“So, who is this guy?” I asked Lauren quietly as we stepped off the elevator. Our mothers were a few steps ahead of us, chatting.
“He’s not so bad,” Lauren said. “Ethan. Handsome. A little quiet, actually, but once you get to know him he opens up. He’s just an all-around nice guy. I think you might actually like him.”
“Yeah, right.”
We checked in and were escorted to the dressing-room area. Lauren and I went into one and my mom and Lillian went into separate ones. There were silk robes for us to change into. Lauren had stripped down to nothing; I took my clothes off but left this sheer cami on, plus my underwear. I wasn’t getting naked for anyone, even if it was a professional masseuse, someone who had seen and worked on all types of bodies.
“They’re not going to care, you know,” Lauren said as I closed the robe around myself, the cool fabric soft and sleek against my skin.
“I know,” I said. “But I do.”
“They’re like your battle scars. You should be proud of them.”
I didn’t say anything; I knew that if it was the other way around and she was the one with the scars all over her body, she’d definitely be singing a different tune. No, she’d probably spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and do whatever it took to rid herself of the scars—go under the knife, use lasers, get skin grafts... I knew there were options, other possibilities, but I wasn’t going to endure another surgery, another hospital stay, not if I didn’t absolutely have to. It would just make me feel even more like a freak, and that was a feeling I was trying to avoid.
I slipped my feet into a pair of quilted silk slippers and then followed Lauren down the softly lit hallway. The air smelled like lavender and I could hear the distant sound of trickling water. The walls were painted a warm golden, and adorned with artwork and photographs—mostly picturesque landscapes: mountain ranges, sunset over the ocean, waterfalls.
We went into the large room near the end of the hallway. There were four massage tables in there, and though I would’ve preferred if it had just been Lauren and me, or even better, just myself, I could tell that my mother was happy it was all of us, like we were doing some serious mother-daughter bonding, all the more so because there was another mother-daughter couple there with us.
“I just love these robes,” my mother was saying when we walked in. She and Lillian were sitting at the small table in the corner, sipping mineral water from fluted glasses.
“You should ask them where they have them made,” Lillian said. “Buy one for yourself for every day of the week!”
My mother laughed. “You know, I did consider that, but it’s like, I know once I feel this silk against my skin that I’m about to spend the next ninety minutes in pure bliss... It’s like Pavlov’s dog or something. I think I want to keep it that way.”
When the massage therapists came into the room, we each climbed onto one of the massage tables.
“My name is Hannah,” the woman who would be working on me said. She was a tall, statuesque blonde; I didn’t recognize her. Serena, the woman who was going to massage my mother, was someone I’d seen before, though it had been a long time since I’d last been here. “Would you like to take off your top? I’ll use a draping technique to make sure you’re covered and warm.”
“I’d like to keep my shirt on,” I said. I said it quietly, hoping my mother wouldn’t overhear and have some comment.
Hannah nodded. “Of course,” she said. “Whatever makes you the most comfortable. Is there any specific area you’d like me to concentrate on?”
My whole body still sort of ached from the Annadel ride, but I wasn’t about to admit that out loud. So instead I just shook my head and said that I’d enjoy a relaxing Swedish massage, which was what I knew my mother would be getting, too.
I positioned myself face down, my head in the face cradle, arms straight against my sides. Lauren was also getting a Swedish massage, but Lillian, who had chronic back and hip pain, was having her masseuse go all out and give her a deep-tissue massage using not just her hands but also her forearms and elbows. We were about five minutes into the massage, Hannah was working my shoulders and I was feeling myself start to drift into a pleasant half doze, when Lauren’s mom began making these weird, guttural animal sounds as her masseuse kneaded at her back.
“Oh, my God, Mom,” Lauren muttered, her voice muffled by the face cradle.
