"You win the bet. This is much harder than I thought. I also didn't know I would be stepping into the pits of hell and melt into a puddle." I point to my glasses. "I also couldn't see majority of the time with all the sweat and steam on the lens."
"I thought I told you it was going to be hot yoga today?” She taps her finger on her lips.
"You absolutely did not tell me that." I hold up a finger. "You would have been responsible for my death."
She covers her mouth and shakes her head. Her shoulders bob once, and a little snort comes out from her nose. "I promise I wasn't trying to kill you."
"Then why is this so funny to you?"
Her eyes lift to the top of my head and then back down. "Your hair."
My hand reaches for it.
"You look like Ace Ventura when he had the tutu on." Her lips curl in her mouth, holding in another laugh.
I narrow my gaze at her.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." She places her hand on my arm apologetically.
A shiver runs down my spine, almost electric, when she touches me. Willingly, might I add. The warmth of her touch disappears, and she takes one step back before clearing her throat.
“Well, I guess I won.”
“Yeah, you did.” My voice is barely a whisper while my mind plays on a loop of her hand on me. Such a simple actfrom her drives me crazy. “How are you gonna cash in your winnings?”
She taps on his chin, thinking. “I’m not sure yet. You’ll have to get back to me on that.”
“At least make it interesting.”
“What do you suggest?”
I shrug, forcing myself to act nonchalant. “I could take you out to an expensive restaurant."
“Expensive?” She huffs out a laugh. “Expensive to you is the hot dog place next to The Salty Dog.”
When I look behind Riley, I notice everyone still balancing on their arms and heads. I shake my head and look at her.
“And I’d buy every hot dog they have if it makes you happy.”
She presses her lips into a line before rolling them. “Fine. We’ll go get hot dogs. Now, if you don’t mind, I can’t have these people upside down for much longer.”
“They’re the ones that like to torture themselves.”
“Get out of here.” She gives me a playful shove out the door, but I get the last word.
“I’ll text you about our date.”
Riley turns around with her mouth gaping and eyes wide. Before she can change her mind or say it’s not a date, I run to the lobby.
While I attemptto work on the budget for the shop, I can’t stop thinking about the look on Riley’s face when I mentioned the word ‘date’the other day at yoga. I know I could have stayed for whatever sassy remark she was going to make, but that wouldn’t be any fun.
Beau decided to join me because he's ‘bored,’ but I know it's because the guys are taking shifts to make sure I'm alright. I should be grateful to have friends like this, but when they make me feel like I need to be babysat, it gets annoying.
After yoga, I went back to the store to work, and James was with me. He helped organize everything into neat piles and labeled them from most important to least important. The system worked until it didn’t when I switched to the least important documents. Then I started switching between the two.
"Brought some lunch," Beau says.
I've been here since the ass crack of dawn and haven't eaten anything. The only thing I have in my stomach is three cups of coffee and an ulcer. It’s Monday, and the store is closed, which I’m thankful for, so I thought I’d get some peace and quiet.
