Dazed and horny, I stood staring out the window for an indeterminate amount of time. I then locked the door to the shop and retreated to the bathroom where I promptly leaned against the door, pulled my panties down, and replayed his words while massaging my clit.
CHAPTER 7
Colby
Now for the moment of truth. With Saylor occupied for a rare Saturday, I picked up my phone and tapped out a text to Billie.
Colby: Up for our first undate today?
She texted back almost immediately.
Billie: What did you have in mind?
I chuckled as I responded.
Colby: I thought we established the other day that it was dangerous to ask what’s on my mind… But if you’re referring to my plans, I’m heading to IKEA and wanted to know if you’d like to join. We have an empty apartment we just renovated, and we’re experimenting with leasing it furnished as an Airbnb. I’m in charge of getting it ready. So I need to pick up a bunch of housewares, stuff like glasses and utensils.
Billie: Mmm…I do love the Swedish meatballs from IKEA. When are you going? I made plans to take a kickboxing class at one o’clock. A friend of mine is holding a free trial group lesson to drum up some new clients.
I’d taken boxing classes growing up and was pretty good at it. I thought there might be an opportunity to show off a little, so I extended an invitation to myself.
Colby: Mind if I join you? I’ve been looking for a fun way to get some exercise. Running and lifting weights is pretty boring. Maybe we could do a double undate and hit IKEA after?
Billie: Sure. Taylor would love that. The more the merrier. Can you meet me at the gym? I have some errands to run beforehand. I can send you a link to the address.
Colby: Sounds good. Looking forward to it.
I’d never admit it to anyone, especially not my buddies, but I worked out before I left for the kickboxing class. If there was a chance to take off my shirt, I wanted to look as cut as possible. I did a hundred sit-ups and almost as many curls to pump up my biceps before heading to the address she’d sent me.
I’d thought I was looking pretty good…until I got a glimpse of the guy setting up mats at the front of the room when I walked in. He had on baggy white pants like you wear for karate and no shirt. I was fit, but this dude made me look frail. I have no fucking idea why, but somehow I knew he could make his pecs dance to the rhythm of music as a party trick. That thought made me frown, as did remembering the forty minutes I’d wasted exercising before coming here. There was no way in hell I was taking off my shirt anywhere in the vicinity of Mr. Universe.
But I found a reason to smile anyway when I saw Billie waving. She had on a cropped top and a pair of shorts, and although I loved those corsets, I wasn’t missing them at all at the moment.
“Hey. You made it,” she said.
“Yeah, the location actually worked out well. I borrowed Owen’s car and drove so we’d have a way to get the stuff from IKEA home after we’re done. And my parents only live a few blocks away, so I dropped Saylor there. They usually come by our place one or two Saturdays a month to spend time with her while I catch up on errands and stuff. She was excited to go to their place for a change.”
“Oh, that’s great.” She motioned to the other side of the room. “Come on, I’m over here.”
I followed and dropped the duffle bag I’d brought on the ground next to hers.
“It’s great that Saylor’s grandparents are so involved in her life,” she said as she stretched a little.
“Yeah, my parents are pretty amazing with her. They moved from Pennsylvania, where I grew up, to New York to be closer to me after Saylor was born. My mom would babysit all weekend, every weekend, if I let her. But since I’m not around ten hours a day for work, I try to put in quality time on Saturdays and Sundays. I usually take her out to see different things in the city on at least one day, unless the weather is bad. Believe it or not, she loves checking out libraries the most.”
Billie smiled. “Saylor’s growing up with such a healthy male role model. Being a woman, I can’t express how important that is. My mom was only nineteen when she had me. My dad was twenty-five and married to another woman when Mom found out she was pregnant.”
“No shit?”
She nodded. “Even more fun than that, his wife was already two months pregnant when my mom got pregnant. So I have a half-sister who’s only eight weeks older than me.”