Wrong Way Renee (15 page)

Her friend
answered with a yawn.
“Hello?”

“Hey, honey, are you sleeping? You want
me to call you back tomorrow?”

“No, I was lying
in bed watching TV. What's up?”

“I have a problem. I just got back from a date with one of my dad's lawyer friends. He took me to Manfred's. We
had a great time.”

“Okay, so what's the problem?”

Renee told her all about her date with Joe and how both men wanted to go out with her again.

“Well, you have no co
mmitment to either one, right?”

“Right, but I feel like I'm going to slip up. What if one finds out about the other?
”

“If the one who finds out has a problem with it, you st
ill have the other for backup.”

Apple jumped onto the couch
and rubbed
her face against Renee
’s hand. She
took the hint and scratched
the feline’s
head between her ears.
“
How could I like them
both and they be so opposite?”

“Do yo
u always go for the same type?”

She thought about all the long-term boyfriends she'd had. There had been Kirk in high school,
Jamal
in college, then Dan. She tried to find a common thread
but she couldn’t
.
“No.”

“See? I think maybe the cop is your now type, sweet and sexy. But can he provide for you and take care of you the way you deserve?
The lawyer's your future type. I can see you married to him with two point three kids, a huge house, a n
ice car, the whole nine yards.”

“That stuff has never been important to me, like it is to you.
”
As she said it, she wondered if that were really true.

“
Girlfriend!
It's vital. Do you want to file old ladies' toenails your whole life? Of course, you'd have to continue doing mine even if you retired from the business. Seriously though. I date two, s
ometimes three guys at a time.”

“How do you keep things straight? How do you pursue a relationship with more than one man, yet keep them apart.
What do you tell your family?”

“In your case, I wouldn't tell them about
you
r
cop. They're obviously pulling for the lawyer. But at your work, Joe can be your guy. I'm sure your fancy law
yer would never show up there.”

“What do I do if Joe wants to meet my family?
”
She started sweating
at the mere thought of that. Elizabeth would never approve of a cop.

“Put him off. Let him meet your friends.
”
She huffed.
“Honestly, I think you're putting the cart before the horse here. You haven't
been seeing either man a month
yet. If one relationship starts getting serious, then you bow out of the other. You haven'
t slept with either. Have you?”

“Of course not. I couldn't
sleep
with two guys at the same time. I'd be afraid I'd call out the wrong name in the heat of passion.
”
They both laughed.

“Could you imagine? That feel
s so
good,
Cleave
—I mean Joe.”

“Yeah. If both relationships continue, I'll end one when it gets to the point where I
want to take it to that level.”

“Good advice you gave yourself. Listen, someone's beepin
g in. Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Sure,
Toy
. Thanks for listening.”

“Always.”

After she hung up, she thought about what could happen if she got serious about both men. And what if one found out about the other. She’d be in deep shit, that’s what. Nah. Chances were one or both men would dump her before it ever became an issue.

Chapter Five

Renee pushed through the glass doors to Lifestyle Fitness Center Monday afternoon for the second time in eight months, wearing Lycra Capri pants and an oversized T-shirt. Knowing chances were good she'd have sex with either
Cleave
or Joe soon, it was the perfect time to tone up.

The black walls, florescent lighting and disinfectant smell gave the place a sterile feel. Stopping at the mirrored reception counter, she told the very buff young man seated there she was thinking about renewing her membership.

“Let me get Lyl
e for you
.
”
He pushed a button on the wall.
“Lyle to the front
desk, Lyle to the front desk.”

All
sort
s of aerobic equipment were positioned directly behind the reception area. Stationary bikes, elliptical trainers, stair steppers, treadmills and recumbent bikes were lin
ed up like a modern day torture chamber
.

Someone tapped
her shoulder and
she
spun
around
to see a young, muscular hottie
with black hair and piercing green eyes
.

“I'm Lyle.
”
He
set
his hands on his hips, reminiscent of Jack LaLanne
.
He wore tight-fitting navy shorts and a polo shirt with the initials LFC on the pocket.
Her gaze roamed to his massive shoulders then slid down a very angular torso before she caught herself and lifted her eyes to his. His smug grin told her was used to women ogling his physique.

She offered her hand and they shook.
“
Renee Wright.
My membership lapsed, but I'm interested in renewing. I haven't been here for a while so I was hoping you could show me around.
”
Her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own, constantly straying to his muscled chest.

“I'd be happy to give you the tour. You know, every renewal comes with a complimentary personal training session. If you're free now, I just had a cancellation
.
I see you're dressed for it.
”

“That would be great, Lyle.
”

He punched a few keys into the computer behind the reception desk.
“You want to go ahead and renew then?”

