Romancing the Stone

After the first month of training, Brooke had ted ted to see a change in her body. Dex had started her off slowly with soightight weightlifting, swimming every other day, and lots of sthinghing and mild aerobics. She really stuck to her diet and Dex was constantly encouraging her, giving her confidence when she had none, telling her he could see a difference, things like that. It was true! She had lost eight pounds, and she could tell mostly by the way her clothes now fit.

During the second month, Dex raised the workout to the next level, working more on leg lifts, rather than just light weightlifting. He also started to work her on the Lifecycle and Stairmaster and she continued with her swimming. Throughout the entire time, Ares maintained a professional relationship with Brooke and concentrated on helping her obtain her goals and set new ones. What better way to get her to trust him?

Although Ares had started this entire charade as a way to obtain the Cronos stone from Brooke, he found himself actually looking forward to seeing her each day. He had been right in his assumption that when she shed the pounds, she would shed those things that had held her back for so long.

He watched her turn from a shy, lonely girl to a vivacious, happy woman, full of energy and was glad to have been able to help her this way. She really was quite enjoyable to be around. Each day that passed, Brooke gained more confidence. She started dressing up more and even began to wear makeup again. AresAres found himself becoming more and more attracted to her every time he saw her.

By the beginning of the third month, Ares had really noticed a change in Brooke's attitude. She had just hit the mark of her first weigh loss goal! She lost twenty-one pounds, and there was no denying that it showed. Her regular workout clothes, baggy sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt or sweatshirt, were becoming much too big to wear any longer.

As a reward, she took an afternoon off of work and went shopping. She decided it was time to buy a few new things, but didn’t go overboard. There was no sense in spending a bunch of money on new clothing when she was going to have to replace it all again in a few more months. She wasn’t done losing the weight yet and had already set a new goal to reach.

One of the things she bought that day was a new workout outfit. Semi-tight, black, spandex-nylon pants with a thick gold stripe down the outside of each leg and a matching gold tank top. The tank had thick shoulder straps but just barely met her waist. It was loose fitting, so when she lifted her arms, about two inches of her bare stomach showed. She thought she looked pretty good in it. Surely, it highlighted the fact that she had lost some weight and was working out. Excited about her 'new look,' she went to the gym early that day to try to catch up with Sam before he started his class. She hadn't seen him since she left his class and started training with Dex.

She tapped on the office door and heard a voice that beckoned her to enter. Sam was happy to see her and was thrilled at her accomplishment. They sat and chatted for a while until Sam looked at his watch and mentioned he had to get to class.

"I'll walk with you. I'm going over to the gym to meet Dex, anyway," she offered. The gym was only down the hall from Sam's classroom.

As they walked past the door to the gym, they heard a commotion coming from inside.

"I wonder what's going on?" Brooke curiously asked.

Sam quickly popped his head inside and took a look around. "Um-hum! Just what I thought. It's only Dex."

"Dex? What's he doing?"

"Nothing, really. He's just lifting weights. But he always seems to draw a crowd when he's working out. He's really quite a sight, if you're into that muscle-thing," he answered, a bit of jealousy tinged his words.

"Oh!" she responded. She had just realized that in all the time she had spent with her trainer, she never actually saw him working out before. He was always done with his workout long before Brooke showed up for her sessions with him.

They reached Sam's class and said their good-byes, and Brooke headed back to the gym, curiosity getting the better of her. She had to see what all the fuss was about. He was just a guy working out, how exciting can that be?

She entered the gym and was shocked to see a wall of mostly women surrounding the bench press. She walked along the wall to her left and then worked her way into the small group, emerging behind Dex's head, so he wouldn't see her.

Her mouth nearly dropped off her face as she tallied the amount of weight on the bar; three 45-pound weights on each side, plus the bar, totaling 315 pounds. He was pumping it up from his chest like it was little more than air, barely breaking a sweat.

He finished his reps and placed the bar back in the holster, the we on on each end caused it to arc in the center. He sat up on the bench and immediately some pretty girl rushed up to him with a towel.

"Here you are, Dex," she flirted.

Dex took the towel and wrapped it around his neck before he stood, allowing the women a full look at his front side. "Thanks, darlin'," he said and smiled at her.

The women giggled like schoolgirls at a boy-band concert.

