Текст книги "The Rub Down"
Автор книги: Gina Sheldon
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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 15 страниц)
When Luke came back, he swooped me up in his arms.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my head on his shoulder. “A girl could get used to this treatment. I may never walk again.”
“I love you in my arms, so we’re both happy. Let’s get you some more pain meds, wrap your knee, and tuck you in.” Luke sat me down on the toilet while he grabbed more pills. After I swallowed them, he passed me my toothbrush loaded with toothpaste.
After the bathroom routine, Luke turned down the covers on his bed and laid me down like I was a precious heirloom.
“You are stunning, even after running a marathon.”
I didn’t think I would ever grow tired of hearing his sweet words.
Luke crawled into bed, snuggled right up to my body, and brought me closer to him. I drifted off to sleep, happier than I had ever been.
Epilogue
Alexa
It was dark, yet lights shone all around us. Luke was sweating and breathing heavy in my ear.
“Give me all you got, tiger. Don’t stop. Please, whatever you do, don’t stop,” I cried out through my own gasps.
“Baby, you’re wearing me out. Can we please slow down?” Luke panted.
“Focus, Luke. You can do this. Once we finish, you’ll be thanking me. Promise.”
“My legs are starting to cramp.” Luke looked at me, pleading with me to slow down our pace. But we were so close to finishing. There would be fireworks at the end. I could almost see them behind my eyes.
My nipples were tight, my stomach clenched, my hair a hot mess, and I was sweatier than a whore in church. But I was with the love of my life, and nothing was going to top this moment between the two of us. We had practiced for months, and talked ad nauseam about it. Luke was on board, but now that it was time, he was reneging on our deal.
As we chased our finish, I reached for his hand and laced our fingers together. We were going together if it was the last thing we did.
I looked over at him and said, “I love you. Now let’s do this.”
Luke nodded his head, and we sprinted toward the finish line where thousands before us had already crossed in the Rock and Roll Marathon in Las Vegas.
*****
After the Boston Marathon, I saw a doctor about my knee. Thankfully, it was just inflammation of my iliotibial band. I spent a few weeks on crutches, worked out with a physical therapist for about a month, and then I was good as new. While I was on crutches, I stayed with Luke at his place. A few days after the diagnosis, while Luke was at work, I went home to my apartment and attempted to climb the stairs. I made it past the first floor, but the spiral staircase to get to my bedroom was impossible for me. I ended up calling Luke and having him carry me to get more clothes, once he finished at work.
During my stay, we fell more and more in love. Luke was everything I dreamed of as a little girl. He treated me with respect, appreciated my independence, and loved me enough to call me out on my bullshit when I made stupid mistakes. Yeah, like trying to climb stairs on crutches with no one around. We laughed a lot together. His playful nature was sexy as hell.
We made love each night before we fell asleep, and woke up in each other’s arms. Luke wasn’t pleased when I was able to throw the crutches away and go home to live with Addison again. He asked me daily to move in with him, but I declined. Even though I loved him hard, and knew we would spend the rest of our lives together, we were still new. I wanted us to date, not fall into the comfortable habits of an old couple after a long day’s work. Our relationship was worth the investment and hard work, even though being together was easy.
With the dust settled from the marathon, my injury healed, and Luke’s temper tantrum about me moving home, I suggested we train for the Las Vegas Marathon in November. The race was an evening run with all the Vegas flair a mind could conjure. Rock bands on the sidelines. Women running in costumes only fit for the strip. Luke worried about my knee blowing out again, but once the doctor gave me the go ahead to run, Luke was on board. We called Jeff, and he agreed to train us. The summer was long and hot, but we trained every day.
Since I had muscle issues again, a few times a week, Luke set up a massage table in the office of his apartment to help with my aches. During training, we had sex on that table as much as we did in a bed. Needless to say, I always got a happy ending.
*****
Luke
The weeks after the marathon were some of my best and worst. Taking care of Alexa was wonderful. I loved having her in my space with me. Making love to her every night and falling asleep with her in my arms was better than I dreamt. It crushed me when she moved home. Alexa made me work for our relationship, and I loved every second of it. She kept me on my toes, and never let me take her love for me for granted.
But during those weeks, Theresa threatened The Rub Down and me with a scandal. She called the spa, demanding to speak with me. Every time Jessica told her I wasn’t available, she spouted off how she was going to the press, and how she would bring The Rub Down down for messing with the wrong person. Even though she had no proof of inappropriate behavior, she did have a few friends willing to help her.
Little did we know, Tiffany, the esthetician Elle fired weeks ago, was Theresa’s roommate. Since Tiffany was pissed she’d lost her job and a reference, she had no problem helping her twisted roommate with her revenge scheme on The Rub Down. We also found out how Theresa got into the Boston Strong Gala. She had been on a cheerleading team with a wannabe anchor for the local news who had a press pass. The girl was desperate to advance her career and what better way to do it than report on a sex scandal at the hottest spa in Boston.
Theresa’s threats were shot down when she showed up for an appointment with me. As soon as she walked through the doors of The Rub Down, our lawyer, Danny, and I were waiting for her. We asked her to join us at the coffee shop next door to the spa. The look of complete shock blanketed her face when my lawyer introduced herself.
“Hi, Ms. Morgan, my name is Dina Cogley, and I am the council for The Rub Down. Mr. Stratton and Mr. Torelli have brought me up to speed on the threats you’ve been making. I’m here to tell you that, if you decide to bring those ludicrous allegations to the press, or anyone else for that matter, we will slap you with a defamation suit so fast your head will spin.”
