Personal Trainer - Lydia Trains Zach Ch. 07

Chapter 7 (tags: same as for Ch 1-4)

Zach had written — what? — five different versions of a text message to ask Lydia out before he trashed each text, thinking he could do better.

Should do better.

"Hey Lydia. Wanna hang Saturday night?" was not even a thought that made it into his head. Hook-up culture was not even in his head. Friends with benefits was not even in his head.

Not a single damned thing that might convey that Zach was nonchalant about asking Lydia out made it into his head. He wanted to go out with her so badly that he was nervous and anxious about making the right impression with her — even though she already told him she was going to say yes!

"Fuck it," he muttered, tossing his cell phone on his bed next to him as he lay propped up against the headboard. I should call her to ask her out, he finally decided. I'm different — she's different — and all the stuff that's happened between us to this point makes this way different from any kind of first date that's going to happen as a result of her saying yes to a text about getting together sometime soon.

He knew it was the right decision. Call her. Ask her out. Be a gentleman, have some class. Don't take for granted that Lydia Tanner is like other women. She's special, so stand up and treat her special!

He picked up the phone and swiped to Lydia's number. But he paused before tapping to call.

What's the best first date I can plan for us? he thought. If I'm going to talk to her, I need to ask her if she'd like to do what I've planned for a date.

Zach laid the phone down to think this through . . .

***

. . . and when he wiped away the cum he'd spurted onto his chest after masturbating to thoughts of being with Lydia, he dropped the towel onto the pile of workout clothes and underwear he was going to wash later that day and pulled on some clean sweat pants, grabbed his phone, and walked to his desk and laptop.

Let's see what's happening in the city on Saturday night. He clicked on his favorite search engine, and began scrolling to find something special that he hoped Lydia would enjoy.

Hmm . . . a first date that she'll remember forever, he mused. After trying a search term or two, "romantic restaurants" came to mind, and the search yielded multiple lists compiled by various sources. He'd been to several of the restaurants but decided he liked a new bistro on the east side of the city best: the pictures showed an elegant room tastefully lit, not too big, tables not too close together, warm wood and a fireplace. "Soft, smooth jazz" was listed as part of the ambiance. And the reviews were excellent.

Done, he thought to himself, and he picked up his phone to call, ensuring he could get a reservation. What time? he asked himself before tapping in the restaurant's number. Do I need to plan dinner around some other activity? He lowered his phone. Of course! What's going to go with dinner? And is dinner before or after?

It had been years since Zach had given so much thought to planning a date.

A comedy club with dinner after? he wondered, but he quickly discarded the idea. No guarantee the comics would be good, and their material might be too over-the-top for us to enjoy together before we know more about each other, he thought.

The opera? The scene from the movie "Pretty Woman" flashed in his mind. It was an intriguing idea, but he quickly discarded it. Not for a first date — it would probably come across as too showy, too much like I'm trying to impress her.

But Zach did want to impress Lydia. He just wanted to do it in the right way.

This has to be a perfect date, one that will make Lydia certain that being with me outside of being my trainer is something she wants more of, he thought, idly scratching his chin with the edge of his phone as he leaned back in the chair at his desk.

A play? A concert?

It took half an hour before Zach had assembled a date agenda he thought was best: First stop would be one of his favorite spots for winding down after work — they had an inventive array of appetizers and munchies along with a nice beer and wine selection. Then he and Lydia would go to a play at the local university where the Theatre Arts Department was performing a feel-good musical. Then they'd go to the restaurant for a late dinner.

Working out all the timings, Zach figured he needed to make the dinner reservation for 9:45 PM, and he called the restaurant to lock it in. Next was the online purchase of the tickets to the musical. Then he called Maxine's, his spot for an always-dependable wind-down after work. One of the hostesses answered, and he asked to speak with Maxine. Letting him know it might take a minute because she was in the kitchen, the hostess forwarded his call, putting him on hold.

"Well, Zach Brenner," Maxine's unique, silky voice came through the phone after a minute or so, "what can I do for one of our favorite customers?"