Brooke felt the lady next to her nudge her side with an elbow. She whispered through a partly closed mouth, "That's one fine looking man, huh?"

"Um-huh," Brooke nodded. She was overwhelmed by his presence suddenly. He was good looking, really good looking, but seeing him without a shirt, with his muscles pumped up like this, was something else. This man was perfect. The beautiful curve of his thick biceps, how they looked when he flexed, his washboard stomach - hard as a rock, oh, and those pectoral muscles of his - to die for. With every breath he took, the muscles of his upper body expanded and became more defining of the man's perfection. He had beautiful bronzed skin, covered in glorious masses of hair that circled his darkened nipples and then joined together and made a pathway that disappeared beneath his shorts.

Brooke backed out of the group and started for the door. She didn't want Dex to find her standing amongst the other women, drooling over him. Just before she hit the door, she heard him calling after her.

"Brooke. Hey, Brooke." She turned around to see him strutting confidently across the room towards her. "I thought that was you! I almost didn't recognize you in your new clothes. Let me see." He made a motion with his hand for her to turn around for him.

She blushed but turned anyway. She completed her circle, and when she stopped, she was face to face with Dex. His eyes shinned with approval as she watched them drop down the length of her body and back up again to meet her own. She gasped and for a quick moment, was paralyzed by his gaze.

"They look good on you, Brooke," he smiled sexily.

"Thanks, Dex. I figured it was about time for a new outfit. All my clothes are getting way too big."

Ares could tell that his female groupies were about to mob him at any moment, so he reached for Brooke's arm and quickly ushered her out of the gym. "Come on. I'll buy you a diet soda before your workout."

As Brooke sat at the table, she couldn’t help but admire Dex from the rear as he stood at the counter ordering their drinks. He had strong, broad shoulders, a muscular back and great ass. She sighed, thinking to herself that she was an idiot for not going out with him when he asked her a few months back.

She wished he would her her again, now that she had lost some weight and felt better about herself. But she doubted that would happen again. Especially since he had given her his word that he wouldn't ask again. Instead, he treated her as a professional trainer should treat his client - as a client.

"You had your chance, Brooke. You blew it!" she scolded herself.

Another minute passed and Dex was back at the table with two sodas. He sat down and just looked at her, smiling.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked, unable to keep from smirking herself.

"Just you. You really look good, Brooke. I knew you were losing the weight, I could tell from your face, but those baggy sweats and oversized shirts really hid the results of your efforts. But this," he gestured a hand at her outfit, "this really shows off your hard work. So how does it feel? Aren't you proud of yourself?"

"It feels great, I can't even begin to explain the change I feel inside. Not just physically, but the way I see myself, too. I'm surer about myself, it seems. And proud of myself, too, I guess, but I don't want to be too proud. I still have a long way to go."

Dex nodded. "So have you set another goal for yourself?"

"Yep. I want to - no, I'm going to lose another twenty pounds."

"Very good. That's the attitude, Brooke. I know you'll obtain it in no time if you keep working at it the way you have been. I can't tell you how much it bothers me when I'm trying to help someone who has set an unobtainable goal for themselves. It's a guaranteed failure to set a goal that's too hard to reach. I think that a smaller goal is better. It feels good to reach it, therefore giving one the inspiration to reach the next. I'm very proud of you, Brooke. And I'm glad you listened to my advice."

"You're the expert in this, Dex. I couldn't have done it without your help."

"I don't believe that, Brooke. I think you would have done it on your own eventually. Nonetheless, I'm glad I've been a part of your success. It makes me feel like what I do really does make a difference in people's lives."

"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but you've sure made a difference in my life."

Dex looked like he was almost blushing. He smiled so big, that his cheeks turned into two little balls of flesh on his face. He seemed almost embarrassed at her se. se. "You ready to go work out?" he said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


During their workout that day, Dex told Brooke that not only did that outfit look better, but he was able to see for the first time the extent of development in her arm and leg muscles. The baggy clothing she had been wearing had completely hid her body. Dex quickly assessed that her legs were in really great shape and didn't need as hard a workout as her arms did. He suggested she work with the barbells, something she hadn't done yet.

He picked up a set of 10-pound weights and handed her one. He demonstrated a curl for her and then handed her the other weight. She started to repeat the exercise as Dex scrutinized her movements.

"Hold your wrists straight, don't bend them. I don't want you to hurt yourself by not holding them properly."

