Page 35 of Brooklynaire

“That’s something I’ve always been good at. Especially if there’s wine and a Channing Tatum movie onTV.”

Ramón laughs. “Wine is a bad idea, Miss Rebecca. Give your body a couple more weeks to find its balance before you indulge.” He leads me over to a desk chair and I sit init.

“You’d better not tell me that Channing Tatum is bad for my recovery. Or I’m out ofhere.”

“That male stripper movie, right? My girlfriend loves it. If Channing Tatum wanted to bounce on the trampoline with you, would you sayyes?”

“You know Iwould.”

“Then I’ll give that man a call to see if he’s available for your nextsession.”

If only he weren’t joking. Although I think Channing Tatum is actually married in real life, which does nothing for me. This thought is interrupted when Ramón puts his hands on the back of the chair and gives it a briskspin.

“Oh my God. I hate you,” I sputter as the chair spins in circles. My legs fly out at awkward angles, and I’ve got the armrests in a deathgrip.

“No, you don’t.” He gives the chair another push, and my stomach is caught off guard. I close my eyes, but that makes it worse so I open them right back up again. Thankfully, he lets the chair spin slowly to a stop. “How do youfeel?”

“Dizzy!Duh.”

He grins, looking at his watch. “Tell me when you’re no longerdizzy.”

I try to focus my eyes on a basketball hoop on the far wall. It scatters to the right several times before finally settling into place on the wall. I breathe in and out slowly a few more times before the edges of my vision stop dancing. “Now. The room has stoppedmoving.”

“Fifty-five seconds,” Ramón says, looking up from his watch. “A normal vestibular system will have you recovered after ten seconds. So that’s our goal. Ten seconds. We’ll getthere.”

Although this man has repeatedly made me feel like puking, I’m pretty sure I believe him. “Is that it for now, tough guy? Because I have a party to attend, where I get to wear a dress for the first time in amonth.”

He squeezes my shoulder. “Go get ‘em, Rebecca. Have a great time. But don’t drink, unless you want to feel worse than the spinning chair just made youfeel.”

“Got it!” I stand up, a little tired, a little dizzy, but a lot more optimistic than I’ve been in a long time. “See you on theflipside.”

Ramón high-fives me, and I’m out of there. My garment bag and my mani/pedi kit are waiting in the little locker room off the training area. I grab them and run outside to get into the car that’s waiting forme.

* * *

Five hourslater I walk into the sleek lobby of a hotel in Bal Harbour, Florida. No, I practicallydanceinto that lobby. For weeks I’ve felt ill and scared. I still feel ill (especially when Ramón spins me around in a chair), but I’m not quite as scared. And getting out of New York—even if it’s for less than twenty-four hours—is pretty freakingexciting.

Georgia is waiting for me in the lobby when I arrive. I give a little shriek of excitement and hug her when I see. “Where can I drop my stuff so we can play on thebeach?”

“I have your room key. You can go rightup.”

“I’m not bunking withyou?”

“Not this time. It’s not a game night, so I get to bunk with Leo.” Her fiancé, Leo Trevi, is a rookie forward for the Bruisers. Normally, they aren’t coupled up on the road. But this party of Nate’s is a special occasion, I guess. “Nate added you to the hotel list. You get room404.”

“Huh. I didn’t ask Nate to get me aroom.”

“He got you oneanyway.”

This rankles just a bit. “I didn’t let him buy my plane ticket, though. Since I’m not really here in an official capacity, that would just be weird.” Plus, I’m starting to get sensitive about all the money Nate has spent on me since I bonked my head on the ice. He keeps saying,friends do favors for each other. But I don’t want to takeadvantage.

“Stop worrying. You brought a bathing suit,right?”

“Yes ma’am. And some heavy-duty sunblock. Let’s go sit on a towel and gossip. I haven’t seen you inages.”

* * *

The afternoon is terrific.Not only is it fun to hang out with Georgia, I feel a million miles from my troubles. We dare each other to duck all the way under the waves, but the water is so cold that we both bail out when we’re only up to ourshoulders.