One to Love (One to Hold 4)
Confusion lined her face. “What? You don’t like kids?”
“It’s not that.” Clearing my throat, I figured it was time for me to head back to the front. “You just practice what I showed you yesterday. The more you work on it, the better you’ll get.”
She didn’t understand, but I didn’t owe her an explanation. I’d finish my work as usual, and Sunday was my day off. I was back to one foot in front of the other, the best way to keep it.
Chapter 12: “Life teaches, Love reveals.”
Kenny
Slayde Bennett is the most impossible man on the planet. Not that I care, of course, but if I did, I’d probably want to hit him in the head with one of those mops he pushes around all day. How dare he turn tail and run at the mention of Lane? I suppose he doesn’t think he was a little boy once? I guess he just arrived here as an adult, fully formed?
And why was I getting all fired up about this again?
Shaking the crazy out of my head, I focused on my practice. He might be a jerk, but he did know boxing. I threw a punch, concentrating on keeping my elbows tight, my chin tucked into my shoulder. What was the other thing he’d said? If I weren’t so pissed at him, I might ask. As it was, I’d figure it out myself. A best defense was smart choices—I remembered that much. Today’s smart choice involved giving him a wide berth.
* * *
Mrs. Clarkson had rescheduled her training session from yesterday to today, and I was kind of glad. She always gave me something to think about, even if it occasionally depressed me. Last time, I’d had a mini-awakening of sorts followed by my girls’ night with Elaine and Melissa. Of course, it was all shot to hell on Tuesday.
Mariska would roll in around noon, and I knew she’d be demanding to know if anything happened. I’d avoided her texts yesterday, basking in the afterglow of a full, day-starting conversation with Slayde an
d not wanting to over-analyze it. Now I just felt stupid. What a waste of my time.
“Something’s different about you.” Mrs. Clarkson’s soft voice wobbled with laughter.
I didn’t even know where to begin. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“I like it very much.”
For a moment, I was lost. “You do?”
“I know you think I’m an old fuddy-duddy, but purple is my favorite color. And this deep violet is very attractive with your skin tone!”
“Oh!” My nose wrinkled. “I forgot! I did it last week right after we worked together. I was testing that theory about change doing a body good.”
I helped her get her form right as she curled the small dumbbells. “Did it?”
Twisting my lips, I thought about her question. “It sort of did. Then I had this setback. Then... I don’t know. I feel like I’m almost right back to where I started last week.”
Lowering the light weights, she patted me. “It is a bit of a wave-pool when you venture back into the water. Don’t be discouraged.”
Slayde entered the fitness room headed in the direction of the men’s lockers. On their own, my eyes flew to his, and when they met, my chest clenched and I looked away.
Mrs. Clarkson didn’t miss a bit of it. When I turned back to her, her eyes narrowed. “Interesting,” was all she said, and I almost died of embarrassment.
“Sorry. I-uh... that’s the new maintenance guy, Slayde.”
I led her over to the resistance ball to finish her session with balance moves, but when I turned to face her, a tiny grin was at the corner of her mouth.
My arms were straight out, palms up to meet hers. “Ready?”
She nodded, placing her cool hands in mine. “He’s very handsome.”
Squatting with her as she sat down, I tried hard not to think about it. I tried instead to focus on the way he turned tail and ran at the mention of my sweet little boy.
“He’s not my type.” I rose with her and prepared to take her down again.
Her laugh was high. “Oh, honey. A man like that is everybody’s type.”