Boycotts and Barflies (14 page)

“His name. A lot. And loudly. If I didn’t know any better, I might have assumed  that he was maybe, um, in there with you,” Bianca squeaked out.

“I’m going to my room to die now. I’ll be drowning myself in the shower,  washing the layers of embarrassment and humiliation away. It might take a  few days. I’ll see you then.” Grace got up from the table, leaving them to their boisterous laughter, and slammed the door to her bedroom. In the bathroom,  she started the shower, turning the water up as hot as she could get it. While  she waited for the temperature to get warm enough for her to climb in, she  grabbed the new bottle of  conditioner that was sitting out on the dresser and  heard her cell phone beep.

She dove onto the bed and dug around for the phone, but it was all twisted up  in the sheets from last night. When she managed to get it free, there was a new  text message:

Exercise is a great way to get over a hangover.  – M

Grace quickly replied:

I’ll have to try that, thanks.  – G

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Suddenly, instead of being nauseous, her stomach was filled with an excited swarm of butterflies. Her heart pounded, knowing that she was going to be able to see Michael today. It seemed like a lot longer than one day since they had been together, but Grace missed him more than she could have believed possible in such a short time.

With newfound purpose, she grabbed th e conditioner, jumped in the shower and quickly scrubbed her hair and body into a good lather. She didn’t know exactly when he was going to the gym, but she figured it had to be soon, so she hurried and got dressed in the cutest workout clothes she owned.

When she in walked out of her bedroom, she found a nervous looking Bianca sitting on the couch, also dressed for the gym. Grace raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously, knowing that Bianca hardly ever went there. She has been blessed with amazing genetics and everyone absolutely hated her for it. Her pleading look told Grace to just go with whatever she said and not draw attention to her sudden interest in physical fitness.

“You two going to the gym?” Meg casually asked when she came out of her room a minute  later, a sleek black wig on her head.

“Yeah, there’s a new kick boxing class I told Bianca about and she wants to go check it out. Besides, I looked online and working out is supposed to be a great way to work the toxins out of the system. Do you want to come with us, Meg?”  Grace asked casually as she snatched an apple out of the basket on the counter and took a bite. Bianca sent her a panicked look, but Grace knew they had about as much chance of Meg coming with them as they had of winning the lottery, twice. Especially since she had just painted her nails and done her hair. “No thanks. You two go sweat away your hangovers. I’m going to shop my toxins away. It’s almost Christmas and I have a ton left to buy.” Meg was flipping through the colorful ads in the newspaper, looking for gift ideas. Relieved to have dodged the bullet, Bianca looked at Grace and winked.

“OK, then we’ll see you later, Meg.” Grace tossed her cell phone in her gym bag, grabbed her keys, and the two of them headed out the door.

Grace glanced at Bianca as she drove, noting the big smile on her face. “So, I take it you got a text message too?”

She nodded her head. “When I was in the shower. I was sitting on the couch trying to figure out how the hell I was going to convince Meg that I wante d to go to the gym out of the blue when you came out and I knew I was saved.”

“So we aren’t breaking any rules here, are we?” Grace asked hesitantly.

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“No! We are going to the gym to workout. That’s definitely not a date. And we’ll  tell Meg we saw them there, no lies.”

Grace thought about it and had to agree that they were in no real violation of  any rule she could think of, so when they came home, Meg couldn’t complain. The girls parked the car and went straight to the  locker room, trying to be  casual as they anxiously scanned the gym looking for Michael and Jack.

“Damn, they aren’t here yet. Now I have to actually work out! I’m going to do  that step aerobics class that just started. What about you?” Bianca asked as she  grabbed her towel and water bottle.

“I’ll go run a few miles on the treadmill. I have a lot of, uh, pent up energy to get  out of my system,” Grace mumbled. Bianca laughed and said she’d see her in  thirty minutes when her class was over.

Grace grabbed her stuff and went back toward the treadmills she’d used earlier  in the week. She popped in a pair of ear buds, cranked the music, and started  running.

About ten minutes into the run, she could hear Jack’s booming laughter fill the  gym and her already-pounding heart started flying even faster in her

chest. Don’t look, Grace, don’t look, play it cool, she tried to tell herself, but

then she made the mistake of taking a sip of water and glanced in the mirror to  find Michael watching her from across the gym.

His smile grew bigger when she gave him a little wave as she continued  running. He held up one finger to signal he’d be right back and then  disappeared into the locker room.

Grace quickly checked herself out in the mirror. Her cheeks were a little pink  from running and thankfully she wasn’t completely covered in sweat. She  turned the speed of the treadmill down a notch to make it easier to catch her  breath. If he happened to come over, she didn’t want to be panting like a dog. Full of nervous energy, she snatched the water bottle out of its holder and took  another sip, trying to calm herself before Michael reappeared. She had almost  accomplished her task, when a booming voice came from the right. “Grace,  fancy meeting you here!”

“Hi, Jack. Yes,  what a total coincidence,” she said in mock surprise. Jack stood  between her treadmill and the vacant one to the right. Michael hopped up on  the empty one and stood there silently smirking while watching Grace jogged  beside him. Her arms broke out in goose bumps under his intense gaze.

Her face immediately got hot and she needed to distract herself.

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Jack looked around the gym. “So did you, um, come here alone?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“Why, no, I didn’t, Jack. It just so happens that Bianca joined me today. I have to say I was quite shocked, since she despises getting sweaty. Well, through exercise, that is,” she teased.

Jack took a second to process what Grace said, then smiled wickedly. “Well, where is your sweaty friend? I’d like to say hello.”

