Membership
Chapter 9
“You said you wanted to work on your endurance right?” The blonde turned her head to the brunette as they walked toward the treadmills.
“Oh uh yeah, I guess.” She smiled to herself. It was a small thing to remember, the fact that she needed to build her stamina, especially since Villanelle was an expert on this sort of thing, but Eve still found it endearing. The professor met eyes with Elena who was just stepping off another treadmill, smirking at her as she went across the room toward the weights. Why was she smirking? Nothing was happening. Stop it Elena.
“Start on here,” Villanelle put her hand on one of the treadmill’s handles and looked back to the brunette, “Start at a low incline but increase the speed after about 5 minutes. Then keep up a good jog for about 10 minutes and then you can cool down,” Eve was nodding as she spoke but the words were going in one ear and out the other.
She could see how much the blonde knew about physiology and it was… attractive. The professor tried to tell herself that anyone who had a passion was attractive and that it wasn’t just Villanelle, “And that will help me assess your level more accurately so we know when to increase the intensity. Eve? Did you get that?”
Oh god, she missed most of it, if not all of it.
“Yep yep, start at a small incline and then go faster.” Eve stepped onto the treadmill, the blonde still resting her arm on the handle, looking up at her.
“Don’t go too hard, you don’t want to pull… anything,” The blonde traced her eyes over the brunette’s legs and she had to admit that those leggings suited her. Eve didn’t know how to act since Villanelle wasn’t very subtle. Oksana never was either but then again, she hadn’t seen her in 8 years. Old habits die hard, Eve assumed. She wanted to know what other old habits the blonde still had…
“You did stretch right?” Villanelle kicked back to gym-owner mode and looked back up at Eve, whose face was bright red. The professor shook her head.
“Tsk tsk Eve,” The blonde tutted, gesturing for the professor to follow her back to the front of the room where she’d first been doing bicep curls, “Stretching before exercise will allow your muscles to loosen up which reduces the chance of injury. And I’m not letting you get injured because you forgot to stretch.” She looked at Eve and the professor was shocked to actually see some form of concern in her eyes. Did she have that for all her customers? Did she help all her patrons with their workouts like this? If not, why was she doing it for Eve?
“So we will start with our hamstrings,” Eve loved the way her accent curled around that word, she couldn’t lie, she definitely missed her accent, “Keep your feet shoulder width apart,” Villanelle stood, extending her legs outward and the professor couldn’t help but notice the muscles in her thighs, “Then extend your left leg but keep your toes pointed up and your heel on the ground. And keep your hips back,” She held her hips and Eve was noticing everything about the other woman. The way her forearm muscles flexed as she put her hands on her hips, her calf muscle as she pushed her leg outward, her fucking abs which infuriated Eve but she knew she’d gotten those within the past 8 years and they were annoyingly perfect, “Then reach your left hand down to your left foot but keep your leg straight throughout the stretch,” She bent down and now Eve could only notice her ass in those stupidly bright leggings. Come on, this wasn’t fair. I guess this was why Eve was at the gym. Whether it was for Villanelle or to build her endurance, she doesn’t exactly know, “Hold the stretch for 30 seconds then do the other side.” She stood up gesturing for Eve to do what she just demonstrated.
“Okay... oh! Do you have an extra hair tie? I forgot mine.” Eve was about to mimic what Villanelle had just done but realized her hair was still down.
“Oh,” Oksana had mentioned frequently how much she loved the brunette’s hair, “Here.” She handed the professor a hair band from her wrist and stared, eyes wide, as Eve put it up into a ponytail. Yup, she still loved her hair.
The professor then tried to recreate the pose the blonde was just in but she had no idea if she was doing it right. Luckily, she didn’t have to wonder because Villanelle examined her and eventually bent down on a knee to straighten out Eve’s left leg. Don’t blame her, it hurt when she didn’t bend it, but she assumed that was kind of the point.
Villanelle put a hand on Eve’s thigh and one on her calf, holding the leg straight. The professor could barely focus because she realized how close their faces were. The blonde was kneeling on the ground and Eve was bending down, their eyes on the same level now. She barely noticed the pain building up in her leg.
The blonde tried not to make eye contact with the professor, trying to focus on helping her perform the stretch correctly, but she moved her eyes up slightly and was immediately met with those brown eyes. Neither of them liked the tension but neither of them wanted it to end.