"Hi, Max," Zach replied, smiling at the mental picture of Maxine, her perfectly applied make-up a trademark on her pretty ebony face. She would, of course, be moving a bit slowly through the kitchen on her arthritic knee, phone to her ear, no doubt leaning in over something to pass judgment on the state of its preparation before sending it out to the dining room and bar. "Just making sure you and your fabulous establishment are going to be the normal top-notch experience for something special I have going on Saturday night."

Max paused before moving to check on the preparation of a charcuterie board at the hands of one of the chefs. "Mr. Brenner," she said, one hand on her hip, "don't be coy with me. What you really mean is 'some ONE special' — isn't that right?"

Zach laughed. "Max, you know me too well."

"Hmph," she responded. "Guy like you in here as often as you come in — alone — over all the time I've known you?" She tapped the chef working on the charcuterie board and gave her a thumbs-up. "Maybe twice you've brought in a young lady. Are you ashamed of my food?"

"You know that's not it," Zach answered, continuing the good-natured banter.

Max was a treasure.

"If you are calling me up just to check on things for Saturday night, that in itself is special because you know we always are top-notch around here." Pausing for a moment, Max then said, "So this must be somebody that's got your interest pretty powerfully, huh?"

Zach's answer was immediate. "Oh, she's got my interest, all right."

"I see," Max replied thoughtfully. "Then I will personally be the one bringing out the food to your table, Mr. Brenner. I have to meet this woman."

"Thanks, Max. I know you'll make a great impression on her."

"Hmm. Anxious about making a good impression, are we?" Max put the phone against her chest to call across the kitchen about something happening with the cheese carving. "Sorry," she said, phone back to her ear, "gotta make sure everything is the way it's supposed to be."

"Which is exactly the reason I want to bring Lydia to Maxine's as the start to our date on Saturday," Zach said. He meant every word, and Max heard it in his voice.

"Oh, my," she said, drawing out the syllables, "Miss Lydia must be something special, huh, Zach?"

"If you only knew," Zach laughed. "And you'll meet her Saturday night."

***

It had been two days and, what — three self-induced orgasms (no, make that four) — since their last workout session, and Lydia was still on a Zach high from that last, incredible work-out at his townhome. Witnessing his cock rise to full erection and hardness in front of her and then, oh my god!, touching it and tasting his delicious pre-cum . . . Shit! thought Lydia, that was unbelievably erotic. It got me so wet! she thought, still incredulous at what she'd done.

The conversation on his workout bench might have been more arousing: Zach said he wants to go out with me on a date, get to know me as a woman who's more than just his trainer. He wants to be with me!

Lydia had given up trying to figure out what Zach was doing to her other than knowing it was driving her mad with lust, excitement, anticipation, and the nervousness of first-date butterflies mixed with a powerful, pulsing need to have sex with him. Accepting it for what it was meant she could at least think about their last workout session, and everything that transpired, with a freedom she hadn't yet allowed herself. Zach's admission to her about what he wanted — To go out with me, to get to know me! — and hoped she also wanted dissolved her anxious thoughts about whether Zach was interested in her more beyond just being a personal trainer.

And beyond that, as just being a woman who was feeding some private kink of his about being naked in front of her — even if she was delighted to do just that!

Then she remembered the embarrassing drive home and the even more embarrassing close call with her neighbor Mary.

Good grief!

But then she thought of what she would orchestrate as 'Ms. Tanner' at their next work-out.

Mmmm . . . oh, my god! Yes!

And then she thought about dating Zach. Was she somehow going to be able to compartmentalize away 'Ms. Tanner' on dates with him so she could get to know him? If so, how would she navigate between the rush of dating Zach — and all the teenage-crush anticipation it would bring - and the rush of being woman-in-charge when he was nude in front of her and she was enjoying every second of the sexually-charged scenario she would be orchestrating?

Had any woman ever had to figure this out?

But Zach hadn't contacted her yet to ask her out on a date.

Waiting for him to contact her was fifty times worse than any of the times in the past when she wondered whether some guy would ask her out, even with her former husband the first time he did it. (The decidedly teen-age version in vogue at the time as the guy tried to play cool to the girl and the girl playing nonchalant to the guy — "Wanna hang out sometime?" — was Kenny's unremarkable method for asking her out all those years ago when she'd said yes to the guy she would eventually marry.)

