City Secrets

by Jessica Burkhart

  Mr. Fox nodded, his dark eyes on Heather’s face. “That sounds like a solid plan. I want you to call me if you have any trouble finding a space to practice and I’ll phone Pam immediately.”

  “I will,” Heather said.

  Mr. Fox sipped his coffee and turned, leaving the foyer.

  “What would he do?” I whispered. “Have Pam throw riders out of the arena?”

  “He’d try,” Heather said. “But Pam’s like Mr. Conner. She wouldn’t put up with that. She’d tell him no way.”

  I picked up my own helmet and we headed for the car. I couldn’t wait to get on horseback. I felt more at home in the saddle than I did at the Foxes’ penthouse. And! A chill ran down my arms. Only two more days till I’d be riding my horse. I pictured Charm’s face as we walked down the hallway. I couldn’t wait to hug him and start training together for the schooling show.

  More than half an hour later Heather and I walked down Chesterfield’s aisle. We tacked up Limitless and Cora and led them toward the indoor arena. It was empty.

  “Guess no one else is as crazy as we are to ride this early,” I joked.

  “Very true,” Heather said.

  We did a standard warm-up—walking, trotting, and cantering the horses so they wouldn’t be stiff when we started a serious workout.

  “Want to split up for a while and work on our own issues, then jump?” Heather asked.

  “Sounds good,” I said.

  Heather rode Cora to the right end of the arena, and Limitless and I took the left. I started working him through spirals, paying attention to my hand and leg cues as I took him through the exercise. After a few spirals, we worked through circles, and then I stopped him. I dropped the reins around his neck and raised my arms out to my sides. I twisted a few times in the saddle and felt my back muscles loosen. I leaned down and touched my toes, then straightened. I ran through a few more posture exercises before Heather rode Cora over to me.

  “I think we’ve got flatwork down,” she said. “If you’re ready to stop and jump.”

  I glanced at the round wall clock. We’d been practicing for an hour but it felt as if I’d only been riding for a few minutes.

  “I’m always ready to jump,” I said.

  There were a few portable jumps folded up along the wall. Heather and I dismounted and ground-tied the horses. Limitless cocked a back hoof and seemed glad for a break. I smiled as I walked away from him to help Heather set up the jumps. He was a good horse—I’d definitely miss him when I went back to Canterwood.

  Together Heather and I set up five verticals of varying height. It was a simple course, but we’d run through it a couple of times.

  “You can go first if you want,” I said.

  “Okay,” Heather said. She heeled Cora into a trot and didn’t waste any time guiding her toward the first jump. The mare leaped over the vertical. I loved how she landed without jarring her rider.

  The next vertical was only a few strides away, and, like the jump before it, Cora took it without hesitation. Heather had no trouble over the next three jumps. She rode Cora back to me with a smile.

  “I don’t even have to say it,” I said. “That was amazing. Maybe you should steal Cora and take her back to Canterwood. You guys make a great team.”

  Heather laughed. “I’m sure Aristocrat wouldn’t mind a break from a few practices.”

  “Probably not. I know Charm would sooo much rather spend time eating than practicing some days.”

  I gathered the reins and sat deep in the saddle. My turn.

  Like Heather I didn’t feel the need to circle Limitless before taking the first jump. We were ready, and I had jumped him before.

  His canter was smooth and even as we moved forward. We reached the first jump and Limitless pushed up off the ground at the right second. The first jump wasn’t too high, so he didn’t need to expend much effort to clear it. Strides later the second vertical was in front of us. It was only a couple of inches higher—Limitless didn’t even seem to notice. He soared over the red-and-white poles.

  He snorted when he landed and we cantered toward the third vertical. I rocked in the saddle to his canter and rose into the two-point position at the right time. Limitless cleared the jump as if it were inches off the ground, and his hooves didn’t even come close to touching the rail.

  We took the fourth jump as if it wasn’t even there and I let him out a notch for the final vertical. His canter quickened and he gathered his forelegs under his body as he launched into the air and over the rails. I grinned when he landed and cantered away from the jumps. Patting his neck, I rode him back to Heather.

