Angelic Treasures - Welcome Home

I hear a voice. Theo's voice. He is on the phone and coming down the hall. I prance briskly towards the spare room, but not before he sees me. Our eyes lock. He looks at me cheerfully and raises his eyebrows in silent greeting. He presses a button on his Bluetooth phone nestled in his ear, which probably means he muted his end of the call.

"Hey! How did you sleep?" He humbly asks. He seems to not care an 18-year-old is standing half naked in his kitchen. I cross my arms, as the T-shirt I foolishly picked was white and if he was any closer, he would be able to see my pink nipples through the fabric. I feel my face slightly redden. I feel exposed... I AM exposed, and the butterflies are back. "It was better than the plane nap I had. Your house is very cozy. I am jealous! I have never had such a nice nap in college." I look around at the vast ceiling of his house.

Play it cool Ashley.

"I am glad! Pizza, 5 hours. I have to get back to the meeting. Make yourself comfortable." He pushes a button on his Bluetooth and his voice changes tone to one of authority as his voice bounces off the walls. I watch him for a moment, and he walks towards a back room, probably his home office, and he shuts the door. His muffled voice carries though the deep, dark oak wood double doors and reaches my ears.

Deep. Entrancing.

I suddenly feel a chill and look down at my toes. To my horror, I realize when I crossed my arms, the T-shirt pulled up exposing the crotch of my red cotton panties to the world! Theo was gracious enough to not point it out but holy hell... The phrase 'Out of the frying pan into the fire' took on a whole new meaning. I ballerina step towards the spare room, my face reddening further and further until I am able to close the door behind me.

I let out a frustrated gasp and stamp my feet like I am throwing a tantrum. I cannot believe that just happened. Why me? Why does the universe hate me? I facepalm over and over again, almost hoping I knock myself unconscious.

I decide to do what I did in college when I am stressed and hit the gym. I take off my shirt and put on a sports bra. I take out my yoga pants from earlier and slide into them. Snug and comfy. I then put the loose T-shirt back on and look at myself in the mirror. I flex my biceps and stick out my tongue.

"We are about to get FIT!" I whisper scream. I am in the zone!

The earlier conversation with Theo enters my mind and I find myself still curious about the mirror. Maybe he flexes in the morning, those hard biceps tightening and his abs contracting, his tan skin rippling as he flashes his beautiful smile and his deep brown eyes sparkle back at him. The thought passes through my mind a couple of times and I chuckle at the absurdity of the image.

I grasp my boobs and push them together. I am still hyping myself up. My cushions are on fleek my dudes! I push the thought of Theo away as I decide it is just idle curiosity. The butterflies I feel right now are just anxiety. The warmness in my stomach, is just a symptom as well. Get a grip on yourself Ashley. Soon, you will be stretched out, gasping for breath, your boobs sore, your legs shaking and your body feeling good. Yes. A workout is exactly what I need right now. I let go of my breasts and they bounce once before they settle in my tight sports bra. I give myself an eyebrow wiggle and point at my reflection with finger guns.

In the zone.

I slide socks on my cold feet and lace up my shoes. I pull my messy hair into a ponytail and head to the door. I open the door and my sneakers squeak as I make my way towards the basement stairs. My gosh, this place is huge. I descend the stairs and am shocked at what I see when I reach the bottom: Not only is there a gym here, which is bigger than any gym I have ever been in, but there are machines here I have never used before. I spend the next half hour just looking around. The steam room is immaculate, the shower is gorgeous, and everything is either white, black, or red. The colors are in such a way they contrast beautifully with the wooden floor.

There is the mandatory rich person pool table, a fully stocked bar, a dart board which has seen heavy use, and a tv lounge with the biggest screen I have ever seen adorned with red oak cabinets and very soft looking couches.

Everything about Theo is huge, I think to myself.

I giggle a little bit as the insinuation of what I just thought and whisper to myself, "that's what she said.". Besides, he said he had no problem in that department, and I let the thought go. I stand there and think, "Why on earth would we even go to a resort? This whole place is a fucking resort!" The house I grew up in was a middle-class home in the suburbs of Minneapolis. There was plenty of room in the house and we were never without money and had plenty of luxuries, but it was nothing which compared to Theo's home. The whole place was intimidating, just like Theo, but after a while it was cozy. The home was just like the man.

