“Well, I’d like to take you on a proper date sometime. You free this weekend at all?”
A small smile slowly spreads across her face, like she’s impressed I didn’t just offer to take her home tonight. Hey, I can be more than a sex-crazed Neanderthal.
“Yeah, I’m free Friday night. Give me your number, I’ll text you my address, and we can figure out what time works best?”
She pulls her phone out of the pocket on the side of her leggings and hands it to me. I program my name and number in and hand it back to her. She takes it back and sends me a text right away.
“There, now you have no excuse, so if you blow me off, I know where you work out.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I say as she pushes herself off the wall and starts to walk away from me.
“Good. Now go finish that workout. You’re going to need your strength.”
It’s Friday night and I’m staring at myself in my bathroom mirror. I let out a shaky breath as I spritz on some cologne.
Why am I so nervous? An image of August flashes through my brain and I instantly try to push it out. All week I’ve thought about canceling this date. For some fucked-up reason, it feels like I’m betraying August. It feels like I should be driving to her house right now to pick her up. But she doesn’t want me like that. She wants a friend she can hook up with and keep a secret. All I have to do is remind myself of the look on her face when she saw Jade the night she was kissing me in my truck. That look of shame is all I need to remind myself of my place in her life.
Leigh and I agreed to meet at the Sagebrush BBQ & Grill here in Grand Lake. I didn’t want the temptation of driving her home after our date. I pull my truck into the parking lot just as she’s getting out of her car. It’s a brand-new Audi S6, not a cheap car. It’s cherry red, fitting with her bold personality. I stay in my truck for a moment, admiring her. Her long chocolate hair is in soft curls, falling just below her shoulders. She has on some gold sky-high heels, accentuating her shapely legs beneath her black dress that falls just above her knee.
She’s almost to the door when she looks up and sees me staring at her from my truck like a fucking weirdo. I offer up an awkward wave as I open the door and step out.
“Hey, just got here too,” I say, hoping she doesn’t know how long I’ve been watching her.
“You clean up nice,” she says with a flirty smile as I bend down to give her a hug.
“Thanks, I feel so underdressed,” I say, gesturing to her outfit while looking down at my dark jeans and black button-down shirt. I don’t own a lot of fancy clothes—I don’t own any fancy clothes, actually. I think I have an old suit somewhere that I wore to a wedding a few years back.
“Sorry, I tend to overdress. Still used to going out in Boulder.”
Once we’re seated and we order a drink, I feel more at ease. Conversation seems to flow pretty effortlessly between us and it feels refreshing. I don’t feel tense and worried I’m going to say the wrong thing, or stressed about scaring her off—things I usually worry about with August. Well, I didn’t used to feel that way with August. It wasn’t until we started hooking up that I felt anxious and unsure all the time.
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, realizing that Leigh asked a question and I was completely lost in thought.
“What is it that you do for work?” she repeats, taking a bite of her salad. There aren’t a lot of vegetarian options here in Grand Lake.
“I own an electrical contracting business with my brother. It was our dad’s, and when he retired, we took it over. About 18 months ago, my brother and his wife moved back to her hometown of Henderson, Nevada, and he opened a branch out there.”
“Oh wow, how awesome that you’re keeping it in the family.”
“Yeah, I really love it. What made you want to be a trainer? Seems like you do pretty well for yourself.” The moment I say that, I realize it sounds a little condescending. “Sorry, that was rude. I didn’t mean for it to—”
“No, I get it. Not many trainers can afford to drive a brand-new sports car. I—uh, well, my parents are pretty wealthy, and truthfully, I have a trust fund. I hate saying that, because people immediately think it means I’m not grateful and that I’m just another spoiled rich kid from Boulder who doesn’t understand hard work and the value of a dollar.” I can tell it’s struck a nerve with her.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I don’t judge you for having rich parents. That’s not your fault.” I smile to lighten the mood and she gives a little laugh back.
“Yeah, I’ve always loved fitness and fell in love with Pilates back in college, so once I graduated, I used my trust fund to establish a Pilates studio in Boulder that has done really well for itself. But I got a little restless, so I hired an awesome team that manages the studio and teaches superb classes, then I moved out here. I figured maybe I could teach at the gym and see if I could drum up enough interest to open a second studio out here.”
“Ambitious, I love it,” I say, lifting my glass to clink against hers in a toast. She lifts her glass and reciprocates.
“Thank you. I feel like we’ve both taken what our parents gave us, expanded it, and taken it to a new level. Cheers to us!”
The rest of the date goes by smoothly and too fast, in my opinion. We sit at the table for several hours until they’re ushering us out of the restaurant. I glance at my watch as I walk her to her car.
“It’s only 9. You want to grab a drink?”
“I actually have a 6 a.m. class tomorrow morning, but I would really love to do this again. I had a great time.”
I shove my hands into my jeans. “I did too.” I hesitate, unsure of how to end the date, but then I lean in and slip my hand behind her neck, pulling her in for a quick, soft kiss.
“I’ll call you,” I say as I turn and walk back to my truck with a big-ass smile on my face.
This “getting over August” thing might be easier than I expected.
7
August
“How long has it been now?” Jade asks before taking a sip of her wine.
“Eightee—no, 19 days.”
“And you’ve heard nothing? Haven’t seen him either?”
“Not. A. Peep.” I say each word slowly, glancing over my shoulder to see if Willow or anyone else has arrived early. We’re having a girls’ night out in Denver per Willow’s request. We haven’t had a girls’ night since her bachelorette party, but tonight I plan on playing it much cooler.
“Thanks again for meeting me early before everyone else gets here. I just wanted to pick your brain about this since . . . well, since you kind of saw us that night in the parking lot.” She had texted me the next day with just the eyeball emojis and I told her it was a long dramatic story that I’d explain soon.
We sit at the bar, each sipping a glass of wine, and I explain to her how I ended up in his lap that night and how that eventually led to us sleeping together again.
“So,” she cocks her head to the side and squints one eye, “I just don’t understand something. You two are clearly best friends, you get along, you obviously find each other attractive, and it sounds like your sexual chemistry is through the roof . . . why aren’t you together again? I feel like this is such a Ross and Rachel situation.”