Kiki smacked her on the butt. “Watch it, roomie. You have to go to sleep sometime.”
“Oooh, I’m scared,” laughed Aimee, dumping another load of boxes on the bed. “I’m going to go downstairs and get the rest of the binders up here.”
She left Elizabeth and Kiki to the job of moving the rest of the boxes, which they did in companionable silence for the next several minutes. Aimee came up with several loads of binders, each time a little more out of breath than the last.
“Holy crow, that’s a lot of stairs,” she said, putting a pile of binders on the bed to join the many others there. “That’s all of them. From the car and everything.”
Elizabeth and Kiki had arranged the shoeboxes under the bed, Kiki promising to pick out her twelve favorites soon so they could recycle the rest. For the next few minutes they moved the binders on the bed to the closet.
“Okay. That was a workout in itself,” said Aimee, wiping her sweaty brow as Kiki slid the last binder into place. “To the gym now?” Aimee’s phone rang before any of them could answer her question. Her face looked stricken when she saw the number.
“Who is it?” asked Elizabeth.
“Jack.”
“Don’t answer it,” said Kiki.
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not,” said Aimee, throwing the phone down on the bed and staring at it.
Elizabeth walked over and glared at it. “It’s like a snake or something. I don’t even want to touch it.”
The phone quit ringing and a minute later a beep rang out.
“What does that beep mean?” asked Elizabeth.
“It means there’s a message,” whispered Aimee.
“Oh, for shit’s sake. Give me that,” said Kiki, grabbing the phone. “How do I listen to the message?”
Aimee reached over and pointed to a button. “Press that one.”
“Where’s the speaker phone?”
“There,” said Aimee, pressing it.
Jack’s voice came out loudly into the room. “You’re going to pay for that, Aimee. You think I don’t know you’re fucking that cop? I’m going to report him, and then I’m coming for you and those two whores with you. You took what’s mine and no one does that. No one! Do you hear me?! Fuck you, Aimee! You’re nothing but a worthless, stupid piece of shit! You always were. You know why I left you for Tiffany? Because she knows how to please a guy. She …”
The rest of it was cut off by Kiki, staring at the phone with a look of extreme distaste on her face, her finger on the red disconnect button.
Aimee was in shock - standing stock still and as white as a sheet, except for two splotches of color high on her cheekbones. Her hand fluttered to her neck. “Oh … my god … how … humiliating … ” Tears sprang to her eyes before she dropped her face into her hands and started bawling.
Elizabeth went over quickly and put her arms around her friend. “Oh, Aimee, ignore that asshole. He is so, so ugly inside. None of that garbage was true … none of it!”
“How do you know?” spat Aimee angrily, dropping her hands awkwardly. “He knows me better than anyone!”
“He doesn’t know you at all, Aimee,” argued Kiki. “I might not have slept with you, but I know for a fact you’re a passionate person. Anyone can see that about you. If you weren’t any good in bed it’s because your partner sucked, not because of you. It takes two, you know.” Kiki started pacing around her room. “I hate guys like that … taking their inadequacies out on the women they’re supposed to love. What the hell is wrong with that guy?” She stopped her pacing and came over to join Elizabeth and Aimee. Elizabeth released Aimee from her hug halfway to give Kiki access.
Kiki put her hands on either side of Aimee’s face, forcing her to look into her eyes. “You listen to me. I’m not kidding. You are a gorgeous, lovable, amazing woman, who can bake her ass off. You are not the problem here. You are not the one with zero morals. You are not the one who destroyed your marriage.” She dropped Aimee’s face to take her shoulders and continued. “Your only problem is you’re too nice. You put up with his shit for too long, and he took advantage of that. But never again.” She shook her friend once gently. “Say it now, so I know you’re listening.”
“Say what,” she said sniffling.
“Say, ‘Never again’. Loudly.”
Elizabeth nudged her.
“Never again,” Aimee whispered.
“No. Not good enough. Do it again, louder.”
