Tithonus Gym and Health Club

Chapter 1:

12 Months ago.

The party was in full swing. College students crammed into every room, even the stairs were full. Lisa felt herself being pulled along; her small hand held firmly by her boyfriend as he guided them through the throng. They made it up the stairs, pausing at the landing. The music was incredibly loud, Lisa had to shout into his ear to make herself heard.

"What are we doing here?"

He didn't answer, he just continued to lead her by the hand. They paused at a door, he took a look inside the room before closing the door again and moving on. At the third door he pulled her inside. It was a small bedroom; the bed was half covered in coats from the people at the frat party. He pushed the coats to the floor and pulled Lisa onto the bed beside him.

They had only been dating a few weeks but Lisa really liked this guy. He was handsome, intelligent, and really seemed to care for her. Lisa moaned as he began kissing her passionately, his hand already inside her top.

Present day.

Lisa stood outside the building and read the sign above the door, 'Tithonus Gym and Health Club'. On the door itself was a smaller sign, 'Members only gym, apply inside'.

She glanced back to the parking lot, took a faltering step towards her car and stopped. She turned again towards the door, as she went to open it, a woman emerged. She was tall, much taller than Lisa who stood at 5'3" barefoot. Not only that but the woman was ripped. She was just wearing workout shorts and a muscle tee shirt, her midriff bare. From what Lisa could see, every muscle was toned and defined. She felt soft and weak just looking at her. Lisa stepped aside, the stranger blowing past her without acknowledgment.

She stepped into the building, the lobby was quite small, a chest high counter in one corner, two internal doors to either side, frosted glass panes in the doors. The one on the left appeared to lead to the gym given the sounds emerging from it.

Behind the counter a bored looking woman was idly tapping at a computer keyboard. She was similarly dressed to the woman who had just left. Her arms also muscled and strong looking. Her hair was shaved high on both sides, the short hair that remained was dyed a dark purple in color. One eyebrow was pierced and she also had a collection of studs in both ears and one nostril. Lisa cleared her throat looking for attention. She tried again but the woman still failed to turn from the screen. She looked left and right wondering if there was anyone else around.

"Help you?" came a bored voice.

"Oh hi!" Lisa said doing her best to sound upbeat and friendly. "I am looking to join the gym, maybe take an introduction lesson or something?"

Lisa's friendly manner didn't seem to impress the woman behind the counter. She stared at Lisa for a long moment before casually looking her up and down. Lisa was slim, she had small breasts, a petite frame and long blonde hair. She had a doll like face, almost flawless and beautiful, seeming younger than her twenty years of age. Apparently, what the woman saw didn't impress her any more than Lisa's friendliness.

"Don't think we are the gym for you" she finally said in a bored voice. As she said this another woman emerged from the other door on the right. Lisa didn't even look at her though, she was nervous already and acknowledging an audience wasn't going to help.

"Why not? I mean you are open to new members, right?" Lisa said.

"What makes us so lucky that you want to join?" the woman answered, never turning from the screen.

"Well, I am looking to get stronger, its not just fitness I am looking for, it's a strengthening conditioning. I also liked the fact that you are women only" Lisa answered.

"Yeah, still not really your kind of place" came the bored reply.

Lisa could feel the prick of tears forming. She quickly cuffed both eyes with the sleeves of her top and tried one last time.

"Well can't I at least try?"

The woman turned slowly from the computer, she put a fake smile on her face, all teeth but her eyes remained flat.

"Look, go north a couple of blocks. There is a gym there that does a decent spin glass. Good luck, good bye" and she turned her back completely on Lisa.

"Oh, ok, well, ok, thanks" she said softly and fled before the tears could begin.

The woman who had been watching from the nearby office started a slow hand clap.

"What? Oh, come on Ashley, you can't give me shit on that one. Not her" the woman behind the counter protested.

Ashley walked towards the door, opening it to see Lisa stumbling towards the parking lot. She turned back to the counter.

"Jaz, what the fuck am I paying you for?" Ashley asked.

"Look, look, you saw her. She'd have taken the introduction class and then we'd never see her again. What's the point in me wasting time filling in paperwork for a crappy $20 introduction fee?" Jaz protested.

Ashley leaned over the counter, she had a quiet intensity that got peoples attention and she had Jaz's now.