But Lauren’s mom was not holding back. The guttural sounds morphed to moans, then whimpers, then back to moans. If someone didn’t know any better, they’d think she was in here, getting laid. I bit my lip, trying not to laugh, or at least laugh out loud. It was sort of impressive that she was just letting loose like this, going at it with such reckless abandon. If you were to see her out on the street, you’d think she was this totally reserved, self-possessed person. And you’d be right, because she was. Except here, apparently.
My own mother let out little, contented sighs every so often that you couldn’t really hear over Lillian’s faux-sex sounds.
“Try to relax your shoulders,” Hannah said. My whole body felt clenched like a fist; I was trying that hard not to burst out laughing.
It continued on like that for the duration of the ninety-minute massage. Somehow, I managed not to laugh, but trying to hold the laughter in left me tenser than when I first lay down on the table.
“Thank you,” I said to Hannah before she left. She was frowning slightly, and her frown didn’t totally disappear when she told me I was welcome.
“Oh, now, that was amazing!” Lillian said. “I feel so good I think I could skip the sauna.”
“I think we need to go into the sauna just to sweat out the memory of those sounds you were making,” Lauren said, shuddering. “God, Mom, you sounded like a dying elk.”
“You try living with chronic back pain for the past two decades. Then come talk to me about it. Colleen is a godsend.”
Lillian and Mom decided to go get their nails done while Lauren and I went to the sauna.
“Sorry about my mom,” Lauren said. “I mean, gross, right?”
“I didn’t realize she’d been in chronic pain for that long.” I had my own chronic pain that I was dealing with, and though it had definitely improved, hurting every single day was not fun.
“She’s always in pain about something. She’s saying that the wedding planning is making it worse. Which is funny, because I don’t actually remember asking her to plan my wedding for me. Trev and I would be just as happy to get married on some little boat off the coast of Spain. And then we could go party in Ibiza for the honeymoon.”
I laughed. “Oh, yeah, your mom would love that.”
“No, she would hate it, and I think that would make it all the better.” Lauren shook her head. “As your best friend, can I give you a little piece of advice?”
“Sure,” I said, wiping sweat from my brow. I couldn’t stand to be in here much longer.
“Never get married,” she said. “In fact, never fall in love. It’ll only get you in trouble.”
***
After the spa, we went to Kestrel for lunch. Trevor and Ethan were already there, waiting in the lobby, getting checked out by every woman in the place (and some of the guys, too).
There were exclamations and hugs and Trevor gave Lauren a long, lingering kiss. When they broke away, he turned to me, smiling. “Stella,” he said. “I wanted you to meet my buddy, Ethan. I’ve told him all about you. Ethan, this is Stella.”
Ethan shook my hand and smiled, a little shyly, it almost seemed. He didn’t appear to be completely at ease, and I realized all of a sudden that maybe he had been dragged down here against his will, too.
“Did you beauties enjoy the spa?” Trevor asked. “You’re all positively glowing.”
My mother and Lillian beamed; behind his back, Lauren rolled her eyes.
“Yes, darling,” she said. “It was wonderfully relaxing.”
We were seated in a private room. The table was round, so I sat wit
h Lauren to my left, Ethan to my right. The majority of the conversation was dominated by Lillian talking about the wedding. Ethan and I barely said a word to each other, which was fine, though I got the feeling that he wanted to, if only Lauren’s mother would just stop talking for a second.
After the meal, the mothers wanted to go to the country club for drinks, which sounded awful; luckily, Lauren, Trevor, and Ethan didn’t seem that interested in the idea.
“I actually wouldn’t mind going for a little walk,” Ethan said. “It’s so nice out. Anyone want to go check out the farmers’ market?”
Trevor grinned, looking at me. “See, I told you this guy was always up for something,” he said. “Yeah, man, let’s do that.”
I said goodbye to Lillian and my mom, who gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, “Good luck!” as if I was about to go take the SATs or something, not walk a few blocks to the farmers’ market.
I smiled thinly. “Yeah, okay. Bye.”
