SNIPPET FROM PROLOGUE
The last place Ruth Jones wanted to be on a Wednesday evening
was the gym. If the truth be told, Fit n’ Fabulous would never have been her
choice, had it not been for three key factors. One, it was right around the
corner from her office. Two, Fit n’ Fabulous had offered her company head
office, a leading high street fashion stall, 50% discount to employees and 30%
discount for friends, which of course led very smoothly into factor number
three. Being press ganged into joining, by her best friends Jenny and Vikki.
She much preferred the gym near her flat in Camden Lock, where leggings,
oversized t-shirts, laughter and gossip were not frowned upon. In spite of
this, it was necessity, certainly not recreational that she
needed to visit three times a week.
Pressing the buttons on the treadmill to quicken her pace,
Ruth listened to Capital Radio, through headphones on her mobile.
Pinning back her ears, when the presenter informed her that the seven o’clock news
would be coming up after this next track, she fixed her eyes firmly on the
male’s locker room. Any minute now, he will appear.
Three weeks ago, Justin Thomas had joined Fit n’ Fabulous.
It was on his second visit Justin had introduced himself to her. Well, if the
truth be told the only reason he’d actually spoken, was to inform Ruth she had gone
over the legal time of thirty minutes on the Stairmaster. Since then they had
spoken a little, and engaged in some banter, but that was as far as it went.
Banter. Hardly surprising, as she looked around her surroundings. Dozens
of women dressed in skimpy crop tops and mini Lycra shorts, pretentiously
showing off their concaved stomachs, tiny waists and undersized boobs with
perky nipples. Ruth on the other hand bordered on curvaceous, from her more
than ample breasts to her small waist and generous hips.
Look at them! All frigging beautiful people, glowing
gorgeously as they lift weights or spring up and down, not a wobble of tummy
fat and showing off their solarium tans to perfection.
Striding out on the treadmill at a brisk pace, beads of
sweat trickled down off her forehead, dripping unladylike off the tip of her
nose. Huffing and puffing, tugging for the millionth time at her Nike graphic
tank top, she cursed herself for not buying the bigger size.
Do I really want to have a runway model shape that can
only be maintained by eating as much as a sparrow, then worrying if I’d gain a
gram from the lettuce leaf I ate at lunch?
Ruth in contrast, could never give up on her 3 C’s
diet—carbs, cheese and chardonnay. Her ethos being, men didn’t want to hold a
bag of bones. As long as she worked it off in the gym, kept to her size 12, why
worry?
****
Justin Thomas emerged from the changing rooms and eyed his
audience. Tonight, the gym was heaving with gorgeous women, all watching him hungrily
as he sauntered across the gym.
“Hi Justin,” they purred as he ambled past.
Each woman had a perfect body, perfect teeth, perfect
hair—Silicone and Botox. There was definitely no one around tonight to grab his
interest. Well, except for one.
It had been on his first visit. His attention had been drawn
to three women, laughing and chatting in the juice bar. A nice-looking, leggy, honey
blonde with perky breasts and a tight bottom. The other was petite, cute, with
short cropped raven black hair, impish features, with a slim figure. It had
been the one with a mass of curly auburn hair who really caught his eye. She
looked more refined than the other two. Yet at the same time, sultry and
self-assured. She had creamy skin, full lips and piercing cat green eyes that
started a fire in his stomach.
On his second visit, he spotted her on the Stairmaster. He
stood for a moment watching her, deliberating the best way to start off conversation.
“You should go over and tell her. She’s been on that machine
for thirty-two minutes now.”
Justin swung around at the voice and saw a willowy, Barbie,
bottle blonde, hungrily ogling him as if he was a forbidden six-foot-two cream horn
cake. And she was ravenous to get her lips around that horn, nibble on the end
and suck out its thick, lush cream.
She gave a satisfying sigh and licked her lips as if
removing the last tell-tale signs of illicit cream. “The instructors won’t say
anything to her. She’s some big shot at some head office, around the corner.
Apparently, her company brings in big bucks.” As she walked away, he heard her
murmur. “They may bring in the bucks, but three times a week here—and she’s
still not getting a fuck.”
In that moment, he knew she was going to be his latest
conquest.
Since then they had spoken a little, and engaged in some
banter, but that was as far as it went. Banter. Tonight, however, he was going
to charm her. If she put up a little resistance…well, that was all part of the
fun.
Looking around, he saw her. She wasn’t a tall, stick figure,
like the rest of the women here. Tallish, yes, but she had some wicked curves—generous
hips and some marvellous breasts. Imagining what they would feel like, he felt
his heart pick up its pace and an arousing sensation in his pants.
