Page 15 of Unstoppable You (Sapph in the City #6)

Chapter Fifteen

Delaney

I had no idea why I kept talking to James, but every time I told myself I was going to stop responding so she didn’t get the wrong idea, I kept writing back to her. And then I picked up on Friday night when she called me. There was absolutely no excuse for that behavior.

Her hair had been down and tucked behind her ears and her septum piercing was a little crooked. Not that I noticed. Her shoulders were visible as they peeked out from under her dark gray tank, and I didn’t notice those either.

I’d had to stop myself from staring at those shoulders and ended the call after she’d made me laugh a little too much in a way that had my stomach squirming.

The Pilates thing was…well, I guess I was trying to be nice. Or something. James had gotten to me this week and worn me down. As much as I tried to hold onto that grudge I had lovingly tended since before I hit puberty, she had chipped away at it with every new message and every joke and every glimpse of who she was now.

It was a challenge to reach down and search for that grudge. To remember the shape and size of it. By Friday night, I’d kind of given up. Guess I just wasn’t meant to be one of those lifelong grudge-havers. The kind of people who could rant for hours about someone who had done them wrong thirty or forty years before and still have just as much passion as the day the grudge was born.

Besides. There was someone else in my life who had done me more recent harm, and he just happened to be James’s brother. Maybe he’d used up all my grudge energy. Transferred it from one sibling to the other.

James sent me a picture on Saturday morning of a black sports bra and a dark blue pair of yoga pants laid out on a bed.

Cute? Or not cute?

Oh was she serious about the matching thing? I’d planned on wearing my new flowered bra and shorts set that I’d splurged on to make me feel better about the Connor situation.

It’s hard to tell when it’s not on a person I responded.

A few minutes later, I got a picture of her wearing the set and posing in front of a mirror, her head tilted to the side and her other hand holding up two fingers.

Isn’t this how the fitness girlies pose? Am I doing it right?

I snorted and tried my best not to stare too much at the exposed band of her stomach between her bra and the pants.

You’ve got the head tilt right.

She sent me three more pictures with different poses, and I couldn’t help smiling. She was goofier than I thought she would be.

Definitely the last one I told her. The picture had her making a ridiculous face and sticking her ass way out.

Cool, thanks. What are you wearing?

Coming from someone else, that would almost sound like a creepy pickup line or something.

I wasn’t going to put my outfit on and pose for her, so I sent her a picture of a model wearing the set.

That’s not you James responded. I want to see you wearing it.

Ugh, why did that comment make me feel all nervous?

You’ll see me wearing it in like an hour.

I thought it was a good idea to get my Pilates in since I’d be going out and getting a little bit drunk tonight and trying to check off another item on my Fuckit List.

Okay fine. But if you get there before me, save me a mat space.

I set my phone down and went to pack my bag before I chomped on a protein bar. There wasn’t much else to do in my apartment, so I left for Pilates way early and got to the gym with so much time that I thought about hopping on the stair master for a little while and then changed my mind.

After waiting around and messing on my phone for a while, I was one of the first people to walk into the Pilates room. I scoped out my favorite spot on the left side of the room near the front and laid my mat out perfectly.

I checked my phone and saw the last message that James had sent me. Heading to the side of the room where the equipment was stacked, I grabbed some weights, two balls, and two circles. Using the tools, I laid out a second space beside me for James’s mat. I didn’t have to. But I did it.

A few minutes later I heard someone coming up behind me.

“You did save me a spot.” I glanced up and my stomach did a little flip when I saw her smile. Her hair was pulled back in a braid and I didn’t see her septum piercing.

“You took out your nose ring,” I blurted out.

James moved the equipment and laid her mat out. “Nope. Just tucked it away.” As I watched, she pulled the ring from where she’d pushed it inside her nose.

James laughed at my horrified look. “It doesn’t hurt or anything. I just hide it sometimes.”

She tilted her head to one shoulder, stretching her neck.

“I like your outfit,” she said, rolling her shoulders, drawing my attention to them.

“Oh, thanks.” I looked down at my white flowered bra and shorts, wishing that I’d worn something with more coverage. I’d worn similar outfits to class before, but there was something different about James drawing attention to it.

