AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I leapt over and poked her ribs. “Who is it? Tell me right now.”
“It’s silly.”
“Your happiness isn’t silly,” I insisted.
She stared up at the ceiling, refusing to meet my gaze. “The man that walks Beans in the morning is pretty cute. God only knows how old he is, though. I’m probably entering into cougar territory.”
“If robbing the cradle is what it takes to get your mind off Rodney, then I’m all for it. Do you think he’d be interested?”
“Hard to say.” Stella shrugged. “He’s been walking that dog every single morning completely for free, so I guess it’s not out of the question.”
“No one does anything for free. It definitely sounds like a crush to me. Have you talked to him?”
Stella fussed with her cuticles, a telltale sign that she was getting nervous. “Not really. He always comes by after most of the kids have arrived, so it’s not like I can stop to chitchat.”
“And how exactly did he end up walking Beans if you’ve never talked to him?”
“The other dog he walks got off leash one morning and decided that he and Beans were best friends. We had a very brief conversation while Beans was losing his mind, and he offered to take my dog with him while he walked the other one since he was already doing that, so it wasn’t any extra work. I was so frazzled at the time, I didn’t even think to question it. I was just so grateful for the help.”
“Well, I’m glad he didn’t turn out to be a dog thief. The girls would’ve been crushed.”
“I know.” She threaded her fingers through her hair. “I thought of that after the fact when he was already long gone, and I had no contact information for him.”
I smacked both palms onto the table. “Well, I think you should woman up and ask this guy out. He’s obviously not bothered by the chaos of your life, so that’s a step in the right direction.”
Stella got up and started rearranging her spice cabinet, another sign of her nerves. “I’ll think about it. Rodney and I have been together for so long. I don’t even know how to date anymore.”
“All the more reason you need to get some practicing. Flirt a little. You’re a total cute patoot and this guy would be lucky to catch your attention.” I hovered behind her, watching her alphabetize her herbs. “So does Dog Walker have a name?”
“Um, Luke, I think?”
Realization crashed over me like ice water.
Fucking fuck.
I glanced back at my texts with Luca. I couldn’t say a fucking thing now. If I suddenly switched gears and told Stella not to say anything, she would grill me like shrimp on a barbecue. And if I wasn’t letting Luca tell anyone about us, it would be pretty fucking hypocritical of me to tell Stella even if it was for the express purpose of making sure my sister didn’t ask out my fuckbuddy.
I swallowed the nausea that climbed up my throat.
What a fucking mess.
How had a month passed already? There was no anniversary to celebrate over the weekend when we weren’t anything official, but I had tucked it away in my head regardless. I didn’t want to push a boundary and offer to take Luna to dinner, but I did whip up a batch of amaretti cookies and put a container of them in the bag I was taking to yoga tonight.
The minutes crept by like molasses. I raced through my daily tasks, keeping the dogs out for a little extra time so that when I brought them back, I would be that much closer to seeing Luna again.
I had asked on a forum what might be a good activity that would help me get better at yoga, something that would make me both stronger and more flexible without actually being yoga since it felt weird to take a class taught by someone that wasn’t Luna. A lot of the suggestions were things like Pilates, but one suggestion caught my interest, even if I wasn’t brave enough at that moment to pursue it.
Pole dancing.
I had asked for more info, and the person who had suggested it told me it had been the quickest increase in strength, stamina, and flexibility they had ever experienced, in part because of the sense of accomplishment that came with each new move being mastered, and partly the way you could lean into all the ridiculousness in ways that was harder to do with other activities.
I hadn’t gone beyond thanking them for the information at the time, but the idea had been ping-ponging around in my head nonetheless. There was a studio not too far from yoga, and since I had nothing else to do while waiting, I decided I could at least drive by and see what the fuss was about.
I sat awkwardly in the parking lot. I had no reason to be afraid, but I didn’t know what they would think of me showing up. I also wasn’t entirely sure if it was pathetic or not that I wanted to do secret training so I could impress Luna when I attended her classes.
A knock on my window had me leaping out of my skin. I rolled down the window and gave a tiny wave to the security guard.
“This is private property,” he said. “You’re making people uncomfortable.”