We started walking, and Ethan and I ended up walking next to each other, a few paces behind Lauren and Trevor, which was maybe planned or maybe not. As we walked, I was able to check out all the faces of the people checking out Lauren and Trevor, of which there were plenty. They did make about the most striking couple you could imagine.
“So, Trevor was telling me you used to race bikes,” Ethan said. “That’s really cool.”
“Yeah. It’d be cooler if I still did it, but... I’m not sure if that will ever happen again.”
“He mentioned you got into a bad crash. I played baseball all through high school and got a scholarship to play in college, but then that summer I was in a car accident—totally messed up my pitching arm.”
“Stop being so modest, Ethan!” Trevor said, glancing over his shoulder at us. “What Ethan is failing to mention to you, Stella, is that he is one of, like, twelve students to get a full ride for baseball.”
Ethan’s face reddened. “Well,” he said. “Would have. I spent the first half of what would’ve been my freshman year recovering, and then I was still able to go to college, but I didn’t play baseball. My arm was never the same, and if I couldn’t play at the same level, I just didn’t want to do it anymore.” He shot a look at me. “Not that I’m saying you couldn’t get back into biking if you wanted to.”
“Oh, she wants to,” Lauren said. “She wants to so badly, her dad even went out and got her a babysitter for when she goes and takes rides.”
“Babysitter?” Trevor said.
“No, he’s not a babysitter. His official title would probably be bodyguard, but it’s not like I’m this highly sought-after person or anything. It’s mostly just because my dad didn’t want me going out riding alone.”
“I’ve done a little bit of mountain biking,” Ethan said. “Nothing too serious or anything. But it was fun. Maybe we should go sometime.”
“Maybe,” I said. Ethan smiled. He actually wasn’t that bad, and for a moment, I tried to imagine what it would be like not just going on a bike ride with him, but going out with him. Maybe, possibly. It would at least make my mother happy.
Chapter 9
Cole
“I was so close!”
Jeremiah grinned.
“I really thought I had you.” I surveyed the board, my king checkmated.
“That was a good game,” Jeremiah said, reaching over to slap my palm. “You did almost have me.”
“So, my treat?” I said, eyeing the direction of Dottie’s.
“I’ll have to take a rain check. Going to go visit my sister up in Sacramento pretty soon, and she said I best bring my appetite.”
“Oh, cool,” I said. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”
“I got lots of sisters. Lots of brothers, too. Most of them are still up in the Sacramento area.” He shook his head. “Not somewhere I try to go back to that often, but I’m not getting any younger. I don’t want my family to completely forget me.”
“How could they forget you? Well, yeah, we’ll have to do a rain check then. You have a good time up there.”
I chatted with Jeremiah for a little while longer, then hopped on my bike. I was hungry, but I’d wait to go to Dottie’s with him. I cruised around for a little while, eventually finding my way down to the farmers’ market. I wasn’t sure what exactly I felt like eating, but figured I’d come across something that would catch my eye. That’s exactly what I was thinking as I scanned the different stalls and all the offerings, when my eyes landed on Stella.
I started to ride over, without even thinking about the fact that I wasn’t technically working so maybe I wasn’t supposed to, when I realized that she was with some guy. They were standing rather close together, and the guy said something to her and she laughed. Then, as she was tucking her hair behind her ear, he put his hand on her lower back. She didn’t remove it or step away from him.
And then the two people who had been standing next to them moved closer and they all started talking. It was this tall, blonde girl and a guy who looked like a lacrosse player. I know, kind of a vague description, but that’s what I thought when I saw him: he looks like he plays lacrosse. Clearly, they were all in the same socioeconomic class, and it almost seemed as if they were surrounded by some sort of bubble, something that kept them encapsulated from the rest of the world, even though they were standing here at the farmers’ market surrounded by the rest of us everyday people.
I was about to make a hasty exit, but before I could, Stella turned and looked right at me. It was almost as if she knew I had been there. We stared at each other for a moment and then she gave me this little smile and waved me over. The three others in the group turned to look too, so there was no way I could pretend I hadn’t seen them. I went over.