“Electrolytes?” James asked, tilting her bottle toward me.

“No, I’m good.” I had my own water.

“You okay?” she asked, adjusting her braid.

“Yup. Just thinking about seeing my parents tomorrow.”

James nodded and then studied my face for a few moments. “I remember your parents. They were always so nice.”

I winced, as if it was my fault that James had been stuck with shitty parents.

“They’re pretty great.”

She let out a long breath. “Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like with different parents. You know, since I’ve had a few disagreements with mine.”

“No, do you have some family issues?” I asked, pretending I was in the dark and trying to lighten the mood.

James laughed. “I feel like you probably know a lot more about my family than you ever wanted to.” That was the truth, and not just because Connor walked all over them. His mom was a spiteful bitch and his dad would always hug me for too long.

I shuddered at the memory.

“You could say that.”

She smiled sadly. “Yeah, it’s…they’re the reason I moved away, you know?”

“But then you came back.”

She nodded, picking at the edge of her mat as more people filed into the room and set up their mats around us.

“I did. And…I don’t regret that I did, I guess. But it’s a change after being away for so long. I got used to just being on my own. And now they can call me and I don’t have geography as an excuse anymore.” Her smile was razor sharp.

“Mmmm, I know what you mean.” My parents loved to call me to come over for silly things. Most of the time I didn’t mind.

“If you ever want to take your mind off things though, I’m available,” she said, her face going a little red as she pulled off a tiny bit of her mat and rolled it between her fingers. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to shred a hole right into it.

“Available for what?” I asked and she looked up at me.

“I mean, if you wanted to go out or do something. I’m not doing anything. I’m free. Tonight.” I’d never seen James this fumblingly awkward and it made me smile. Seeing my former bully stumble over her words with a red face was healing.

I almost wanted to take her up on that, but I had my own plans tonight and I didn’t want to explain my Fuckit List to James. Hell no. Absolutely not.

“I’ve got plans already, but thanks. Maybe next weekend?” There. That was something.

“Deal,” she said, and our instructor Lea started class.

* * *

“Am I dead?” James asked while we both lay on our mats an hour later.

“If you can talk, you’re not dead,” I said, sitting up slowly so I could have some water. Lea had not taken it easy on us and I knew my abs were going to be screaming for the rest of the day, but in a good way.

I looked down at James and she gave me a tired smile and a weak thumbs up. “Okay. I’m going to move. In a few minutes.”

James had thrown herself completely into the class and I hadn’t been able to stop seeing her perfectly pointed feet and flexibility. Pilates usually made me feel like I didn’t have a handle on correctly moving my body, but James had looked like a professional Pilates doer. It just wasn’t fair.

“Dammit, now I’m starving,” she said, putting her hand on her stomach. Her yoga pants had ridden down a little bit and her belly was peaking out. Another piercing winked at me from her belly button.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m starving. Do you want to go get something with me? I’m thinking a burger. With bacon. And fries.” That did sound amazing. The protein bar I’d had before class wasn’t cutting it for me. I could definitely use a burger and fries.

“Sure,” I found myself saying. “Uh, I’m going to take a quick shower and then meet you in the front?”

“Yup. I’m on my way. Look at me go.” She hadn’t moved.

I cleaned off my mat and put everything away and James hadn’t moved.

“They’re going to kick you out,” I called as I left the room. I didn’t hang around to hear if she responded.

* * *

The locker room was busy, and I kept my eyes down as I had a quick shower, changed, and twisted my hair back in a clip so I didn’t have wet hair hanging on my shoulders.

James tapped me on the shoulder as I waited for her in the lobby.

“Ready?” she asked, her face pink from her own shower. She wore a matching black sweat set that had a logo I didn’t recognize on the front.

“Yup.”

We both paused outside the gym, looking up and down the street.

“Did you want to just walk somewhere?” James asked me.

“Uh, sure. There’s a good place right down the street actually.” It was one of those kinds of places that had burgers with funny names that came loaded with so many toppings that you could barely fit them in your mouth. Their double-fried fries were also legendary and had been featured on a traveling food show.

