Quinn's POV
It was a Monday morning and as usual, a very busy day for me at the gym. It's the time of the week when new intakes come in, hoping to develop a routine and as the owner of the gym, I have to work with them on that, put them through, and not just leave them to any of my employed instructors. I take my clients very seriously and giving them the appropriate attention can help earn their trust and get them to work with me to achieve their goals. Apart from that, it's also good for business. But for today, it seems things were going to be different. I'd asked the manager to run ads for women who wish to learn yoga. While it was another means to advertise, I also wanted to help. I've had tons of female customers come in, requesting an intense workout, hoping to get their emotions fixed but end up blubbering and are later advised to try out yoga and meditation.
The ads had only run for a few weeks but that was enough time to gather a lot of women. The number that registered was quite impressive and I intended to take them for the duration of the class and the free trial. Glancing at the fancy clock sitting on my large desk, I saw it was a minute to 9 am. Exhaling, I rose to my feet and flexed my arm before stepping out of my office. I'd informed the receptionist to direct the women to the studio closest to my office, which was soundproofed, to provide the quiet environment we needed for the class_the best way to induce relaxation.
Earlier on, I'd informed the instructors to take over my duties until I'd be done with the yoga session, to avoid disturbances. Hence I wasn't bothered when I strode into the studio, but I was definitely not prepared for the number of women that filled the large room. Yes, a good number of them had registered but since it was a free trial, I hadn't expected the majority of them to show up but it seemed they were more serious about it than I'd thought.
Stopping by the door, my eyes scanned the entire room, with most of the women chatting in small groups but my eyes quickly caught on to one. She was all alone, staring out the window down into the streets below, her dark hair pulled into a high ponytail. One look at her and it was obvious she was lost in her separate world, away from the giggling and chattering going on around her. For a moment, I almost forgot the reason I was there, as I'd been carried away by studying the side view of her profile that I could see_that upturned nose, plump lips that somehow looked delicate, and the tanned flawless skin I could see from the exposed parts of her back and shoulders that her gym clothing couldn't cover. Let's not even get started on how well the black gym tights she had on fitted her like a second skin, almost leaving nothing to the imagination.
There were lots of other very beautiful women in the room, a few of whom I'd met on different occasions and gatherings but I was more riveted to the quiet beauty by the window side. The moment I took my eyes off her, I felt a strange sense of loss and the need to glance back again just to see if our eyes would meet but I fought against it and proceeded into the room.
As soon as they noticed my presence, silence enveloped the entire room and I saw the radiant smiles on most of their faces, but I was also quick to notice why the majority of them registered for the class. It was easy to tell from the way they kept on tugging at the already flimsy sports bra they had on, hoping to expose more cleavage. I could even see through most of their tights and that had me frowning. It was the same reaction I got from women everywhere. Being a gym instructor only made it worse.
"Hey, Quinn," The woman standing directly opposite me called, flashing me a grin. I recognized her as Candice, a model I met a few months ago and I knew exactly what she was doing. The same damn thing she'd always done whenever we found ourselves in the same room_trying to make conversations in an overly friendly manner, her way of informing everyone that we were close which in fact, we aren't. I couldn't remember anything about the woman except for her name and that was simply because we've had to work together on women empowerment projects a couple of times and those were some of the worst moments of my life as I had to always fend off her heavy flirting.
"Hello, Candice," I responded, quickly taking my eyes off her to end the unwanted conversation. Unintentionally, my eyes landed on the window and I saw the beauty I'd first noticed was still there in the same position I'd seen her. This time around, I was aware of the eyes monitoring me. Thus, I looked away from her, preparing to address the women.
"Hello, I'm Alexander Quinn, and I'll be your instructor for the duration of this class until the end of the trial period," I stated, my eyes traveling through to take in all of the women's expressions. "Also, as stated in the ad, the trial period is completely free and lasts for a month. Thereafter, if you're still interested in moving forward, you could sign up and I'd assign a trainer to everyone who'd work with you on your personal routine to help you achieve whatever goals you have in mind."