I choose to do cardio and find myself on a treadmill. I set my goal for 40 minutes. I play my favorite workout playlist on my headphones: The rap artists Logic and NF. I focus on the music, the flow, the lyrics, and soon I am in my element: My zone. Sweat leaks down into my eyes, the burning sensation a nice distraction from the agony of running.

I hate running.

[Yeah, holding back Yeah,

I've always been good at that, unattached (Yeah)

Waiting for what's coming next, things I know I should address

I feel more together when I am a mess (Whoa)]

I lip-sync with the music, my lips slightly parted and moving as I run faster and faster. The stress, the weight of the year in college, the memory of the feelings of my anxiety symptoms, they all fade and what I am left with is focus. My breathing is heavy but measured. I feel my breasts bounce up and down. I feel my thighs stretch and my calves start to tingle. I look down at my phone while wiping the sweat off my face with the bottom of my shirt and notice my slender, tight stomach is coated with sweat, glistening as my hips move in repetitive motion.

[I lie to myself and I, I can't handle it

Why do I waste so much time on things that I can't fix?

All these things I hold inside I just can't forget

Thought that I could let this go

But I ain't know that it would be like this,

yeah Like this (Like this)

I ain't know that it would be like this

Yeah, like this

I ain't know that it would be like this]

The run flies by and I sprint towards an imaginary finish line. I raise my arms in exhilarated relief and push out my chest as my head flies back and I smile. I imagine a crowd cheering for me as I stop the treadmill and let the belt carry me off. I land with a plop and promptly take a bow for the crowd in my mind.

A noise intrudes on my fantasy world, and I realize I hear real clapping, tinny due to the headphones still in my ears. I take them out and find the source of the noise. It was Theo, eyes closed, chin to chest, as he was suppressing his laughter at my absurd display. I feel my face redden and I look down at my feet as I stretch my left calf muscle on the back of the treadmill.

"I was in the zone!" I say loudly and defensively with a scowl which breaks as I meet his eyes and grin, still red-faced. I take comfort it can be passed off as redness from exertion and not embarrassment.

"I could tell. You were dead to the world, but I am glad I was here to see the spectacle." Theo says grinning ear to ear while shaking from barely suppressed laughter. "You need to show me how you get into that zone of yours. It is more solid than mine." He teases.

I shake my head, still grinning. My face turns to a grimace. My muscles are tight. I forgot to stretch beforehand and now I am paying for it. "How did your meeting go?" I ask, not taking my eyes off my shoes as I place my right foot on the back of the treadmill to stretch the other calf. I say it, half interested, half to get my mind off the pain of which is probably shin splints.

I have to slow down a little.

He sits down on a bench underneath a pull up bar. "Oh, you know. Same stuff, different day. Excuses, passive aggressive people. Bad customers. I am a problem solver, everyone calls me when there is a problem, but no one calls me when things are going well. It gets exhausting." He says the last part as he lets out a breathy sigh. He tilts his head back and rubs his eyes with both hands. He does look tired.

A moment of silence follows, and I glance over to him. He is gazing at his shoes, a fist in hand, looking troubled. He notices my gaze and looks over to me. He gives a thin smile, "That is why I have the gym. Instead of knocking heads together, I can knock out some reps." His beautiful full smile spreads over his face and I giggle at his joke.

Deep down, I have always known Theo to be cute, even attractive. I love being around him, as his personality was almost infectious, and I found myself looking forward to seeing Theo as much as Eric back in high school. I loved my parents as much as any daughter could, but Theo was different. Whereas my parents raised me, instilled a sense of moral code and saw to every need I could possibly have- Theo was just fun and I found him to be almost a second father. Of course, I could never call him dad, but it was close enough. 'Different kinds of love', I say to myself. I loved Eric with all my heart and more than once my mind wandered as I imagined myself dressed in white staring into Eric's brown eyes as I said the words, "I do."

I smile as memories flash across my mind: Theo throwing a birthday party for my sweet 16, with my family crowded in his home; me shrieking in laughter as he chases me with a super soaker water gun around the house. When Eric first left for college and I found myself standing in the airport terminal watching his plane slowly climb into the sky, disappearing behind a cloud and I cried into Theo's shoulder. Later Theo telling the most ridiculous stories at an expensive restaurant and I find myself crying tears of laughter; my grief and loneliness lightyears away.