Come on, Zach, Lydia thought impatiently. Don't make me wait in agony! You know I'll say yes.

Then, the next evening, he called.

"Uh, hi Lydia," he began, and a flock of butterflies roosted in Lydia's stomach at the sound of his voice through the phone. "Having a good day?"

"Hi, Zach. Yeah. You?"

"It's going great, but I hope it's going to get even better."

God, you sexy man!

"How's that?"

"Would you like to go out on Saturday night?"

The butterflies dissipated, replaced by a warming sensation that Lydia had come to expect when in Zach's presence, even if right now it was only his voice on the phone.

"That would be lovely, Zach," she said, exhaling and smiling broadly. "I'd like that a lot."

And so the conversation began with Zach's description of what he'd planned, how much he thought she'd like Maxine's and that he enjoyed the thought of trying out a new restaurant with her, one he had chosen carefully and thought she'd like.

Lydia felt like the most special woman in the world as she listened to Zach describe their impending date. He is putting so much effort into arranging things!

"I hope you'll enjoy the evening, Lydia," he said. "I know I will. I have to admit to being nervous about finally getting a date set up."

She had heard the nervousness in his voice at the start of the call. But he'd settled down as the conversation went on.

"Oh, and before I forget," Zach said, "I've looked at the restaurant menu and know how I can get a good meal without blowing my diet, both at the restaurant and at Maxine's, where they pretty much know by now that I like the healthy stuff."

Lydia loved hearing this. It meant Zach was serious about continuing to make progress in his training. That meant he was taking for granted the fact that his training would continue.

And that meant Ms. Tanner would continue putting Mr. Brenner through his paces.

Perfect!

"That sounds great, Zach. I'm sure I'll also find good choices at both spots."

The phone conversation continued for another minute before Zach said goodbye. Lydia loved listening to his voice over the phone.

A naughty thought came to her mind: If I can get a picture of Zach nude and erect, I could put it up on my computer monitor and look at it when we're talking on the phone.

Her thought during their last workout about somehow getting a picture of Mr. Brenner during his naked time in front of her came back to her. Here it was again, this time connected to looking at the picture while she talked to him.

Oh, yeah, she thought. I like this idea.

And then Lydia drifted into a daydream about the various poses she would like: Which one would be best? Most exciting? What will my plan be to get him into that pose when he's naked at our next session?

***

The date was a smashing success — they both loved their time together, talking and laughing and just getting to know each other. In many ways, it was a giant relief to be away from their trainer-client relationship.

Max, true to her promise, personally served Zach and Lydia their selections. "Well, well, Zach," she said, setting the tray and plates on the table, "you'll need to introduce me to your friend." She smiled at Lydia and leaned toward her, making a show of drawing her into her confidence. "Mr. Brenner promised me an introduction."

Max's comment let Lydia know he had told her about Lydia.

Zach is talking about me to other people, she thought. He's proud of being with me, of introducing me to people he knows.

A warm body-smile wrapped itself around Lydia. It felt so good, so right.

"Max, this is Lydia. We met at the gym, where she works."

"My, my, my," Max said, smiling at Lydia. "Now I understand why Zach is so, shall we say, 'picky', with my food. He must want to stay in good shape for someone like you, Lydia. I can tell you have a dedication to keeping your figure in top-notch form, too."

Lydia smiled, a little surprised at Max's estimation of things, and saying it right out loud upon meeting her for the first time. "Well, I suppose so," she said, glancing at Zach for a moment before returning her smile toward Max. "But, it's kind of important to be fit myself in order to have my training clients think I know what I'm doing."

Max looked at Zach and then back at Lydia. "Hmmm. So maybe I should get you two to be in a commercial for my establishment or something. You know: 'We love the food at Maxine's. It's so good, and good for us, too!'" Max laughed the way Lydia loved to hear. "People seeing you two rave about my food might get me some new customers."

Zach returned Max's laugh. "You know good and well that most people coming in here would pig out on your great food."

