Blind Luck

Cody felt the car pull off the main road, and then slowly pull into a parking spot a moment later. He had gotten pretty good at being able to tell what was going on around him, but he was constantly working to get better at it. For most of his life he had been blissfully unaware of his surroundings. It had never seemed important to him. Now he was painfully unaware of his surroundings, and he had to make an extreme effort just to know what was going on.

It had been nearly five years since he had lost his sight, and he was only now starting to get used to being able to take care of himself. He still needed help with all sorts of things he didn't before, like being driven around, but he was getting better at being alone. He had only just moved to town a week ago, and he didn't know anyone but his buddy Frank, who had been in the marines with him. Frank had been the one who sold Cody on moving in the first place, so he was going out of his way to help Cody out as he adjusted.

"Alright man," Frank said as he got out of the driver's side of his grey ford pickup. "You're gonna like it here. There's always hot chicks everywhere."

"I think I'm going to have to take your word for it Frank," Cody said as he climbed out of his side of the car.

"Oh, right, shit, my bad dude," Frank said as he remembered Cody wouldn't be able to appreciate the view of all the hot chicks working out.

"No worries," Cody laughed, "you can tell me about them later. I'm just hoping it will be easy to move around in there."

"What makes it easy?" Frank asked, still trying to get used to being his blind friend's guide.

"Not having shit lying on the ground," Cody said, taking his stick out, and shutting the door. "Or stuff being at weird angles where I'll bump into them. Shit you wouldn't even think of man. It's always shit you wouldn't even think of."

"Ya, I guess so," Frank said, pitying his blind friend a bit. "Here, this way," he took Cody's arm and pointed him in the right direction, and they started walking. When they got to the door, Frank held it open for Cody, and followed him in. "See man, I told you there's always hot chicks here," Frank said, admiring a few of the gorgeous women working out throughout the gym.

"No Frank, I don't see," Cody said flatly.

"Oh shit, my bad dude," Frank said, and slapped his own forehead. "I'm really sorry man, I'll get better at that, I swear."

"It's fine," Cody laughed. He was used to that kind of stuff, and he had thicker skin than most. He usually found it more amusing than insulting. "Just quit apologizing and show me where the benches are."

"They're right over there," Frank pointed, knowing Cody would get the joke.

"Very funny asshole," Cody said, nodding his head in amusement. Frank laughed loudly, and took Cody by the arm. As Frank led Cody over to a workout bench, he did notice there being random stuff on the ground. He never would have noticed before, but he understood what Cody meant. There was a dumbbell lying in their path, and Cody would have to be very lucky to hit it perfectly with his stick. He would almost definitely trip over it if Frank wasn't helping.

"Ya, there is a lot of shit on the ground," Frank said, leading Cody around the weight. "I never noticed before."

"Why would you," Cody pointed out, "you can just step over it."

"Ya," Frank agreed. They reached a free bench, and Frank took Cody's arm and helped him feel it. Cody nodded, and sat down. "Ok, how much weight on the bar?" Frank asked, walking over to the plates.

"Start with two forty fives on each side," Cody said. He was not in nearly as good of shape as he had been in before he got wounded, but he had kept some of it. He intended to get back in that kind of shape, which was exactly why he had asked Frank to take him to a gym. Cody could hear all the old familiar sounds of gym life, and it was instantly comforting. He could hear treadmills in the distance, and bars and weights crashing somewhere to his left. Someone nearby was grunting loudly, and it all made Cody feel more at ease. He didn't need to see to feel at home in a gym.

"Ok," Frank said with a grunt as he hefted the last plate onto the bar. "What about dumbbells?"

"Give me two thirties," Cody said, carefully laying down on the bench and reaching up for the bar. Frank fetched the weights, and placed them on either side of the bench, but not where Cody would trip on them. "Ok, you want a spot?"

"No, I got it," Cody said. "You go do your thing."

"You sure," Frank asked again. He wasn't used to helping someone like Cody out, and he felt a little weird about leaving a blind guy all alone in a busy gym.

"I'm good Frank," Cody said, lifting the bar up, and resting it above him for a moment. He brought the bar down, and then back up in a quick fluid motion. Frank watched for a moment, making sure Cody was indeed ok by himself, saw that he was, and walked away to try to hit on one of the many beautiful women in the gym. It was one of the nicest gyms in the area, and had a reputation for having very attractive people. Frank knew that meant he was more likely to get yelled at, but he didn't care; he wasn't going to just stare at all these babes without shooting his shot at least once.

