Owen went up to Al after hearing his conversation with Lucy.
"What are you doing?" The words came out of his mouth in a monotone.
Al was seated on the flat bench untying his shoes so he had to look up to see who was asking.
"Untying my shoes?" It's more of a question than an answer. Al was confused by the sudden query and just answered the most obvious thing while also hinting at curiosity about why Owen was asking.
Lucy was just making her way towards the ring when she saw Al obviously in the process of removing his shoes with one bare foot on the floor and the other with untied shoelaces while Owen was in front of him with his unbothered face. She got into a speaking distance with the two men in no time.
While she was curious about what they were talking about she judged that it must've been gym-related because Owen was not one who socializes. She decided to address Al first because of their prior engagement, "I forgot we had to be barefoot inside the ring.",and walked to a nearby long pulley to remove her shoes more comfortably.
"You can actually come in socks but… right, just go barefoot for better mat grip." Al is now sitting upright to give the trivial information to Lucy, leaving his shoes and the man in front of him unattended.
Owen is still hovering above the man, growing rapidly irritated about how he feels ignored by both parties. He cleared his throat.
"Do you need anything?" Al asked Owen more directly this time.
Al is one of the few gym members who can talk confidently to Owen. It's not in an arrogant tone but more of a casual exchange between colleagues. It was something some gym members still find hard to do with Owen.
Owen clears his throat again, realizing he finds himself not wanting to repeat the question in front of Lucy. His plan of action didn't come this far. He just had the desire to stop Al from teaching Lucy in the ring because he knew it would involve body parts touching and the thought sends a violent alarm in his system. He knew none of this information made sense and he wouldn't want to cause unnecessary thoughts for anyone, especially not Lucy.
"You're teaching Lucy?" He started with a more neutral but obvious question, wishing no one would pick up on his eavesdropping earlier.
"Yes, some basic self-defense. Just a little bit, don't worry we'll keep the set short, maybe half an hour so she can still rest before your appointment." With limited insight, Al judged that Owen was worried that their lesson would affect his treatment of Lucy.
"I think you shouldn't." Owen is now crossing his arms — defensively or confidently, no one can tell, except Lucy who was watching the men converse. She's confused as to why Owen was giddy, too far from his assured self. The woman is oblivious to how she can read the man's flawless facade.
"Wh—" Before Al could answer back, Owen cut in.
"Before you come into the ring she has to build her fitness first or else she might risk injury. Also, avoiding physical confrontations is better than engaging in a return of blows. Running would be a good place to start. She should be running now to condition herself and also build enough strength to pull off effective self-defense moves,"
It was Al's first time hearing Owen spit a whole paragraph from his mouth in his 2 years with the man in the same gym and struggled to keep the conversation going from shock but he managed anyway.
"You're not wrong but—" Al tried to cut in but it was Lucy's turn to cut him off this time.
"Should I start on the treadmill? How long?" The woman managed to get into a circle with the two men as if they were intentionally huddling for a plan.
"20 minutes." Owen faces Lucy exclusively. "Maintain a pace that is comfortable with you, don't exert yourself too much, stop when it gets too hard."
Al is trying to absorb the turn of events while putting his other shoe back. He can't help but agree with Owen's suggestions, he hadn't thought about Lucy's physical condition and was impressed by his discernment of the situation. Owen's aloof personality was not his cup of tea but now he had a newfound admiration for the man.
"Okay.", was all Lucy could muster from her benefactor's instructions, and headed immediately to the treadmill. She came back as soon as she left, embarrassed. The flat of her fingers touching her forehead, hiding almost half of her face. "Can you show me how to operate that?" She was obviously talking to Owen but refused to make eye contact.
Al wanted to be of help still and chuckled silently while preparing to step in so Owen didn't have to but an almost immediate response from the man in question stopped him yet again in his tracks.
"Hmmm." It was just a hum accompanied by a nod and quick steps following Lucy towards the row of treadmills but it was clear enough for Al to know that he was no longer needed.
In truth, he was happy to see the interaction. Lucy has been a breath of fresh to the gym. He's not sure if the girl noticed but everyone seemed to be gentler when she's around and treated her like a sister of sorts. Her straightforward personality fits right in with the club members. Also, Owen was not aware but Lucy actually takes care of them, too. Nothing like the full session treatments with MMA superstar but just little tips on where to ice or what muscles to stretch. It's the little things.
"This is pretty easy. Step right in here." Lucy follows Owen's instructions while the man is stepping on the treadmill from the side to show her the machine's interface.
"We don't usually use this, but you should, for safety." Lucy follows Owen's hand as it picks up a safety clip and struggles to attach it to the bottom of her shirt.
The woman's breath hitched when she noticed Owen's face leaning a bit too close to her front.