"It does look delicious!" Lydia chimed in as she reached for one of the appetizers.

"And that's fine with me," Max said, grinning at them. Then she looked at Lydia and again went into conspiratorial tone: "That's the regular folk coming in here, but Mr. Brenner," and she cocked her head in Zach's direction as she spoke to Lydia, "he's the customer who's the challenge, what with his constant questions about, 'What's the calorie count on this, Max?' and 'There's no canola oil in this, right?'"

Lydia's giggle was difficult through a mouthful of an absolutely delicious bite of the fare from the plate on the table. Drawing her napkin to her mouth, she finally managed to get out, "He told me he was sticking to the eating plan I laid out for him, and I guess this proves it."

Max's eyebrows rose in surprise. "So you two met at the gym," she said to Zach, repeating what he'd told her a few minutes before. "But you didn't say Miss Lydia here is your trainer." It was a mock scolding tone from Max.

"Come on, Max," Zach answered good-naturedly, "let me have some secrets about my lady friend."

Raising her hands in surrender, Max grinned. "Okay, okay. I know my place." With a twinkle in her eye, she leaned toward Lydia and said, "Mr. Brenner is a mysterious fellow with his secrets, huh?"

Lydia looked straight into Zach's pretty blue eyes and said, "He has his secrets, all right." She returned her gaze to Max and finished her comment with, "I even know some of them."

Realizing it was the perfect moment to leave her favorite customer and his date to themselves, Max said, "You two enjoy yourselves and my food," and she turned to leave, but then paused, looking back at Lydia. "This one is a good one, Miss Lydia. He's too embarrassed to say it himself, but I don't suffer from a stifled tongue. I hope you two get along just fine."

And Max eased her way back into the kitchen, calling out to one of the hostesses on the way to move table number six just a little to the right to be centered under the picture on the wall.

Lydia's comment to Max about knowing some of his secrets caught Zach's attention.

"I guess we both know some secrets about each other," he said, a playful grin on his face as he reached for one of the selections on the plate between Lydia and him.

She leaned over the table toward him to give him a light kiss on the cheek, but she lingered, her face close to his. "Ground rules, Zach. Remember our ground rules," she said. "I'll soak through my panties if you start mentioning Ms. Tanner and what she's done."

Lydia eased herself back into her chair, a very small smile on her lips. She reached for another bite of the delicious appetizers Max had prepared.

Zach was flummoxed at the remark. The date, and everything leading up to it with all his planning and making the arrangements, had brought a sense of normalcy, a sense of being on solid ground as a guy taking a beautiful girl out on a date.

But here was Lydia — once again! — throwing him a curve ball. In spite of her 'ground rules' as she specifically detailed them at their last workout session, that comment to Max and then the unbelievably sexy thing she'd just said to him seemed to be edging right up to the line between in-bounds and out-of-bounds for how she said their dates must go.

God, Lydia! he thought, gazing into her eyes as her smile broadened, you continue to make me crazy and to enchant me at the same time. He heard her words in his head: "I'll soak through my panties . . ."

For a fleeting second, he thought of pulling Lydia from her chair to hustle her out to his car and drive her straight to his place where they'd rip each other's clothes off and alternate between passionate, tender love and pure animalistic lust.

Zach's cock stiffened a bit in his slacks at that thought. He squirmed to try to readjust.

None of it was lost on Lydia.

Mmm, Zach. Did I arouse you with my comment?

In truth, Lydia had also aroused herself by saying the words to her date for the evening.

Her pussy was moistening.

And it was only the start of the date!

"Wow, Zach," she said, reaching for another appetizer, "you were absolutely right about the food at Maxine's. This is amazing!"

It was a calculated comment meant to distract herself from her previous train of thought. "How did you find this place? It's not a place I've heard of, which makes me think it must be some sort of closely guarded secret."

She saw him exhale just a little. The sexual tension was broken, as it needed to be.

It was going to be her perfect date with her perfect man, but even knowing that, Lydia still wanted the full experience of a first date with a potential boyfriend. She was dying to know more about this guy — so much more than what she'd learned talking with him about training routines and during expected social small-talk conversations. She wanted to know everything about Zach!