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“Hey, Ayesha?” Sydney called. “Switch with Tayler.”
Tayler didn’t wait for Ayesha to answer; she stripped off her gloves and unraveled her hand wraps, her cami soaked through. Ayesha playfully swatted Tayler’s shoulder as she walked past, wrapped her hands, and tugged on a set of gloves.
Sydney braced on the other side of the heavy bag. Ayesha hit the bag with two quick blows at Sydney’s instruction and drowned out the noise around them, striking with jabs, crosses, hooks, or kicks each time Sydney gave a command.
“Now give me five knee strikes,” Sydney instructed.
Ayesha raised her knee.
“Are you sleeping with Joel?”
She lost her balance and steadied herself by gripping the bag. “What?”
“You and Joel,” Sydney reiterated. “Are you two sleeping together? I mean, you were in his bedroom. Theo called Joel ‘Daddy’ this morning. The boys were making you guys breakfast in bed.”
“Joel and I…we’re dating.”
Sydney took a step back. “Did you find him attractive while we were still married?”
Ayesha slammed her fist so hard against the bag that the reverberation sent a wave of pain down her already injured shoulder. “All the guys are attractive, Sydney.”
“What I mean is, did you look at him in any way other than as a friend while we were still married?”
“You mean while I was grieving my dead husband and trying to raise a small child and an infant? Alone?”
“Eesh, level with me,” Sydney prefaced. “Was the reason you were adamant about Joel and I not getting back together because you were in love with him?”
Ayesha grabbed the bag to hold it steady. Although the rest of the room wasn’t listening, she dropped her voice. “I was never adamant about you two not getting back together,” she said. “I was adamant about you treating him better.”
“I treated him poorly?”
“Sydney,” she squeezed the bridge of her nose, eyes briefly shutting, “I’m not doing this with you.”
“I’m not trying to upset you, I swear,” Sydney insisted. “But none of this seems kind of suspicious to you?”
“Like how?”
“You were the main one telling me to—”
“Treat him how he deserves to be treated,” she said. “A man like Joel? You don’t break his heart because it’s convenient. A man like Joel has earned the right to be treated fairly, treatedwell,and I dare you to tell me something different.”
There were the “men” who complained about not being treated like royalty by their girlfriends or wives but acted like small children. Then there were themenlike Joel, who made a woman feel so loved, safe, treasured, and supported that she naturally wanted to do everything for him she feasibly could.
If he’d worked in a boardroom, she would have brought him lunch without batting an eye. Helping her with the household and the boys meant she didn’t deplete her energy, and she wanted to spend all that extra energy riding him until his toes permanently curled.
“Syd, why are you being like this all of a sudden?” she asked. “When have I ever not been there for you? When have I ever judged you? Sydney, I love you like a sister, so why are you treating me like I betrayed you when you know I never would?”
She’dtriedto avoid this. Joel was the last person she would have chosen because the situation could have turned messy, but she’d had no say in the matter. She loved him and would continue to love him as long as there was breath in her body.
Sydney’s eyes filled. “I…I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on with me. I’m sorry, Ayesha. I don’t know what all that was about, and I’m truly sorry I even went there. I’m just…not myself these days.”
Ayesha gave her a quick scan. “How do you think Dmitri would feel if he knew you were giving me the third degree over your ex-husband?”
“He wouldn’t be happy about it, even less so now.”
“Why? What’s different now?”
Mo’s voice rose above the noise. “We’re done here! Let’s wrap up and head to the obstacle course!”