She thought she was, and continued lifting the weights to her chest.

"No, no, here, I'll show you." Dex stood directly behind Brooke and extended his arms alongside of hers to show her how to hold her wrists. "Like this, Brooke. See. Brooke? Brooke!" he said.

Brooke hadn't heard a word he said. All she could think about was that his arms were wrapped around her and his warm body against her back. She shivered as he spoke to her. His mouth was close to her ear, his hot breath blew against her skin as his silky voice caressed her soul. The third time he said her name, she snapped out of it.

"Huh? Show me again how you want me to hold them." She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and she suddenly felt uncomfortable by their closeness.

Up until then, Ares had made a point to touch her as little as possible. She wouldn't have been responsive to such close contact and probably would have been scared away by it. Now that she had a little self-esteem going, it was the perfect time to feed her desires - her physical attraction to him. Oh, he wouldn't go as far as to make a move on her or anything like that. No, he would just 'accidentally' brush her in the right place or wrap his arms around her, like he had just done, and get that sexual need flowing again. Of course, he would pretend not to even notice. His plan was to make her want him so badly that she would readily agree to go out with him the next time he asked.

He knew it would work. He felt her body stiffen lighlightly when he placed his arms around her. He heard the pace of her breath quicken in excitement. It wouldn't be much longer before he'd be holding her naked in his arms, bare flesh to bare flesh. Ooww, he was the master of seduction, he thought.

The following day, Dex had her doing arm presses. Again, something she wasn't used to. She seemed to have to work extra hard at the exercise.

Ares had set the machine five pounds too heavy for her. He did this on purpose, knowing she would be sore the following day.

Sure enough, Brooke arrive the next day complaining about her arms and shoulders being really sore.

"Perhaps I started you off with a little too much weight," Dex said with concern. "Why don't you just do your stretching exercises and then meet me in the sauna? I know just what to do to get rid of that soreness."

She agreed and twenty minutes later she walked into the sauna as Dex had requested.

As soon as Brooke had stepped inside and closed the door behind her, Ares used his powers to quietly lock the door so they wouldn't be disturbed.

At first, she couldn't see him through the steamy air. "Dex? Dex, are you in here?"

"I'm over here, Brooke." She followed the sound of his voice to the corner of the room. She stopped dead in her tracks when she finally got a look at him. He was naked except for a towel wrapped around his mid-section. She felt a wave of desire rush through her and quickly moved to the bench to sit down afraid she would collapse.

"Don't you just love saunas? They're so relaxing," he purred.

Brooke nodded. "Yeah. I've heard that they were good for your skin, too. Is that true?"

Dex shrugged. "I suppose so."

Brooke found it hard to keep her eyes from his gorgeous body. The steam from the sauna made his whole body wet and the dim light reflected off his chiseled chest making a very appealing sight. His hair was damp and slightly stuck to his forehead and sides of his face until he shook his head from side to side, causing the collection of water to fling from his dark locks. Drops of water and sweat landed on Brooke.

"Hey! Watch it, will ya?" she exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry," he laughed. "So how about we get started on those sore arm muscles of yours?"

"Huh?" Brooke wasn't sure what he meant. She thought the sauna was the remedy he spoke of earlier.

"Come sit over here, with your back to me." He patted the bench in front of him.

"Oh, alright," she said as she slowly scooted down closer and turned so her baas tas towards him.

"There that's better. Come a little closer, even," he suggested. He had turned sideways, leaning back against the wall and had one leg up on the bench beside him, so that Brooke was sitting between his straddled legs. She stopped scooting whhe fhe felt her rear end touch the inside of his thigh.

"Perfect," he cooed softly and his hands immediately found her shoulders. "I'll have you feeling better in no time, Brooke, you'll see. I've been told that I have very good hands," he whispered.

At first, he felt her tense at his touch, but after a few moments of his ministrations, she was putty in his hands. Ow's and ah's fled her lips almost as often as the air left her lungs. She was in heaven. His touch - like magic. "Oh, Dex," she slurred, "You do have very good hands."

'That's not the only thing, my dear,' Ares thought to himself. "Thank you, Brooke. I think I enjoy giving massages as much as folks like receiving them. Do you mind?" He had hold of one of the straps on her bathing suit and wanted to move it out of the way.

"Um... sure, why not!"