"I catch you pissing off potential clients again and you will find yourself heading two blocks north to a shitty spin class because you won't be working here anymore. Am I understood?"

Jaz nodded quickly and let out a sigh of relief when Ashley headed out the front door.

Ashley caught up with Lisa beside Lisa's car. The smaller woman was crying and so hadn't managed to get her keys out of her bag yet. Ashley made her presence known but didn't try to start a conversation until the younger woman had gotten control over her emotions. Eventually Lisa choked off her tears and looked directly at Ashley.

Ashley didn't exactly tower over Lisa, she was just 5'7", also blonde but a darker shade than the other girl. Her confidence and the ten-year difference in ages though made her seem so much more self-assured. She was a friendly person too, the kind who people opened up to naturally. Combine that with her attributes as a trainer and it was small wonder that the gym was doing so well. She introduced herself to Lisa, offering her a handshake.

"Sorry about Jaz, she means well normally. I think you caught her at a bad moment" Ashley apologised, the excuse seeming thin but Lisa didn't seem to mind.

"That's ok, she recommended another gym so I guess I will see what they are like" Lisa said half-heartedly.

"Don't go running off yet" Ashley responded, "just tell me the real reason you want to join my gym."

"It's what I said to the other woman, just looking for a place to increase my strength. I prefer a gym that's women only."

"Yeah, you said and that's part of the truth but not the whole truth" Ashley answered, waiting for Lisa to continue. Lisa hadn't looked Ashley in the eye yet. It had taken a minute to occur to the older woman but now that she'd noticed it, she began picking up on other things. The nervous stance, hands gripping and twisting the handle of the bag, the lowered head. Finally, Lisa answered.

"Just looking to, you know, get fit."

Ashley stepped closer, she cupped Lisa's chin, raising her head so she'd look her in the eye.

"Ok, you keep your secret for the minute. Come with me, lets get you signed up."

Ashley began walking back to the building. Lisa didn't follow at first but after a few paces Ashley heard her scrambling to catch up, following her a pace behind. 'Man trouble' Ashley thought opening the front door.

Jaz turned to greet Ashley and saw Lisa following behind, the smile faded away. Ashley leaned over the desk and grabbed a membership form and a pen.

"Jaz, take Lisa's details, sign her up for the intro class and waive the fee as an apology on my behalf" Ashley said, Jaz nodding her understanding. Ashley handed the paperwork to Lisa with a smile.

"Oh, and Jaz, give Lisa a copy of my schedule. I'll be taking her on personally as a trainer. Make sure she knows how to book in for classes, fee structures."

Jaz nodded shocked, Ashley normally only dealt with the serious training, people who were at advanced levels of fitness. What was she doing taking on a noob?

Chapter 2:

12 Months ago.

Lisa allowed him to remove her top, then her bra. She leaned back on the bed as his hands and mouth explored her upper body. His tongue played over her long nipples as his hands groped at her small firm breasts.

A noise outside made her stiffen in fear but her boyfriend was oblivious, one hand now working down her body, disappearing under the waist of her skirt, pressing against the panty clad mound of her crotch.

"What was that?" she asked worriedly, another thump at the door outside causing her to look across the room. She pushed the flat of her hand against his shoulder trying to get him to respond to her question but he was having none of it, too intent on enjoying the firm young body he had at last gotten alone, too befuddled by drink to acknowledge or care about the fear in her voice.

"Stop, stop, I think someone's outside" she pleaded with him.

The door opened, the noise from the party filling the small bedroom.

Present Day:

Ashley was impressed. She stood to one side of the gym watching Lisa punish herself through a series of weight training. To be honest she had only taken on Lisa to make a point with Jaz, she'd expected the petite blonde to have given up fairly quickly and had tailored the sessions in order to put her off. Despite the intensive sessions with free weights, leg curls, crunches, chest presses and leg presses followed by cardio work on the elliptical machines, stair climbers and rowers, Lisa had come back every time.

That wasn't to say she wasn't struggling but she was definitely giving it her all. Ashley wasn't sure if there was a layer of grit to Lisa she hadn't noticed before or if she was just fired up by some deep-rooted fear. If she had to bet, she'd have gone for the latter. Either way she was proving Jaz and the others wrong.