“Sounds good to me. I trust you.” James fell into step beside me as I adjusted the straps of my bag. We’d been talking with each other all week, but it was different now that we were in person.

“How’s Millie?” James asked, bumping my shoulder with hers. It still annoyed the hell out of me that she was taller.

“Millie is booked and busy keeping me alive,” I said. The air fryer naming was too ridiculous, but I couldn’t stop saying “hey, Millie” and “thank you, Millie” every time I used my air fryer now.

“Good for her. She looks like a hard worker,” James said, grinning at me and I tripped on the sidewalk. The only thing that saved me from breaking my face was James grabbing my arm.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

She didn’t let go for a second, her fingers clenching my arm.

“James?” I asked, nodding to the death grip she still had me in.

“Oh, sorry. Just trying to make sure you’re good.” She let go and stepped away from me, almost bumping into another man walking down the street.

“I’m fine,” I said.

* * *

The burger place wasn’t busy, since it was a little too early for dinner and a little too late for lunch. We got a booth right in the front with the widow facing the street. It reminded me of the first time we’d eaten together at the café.

James ordered an Arnold Palmer and I asked for the same.

I watched her over the edge of my menu as I pretended to peruse it. She chewed on her lip as she read through the options.

James was still gorgeous, but in a different way. Less polished and more…comfortable. Like she just rolled out of bed looking incredible. For someone who’d just been through a workout class and had taken a quick gym shower, she was glowing, and I didn’t think she had a single ounce of makeup on.

“Did you ever have acne?” I asked, my tongue voicing my inside thought.

James looked up, puzzled by the question. “Uh, not really? I get a few breakouts sometimes before my period, but for the most part no.”

What a bitch .

“Ouch,” she said through a laugh, and I realized I’d said that last part out loud. Oh well.

“You made fun of my skin,” I reminded her.

Her face fell and she gripped her menu in both hands, making it bend. “I know. I…I really am sorry about all that.”

“I know you are.” I didn’t want to keep bringing up the past, but it kept coming up anyway.

“I went on birth control in college. That helped,” I said.

“You have lovely skin, Delaney.” Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but the compliment did make me feel a little soft and fluttery.

A server brought our drinks and asked if we were ready to order. James asked for more time before I could open my mouth.

“What’s good here? I’m kind of up for anything.”

Going back to the menu, I listed off some of my favorites.

“I think I’ll get the Bee Sting Burger,” James said, which happened to be my favorite burger with onion rings, bacon, honey barbecue sauce, and cheese. Eating it was always a mess, but after your first bite you didn’t even care.

I decided to get something different and did a custom burger with bacon, avocado, fried pickles, and spicy mayo.

James’s phone went off and she read a notification and then smiled.

“One of my clients had her baby. Her name is Poppy Scarlett.” She typed a quick response and then put her phone down.

“Pretty,” I said.

“They went with a color theme. That was fun. Her parents want to have more kids, so I’m hoping I get to work with them again.”

Her job absolutely fascinated me. It sounded like a joke when you first heard about it, but then she explained, and it was really special.

I wondered what her parents thought about her career. They hadn’t really given a shit about Connor having any kind of employment, and he’d lied to them about what he was doing anyway. Had they given their daughter the same leeway? Didn’t think so.

Fully aware I might be opening a can of worms, I said, “What do your parents think about your job?”

She laughed. “They hate it. I’m pretty sure they think I’m actually selling drugs.”

“And I’m guessing you’ve explained to them that you are not, in fact, a drug dealer.” Of the two St. Clair offspring who would sell drugs, Connor was a much more likely candidate. I’d had my suspicions when we’d been dating that I’d done my best to ignore.

“Many times. They think my job is bullshit, my degree is bullshit, my life is bullshit. I don’t know why I still answer the phone when they call me.” She sucked down most of her drink through the straw and I wondered if she wished it was something stronger.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up.” I couldn’t seem to stop dredging up unpleasant things.

“It’s fine,” she waved her hand, dismissing the topic. “Tell me about the last book you read.”

Now that was a conversation I couldn’t resist.

“Okay, have you heard about something called sentient object romances?”

Her eyes went wide and she leaned in. “No, tell me more.”