Cody benched the bar seven times, and then felt his arms beginning to tire on him. He carefully placed the bar back, making sure it really was stable before letting go. He had once been able to bench that much weight twenty times with ease, but that was why he was here, to get back to that. He reached down, and found the dumbbells where Frank had left them for him. He lifted them up, and began doing curls.

Cody could hear girls working out close by, and wished he could see them. He had never truly appreciated how beautiful women were until he couldn't see them anymore. He still remembered though. And he still remembered what hot girls in gyms looked like. He even remembered working out in gyms before guys got yelled at for staring at girls. Now he just wished he could see them. He could hear the ones nearby talking quietly. He strained to hear them, but they were whispering, as if they didn't want him to hear. He always appreciated his own privacy, so he gave the girls theirs, and went back to working out. He lifted for a while, and then placed the weights back at his sides. For a moment he just sat on the bench, panting slightly from the lifting, and enjoying all the sounds going on around him.

"Um, excuse me," a woman's voice said from somewhere close by. Cody cocked his head to hear what was going on. The voice sounded angry. "Hey, are you really just going to stare at my ass like that?" The voice said. Cody chuckled softly to himself, wondering what idiot had just gotten caught. He wished he could see the perv and the girl. "Hey," the girl's voice said, closer and louder than before, and angrier. "Are you just going to ignore me? I'm talking to you creep. Quit staring at my ass!" Cody quickly realized that the girl was yelling at him, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud.

"You think that's funny!" The girl shouted. "I can have you banned from this gym you fucking creep!"

"Lady, I'm blind," Cody said, still laughing. He had gotten into similar situations a few times since going blind, but never quite this bad.

"Ya right," the girl said aggressively. "I saw you staring right at my ass."

"I'm blind," Cody said slowly, as if he were talking to an idiot. "I'm not staring at anything. Or rather, I'm staring at nothing," he corrected himself. "I'm staring into an abyss," he corrected again, trying to get it right for no reason at all. "Unfortunately your ass isn't in that abyss. Believe me, I wish it was. I'm sure your ass is worth staring at, but I'm afraid I'm incapable."

"Ugh, men are such pigs," the woman huffed, and Cody laughed again. "I'm going to get a manager. You'll be banned from this place creep!" Cody heard the woman storming off in the other direction, and just shook his head. He knew stuff like this happened, but it still got him every time. He did wonder where Frank had gotten to. He could probably make this whole thing go a lot smoother than it was currently going. Cody waited, but after a long moment of nothing happening and no one speaking to him, he laid back down and lifted the bar again. He only did three reps before hearing the girl's footsteps returning, accompanied by someone else's.

"That's him," the girl's voice said in a harsh accusatory manor. "He was blatantly staring at my ass. And then when I confronted him he said it was worth staring at. He needs to be kicked out." Cody had to be careful as he placed the bar back while he laughed even harder than before. He knew the girl had gotten someone who worked at the gym, and they had come to kick him out.

"Sir," a young man's voice said, already sounding stern. "This woman says you've been staring at her." Cody sat up, reached to his face, and pulled his sunglasses down with a big smile. He still didn't actually know what his eyes looked like, but he knew what kind of reaction they got from people. They didn't disappoint. He could hear several gasps as he showed off his eyes, and wondered how many people were watching this all go down.

"I'm blind," Cody said, covering his eyes again. "I wasn't staring at her or anything else. I'm sure she is well worth staring at, but I wasn't. Because I cant. Because I'm blind." Cody could hear people laughing softly close by, including at least one girl.

"I'm so sorry sir," the man's voice said. "This was all a big mistake."

"No problem," Cody shrugged. "Does that mean I'm not in trouble?"

"No sir," the man said quickly. "I'm very sorry about this. If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks," Cody nodded, "I've got it all taken care of for now."

"This is bullshit," the woman's voice said angrily. "He probably isn't even blind."

"Mam, this man is very clearly blind," the gym worker said, sounding properly offended on Cody's behalf.

"Then how did he even get here," the woman asked. "Isn't he like, supposed to have some kind of blind dog or something?"

