My name is James, I manage a local manufacturing plant. I'm about 5'10", approaching 200 lbs, with a shaved head and an average amount of chest and body hair, all with an auburn brown tint.
This year, before the world went berserk with the pandemic, I had joined a 24 hour gym and begun early morning workouts. I soon struck up a rapport with another early morning member, Sam. He's about 6'2", a little more fit than I am. We are both around 50, so we worked out at about the same pace. We could push each other and have a good time bantering back and forth through the process. Plus I enjoyed watching what seemed to be a good sized package bouncing around inside his shorts as he exercised.
Our usual routine involved arriving at about 4am, even on weekends, so the place was pretty deserted. Other members came and went, some just trying the place out and others just not having the commitment to keep it up. We recently were joined by a new regular, Deedee, a nurse who would arrive just after us, following her shift at the nearby hospital.
Deedee was about 40, maybe 5'4", dark brown hair and eyes, with an hourglass figure. She would arrive in scrubs but change into a workout outfit that featured her ample cleavage. She mostly kept to herself at first, but when the center began instituting occupancy limits with the outbreak, there were only the three of us and occasionally a random fourth member. At that point, Deedee became comfortable chatting a little.
We learned that she was divorced, but not looking for anyone. Her career was her focus, and her workouts helped her unwind after her 12 hour shifts. Due to working in healthcare, she had to be careful about exposure to others, but expressed her appreciation that Sam and I always wore masks when nearby others and had both meticulously cleaned any equipment we used when we finished.
Sam had broken the ice a little with her, ironic because he's married and I'm divorced. The pair had even shared smoothies after weekend workouts before the pandemic a couple of times at the smoothie joint next door to the fitness center. Their relationship had not progressed when social distancing overtook everything. That all changed two weekends ago after our Saturday workout.
In the parking lot, on the way to our vehicles, we heard Deedee loudly exclaiming, "Fuuuuuck! My tire's flat!"
Her driver's side rear tire was completely flat. Sam and I jumped into action, taking her keys, unloading what we needed from the trunk of her sedan, and replacing the flat with her temporary spare, which seemed a little low on air as well. The reason for the flat that we removed was evident: a short, thick screw had pierced her tread.
