They’d skipped yesterday’s workout. He didn’t want to bring up money with her, but hewaspaying her some damn good money to train him.
She closed the refrigerator and leaned back against it. Folding her arms over her chest, she said, “We need to address your nutrition.”
“I said I’ll eat the chickpeas, Taylor. And I threw out all the potato chips.”
“Good. But if your nutrition isn’t on point, all the bicep curls in the world won’t make a difference. I’ll bet you were taught to carbo load because carbs are fuel, right?”
Jamar shrugged. “They used to serve us spaghetti dinners before the game on Friday nights.”
“I’m not surprised.” She snorted. “I’m not anti-carbs or anything, but you have to be smart about how you consume them.”
“So Twix and cheese puffs are out of the question?”
She rolled her eyes. “Your sense of humor is trash,” she said, but then a reluctant smile drew across her lips.
He should be concerned by the amount of satisfaction he gained from the simple act of putting that smile on her face. Then again, making her laugh was the kind of thing he was supposed to do as her boyfriend, wasn’t it? If he was going to play the part . . .
Jamar stuck his hands in his pockets and perched against the counter. “So if we’re not hitting the gym today, what are we doing?”
“Wearehitting the gym, just not yet.” She folded the reusable tote bags she’d brought with her and tucked them underneath her arm. “Right now, we are going on our very first date!”
“A date?” He glanced at his Apple Watch. “At this time of the morning?”
“Trust me, when it comes to where we’re going, this time of the morning is ideal. Everything is nice and fresh, and not picked over.”
Nice and fresh?
Jamar winced. “Please don’t say we’re going to the grocery store.”
“It’s as if you’re psychic,” she said, her brown eyes bright with amusement.
“Taylor, c’mon. Ihatethe grocery store. As in, I will do anything to avoid it. Even eat kale.”
“You want a long and successful career in the NFL, don’t you? Then you need to learn how to shop and cook the right kind of meals for yourself.”
“What if I just pay you to cook for me until I retire?”
“No.” She tilted her head to the side. “Actually, that can be arranged for the right price. But what if I’m on vacation?”
“Delivery?”
She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him toward the stairs. “A lesson in proper nutrition and how to cook easy, healthy meals will do you wonders. Now, go change.”
Twenty minutes later, Jamar found himself in the produce section of the grocery store near his house. He had been here exactly one time in the year since he’d moved to Georgetown. Once he discovered grocery delivery, he was sold. Apparently, his new trainer had never heard of Instacart.
“You look like a kidnapping victim,” Taylor whispered. “How are we going to convince the public we’re falling madly in love if you’re constantly frowning?”
“Maybe you should have thought about that before choosing a grocery store as the site of our first date,dear.”
“Grocery stores are heaven, especiallythisgrocery store. I mean, just look at the selection here!” She gestured like a game show hostess at the yards of colorful organic vegetables displayed before them. “I could spend hours in this place.”
“You really need to get out more. No one should be this excited over produce.”
Jamar ducked when she picked up a yellow bell pepper and made as if she was going to pelt it at his head.
“Stop making fun of me,” she said with a laugh. “Remember when you predicted I would fall in love with football by the time we’re done? That’s the same way I’ll have you feeling about vegetables.”
“If you can pull off that miracle, I will—” Jamar started, but then he stopped when he caught sight of a figure just to his right. A second later he heard, “Excuse me? Diesel Dixon?”