“Never again,” Aimee said in a conversational tone.
“Sorry. Lame. Do over.”
Aimee smiled a little. “Never again.” She sounded firmer this time.
“You can do better. He cheated on you with a slut half your age. He bought himself an Aston Martin and made you drive a Toyota, for chrissakes.”
“Hey, I like my Toyota,” said Aimee in mock offense.
“Aimee!”
“Okay, fine. Never again! There, are you happy?”
“One more time. With gusto.”
“Never again!” she shouted.
“I like that,” said Elizabeth, encouraging her. “It has a nice ring to it.”
“Never again am I going to be your doormat!” Aimee yelled.
Kiki hugged her hard and fast before stepping back. “You’re going to be just fine, Aims. You’ll see. You just need to get back up on that horse and give it a ride.”
“With a certain cop, I think,” added Elizabeth.
“I’m not sure …,” said Aimee.
“I am. Call him,” said Kiki, holding up Aimee’s phone.
“Right now? What should I say?”
“Tell him you want to meet him. Tonight.”
“He already said he wanted to meet after his shift.”
“Good,” said Elizabeth. “Now just find out where and when. And make sure it’s a date and not just a thank you for saving me kind of thing.”
Aimee sighed and took the phone. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. I’m still not sure if I’m ready.”
“If you’re not ready now, you will be when he starts taking your clothes off,” said Kiki.
“Kiki! As if I’d go all the way on the first date.”
“You’d better!” said Elizabeth. She saw Aimee’s reproachful look and shrugged her shoulders. “I would. He’s hot. And he’s rescued you twice and not played games either. That deserves some heavy petting at least.”
Kiki nodded. “It’s unanimous. You need to jump his bones. Tonight if possible.”
Aimee shook her head as she dialed. “You guys are nuts.”
Chapter 25
AIMEE FOUND JOE’S NUMBER IN her phone and dialed it nervously, almost hoping he wouldn’t answer. But she had no such luck.
“This is Joe.”
“Joe, hi. It’s Aimee again.” She cringed, imagining him thinking she was a semi-stalker, calling him twice in one day.
“Hey, Aimee.” His voice softened. “How’re you doing? Still freaked out?”
She smiled, going warm over his obvious concern. “A little. Jack just called and left a pretty mean message on my voicemail. But that’s not why I called. I was wondering if you’d … um … like to meet. Or whatever.”
“Yeah. I thought we already agreed to that. After my shift, right?”
“Yes. Well, I guess I need to know what time and where, then.” She felt like a desperate loser. This was almost painful. She wondered if awkward dating scenes were part of the reason she’d stayed married for so long - so she could avoid them entirely.
“How about if I come pick you up around eight? That’ll give me time to get cleaned up after work.”
“That would be good. What do you think we’ll do? I mean … I’m just wondering what to wear.” She thought she was going to die of embarrassment. She’d practically just asked him if they were going to have sex. Or at least, that’s what it sounded like to her. Kiki and Elizabeth were both giving her the thumbs up, smiling like crazy and high fiving.
“I was thinking a late dinner an
d maybe a movie? Or we could just hang out after dinner. It’s up to you.”
“Okay,” she said, relieved. Dinner and movies sounded safe enough. “Eight o’clock. I’ll text you directions to the house.”
“Good enough. See you soon.”
“Yeah. See you later.”
“And Aimee?”
“Yes?”
“I’m really glad you decided to call me.”
“Me too,” she said softly, her heart in her throat. She took the phone away from her ear and disconnected the call.
“What’d he say?!” asked Elizabeth excitedly. “I can’t believe you did it. I’m so proud of you!”
“Yeah, what’d he say? Give us the details. Word for word. Don’t leave anything out.”
Aimee giggled. “You guys act like we’re still in high school.”
“As far as I’m concerned, the only thing that’s changed is the styles. Now spill it, sister,” demanded Kiki.
