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“I was happy to,” Jay said as he opened her door. “It’s something I enjoy doing, so if I can help someone become more active, it makes me happy.”
“Even if they whine their way through it?”
Jay gave a huff of laughter. “You call that whining?”
“Maybe?”
“Oh, you should have been around the first time I tried to get Janessa and Charli to work out. Nowthatwas whining.”
“What about your other sisters?”
“Kayleigh works out regularly. I think it helps her deal with the stress of her job. Skylar works out because she’s a cheerleader. Aside from Cole, the rest of my siblings are rather hit or miss with their physical activity. Wilder stays pretty active, so he doesn’t tend to formally work out.”
“Well, I’m going to give this a solid try,” Misha said, making a promise to herself right then to do just that. Now that she didn’t feel half-dead, it was a little easier.
“That’s great.”
Though she didn’t want to leave Jay just yet, Misha knew she needed to get home. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep. Have a good rest of your day.”
“I’ll try,” she said. “You, too.”
After they said goodbye, she headed home, eager to get into the shower and wash away the sweat.
“How did it go?” her mom asked when Misha walked in. She was curled up in her favorite rocker, her tablet in her hands. Her mom was an avid reader, and Misha had no doubt that she had spent the time while Misha was gone lost in whatever book she was currently enjoying.
“My body got really angry at me about ten minutes into my time on the treadmill, but I survived.”
“You look like you need a shower,” her mom said, wrinkling her nose.
“Ifeellike I need a shower, so I’m going to go do that. I’ll talk to you once I’ve washed the gym off of me.”
Up in her room, Misha dropped her sweaty clothes into the hamper, then stood under the hot water, relishing the warmth on her sore muscles. After using her favorite body wash to get rid of the sweat, she turned her attention to the process of washing her hair.
She didn’t like to wash it every day, so she was going to have to find a way to take care of her hair while not having to wash it too frequently, which would dry it right out. After she was done in the shower, she took the time to apply product to her hair to keep the curls defined and moisturized, then went back downstairs.
With a sigh, she sank down on the end of the couch closest to her mom, feeling oddly energized, even though she was also exhausted. “Well, I can’t say I had fun, but I survived.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” her mom said. “Did Jay take it easy on you?”
“It didn’t feel like it at first, but then when I saw how he pushed himself, it was clear he had. Though honestly, I don’t think he was pushing himself as hard as he usually would.”
“I think it’s good that you’re doing this for yourself.”
“I won’t go every day. Maybe just three times a week. If I stick with it for a couple of weeks, I’ll get a membership, and then I can go on my own without tying up Jay’s time.”
“I think it’s a good thing that you’re going with Jay.”
Misha sighed. “I’m sure you do.”
“You can’t blame me for trying.”
She didn’t. Misha knew that her mom looked at Jay and saw a man who was the opposite of Misha’s dad and Davontae. Jay was the type of man they’d seen Raden becoming. Only, he’d never gotten the chance to fully mature.
Misha hoped that one day the memories of how loving, caring, and funny Raden had been would fully overshadow the horror of his death.
She understood why her mom wanted her to be with Jay. But at the same time, Misha wasn’t going to force anything with the man. However, if Jay happened to ask her out on a date, she’d have a hard time saying no.
