Текст книги "The Rub Down"

Автор книги: Gina Sheldon

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

Chapter Ten

Luke

After my shower, I threw on sweatpants and a t-shirt, planted my ass on my soft, comfortable leather couch, and turned on the Celtics game. My thoughts turned to how I wanted to proceed with Alexa, and I decided to ask her if I could run with her. It was a friend-zone approved activity. If she seemed uncomfortable, I would tell her it was so I could tailor my therapy around her stride, or some other bullshit.

I had just dozed off when my cell buzzed with a text.

Jeff: I need a HUGE favor.

Me: What do you need man?

Jeff: I need you to run with Alexa tomorrow.

 

Was he kidding? Why would he pick me to run with her? And why, when Jeff just handed me my date on a silver platter, was I pissed?

Me: Why can’t you do it?

Jeff: My mom had to be rushed to the hospital for shortness of breath and chest pains. I need to drive to Syracuse tonight.

 

Well shit, I couldn’t be mad at him for that reason. I would just have to come up with another kind of date that didn’t scream date.

Me: Sorry to hear that. Of course I’ll cover for you. Where should I meet her? How many miles tomorrow?

Jeff: Meet her at the Frog Pond at 8am. You’re doing 15.

Me: 15? Oh fuck! I haven’t run 15 in a long time.

Jeff: Don’t embarrass yourself. Thanks guy. I owe you.

 

Seriously, I hadn’t run that far since it started to get cold out in November. It was mid-March. That was five months on the treadmill running ten miles at the most. I had to pull on my big boy pants and push through. Speaking of pants, it was still too cold to run outside without the proper clothes.

Me: Dude, you home or you out already?

Danny: I’m out. Wanna join us? We are at Paddy O’s.

Me: No. Jeff bailed on Alexa and I need to run with her, but don’t have the gear. Can I steal your running tights and cold weather running jacket?

Danny: Yeah, third drawer down in my dresser.

Me: Thanks bud! Pray for me. We’re doing 15 tomorrow.

Danny: LMAO

 

Asshole. He was more than likely doubled over laughing. I was a wuss when it came to the cold. Danny still ran outside, snow permitting, in the winter, and when the weather was nice, we usually went together.

I threw on a fleece jacket and slipped on my flip-flops with my socks, grabbed my keys, and walked across the street to Danny’s place.

As I passed the desk, I waved at Katie, the concierge on duty. Since she knew I was an approved guest, and I had a key, I didn’t have to wait for security to let me in. I took the elevator to the eighteenth floor.

Danny’s one-bedroom unit was a total bachelor pad. Like my place, his had floor-to-ceiling windows in every room, but his view overlooked Downtown Crossing and Emerson College rooftops. Because he refused Jessica and Elle’s interior design help, his house was lifeless. In the living room, a brown leather couch on one wall faced a mounted sixty-inch television. The only other piece of furniture was a nasty, blue La-Z-Boy recliner from our college days he refused to throw out. I hated that thing and would rather sit on the floor than on it. It was probably growing its own sexually transmitted disease after countless people used it over the years.

Our homes were complete opposites. Mine was spotless, almost compulsive. His place was always in a state of disarray.

I walked down the hallway and into his disheveled bedroom. Clothes littered the floor, leaving only a small path from the door to his bed and to the en suite bathroom. On my way to the dresser, I kicked stuff out of my way. Surely he didn’t bring girls here when it looked like this, but it would explain why he never kept a girlfriend for long. Everything I needed was right on top when I opened the third drawer. Against my better judgment, I gave them a sniff to make sure they were actually clean. I had enough time to wash and dry them if necessary, but thankfully, my best friend wasn’t that gross.

With that problem solved, I headed home and crawled right into bed, knowing I needed as much rest as possible for my run.

*****

I woke up insanely early for a Sunday morning considering I didn’t have to work. Since we were meeting at eight, I had time for food. Needing some carbohydrates, I ate toast with nut butter and a bowl of oatmeal before warming up my body. I didn’t want to cramp or pull anything.

