Sharp Edges (8 page)

“I’ve just had my heart ripped to shreds and am not lookin
g to jump into anything, even if it’s meaningless sex. Besides, look at me. I’m not exactly
his
type.”

“What do you mean?”

I sighed. “I’m not very athletic, I have no style whatsoever, and I’m in a very complicated relationship with my good-for-nothing-but-fucking-other-women, husband.”

She burst out laughing.
“Bullshit. You’re a voluptuous, sexy redhead who could use a giant confidence boost. In fact, he might be able to give you that boost you need.”

I snorted.
“Right.”

“What happened to that confident girl I knew
back in high school? The one all the guys were sniffing around.”

“I have no idea. I’ve never met her.
”

“Oh, that’s bullshit. Y
ou definitely still have it. You just need to find it, sister.”

I sighed. “I’m not really interested in finding anything but a job right now
, and a way to cope with all of this crap.”

“A little confidence goes a long way and I
’m going to try my best to you get there.”

I stared at my chipped nails and cringed.
“Let me guess, I’m your new project.”

“Damn straight. We’re going to
ace
this project, too. Just you wait and see.”

“Right,” I said.

“Have some faith
.”

“
My faith isn’t so great these days, so I’ll leave that to you.”

After hanging up
, the kids left for school and I sat on the porch with my mail. As I began sorting through the bills, Jake’s front door opened and I watched as he walked a sexy brunette out to her car. He was gloriously naked from the waist up and wore a smile that indicated he’d just gotten laid. When he leaned into her driver’s side window and kissed her, I quickly turned away.

This is ridiculous
, I thought, feeling a stab of envy.
I’m a married woman.

As I was trying
to sort out my odd reaction, the car pulled away and he went inside, taking his perfectly ripped muscles with him. Fifteen minutes later, he stepped back outside, dressed in his usual running attire, catching my attention once again.

“Hey!” he called
out, noticing
me
this time.

I raised m
y hand and waved back. Then I turned back to my mail.

“
Sorry I haven’t had a chance to stop over lately to see how you’re holding up.”

I looked up to find him
climbing the steps to my porch.

I shrugged. “I’m doing fine
, thank you.”

He smiled.
“I was just getting ready to run. Do you jog?”

I
burst out laughing and motioned towards my body. “Does it look like I run?”

“You obviously keep in shape by doing something. I was just thinking that it would be nic
e to have someone to run with. It would definitely give me more of a challenge.”

“
Sorry, but I seriously doubt I’d be a challenge for you.”

He
grinned. “You’d be surprised.”

“
Well, I’m busy right now, maybe tomorrow?” I asked.

He nodded. “
Okay. I have to work late, tonight, so how about around ten o’clock tomorrow morning? If you’re not too busy, that is.”

“That’s fine. To tell you the truth, I could really use the exercise. I’m not much of a runner, though, so don’t expect too much. In fact, I promise that I won’t get angry if you leave me in your dust.”

“I’d never do that,” he laughed
.

I smiled. “I’m just saying…
”

“
I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

I glanced
at his incredibly handsome face, noticing a thin white scar near his eye. It took nothing away from his appearance, if anything making him more appealing in a dangerously sexy way. “The cut near your chin,” I pointed, “looks much better.”

He nodded. “I heal fairly quickly
. Good thing, too,” he said, lifting his shirt to show me another scar that went from his navel to somewhere beneath his shorts. “This one looked like a lawnmower attacked me when it happened.”

My eyes traveled from
his sexy six-pack to his shorts and I could feel my cheeks heat up. “So, um, how did that happen?”

H
e traced a finger over the scar. “Car accident. Fortunately, I wasn’t maimed below the belt.”

Fortunately, for the cute brunette
, I thought.

“I’d
show you the rest, but you’d probably slap me,” he said, lowering his shirt with a devilish grin.

I laughed
and tried to push the image of him standing naked in front of me out of my mind.

He looked
up towards the sky. “I suppose I’d better get going before it gets too hot.”

“
I hear it’s going to be another scorcher.”

“
Me too,” he said. “Well, I’ll catch you later, Lindsey.”

“Definitely.”

Then he was gone, running up the street while I watched with my tongue hanging out. He’d probably spent most of the night pleasuring that other woman and wasn’t interested in a drab housewife, but it didn’t keep me from enjoying the view from behind.

Sighing, I stood up as m
y cell phone started ringing again, and frowned. Scott. He just wouldn’t give up.

I ignored the call
and instead, picked up my mail and went back inside thinking that now might be a good idea to get on the stationary bike; it had been collecting dust for the past five years.

Changing
into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, I glanced at myself in the full-length mirror. I had a little pooch and my bubble-butt certainly wasn’t as firm as it used to be. But, when I turned sideways, however, I decided that I didn’t look half bad, considering my lack of effort. With a new sense of commitment, I tied my auburn hair back, grabbed a bottle of water, and went to work. Ten minutes later, however, I was huffing and puffing, sweating my ass off and feeling like I was going to die. I began to panic as I thought about tomorrow when I’d be jogging alongside
Captain America
.

