Chelsea and I laugh at his nickname for her, but she glances our way quickly and we rein ourselves in.
“Yes, we’re doing this together,” she says.
He looks over his shoulder. “I love the girl power thing, ladies. Which reminds me, did you secure that venue for the gala? I can’t wait. Zak wanted to head to New York that weekend, but I said, nope, my girl is coming out in style and I need to be there to support her.”
“Tell Zak I’ll make it up to him,” Hannah says, and the warmth and appreciation in her voice can’t be missed.
“Come on now. I love when I get to make things up to my man.” He winks at us while he positions all the pill bottles he’s removed from the cabinet in three different piles in front of him. “’Kay, so here’s the deal. We’ll do a cleanse and you girls come here every night or at lunchtime, whichever you want. Shake and a probiotic for breakfast, sensible lunch and a shake for dinner. Actually, I’ll bring you girls lunch to make it easier, so I know you’re staying on track.”
Chelsea grabs the box that says strawberry smoothie, reading over the ingredients. “I’m all for health, but—”
“It’s good for the body.” Tad winks and Chelsea shrugs.
“You’re awesome, thank you,” Hannah says as she watches him bag up the supplies.
“Well, don’t thank me yet because you’re going into the locker room and changing. I have a class in twenty minutes and you girls are going to be in it.”
“What?” I ask, not prepared.
“Here.” Tad steps around the counter and leads us to a shelving unit filled with workout gear. “Hannah,” he says, throwing some clothes over his shoulder. “Chelsea.” A pair of pants land on her head before she catches them. “Vic.” I’m prepared and manage to catch my clothes. He turns, his finger padding his lips. “Shoes.” His eyes light up immediately. “Sizes?”
“Can’t we just start tomorrow?” Hannah asks.
“No, time is of the essence.” He claps his hands in front of him twice. “We have until Friday, right?”
I nod.
“You get changed and I’ll be right back.” He walks toward the door of the supply room. “Go!” he says, and we scramble to find our way.
We follow the signs to the changing room and each set our clothes on a bench that runs down the center of the room.
“Tad’s nice.” Chelsea strips down in front of us. I don’t know why I’m surprised to see she has zero inhibitions about nudity. “These are so soft.” She touches the fabric.
“We’ve been besties since high school. Opened this gym a few years ago. His partner Zak is awesome, too. They make a great couple.” Hannah folds up her clothes and places them in a nice pile in an empty locker.
I can’t help but notice how pretty and feminine her lingerie is. Lace and satin. Probably La Perla. Trying to hide my cotton bra and panties, I hurry and get in the yoga pants and endorsement apparel Tad gave us.
Reed comes from the same type of upbringing that Hannah does. Is that what he’s expecting of me? A woman who is always put together? God, I hope not.
My phone dings in the locker.
While Hannah and Chelsea talk about Tad and Zak and how they met, I check to make sure the call isn’t from my mom or something to do with Jade.
Reed: Favorite dish?
I fight the smile that wants to stretch across my face.
Me: I’m half tempted to pick a hard dish like lamb.
Reed: Do you like lamb?
Me: Not particularly.
Reed: Ding. We’re a match.
Me: Not many people like lamb, so…
Reed: Are you underestimating our fate?
Me: Um…I’m clearly stating that it’s some sign that we both don’t like lamb.
Reed: Fine. What about duck?
Me: Never had it.
Reed. What about sushi?
Me: Depends where from and please don’t make that Friday.
Reed: Why? I could get all the supplies. We could do it together and then I can eat it off of you.
Me: Cliché alert.
Reed: Fine, you can eat it off me.
I laugh and Chelsea slides along the bench until her hip checks mine.
Me: As much as I like your body, I’m not sure about eating sushi off it.
Reed: Well I am VERY sure I’d enjoy eating anything off of you. Or just eating you in general. ;)
What was a slight tingle between my thighs a second ago is now an incessant throbbing.
“Shit, this guy,” Chelsea says.
I turn the phone away. “This is private.”
“Fine, I’ll leave your kinky ass to yourself.” She stands and puts her hair in a ponytail.
Me: Can we talk about this later?
Reed: We can test all this out on Friday.
Me: You really are relentless.
Reed: Only when it counts.
My stomach flips a few times.
“Girls!” Tad screams into the locker room. “You have nothing I want to see, but if you don’t get your butts out here now, I’m coming in.”
“Let’s go.” Hannah and Chelsea leave the locker room and I sit on the bench staring down at his text, not knowing how to respond.
Me: Gotta go. Have a great day.
Reed: I’ll be thinking of you.
I shove the phone into my locker, shut the door and lock it, feeling a little overwhelmed by the feelings taking over me. It all seems too quick, too early, too fast. It also seems as impossible to stop as a runaway train.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Thursday night, I arrive home from working out early enough to have dinner with Jade, so my mom could leave for a girl’s night out with her friends.
I prepare my shake and watch Jade eat chicken nuggets as my stomach grumbles. The first day of the cleanse was brutal, but I’m getting used to the feeling of my stomach eating itself.
“How was school?” I ask.
“Good.” She mumbles over her food. “I think I have a crush on Logan.”
Oh boy. Is this stuff really starting already? “I think maybe you like him as a friend,” I suggest.
“A lot of girls have crushes on the boys.” She takes a drink of her milk.
“That doesn’t mean you have to. There’s plenty of time for that.” I walk over and smooth out her hair, wondering if I could be the first mom to stop her kid from growing older. Her innocence is slipping away from me.
“It’s not a big deal. He asked me to go to the carnival with him and his mom.”
I sip my shake, my eyes closing while I try to pretend to myself that it’s a real strawberry shake with whip cream. “What about Henry? He probably wants to go with you.”
“That’s what I told Logan. That Henry had to come with us.”
“What did Logan say?”
“He said he’s not into three-ways.”
My shake spews out of my mouth all over the table.
“Mom!” Jade screeches and we both get up to grab the paper towels.
“Sorry,” I say, taking them from her hands and cleaning up the mess while she sits back down to finish her dinner.