Johanna fell in love the minute she saw it. The obnoxious furniture saleswoman who had been obviously following her around the store called it a Chesterfield, but Johanna didn’t really care what it was called. To her, it looked like heaven in the form of a big-ass couch. It was soft, luxurious, and a deep, true purple. Scott would have hated it and never would have allowed it into their apartment. He would have made some snide remark about not paying a dime for such a girly piece of shit. Not that he ever paid a dime for anything, but that was beside the point. She did her best to push the thoughts of Scott from her mind. She was starting a new life, and memories of her ex-boyfriend were not welcome here.

An hour later, Johanna had finalized her purchase of the purple couch, a chair in the same style but silver velvet, and a black distressed coffee table. She also found a modern steel industrial king-sized canopy bed, a chest of drawers, two nightstands and a set of lamps. She felt a bit nauseous over the total as she handed over her credit card, but she wanted this new apartment to be 100 percent hers. It would be a total fresh start. God knew she needed it.

Having just made her first solo adult purchase in her new hometown, Johanna hopped into her bright white Honda Passport and headed to her new apartment building to officially sign the lease and pick up her keys. The apartment building was new and modern with a red and white exterior in the middle of Denver’s Uptown neighborhood. She hadn’t wanted to pay for more than a small apartment, which was still expensive, despite being just one bedroom and less than six hundred square feet. It took her less than an hour to unload all of her belongings from her car and lug them into her apartment. The space felt empty and depressing, and she could hardly believe that, at almost thirty years old, she was alone and starting over in a new city. She needed to leave the apartment and go out into the sunshine immediately or she’d risk falling apart.

She left her building and ducked into a bustling neighborhood coffee shop. Johanna had always loved the charm of local bars and restaurants. She ordered an extra-large dark roast coffee with a shot of espresso in it. The barista handed over her drink with a smile, and Johanna dumped plenty of cream and sugar into her drink as she admired the clean lines and fresh flowers placed throughout the cafe. Johanna thanked the barista and stepped back onto the street. Now that she had some caffeine working through her system, it was time to check off the next item on her list: finding a gym.

Johanna began researching gyms in Denver as soon as she accepted the job offer as a software developer from her new company—before she had even found a decent place to live. Her gym in Chicago had been the center of her social circle and her lifeline of happiness in the last year or so of her relationship, and she was hoping to find something similar in Denver. She had a couple of gyms she wanted to tour—one that reminded her of her gym in Chicago, and one that was the polar opposite.

Her first stop was a cute little place only a few blocks away from her apartment. A tiny bell tinkled as she opened the door to “Raise the Barre,” and a gorgeous woman looked up from her computer and smiled.

“Good morning! Welcome to Raise the Barre. How can I help you?”

“Hi, my name’s Johanna. I’m new to the area and was looking for a nice place to work out. You guys had great reviews on Yelp, so I thought I might come in and check it out.”

“Sure. I’m Allison, and I can totally give you a tour. Give me just a sec.” She reminded Johanna of the cheerleaders in high school, with their too-big smiles that never quite seemed genuine.

As Allison was typing away on the computer, Johanna looked around the entrance area. It was mostly white and glass, and there was an essential oil diffuser in a corner. There were a few clothing racks with strappy bras that looked like they wouldn’t hold anything in. She thumbed through the black yoga-type pants. She counted five pairs of size extra small and three pairs of size small. Seriously? Who comes here? she thought to herself.

Allison stepped around the front desk toward Johanna. “We sell clothes to the public, but our members always get ten percent off the listed price. Come on, I’ll show you the studios.”

Johanna dutifully followed Allison, with her long, shiny, fresh-from-the-salon auburn hair, and too-perfect make-up. Maybe Allison was a “workout after work” type of woman?

“We have three studios—two smaller ones and one larger. The two smaller studios hold about twenty people, and the larger one can accommodate thirty. We have a variety of yoga, Pilates, and of course, barre classes every day.

“Depending on the membership you choose, you can come once a week, twice a week, three times, or an unlimited number. You just sign up for the class you want on our app, and that’s it!”