  “That was good,” Heather said. “But wipe the grin off your face. We’re not even close to being done.”

  “Yes, Mr. Conner,” I said. I saluted her and she rolled her eyes.

  “For that we’re doing the next round without stirrups,” Heather said sweetly.

  Now it was my turn to make a face. But we were doing what we had to so we’d be as prepared as possible for the schooling show. And if riding without stirrups was what it took, I was game.

  21

  SHEER BLISS

  “SILVER! SIIILVER.”

  I woke up to Heather shaking my arm.

  “What?” I asked, looking at the clock. It was barely eight. “It’s Saturday. We can sleep in a little, can’t we?”

  “Nooo,” Heather said. “Not unless you want to miss our spa appointments.”

  That made me sit up.

  “Spa appointments? Really?”

  Heather grabbed my hand and yanked me out of bed, shoving me toward my closet.

  “Really. Massages, facials, hot towels—all the good stuff. Dress in comfy clothes and meet me in the breakfast nook. We’ll eat, and then we have to go.”

  Heather disappeared and I closed the door so I could get dressed. I pulled on yoga pants and a soft cotton T-shirt. I picked up a pair of flip-flops and carried them into the bathroom, where I combed my hair and brushed my teeth. Before meeting Heather I dropped my flip-flops by the front door.

  Heather was seated at the breakfast table, and there was a spread of food already laid out like a buffet. Immediately I went for the waffles and doused two of them with powdered sugar, syrup, and fruit.

  Heather filled her own plate with eggs, two pieces of bacon, and French toast.

  I almost inhaled my breakfast—I wanted to get out of there and go to the spa.

  “I’ve never been to a spa, ever,” I said. “Do we get to wear robes and everything?”

  Heather nodded, finishing the final bite of her eggs. “Yep. And they’ll wrap your hair in a towel so it won’t get in your face mask.”

  “I’m sooo excited! This is going to be awesome.”

  We finished breakfast and met Paul at the car. I almost couldn’t buckle my seat belt—my fingers were shaky!

  “Calm down,” Heather said. “It’s a spa. It’s supposed to be relaxing?”

  “But also awesome,” I said.

  After what felt like hours, but was really only a few minutes, Paul pulled up to a place called Bliss.

  “This is it,” Heather said.

  We said bye to Paul and got out of the car. The spa’s outside was so cute! The overhang was pale blue, and the lettering on the door was white. I followed Heather inside and smelled so many calming and amazing scents—lemon, eucalyptus, lavender, and a few others I didn’t recognize.

  A waterfall cascaded down the main wall, making a soothing noise. I’d been inside for only a few seconds and I felt so serene.

  Heather and I walked up to the counter.

  “Hi,” Heather said to the receptionist. “We have appointments for Heather Fox and Sasha Silver.”

  “One moment, please,” said the receptionist. She flipped through a pink-and-white date book, then nodded. “I see you’re both having full treatments done today. You’ll have a lovely time, and enjoy Bliss!”

  “Thanks,” we both said.

  The woman handed us
two plastic-sealed packages.

  “Inside each package,” she said, “is a robe, disposable bikini, and a pair of slippers. Please change into those and we’ll get you started. The changing rooms are straight down this hallway.”

  Heather and I found two empty rooms, and when I slipped into my fluffy white robe, I wanted to snuggle my face into it.

  So. Soft.

  I slid my feet into the equally comfy terry-cloth flip-flops and walked out. Heather emerged a second later, and a woman with perfect skin—would mine look like that after the treatments?—met us with a smile.

  “Hi,” she said. “Let me take your clothes and hang them up. I’m Emily and I’ll be making sure you get to all of your sessions on time today.”

  “I’m Sasha,” I said.

  Heather offered Emily a hand. “And I’m Heather.”

  “Well, Sasha and Heather,” Emily said. “Let’s get you to your first treatment. Please follow me.”