I glanced around again to see the woman was still beside the window and at this point, it was very obvious she was lost in her environment and must have really gone far in her thoughts. A slight frown marred my face as I wondered what had her in such a trance. Without hesitating, I strode towards her, gently tapping her shoulder. She flinched from my touch, a gasp escaping her lips as she quickly turned towards me, her eyes wide, mouth slightly parted. Her soft baby blue eyes stared into mine in what appeared to be shock with a mix of fright. My frown deepened at thoughts of what was scaring her but quickly, I schooled my features into a neutral expression not wanting to scare her.
Her curious eyes ate me up, slowly trailing from my eyes down to my shoulders, clearly intrigued by my tattoos. With the way she was looking at me, she was feeding my ego and I had the urge to yank off the wife beater stretched over my abs but I pressed down on the temptation, needing to act normal around her. I've gotten appreciative stares from a fair amount of the opposite gender but with her, a warm feeling spread over every place her eyes landed and I couldn't help but want more.
When I noticed she was getting lost in my body art, I spoke, even though I didn't want to interrupt her, but the class had to continue and again, I didn't like the eyes monitoring us.
"Hey…" my voice came out in a smooth drawl, a little deeper than usual but it seemed to set her off as her eyes flew to mine and I noticed her biting down hard on her bottom lip. I almost growled from the sight, needing to sink my teeth into the plump alluring flesh. "Are you okay?" I asked, swallowing roughly. Instead of a proper reply, she merely nodded her head, her hooded eyes dropping to the floor but when I spoke again, they returned to mine. "Please, pay attention. I noticed you zoned out and weren't listening to whatever information I'd passed out so, for your sake, I'll begin. Is that okay?" Again, she nodded her head in response. For a few seconds, I remained there, staring at her before willing myself to continue with the class.
I returned to my position at the front and began dishing out the instructions and expectations with my eyes constantly traveling to the woman, who was now listening. Each time I had to force myself to focus and not get lost in her and it was a real struggle to keep it up and I didn't mind it. It was either that or take my eyes off her completely but that wasn't even an option for me.
For the next two hours, the class progressed fine and I was happy with the outcome and how focused the women were except for a few who went out of line to do the wrong poses just to steal my attention but that did not deter me from staring at my girl across the room. Inwardly, warmth spread over me, a smile threatening to claim my lips at the thoughts of her being my girl. I wasn't opposed to it and if I had my way, I'd stake my claim. I just might.
As the session proceeded, I planned to approach her as soon as we were done but I should have known that would never work, not with women like Candice around. As soon as the class ended, they flocked around me, pretending to have personal questions and to need a deeper orientation on how yoga works for their mental health. All the while, my eyes were trained on the beauty but for a brief moment, a hand tapped me from the side and I turned to see another woman with a coy smile, asking a question. A wave of annoyance hit me but I bit down on my tongue to avoid giving a bad response. Half of the time, her words weren't making sense to me, hence I asked her to return in the next class so I'd be able to respond properly.
Thereafter I returned my attention to the corner where my girl had been but she was gone. A frown marred my face, my fingers balling into fists. Like a man with a purpose, I cleared out the studio, asking the women to leave and to return for the next class while I hurried out, into the street, in hopes of seeing her but she was gone. All I saw was the sea of bodies milling out in the streets with no sign of the beautiful curvy woman I'd been obsessed with for most of the morning.
Letting out a string of curses, I threaded my fingers through my hair and marched into the building, heading to my office with one purpose in mind_to find her.
As soon as I got in, I immediately slumped into my chair and turned to my computer, clicking on the file containing all information about the women. It was the only way to find her as we'd requested them to create a profile that contained their pictures. A smile stretched my lips when I stumbled upon hers, Alexis Chapman. Quickly, I looked it up and my smile widened when I saw her home address. I wasn't sure what I'd do with that information but if she didn't show up for the next class, then it might be in use.