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Over time, she’d learned to straighten her hair with heat, and sometimes, she’d worn a wig. Both had disappointed her mom, but she’d backed off on her disapproval, obviously feeling like she was fighting a losing battle.
Misha had finally embraced her curls in college, and there was no way she was going to go back to trying to make her hair something it wasn’t, just because she wanted to gain the attention of a man.
She’d heard Janessa and Aria talking about the woman, and that she was Jay’s ex, which had been really disappointing for Misha. If that was the type of woman he was attracted to, she didn’t have a hope.
Though part of her had wanted to avoid him after that revelation, Misha hadn’t wanted Jay to think that a visit from his ex had meant anything to her, so she’d come, just like she had on previous Friday nights.
“You want me to go on a hike?” Misha asked. “Like climbing a mountain?”
Jay chuckled. “More like walking up a really small hill.”
“I’m not sure your definition of a really small hill and mine are the same.”
Her heart thumped hard when he smiled. “It really isn’t a big deal. I promise. Though I would suggest a decent pair of hiking shoes.”
“I wouldn’t know what those actually are.”
“They’re shoes that have a thick sole and good ankle support.”
“Can I get those around here somewhere?”
“If we were going to climb an actual mountain, I’d say no. But since we really are just going to hike an easy trail, you should be able to get them from the store here in town.”
“Okay. Maybe I’ll stop on the way home and see what they have.”
“I can go with you,” Jay offered. “Give you some insight.”
“Uh… sure. That would be great.”
“Well, let’s go now, so you’re not out too late.”
They made quick work of wiping down the spaces they’d used, then Misha went to change. She took a super quick shower to wash the sweat off her body, then pulled on the jeans and sweatshirt she’d brought with her.
“Why don’t you put your stuff in your car, and we can take mine?” Jay suggested as they left the gym.
“Sure.” It only took a minute, then Jay was driving them to the nearby box store.
As they walked toward the store together a few minutes later, Misha appreciated that Jay kept his strides short so that she didn’t have to jog in order to keep up with him. The doors whooshed open as they approached them, and Jay hesitated by the carts just inside the door.
“Should we get a cart?” he asked. “Do you need anything else here?”
“No. Just the boots. Mom and I have settled into coming every Monday to do our weekly grocery shopping.”
“Do you like doing things on a schedule?” Jay asked as they walked deeper into the brightly lit store.
“I find it makes life easier if I know what’s happening when,” Misha said. “But I like to think I can roll with the punches, if necessary.”
“Coming from a large family, we had a lot of scheduling, but we also had to learn to roll with the punches.”
“So, you all ended up being able to do that?” Misha asked.
Jay laughed. “No. We’ve got a real range. Kayleigh is very much about schedules, but on the other end of the spectrum is Wilder, who thinks time is an inconvenient construct. The rest of us fall somewhere in the middle.”
Misha tried not to think of Davontae and Raden as Jay spoke of his siblings. He was fortunate that he had such a good relationship with them.
“They don’t have a huge selection,” Jay mused when they reached the shoe section. “But hopefully they’ll at least have one decent pair.”
After walking up and down a couple of aisles, they found a shelf with two different styles of hiking boots.