  Heather and I followed Emily down a white hallway with a thin pink stripe running along the center of the wall.

  “I’ve been here a few times, so I picked out the best treatments,” Heather said.

  “That’s cool,” I said. “I wouldn’t have had any clue what to get.”

  Emily led us to an open, airy room and handed us two towels.

  “Wrap up your hair,” she said. “Then have a seat. Your chairs are massage chairs that are heated. You’ll be starting with a light exfoliation facial. Then you’ll get a clarifying mask that will help with any blemishes or excess oil your face might have. I’ll be back in about forty-five minutes to take you to your next session.”

  I climbed into my seat and settled back. Ooh, it was warm. I reached for the controller and played with the buttons. A nice rolling feeling started up and down my back, and I took a long breath as the massage chair got to work on the kinks in my back and neck.

  “This is amazing,” I said to Heather.

  “Totally. And they haven’t even started the facials yet.”

  Two women walked into the room and consulted clipboards. They started mixing two batches of something peach colored in small bowls. They sat on rolling stools beside Heather and me. Everyone wore all white and just exuded calm—if that was possible. Barely audible classical music played in the background, and I sank even deeper into my chair as my facialist put on gloves with tiny bumps on them and dipped her fingers into her mixing bowl. She smeared some of the mixture, which smelled like apricot, onto each of my cheeks, then put down the bowl.

  I closed my eyes as she massaged the mixture into my face. I felt little exfoliating beads of something on my cheeks as she rubbed in circles.

  It can’t get any better than this, I thought. I kept my eyes closed and imagined how my skin would look when I left. It would be pretty and smooth when I went back to school.

  After several minutes of the facialist rubbing the fruit-scented mix on my face, I felt a hot but not scalding washcloth. My facialist took her time wiping my face until all of the mixture was gone.

  “Wow,” I said, opening my eyes. “Thank you. That felt great.”

  She smiled at me. “You’re welcome. I should have introduced myself before. I’m Anna.”

  “Sasha,” I said.

  Anna tossed the exfoliant mix and started pouring liquids and squeezing creams into another bowl. I touched a finger to my cheek.

  Wow. So soft!

  I looked over at Heather, who still had her eyes closed and her head resting back.

  Anna came back and sat beside me. I closed my eyes as she brushed a thin layer of something tingly on my face. It smelled so good—like mint.

  “We’re going to let that dry for about twenty minutes, then I’ll peel it off,” Anna said. “Relax in the meantime, and if you’d like, there are magazines in a basket beside you.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  But I didn’t feel like reading about the latest celebrity scandal. I wanted to sit back and enjoy every second of the spa environment.

  It felt as if Anna came back almost a minute later, but she assured me it had been at least twenty. She peeled the mask from my face and squirted lotion into her hands.

  “This moisturizer will make your skin even softer,” she said. She reached over and held up a mirror. “Your face looks even more gorgeous.”

  I looked in the hand mirror, almost shocked by what I saw. The usual redness around my nose was gone, I couldn’t see one blackhead, and my face just looked soft.

  “Thank you so much!” I said. “My skin has never looked this good. Ever.”

  Anna smiled and took the mirror. I looked over, and Heather nodded at me.

  “They’re pretty good, huh?” she asked.

  “So good,” I said.

  Emily walked into the room. “Did you enjoy your facials?” she asked.

  “They were excellent, thank you,” Heather answered, as I nodded.

  “Wonderful! Up next is your body scrub.”

  Emily led us to a smaller room where everyone was separated by curtains. Men and women walked in and out of the curtained partitions and carried jars of different lotions and scrubs.

  “Inside, hang up your robe on the hook and lie on the table,” Emily said. “Someone will be with you right away. You’re both getting the cream and sugar scrub, which will make you smell sweet and feel supersoft.”

  Emily pulled back a curtain and waved her hand, motioning me inside. The curtain swished behind me, and I took off my robe.

  I got on the table, resting my head on the soft pillow.

