Stop it!
Spencer swallowed down her exasperation with herself, tried toerase the image of Sexy Rebecca from her head.
Which Rebecca then made impossible when her black-and-pink Nikesstepped into Spencer’s view and stayed there.
“You’re halfway there,” she announced to the group.
Next to Spencer, Lucy groaned.
Spencer squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her body weaken by thesecond. God, how she hated these planks.
Rebecca’s feet didn’t move. She was going to stand there untilSpencer dropped. Spencer was sure of it.
“Twenty seconds to go,” Rebecca said.
Spencer lasted another three before collapsing.
“No,” Rebecca said, and suddenly, her face was next to Spencer’s.“Get up. Get up. You have fifteen more seconds to go.” Her voice wasn’t gentle.Or encouraging. It was almost angry, as if Spencer was purposely failing atthis task.
Spencer turned to look at her and their eye contact was sointense, Spencer was sure she could reach out and touch it somehow, run herfingertip along the invisible line that connected them.
“Get up,” Rebecca said again.
Spencer felt her own nostrils flare as aggravated resentmentbattled with sheer frustration, even as she pushed herself back up intoposition and held it for the remaining time.
The timer went off and all five women dropped to the floor withagonized groans and gentle laughter. Spencer stayed with her forehead pressedto the floor, mortified to feel tears well up in her eyes as Rebecca dismissedthem and told them to have a nice weekend.
“You okay?” Lucy said, and Spencer could feel her getting to herfeet.
Spencer nodded, but stayed face down.
“Want me to wait for you?”
Spencer knew she would, even though she also knew Lucy had friendsto meet in twenty minutes. “No, no. I’m good. Thank you, though.”
“You’re sure?”
Spencer felt Lucy’s hand on her head, a gesture of concernedfriendship that only created more wetness in Spencer’s eyes. “I’m sure,” shesaid, not looking up. “Have fun tonight.”
She lay there for another minute, then pushed herself to a sittingposition and just…breathed. Her head was still a jumbled mess. Had been sinceWednesday night and her ill-advised flirtation moment with Rebecca. God, shecouldn’t get it out of her mind…Rebecca’s playful grin, the sparkle in thoseblue eyes that had looked so deeply disappointed in her tonight. She’d barelyeaten. She’d hardly slept. Marti had gotten so annoyed with her tossing andturning last night, it was a relief to know she had a client dinner thisevening and Spencer could go home to her own house—the only place she felt likeherself anymore, not like she was pretending to be someone else.
A deep, loud rumble came from Spencer’s stomach and she realizedshe’d eaten nothing since breakfast, so she slowly climbed to her feet andheaded toward the smoothie bar.
A young man of college age was working that evening, his hairblond with fun streaks of electric blue. He greeted her with a smile and askedwhat he could do for her. She put in her order and he went to work. In a shorttime, she had a large cup of pale pink smoothie in her hand and took a sipthrough the thick, green straw. It was going to hit the spot.
“Thank God, something good out of this day,” she muttered as sheturned and headed for the locker room downstairs. At the bottom of the steps,she glanced to her left to pinpoint the strange noise she heard as somebodypushed a cart in the opposite direction. She swiveled her gaze forward just asshe turned the corner.
And ran smack into Rebecca McCall.
Strawberry banana smoothie went all over the floor, all over the wall,and all over Spencer, its chilly temperature causing her to suck in her breatheven as a loud “Son of abitch” came from Rebecca.
“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry” burst out of Spencer, as she droppedher bag to the floor.
They stood for a moment, as if freeze-framed, staring at eachother, smoothie all over Spencer’s neck and chest and running down her rightleg. She noticed immediately that Rebecca had one drop on her cheek and thatwas it.
Of course.
Before Spencer could say anything else, apologize again, or comeup with a rarely used curse to toss back at her, Rebecca sighed loudly andgrasped Spencer’s wrist. “Come with me.”
