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“We will pick this meeting up in three days. Everyone is dismissed,” Garrison grits out before I’m out of my seat and tearing out of the room.
My phone is in my hand before I even hit the elevator, desperate to hear my woman’s voice.
39
ANNALISE
My inner thighsand biceps scream as I hoist myself off the ground. Spreading my legs, bending them at the knee while I spin around the pole, I grit my teeth to keep from exploding into a cursing fit. I’m stronger than I was when I attended my first pole class, more confident too, but it’s not gotten any easier. I’m still miles behind all the other women in the class.
I drop from my hold after another second, too exhausted to keep going any longer. The rub marks on my inner thighs chafe as I grab my water bottle from the back wall and take a generous drink.
I’ve been sleeping like shit these past couple of days, and there’s no trying to pretend I don’t know why. It’s a stage four clinger mindset, but I miss Brody enough to be kept up at night by my mind running circles around when and if he’ll actually come back home. Common sense tells me there’s no reason why he won’t be back, but my fear has a mind of its own.
Today’s class was much needed, even if I’m not as present as I usually am. Poppy and Bryce are anxiously awaiting an update from Christmas, and I think I’ve pushed indulging them as long as I can. Plus, I want to scream about it to someone. About hisfamily and Banana and shit,the sex. That deserves an entire moment of its own.
My cheeks flush as I set my bottle down and attempt to zone in to Poppy’s instructions for the rest of the class. It’s a task, one I fail miserably at, but at least I try. By the time everyone is leaving and Bryce is slipping a sweatshirt over her frame, I’m twiddling my thumbs with anticipation.
“My ass burns,” she groans.
Poppy starts wiping down the poles with a spray bottle of sanitizer and a cloth. “It looks good, though.”
“I know. Pain is beauty, I suppose,” Bryce tosses back.
My smile is instant, a strong sense of comfort filling me. These two are everything I could have asked for from two best friends.
“You’re getting good too, Anna,” Poppy praises.
“Good? More like I just don’t fall to my ass whenever I attempt a lift anymore.”
She waves the cloth at me. “Progress is progress. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed the changes in your body, because I have.”
“It’s more than just a change in muscle tone, Pop,” Bryce teases.
I roll my lips. “Not sure what you’re talking about.”
“No? You don’t have anything to say about the glow on your cheeks or, I don’t know, the walk?” Poppy shrieks, dropping the cleaning supplies before rushing to me. She grabs my shoulders, shaking me lightly. “I’ve been waiting so long for this. I’m even too excited to give you hell about not immediately calling me the moment you finished riding that cowboy! Honestly, Anna, you made us wait an entire week, and that is just cruel.”
I can’t help but laugh, my grin fifty shades of bold. “I wanted to tell you both in person, and in my defense, Bryce justhadto go to visit her devilish extended family for Christmas.”
“Trust me, I’d have rather been here than in Montreal. But we’re both here now, so spill,” Bryce demands.
And I do. I tell them all about Christmas dinner with Brody’s grandparents and how at home they made me feel. About Banana and her new home and everything Brody did to make me feel so damn special. I grow hot and sweaty when I get to Christmas Eve and gush about the best sex I’ve ever had. Our I love you’s and frantic round two on Christmas morning. They’re both close to bursting by the time I finish. It’s Bryce who speaks first.
“I’m fucking jealous, Anna. I wasn’t expecting all of that.”
“I expected the sex. That man walks like he knows he’s hiding a third leg and knows exactly how to use it. But everything else? He got you a damn cow,” Poppy breathes, hand to her heart.
“He got me a mini fluffy cow just like I wanted.” My smile is dreamy, a visible representation of the feeling swimming through me.
I’m floating on my love for Brody. I’m a total cliché, and it might just be my new favourite personality trait.
“And more than that, he obviously wants you to have an excuse to go to the ranch often, even while he’s gone. It’s as good an invitation as any,” Bryce points out.
Something about my friends has me able to open up completely, and I let my deepest thoughts spill from my lips, knowing they won’t judge me for them.
“I’ve thought about that, too, but worried maybe I was reading too much into it.”
Poppy shakes her head instantly. “You’re absolutely not. If he didn’t want you to be around his family all the time, he wouldn’t have gotten you a pet that you had to go to their property to spend time with.”
