I turned my phone on and had just one message. It was from Tami, from shortly after I left to run.
‘Hey, I take it you went running since you weren’t here when I woke up. I moved your clothes back to my room in the apartment and left your key at the desk. When you’re ready to talk, call me.
‘Missy and Harper straightened me out, and I need to apologize. I bet you’re getting sick of me having to do that. Anyways, just come home.’
That solved the mystery of who was in my bed last night. The server came and I ordered hot tea, steak, eggs and sliced tomatoes. I quickly ate and then went back to the apartment. I grabbed the key at the front desk, went to the weight room, and lifted. I was scheduled to meet Devin at nine a.m. It was now 8:30. I went upstairs and into the apartment to find the girls eating breakfast.
I gave them a tight smile, took a shower, and got ready. I got on my tablet and sent Mom an email to let her know I made it okay and one to Eve letting her know that I missed her. I grabbed my chargers since both my phone and tablet were getting low.
I braced myself and walked out to the kitchen. Chuck had arrived, and Missy and Harper must have been in their rooms getting ready. Tami could tell I wasn’t ready to talk, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t. She took me into the living room and sat me down. I looked out at the San Francisco Bay and just stared out into space. She touched my cheek to get my attention.
“I wasn’t a very good friend yesterday. I talked both Missy and Harper into backing off. It was stupid. I was jealous because they seemed more excited about spending time with you than with me. We had a heart-to-heart last night about our feelings about you. They both said they wouldn’t stand between us being together. But while we were talking, I realized two things. The first is, I’m not ready to claim you and second, I need to get over being jealous when you’re with someone else.
“I honestly don’t know where it came from. I think all of us being together at the Formal triggered it. Knowing that you were with someone else, in the next room, kind of made me crazy.”
This sounded like another conversation I’d had ... with myself!
“Look, this trip is for you. I don’t want to come between you and your friends. It’s probably best if I find somewhere else to stay.”
She shook her head.
“No, part of this trip is to be with you. I love you so much it hurts. I’m not wasting this trip with you not being here with me. I don’t get to see you enough. I also know that Harper’s going through a rough patch; it seems she’s comfortable talking to you about it. And Missy adores you. We all want you to stay with us, and I want you to spend time with them.
“David, I messed up. Can we put this trip on a restart and just forget about what I said and did?” she pleaded with me.
“You know I won’t abandon you. If you want me to stay, I will. I’ll even be friends with Missy and Harper, but I’ll respect your wishes and that’s all I’ll be.”
“I don’t know if that’s what I really want. I know you have to go. Would it be okay if we spend the evening alone and talked ... to each other?”
“Yeah, that’s a great idea. I’ll see you when I get back. I think we should be done by seven o’clock.”
She kissed me and I left to find Devin.
DEVIN, SANDY AND LANA were waiting for me. Sandy gave me a knowing look that had a hint of sadness. She knew I was having troubles with Tami. I didn’t want to talk about it in front of the others, so I just smiled at her.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” Devin announced and led us to the car that was waiting.
We drove to Redwood City to a fitness center. They had tennis courts, pools, a weight room, rooms for yoga and the like. Sandy handed me a model’s card.
“This is who you’re working with today. Her name is Rose and she’s worked for us before, so we aren’t going to have the same issues we did in England,” Sandy informed me.
I read the card. Rose was five foot, eight and a half inches tall, had a 34B bust with brown hair and brown eyes. She looked Latin, with a dark complexion and full, kissable lips. Oops, where did that come from? Based on what I saw, I was looking forward to meeting her.
The fitness center was unbelievable. It sat on ten acres and looked like a resort. Devin hurried us in, and I met our photographer for the week, Trish. She was all business and I liked her from the start. She looked me over and called the makeup gal over.
“We need to tan him. Do it so it’ll last because I don’t want to take the time to have it reapplied every day.”
“All over?” the makeup gal asked.
“I need to see his body first. David, go slip on a swimsuit and come back.”
I came back to find Lana had joined them. I thought we had gotten past this with her, but she was eyeing me like the last piece of pizza at Monical’s. Trish had me turn, bend, and twist while she checked my skin tones. She then came up and pulled my suit down to expose my left butt cheek.
“Do all of him, and I want him shaved. He’s in fantastic shape and I don’t want anything distracting from his form. I also want his hair trimmed, so we have a consistent look,” she said, and she pulled my England photos for the makeup gal to use as a reference for my hairstyle.
I remembered that Ford called them artists. I spent the next hour getting hair removed, a haircut, tanned and makeup applied. Next, they put me in a tennis outfit and sent me to the courts. Rose was running late because of an accident on US 101.
When I got to the courts, I was introduced to the tennis pro, Heather. Trish had her hit me balls.
“I want you to move him from side to side and have him work up a sweat,” Trish instructed Heather.
“David, try to hit the ball, but don’t worry if you don’t. We’re just getting warmed up,” Trish reassured me.
By the time Rose got there, my shirt was soaked through. Heather had run me ragged, and I was gasping for air. Trish didn’t even give us time to say ‘hi.’ She sent Rose out so it looked like she was my doubles partner. She had me run around and hit all the balls, while Rose would bend over and distract me with her cute butt.
It made for some great shots. It looked like I was killing myself to win while Rose flirted with me. The best one was when Rose dropped her racket and bent over with straight legs. Oh, my. Heather drilled me with a tennis ball and Trish caught the moment perfectly.
It seemed that Trish didn’t want me to get to know Rose, because she made sure we were separated at all times. I went back to wardrobe and got dressed for the gym. Trish had Rose and me act as if we were working out next to each other. I had another reminder for Devin and Sandy: ‘Range Sports needed to be commended on their fine line of spandex shorts for women.’
When we were done, both Rose and I were blushing, because it was obvious we’d been checking each other out when we thought the other wasn’t looking. Devin loved Trish’s approach. By keeping us apart, it had created an air of mystery. The sexual tension didn’t lessen at the pool.
They had me model everything from board shorts to a Speedo. Rose was in a one-piece, then a modest two-piece, and finally in a bikini that had Mr. Happy very interested. Unfortunately, that’s when Lana decided to get involved.
“David, I think you’re getting too much sun. Come over here and I’ll put some sunblock on you,” she said as she grabbed my arm.
Trish slowed her down.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want him oiled up yet. I need the natural skin so there are no reflection problems.”
“Well, let me know when he needs to be oiled up, and I’ll get him ready for you,” Lana offered.
Trish just gave me a helpless look and Rose smirked.