Workout
Cara was still fast asleep in her bed when she heard a soft knock at her door. It sounded distant in her sleepy ears, and she turned in the bed again, covering herself further with the blanket. The knock sounded again, and she finally opened her eyes. It took her some time for her to sit up. She searched with her eyes the wall clock as she yawned lazily.
"Come in, please," she answered after hearing the third knock and Henry's voice calling her name.
The door opened gently, and Henry stepped in. He closed the door behind and remained at the entrance. He stared at Cara, surprised to see her still in her bed, looking sleepy.
She had on her nightgown and a shower cap covering her hair. Her back was resting against the headboard of the bed, and the blanket was still covering her waist to her legs. Henry, on the other hand, was already dressed in his tracksuit and shoes.
"Good morning, Cara," Henry greeted first while she stared at him, still looking like someone in a trance.
"Good morning, Henry," she replied in a sleepy voice, after which she yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her palms.
"Why are you still in bed? It's time for Saturday workout," Henry said.
"No," she shook her head gently. " We can't go for a workout this morning until we decide on which new workout centre is good for us. Or have you found one already?"
"Yes, I have." Henry replied sharply.
She raised her brow, expecting him to say where he found immediately.
"We don't need to go out to work out always. We can do some exercises right here in the house."
Cara blinked and breathed deeply. She remembered Henry had talked about them exercising in the compound the previous night, but she did not take him seriously.
"Now, get up, Cara."
She yawned and stretched, reluctant to get up.
"Can't we…" Cara tried to say something, but Henry interrupted.
"Shhhh… No excuses, ma," he said with a chuckle, placing a finger on his lips.
"Oh!" She grumbled.
"Come on, get up," Henry urged again. He moved closer to the bed and turned to the side she was. He offered her a hand to help her up.
She put her palm in his, and he pulled her up gently. She stood at the tip of the bed for a second before he lifted her with both arms and placed her on the ground. He walked immediately to the wardrobe and opened it.
"I'll be waiting outside for you," he said to her while she was still searching for something in her wardrobe.
Ten minutes later, she joined him in the hallway. He led her to the field in the compound, which he had chosen for them to have the morning exercises.
They began with simple exercises like the cat camel stretch and jumping jacks, which were led by Henry. After five minutes, it was Cara's turn to lead with an exercise move, she thought for some seconds before suggesting they do push-ups.
They began to do push-ups and got to the twentieth count when she gave up and fell to the ground. Henry continued, however, and was counting close to fifty when Cara got to her feet. She watched him in awe as he counted close to seventy-five tirelessly.
"Hey, wait!" She yelled.
He stopped and turned his face to her, his palms and feet still in the same position. He watched as she moved over him and quietly laid on his back and arranged her legs on top of his, also wrapping her hands across his chest.
He was surprised by her gesture and did not know what to do at first. He felt a strange, overwhelming feeling, and he could not tell what it was.
Their closeness had increased in the three days of Henry working as her bodyguard. They went to work together daily and returned together. He couldn't really say he worked as her bodyguard, for she did not treat him as such. She always insisted he sat at the backseat of the car with her on their way to and from work which he found odd to do at first, because he had believed the position of the bodyguard was supposed to be at the front with the driver. Every time they stood or sat close to each other, she always found herself clinging to his arm or resting her head on his shoulder unconsciously.
"Continue with the push-ups," she said to Henry, who still remained frozen in his position.
He continued his count and went past a hundred and twenty before she yelled that it was enough.
She rolled down from his body all smiles while he was feeling somewhat shy to look at her face.
"Can we do another exercise now?" Henry asked after forty seconds of what he considered awkward, staring at each other.
"I don't want to do more exercises for today," she replied, shaking her head.
He looked at her face, wondering why she was considering stopping so early. He quickly looked away as he couldn't understand the way at which she was smiling at him.
"I want you to teach me some fighting moves, you know," she said.
He looked at her face sharply again, this time wondering why she was making such a request.
"But I don't know any fighting moves," he replied, pushing his shoulders up.
"You know many," she answered back. "Four days ago, you thrashed five heavy men as one single man."
Henry sighed. "But you know that was almost like unconsciously, I was not sure of how I did it."
Cara contorted her face and raised her brow in a way to communicate that he was lying.
"You just said you were not sure how you did that. I agree you were not sure that day, but now you are sure."
Henry was getting more confused.
"Since the day after that fight, I've seen you every day reading about those fighting moves you did."
She further said, "I know you must have found out what you did that day and how you did it."
Henry had a brief smile form on his face, and then it disappeared and turned to a frown. He realised that she must have been looking into his phone every time she rested her head on his shoulder while they were seated close to each other.
"Cara, I am still not sure of anything yet. Why don't we wait till I'm sure first?"
Cara stared at him quietly for a moment and then nodded gently in agreement.
"We'll start next week. By then, you should be very sure." She answered him.
"But…"
"Shhhh… No excuses, sir," she said with a smile, mimicking his voice