Listen to Me (Fusion 1)

Yeah, because that was before I’d been snuggled by Jake.

“He wants to see me again.”

“Good.”

“Not good.”

“I’m so confused.” Cami shakes her head, her honey-blond hair bouncing as she walks quickly beside me. “Why is it bad? You enjoyed the snuggling. He rescued you from the ex–douche bag. He’s nice to you, Addie. This is a good thing.”

“He’s too good at it. He made this morning easy and funny and relaxing.”

“That bastard! You’re right. Stay away from him.” She rolls her eyes.

“Look, smart-ass, I’m saying that he’s too good at it. Like, he’s good at it because he’s done it so much already. I’m not special. I’m just another woman that he’s woken up next to.”

“Okay, number one, that’s kind of a bitchy thing to say. He didn’t have to go to your place at all. And he certainly didn’t have to stay the night. Just because he didn’t want this morning to be weird doesn’t mean that he does it every day.”

“Except, he’s a rock star, so he probably does.”

She glares at me for a minute. “He’s an ex–rock star. He hasn’t been in the limelight for five years, Addie. People change a lot in five years. And that leads me to number two. He’s a good guy. He’s always really nice to all the staff at the restaurant. He’s quick to give a sweet compliment, but he’s not overly flirty. Except with you.”

I frown, listening to Cami, and thinking about how Jake has been over the past month. She’s right, he’s kind, but not superflirty.

“I really think you’re overthinking this.”

“You’re not the first person to say that to me.” I slow the pace down to a quick walk now. “I guess it’s in my nature to overthink.”

“Of course it is. You’re a woman.” Cami also slows her pace. “Holy shit, look at that.”

Across the room is a man lifting weights. His muscles are crazy big. He’s not bad on the eyes at all.

“I’m telling you,” Cami says, her eyes still on Mr. Beefcake. “They should have an observation deck here, where we can sit with a glass of wine and watch the show. I’d come to the gym every day.”

“I can get behind this idea,” I reply thoughtfully. “We should put it in the suggestion box.”

“I’m totally gonna do that.”

“Great. Now that that’s solved, what am I going to do about Jake?”

“You’re going to see him. If this all bothers you too much, talk to him. Ask him if this is just a fun time in bed for a while, or if he wants more. And if his answer makes you happy, go for it. If it doesn’t, don’t see him.”

“You make it sound simple.”

“It is, Addie. It’s really simple. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.”

She’s right. I don’t know if I want to have that conversation with him, but it doesn’t have to be difficult.

“I need to have my roots done,” Cami says with a sigh as we both stop our machines and climb off to head to the showers.

“Let’s call Cici and schedule a girls’ night for this week.”

“That sounds like heaven. There are few things better than being pampered by Cici.”

Being pampered by Jake Keller doesn’t suck, friend.

“YOU WENT TOO long between cuts,” Cici scolds Mia as she trims her hair. “You should have been in here weeks ago.”

“I don’t know if you know this,” Mia replies sarcastically, “but I have a kitchen to run.”

“That’s no excuse to neglect your scalp.”

Cici is short and stick thin, despite having four kids. She keeps her bleach-blond hair in a pixie cut, and her makeup is always flawless.

Her makeup was flawless when she gave birth, for crying out loud.

“When did you get the new Chanel bag?” she asks me.

“Last week.” I pet the black leather with pure joy. “Isn’t she pretty?”

“I prefer Gucci,” Riley says as she reads People magazine, waiting for the color to do its job on her head. “There are some new brown heels out this season that I’m dying for.”

Kat is lying on a facial bed with a mask on her face and cucumber on her eyes. Her hands are folded over her stomach. “Y’all spend too much money on accessories,” she mutters.

“You enjoy tattoos,” Cami replies, snuggling Cici’s youngest baby in her arms. She is only three months old, and we all love snuggling her. “They like bags and shoes.”

“What do you like?” Mia asks Cami.

“Saving my money,” Cami says with a grin, then kisses the baby’s head.

“Mom! Mom! Mom!” Two little boys come running through Cici’s basement, wielding foam swords. Their faces are smeared with chocolate. “Daddy won’t let us stay up to watch TV!”

“You’re supposed to stay upstairs,” Cici says with a scowl. “Where is your sister?”

“On the phone. As usual.” The boys shrug, have a long, dramatic sword fight in the middle of the room, then run back upstairs as quickly as they came down.

“You know I love you, Cici,” Kat says. “But the best birth control in the world is one night a month at your house.”

“Oh please, learn from my mistakes, friends. Not that they’re mistakes, and I wouldn’t trade any of them for anything, but they’re a handful.”