He slowly slid the strap over her shoulder and partway down her arm, then did the same on the other side. He stopped short of pulling them so far that they would expose her chest. His hands went back to her shoulders and began kneading them again. After a while, he moved up her neck, tenderly lifting her hair out of his way.

His touch was so gentle, almost erotic, and she moaned in pleasure as his fingers explored her skin and massaged her sore muscles. She closed her eyes and gave herself over to his touch. Her mind drifted. She imagined him moving her hair again, and then lightly kissing the back of her neck. Then he would caress her shoulders and arms with his large, strong hands. Finally, he would slowly turn her around to face him, his lips finding hers with a sensuous, long awaited kiss.

If the sauna wasn't hot enough for her, the thought of his lips on hers really had her temperature rising. Her nipples became hard and she scooted back against him a little more. Suddenly, she felt him return her straps to her shoulders and she was disappointed, thinking he was done. Instead, he leaned her back against him; his wet chest hair tickled the bare skin on her back where the bathing suit left the skin exposed.

She felt his hands slide down the length of her arms, moving over the tired and sore muscles. It hurt a little, at first, but she didn't care. She was too distracted at being wrapped in his arms again; the feeling of having him surround her was intoxicating. She moaned again and allowed her head to fall back and rest against his broad shoulder.

He whispered in her ear, "Feel good?" he asked.

"Oh, god, yes!" she managed. Her eyes were still closed.

Ares smirked. He knew this would get to her. Eventually, she rested her full weight against his strong chest while he massaged one of her hands. She was completely relaxed, trusting and vulnerable in his arms.

Ares noticed her nipples were hard and knew she was getting turned on. He had to stifle the urge to kiss her, for the closeness of her body also had its effect on the god. He hadn't gotten any since he came to Long Beach, spending all of his time concentrating on Brooke and the Cronos stone. She felt good in his arms and he realized how horny he was. Although he didn't want to stop, he knew if he didn't get her to sit up again, she was sure to feel something hard poking her in the lower back in another few minutes. But it wasn't the right time for that. He wanted to wait a little longer. That way he would be sure she wouldn't turn him down for a third time.

He set her hand down in her lap, placed a hand on each of her shoulders and slowly started to lift her off of his body.

"Oh, Brooke. It's time to wake up now, Brooke."

"Do I have too?" she moaned in protest.

"Yes. If we don't get out of here, we're gonna shrink up like prunes."

"Oh, all right," she agreed reluctantly and sat up.

She turned her head and smiled lazily at him. Her eyes had a glazed over look to them; the kind of look one gets after being sexually satisfied. It was very sexy. He imagined her looking the same way after making love to her. He felt his cock stiffen and stirred in his seat.

"We should go," he said abruptly and stood, allowing the towel around his waist to fall to the floor, purposely inflaming her desire further by giving her a good look at his bare ass. Brooke gasped and then started with a nervous giggle to hide her own embarrassment. Dex quickly scooped the towel from the floor and reattached it around his waist.

"Oops! Sorry 'bout that," he said casually, not the least bit embarrassed by his 'accidental' nakedness.

Still giggling a bit she answered, "That's all right. Really! You have quite a nice butt, Dex. I didn't mind at all."

He turned back around to smile at her and saw that her face was beet red, but she was grinning and seemed to have enjoyed his little display.

"Well, I'm off to the showers. I'll see you tomorrow, eh?"

She was still giggling. "Okay, see you tomorrow, then. And thanks for the massage, Dex."

He nodded his head and winked.

After he was gone, she sighed and leaned back against the seat. He was something else, she thought. She closed her eyes and visualized his arms around her again, reveling in the memory of the feeling. She could have just killed herself for turning him down now, she wanted nothing more than to be with him right then. She sighed again and opened her eyes.

"Well, Mr. Baxter, if you don't do something soon, I'm going to end up in the mental ward at Camarillo. You're about to drive me crazy," she said as she stood and headed out of the sau
~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


At the beginning of the forth month, Dex suggested they started jogging together in the mornings, re sre she went to work. This would tell him just how committed to her cause she really was. She had agreed and he was very pleased. They decided he would meet her at her place and then they could run along the beach. Also, this was the next step in his plan to acquire the stone from her. He assumed, she would invite him inside her home, and then he could comment on the piece, thus planting the seed in her mind that he was interested it in. He figured this was the best way to get inside her home, since he had not pursued a romantic relationship with her … yet.