“Oh, uh, hey,” I said. “Fancy meeting you here.”
The two guys eyed me, and the blonde girl gave me the stare-down like I was a piece of meat on display. She was practically salivating, which under other circumstances might’ve been flattering, but in this case was just kind of weird.
“Hi, Cole,” Stella said. She looked at her friends. “This is Cole,” she said. “Cole, this is my best friend, Lauren, and her fiancé Trevor, and Ethan.” Ethan didn’t have a title; I wondered if that was on purpose. Her boyfriend? Not that the fact of a boyfriend should bother me or anything.
“Hey, nice to meet you guys,” I said. “I was just cruising around. I mean, not cruising, cruising. I’m not gay. Not that I have a problem with anyone who is.”
I could tell the blonde girl was trying not to laugh at me, and it appeared that Stella was also trying to hide her smile. What was I saying? I shut my mouth.
“I might’ve thought you were, with a bike like that,” the guy named Trevor said. He laughed as he said it, and there wasn’t a malicious tone to his voice, so I think he was just trying to make a joke and failing spectacularly.
“Shut up,” the blonde said, socking him on the shoulder. She looked at me. “I like that bike. It’s unique.”
“Thanks,” I said. And then, in that moment, it became glaringly obvious that the four of them were on some sort of double date, which shouldn’t have bothered me but kind of did. I needed to get out of there, so I threw my leg over the IndyFab and told them I had to run. “Nice to meet you guys; have a good one.” I pedaled away, glad I was able to make a quick exit. It did, in a way, feel as if I was fleeing from the scene, but I didn’t care. I ended up riding all the way back to my place. I’d just get something to eat there.
I was fiddling with my keys, searching for the entry-door key when I heard someone call my name. I looked to my left and saw that it was my sister Jen. Jen was the next youngest after me, and the sibling I got along best with. She was pushing her bike, attached to the double trailer, up toward my building.
“Hey,” I called out.
“Sorry to just drop by unannounced!” she exclaimed. “But I’m so glad you’re here. I got a flat and I don’t have a spare tube. Can you help me out?”
�
��Sure thing. Hey, kids,” I said, giving a wave to Jasper and Ella, who looked less than thrilled to be crammed into the back of the trailer. They were four and six—or was it five and seven?—and definitely getting a little too big to be pulled around like that, but Jen seemed determined to do it for as long as possible. I looked at her bike, which clearly had a rear flat. “You want me to take the wheel off, or do you want to bring the whole thing inside?”
“We’ll come in and visit for a minute, if that’s okay. Ella has to use the bathroom, and Jasper should probably try, too.”
I unhooked the trailer from the bike and took off the rear tire. “We can just leave this here down in the lobby,” I said. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got at least one spare tube. If not, I’ll patch it.”
“Thanks,” Jen said. “How’s everything going? Mom told me about Carrie.”
“Oh, she did?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. But you guys weren’t really serious or anything, were you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know where it was going. Nowhere, apparently.” I pulled my keys out of my pocket and unlocked the door.
“Do you have any ice cream?” Jasper asked.
“Sorry, bud. Fresh out. I might have some cookies or something.”
“You guys don’t need any snacks right now,” Jen said. “I told you I’d get you a treat a little later. Why don’t you take turns and try to use the bathroom?” She looked back at me. “Mom also mentioned you were working somewhere different?”
“Kind of.” I went over to my toolbox and got a tire lever. “I’m still employed at Parker Security and everything. Don’t see myself leaving there anytime soon. But Drew did have me start working with this guy, Ed Brookshire. He has a daughter and I guess I’m kind of her bodyguard.”
“Really?” Jen said. “That sounds interesting.”
“It’s... different. They have so much money it’s insane. They live over in Pacific Heights, that huge white mansion you’ve probably seen before.”
Parker Security Complete Series Page 32