Part 23 (1/2)

Say what now?

”Oh no. Whatever you're thinking, you can just stop it, girl. Max and I will never be a thing. I'm good with that. I've come to terms with it. Don't you be getting involved. We don't need interference, thank you very much.” I end on a regal nod.

But her smile turns into a grin. ”Who said anything about interfering? I was thinking more of showing him what's been in his face the entire time.”

I grunt and roll my eyes. ”He doesn't care. That's the point. He doesn't want me, Flick.”

Her smile doesn't falter as she utters, ”We'll see about that.”

If the sinking feeling in my gut is anything to go by, I'm in serious trouble.

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Helena ”Okay,” I huff and puff alongside Ceecee, ”tug-of-war is a hardcore workout.” Wiping sweat from my brow, I mutter, ”We'll only do it every now and again.”

Ceecee slumps in her chair, equally as sweaty as I am. ”I thought you said we were doing light sessions?”

I place my fingers on my pulse to measure out my heart rate and pant, ”This was light.”

She mock-sobs. ”I feel like I'm dying.”

How adorable is this child? A laugh is forced from my throat as I throw her a towel and hand her a bottle of water. ”You know why it feels like you're dying, young gra.s.shopper?”

Opening her water, she mumbles an annoyed, ”Why?”

Needing to make a point, I kneel in front of her, hold out my hands, and near-yell, ”Because you stopped exercising!” As she pouts, I explain, ”Your body is in shock right now, because you haven't done this for months. Do you remember how you used to feel after you exercised? I'll bet you barely broke a sweat.”

Looking at my face, she eyes my sweatiness and retorts, ”Oh yeah? What's your excuse?”

Secretly loving the smarta.s.s side of her, I don't skip a beat. ”A love of cupcakes and a sofa that is way too comfy for my own good.” Standing, I smile down at her and hold out my hand. She slaps her hand over mine in a weak high-five and I gloat, ”I'm proud of you. You pushed yourself today. I saw it. I felt it. You're ready to get back into this.” As we walk side-by-side, I warn her, ”Just so you know, you're going to be sore tomorrow.” She groans, but I speak over her, ”Which is why we're doing another session tomorrow. Lighter than today, but we have to push past that barrier.” She looks up at me like I have to be joking, but I shake my head. ”Sorry, angel face. You can give me those pretty eyes as much as you like, but this is happening. We made a deal.”

She wheels herself along and mutters under her breath, ”Is it too late to take it back?”

Smiling, I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her close. ”Sure is, honey pie. We're in this for the long haul.”

I am.

I definitely am.

Helena I knew I was in trouble the second Felicity invited herself over to my place to get ready for our Sat.u.r.day night out. So when she showed up with a suitcase, I probably shouldn't have been surprised.

I mean, I was. But I shouldn't have been.

With Tedwood attacking my ankle, I held the door open for her. As she made her way in, she looked around my apartment and whistled long and low. ”s.h.i.+t. You've been holding out on me, girl. I didn't know you had money.”

Looking around my apartment in confusion, I asked, ”I'm broke as a joke. Why the heck would you think I've got money?”

Eyes narrowed, she asked, ”How'd you get this place?”

”My sister and her husband own the building.”

An ah-now-I-get-it expression hits her face. Eyeing my bookcase, she asked cautiously, ”How much are you paying rent?”

I shrugged. ”A thousand a month.”

She gasped. ”Seriously?” I could only stare blankly at her. She shook her head in disbelief and uttered, ”You have no idea how much rent is in this city, do you, cupcake?”

My throat thickened. Oh no. What had Nat and Ash done now? No louder than a whisper, I asked, wide-eyed, ”How much?”

Her lip tilted up in the corner as she thought about it. ”For a decent place like this, I'd say between two and a half to three grand a month. Maybe even more with the tight security.”

No s.h.i.+t.

I whispered, ”No s.h.i.+t.”

She nudged my shoulder with her arm and smiled down at me. ”You're lucky to have a family who loves you so much.”

Still shaken by the onslaught of information, I muttered to n.o.body in particular, ”I'm beginning to see that.”

Nat had called me in emotional hysterics the day she and Ash had accidentally slept in, not being able to take me to work. The devious part of my mind told me to milk it for all it was worth, to lay on a guilt trip so thick that Nat would forever do what I asked. But then I realized that not only during my time here had she been wonderful, supportive, and loving, but that she and Ash had undergone serious changes in their lives without complaint. I soon remembered I would forever be in their debt for making my transition to New York as painless as it could be.

Also, I loved them.

James had happily accepted the duty of taking me to work and home again, if it wasn't too weird for me-his words. I was totally okay with this. Not only did it mean my sister and her husband would be able to sleep in, taking some of my guilt away, but I would be able to spend a little time with James, one-on-one. Nat wasn't too sure about that. I argued I needed to make friends here. She returned that the only friend I needed was her. The t.u.r.d. To my utter shock, it was Ash who had talked Nat into letting this happen. He told Nat it was natural to feel protective of me, but James seemed like 'an okay guy'.

I could've kissed him then.

Okay, okay. I did kiss him. A big fat smooch he had no chance in h.e.l.l of escaping, right on the lips. He screwed up his face and cringed. I winked and blew him another kiss. He rolled his eyes at me, but I felt the love. So I guess it shouldn't have shocked me that Ash would give me a bogus rent figure. But I was kind of p.i.s.sed about it. More sore about it than p.i.s.sed, I guess.

Covering my face with my hands, I groaned out loud. ”Oh G.o.d, is that what I am? The poor sister? Ugh. That sucks a.s.sholes.”

Felicity just laughed. ”Don't sweat it. I'm sure they're going to ask you to babysit when they have kids, and they'll do it knowing you can't say no.”

I sobered in an instant. ”Wow, do you know my sister? Because I think you spiritually channeled her there for a second.” Staring down at her offending suitcase, I ask carefully, ”So, what you got in there? A severed head?”

Smiling like the Ches.h.i.+re cat, she simply raised her brows, knelt down, and unzipped the bag. She peeled back the lid to unveil a portable salon. ”I told you we'd make Max see you, didn't I? I'm making good on that.”

Already shaking my head, I objected. Strongly. ”No, no, no, no, no, no. N-O. No.”

Felicity smiled at me. Her bazillion dollar grin. And a smiling Felicity was something to be reckoned with. She was so d.a.m.n pretty I felt I would change teams for her. ”Listen, I'm not asking you to do anything you're uncomfortable with, just to let me do your makeup and dress you tonight, is all. How bad could that be? You won't even have to pick your underwear. I'll make it easy for you.”

I could see there was no fighting this. She had that look in her eyes. I let out a long, agonizing breath. ”No short skirts. No short shorts. Nothing that'll show my legs.”

A confused look crossed her face. She looked down at my uncovered legs and bunched her nose. ”Why the h.e.l.l not? You've got killer legs. I mean, they're not tall, but they're shapely and firm.” She reached down to pinch the skin of my thigh, unable to get a grip. ”They're tight, b.i.t.c.h. What gives?”