I know exactly what reputation.
Ryder laughs. “Dude. You’ve never been one for long-term relationships.”
“Two commitment-phobes living next door to each other?” Liz chimes in. “Recipe for disaster is right.”
Thankfully, they finally shift the conversation to upcoming appointments and new design ideas, while my thoughts keep shifting back to how Sasha’s lips tasted like honey, and about the little gasp she made when I pressed her up against the counter.
The rest of the day goes by pretty quick. I finish a half-sleeve on a regular client and sketch out some designs for tomorrow’s appointments. By the time I lock up the shop, the sun is setting.
As I walk to my truck, I glance across the street at the empty storefront, soon to be a Summit Studio. The windows arecovered with brown paper, and there’s a small sign in the corner that reads “Coming Soon.”
I wonder what she’s doing right now. Is she still unpacking? Maybe I should drop by, see if she needs any more help.
Nah. Better to just bide my time. I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve, and I plan on using them all.
seven
“I think the lock is stuck.”
“Do you want me to try?” Noia’s soft voice comes from behind me.
She got back from her trip last night and now she’s here to help me do a walk-through of my new space.
I still haven’t had a chance to tell her about what went down with Jax the other day. I also haven’t seen or heard from him since.
“I’ve got it.”
Twisting and jiggling the lock, I give the door another good shove. It bursts open, forcing me to stumble inside and almost face-plant onto the grimy floor before I manage to catch myself on the edge of a dusty counter.
“Fuck me!”
“You okay?” Noia asks, grabbing my arm.
“Yeah. Gotta add that to the list of things to fix,” I chuckle, dusting off my hands. “But look at this place!”
Even though the front windows are covered in paper, sunlight beams through the grimy floor to ceiling windows onthe other side of the building, casting long beams across the empty space.
Despite the dust and dirt, I can’t keep the excitement from bubbling up inside me as I take in the sheer size of the place.
“Holy shit, Sash,” Noia gasps, sidestepping around me to gape in awe. “It’s massive.”
“Right?” I can’t keep the grin off my face, turning in slow circles with my arms out as I walk to the center of the room. “So much bigger than it looks from the outside. And there’s a second floor.”
The main floor, easily twice the size of most of my other locations, stretches out before us. High ceilings with exposed beams give it an industrial feel, and the brick walls on either side add character that would cost a fortune to recreate anywhere else.
“Come over here.” I motion for her to follow as I head toward the back. “This is where the hot yoga studio will be.” I gesture to a large sectioned-off area. “And the gym is going to be along that far wall over there.”
“What about the showers and changing rooms?”
“Through here.” I walk her over to an open doorway that leads to a long hallway heading in both directions. “Women’s locker room and showers down the hall on the right, men’s down on the left. And check this out—” I open another door located between the two separate areas. “Plenty of space for a steam room. I’ll probably add smaller dry saunas to each locker room as well. Just in case customers don’t want to share this one.”
Noia shakes her head with a grin. “Damn, girl. You’re really going all out.”
“I figured since I’m bringing Summit to a small town, might as well go big.” I run my hand along the wall, already envisioning the finished space. “The yoga studio will be done first—hopefully within the next couple of weeks. Then we’ll tackle the gym and aerobics room. In the meantime, we’ll use the yoga studio for the aerobics classes.”
“Aerobics?”
I wiggle my eyebrows. “Yup. And pole dancing and aerial silk classes.”
