Suddenly Sexy

“Congratulations,” Julie said as she discreetly removed the earpiece and slipped it inside her purse. “Looks like you won. Again.”

“I wonder how high I could really score,” her friend said as she looked at the scoreboard. “It was so tempting to let the ball fly tonight.”

“That would have ruined our decoy assignment. Those guys would have been too intimidated to talk to us. You know, that’s why I threw only gutter balls.”

“Oh, is that why?” Asia said in a teasing tone. “That was so great of you for swallowing your pride and taking one for the team.”

“Just do me a favor and erase my bowling score from the video feed. I don’t want to see that showing up during the highlight reel at the next Christmas party.”

Asia smiled. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Julie stretched and rubbed her hand against her back. She had spent the past few hours bowling and flirting with a bunch of suspected cheaters. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss the nightclub.”

Asia patted Julie’s arm. “That nightclub is so boring. It’s the same people dancing to the same songs and giving the same pick-up lines.”

“Maybe.” She bent down to take off her rented shoes. “But at least I get to wear stilettos at the nightclub.”

“That’s true. And who knew those bowling shoes were so dangerous. When you slipped, I thought you were going to slide down that alley. You recovered well.”

“Thank you.”

“I kept scuffing the soles of my shoes after that. But don’t I look cute? What do you think of Bowling Asia?” She raised her arms and twirled like a model on the runway.

“Adorable. Only you could rock that shade of yellow.” Her friend wore baggy jeans and an oversized bowling shirt that hid their brand-new video feed, but it couldn’t diminish her glamour. The bowlers on the other lane, including Julie’s target, had been showing off to catch Asia’s attention.

“We should pair up again,” Asia said as she gathered her shoes from under the plastic chair. “I forgot how fun it was to be out in the field.”

“I’m all for it.” It was different and had its own challenges, but she liked it. She and Asia worked in tandem, but she missed working with Eric.

Eric. She needed to stop thinking about him. He had never called or emailed. Their fling was officially over.

“Everyone is meeting up at the pizza place across the parking lot,” Asia said. “Come celebrate with us.”

She’d rather curl up in bed and pull the covers over her head. “Thanks, but I’m not really in the mood.”

“Julie, I insist. You did a super job as a decoy. Because of you, we got some great video of Wade cheating on his girlfriend.”

“Wade would have stuck his tongue down any

woman’s throat. It just happened to be mine.” She shuddered from the memory. Either decoying was getting easier or their targets were getting slimier.

“I thought he was a creep even before he offered you money for sex,” Asia confided as they walked to the main desk with their rental shoes.

“Can you imagine what he would have pulled if I had worn my Trashy Julie alias? You would have had to use your kung fu on him.”

“With pleasure.” She placed the shoes on the counter and looked at Julie’s white T-shirt, faded jeans and knee-high boots. “Which alias are you?”

“No alias.” She didn’t feel as if she needed to hide under a sexy disguise. “It’s just me.”

“I approve,” Asia said with a smile. “You’ll have to let me wear those boots for my date tomorrow.”

Asia wanted to borrow her clothes? That surprised Julie. Maybe she had kept some elements of her sexy aliases in her everyday clothes. “Sure, but I don’t think we’re the same size.”

“I’ll squeeze into them.” Asia slung her arm over Julie’s shoulder as they walked by the arcade. “Now tell me the truth. You’re not getting bored with decoying, are you?”

“No.” She should have realized that her general lack of enthusiasm was becoming noticeable. “I don’t want to do it forever, but I like having a chance to brush up my skills.”

“Is there anything else that’s bothering you?”

“The guys I meet in the line of work are awful.” She couldn’t stop comparing the men to how great Eric had been with her. “I really want to call up Wade’s girlfriend and tell her to get out now.”