In fairness to Lisa, the fact she'd managed to keep returning to the gym despite the snide comments and judging looks from Jaz and others was every bit as impressive as her work ethic. True, Ashley's looming presence had kept the other women from being outright antagonistic towards Lisa but they'd certainly made it clear she was not welcome among them. That air of condescension had dissipated a fair bit now, a grudging respect for Lisa now seemed the general opinion among the other members at the gym.

"Ok, three more and take a break" Ashley called to Lisa as she passed her by. She glanced back over her shoulder as Lisa completed the three lifts before adding two more for her own pride. The look on her angelic face brought a smile to Ashley's.

The gym was clearing out now, only a few stragglers left. Ashley noticed that, once again, Lisa was avoiding the shower facilities. The quiet girl just pulled some sweats on over her workout gear, running a towel over her face to soak up the perspiration.

Tomorrow was Ashley's day off, her business partner Sil, Silanion Murray, would be taking charge. They rarely scheduled themselves to be in the gym at the same time. Sil was a professional body builder and the women who attended the gym when she was on were of the same ilk, either professional, semi pro, or keen amateur body builders. Ashley had flirted with the idea of turning pro herself at one time but the pressure to performance enhance with steroids had always put her off.

Not so with Sil. When they had stated out together Sil had still been a very feminine looking, though tall, African American woman. Now she had bulked up, her voice had deepened considerably and her personality had also changed. Ashley and Sil had dated briefly, both were lifelong lesbians, neither having ever been with a man. The Sil that Ashley had been attracted to had been kind and considerate as a lover. Now, according to the locker room gossip, she had become much more aggressive sexually, extremely dominant with her partners. She had also developed a high sex drive; it wasn't uncommon for her to end up after closing with one of the other gym members on a gym mat.

Thinking of Sil, thinking of their past sex life made Ashley a little depressed. She hadn't had anyone significant in her life in over a year now. She blamed the business somewhat for that, with Sil competing more of the bulk of the work running the gym now fell on her and while she loved her job it wasn't giving her a lot of time for socialising. Trying to clear her mind of negative thoughts she wandered over to where Lisa was packing up to leave.

"You did well out there tonight, great focus" Ashley said as she stopped beside her.

Lisa smiled shyly; her gaze never met Ashley's though. Ashley had noticed that when she'd tried yelling at Lisa to give it more effort the girl had collapsed figuratively rather than rising to the challenge, however she ate up praise with a spoon! This was someone who needed building up emotionally.

"Listen, ah, what are you doing tomorrow?" Ashley asked suddenly.

"Oh, I thought you were off tomorrow" Lisa replied with a hint of worry, "Did I mess up? I followed the schedule Jaz gave me."

"I am, I am off. No, I was wondering if you'd like to come running with me. I like to run in the evenings and I could do with some company."

"I wouldn't want to mess up your routine" Lisa said, her eyes dropping once more to the floor, "it's your day off, you don't want me intruding on your free time."

"If I didn't want you... I mean if I wasn't interested in you then... Look, just come for a fucking run with me, ok?"

"Okay" Lisa mumbled.

"Great, look I need to lock up. I'll text you my address, say six tomorrow?" Ashley called as she headed towards the gym doors.

Lisa looked up as Ashley walked away, watched as she urged the last stragglers to head out home. She felt a pang of jealousy as she watched Ashley joke with Jaz who was rolling up the mats. Lisa frowned as she contemplated on this feeling. She was in awe of Ashley, her confidence, her fitness, her beauty were all things that she aspired to, so why suddenly was she feeling jealous of her. As Lisa slung the gym bag onto her shoulder and was making her way out to her car it suddenly came to her. She wasn't jealous of Ashley; she had felt jealous of Jaz talking to her. This realisation kept her awake long after she'd gone to bed that night.

Chapter 3:

12 Months ago.

Lisa let out a low shriek as a bunch of drunken frat boys barged into the room noisily. She recognised them as friends of her boyfriend. Frantically she snatched her top up from where it lay and tried to cover her nakedness as the group gave out a large whoop of joy at the sight of Lisa and her boyfriend entwined on the bed.

"Get out, get out" she yelled at them, her face crimson with embarrassment.

Nobody was listening to her; the group had begun delivering enthusiastic high fives to her boyfriend. Instead of him sharing her feelings about the intrusion, he was revelling in the accolades for his 'score'.

