Page 27 of The Weight Of It All

Emily laughed. “Not quite. I’m glad you two sorted it out.

I want to see him happy, and I think he’s had a thing for you since your first day.

You made him laugh, and it’s been a while since I’ve seen him smile like he does when he’s with you.

” She studied her running shoes for a moment, then she looked right at me.

“Please don’t hurt him. His last boyfriend burned him pretty bad, and Reed might be a big strong guy, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t get hurt. ”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t ever do that to him. I don’t exactly know yet what Reed and I have, and to be honest, I still can’t get my head around the fact he’s even slightly interested in me that way.”

Her lips twisted in a knowing smile. “He sees the person inside, Henry. And what you seem to think he should find attractive, isn't what he's after. He’s one of those rare types that’s attracted to things like honesty and humour.”

“Oh. Well, those I have in spades.”

“Believe it or not, he was worried about being good enough for you.”

My eyes bugged out. “What?”

She laughed at my reaction, but there was a depth to her gaze. “I know, ridiculous right?”

“Why on earth would he think that?”

“Because you’re corporate. You have a nice car, own your own house, and you’re pretty good at your job in finance, or that’s what he told me.

” Emily leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “And he thought what he does for a living might not be good enough. You know, that you might not like telling people what he does for a job.”

“That’s absurd.” I shook my head. “He loves his job. Do you know what half the people I know would give to be able to say that? And between you and me, I don’t care what other people think.

He could clean septic tanks and I wouldn’t care.

” I made a face. “Okay, if he did that for a living, I’d probably insist he showered after work, but I wouldn’t care what other people thought about it. ”

She finally gave me a smile. “Good.”

“I thought this wasn’t going to be a ‘break his heart and I’ll break your face’ talk. ”

Emily shrugged. “Well, maybe just a little bit.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s fine, really.

I don’t mind. I’m pretty sure Anika will give Reed the same spiel.

She is to me what you are to him, and you two would get on like a house on fire.

But I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Reed and I still really haven’t talked about, well, anything yet. ”

“Yeah, I know. Sorry. Just getting in early. You’re going to his place after here?”

I nodded. “He said he has something to show me.”

Emily gave me a genuine smile. “Good.”

“You know what it is?”

“I’m not saying anything. Just be gentle with him. And honest. That’s all I ask.”

Okaaaaay. My interest was piqued. “I should go. He’s probably wondering what the hell we’re talking about in here.”

Emily opened the door and Reed, who was helping Nadia with weights, shot a look in our direction.

He was definitely wondering what we were talking about.

He glared at Emily in a ‘what did you say to him?’ kind of way, then looked at me with sorry in his eyes.

I gave him a smile to let him know we were all good, and Emily simply raised her chin unapologetically.

Yep. She and Anika would get on well.

Speaking of Anika, I knew I owed her a phone call. I gave Reed an awkward wave as I left, and I got into my car and called Anika on the drive home.

She answered her phone with, “The reason I’m only hearing from you now better have involved the best sex you’ve ever had.”

I snorted, thankful no one else was in the car with me. “Not exactly.”

I relayed the events of the last day, including Reed winning the superhuman challenge with his colleagues, then my freak out and subsequent cocooning in my misery and blankets, and what happened this morning.

“He kissed you?”

“Oh boy, did he ever. I have never been kissed like that.”

She laughed. “What do you think he’s showing you?”

“I have no idea.”

“Do you think it could be a rubber doll collection?”

I burst out laughing. “Well, I’m pretty sure it’s not.”

“What if it’s some weird fetish, like he has a thing for shoving live fish up his arse?”

“Jesus Anika, have you been watching Bizarre Fetishes again?”

“Maybe.”

Dear God, she made me laugh. “I’m sure it’s nothing like that.”

“You mean, you hope it’s not. Unless you actually like that kind of thing, in which case I can start calling you Fish Sticks.”

“I’m going now.”

“Would you use tartare sauce as lube?”

“Bye.”

“Call me ASAP, okay?”

I ended the call and got out of my car, going inside to get changed.

Only this time when I was getting dressed, I took the time to look at myself in the mirror.

I still wasn’t too comfortable with my appearance, but Reed was right.

I could see the changes. Not just to my body, but in my confidence as well.

I was a long way from where I needed to be, but I could see all my hard work was paying off.

I pulled on some jeans I hadn’t been able to wear in years. I checked my arse in the mirror from a few different angles and had to admit, it didn’t look too bad. My stomach was noticeably smaller and the T-shirt I pulled on was flattering my body instead of hiding my biggest flaws.

I stared at myself in the reflection for a while, and instead of shrugging off a ‘it’ll have to do’ mentality, I was kinda happy with how I looked.

I wasn’t perfect. In fact, I was far from it. But I was taking control of my body, of my mental headspace, and of my life.

With a nod to myself in the mirror, I went to Reed’s place. I wanted to know what it was he had to show me, and I really wanted him to kiss me like that again.