Page 31 of Double Dirty

I yanked my shirt over my head as Leo came in. “Ooh, are we doing it here now? Should I go tell the people in the locker rooms to leave?”

“Nah,” she said. “I bested him at sparring finally. So he owes me shirtless push-ups. We have a deal.”

“Want me to give you a shoulder rub or anything while you enjoy the show?” Leo said, “Or I can rub anything else you’d like.”

“Maybe not right now,” Lexi said. “I have push-ups to count. I have a feeling he’d try to cheat me out of some reps.”

“Hey, I’m a personal trainer. You’re insulting my professional integrity,” I said as I positioned my palms on the mat.

“Whatever get to work,” Leo chuckled, his arm slung around Lexi’s shoulders.

They kept roasting my form and miscounting on purpose until I finally doubled over laughing and gave up. The three of us went out for dinner, burgers and shakes, to offset all that healthy exercise according to Lexi.

13

Leo

We settled into a routine easily. We hung a dry-erase calendar in the kitchen to keep track of my shifts, Rafe’s classes, and which nights we had to be together. Some evenings Lexi and I went out to hear some jazz or find the best empanadas within walking distance of the house. Other nights when I worked, she and Rafe went to the movies or made lemon pancakes from one of their cooking shows. But the best nights were the ones we all spent together. We’d order takeout, catch up on our worst and funniest work stories and then fall in bed together after a bottle or three of wine.

After three months of that, of everything beautiful in a life I hadn’t known I needed to feel whole, I decided to take them out to a salsa club on our Saturday night. I even popped into a shop near the station and bought a ruffled turquoise mini-dress for Lexi—perfect for dancing and for showing off those gorgeous legs. I surprised her with it after work.

“I have the perfect shoes. I bought them at Goodwill two years ago, probably somebody’s prom shoes, but they’rethese silver strappy heels that look like something a really coordinated hooker would wear. I had no idea when I’d ever need them, but tonight’s the night. I’ll have two big strong men who can carry me if my feet start to hurt,” she said.

“Great, go try it on.”

“This is a four and I’m a six,” she protested.

“Good, I’ll be able to see some boob and some ass,” I said.

“You may see the seam rip up the side if I try to shake my ass,” she shot back with a laugh.

She came out in the dress and the sky-high sparkly heels. I ogled her shamelessly while Rafe wolf whistled.

“Damn, woman,” he said, “I won’t be able to keep it in my pants at this rate.”

“We’re dancing first,” she reminded him. “And I don’t know anything about salsa moves so someone will have to teach me.”

“I’m a natural,” I boasted.

“Yeah, and when he sprains his ass, I can teach you something worth learning,” Rafe said.

“I don’t think asses can be sprained,” I told him, “and you insult my moves. I’m an excellent dancer.”

“You’ll have to prove it,” Lexi said with a grin.

“Leave in half an hour? I have to go find my leather pants and ruffled shirt so I can dress the part,” Rafe joked.

“You can’t salsa in leather. You have to move the hips more than they’ll allow. You need something with stretchy material,” I said seriously and Rafe burst out laughing.

“He’s gonna come out wearing my yoga pants now,” Lexi accused.

After some more joking around, we went to the club. I taught her a few moves, did some showing off on the dance floor because I did, in fact, salsa like a beast. Rafe tried tolearn a few steps, but for an athletic guy, he couldn’t dance worth shit and I told him so.

“You got no rhythm,” I said with an eye roll.

“Oh, I have rhythm, it just belongs in the bedroom, not on the dance floor. They can’t handle my rhythm,” Rafe said.

“I’m pretty sure that kind of rhythm would get you arrested here. So keep it to yourself,” I told him, spinning Lexi back out onto the floor.