A View To Die For*

Work hard at the gym. For once there is a cute boy there. He is tanned and has shaggy dirty blond hair and a signet ring. Looks about twenty seven. Also he is wearing tights under his shorts but never mind. We’ll forgive him that.

Approaching him, I say “Hi, would you like to go out for a coffee?”

“I’m extremely flattered,” he says, in a mellifluous drawl, looking up at me from his recumbent posture on the chest press. “But I have a girlfriend.”

“Oh,” I say, and skulk back to the Pectoral machine.

“He could still have had a coffee with you,” Mum says when I tell her. “What did he think you were going to do to him? Silly boy.”

It’s so rare that there is anyone attractive at the gym. Anyway: if you don’t ask you don’t get. And usually if you do ask you don’t get either, but still it’s better to have a go. The last attractive chap at the gym who I turned my attentions to also refused to go for a coffee with me. He said “I have responsibilities at home.”

That was years ago. That was when my cousin used to come to Pilates with me: say four years ago. Which gives you an idea of how seldom I find anyone at the gym attractive. Oh, there was also Josh when I was writing Scars, Tears and Training Bras, my previous blog. So he was about three years ago. I never even got round to asking him for a coffee, just chatted him up in an incompetent way.

On the plus side: Crufts starts tonight. The parentals are going out so I can watch Crufts from 6.30pm to 9pm with my fluffy monster. It’s the Working and Pastoral groups which contain some of my favourite dogs and there will be Agility, Flyball and the Golden Retriever Display Team or whatever they’re called – the dancing Golden Retrievers. I love Crufts.

Can’t sleep this afternoon but will sleep well tonight I hope.

The attached photo is today’s gym outfit. How could that boy not fancy me, one wonders…

Happy Thursday everyone!

*2012. By Richard Houston. Book 1 in the To Die For series, starring Jacob Martin and his Golden Retriever Fred. Set in the Missouri Ozarks. This is the second series of Golden Retriever Mystery novels I’ve discovered!