“Does it hurt?” She whispered, her hands not moving from the brunette’s leg. Why did she whisper? It wasn’t a weird thing to say and they were in her gym after all. She had always done stupid things around the brunette. For the brunette.
Let’s call it The Eve Effect.
“Yeah.” Eve breathed, the pain now shooting up her entire leg.
“We can switch legs now,” Villanelle quickly stood, the brunette missing her touch, and went to her other side.
Eve did a few more exercises, trying to focus on warming up her muscles, before Villanelle guided her back to the treadmill.
“Here I will set you up,” She pushed some buttons on the treadmill’s control board and then looked back at Eve, “I will be over there if you need me or if you pass out.” She gestured to the front and winked, leaving the brunette speechless. How did this woman have such an effect on her? Eve never felt like this with anyone before. She controlled her thoughts, emotions, even her decisions. She chose to go to this gym… right?
Eve got on the treadmill and started jogging, slowly. When she looked up, she saw Villanelle at the front, talking to some woman. She looked familiar. The brunette remembered her, it was Nadia. Eve met her briefly after that first spin class.
The brunette could tell Nadia was flirting across the room, she was touching the blonde affectionately and laughing after everything Villanelle said. Eve was feeling jealous, but she didn’t know that nor would she ever admit it. She just thought that Villanelle should be working out, not chatting in a gym. That was gym etiquette, right? Eve didn’t know but she did know that she was running faster. A lot faster. She didn’t even feel the lactic acid build in her legs. All she could feel was whatever she was feeling as she watched Villanelle.
After a few minutes, Nadia turned and left down the hall. Eve felt… relieved. But only for a moment because the blonde pulled out a mat and started doing push-ups. Fucking push-ups. The brunette was trying to focus on her incline, on her speed, on her running, on anything other than the blonde. But she kept staring at Villanelle, at her muscles, at her body, at her… everything. Eve never knew she could be attracted to someone sweating and grunting on a mat in a gym but… fuck. Villanelle was very much in shape.
The treadmill started to slow on its own, Eve assumed the blonde had put a certain time limit on it, and eventually it came to a complete stop. The brunette noticed how sweaty she was but she’d only been jogging for 15 minutes. The weird thing was, she didn’t feel that tired so maybe this gym idea was a good thing after all. She stepped off the treadmill and pulled her shirt up to wipe off the sweat from her forehead. When she looked up, she saw Villanelle… staring at her.
Obviously, the blonde still found the professor attractive. She had 8 years ago and that wasn’t going to change now. She had a type. But, if anything, she found Eve more attractive. So, when she saw Eve’s stomach as she lifted her shirt, the blonde froze. Too many memories came flooding back. She didn’t even realize she’d been caught until Eve was walking up to her.
“Thank you for the…” The brunette gestured back toward the treadmill. Why she was thanking her, Eve had no idea. It was her job but the professor still felt like she had to, for some reason.
“No problem, Eve. I hope it helps. Endurance is a tough one, you will have to work at it.”
“Yeah, will do.”
The professor was weirdly excited to workout again. Other than seeing Nadia flirt with Villanelle, she actually enjoyed the gym. She felt relaxed but also energized. She didn’t know how to explain it but she enjoyed the feeling. What she didn't like was whatever was happening with Villanelle.
She didn’t know what they were - friends? Acquaintances? What did the blonde think of her, after all this time? What did she think of the blonde, after all this time? The fact that she didn’t hate her made her question everything. She should hate her. But she couldn’t. When she thought of Oksana, she thought of the happiness and joy the other woman made her feel. She still felt that when she thought about Villanelle. Sure, there was hurt and pain, but the happiness was all she could focus on. The way Oksana spoke French, the way Oksana always picked Disney movies to watch, the way Oksana loved the snow. Did Villanelle feel the same about those things? It was all Eve could think about and she needed answers.
“Well, I hope to see you here again. You’re welcome anytime.” The blonde smiled, not wanting Eve to leave, but was happy that the brunette actually came to her gym.
