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“Okay, I need to hear how the date with Eric went. You’re welcome, by the way.” Tara pats her shoulder for a job well done.
Melissa shakes her head with a laugh. “Will there be a third date?”
“Maybe. We planned on it, but his schedule is pretty tight, and I work on weekends.”
“You’re not working the weekend of Melissa and Will’s engagement party. Bring him as your guest,” Tara suggests and then tells the class to start on a different move.
I lift my legs and get to work. “That’s too serious of an event to bring a guy to. Plus, Ainsley will be there. It could send the wrong message.” Not to mention, I told Luke I’d keep Eric away from her.
“Did you kiss him?” Melissa asks.
“Yes.”
Melissa’s mouth is agape.
Tara claps her hands in excitement. “Was it a good kiss?”
“Sure,” I state as I drop my legs, as per Tara’s instructions to the class.
Eric’s kiss was fine until Luke dropped that passionate one on me after, and now, Eric’s lips are like a wet fish while Luke is a stallion.
“I’m not getting a vibe that it was a good kiss. And if you say,It was lovely,I’m going to punch you in the face. Kisses aren’t lovely,” Melissa says.
I roll my eyes at her. “Not everyone has smoldering William Bronson to kiss on the daily. When Eric kissed me, it was a first kiss. A good kiss. Sweet. Gentlemanly. A promise for better kisses in the future.”
Tara twists her mouth. “Even Kent—the guy I dated last year, who refused to go to bed with me—kissed with more passion than that. It’s why I kept dating him.”
“Did you ever find out why he refused to sleep with you?” Melissa asks as she breathes out the pain from the leg lifts.
“Word on the street is, erectile dysfunction,” she replies.
“Who told you that?” I ask.
“This girl who knows a guy, who knows a girl, who used to date him. It’s a crazy game of telephone.”
I raise my brows and drop my leg to the mat. “That’s a shame. He was a nice guy.”
Tara places a hand on her heart and the other on her forehead. “A man who Jillian approves of? I am speechless.” She pats my thigh. “No quitting. Get those legs up.”
“I don’t hate all men,” I muse, to which the two look at me like I have seventeen heads. I brush them off. “I just … wow, my abs burn … I don’t think they’re worth imploding your whole world over.” I drop my leg again, proud that I was able to muster through another set. I’m huffing as I further explain, “There’s nothing we can’t do without them.”
Tara gives me a high five for my comment and then adds, “True beans. But they are super fun to have around. I was hoping to meet someone at the engagement party, but no-fun Jones over here just informed me it’s family only.”
Melissa groans. “Family only. Just stay away from his older brother, Rob. He is recently divorced but absolutely angered by all women. He puts Jillian to shame.”
“A man who doesn’t believe in love anymore? That sounds right up Jillian’s alley,” Tara jokes and then moves the class to the fourth and final position.
We all groan as we get into plank position, and she starts to count.
My friends might be similar in personality, but they view love in a unique light. Melissa is more practical—like me—while Tara has stars in her eyes. I wish I were more like Tara. The kind that can just throw her heart into the mix and see where the relationship goes, and when it falls apart, she picks herself up by the bootstraps and keeps on going. She’s like an evergreen, always changing. Makes me realize I’m not much of one myself, like I thought.
I could tell Melissa and Tara I kissed Luke, but nothing would come of it. They’d have a front row seat to my life’s drama, and with the knowledge of your problems comes an invitation for opinions. I don’t need their input since Luke made it clear—him kissing me was a mistake that won’t happen again.
I push through my crunches and think of the two reasons that hold me back. It’s been the same reasons for the past five years.
One of them is a four-year-old miracle.
The other is a thirty-two-year-old grenade.