While Brooke had been busy working with Dex, Nathan and Billy's relationship had gotten more serious. The two friends hardly saw each other any more. The last time Nathan tried to get together, Brooke regretfully declined claiming she hadn’t been feeling that well. She thought she might have been coming down with the flu.

One morning, it started to rain just after Dex had arrived at Brooke's for their morning jog. Although Brooke was still not feeling at her best, she insisted they go anyway. That night Brooke became terribly sick with one of the worst colds she had ever had.

Dex became concerned when Brooke didn't show up at the club later for her workout. He called her but there was no answer, so he checked in on her with his godly powers. She was asleep on the couch and he relaxed. He assumed she was just tired from all their hard work lately.

The next morning Dex arrived on her doorstep for their jog and rapped on the door. No answer. That wasn't like Brooke at all. She was always ready to go by the time he arrived. He knocked again. Still no answer. Using his powers to unlock her door, he stepped partway through the door and called out her name. The place was still dark, as if she hadn't yet awakened. So he called for her again, this time almost yelling her name. Nothing. Ares heart started pounding with concern. Hell, if she thought he was intruding on her privacy, he didn't care at that point.

He rushed in to find her still on the couch, unconscious. She was extremely sick with a very high fever. He thought about healing her, but he wasn't sure if that would be considered 'against the rules' for acquiring the Cronos stone. He called 911 for an ambulance, and then located her phone book and called Nathan to tell him what had happened.

Nathan arrivomenoments after the ambulance had taken Brooke to the hospital and used his key to get in. He found Dex still inside her apartment. He was standing in front of the breakfront looking at the crystal.

"Dex! What are you doing here? I thought you would have gone with Brooke to the hospital." Nathan suddenly thought it suspicious that Dex was in Brooke's home alone. And it bothered him even more that Dex seemed to be eyeing Nathan's favorite paperweight.

Ares played it off well. "I didn’t bring my car. I was waiting for you so we drive over together. Besides, I'm sure that Brooke will want some personal items and I certainly don't feel comfortable about going through her things to find them. You're her boyfriend, so I'm sure you know where she keeps everything."

Nathan nodded in agreement, although he still didn't like the situation. As he gathered a few of Brooke's things, he questioned Dex. “So if you didn’t drive, how did you get here, Dex?”

“I jogged, like I do every morning. Why? Is there something strange about that?”

“No, nothing,” Nathan answered as he entered the room with a bag of Brooke’s personal items. “I was just curious, that’s all. Let’s go.”

On the way to the hospital, Nathan probed Dex further, hoping to find out the real reason he was inside her house. He didn't really buy the excuse Dex had given him. For some reason, he didn't think that Dex was who he claimed to be. Perhaps he was just being over-protective of Brooke. She could be so naïve about people. But something just didn't seem right to Nathan. "So, you found Brooke, unconscious?"

Dex nodded.

"How did you get inside?"

"Door was unlocked," Dex answered casually.

"Unlocked?" Again, Dex nodded. Nathan eyed him suspiciously. "Are you sure, Dex? I've never known Brooke to go to bed at night without locking her door."

"Nathan, I know you're just looking after Brooke, but really, I'm not the enemy here. I'm the one who found her, and it's a good thing I did, too, or we both might have lost her."

They stayed silent for the next few miles. Tension was thick in the air. Before they got to the hospital, Nathan blurted out, "What was it that you found so interesting in Brooke's breakfront, anyway? You looked pretty excited standing there."

After Nathan pulled into a parking stall, Dex turned and looked directly at him. "I was just admiring her paperweight collection. One of my aunts also collects paperweights and I was just thinking about how, if the two of them met, they would be showing off their collections to the other. It was an amusing thought." Dex sighed and continued, "Nathan, is there some sort of problem? I'm getting the feeling that you don't like me very much. Have I done something to offend you?"

Nathan shook his head like he was annoyed with the question. "No, Dex. You've given me no reason to dislike you. I'm just watching out for Brooke, like you said. That's all." He got out of the car and headed for the hospital door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


By that evening, Brooke was conscious again. Nathan was still there but Dex had left a few hours earlier. She was somewhat disorientated when she first awoke and unsure of why she was in the hospital. Nathan filled her in on her ordeal, but didn't mention the part about finding Dex in her apartment.