After I finished my breakfast, I headed to the Frog Pond in the Boston Common. In the winter, it was an ice skating rink, and in the summer, it was a wading pool for little kids. I wanted to beat Alexa to our meeting site, and wondered if Jeff told her about the change in plans. Sometime in the middle of the night, he emailed me the route he planned to use. It was a straight shot to Chestnut Hill and back, and I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to keep up with Alexa.

I didn’t know how to act around her in this new environment after our time together Friday night. Our relationship status was foggy at best. We started as therapist/client, and then hit friendship level on Friday while hanging out at Caffe Vittoria. And by Sunday, my feelings were closer to romantic territory, even though I couldn’t act on them. So out of my comfort zone, I had no idea what the fuck I was doing.

All my other relationships started in the romance category. Boy met girl, boy and girl liked each other, and then boy and girl had crazy sex. Done. There was no questioning of anything. Yet with Alexa, I questioned everything.

It was seven forty-five when I arrived at the Frog Pond. As I approached the still frozen pond, I saw her using one of the frog statues to stretch. Her ear buds were in her ears, so she didn’t hear me approach. I took the opportunity to watch her. She really was gorgeous. One of her legs rested on top of the frog’s head. From my angle, I had a great view of her hot as hell ass. Black running leggings molded to her body like they were painted on. A simple, black running jacket, with the Nike Swoosh on the sleeve and reflective stripes along the back, hugged her torso. Watching her tight body in action excited me. Her long, blonde hair was in two braids, and a bright blue beanie sat on top of her head to keep the heat in and her ears warm.

My ensemble was almost identical, except for my red beanie for my near bald head. We looked like twins.

After I stared at her for a few moments, I decided to stop being a creeper and get this show on the road.

“Morning,” I yelled to get her attention in an effort not to scare the crap out of her.

She looked up and took her ear buds out, turning her head in my direction. “What are you doing here?” A look of complete confusion covered her face as she lowered her leg off the statue. Jeff apparently did not inform her of the switch.

“Jeff had to head home to New York late last night for a family emergency, so he asked if I would stand in for him this morning,” I answered with a huge smile on my face, trying to set her mind at ease. I took a few steps toward her, wanting to go in for a friendly hug.

“I hope everything is okay with Jeff’s family, but you don’t have to run with me. I could have just gone by myself and run with him later this week,” she said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

I wanted to pull that lip between my teeth and taste her. God, the simplest things she did took my breath away.

“It’s no problem. He asked, and I wanted to. He sent me your route, and it’s pretty straight forward,” I said, trying my hardest not to stare at her perfectly shaped mouth. “However, besides checking out your gait, I’m more of a running partner than a trainer today.”

“Sounds good. I need to finish stretching, and then I’ll be ready to go. Have you stretched yet?” She seemed nervous, which I hated. But she lifted her other leg onto the frog.

“Yes, I stretched at my house since it is so close. Do you need help?” I asked, hoping she did so I could touch her. My hand itched to be on her body. Something about her drew me to her, and the desire to simply be in her presence was stronger than anything I had ever felt before. There was no instant bang when we touched, but more of a slow simmer through my body. I was getting greedy for that feeling.

“Not right now, but I’ll probably need your help when we finish.”

She gave me the sweetest smile I had ever seen. I stared at her mouth for a few seconds longer than I probably should, but her lips were distracting.

“Do you use Spotify or iTunes when you run?” I asked, pointing to the iPhone wrapped around her bicep. I loved running to music, and I wanted this peek inside her head. Music was a way to look into someone’s soul to see what drove her, what made her tick.

“I use Spotify. I have a few running playlists. Wanna follow me so we can run to the same tracks?” She stretched her arms over her head.

“Sure, but if your music sucks, I’m making you listen to one of my playlists.” I nudged her shoulder to show I was teasing her.

“My music kicks ass. You won’t need yours.” Alexa gave as good as she got, and I loved it. “Ready?” she asked, hopping from foot to foot.

I finished following her on Spotify on my phone and put it in my protective arm cuff.

“Yup, let’s go. We’ll run down Beacon Street for an obscene amount of time, then we’ll loop around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, and then back in on Commonwealth. The shitty part is we’ll have to run up Beacon Hill to complete the fifteen miles.” Beacon Hill was brutal on a good day, but after almost fifteen miles, it was going to be hell.

