It was a squat brick building, a mile away, with neon lighting, 24/7 Fitness.
The sneakers of Gezza rubbed the sidewalk, the hoodie was wet with sweat, his Playbook dragged his backpack.
The midday sun was blazing and a cold of the emptiness lingered on him, a shadow nothing could take the warmth out of.
Mike might be in any place of his choice--loitering at the dive bar, prowling the streets, willing to smash Gezza face against the ground.
The very thought of his ribs sorely ached within him, and his bruises ached beneath the skin.
The gym interior reeked of rubber mats and sweat, clanking weights, humming treadmills.
The eyes of Gezza swept over the room, and settled on Riley. She was on the bench press, with her tank top stretched tight up her skinny physique and dog tags flashing against her tanned breasts.
Her blonde hair was wet with sweat, and purple blue eyes were glued with focus as she tapped the bar with a suppressed grunt.
Her strong arms were bending, the small scar on the forearm glimpsing the light. She was strength, discipline, all that Gezza was not- all that The Playbook required.
He walked there, banging, the Playbook humming in his heart. Her eyes glanced up, and she looked down, evaluating him as a danger. "What do you want?" Her tone was brash, bark-like, and pierced the noise of the gym.
Gezza gulp, dry throat, the warmness of the Playbook compelling him on.
"You were just... training... I saw you, it" stammered, obliged to smile, his greasy hair floating into his eyes. "Impressive." It was a weak lie, his words were full of the magic of the Playbook.
Riley changed her pose and stretched her shoulders, blue eyes, a bright spark flashing in the depths of her eyes. The book was driving, pushing her will.
Up she rose, wiping her forehead with her hand, dog tags slapping. "From around?"
Her voice softened, a trace of interest pricked her defenses. The Playbook flushed in his backpack and the voice in it started whispering, Push harder. Gezza moved nearer, sniffing her out--clean sweat, some leather, slightly, on her wrist wraps.
His cock was roused, but the coldness of the void, kept him alert, in terror and passion vying against his chest.
"Yep", he said, now his voice was smoother, the Playbook was taking over. "Show me some workout move". He pointed to the weights, and stared at her, and the glitter in her eyes became even nearer.
Her lips were parted, a glow rising up her neck, the spell of the Playbook penetrating more.
Riley hesitated, and her hand jerked towards her dog tags, there was a glimpse of protest in her eyes.
"I do not train newbies", she said, though the voice which said this was almost coquettish. She drew nearer, her cargo jeans rubbing against his jeans, and her power was in an air. "But... perhaps I will be able to make an exception."
He felt her fingers touch his arm and the touch spread a shock through him, and the Playbook got hot.
The lighter, the gym was lost, the ink of the void boiling at the margin of his sight, the runes throbbing in the air.
Gezza felt his heart rise, and his ribs, and Mike was still threatening. "Wanna go somewhere private", he said, and the authority of the Playbook made his voice a little more commanding.
The eyes of Riley changed to a darker colour, and lust replaced her resistance, and she nodded, and followed him to the locker rooms.
The locker room was dark, steam and bleach filled.
Riley pinned Gezza up against the tiled wall, her strength keeping him, her lips smashing into his.
The glow of the Playbook was like a flame that was burning his backpack, and the voice said Claim her!
Her dog marks stamped on his chest, her muscled arms around him, her kisses vicious, almost savage.
The hands of Gezza wandered over her slim muscular physique, and her fingers followed the scar on her forearm, the tank top that she wore up to expose taut abs.
"fuck, you are strong", he gasped the lust of the Playbook overwhelming the fear.
The eyes of Riley sparkled unnaturally, and her breath was scalding him on the neck. "No idea", she growled, with her own anger and the spell of the book. She pulled his hoodie, the tear at his shoulder tearing open, her nails in his bruised ribs.
The Playbook seemed to start and stop him, its high flowing through his body.
But the emptiness was coming nearer, its blackness rolling behind Riley, runes in the steam. The cold was more severe, his balls stiffening Gezza, his vision blurred.
The voice of the Playbook became threatening: She is yours, though the price increases. Gezza pushed the warning down, hands clutched around the hips of Riley, and pulled her nearer.
Her cargo pants dropped on the ground, her power touched, the force of the Playbook made her impatient, unresistant.
The atmosphere separating them was crackling with unspoken passion, a magnetic attraction which neither could check.
He came nearer still, his breath burning her neck, and his eyes fixed on her face with the intensity that made her heart beat faster.
He brought her up, in a single movement, with the strong hands holding her by the thigh, pushing her lightly against the wall.
Her leg wrapped around his waist, drawing him to her and their bodies were like pieces of a puzzle.
The world had become the temperature of their flesh, the beat of their breaths, the unspoken obligations of their touch.
Each motion was an act of urgency, of tendeness, a moment when the time appeared to stop, leaving only the electric envelope between them.
When they subsided down to the bench the runes of the void throbbed the brighter, and the air was chilled.
The dog tags jangled on the neck of Riley, and her eyes were on his, there was a glint of her true nature--strong, rebellious--resisting the spell.
"What... are you doing to me?" She said, trembling in her voice, though not halting her body, the hold of the Playbook being too powerful.
The pounding of Gezza's heart was heard as she was forestalling her words by the hum of the Playbook.
The locker room revolved as Riley kissed his lips once more and the glow of the Playbook blinded his eyes and the voice a last word of caution: One more, and you will be mine.