****
Seeing Justin making his debut, there was no two ways about
it, he was gorgeous. The perfect combination of handsome hunk, and mischievous young
boy. Don’t even go there, Jenny’s voice in her head reminded her, after
admitting to her friends she fancied the new guy Justin. You can never
trust a man with shifty eyes.
Even though Ruth acknowledged how physically attractive he
was, perhaps Jenny was right…not about his shifty eyes. She shouldn’t go there.
There was no way a man like Justin would take up with a woman like her.
Still…he was handsome.
She now felt stupid for having stayed longer than
normal—having heard two women in the changing rooms excitedly saying Justin
would be in later that night. All she wanted to do was have one last look, just
to get this silly whim out of her head. Now she had, she needed to get out of
there.
She had almost made it.
“Hi, just starting or finishing?”
From the corner of her eye Justin was casually standing at
her side. Even though she mentally cursed herself for not leaving sooner, her
heart leaped in her chest, thudding in excitement. “Finishing,” she replied, keeping
her attention squarely focused straight ahead. “I am in a bit of a hurry, I
have a date.” It wasn’t untrue. She was meeting Jenny for a drink.
“A date?” His reply held more than a hint of laughter.
Ruth was somewhat set aback by Justin’s tone. Did he really
find her having a date so funny? “Yes, a date,” she snapped.
He cleared his throat. “Would this be a casual date?
Stepping off the treadmill with shaky legs, not sure if it
was from her workout or Justin as he put a hand out, touching her elbow
lightly, to steady her. Allowing herself to meet his gaze directly, his eyes no
longer looked shifty. She saw warmth and friendliness. “Actually, it’s a
friend,” she finally admitted.
“Oh! A friend,” he said, giving her a half smile. “So, if
this friend doesn’t mind, could I ask you out for a drink? Say tomorrow night?”
Ruth was somewhat taken by surprise that he asked her. With
his chiselled features, his blonde hair that was tousled effortlessly and his piercing
grey eyes, still did not alter the fact; Justin Thomas had absolutely been at
the front of the queue when they handed out looks. Not that Ruth had been one
of those unfortunate people who had been at the back of the queue when they
dished out looks, more midway.
It just doesn’t fit. Let’s face it, 99.9% of the women
here are stunning sticks that attend purely to flaunt their toned, skinny
bodies at people like me. So why me? Not looking a gift horse in the mouth,
Ruth accepted.
That week they went for two drinks. The following week Ruth suggested
supper at her place. Things just went on from there. As the weeks and months
went by, Ruth and Justin were still seeing each other, albeit only two nights a
week due to Justin being on the road. He was a sales rep for a pharmaceutical
firm. Regardless of how happy Ruth was, Jenny and Vikki still did not like
Justin, believing Ruth was under the illusion she was in a relationship, when
all she had was a friend with benefits, who bonked her twice a week. Ruth
ignored their negativity, maintaining, not seeing each other every night had
its advantages. “The spark in our relationship has not died, if you know
what I mean, and he is so caring,” going on to explain that when Justin had been
away on the road, and when he returned he wanted her all to himself, which Ruth
found sweet. Even though her friends nodded back with false smiles, it didn’t
stop them voicing their concern.
“It’s not that I am not happy for you, Ruth, I am,” Vikki
said. “It’s been a few months now, and I can’t see this relationship moving any
more forward than when it began.”
Jenny nodded in agreement. “Let’s face it, the only thing
you have in common is what happens between the sheets. Look there is no one
more for sex than me. But come on, Ruth, what do you really know about this guy?
You deserve far more than a two night a week relationship.”
Personally, Ruth thought it was sour grapes that the hot guy
had chosen her. Vikki for the last year had been on and off with Bernie, a wannabe
stage director. A funny ha, ha guy, very sweet and caring, but he did have a
nervous twitch on his left nostril that, after ten minutes in his company, you
found you were twitching too and feeling awful that he thought you were mocking
him. As for Jenny, well Jenny was Jenny, anything male with a pulse, she dated.
However, if Ruth were to be asked to pick one fault with Justin, which happened
on a regular basis by Jenny and Vikki, she would always say that he was one of
those annoying people who could eat carbs and sugar by the boatload and miss
the gym for a week and still not have to worry about his weight. Yet if the
truth be told, and what her friends wanted to hear, but she never would
say…was that he had a dreadful habit of jibbing out at the last minute of every
family occasion, work function, or any bloody occasion that involved socialising,
which really irritated the hell out of her. All she wanted, for goodness sakes,
was for people to get to know her boyfriend. Okay, so she wanted them to see
she had a hunk of a boyfriend. Was that so wrong?
Genes: Romance / Romantic comedy / chick lit / contemporary
Tags: love relationships passion contemporary romance two men chic lit
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