“Will I have to carry you to your house, or will you make it?” Alexa giggled and her smile reached her Caribbean blue eyes.

“Screw carrying me. Just call an ambulance. I’ll be dead,” I said, laughing even though I was as serious as the heart attack I was going to have. “Let’s do this.”

And with that, we placed our ear buds in and were off.

*****

About five miles in, I got my stride and started to enjoy the run. Alexa’s playlist did kick ass. I had never listened to dance music while running, but I was into it and feeling good.

She was a natural runner with smooth strides like a gazelle, her gorgeous long legs, and perfect running form. Every so often, I would fall back a few feet so I could watch her ass in action. Then I realized getting a hard on while running was not a great idea, and I caught up to her. At one point, she slowed down so she was behind me, and I wondered if she was doing the same to me. The thought that she was appreciating my ass made me happy. One time, I gave my ass a good shake, and I heard her giggle. Score.

We didn’t talk much for the first half, but we sang classic songs like “No Diggity” and “Eye of the Tiger” at the top of our lungs. Once we headed back into Boston from Chestnut Hill, we were both tired of music and chatted more.

“Tell me why you’re running this year?” I asked Alexa between breaths. Experts say if you can carry on a conversation while running, then you are going at your perfect pace.

“Well, I ran last year, but didn’t get to finish.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

The bombings at the finish line last year were such a delicate topic, and I was torn if I should push the issue.

“Were you there that day?” Alexa asked before I could inquire more. Her clipped tone indicated she didn’t want to talk about it further.

“No, but I was at The Rub Down a block and a half away. It was probably the scariest thing I’ve ever heard and witnessed.”

At 2:49 pm, two backpacks containing shrapnel packed pressure cookers exploded twelve seconds apart at the finish line. The bombing created mass chaos as runners were still trying to finish the race, and thousands of innocent spectators lined the streets. Three people lost their lives, and hundreds were injured. The police shut down a twelve-block area around the site to investigate, which closed The Rub Down for days. The horror etched on the faces of Boston’s citizens was a sight I would never forget. Boston showed the world we were strong. The police, firemen, and EMTs were truly heroes, as well as other outstanding citizens. Many of the runners who were stopped blocks away from the site, and weren’t allowed to finish the run, went to the nearest hospitals to donate blood. The fear continued for days until the terrorists were finally found.

“I was in a treatment room when it happened. I felt the ground shake, and honestly thought it was an earthquake. Jessica ran upstairs and alerted me to what was happening. Danny and I did our best to get our clients to safety.” I remembered feeling helpless. I wanted to help the emergency personnel, but needed to do my duty to my clients first.

Our pace dropped as we remembered the horror.

“I’m sorry I brought it up. It’s so hard to think about. Let’s talk about something happier.”

“Did you need massages last year toward the end of your training, too?”

“No, I guess I’m just getting old, and my body hates me,” she said and chuckled. “Seriously though, I probably should have, but I was new and didn’t use a trainer. I used the good old World Wide Web as my guide.” Her smile was contagious.

I couldn’t stop myself from grinning at her outdated name for the internet.

“Well, I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself this year. Running can be so hard on a body.” I reached out and gave her shoulder a small tap.

“My turn for a question. Tell me what you like to do when you don’t have naked women in your bed.” I snapped my head in her direction and saw the pink flaring up on her cheeks.

“Well, first of all, let’s call it a table. And I have men naked on it, too. However, they’re not as enjoyable to massage,” I said, giving her a wink. “To answer your question though, Danny and I play in a basketball league at the sports club attached to my building. I hang out with my sisters a lot, too.”

“Jessica’s so nice. She’s always smiling when I come in. You have another sister, right? I think I’ve seen her once, but didn’t get a chance to talk to her.”

“You should hang out with us sometime. When Jessica and Elle get together outside of the spa, they’re hilarious.” I peeked from the corner of my eye to see if she reacted to me inviting her out. What I saw was Alexa turning her lickable lips up into a perfect smile.

“I’d love that,” she replied. Her eyes flickered to mine, then straight back to the path.

With the heavy conversation behind us, Alexa picked up our pace, leaving me laboring for breath.

