Maybe Gordie had made a mistake asking the lone girl for her plates. Maybe there was a reason she was by herself, so cold and hostile in her mere look. With a final rep, the girl stood with the bar clanking loudly against the rack behind and took out her headphones, which made Gordie quirk an eyebrow for a moment as he realized he might have to repeat himself. He didn’t like how she assessed him. Or maybe he did. What did she think? Ever met a hockey player before? What did she do for a living, he wondered, with all those tattoos and muscle. Police officer? Professional bodybuilder? All he wanted was some plates to bench press and she looked like she wanted to melt him into pudding with her eyes.<br/><br/>Instead of granting his request, she made one of her own. His eyebrows piqued further in astonishment and she cited she wanted to squat even more weight. She was already lifting more than he weighed himself. “Well if you can handle it.” He shrugged in indifference, as the girl was already taking the plates he gathered for his bench press and putting them on hers. What if he never got them back? What a great start to the school year, getting played out like that.<br/><br/>“Gordie.” He announced himself. “Yours?”<br/><br/>He snorted in amusement and some disbelief (she wouldn’t actually do that, right?!) over her inquiry on his presence here. “You’re right, I could have gone to school anywhere but I’m here, halfway across a continent. Apparently it’s a great place to play some ice hockey.” He chuckled, as it was evidently warm everywhere except inside the hockey rink on campus. He moved behind the woman and was careful to keep his hands somewhere neutral where he could spot her in the lifting of the bar. He encouraged her with<i>come on, almost there</i>and<i>keep pushing, keep pushing, you got it</i>until she completed the two repetitions she so desired. She nearly staggered on the last but his hands were quick to help, ensuring she got the bar back safely and without permanent harm. It seemed her leg had lost balance for a moment, whereas her other had been firm. Must be some injury.<br/><br/>“You made it.” He complimented Irene, putting his fist to her shoulder and giving her a playful nudge, grinning down at her inverted look. “I don’t suppose you could play the caretaker now and make sure I don’t drop the bar and snap my neck?” He asked of her instead, as he unscrewed the various 45lbs plates and carried them, two on each arm, back to his bench press station which was still unclaimed. He was looking to press about 220 on the first set, pushing up to 250 on the next, adding 20lbs and 35lbs on each side alongside the 45s. Moving to sit at the edge of the bench, he leaned back on it, his shirt rising up to give a peek at his guts as he gripped the bar parallel to his shoulders. He could probably do a full ten on the first set and maybe get to five on the next. And if he was still feeling good, he might simply push a full three 45s on either side, adding up to 270 total. He’d be lucky to do even one rep on that.<br/><br/>“Ready? And you don’t have to brag and be curling the entire bar yourself you know.” Gordie chuckled at her from down below, lifting the bar up and bringing it down to hover inches over his chest. With a deep breath, he began to push, feeling the burn and stretch in his chest as he did.