Aimee gave them all the details and then waited to hear their analysis. She’d forgotten how much fun it was to pick apart every word a guy said and try to read all the meanings possible into it.
“He’s into you. Big time,” said Kiki. “You’ll get lucky tonight if you want to.”
“Do I want to?” asked Aimee, kind of thinking she did, but afraid about the consequences. Not only was she worried about how it would make her feel emotionally, she also worried about what would happen if Jack found out.
“Why not?” asked Elizabeth. “What are you worried about?”
Aimee cringed, imagining what their reaction would be if she told them.
Kiki pointed a finger at her. “Don’t you dare be worried about what Jack would think!”
“I’m more worried about what he’ll do, than what he thinks,” she confessed.
“Joe’s a big boy. He can take care of himself,” said Kiki, dismissing her fears.
“Seriously, Aimee. He has a gun. And he’s twice Jack’s size,” agreed Elizabeth.
“Yeah, but Jack is crazy.”
“He’s also a lawyer. Hopefully that means he knows the law and will be smart about not breaking it with a cop around.”
Kiki rolled her eyes. “Don’t give him too much credit, Elizabeth. The guy’s an idiot, obviously. But I’m not worried about him, and neither should you be, Aimee. Joe can handle him. Just enjoy yourself. Jack doesn’t know where you live, and he has no way of finding you. So go have some fun. Get laid.”
Aimee smiled. “Maybe.” She started walking out of the room. “But first I have to work out. I have a puffer belly and there’s nothing sexy about that.”
Kiki and Aimee changed their clothes, and the three girls went to the gym for their first workout.
Chapter 26
TWO THIRDS INTO HER WORKOUT, Kiki spied Lola’s board member across the room. She’d been thinking about trying some free-weights to do some bicep curls, but immediately changed her mind, turning to go back to a leg lift machine she had already used three times.
“I thought we were going to do those curl things you mentioned,” said Aimee. “We already did that machine enough times, didn’t we?”
Kiki had been showing Aimee a nice circuit routine she’d used in the past to get into shape, which included using several machines in a row for various body parts, taking a quick break after doing three sets of twelve repetitions on each one before starting over and doing it one more time.
“Yeah, well I’m going to do one more.”
Aimee looked at her, confused, and then glanced over in the direction Kiki had been walking.
Kiki knew her fib had been discovered when she saw the look of understanding dawn across Aimee’s face. “Uh-huuuhhh, I see what’s going on here. Mr. Hot Board Member is here now, so suddenly you’re not interested in curling anymore.”
“It’s not curling, dummy. It’s ‘doing bicep curls’.”
“Whatever. You’re a chicken.” She winked at Kiki deviously. “But I’m not.”
“Aimee, no!” she said. But it was too late. Aimee had already left, headed over to the free-weights section.
“Damn little pest,” mumbled Kiki, adjusting the pin into the weights so the load on her muscles wouldn’t be quite as heavy as before. Her legs were already tired from the other sets she’d done, but she didn’t want to get up now and admit that she was avoiding the guy, especially not after she’d given Aimee that big pep talk earlier, telling her to be all brave and fearless. She kept her eyes closed as she slowly went through another set of reps.
“Hi,” said a male voice a minute later.
Kiki opened her eyes, looking toward the ground, noticing first that this voice was attached to a guy with a sprinkling of hair on tan legs. She really didn’t want to look up the rest of the way because she was afraid she knew who the legs belonged to.
“Hello,” she said, pretending to adjust the pin again, and then her seat.
“Need some help?”
“Nope. I’m fine,” she said.
“Your friend said you did.”
Kiki looked up in frustration. The guy obviously couldn’t take a hint. “Well, I don’t.” She tried to stay annoyed, but damn, she thought. He’s even better looking up close than he is from a distance. She turned away from him, trying to get a grip on her brain. Focus. Lift. Don’t arch your back. She executed another slow, controlled leg lift.
“You shouldn’t arch your lower back like that. You could hurt yourself.”
