“All you can do is become better.”
His mind kept telling him. The weight of the barbell pressed on his palms as he exerted all his strength to keep it above his chest.
“All you can do is become better.”
He told himself again as he released the last of his energy to rest the bar. The clunk of metal announced the end of his session. Sweat dripped from his forearms, the ends of his hairline and down the nape of his neck.
After a deep breath, he raised himself on the bench. His heart was racing faster than Micheal Schumaker chasing down Mika Hakkinen. The feeling felt good but in the same breath, he knew it was a drop in the ocean. The reflection of the mirror confirmed this.
“All you can do is become better.”
As he was walking outside, from the distance he saw his gym crush. She was refilling her water bottle at the fountain. Her exhaustion was evident. It was clear that she was not done. She was merely refuelling for a continued session.
He deliberately walked slower to admire her. She was wearing a two-piece coral-pink gym set. The sports bra wrapped her full bust tightly to her body. The shorts wrapped themselves around perfectly cylindrical thighs. Underneath the shorts, she wore black compression shorts that peeped sightly below her shorts.
For some reason, he knew that if he introduced himself to her, she would probably politely reject him. He has seen many men try their luck with her and all of them have left disappointed.
Perhaps it was the setting, he thought to himself. But even if the setting changed, and he saw her at a grocery store or a fast-food outlet, he would still not be able to bring himself to introduce himself to her.
With this feeling of a weakened self-esteem, he continued towards the exit of the gym.
“All you can do is become better.”
He told himself as he left the gym.
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