"So it was Dex who found me?" she asked, trying to put the pieces together.

"Yeah. He showed up for your jog this morning and apparently became concerned when you didn't answer the door. He said that the door was unlocked, so he went in to see if you were all right."

"Oh," she said, her thoughts were of Dex at the moment. "Good thing he showed up, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Brooke, you never leave the door unlocked. Wh wit with that, anyway?" Nathan probed. He didn't believe Dex's story about how he got inside.

"Well, it's possible I left it unlocked. I was feeling pretty rotten yesterday. I may have passed out before checking it. I can't remember specifically locking it."

"It's just so unlike you, I was worried …" he stopped. He wasn't really sure why he was feeling so threatened by Dex but for some strange reason, he didn't trust the man.

"Worried about what, Nathan?"

He thought for a moment, his face serious. "I don't know. Just worried about you, Brooke. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you."

Brooke smiled warmly at her friend. "Nathan, I'm all right. Really. Nothing bad is gonna happen to me."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do." Brooke became concerned about Nathan, he just didn't seem like his normal self tonight. "Nathan, I know you must be exhausted after hanging around here all day. Why don't you go home and get some rest? I think I'm in good hands." She yawned, feeling like she could use some rest herself.

Nathan kissed her cheek, told her goodnight, and left the room. He headed down to the cafeteria to grab some coffee. He had no intention of leaving her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


By the next morning, the doctors had her fever under control. She yawned and opened her eyes to find Nathan asleep in a chair by the bed. Apparently, he had stayed with her all night, even after she had insisted he go home. He was snoring loudly.

Brooke smiled at her friend. He was always so good to her, always there for her when she needed a friend. She slid her foot out from under the covers and nudged him with it.

"Nathan. Nathan, wake up! You're snoring so loud you're gonna wake up the entire ward."

Nathan wearily opened his eyes and muttered a single word. "Coffee." He rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. "I need coffee." He stood and stumbled out of her room and disappeared down the hall.

Not more than a minute or two after Nathan had left, Dex made his appearance. He popped his head inside the door, smiling.

"Knock, knock. Anyone awake?" he said cheerfully.

Brooke instantly got a huge grin when she heard Dex's voice and looked up at him with smiling eyes. Then she suddenly realized that she probably looked like hell and she became self-conscious. Embarrassed, she quickly averted her eyes elsewhere, that familiar feeling of self-doubt sneaking its way back into her mind unnoticed.

"Hey, Dex!" she said with a warm smile. She may have looked like death, but she was still glad to see him.

Ares noticed the slight change in her body language right away and took the appropriate steps to silently counteract the emotion and reinforce his own place in her subconscious.

"Looks like someone is feeling better," he said as he stepped through the doorway, one hand hidden behind his back. "You look soooo much better today. You're gonna put these poor flowers to shame." He revealed a beautiful bouquet of flowers that he had been hiding from her.

The God of War was a master tactician. He thought the enticement of Brooke was a small war, and his opponent - her negative feelings about herself. He also knew exactly how to manipulate Brooke's positive emotions, and used them as a playground for his battle of seduction.

"Oh, Dex, they're beautiful! You shouldn't have," she blushed as he handed her the bouquet and sat in the chair the Nathan had occupied a few minutes earlier. "Thank you!"

He watched her as her self-doubt quickly faded away and her heart filled with a warmth that colored her cheeks. She was truly touched by his gesture.

"I'm just glad to see that you're okay. You were so sick yesterday, Brooke. I was really worried about you." He put his hand on hers and gave it a light squeeze.

"Thank you for your concern. I didn't mean to scare everyone." She looked away for a moment and then turned back to face him. "So, I heard that you were the one who found me and called for an ambulance."

Dex shrugged. "Well, you know, I arrived for our jog and when you didn't answer, I just knew something was wrong. Especially since you didn't show up at the gym for your workout the night before. Anyway, when you didn't answer, I went in. The door was unlocked, I hope you don’t mind."

"Mind? Are you crazy? Why would I mind? You probably just saved my life, AGAIN. Hope I don't mind, jezzzzz," she teased him.

"Well, that's not the impression your boyfriend gave me . . ."

"Boyfriend?" Brooke interrupted.

"Yeah. Nathan was a little bent out of shape,” he answered.