Good memories. I feel a sense of warmth in my chest.

As I allow myself to mentally reflect, Theo walks over to the bench press and starts working out. I hear the tinny sounds of music coming from his headphones as he grunts and pushes out breath with the effort. His muscles contract and loosen like waves on an ocean. His dark skin is soon coated with sweat. He stands up after a couple of rotations between the bench press and the peck fly and uses the bottom of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow. I find myself sneaking a glance as the tight abs flash into my view, also a glistening sheen just like the rest of his body.

I wonder what it would be like to touch it.

I suddenly realize I have been stretching the same calf muscle for about six minutes. I wander to the rubber mats by a border mirror running the length of two walls and I quickly discard the intrusive thought of Theo with a shake of my head. Yes, just go ask your boyfriend's father if you can touch his abs. What would he think of you? Stupid. Still, the butterflies were there, the warmness in my stomach, the intrusive thoughts invade my mind with renewed vigor: feeling his hard body against mine, like at the airport and at the bedroom door...

My alert and focused mind, not muddled by exhaustion as it was earlier, processes the feelings and the truth finally dawns on me with the force of a sandcastle being hit by a tornado:

I am attracted to Eric's dad.

I am bent over stretching my hamstrings when the thought hits me like a foot to the face. My eyes widen and my mouth falls open. My eyes move to the left of my eye socket to lock onto Theo, then shifts to right to the border mirror showing my reflection. I cannot move. The only sounds are the music coming from Theo's headphones, my shaky breathing, and my own heart pounding. My mind is blank as I came to the realization, I am attracted to Theo.

The sounds of muffled music get louder as Theo approaches me from behind. I am not thinking about how he has a perfect view of my round ass. I am not thinking in general.

"How long are you going to hold that pose?" Theo's voice is filled with humor.

At the sound of his voice, I breakout from whatever comatose mental restraint I am in and straighten. I take a deep breath and I flick my hair back out of my face and turn, "My muscles are really tight for some reason. It felt good to be bent over."

'What the hell did I just say?' I think.

"A-and T-to be stretching my hamstrings for that long." I stutter quickly. I must have looked bashful because Theo's amused face dropped to a more serious look.

"Are you hurt? Did you pull something?" He looks down at my legs curiously.

"No, it's just tight," I glance in the mirror at myself as stroke the back of my thighs and bend over to rub my calves. "I think I overdid the run. I think the stress I have been holding in all year finally caught up to me."

I wipe my hands off on the front of my shirt. It was soaked with my sweat, and I had not noticed until now I was pretty much a participant in a wet white t-shirt contest. I look again at the mirror and see my cleavage perfectly visible, the sports bra highlighting my breasts. I put my hand on my hip, press my thumb and index finger to the bridge of my nose and slightly shake my head. The universe hates me.

*sigh*

"You need to stretch more and then go into the steam room. Drink some water, and then hit the jacuzzi. We still have about an hour before the pizza comes. Let me help you stretch out. It will not be good if you cannot walk tomorrow." He says in the same tone I heard on the phone.

Deep. Entrancing. Forceful

Like someone to be obeyed.

The realization of my attraction has released almost a torrent of slight tingles and warmth throughout my body, and I notice all the underlying feelings which I had dismissed earlier. The thought of him touching me, not just a hug, but his hands massaging me. Running all over my body. I feel my heart jump. I feel warmness between my thighs, my stomach dancing. I know what those feelings are now. They are not nerves. It is not tiredness. The overwhelming sensation I am feeling is not anxiety.

I am slightly turned on.

"I-I think I can handle it." I stammer. Get a grip Ashley. CMON. More forcefully, "Besides," I say with a sly grin, one I know I can pull off since it was well practiced. "I think I did it right all through college and it turned out fiiiiiine." I slowly close my eyes at the end and swat the air with my hand with a flick of my wrist. I want my tone to be dismissive.

"Nonsense. I learned many things from a physical therapy doctor, Jerry, when I hurt my shoulder last year. Good friend of mine. What you do with your body in your teens and 20's will come back to bite you later. I want to show you good form. I did the same thing with Eric when he was playing basketball in high school." He mimics my swatting of the air and puts his hand to his hip, like I have mine. He is making fun of me.