If she made that financial commitment, she’d surely make the time and effort to come.

“It’s only nineteen dollars a months. And I see you already have automatic payments coming out of your bank account.” He raised an eyebrow.

She swallowed hard.
Wasn’t as if it was a lot of money. Heck, she got almost that much for one manicure. “Why not.”

His smile widened. “All done.”

She dropped her keys in a cubbyhole next to the desk.
“Where do we start?
”

“Let me grab my body fat calipers.
”

Fat calipers?
Sounded like a real torture device. She
grabbed his thick forearm as he started to walk away.
“
Um, c
an we skip that part?
”
Warmth settled on her cheeks.

“Perhaps next time.
”

How about not in this lifetime? No hunky guy was going to pinch her fat.

He led her to the bank of cardio equipment.
“Normally, you'd start here. Are you cur
rently doing anything aerobic?”

“I run sometimes,
”
she lied.

“Good. You can get on the treadmill or the elliptical trainer after we do your
weight training if you'd like.”
He led her deeper into the
dungeon
to an area of assorted silver weight machines.
“Let's try this one. Sit here.
”
He patted the seat then adjusted the weight stack.
“This one works your inner thighs.
”
He helped her move her legs over two swinging arms that looked like the leg rests on a wheelchair.
“Now push together.
”
His massive hands landed on her outer thighs, forcing them closer together.

Sh
e repeated the move.

“Is that too heavy?”

“It's fine.
”
She struggled to close her legs without his assistance.

“Okay. Let's have a set of twenty.
”
He counted for her, helping her on the last two.
“Good. Now rest a minute, then we'
ll do another set.”

“Hi, Lyle.
”
A
blonde bimbo-looking creature
strutted
past
in
a hot pink thong-back leotard over white tights.
Apparently the place didn’t have much of a dress code.

“Hi, Bridget.
”
He watched her until she disappeared around a corner.

“Who was that? Good and Plenty?
”
Renee asked.

He laughed.
“She's definitely eye candy.”

Renee rolled her eyes then
did another two sets
before
they moved to the next machine, which looked similar to the first.

“This one works your outer thighs. Start with your legs
together and push them apart.”

She completed three sets on that machine, after which Lyle took her to four others.

“Okay, last machine for today, then you're done with lower body. Next time we do upper body. This is a leg press.
”
He showed her how to adjustment the weights and back cushion.
“Now sit here and l
ean your back against the pad.”

She sat just off the floor with her legs facing up and out in front of her.

“Now, push straight out, then let
your legs
come back toward your body. We're
going to do a set of fifteen.”

She pushed
her legs hard as she could until she
heard a ripping sound
.
Confusion gave way to horror
as
the inner seam of her pant
s ga
ve way.

Please, let this not be happening, not now.

A two-inch long fissure erupted near the crotch. Her face burned as she watched a grotesque bulb
of brown flesh grow
on her inner thigh. Trying to minimize it, she push
ed
her legs out straight, but it was too late. The thick ball of skin and fat got a little smaller, but wouldn't go back inside her pants. She could hardly breath. Her heart strummed in her ears.

Unfortunately, Lyle was actually looking at her when all this occurred instead of the bevy of Barbies he'd been concentrating on throughout
most
of her workout. Head suddenly pounding, she moved the safety handles to lock the weight stack into place, then
pulled herself up and
off the machine.

“Thanks, Lyle. I'll call you.
”
She ran for the door, grabbing her keys from the cubbyhole. Then she sprinted for her car. Once inside, she laid her head against the steering wheel. That had to be the most embarrassing moment ever. And she'd had plenty of them. But then again, she never had to see Lyle again. He was probably having a big tee-hee over it right this very moment. Maybe they were describing the scene over the PA system.

She took a deep, cleansing breath. So much for the gym.
Black women were supposed to have big booties anyway.

But s
he’d just wasted a couple hundred bucks on a
nother failed attempt at self-improvement.
If she stayed the course she’d be in the poorhouse in no time. Or worse—she’d be forced
to move back with her parents.

* * * * *

“So how did it go with the fertility doctor?
”
Renee
set
two
cups of coffee
on
her nail table Tuesday morning—one for her, one for Melissa.

Melissa slumped in the chair.
“I started on this regimen of hormone shots that would make V
in Diesel
turn
gay
.
”
She blew out a long breath.
“I have to mix three different vials of stuff, then give myself shots morning and night. I swear, every time the wind blows I start t
o cry.”

“And what do all these pharmaceuticals do for you?
”