  “Hi, Sasha,” a woman said, stepping beside me. She had silky black hair that was pulled back in a high ponytail. Her dark skin looked so smooth that I wondered if she got facials here every day. “I’m Keisha and I’m going to do your body scrub. You picked a great scrub—it’s one of my favorites.”

  I smiled at her. “I came with my friend who comes here a lot, and she said it was awesome.”

  “You’ll love it,” Keisha said. She put a large bowl of scrub that smelled like just-out-of-the-oven vanilla cake at the end of the table. She took my hand and started rubbing the mixture on my hand and massaged it up to my elbow.

  An hour later I was almost asleep as Keisha finished rubbing my foot.

  “Was the scrub as good as your friend said it was?” Keisha asked.

  “Better,” I said. “That felt so good. Thank you.”

  Keisha smiled. “Walk straight forward to the showers. Rinse off the scrub, and then your guide will be here to take you to the next part of your treatment.”

  “Okay, thanks again.” Keisha pulled back the curtain for me, and I walked to a glass door with showers etched on it. I pulled open the door and saw several showerheads. Some of the showers had sliding doors and others were public, like at a gym.

  I was in a bikini, so I turned on one of the public showers and started rinsing off under the warm water. It was like Keisha had taken off a layer of my skin, but it didn’t hurt. My elbows and knees had never been this smooth.

  “Hey,” Heather said. She walked over and turned on the shower next to me. She was covered in gritty scrub too. “Did you like it?”

  “Like? Loved. I feel sooo relaxed.”

  Heather rinsed off her arms. “Me too. I think the mineral-water whirlpool is next. That’s awesome.”

  “Then why are we in here?” I asked.

  Heather nodded. “True.”

  We finished rinsing off and grabbed our robes. Emily, looking around, spotted us. Heather turned out to be right—the whirlpool was next. Heather and I got into the clear water and sat on padded ledges. The pool bubbled and the jets pushed the water against my freshly scrubbed skin. There was no one else in our whirlpool, so I stretched out my legs and ran my fingers through the water.

  “So now I’m going to have to find a spa near Canterwood,” I said. “I’m addicted.”

  Heather smiled. “I thought you would be. It’s the most relaxing thing ever.”

  W
e fell into comfortable silence and enjoyed the whirl of the bubbles until Emily came to get us for our final treatment—lotion.

  Keisha turned out to be the one who applied my coat of thick, creamy lotion to my skin. I had to sit in my robe for twenty minutes before she told me I could go change into my regular clothes.

  I changed and found Heather in the hallway. She dug into her purse and pulled out a familiar credit card.

  “Are you sure I can’t pay for something?” I asked. “I have an emergency credit card.”

  “Stop it,” Heather said. “My mom’s paying for this. She owes us, so get over it.”

  I wanted to argue with her, but I knew I’d lose. “Okay. Thank you. Really.”

  “Just try to maintain that look when we get back to school,” Heather said, eyeing me. “Or at least some of it.”

  I half-rolled my eyes.

  Heather finished paying the bill and texted Paul to come get us.

  “We’ll grab lunch on the way home,” Heather said. “Since it’ll be your last lunch in the city, you can pick if you want.”

  I grinned. “Really? Then the Shake Shack for sure.”

  And as we walked outside to wait for Paul, I couldn’t believe it was my last lunch in the city. At the beginning of the week I’d dreaded break—afraid that Heather and I would kill each other after spending a week together. But we’d become better friends than I’d thought possible, and I couldn’t imagine a better break.

  22

  ALMOST EVERY DAY

  ON SUNDAY MORNING I WOKE UP AND STARED at the ceiling. I’d spent my last night here, and tonight I’d be in my own bed in my dorm with Paige. I didn’t want to think about that this early in the day, but I was going to be seeing her soon. And now I thought I was finally ready to talk. I didn’t want life with my roommate and BFF to be uncomfortable, and I was sure Paige and I could work it out—I’d just needed time to see that.

  Then I thought about the good things about going back to school. Like seeing Charm, prepping for the show, and figuring out my new friendship with the Trio.