Chapter 18: CHRISTOPHER

The next day Ashleigh smoothed her shirt down and then pushed open the door to the gym. She paused and smiled at the music. Isley Brothers; Footsteps in the Dark.

Christopher looked up and gave her a crooked grin. "An oldie but a goodie." He was sprawled out on the mat already stretching.

Oh my god…He wore a grey shirt and loose athletic shorts. His body was amazing! His thighs were so thick that they rivaled hers! Only his was thick with muscles and not fat. He leaned forward and reached for his feet. His powerful arms bulged with tight muscles. She felt herself blush when her eyes fell on the package between his legs. It was a nice package; a very nice package.

"Ashleigh, are you going to watch me do all of the stretching?" he asked while giving her a curious look.

She jumped, her face burning bright red, and went to where he had set the pink thermos that he always used for her smoothie. His thermos was black and his concoction was not nearly as tasty as he made hers. She carried it back to the mat and sat down, spread eagle opposite him. Now it was no trouble to touch her toes. Her belly didn't get in her way any longer. She took her first drink and he watched her expectantly.

"Mmm. Good. Green apple, cucumber, carrots and ginger."

He gave her an impressed look. "And parsley. Good! I can't believe you figured it out." Her eyes lingered on his lips and the way the scars swirled around in an intricate design of plains and valleys, of textures that should be explored with the tip of her tongue…

"Um," she said while shaking herself mentally. "Lunch is tomorrow."

He nodded and his eyes drifted from her. She worried that he would back out. "You're still going to come, right?"

He gave her that crooked smile again. Oh god, he had the sweetest smile. "Yeah. It's just that I'm kind of out of it. My aunt passed away yesterday."

"Oh Christopher! I'm so sorry. Were you close to her?"

"Yep. Our family is close knit."

She hadn't heard much about his family other than that he was born in a country town and had grown up on a mountain, though not a big mountain like the Smokeys, but a small quaint place where everybody knew everybody else.

"I'm going to go down home on Saturday for the funeral."

"When will you be back?"

"The same day."

"Okay."

She was happy that he wouldn't be gone long. The thought of working out without him was unimaginable.

When Ashleigh reached her office later she informed her two friends that they would have a guest for lunch tomorrow.

Kendra gave her a worried look. It was her choice of restaurants this week. "Oh, you said he was shy. Maybe we should go some place quiet?"

Ashleigh nodded. "I think he would appreciate that." She thought about the way he ducked his head and wore his hoodie covering his face until he had gotten to know her better. It saddened her that he felt he had to do that out in public. She tried to think back to a time before she had accepted his looks and recalled being shocked by his face. She'd thought he was ugly and now it shamed her. She couldn't see anything ugly about him now. When she looked at his face she just saw his sweet crooked smile and his light and dark eyes that twinkled with humor.

"Why do you have that goofy smile on your face?" Lance asked suspiciously. "When was the last time you talked to 'that married man?"

She quickly hid her guilty look. "Ah! I was going to tell you about that..."

Kendra narrowed her eyes. "You did not go and call that fool, did you?"

"I did not! He called me-"

"Oh my god!" Lance threw up his hands. "When will you ever learn-?!"

"He left Shaunda!"

"So?" Kendra said.

"I know! That's how I feel." Her friends watched her expectantly. "I thought…I don't know what I thought. Maybe I just wanted to erase away the feeling of being rejected. Maybe I have no concept of the true meaning of love. Maybe I am just shallow enough to think that love is…based on the outer package." She gave them a sincere look. "But I don't think that anymore. I don't think that at all." She smiled. "I told him to get to stepping."

Lance clapped his hands. "Good for you."

~*~

Christopher was not looking forward to lunch with Ashleigh's friends. They really looked sophisticated; everyday they dressed upscale corporate. It wasn't a matter of money; Christopher made a great living. But he was a country boy that felt most comfortable in jeans and t-shirts.

He'd watched them through the cameras as they left in the evenings or went out for lunch. They laughed and were very comfortable with each other, that was obvious. He was much more reserved, at least until he knew people.

He was supposed to meet them in the lobby in an hour. And that was another thing; he had never been in the lobby during the day except on the weekends doing sweeps. He fingered his baseball cap; right Christopher. He'd make a great impression wearing this with a pair of dress pants!

TK came into the locker room and he glanced at him warily. The black man held up his hands innocently.

"The Little Trooper asked you out."

"It ain't like that. We're just friends."

"She is fine, and she asked you out. You need to make that move, Beast."

Christopher gave him an evil look; whether it was because of his observation of Ashleigh's fine-ness or if it was because he resented his interference was unclear to the big man.

"Butt out TK. And tell the rest of them that I'm not playing their game!" He pushed past him and TK pushed back. Christopher spun with a growl. Despite his height he moved with the agility of a runner. He picked the shorter, but equally muscular man, up by his shirtfront. "Back off!!!"

TK clipped him in the chin with his fist, which only served to annoy Christopher more than it hurt him. He growled and slammed the man into the lockers with a bang. It brought several men into the room and when they saw what was going on they watched with interest.

TK boxed his ears and Christopher released him and drove his shoulder into TK's gut.

"Hmph!" The two men gripped each other, neither releasing the other.

"What are you going to say to her?" TK grunted out as they spun each other around the room and tripped over benches, only to scramble up to smash into more lockers.

"I don't know!" Christopher grunted through gritted teeth.

"You better not…MPH!!...sit there like a damned lump!"

They were clawing at each other on the floor. "I don't know what to talk about!" TK jammed his elbow into the big man's gut and Christopher grimaced. He reached for TK's neck.

"Not my throat!" TK bellowed. "My wife is going to kill me if she sees your hand prints around my neck!" Christopher released his grip on the man's neck and slammed his fist into his eye. He smirked when TK cursed. But then the other man head butted him and damn near knocked him out!

"Damnit, TK! I got a date in less than a damned hour and you're going to bust my head open?!"

"Sorry…I got carried away." He held up his hands innocently and Christopher held his head and glowered at his friend. He made sure his head wasn't bleeding and then he pulled himself up to his feet and gave TK a hand up. Several guys got the room straightened while Christopher went to the mirror to check the lump forming on his forehead.

"You're still beautiful," Carlos said while slapping him on the back playfully. Christopher shrugged his hand away and then splashed his red face. He stared at the water as it slowly ran down the drain.