“Okay, I need to stop talking now. I think death is upon me for these last few miles. I need some hard rock blaring in my ears to push me through.” I reached up and wiped the sweat at the edge of my beanie.

“You’re on your own with that hard rock shit. I’ll just blast Pitbull and get it done.”

“Don’t let me slow you down. Go at your pace. I need to slow mine down, but I’ll meet you at the end, and then we can cool down and stretch together.” I hated that I wasn’t able to keep up, but I was shocked I made it as long as I had.

About twenty minutes later, I arrived at the top of the hill, and in front of the State Building was Alexa. She was lightly stretching and watching me approach. When I reached her, I threw my arms up in the air, requesting a double high five. She obliged, and then I grabbed her around the waist and swung her around. She held on to my arms for dear life and let out a belly laugh that made me smile bigger than I thought possible.

We walked to the Boston Common to stretch and cool down.

Best. Run. Ever.

Chapter Eleven

Alexa

That was the best fifteen miles I had ever run. Even though it was a first for Luke and me, we kept the same pace, better than Jeff and me, and we had been running together for several months.

Spending time with Luke was so damn easy because we just really clicked. Warmup, tunes, and run… it was easy as that. When Luke dropped back a few times, I wondered if I was going too fast, but then I felt his stare burning a hole in my tights. Since he did it more than once, I figured he liked what he saw. Turnabout was fair play, so I slowed for a glimpse of his ass. Busted! He started shaking what his momma gave him, and did I ever want to thank that woman for giving him a fine ass. Every muscle in his strong legs worked hard, and it was quite a sight.

After I ran ahead to finish the last few miles, my thoughts circled to when he asked me to hang out with him and his sisters. I hoped the invitation was sincere and meant he wanted to spend time with me outside the treatment room. Though I considered myself a modern woman, I still preferred he make the first move. His interest in me was evident, but something was stopping him. Whatever it was, I hoped he would move past it and ask me out soon.

Once I reached the State House, I spent the first five minutes bent over, trying to catch my breath. That fucking hill sucks ass, and I honestly didn’t know if I was going to make it, but it was perfect practice. After all, Heartbreak Hill on the marathon route wasn’t called that for no reason. As my breath steadied, I looked down the hill and saw Luke. When he noticed me, he broke out in some crazy dance routine. By the time he reached me, and held up his hands for a high ten, I was laughing hysterically, and he was wearing the biggest smile. Then he picked me up and swung me around, making me dizzy. I loved how fun and carefree Luke always was. When he put me down, I wanted him to pull me in for a tight hug and a smoldering kiss, but instead, he stepped back, and we jogged to the Common in a stunned, awkward silence.

Once we returned to the Frog Pond, we stretched.

“How are your muscles feeling?” Luke balanced against the frog statue, reached behind to grab his left ankle in his left hand, and stretched his quad.

“They feel great. My body’s still on its high.” I lunged forward to stretch my hip flexor. “I’ll feel a little tight later, but I’ll stretch again. No biggie.”

“When’s your next appointment? Tuesday, right?”

I was floored he knew when I would be back at The Rub Down. With dozens of responsibilities and clients, his memorizing the schedule made it seem that maybe he liked having me on his table as much as I liked being there.

“Yeah, ten o’clock. I’ll go for a quick run first thing that morning. I’m taking tomorrow off.”

“You going to come in and take another yoga class?” he asked. His eyes grew as wide as saucers.

So, he knew I was at the spa yesterday. I had assumed he wasn’t there since I didn’t see him. A shy smile appeared on his face, displaying his rare dimples. They were deep enough to stick my pinkie in, but what I really wanted was to lick them as I inched my lips to his mouth.

“Maybe. I need to check the schedule and see what appointments I have tomorrow. I did like Nikki’s class, though. She’s really great.” I replied, hoping I had a chance to see him tomorrow at the spa. “But since I did yoga yesterday, I think I need to hit the gym for some strength training.”

“Did you walk here from the South End or did you drive?” Luke asked.

We finished our cool down and stared at each other, neither of us wanting to end our time together.

“I drove, and actually parked at the Ritz. One of my clients lives there and she loves me, so when she heads south for the winter, she leaves me her parking spot for whenever I need it.”