Johanna could hear an Adele song playing in one of the studios, which had a Pilates class going on. While Johanna loved Adele and her music, it didn’t exactly motivate her to get a sweat going.

“What’s your favorite class to take?” Johanna asked. She wanted to see if Allison just worked there or actually came there to work out as well.

“Oh, the ‘tone it up’ yoga, for sure. I just did it this morning. It’s really great for when you don’t really need to lose weight, and you don’t want to get bulky, but you just want to, like, get toned, you know? Also, you can totally do it and then go straight to work—no dry shampoo necessary!” Suddenly, the hairs on Johanna’s arms stood on end as she realized it was exactly the type of place that Scott would have encouraged her to join. In fact, one of his most recent claims had been that she was getting too bulky, too manly. The asshole wouldn’t have known a man if one had punched him in the face.

Johanna wanted to get out of there as soon as was humanly possible. She followed Allison to the front desk, took the class schedule, and promised to come back in for her free class once she had fully moved in. She stuffed the schedule into her purse as she bolted out of the studio. Johanna turned the corner, making sure she was out of view of the studio employee. She leaned against the building, closed her eyes, and took deep breaths, cursing the thin mountain air. She desperately and tried to fight off the panic attack that was threatening to overtake her body. You are more than enough, Johanna. You’ve got this, she repeated over and over in her head. Once her heart returned to a normal pace and she trusted her legs to carry her weight, she started off in the direction of her next gym option.

About ten minutes later, Johanna spotted her next destination. It was a three-story industrial-style brick building that looked like it had been around forever. There was workout-themed graffiti covering the entire building and four giant garage doors that were open, allowing air and rock music to flow into the streets. This was more like it.

She pulled open the door, and it was surprisingly quiet in the lobby. At the front desk was a built, tattooed guy wearing a black t-shirt that had a red hand grenade in the shape of a skull on it. He had the air of a Rottweiler—big, stocky, and protective, but still knew how to have a good time. He ran his hands through his jet-black hair and let out a long, exasperated sigh. As Johanna walked up to the desk, she was momentarily intimidated but decided to push that down as far as she could.

“Hi. Sorry about that. I’m Ed. What can I do for you?”

“Hey, Ed. I’m Johanna,” she said, giving him her best mega-watt, Midwestern-friendly smile. “I was interested in maybe joining this gym. Do you have someone who can show me around?”

“Sure. Last I checked, I’m someone. And actually, I need to step away before I chuck this computer across the room. Come on.” He stood up and walked around the front desk. Johanna was surprised to find herself looking slightly down at him. At five-eleven, she was used to being taller than most women, and she figured him to be about five-nine. They walked through some glass doors that led to the workout area. The main area was huge, and the ceilings were high. The multitude of weights, racks, and other gym equipment was neatly organized. It was open all the way to the ceiling in the middle of the room, and an oval running track went along the outer border on the upper level.

“This is Goal Diggers, as the name on the outside of the building implies, and it’s my gym. Well, my partner, Max, and I own it.” Johanna was a little disappointed to hear Ed talk about his partner. Ed was cute, even if she wasn’t anywhere near being ready for a relationship yet.

“We have about 8,000 square feet of space, and we do a lot of badass workouts here.” He held his hands out proudly, showing off area.

“There are classes for olympic weightlifting, kettlebells, kickboxing, self-defense, and MetCon. Just don’t call MetCon ‘bootcamp.’ We have a running group that has just started meeting a couple of times a week, and Max has finally talked me into having a yoga class. You don’t teach yoga, do you?”

“Um, no,” Johanna said with a chuckle. “I’d maybe take a yoga class, but no, I don’t teach them.”

“Damn. Well, it was worth a shot. We also have nutrition coaching if that’s something you’re interested in. Some people want to bulk up, some want to lean out, and others just want to eat less crap. We’ve got you covered on all fronts. There are locker rooms right where you came in. We have showers, a steam room, and a sauna in each locker room. There are shower towels in the locker rooms and workout towels in a few spots in the gym,” Ed said as they slowly walked around the gym.