"They're called service animals or seeing eye dogs," Cody said, "and mine is around here somewhere. He'll show up sooner or later."

"Uh, actually we don't allow service animals in the building," the young employee said uncomfortably.

"I know," Cody chuckled, "I was kidding. My buddy brought me here. I think he's over by the ellipticals or something. He'll come get me sooner or later."

"Right, sorry," the worker said. "Mam, I'm sorry for any discomfort you might have experienced, but this was all clearly a big misunderstanding."

"How do you even know he's blind," the woman said, not letting it go.

"Seriously," Cody laughed again, and pulled his glasses back down. He heard a few gasps again, even though he had already shown his eyes.

"Mam, he is very obviously not lying," the man said, getting stern with her now. "Now if you would please go back to your workout, and let this gentleman get back to his."

"But he's just going to go back to staring at my ass," the woman said, and Cody shook his head and laughed harder. He had never experienced anyone not accept it after the mistake was clearly made.

"Mam, please, he's blind," the worker said more firmly. The young man sounded equally flummoxed and annoyed. "Now if you don't leave him alone I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Are you fucking kidding me, me!" the girl said, as if she couldn't believe such a thing could even be spoken aloud. "He's the one perving on people!"

"Dude, he wasn't staring at your ass," a new girl's voice said from somewhere off to the left. "He's blind, just leave him alone."

"So no one has a problem with this guy staring at girls in the gym" the first girl said, not giving up a single inch.

"He's not staring," the second girl said. "I do have a problem with the way you're treating this guy though."

"So do I," a man's voice said from further away. Two more voices quickly agreed.

"Mam, I'm going to have to ask you to leave now," the employee's voice said.

"This is ridiculous," the woman shouted angrily.

"We agree," the second, more rational girl said, and Cody had to smile at that. Cody heard the aggressive woman finally storm off again, and then a bit of a murmur from the spectators.

"I'm very sorry about this sir," the young man said.

"It's fine man," Cody laughed. "It happens. They usually give up when they see my eyes though."

"Well I appreciate you being so understanding," the worker said, clearly getting uncomfortable again.

"No problem," Cody said. "I'm going to go back to my workout now, if that's ok."

"Yes sir, of course," the employee said, sounding glad to be done with the uncomfortable situation he had found himself in. "Please call if you need anything." Cody nodded, and then heard the guy walking away quickly. He heard the other people all slowly go back to what they were doing, and guessed that the little scene was over. He lay back down, and was about to pick the bar back up, when the second girl's voice spoke up from right next to him.

"I'm really sorry about that," she said, much softer than she had been speaking before. She had a nice gentle voice with just the slightest hint of rasp, and Cody liked the sound of it. "I can't believe she did that. I mean I guess I get the initial misunderstanding, but sticking with it was crazy."

"Ya, that was different," Cody said, sitting back up. He wished he could see what this new girl looked like. She had a very sexy voice.

"Are you new here, I haven't seen you around before," she said. "I mean, I... sorry, I hope that isn't offensive."

"It isn't," Cody said, wishing people would stop treating him like that. "Just because I can't see doesn't mean everyone else has to stop." The girl laughed, a cute girlish laugh that made Cody even more intrigued than he had been a moment ago. "But ya, I am new here," Cody said. "In fact I'm new to town. I just moved here this week."

"Cool, where did you move from," the girl asked.

"Ohio," Cody said.

"Wow, that's a big move," the girl said, sounding surprised. Cody understood. It was weird for a blind guy to move across the country.

"Ya, my buddy Frank convinced me to move here," Cody said, wondering where the hell Frank had gone. "He also convinced me to come to this gym."

"Well I'm glad he did," the girl laughed, "that was one of the craziest things I've ever seen. I'm Britney by the way."

"Cody," Cody said, and stuck his hand out to the darkness. He waited a second, and then felt a soft, delicate, but still strong feeling hand meet his in the air. He wrapped his hand around Britney's and shook it, enjoying the size and feel of her hand. Again he wished he knew what she looked like. But he reminded himself that it really didn't matter. She seemed nice, and she sounded nice too. Her looks weren't going to matter to him no matter what she looked like.

"It's nice to meet you Cody," Britney said, pulling her hand back. "I've been working out here for three years, and I've seen that girl do that before. I'm glad she finally got what she deserves."