We started to walk through the Common to the Ritz where I knew Luke lived.

“That’s great. Parking in this town is nuts sometimes. My neighbor rents his spot for three hundred dollars a month since he doesn’t own a car.”

Wow, I didn’t realize my client could get that kind of money for her spot, not that she needed more money. I made a mental note to send her a thank you present to her home in Naples.

“I can’t wait to get home and drink another gallon of water and stuff my face full of food,” I said, dreaming of the pastries I planned to pick up before I got home.

“Do you want to grab brunch with me?”

His voice had a glimmer of hope that I didn’t think I could ever turn down.

“We aren’t really dressed for a restaurant,” I answered, wishing I were presentable to the brunch world.

“Who cares what we look like?” he replied with a cheeky grin.

“You realize you’re wearing tights, right?”

“Good point. We can run up to my place so I can throw on some jeans. Then we’ll head to brunch. What’s the name of the one who has pajama days?” he asked.

We approached the south tower of the Ritz, which happened to be where my client, Mrs. Denton, lived as well. We greeted the doorman as he held the door open for us and gave us a friendly smile.

“It’s in the South End. I’ll ask Addison the name.” I sent off a quick text before we stepped into the elevator. “She’s been before. I walk past it all the time, but I can’t remember. My brain hasn’t settled from your spinning me around.”

The elevators in Luke’s building were like no other I’d experienced. When I first started visiting with Mrs. Denton, my ears would pop, and I swore I wouldn’t need gum during airplane takeoff anymore. Luke pressed thirty-five and away we went. Once the doors opened, I followed his lead and enjoyed the view. He took the key from his jacket pocket and let me into his condo.

I already knew the units at the Ritz were spectacular, but Luke’s place was gorgeous. The floor to ceiling windows along the exterior walls provided the most amazing view of the city. Soft blue-gray paint covered the textured walls, accented with white trim. The furniture was large and decadent, and the black leather sofa with attached chaise appeared to be soft as butter. I could imagine wrapping up in Luke’s arms and sinking into the couch. Mounted on the wall in front of the couch was a large television, at least double the size on Addison and my little dinky one. The dining area held a dark ebony table with four matching chairs pushed in around it. Off to the side, two other chairs implied the table expanded for more guests.

“Water?” Luke said, peeking around the corner of his kitchen, startling me. I hadn’t noticed he’d left the room I was so entranced with his home.

“Yes, thank you. You have an amazing space here.” I reached for the bottle proffered to me.

“Glad you like it, but I can’t take all the credit. Jess and Elle did all this. They refused to allow this amazing place to look like a shit hole.” He laughed, and I could tell he was remembering their conversation.

Just then, my cell sang a little ditty, alerting me that Addison texted me back.

“The brunch place is called Cooper’s Place on Tremont.” I showed Luke the text.

“Great. Let me just peel myself out of these tights and throw on something I can breathe in.” Luke took off down the long hallway to his master suite.

I turned around in the living room to look at the pictures lining the walls. Some were of when Luke and his sisters were little, and some seemed to be more recent. One was in front of The Rub Down with Luke and Danny holding giant scissors and a red bow tied off in front of the doors.

I had just noticed the art on the other wall when I saw Luke leaning against the hallway wall, staring at me.

“What?” I gave him a playful attitude since he totally caught me gaping around the room. Thank goodness I hadn’t hit up the bathroom medicine cabinets yet.

“Nothing. I was just watching you.” Luke answered with more honesty than I expected. My cheeks grew warm with embarrassment. “Did you call for your car yet? Can I ride over with you, and then I’ll call a cab home? I’m pretty sure my body is not up for the walk.”

“Shit, I forgot to call while you were changing.” I was too busy staring at your pictures.

“What’s the car tag number? I’ll call for it.” Luke pushed off the wall and walked to the kitchen house phone.

“669.” I giggled like an adolescent boy when I had to say my car tag number. Luke just laughed at me laughing, shook his head, and placed the call to valet.

“Okay, ten minutes. Let’s head down. Sometimes on Sundays they’re quicker.”