“There are two levels of membership: the less expensive option is to come in and use the equipment all on your own, but no classes. Once Max, one of the instructors, or I observe you and approve your form so we know you’re not going to be stupid and hurt yourself, you can come in and throw shit around whenever you want. Though you still have to listen to the instructors if they tell you that you’re being stupid.” A smile played at Ed’s lips.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m not stupid, then,” Johanna said playfully.

“I didn’t think you were for even a minute. With the other level of membership, you can come in whenever you want once your form is approved, but you also get all of the classes and groups I mentioned before. We love having members at all levels of fitness in the classes, and my instructors are experts at scaling the workouts to any level. We don’t much care whether a body-weight squat is hard for you or if you need a giant weight rack to get your juices flowing. Wherever you are, whatever your goals, we will do our part to get you there.

“What are your fitness goals, Johanna?” Ed asked.

“I’m not really training for anything specific right now… training for life, I guess. I had a gym in Chicago that I loved, and I don’t want to lose the fitness I worked hard to gain. I like to lift heavy, and I like to sweat. It makes me feel good about myself.”

“Nice. I dig it. And Chicago, huh? What brings you here?”

Johanna paused for a minute, trying to decide how to answer this question to a man she’d just met. “It’s a long story, but let’s just say I needed something new.”

“Ha, you’re not alone in moving west for something new, that’s for sure. I’ll have to introduce you to Max. He left Chicago about five years ago to join me out here and open the gym. He’ll be excited to meet a fellow Chi-town native. Oh, last thing. We have three rules here: Work hard, be nice, and clean up after yourself. What questions do you have for me?”

As they headed back into the lobby and stopped at the front desk, Johanna asked, “What times are the classes?”

“We go early, late, and everywhere in between. The first class is at 5 a.m. sharp, five days a week. The last class starts as late as eight, depending on the day. I’ll give you a schedule if you’re interested. What else?”

“Do you do any events or get togethers outside of the gym?”

“What do I look like, a social director?” he asked, nudging her gently with his elbow. “Ha! Sorry, I’m just messing with ya. Yes, we try to host a couple of gatherings a month. I like to do a cookout on the first weekend of the month. The third weekend, we head to one of a few favorite spots around town. Other than that, it’s on your own. Any other questions?”

“Can I join now?”

“I would love you to, but that’s what I was pissed off about when you came in.” Ed tapped the desk and said, “We just got some upgraded wireless routers or modems or shit, and it’s messed everything up. I fuckin’ hate this.”

Johanna asked, “Do you want some help? I’d be happy to take a look at it for you.”

The man raised one eyebrow at her quizzically. “You know this shit?”

“I love this shit. What’s going on?”

Ed gave a basic explanation about how he knew there was a Wi-Fi signal, but the computer kept insisting there wasn’t. Johanna moved to the computer and sat down at the desk. She stared at the screen intently and started typing away, opening and closing various programs and windows. A couple of minutes later, she beamed up at him. “Fixed!”

“Woah, seriously? Well, fuck a duck. Thanks, Trinity!”

“Trinity?” Johanna asked, confused but laughing, despite herself.

“Yep. Haven’t you ever seen The Matrix? A bunch of hackers, including the most badass hacker ever, Trinity, trying to save civilization. It’s an awesome movie. Go home and watch it. But first, if you can just fill out some paperwork, I’ll get you set up in our system. And as a thanks for getting me back online, your first month is on me.”

Ten minutes later, Johanna had her brand-new Goal Digger ID card.

Maybe it was the caffeine, or maybe it was Goal Diggers, but once Johanna got back to her apartment, she was more mentally prepared to face her apartment alone. She felt energized and eager to unpack and set up her small apartment however she wanted. She cranked up her playlist full of songs by P!nk and danced around as she organized her kitchen, bathroom, and clothes. Her stomach grumbled, and she realized she hadn’t had much to eat since breakfast. Or did coffee count as food? She placed a call to order a pizza for dinner and then worked on blowing up her air mattress and making her temporary bed. Moments after she tipped the delivery guy, she was settled in her bed—the only comfortable spot in her entire place at least for a few more days—with her pizza and a beer, watching The Matrix on her laptop.