"Nathan?" she repeated. "Nathan's not my boyfriend," she laughed, amused at the thought of them together.

"That's not what you told me." Dex had this 'ah-ha!' kind of look on his face with his eyebrows raised in suspicion.

Then she remembered what she had told him that day in the gym, before she had started training with him. "Oh that. Yeah, I did say that, didn't I?" Busted, she thought. "Well, you know I only said that because . . . because . . ."

Dex cocked his head to one side. "Yes?" he prompted curiously.

"Because I didn't really thiou wou were sincere about wanting to go out with me. I thought you probably felt sorry for me or something like that."

She looked to him and saw some confusion on his face. She sighed and then continued. "To be completely honest, I didn't think I was . . . well . . . you seemed so taken with Lettie. I told you Nathan was my boyfriend because . . . well . . . it seemed the easiest way to avoid the situation."

"Brooke!" he said softly, picking up her hand and gently stroking it. "I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable. I’m sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for, Dex. I've always been . . . insecure and . . . well, . . . I do feel better about things now. Thanks to your help."

He smiled sympathetically at her. "I knew that you and Nathan weren't seeing each other. Besides, it's sort of obvious that he and his trainer have got something going on. I thought that you just didn't like me that way, that you weren't attracted to me and that's why you wouldn't let me take you out."

"Oh no, it's just the opposite," she laughed, and then suddenly felt embarrassed at divulging her true feelings.

"Well, that makes me feel a little better anyway," Dex told her. "So, did they say when you were going to be released?"

"Not for a couple of days. They’re pretty concerned about an infection they found in my blood and want to keep an eye on me. I'm damn lucky you came along, Dex, or we might not be having this conversation right now."

"I’m glad I was there, too."

"So, is saving my life become a new hobby for you or what? If you keep this up, I'm going to owe you my first born child before long."

He chuckled. "Oh, no thanks, Brooke. I'm sure you can come up with a better way to show your appreciation."

"Well… how about that date? Only you have to let me take you to dinner."

Ares' smile slowly faded as he looked at her with disappointment. "I'm sorry, Brooke, that would be nice, but it's not possible now."

Her heart sank. "Oh, I didn't know that you and Lettie were serious. God, I'm such an idiot. I should have known better."

“Lettie? I'm not seeing Lettie. What gave you that idea?"

"I don't know. I just assumed that, since you didn't want to go out."

Dex shook his head and slightly laughed. "No, sweetie, that's not the reason. However, it's against my work ethics to date a client. It's just not a good idea to get involved with someone who butters your bread."

"I'm not buttering your bread, Dex. You're training me at no cost, remember?"

"This is true, but you are still a client. I just don't think it's a good idea to become personal with clients. I’m sorry."

Brooke looked down at her hands nervously twisting the sheet in her lap. "I understand. No dating clients. I can respect that."

"Thank you."

"No sweat, Dex. Oh, and by the way, you're fired! Now, how about that dinner?"

Dex let out a hearty laugh. "That was a good one Brooke. Very funny."

Brooke failed to see the humor in her statement. She was totally serious. She had finally got up enough guts to act on her feelings, only to not be taken seriously. "Oh, yeah. That's me. Ms. Full of Laughs."

Ares knew she was serious, but continued to pretend that she was joking. "You know you can't get rid of me that easily. You've invested far too much time and energy in your training. I know how important it is to you to lose the weight and I want to see you through it. I won’t let you down, Brooke."

Brooke studied his face. "Why do you care, anyway?" she said after an intense moment of silence.

"I don't know. I just do. Do I need a reason to care?"

"I guess not. I just don't understand why you find it so important to help me. Why me?"

"It's important that you're happy."

"Why?"

Ares sighed as he thought of his response. "Because when you're happy - you smile," he answered. Then he leaned in closer to her, looked deeply into her eyes and said in a low voice, "And you're beautiful when you smile." He sat up straight again, smiled and continued, "Besides, everyone deserves to have a little happiness, don't you think?"

She nodded; his nonchalant compliment penetrated her defenses. "Yeah, I guess so. It's hard to believe you're such a softie under all that muscle and bulk. And you’re a good friend, too. Thanks, Dex, for being my friend."

Just then, the doctor came in to check up on Brooke. Dex said he had to be off to work and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You take care, okay? I'll see you soon."

"I will. Thanks."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~