"I don't know," Cody said, "she sounded pretty hot." Britney laughed her pretty girlish laugh again.

"Ya, she is," Britney confirmed.

"How about her butt," Cody asked with a big grin, "was it worth staring at?"

"Oh, definitely," Britney said, still laughing pleasantly.

"Damn, doesn't it suck to do the time without getting to do the crime," he said, and they both laughed.

"Well look at you," Frank's voice said, and Cody heard him walking over to them. "I leave you alone for ten minutes and you're already chatting up the ladies."

"It's been more than ten minutes Frank," Cody said, "you kind of missed a lot."

"What do you mean?" Frank asked, sounding worried.

"Some girl accused Cody of staring at her ass," Britney said before Cody could. "And she made a total scene of it."

"Oh shit, seriously," Frank said.

"Ya, it was pretty funny actually," Cody said. "I even got to show everyone my crazy eyes. They got the usual response."

"Shit, sorry dude," Frank said. "I guess I have to keep a closer eye on you huh, I mean, oh shit. My bad dude, I keep doing that."

"Frank, you're allowed to have eyes," Cody said, and he heard Britney laugh quietly beside him. "And you're allowed to use them. And you're allowed to talk about using them. Just stop fucking apologizing for it."

"Copy that," Frank said, and Cody could tell he was blushing without needing to see it.

"But hey, everything happens for a reason, right," Cody said. "I mean if that chick hadn't caused a full on scene, I might not be here talking to Britney."

"That's right," Britney said. "I never go up to guys at the gym, but it was sort of necessary there. The kid working here looked scared shitless."

"I could tell," Cody laughed. "He sounded like he thought he would definitely get fired."

"Damn, I guess I really missed the show," Frank said. "Are you almost done here?" he asked Cody.

"Not really," Cody said. "I've only done a set and a half on the bench and one with the bells."

"I'll let you two finish your workout," Britney said, and Cody could hear her moving away. "I'll see you around Cody," she said as she left.

"Not if I see you first," Cody called after her, and he heard her laughing again as she walked away.

"Damn dude," Frank said once she was gone. "That chick was fucking hot."

"She sounded hot," Cody nodded, wishing he knew what Britney looked like.

"Ya man," Frank agreed. "I'm not even kidding though, that chick is like a ten."

"Don't tell me what she looks like," Cody said. "I want to try to find out for myself."

"Oh ya," Frank laughed. "You think you have a shot?"

"Maybe," Cody shrugged. "She sounded friendly. And she came up to me. When we leave see if you can lead me by her."

"Nice," Frank said. "You still got it man."

"We'll see," Cody said, and then added, "well, you will I guess. I'll just find out." Cody went back to his workout, with Frank spotting him now. They worked out together for an hour, taking turns spotting each other. Frank felt a little nervous having a blind spotter, but he did know Cody was capable of lifting the weight. And he certainly had no trouble hearing, so he figured it would be fine. When they were both finished, they began packing up, and Frank looked around to see if Britney was still in the gym. It took him a moment, and he thought she had left, and then he saw her on the stair machine. He glanced over at Cody, saw him staring off in the other direction, and then looked back at Britney. Frank gawked openly for a moment, staring at the way Britney's ass moved as she took long steps up the moving machine. Frank thought she had just about the best ass he had ever seen.

"Alright, ready," Cody asked, still staring off at nothing.

"Ya," Frank said, and took Cody by the arm. Britney wasn't on the way out of the gym, but there was a vending machine over by where she was. Frank checked his pocket, felt a dollar bill, and began leading Cody in that direction. Cody just followed Frank, not knowing or caring where he was being led. He hadn't worked out that hard in years, and it felt great. He was still thinking about the awkward but amusing scene the woman had caused earlier, as well as his nice chat with Britney after, when he heard her voice again.

"You guys leaving already?" Britney said from somewhere off to their right.

"Yep," Frank said, letting go of Cody. "I'm just grabbing a power bar first." Cody heard Frank walking away, and just stood there, not knowing what might be on the ground around him. He could still hear a lot of people working out in different manners all around him.

"I still cant believe how crazy that girl was," Britney said, and Cody could tell she had walked up to him. He wasn't sure if it was coming from her, but he could smell a very nice fragrance that he hadn't a moment ago.