"Make them leave, come on, please" she begged her boyfriend, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Stop embarrassing me" he answered unfeelingly, throwing his eyes up to heaven dramatically for the entertainment of his friends.

Lisa started sobbing, drawing her top up to cover part of her face. He threw her a look of pure disgust, not for the sake of his friends, a true reaction to her tears. Horrified, she twisted her head, burying her face into the pillow beneath her.

"I need a drink" she heard him say to the others, as the group left the room, the last to leave flicking the light switch.

Lisa was left in darkness, tears running down and soaking into the pillow.

Present Day:

At a little before six pm, Lisa was outside Ashley's address. She began stretching out while she waited for Ashley to join her. After a few minutes the front door opened and Ashley gave her a smile before beckoning Lisa inside. Ashley looked amazing, her long toned legs shown off spectacularly in high and tight running shorts. Lisa felt self-conscious in her shapeless sweats beside her. It was made worse as she noticed Ashley's puzzled expression as she took note of Lisa's running gear.

"Why didn't you ring the bell when you got here?" Ashley asked as she waved Lisa into the hallway.

Lisa didn't answer beyond a slight shrug of her shoulders. Ashley however didn't see that as she had her head lowered as she pulled on her sneakers. She looked up at the still silent Lisa after she was finished and arched an eyebrow at her.

"Um, I just didn't, didn't want to disturb you as I was early" Lisa mumbled.

"Don't worry about stuff like that. Don't always be sweating the small things, it will drive you crazy. That's why I love running in the evening, clears my mind, lets me shake off any of the day's problems." Ashley smiled at Lisa as she said this. "So just enjoy it, ok?" she added.

Lisa nodded in reply and gave a wane smile in return.

Ashley's run was a six-mile route that consisted of some roads, but the majority was completed in a local park by doing a lot of circuits around its edges. Lisa had been running as part of her fitness regime before this and while the distance wasn't a problem for her she found that Ashley set a faster pace than she had been used to. After the fourth mile she began to struggle. The last mile and a half her legs were burning but she didn't complain at all. Despite her grit and determination however she was about fifty feet adrift of Ashley by the time they got back to her place.

As Lisa grimaced, stretching out after the run, Ashley looked over and noticed for the first time how lathered in sweat Lisa was.

"God, sorry, I didn't realise I had set too fast a pace. Why didn't you ask me to slow down?" she asked Lisa.

"No, it's fine. It was a perfect pace, I am ok."

"You are not ok, come on, lets go inside. Sit down for a bit." Ashley said, fishing out her key to the door.

"No, I need to take off. I'll see you at the gym." Lisa said, her hands held up defensively.

"Lisa, get in the house!"

Lisa walked up the steps to the front door and went past Ashley meekly. Ashley followed, closing the door behind them and then she led Lisa along the hall and into a small, spartan kitchen. Opening the refrigerator she grabbed two bottles of water, tossing one underhand to Lisa. They both drank deeply and then Ashley took a seat at the counter in the kitchen, indicating that Lisa should join her.

"Let's talk." Ashley started saying once Lisa was sat down. "I see how you are around the gym, taking shit from the others, keeping your head down, letting them get away with shitty comments. Look that's your choice. You've got something going on up here." Ashley tapped two fingers to her own temple, "and that's also your business."

She paused for a second, Lisa kept her head slightly lowered, turning the bottle over and over in her hands.

"You want to talk, we can talk. I'm a good listener and believe me, I got no reason to judge anyone else's past considering the shit that happened in mine. But you've got to understand something... hey, look at me!" Ashley gently cupped a hand to Lisa's chin and raised her head.

"If you are going to hang out with me then I expect you to tell me if I'm out of line, doesn't matter if it's that I'm pushing too hard on a run, talking to much or ordering the wrong drink in a bar. I mess up, I expect you to call me on it."

"Drink in a bar?" Lisa asked, confusion in her voice.

"Yeah, tonight, you, me. Drinks."

"Um, but I don't have anything to wear, I didn't bring a change." Lisa said, looking down miserably at her sweats.

"Don't worry, you can pick something of mine to wear. I'm a size bigger but I'm sure I've got something that will work. Besides, it's a beer at a bar, nothing fancy" Ashley smiled. "Now come on, finish that water and let's get cleaned up, dressed and get ourselves a beer."