Our lawyer had boobs of steel, which is why we hired her in the first place. She was cutthroat and knew her shit. By the end of her speech, Theresa was in tears.
“Fuck you, Luke. You’re an asshole. You think you’re so great, but you’re a nobody. Your girlfriend is an ugly bitch. I hope you two live miserably ever after together. And karma will come back to bite you in the ass for rejecting me. You’ll see,” Theresa spat at us before scrambling out of her seat and leaving the café.
We never heard from Theresa after that day, and she was banned from all spas in Boston, thanks to us spreading the word about her threats. No one else wanted to even run the risk of a scandal because she was delusional.
With the potential trouble behind me, life was perfect. The Philadelphia store construction was final. Jessica was there, doing all the hiring and everything else needed to get us ready for its opening after the New Year.
Most importantly, I had the most amazing woman as my girlfriend. Somehow, she convinced me to run a marathon with her. I couldn’t tell her no when she looked at me with her bright blue eyes and a big smile on her face. It wasn’t fair that she asked me while I was buried deep inside her, and the word no was nowhere in my vocabulary. We trained together every day. I loved our running time. The experience brought us even closer, and I was grateful for every moment.
When we arrived in Vegas, I had one more goal besides finishing twenty-six point two miles.
*****
With less than a mile left in the race, my body was shot. My calves cramped, my feet hurt like hell, and the anti-chafing ointment on my nipples didn’t do anything. But Alexa refused to let me give up.
She reached for my hand and laced our fingers together. Her touch gave me the last burst of energy I needed to cross the finish line.
She let go and said, “I love you. Now let’s do this.”
That was my cue to turn up the heat and sprint toward the finish line. As soon as we crossed, we slowed down, and I bent at the waist with my hands on my knees. Alexa walked over and rubbed my back. I straightened and looked at her. She was dripping with sweat, and her smile was brighter than the Vegas lights. I held her face in my hands and kissed her with all the energy I had left.
When we split apart, I dropped to one knee and looked up at my gorgeous girl. Her face registered what I was doing, and tears started to well up in her eyes. I pulled out the diamond ring from the tiny key pocket in my shorts. For the last four hours, I prayed and checked every mile that it stayed put.
“Alexa, you mean the world to me. You were my rule changer. The person I wasn’t even looking for, but always dreamt of. I want to spend the rest of our lives loving you. I want to hold hands with you every day, and kiss you every night before bed and every morning when we wake up. I want to make babies together, or at least practice a lot. Will you marry me?”
Tears streamed down her face, and she dropped down to her knees. “YES, I’ll marry you.”
I slid the two-carat diamond solitaire on her long finger before grabbing her face and kissing her. Applause brought us out of our little bubble. Addison and Danny led part of the crowd in hollering their congratulations, while others screamed for us to get a room.
With our best friends by our sides, we headed to the hotel to shower and a night of celebrating. Maybe I could convince Alexa to elope while we were in Vegas!
THE END
Acknowledgements
I feel like thanking the many people who have helped make this book may be harder than writing the story. The Oscar music is going to start to play and I won’t have any more time to tell you all who in my life is amazing! But I will l give this a go.
First and foremost, thank you to the guy who gave me the most incredible massage last year who inspired Luke and Alexa’s story. He was not even close to being hot like Luke but his hands were magical.
I’d also like to thank my husband Jeff for supporting me and this project. He was a constant cheerleader, giving me time to write and taking care of the kids so I could do so in peace. Writing sexy time with two five year olds did not work.
I had the best betas a girl could ever ask for! Elle, Jessica, Lara, Jennie, Stacey, Julie, Barbara, Dina, and Lisa– this book would NOT be what it is today without you. Every single one of you gave me exactly what I needed to craft this love story. Your constant support and wanting what is best for my characters and myself is more appreciated than words could possibly express. You all own a special place in my heart. I hope you will hang with me for the next ride.
To Elle– I love you to the moon and back!!!
To Tamlyn– you knew two years ago that I should write a book. I told you were crazy and that I would never do it. Well, looks like you were right. Love you girl for all your confidence you have for me.
To Hot Shit Nikki– Thank you for being well… a hot shit!!! I think I see a lot of you in Addison!
And to my editor– I am not sure this book would have ever seen the light of day if it wasn’t for you. You brought me deep into this world of indie authors three years ago when I started beta reading. My day is not complete without my morning phone call. Your friendship means more to me that I could possible tell you. Besides the fact that you turned my horrible grammar into this gorgeous book, you held my hand during the whole process.
Thank you Melissa Gill from MGcoverdesigns. I absolute LOVE the cover you made for me. It’s perfect.
Dina and Kim– you gave me my final push to finish this book. Every day you pushed me to be better and get the story out there for the world! I’m glad I found you.
I want to thank all the bloggers and friends for helping me spread the word. And last but certainly not least, you, the readers!!! I love you all and hope that you enjoyed The Rub Down.
About the Author
Gina Sheldon is a devoted wife, busy mom of twin girls, and the proud owner of a small business. She often travels the very streets of Boston she writes about in her debut novel, “The Rub Down.” One thing she refuses to leave home without is her Kindle. Their relationship borders on obsessive. As a beta reader and blogger, Gina shares her love of books with others, and her love of words has now carried her into the field of self-publishing. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found surrounded by family and friends, enjoying a glass of wine, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, or both.
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