Something Old, Something New. Darcie Boleyn

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СКАЧАТЬ the lump that lodges in my throat when I spy a giant Adonis up ahead. He’s so gorgeous that I swear the sun is actually breaking through the clouds above his head and filtering down upon him to make him glow like some kind of spirit. But this man is no apparition; he is clearly, undeniably, evidently, one hundred percent flesh and bone. So much hard male flesh and muscle. Cassie follows my pointing finger and nods.

      ‘Oh yes, that is Vlad.’ She quickly pulls a compact out of her cleavage and applies some lipstick. How on earth did she fit the mirror and lipstick in there? She notices me staring in confusion and winks. ‘It’s the implants, honey. They cradle anything, even a big, hard…’ My cheeks flame as she winks again. For a moment, as we approach Vlad, I ponder the sex act she referred to and wonder if it’s possible. Apart from a few high school fumbles, there was only ever Dex and our very tame and infrequent sex life – which confused me at the time but was understandable when he finally came out – and before him, Evan. Sex with Dex was quick and quiet but sex with Evan was so…

      I can’t think about it right now. I shouldn’t think about it.

       Ever.

      Vlad is huge and as we stand before him I have to force my mouth shut. I mean, gaping like an idiot would not go down well. At all. But, just, wow! I take him in from his cropped honey blond hair to his strong square jaw, his tree trunk thick neck to his shoulders the width of a Chevy bonnet, then down his muscular arms which bulge out from a tight black t-shirt.

      I only stop staring because someone is saying my name.

      I blink.

      And again.

      ‘Annie!’ It’s Cassie.

      ‘Uh… yeah?’ I lick my lips and drag my attention away from Vlad to meet my friend’s curious gaze.

      ‘I just introduced you to Vlad. Say hello.’ She gestures at him and as I turn to look at him again and meet his twinkling eyes, my cheeks fill with heat. He holds out a hand the size of a spade and I shake it. His grip is vice-like and I realise that he could snap me like a twig. He reminds me of a Viking as he stands before me, all raw masculinity, bulging biceps and energy. It occurs to me that it’s been a long time since I’ve ogled a man and I quite like it. Standing before him I feel womanly, I feel good, I feel… alive.

      ‘Annie, I am pleased to meet you.’ His English is gently accented and it makes me think of Bond villains. Why does he have to be a villain though? His eyes are kind. He has a nice smile. But a villain has that naughty sex appeal I guess. ‘Cassie says you want to get fit?’ He eyes my less-than-toned frame and my blush deepens.

      ‘Well, I guess I could use some toning up,’ I say. Understatement of the century.

      ‘You have a good shape, Annie.’ His smile broadens but he’s not mocking me. The heat in my cheeks subsides a little at his warm tone. ‘Plenty of potential.’

      I nod graciously. He said I had a good shape and potential. I glance at Cassie and flash her a victorious smile. See! I’m not so bad after all. She returns my smile in her usual magnanimous way, evidently just pleased to have me along for the ride. When I return my gaze to Vlad again, I catch a softening in his expression as he looks at Cassie, but it quickly disappears and I wonder if I actually saw it at all.

      ‘First thing we’ll do is a gentle walk to warm up.’ Vlad gestures at the path that circles the park’s green. The grass is short and neat but the trees are bare and the landscape still has that bleak winter appearance. The twigs and branches stretch towards the sky like dark gnarled fingers and they make me feel glad that winter is behind us and that spring lies ahead. As we set off, arms swinging gently with Vlad leading the way, I allow myself to imagine how I will look by the summer after six months of fitness. When the flowers bloom in the hedgerows and the birds sing in their chick-filled nests, I will be toned and tanned from my active time outdoors. My hair will be shiny, my skin flawless, my tummy flat and my breasts and bottom high and firm. I will be happy, and possibly dating, and maybe I’ll even have quit teaching! And I will, of course, be twenty-one again!

       Never going to happen…

      I walk faster, determined to make some sort of a difference to my physique, even if I can’t turn back the clock.

      ‘Not too quickly, Annie,’ Vlad says, catching my upper arm in his hand. His fingers curl around my limb as mine would around a pen. A man this big can make even the curviest woman feel small and feminine. A flash of something hot curls in my abdomen and I shiver. Was that lust? It’s been so long since I felt it that I’m actually unsure. I smile at him and slow my pace, trying to figure out what it is that I’m feeling. But before I can figure it out, he releases me then walks instead at my side. ‘Now to get you loosened up!’ He points at the patchy winter-damaged grass and Cassie and I follow him into the centre.

      We spend the next half an hour copying Vlad as he stretches and flexes, contorting his huge frame into a variety of poses that make me think about the Kama Sutra. I can’t help it. But instead of picturing Vlad with me in those poses, my mind drifts to Evan and the time we bought a copy of the flexy sex guide from a flea market then rushed back to his student lodgings to try it out. We’d ended up in fits of giggles as we contorted our sweaty bodies into a variety of positions before going on to have amazingly intimate lovemaking. I try to push the thoughts away but when Vlad decides to help me get into the downward dog while standing behind me, his fingers firmly gripping my hips, I find I’m hot all over and it startles me. I jump up and take a few steps away from him then shake myself out.

      ‘Wow! I’m beat.’ I stretch my neck and legs, trying not to meet his eyes. Cassie seems oblivious to my suffering as she elongates her limbs then curls herself into shapes that remind me of letters of the alphabet. Is she spelling out a word? Was that an F then a U then… I shake my head. The woman is incorrigible.

      ‘Okay, ladies. Good session so far. Now I’d like you to both run around the park twice.’ I stare at him blankly. ‘It’s so I can make a note of how long it takes you, Annie. Then we can measure your improvement over the next few sessions.’

      ‘Of course!’ I reply.

      ‘Following your run, we’ll cool you down before we call it quits for the day.’

       Roll on quits!

      I almost cry because he wants me to run. I’m already tired and sweaty, although it possibly has more to do with remembered lust than with exertion. Perhaps a run will ease some of the frustration – that I didn’t realise I was feeling until I came to the stupid park with my puppy-eyed friend and her super-fit and sweet personal trainer.

      There’s nothing to do other than get on with it. So I do.

      Cassie and I jog gently to the path then follow it round but soon I am running solo as she pulls away and disappears into the distance. I am pounding the ground, conscious of the pain in my chest and the burning in my legs but willing myself to keep going. Focus on your breathing. Don’t think about how long it will be until you reach the end… of the first lap. Keep going. Come on, Annie, you can do this. Am I so terribly unfit that half a lap of the park can cause me so much pain? Each step is agony as my lungs threaten to burst and my calves ache, as heavy as if my trainers were made of lead.

      Then Cassie laps me and, bizarrely, tears sting my eyes – but it spurs me on. I dig deep into my reserves and push onwards, even though I know I will pay for this later and even though it hurts so badly that my muscles are all on fire. I think of all I have been СКАЧАТЬ