought to himself. He wasn't being a lech - how could he avoid looking when something so perfect was staring him in the face? Oh, and those long, sleek, powerful legs. And that gorgeous black hair falling down her back.
Now the Instructor switched the routine to one where they pedaled standing up for two beats, then sat down and pedaled for two beats. Up, down, up, down. Rahul just watched her baffle bob up and down, up and down, imagining her doing it on something other than the bike seat. And wearing something other than bike shorts - a Red Silk Negligee, perhaps.
The routine changed again, to one in which the Spinners stayed seated. Rahul glanced into the mirror at the front of the room. There was quite a jumble of bodies to look through, but finally he spotted her. God, she is so pretty. Face flushed, brown eyes focused, breathing hard. Yeah, I'd like to see her look just like that, Rahul thought, except under me, not atop that bike. Now all the Spinners moved their hands into "Third Position," stretched way out on the handlebars. Rahul watched in the mirror as she leaned forward, a nice scoop of showerhead coming into view. Rahul felt a stirring in his bicycle shorts. Whoa, he thought, better concentrate on the workout, or this could get embarrassing.
Rahul pushed hard for the duration of the workout - gotta burn off all that Italian I've been eating, he thought to himself. And then, finally, the hard driving music segued into softer stuff, signaling that the workout was over and the cool down was beginning. Deep breaths, stretch out the arms, turn the head... And that's when she, for the first time, looked behind herself and noticed Rahul. And broke into a huge smile.
"Rahul!" Neha said. "I didn't know you were right behind me. Why didn't you say something?"
"I wanted to keep an eye on you," Rahul said, kiddingly. "Make sure you weren't flirting with any other guys."
"Yeah, right," Neha countered. "When I've got a hunk like you?" They both laughed - drenched in sweat, black hair jumbled, Rahul knew he looked nothing like a hunk at the moment.
They finished the stretch out, and began gathering their things. "You showering here or at home?" Rahul asked.
"Well, let me see," Neha replied. "Here I can shower with a bunch of girls, at home I can shower with you. What to do..? what to do...?"
"Shower with me, and I promise to loufa you," Rahul said.
"I hope that's not all you'll do," Neha responded. Rahul felt that stirring in his bicycle shorts again.
Rahul may have exceeded the speed limit as he drove home in his SUV, and he got there before Neha. He gave his pet dog some dinner, then prepared a Martini for Neha, and a Vodka for himself. He took them into the bathroom, and started up the water in the oversize steam shower. Then he put some salsa on the CD player. Rahul peeled off his sweat drenched t-shirt, leaving himself in just his cycling shorts. He heard Neha come through the front door, and a moment later she entered the bathroom.
"Ooh, you look great," she said, looking him up and down. "Almost as good as when you wear just your Silk Boxers."
"I don't know," Rahul said, "maybe I should spend more time on the weights and less time Spinning."
He affected a few body-builder poses for Neha's inspection. But neither could keep a straight face.
"Stick to the cardio," Neha said. "I want your heart to be in good shape."