Arilyn sighed and leaned against the refrigerator. “I wish.” In her attempt to be more open, she told them the truth. “Jacob was just here.”
The girls all stared. Gen finally whispered. “You mean Yoga Man? Here?”
Kennedy frowned. “I’ll show him a new yoga position he won’t soon forget. Do I need to get more eggs?”
Arilyn laughed. God, it was so good to have a tight circle of friends who knew all her crappy issues, her choices in bad men, and loved her anyway. “No eggs needed. He wanted me back, of course. I said no, I’ve moved on. He looked shocked that I knew how to say no to him, and I began to drink buckets of wine. Oh, and there’s a healthy broccoli bake for dinner.”
Kate pressed her lips together. “He’s such a jerk. If he thinks you’re gonna transcend two cheating incidents, he’s nuts. Are you okay, A?”
Her friends waited for the answer. Slowly, she nodded. “Yeah, I am. It hurt, but I know I made the right decision. I don’t want that kind of life for myself.”
Gen nodded. “That’s why I ran out on my wedding day. It just hit me, and I had to make a choice. You won’t regret it. Something better is on the horizon.”
She thought of her hot cop ready to do dirty things to her, with her, and felt heat rise to her cheeks.
Kennedy pounced. “Uh-oh. And something already has. Or someone. Spill.”
“Nothing. Let me get the casserole out.”
Kennedy blocked the oven and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Hell, no. Who’s got you blushing? I know it’s not those dogs you love so much. Oh, is it the director from the shelter? He seemed hot.”
“Anthony? No, he’s great but more of a friend.”
Gen tilted her head. “It’s not that cop from the summer, is it?”
All the girls turned to look at her. “What cop?” Kate demanded. “How do you know about this and I don’t?”
Gen grinned. “When Arilyn called the cops on my ex, we rode in the squad car with him. He had a gorgeous partner—Devine, I think his name was. But it was the other one that held Arilyn’s attention.”
Arilyn squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. Nightmare. She couldn’t lie. She had promised. “He’s in my anger management course,” she finally said. “Officer Stone Petty.”
“That’s the one!” Genevieve snapped her fingers. “He was looking at you like he wanted to gobble you up. He reminded me of the big bad wolf. Really tall, dark, and badass.”
Yes, on first sight he was a bit scary. Now? He’d saved her and Pinky. He hated children and women getting abused. He’d been through a crappy childhood and didn’t whine. He was amazing.
Huh?
When had she actually begun to like him? Did she like him?
Kennedy clucked her tongue. “About time you date a hottie. A cop in uniform? Kill me now. I’m hiring one for Kate’s stripper Friday night.”
Kate groaned. “I don’t want a stripper! I have Slade in my bed and have no need to see any other man naked.”
“We have to do it. Tradition. It will be tasteful.”
“Strippers aren’t tasteful.”
“Exotic male dancers,” Ken corrected.
Kate rolled her eyes. “Back to hot cop. Are you dating?”
Arilyn waved off the question. “No. He’s my client. Kind of. And he’s completely not my type. We fight, and you know I never fight with people.”
“Fighting is a source of releasing sexual tension,” Kennedy pointed out. “This could be a good thing. Did you ever fight with Yoga Man?”
“No, never.” Arilyn thought over their relationship. Had she ever even argued with him? When she got upset, they sat down and discussed. Made compromises. There was never yelling or anger, even when inside she seethed. Instead of letting the emotion back up and fester, she used her meditation and yoga practices to come to terms and release.
With Stone, she wasn’t afraid of snapping back at him. In a way, it was sort of fun. Nothing was left behind to work out, because she always told him exactly what she thought and felt, with no worries about how he’d handle it.
Interesting.
Gen nodded. “Kennedy’s right. The two of you exploded together. Why don’t you just date him?”
“No, we’re too different. It would never work.”
“Then just sleep with him.” Everyone stared at Kennedy. She lifted her hands up in the air. “What? Why does everything always have to be heavy and relationship centered? Affairs work. Get him out of your system. He’s your transitional anyway.”
Arilyn sighed and took out the casserole. Grabbing some plates, she began slicing pieces for each of them. “Maybe.”
Kate laughed. “Wow, he really did get to you. Normally you’d tell us to mind our own business and you’d never involve yourself with just sex.”
“She’s opening up to new opportunities,” Kennedy said. “Which is a perfect introduction to the real reason we’re here.”
Arilyn gave out the plates and forks, then dug in for a bite. “Now I’m nervous.”
“Don’t be. We just brought you an outfit to wear on Friday night.”
Suspicion laced her voice. “I already have an outfit.”
Kennedy shuddered. “I know. It’s unacceptable. Boring. You’re gorgeous and need to play up your assets. No yoga pants allowed.”
“I’m not wearing leather or fur, and you can’t make me.”
“Fake leather,” Kennedy pointed out. “And you need to show some leg. You never wear skirts.”
Gen giggled. “She’s right, A. If there’s going to be exotic dancers, you need to expose some skin. You’re gonna love what Ken picked out.”
Arilyn groaned. “I am so not ready for this.”
Kate sighed. “Neither am I.”
Kennedy smiled. “This bachelorette party is gonna be epic.”
They all shared a glance. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” Arilyn said.
Then they all burst into laughter.
ten
HANDS REACHING HIGH, palms together, and sweep down to the ground. Touch the floor. Deep breath in and right foot back. Lift the heel if you can. Inhale and release left. Hold. Fully exhale aaaand push back to plank pose. Hold for a breath. Lower down, chin touches mat, push back to Downward Dog. Hold. Breathe. Lower back down aaaand right foot all the way to your palms. Walk it forward if you have to. Inhale and left foot steps in. Rise back up, full breath in and out. Beautiful. Let’s do it again.”
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
She was hot as sin and the spawn of the devil. An enchantress of death. Because if he had to do this fucking Salutation to the Moon or whatever the hell it was one more time, he was gonna die of a heart attack.
Dying of smoking was so much more pleasant.
He shot a sidelong glare at his prison mates. Luther embraced the punishment, pushing through the routine with a tiny smile on his face. Seemed he was reading up on yoga and meditation practices and was consistently adding educational side notes to Arilyn’s lecture. She seemed to love it, too.
Eli was more manlike, but he liked to mess up to get her hands on him. At least, Arilyn didn’t seem interested. Her touch was strictly impersonal, and her chats with him after class were brief. He knew, because he waited for her after class. Insisted on walking her to the car, citing her past broken windshield as the reason. Just in case she had a stalker who liked to vandalize. Maybe a previous anger management client.
She laughed it off, but Stone knew she liked their chats/fights. In those few moments together, they covered a lot of territory.
They didn’t agree on much. Politics, hobbies, likes, and dislikes were a mess. She disliked TV and he lived for it. She read self-help, and he preferred horror novels. He hated dogs, and she helped them. He had a sweet tooth, and she preferred fruit for her fix. He was unorganized and loud. She was ruthlessly neat and soft-spoken.