We left his place and waited in the lobby for only a few minutes before my car arrived. The valet held my door open, but when I turned around to close it, Luke was there, and the valet was gone. He shut my door, ran around to the passenger side, and hopped in.

Since Cooper’s wasn’t far from my apartment, I thought of asking if we could pop in for me to change too, but Luke beat me to it.

“Hey, we’re near your place. Do you want out of your tights, too?”

Only if you help me out of them.

“Yes, you just read my mind. They’re sweaty, and I feel nasty.” Before I could berate myself for being so ladylike and sexy with my sweat talk, I spied a parking spot right in front of my place! “You’re good luck! This is the best spot. I didn’t think that car was going to ever move. It’s been parked there for like the last month. Now shh, so I can concentrate on parallel parking.” I threw the car in reverse and did my thing, but got nervous with him staring at me and had to start all over again.

“Do you need me to get out and direct you? Or better yet, do it for you?”

I wanted to either smack the shit-eating grin off his face for totally mocking me, or kiss it because he seriously was sexy as hell, no matter what he did.

“No, jerk, I need you to not stare at me and make me nervous. I’m a freakin’ expert at this shit. I don’t have valets parking my car every night.” I gave as good as I got. He just turned his head, laughing. The second time was textbook perfect. “Take that, Luke!”

We got out of the car and walked to my place. “We have to walk up a flight of stairs. You going to make it?” I wasn’t sure why, but I couldn’t stop teasing him.

“Yes, wise ass. I’ll make it up a flight. After that, all bets are off and you may need to carry me.” He ran up behind me, gave my ass a playful ‘good game,’ and waited for me to unlock the door to my building. I loved that we played around and had fun together.

“Please, forgive the state of my place right now. I have no idea what Addison has been up to, or if it’s even clean. Don’t judge,” I said once we got to the top of the stairs. I opened the door slowly, trying to get a peek at the place before Luke saw it. It wasn’t a total dump, but it sure as hell wasn’t the Ritz.

“Welcome to my humble abode. Let me run upstairs and throw on some clothes, and then we can head over. I’m a starvin’ Marvin. Do you want anything before I go?”

“No, I’m good. Just hurry. I’m going to start eating your couch in a second.”

Once I was out of sight, I started shedding my clothes and loosening my braids. I grabbed an old pair of jeans that hugged my body in all the right places, and a comfy but flattering long sleeved t-shirt. Grabbing the baby powder, I doused my hair, trying to take out the grease. Following a quick brushing, it didn’t look half-bad, so I washed my face and swiped some mascara along my blonde eyelashes. After applying deodorant, I called it as good as it was going to get. I didn’t want to leave Luke alone long.

Coming down the hall, I looked over the staircase and saw Luke chatting with Addison. Like he did with me, I stood and admired him. He was a good-looking man, and I could stare at him for hours without being bored. His muscles were not so big that they looked gross and veiny, but not so small that I wouldn’t feel safe wrapped up in them.

Deciding I was hungrier for food than I was for him, I walked down the stairs. Addison shot me a surprised look when she caught my eye. Luke turned around and saw me approaching.

His eyes raked over my body from head to toe. “Not fair, you made yourself look gorgeous, and I’m still looking like I just ran fifteen miles,” Luke said, causing my stomach to knot.

He called me gorgeous!

“You guys headed to Cooper’s?” Addison asked, a proud momma grin on her face. She knew I liked Luke, and that this morning was a big deal to me.

“Yes, after fifteen miles, I could eat a horse,” I answered. What was my problem? With the way I was talking, it seemed as if I wanted him to friend-zone me. I looked up at Luke to see him laughing at my choice of words.

“Then let’s go. I don’t know how many horses we can find in the South End, so you may have to settle for waffles.”

“See ya, Addison. Want anything?” I asked.

“No, thanks. Have fun!”

Everything with Luke felt so natural, like we had been together for years. The whole day, so far, made me feel like we were a couple, but I knew we weren’t. There would be no making out on my doorstep at the end of this. We were friends at best. I would love to see what would happen if we gave an “us” a go, but I refused to be the aggressor. He needed to be the one to make the first move. I was a patient girl, and because I saw potential between us, I would wait him out.