I had been coming to this gym for six months after spending almost as many months debating if I should join. Since transitioning, I had been nervous about sharing public locker rooms, worried that someone would say something and make me feel unwelcome. Hormones had done a good job with my facial features and body shape. I still had my height and broad shoulders to contend with, but I was confident that I could pass well enough in my workout clothes. Still, all it took was one person to ruin it.
All of those fears, though, had so far yet to materialize in the months since I had been coming. When I registered for the gym and had to tell the college-aged girl that the gender on my ID was wrong, she smiled and said, "It's okay." There were signs posted around the gym with mantras like "everybody is welcome". The staff and other patrons I interacted with were very nice. Some even chatted with me between sets or offered advice if my form was off. Sure, there was the occasional stare my way that was just a little too long, but never anything I couldn't ignore.
Well, except one. One day, I was finishing my last set of lateral pulldowns when I saw this woman on a treadmill behind me staring at me in the mirror. She was short with a heart-shaped face, small nose, green eyes, and black hair in a cute pixie cut. As soon as I saw her staring, I gave her a smile. Over the years, I had learned to meet the stares with a smile. Unlike most of the other times, though, she didn't dart her eyes away when she knew she was caught. Instead, she smiled back.
And what a cute smile it was. I could instantly feel an attraction to her, which made it really hard to concentrate on the rest of my workout. Every free moment between sets was occupied with thoughts about her. Still, I had to keep reminding myself that I'm not here to meet other women. I was here to work out. There was no point thinking about her anyway since a girl as cute at her was probably taken anyway.
By the time my workout was done, all thoughts of her had left my mind. I stepped off the treadmill, wiped the sweat from my face with my towel, cleaned the machine, then slowly headed to the locker room, tired legs doing their best to support me. I walked past the first two u-shaped sections of lockers to my locker in the final one. I liked using the locker area farthest from the entry because, while it did mean that I had to walk father to leave, the area stayed pretty empty during the hours I worked out. I opened my locker and, upon chugging all the water out of it, sat my water bottle down next to my gym bag. I threw my towel over the door of my locker and started to unzip my bag when I heard a "Hey," in a sweet voice behind me.
I turn around and there she is: treadmill girl. She was standing there in a maroon sports bra and maroon capri-length leggings. She had her hands on her waist and a smile on her face as she stood there. Now that she was in front of me, I could tell that she was more than half a foot shorter than me at a few inches over five feet (whereas I was pushing six feet even).
"Oh, hey," I replied tentatively. "I'm, uh, almost done if you need this space or something." Nerves jangled my voice.
"No, it's fine," she said as she walked closer. "I was actually hoping to catch you before you left."
"Why...why is that?" I said, nerves growing as I became insecure and unsure what was about to happen.
"Well, because I was hoping to talk to you. I'm Sarah," she said in a sweet tone, a smile taking over her face.
"Um, hi. I'm...I'm Kate," I replied with a nervous smile. She was smiling, so I knew that this wasn't about to get ugly, but my nerves nevertheless stayed right where they were, turning my stomach over and over again. "What...what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Well, I've seen you working out here for a few months, and, well, I think you're pretty cute," she said, tilting her head to the side, smiling, and looking at me in the eyes.