Crap, was I in trouble.

Darcy
arrived to pick me up later that day while the kids sat in the kitchen and worked on their homework.

“Where are you
two going?” asked Regan, as she tapped her pencil.

I cleared my throat. “I’m going to get my
hair done.”

Regan smirked
and raised her hands in the air. “There is a God.”

“
Thanks,” I said, pulling one of her blonde locks.

“Mom, even professional stylists don’t cut their
own
hair,” she said.

“Yeah,
mom
,” added Darcy.

“Don’t
side with her,” I warned. “She’ll be talking you into getting my legs waxed, next.”

“Or bikini line
,” giggled Darcy.

Catching that statement as he
walked by, Jeremy grimaced. “Thanks for that hideous image, Darcy.”

Before Darcy could reply, I grabbed her arm
and pulled her out of the house, hollering, “See you kids later!”

“You know, now that you’re back on the ma
rket, you should think about getting a ‘Brazilian’ down there.  Men just love those, in fact…”

I shook my head and got into the
car, thankful I couldn’t hear the rest of what she was saying.

“Or –
,”she said, getting into the driver’s seat.

I interrupted her. “Enough about my crotch! As far as I
’m concerned, I won’t be inviting visitors anytime soon.”

She started the engine. “Never say never. I’m just saying that it’s ha
rder to find a cave when it’s obscured by a dense jungle.”

I bit back a smile.
“You’re crazy, you know that?”

She pointed
down to her skirt. “Maybe, but you don’t need a map to find the entrance to this party.”

I sighed.
“I hope you find a man soon, you really need to get laid.”

She snorted.
“You’re preaching to the choir, sister.”

We arrived
at the salon early, so I took a few minutes to glance at the makeup and nail polish displayed in the entryway. Then, when I noticed the prices of Salon Cheveux’s haircuts and color options, I cringed; it was definitely
way
out of my budget.

“Excited?” giggled Darcy, when the receptionist called my name.

I
smiled and nodded. I
was
actually a little excited about being pampered. It had been too long.

Darcy and I followed a
young stylist into the back where she sat me down in her salon chair. The girl’s own hair was black with blue highlights, she had tattoos all over her arms, and more piercings on her face than I could possibly count. I was a little nervous but I knew from looking at Darcy that the girl had crazy skills.

“Thanks for fitting her in, Sara
,” said Darcy. “We both really appreciate it.”

She nodded. “You l
ucked out. I had a cancellation; perfect timing.”

“So I’m thinking she could use the
works
,” said Darcy.

I stared
at myself in the mirror as Sara began running her fingers through my thick, unruly hair.

Sara stared at my reflection
intently. “Haircut and some color?”

Darcy nodded. “And those eyebrows need to be shaped.”

“Mm…a little bushy, I see what you mean.”

“Girls
?” I interrupted, my face turning red from their scrutiny.

“Oh, did
you
have some suggestions?” asked Darcy with an amused grin.

I sighed. “
Just make me look… sophisticated,” I told Sara.

“And sexy,” said Darcy.

Sara nodded. “I think we can manage that.”

I smiled.

Darcy sat down in the empty chair next to mine to watch.
“Okay, Sara, work your magic.”

Sara nodded
. “I already know exactly what I’m going to do, and believe me – she’s going to
love
it!”

Love it? Anything woul
d have to be better than the homemade style I’d walked in with.

Two hours later I stared at myself in the mirror, speechless.
I looked like a new woman. My red hair was freshly layered just below my shoulders with foiled copper and blonde highlights.  She’d also waxed and plucked my eyebrows, which I had to admit, really brought out my eyes.

“You look amazing,” said Darcy.

“
She looks drop-dead gorgeous,” gushed Sara.

I didn’t know about
that,
but I figured I looked much better than when I’d walked in.

“This is
also very easy to care for, too,” said Sara.

“I’m p
aying for the hair products, by the way,” said Darcy. “You need those, Linds. So, no arguments.”

“Thanks. I’ll pay you back,
” I answered. I was beginning to sound like a broken record.

“
Just make sure that you come back in a few weeks so we can keep this look going. No more ‘do-it-yourself’ cuts,” said Sara. “Okay?

I smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely be back.”

I wasn’t sure how I’d scrape up the money, but
come hell or high water, I’d be back.

We left the salon with a bag of products that cost almost as much as my hair
style.

“Now,” said Darcy, unlocking her car. “Saturday I’
m available if you’d like to go shopping for clothes.”

I nodded. “Well, I’m certainly free.”

“Good. Have you been looking around for jobs yet?”

“No, I
don’t even know where to start.”

“
First of all, you’re going to need a resume and then you can check the newspapers and Internet for listings.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Resume? There isn’t going to be much to list
on my resume.”

“
What kind of computer skills do you have?”

“
Actually, I’ve taken some online classes and can navigate around the Internet pretty well, if I do say so myself.”

“Have you used any programs, like Microsoft Word or Excel?”