She dropped her legs, the weights making a loud clanking sound as they came back together in a hurry. “Thanks for the tip. Now do you mind? I’m trying to focus here.” Now she was just annoyed. Annoyed with herself. Why should I care what this jerk thinks of me?
He smiled.
“Why are you smiling at me?” She was used to this bitchy act being useful for getting rid of guys, not making them happy.
“You already knew that. About the back arching thing.”
“Yes. I did. I’ve worked out before.”
“I can tell. My name’s Brent.” He held out his hand.
Kiki sighed. “Kiki.” She wiped her sweaty hands off on the towel that was hanging on a hook on the machine and shook his hand. Both of them had firm business-like grips.
“That wasn’t too painful, was it?” he asked, referencing their introduction, refusing to be put off by her rudeness.
“Only a little,” she said grudgingly.
“I could show you something better for your quads if you want. Less stressful on your back than those leg lifts on the machine.”
“That’s okay. I’m good here.”
“You’ve already done three sets.”
Kiki sighed again in frustration. “Have you been spying on me or what?”
“Yes.”
She looked at him like he was nuts.
“I saw you here a few days ago and was going to come over and talk to you, but you walked away. I could have sworn you saw me, but I wasn’t sure. So I saw you today and watched your routine for a little while. I like seeing what girls like you do for workouts.”
Kiki was instantly offended. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Brent backed up a step, involuntarily putting his hands up. “Whoa, it wasn’t supposed to mean anything. Just that I admire you.”
“You’re a prick, you know that? Just leave me alone.”
She got up off the machine and grabbed her towel, brushing past him to go find Elizabeth and Aimee. She was done here. The jerk had ruined it.
Before she got more than three paces away he was next to her, taking her gently by the arm. “Hey, Kiki, I’m sorry.”
“Back off, asshole, before I take you down with a knee to the jewels.”
He kept his hand on her arm but moved his other hand to cover his vulnerable parts. “Wow. You mean business. But seriously … I obviously said something to offend you, but I have no idea what. I wish you’d tell me so I can apologize.”
She stared at his face, which was w
ay too close for comfort. His ice blue eyes and dark hair made for a heady combination. She couldn’t help but think of Damon on Vampire Diaries. Guys this beautiful just weren’t for real.
“You said ‘girls like you’. I find that offensive. And I’m pretty sure any woman in my situation would.”
Brent looked at her with a confused expression. “I would have thought you’d take it as a compliment.”
Kiki jerked her arm out of his grip. “In what kind of twisted world have you been living where women like being treated like second-class citizens and objects?” She used her towel to wipe off the spot where he’d had his hand. She felt dirty, knowing he’d touched her skin there. “Just stay the hell away from me, or I’m going to call security.”
He half smiled. “Do they even have security here?”
“I don’t know. I’ll call the cops if they don’t.”
Brent was looking at her with a bemused expression. “Honest to God, Kiki. I think you’re beautiful and toned like an athlete. I just wondered what a female athlete did in her gym workouts. I’m sorry if you find that offensive. I really am. I had no idea that women didn’t like their skills pointed out in the gym. My bad,” he said, as he started to walk away, shaking his head.
Athlete? Is he messing with me? She wasn’t sure. She spoke up to get his attention. “When you say athlete, what exactly do you mean by that?” She’d never heard an exotic dancer referenced in that way, so it seemed strange for an obviously well-educated guy to do it. And if it was some kind of pickup line it would probably go down in history as the world’s worst effort, so he deserved to know that.
“I knew I’d seen you before, but I couldn’t place where. Beach volleyball, right? You’re a pro, aren’t you? I swear I’ve seen you. On T.V., I thought.”
“Are you telling me … you think I’m a pro volleyball player?”
He shrugged. “You’re not?”
“Uh. No. Definitely not.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Well, how do I know you, then? I swear I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
Kiki smiled mirthlessly. “I don’t know,” she lied. “But it was nice meeting you. Sorry about the misunderstanding.”