“Oh, that’s so sweet, Kimi!”
“Yup,” she smiled and took the last slurp of her drink. “And we have that painting hanging over our bed.”
“So just one date and you fell for him?”
“I wouldn’t say that. But it was good enough that I said yes to a second date. And then a third. After a couple of months, I had him over for dinner at my brother’s apartment, so Owen could vet him and send a report back home. And then I moved in with him.”
“Wow, that sounds like it happened quickly, Kimi.”
She gave a small shrug and said, “When you know, you know. You know?”
Chapter 23
Our next stop on the tour of decadent pampering was the whirlpool. We donned our swimsuits in the dressing room and followed Shanice to the Couple’s Whirlpool. Carefully holding the rail, we climbed down the steps and sat in the molded seats. It was a spa tub that could possibly have fit four but was very comfortable for two. The seemingly mandatory lemon water was placed poolside, and we were left alone.
Kimi fiddled with the controls, figuring out how to make the jets go harder, and how to adjust the temperature. I leaned back against the seat, reveling in the feeling of weightlessness as my arms floated to the surface. The jets pounded my already relaxed back muscles. Any more relaxed and I might just go down the drain.
Once she had everything adjusted to her satisfaction, Kimi leaned back and breathed a sigh. “God this feels good. I think I might have to figure out a way to install one in our apartment. Maybe we could rip out the kitchen. We never use that, anyway.”
“You don’t cook much?” I asked.
“Nah. We do lots of takeout and frozen food. We’re usually both too busy or tired to bother with fixing food. How about you?”
“I can make world class French toast. And I make a mean omelette. But other than that, I’m pretty much a take-out girl, too. Usually, it just seems like too much effort to cook for one.”
“Oh, I love French toast! We should have a sleep-over sometime and you can make me French toast.”
I smiled, amused at how easily Kimi was sliding into the 3rd BFF role.
“But what about Morgan? Would he be sad to miss out?”
“If food’s involved you can bet he’d be butt hurt, but we can’t invite him. He’d eat you out of house and home. Or apartment.” She paused a moment, watching her hand surfing on the tiny waves of the pool. “What about Jack? He’s pretty house-trained,” she asked, eyeing me carefully.
“Jack is…Jack is…” I trailed off. I didn’t even know what to say about Jack. Jack is sexy as hell? Jack has already spent the night with me? Jack doesn’t really want me?
“I don’t know if Jack likes French toast.” I finished, lamely.
Turning to face me directly, Kimi looked at me seriously. “Eve, why don’t you want to be with Jack? He’s a great guy. He really is. He’s cool and funny. He works hard at what he does, but he also knows how to have fun.”
“Kimi, I don’t disagree with any of those things. I just don’t think Jack wants the same thing I do. I want someone who can make a commitment to me, who won’t run off when things get tough. And Jack? Well, he’s Jack. An international pop star who has women literally screaming at him, wanting to sleep with him. I can’t handle a guy who’s a member of the bimbo of the week club.”
Kimi pursed her lips and looked unhappy. “He’s not like that, Eve. I’ve toured with him for years and I’ve never seen him hooking up with groupies. He’s not like some pro athlete that’s got a charm bracelet of illegitimate children around the world, mementos of one-night stands. He loves making music and performing, connecting with the audience, but that ends once we step off stage. He really is a good guy.”
I let that sit there. Even if, as Kimi insisted, Jack was one of the good ones, that still didn’t mean he wanted marriage, a family. And if I was going to be in a relationship, that’s what I wanted. Anything less was just a waste of time and emotions.
“Well, it doesn’t matter how good he is because he doesn’t want to be with me. He told me he wanted to be just friends.”
“Whaaat?” Kimi’s shriek echoed off the tiles. “That dipshit! He did not say that. Tell me he did not say that. Did he say those exact words?”
“Maybe not verbatim, but pretty close,” I admitted.
Kimi was fuming, I could tell. Rolling her eyes and muttering. I only caught the occasional phrase like, “idiot” and “just like a guy.”
While she was still mid-rant, Shanice peeked her head in the door. “Everything OK in here?” Perhaps Kimi’s shriek had been a bit too loud. We assured her we were fine and then she asked if we were ready for our mani/pedis. Since my fingers and toes were prunes, it seemed like a good time to get out.
Toweled off, robed, and slippered again, Shanice led us to the salon area. There was a bank of massage chairs with attached basins for the pedicures, and a series of desks for manicures, with artfully placed plants creating areas of privacy. We were instructed to select our nail colors and go sit in a massage chair.
“What are you getting, Eve?” Kimi asked, perusing the racks of polish bottles that glistened like a lacquered rainbow.