“She’s over in the classroom. There was some strip aerobics class she was dying to take.” The words had barely finished crossing her lips when Jack spun around and sprinted over to the large window.

“There’s no strip aerobics class here.” Michael laughed glancing over at the large glass window.

“I know that, and you know that, but Jack sure didn’t.” Grace watched Jack press his forehead against the glass and then look over at them with a confused look on his face before shrugging and continuing to watch with a big smirk, clearly enjoying the view.

“So, are you going to stand there and stare at me all day or are you going to run?” she asked Michael, praying he’d choose to run because his staring was starting to drive her crazy.

“Actually, I like watching you, but if you insist, I suppose I could run today.” He looked clueless as he stared at the buttons on the treadmill, making it obvious to Grace he had never operated one before.

“Push the green one to start it. Right there, yeah. And then run.” She pointed to the top of the console and encouraged him to press the button. The machine hummed and Michael stumbled; then he started jogging, much slower that she was going, but at least he was moving.

“So, do you like to run?” he  asked, trying to make small talk even though it was extremely difficult while running on the treadmill for the first time in months. “Yes, I like to work on my endurance and stamina. It comes in very handy you know.” She gave him a flirty wink.

Shame on you, Grace! Remember the boycott—and the shoes, Grace, the shoes.

“I can definitely see where your stamina training could come in handy.” The  seductive tone of his voice made her stomach do a flip. “However, weight  training can also come in handy for when yo ur task requires more power.” 106

I am not having this conversation. Not with this guy, in this gym. And oh, wow, now he’s getting sweaty. Shoes, money, bragging rights, shoes, money, bragging rights, she reminded herself.

There wasn’t much she could say to that without embarrassing herself even more, so she decided against a snappy comeback and continued running, stealing a quick glance at Michael now and then when he wasn’t paying attention. Grace looked briefly toward the weights and noticed Jack with two enormous dumbbel s raised over his head. Bianca’s class was due to finish up any minute and while Michael seemed to be holding his own on the treadmill, she could hear him starting to huff and puff.

She flipped off her machine and took a long drink of water before she climbed down. As soon as her treadmill stopped, Michael shut his off too. He doubled over, with his hands pressed onto his knees, trying desperately to catch his breath.

“How was your run?” Grace smiled and patted him on the back, encouraging

him to stand up to help him breathe.

“Fantastic, great, never better. And yours?” he asked as he continued to gasp

for air, his hands locked behind his head while he paced back and forth.

“Not bad. I stopped a little early because I didn’t want that vein on the side of

your head to explode. Looks like you need to work on your stamina if you hope

to keep up with me.” She grabbed her water bottle and wrapped her lips

around the opening as Michael looked on, mesmerized.

Bianca emerged from her class, and Grace watched her shamelessly make a

bee-line for Jack. Bianca was fluffing her hair, licking her lips, and sticking her

chest out a little more than usual as she approached.

Look out! She ’s a woman with a mission. Grace was laughing to herself when

she felt two arms wrap around her waist.

She spun around to find Michael’s perfect smile looking down at her.

“Now I’ve got you. Let’s see if your stamina is enough to beat my brute

strength.” He locked his wrists behind her back and pulled her close, a cocky

smile on his face.

“You’re assuming that I want to leave,” Grace said softly as she pressed her

body tighter against his. Michael’s eyes lit up with excitement as she gave him a

coy smile. She felt his body relax as his hands moved to her hips, his eyes fixed

on her pouty lips.

That’s when she pushed him away.

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“Nice ‘brute strength’ you’ve got there, Michael.” She smirked. Michael gave her  a playful smile and started walking straight at her. Grace took a few steps back  and found herself pinned to the wall. She held her breath as he leaned in close  enough for her to feel his hot breath on her neck.

“Cheater.”

“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. It was either that or knee you in the  groin and scratch your eyes out like I learned in self-defense class. I decided to  take it easy on you this time.” She laughed, ducking under his arm to make a  hasty escape. “Come on, I need to see if Bianca is behaving herself. If not, my  odds of winning the bet go up exponentially,” she said happily. Michael laughed  and followed her over to the bench where Bianca sat admiring a very sweaty

Jack from a safe distance across the room.

“Hey, Jack.” Grace gave a wave in his direction as she sat down next to Bianca.  Michael went over and joined his friend while the two women sat, taking in the  magnificent view before them. “Hi, B,” Grace mumbled.

“H ey.”

“How long do you think we can just sit here and blatantly stare at them before  they realize we’re ogling them?” Grace asked, somewhat distracted by  Michael’s twisting torso.

“Not sure, but I do know that if Jack starts doing those squat things again,  I’ll  need to leave the room.” She fanned herself for dramatic effect as she winked

at Jack. Grace could only nod her head in agreement. When the guys started  doing pull ups, the women had reached their limits of self control.

Bianca reached over and grabbed Grace’s hand in a panic as Jack bent over to  select a heavier weight, his shorts becoming snug in all the right places.

“Grace.”

She laughed. “I’m right here with you, Bianca. Just think Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy  Choo … We can do this.”

The pair stood up and tried to casually wave goodbye to make a fast exit, but as soon as Jack saw them get up, he waved them over.

“Hey, guys, we’re going to call it a day and hit the showers,” Grace said eyeing the locker room door.

Jack smiled and took a step toward Bianca,  whispering something in her ear that made her blush three shades of red. She bit her lip and slowly shook her head no.

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Grace glanced at Michael who shrugged his shoulders, looking just as confused as she was. “Thanks for suggesting the gym. I feel much better. I think I ran all the toxins out of my system.”