At first, she didn’t want to see Eve anywhere near here but now all she wanted was for the brunette to continue to come. The blonde realized she liked seeing her. Just seeing her. She didn’t want to talk, just in case they’d talk about the past, and she didn’t want to touch her… just in case, she started feeling what she used to feel. But, Villanelle was now realizing, it was way too late for that. She was feeling everything she felt and more. Konstantin, unfortunately, was right. She needed to get to know Eve… again if she was ever going to get these feelings under control.
“Can I start a membership?” Eve asked, knowing that would be the perfect way to continue to see the blonde. She needed to figure out what she was feeling and why. She needed answers and to do so, she needed to know who Villanelle is.
“Oh you- yeah, you can, of course,” Villanelle hated how she stuttered. She didn’t want her shock to be visible. She hadn’t expected Eve to want to come back. She wanted her to but the way the brunette had spoken to her outside Dina’s bar, Villanelle assumed she just wanted their relationship to be cordial and polite, “Hugo is at the front, he can do it for you.”
“Okay, thanks Vil.” Eve didn’t realize she used a nickname until she was in front of Hugo at the front desk. The blonde noticed it immediately, but luckily her back was turned and Eve didn’t see her reaction. Elena did, however. She had been doing goblet squats a few feet away from the two women. She was definitely not eavesdropping. Her headphones just happened to be at a very low volume.
“Oooo, going by nicknames now, I see.” Elena chimed, walking up to the blonde.
“What? No. What are you talking about?” Ew, Villanelle thought, how did Eve turn her into this?
“Uh huh ok. Play dumb, that’s fine.” Elena smirked as she walked away, meeting Eve in the locker room.
The professor signed up for a membership, not realizing how much a gym membership cost. Luckily, her rent was relatively cheap and V’s gym wasn’t as much as its competitors. Also, Eve didn’t have any other way of seeing Villanelle. Well, the brunette couldn’t think of any other way. She could just ask her out for drinks or invite her to another lecture. She could do so many things but Eve was scared and confused. She was scared because she didn’t want history to repeat itself. If she became closer to Villanelle, would everything happen all over again? And she was confused because she didn’t know how the blonde felt. To be fair, Oksana had always kept her cards close to her chest, but, back then, she’d open up to Eve every once and while. However, now, she had no idea what Villanelle was thinking. It’s been 8 years since she last heard how the blonde felt.
“So, Vil, huh?” The assistant smiled into her locker, which was conveniently next to Eve’s. The professor was changing out of her workout clothes and ruffling her hair out.
“Shut up, I didn’t even realize I said it.”
Elena hummed as a response, still smirking.
“I just,” Eve slammed her locker shut, “I don’t know what it is about her. She is just… a mystery, you know? Still is. 8 years ago, I thought I understood her but I don’t know anymore.”
“And that caused you to call her ‘Vil’?”
“I guess so?” Eve had no idea.
“I see. Well,” Elena also shut her locker, “Maybe you should find out what it is about her, since you obviously want to know so bad.” She smiled and nudged the professor, turning toward the exit.
“How am I supposed to do that? You saw how she yelled at me at the bar. She’s definitely still angry. I don’t understand why though since she’s the one that left and I--”
“You stayed. I know. That’s not my point,” Elena held the door for the professor as they walked down the hall to the front of the gym, “I just mean that if you want to learn more about her, it shouldn’t be that hard. You signed up for a membership here, I’m friends with her, my boyfriend works with her…”
“Boyfriend, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s new, stop getting off-topic,” Elena pointed a dramatic finger at the brunette, “Learn about the girl, she obviously wants to do the same. Did you see her staring at you today, after all this time? You never told me why she left exactly, but you can tell she still cares about you.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” Eve mumbled, feeling dizzy with all this common-sense. Elena was too smart for her own good. Her assistant didn't even know what had happened but she could tell Eve exactly what to do and when to do it. Very annoying.
“What did happen? Vil wouldn’t tell me about it either.” She had to emphasize the nickname again, she had to. Also, she was very curious, sometimes too curious.
“We just had a,” Eve paused, seeing Villanelle at the front of the gym again, talking to a woman. Again. But this time, Eve didn’t recognize who the blonde was talking to. She must’ve been a customer because Villanelle was showing her around, similar to how she had done earlier with Eve. The brunette couldn’t help feel a slight pang in her chest, “A disagreement.”
“If I buy you a drink, will you elaborate?”
“Two drinks, then you have a deal.”