I feel my heart doing gymnastics in my chest. "Fiiiine. Let's get it over with..." I let my shoulders sag in mock pouting. What I really feel is entirely different. My body is shaking slightly. "I am excited to see the hot tub, and I have never been in a steam room." I lay down on the mat. "I am *cough* ready."

His booming, deep, lovely voice gets closer as he begins, "Ok!, No offence, but your method of static stretching is wrong. Static is better than nothing, but there is a better, safer way of stretching right before a workout. It is called dynamic stretching." He says the last words slowly as he backs up and runs through a couple of ways to stretch solo. I stand up and mimic his movements, swinging my legs in the air, trying to kick my knees into my chest, throwing my leg up like I am a dog taking a leak. By the end of it, I am laughing at how stupid I look.

"I feel like I am doing it wrong." I say through giggles. I am all fours with my bent left leg lifting and lowering. He comes closer and gets on his knees in front of me. He watches my form for a couple moments. "No, you are doing it right! It feels weird at first, but do you not feel better?" He asks. My leg continues to go up and down. I have to admit, I do feel better.

"Yes, I do. I just don't know if I feel comfortable doing this in public!" I grunt out a chuckle.

Up and down.

"Just look down and imagine you are alone. You are doing it in front of me just fine, and you have to not care what other people think of you. You are doing this. For. You." At the end of his sentence, he takes his finger and lightly taps the top of my head punctuating his point. "I know you have friends too, so you can also do the same stretches with a friend helping you. Let me show you."

He leans back to pull himself up. I am staring down at his knees as he does this, focusing on my form. His shorts tighten and he thrusts himself up without using his hands.

I see the outline of something very large briefly catching my eye as it bounces against the soft fabric of his shorts.

The realization of what I am seeing startles me.

I have seen pictures of penises before. I have felt Eric's through his pants, pressing against my ass whenever I straddled him for the briefest of moments when we could get away with it. I never thought much of the male appendage, deciding I would find out about it sooner or later.

The moment seems to last forever. The thing is big. I mean it is huge! Not even in the few pictures and videos I have seen of naked men compare to what I am staring at now. I have I never imagined a cock could be this size.

The old feelings flood back and are now stronger. I no longer am lifting my leg but stuck in the position on all fours as he talks about how important a partner is for healthy workouts. His voice seems so far away as my brain struggles to process everything I am feeling.

This is wrong.

I feel a flash of guilt at the thought of Eric. I should not feel this way. Why am I feeling this way? This never happened before. I have been around guys at college who were attractive, and I have never felt this way before. I jump slightly as I feel his hand against my side. I feel his rough hands tracing something. I break out of my stupor and look back at Theo.

"... takes about 40 seconds to atrophy and give way. That is why it is so important to stretch with a partner." He pauses and looks at me, his face waiting for the question he must have seen on my face. I nod my head for him to continue, as I roll over into a sitting position across from him.

"Are you ready?" He says, tilting his head back. God, his eyes are beautiful.

"Yes I am!" I say, my voice a little bit higher than usual. If he noticed, he did not say anything.

"Ok, the first one is with you lying on your back and I am going to help you pull your legs above your head. "He says as he uses his arms to simulate my legs. I lay down and feel the rubber mat compress next to me and he leans down on his knees and puts his hand underneath my thigh. "Ready?" He asks again, and I nod. I pull my legs up with his help and tell him when I feel the stretch. My shoulders are the only thing in contact with the floor, my arms at my side. My legs go further and further until I am staring at my knees. I look down and realize if Theo looks at my ass, he could also see the outline of my panties.

The thought brings a rush of warmth between my legs.

Get real Ashley. What is wrong with you.

"Keep your knees straight." Theo says in a low voice. "Do you feel it?"

'Oh, I am feeling something alright' I think.

"Yeah, that is the spot. It feels good." I grunt out, since the pressure of my legs being over my head is making it hard to breath. I then feel him bouncing my legs up and down, the feeling of being stretched intensifies and then relaxes. Tightness, and relief. Burning, and then tingles. I feel his hands press against the back of my thigh, above my ass but only just so.