The Rub Down

Before I could say one word, Luke placed a small, reverent kiss on my lips, and left my room. Honestly, the thought had crossed my mind that my bedtime story was a dream. The questions swirling in my head kept me awake for a little while. Finally, the orgasms did their thing and pushed me off to dreamland, before anxiety over missing my alarm kicked in.

Was the story true? Was Luke in love with me?

Knowing he would be there to catch me at the other end was the one thing that would get me through the race.

*****

The longer I waited, the more my nerves increased. Every minute that ticked by seemed like an hour. But when the time came for my heat to line up, I was ready. I had warmed up and stretched. I had peed a half dozen times. I felt great. My fears leveled out, and adrenaline pumped through my body. I was strong. I was going to run my race.

I put my ear buds in, and waited for the gun to fire.

Once the signal sounded, we took off.

*****

Luke

My shoulders were tense, and my neck was stiff. I couldn’t relax. Alexa was at the ru

Da

“What’s up, brother?” Da

“Morning. Let’s head over. I want to talk to you about something important.”

We waved bye to the concierge and doormen, and headed to the spa.

“This isn’t going to be good, is it? Something happen with your girl this weekend?” Da

“My girl is great. She’s in Hopkinton, jazzed up to race.” I took a deep breath to prepare myself for the bomb I was about to drop. “Theresa was at the gala on Saturday, and cornered Alexa in the bathroom. She put two and two together. She saw Alexa and I outside the Zen room after her last appointment and then kissing while dancing.” I explained to him how Theresa was freaking out.

“Fuckin-A guy. This is what we didn’t want. What did she say to Alexa?” Da

“She told Alexa that I gave out happy endings regularly and that she paid me for them.”

“Shit. Did Alexa believe her? What a dumb bitch that chick is. She tried shit with me one day, too. We should have ba

“Thankfully, Alexa knew she was a nut job and didn’t believe a word of what Theresa spewed. Now what do we do? I feel like if we ban her, she may do something stupid and go to the press. But the idea of her stepping foot into our place again makes me want to have Jessica punch her in the face.”

“Fucking donkey balls, Luke. This is why we had the rule in place. This is why we kept our dicks separate from The Rub Down.” He was angry, and I couldn’t blame him.

“I know, and I’m sorry. Obviously, when I started this with Alexa, my intent was not this shit. I plan on calling our lawyer before my first appointment. She’ll know what to do. I’ll take care of it. I’ll make it go away. Promise.”

“What a fucking mess. I thought you were going to keep it on the down low till after the race. Then you bring her to the highest publicity event in the city. Fuck, I bet pictures of the two of you are in Boston magazines.” He ran his fingers through his hair, a clear sign he was fuming. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“Clearly I wasn’t thinking that a psycho girl would make an issue out of it. What we did isn’t illegal. It’s not even morally wrong.” I was just as furious as he was. “The gala was after her last appointment. I didn’t think. I only thought about how I love Alexa, and wanted her with me for an important night.” I ran my hands over my head and down my face. What a mess I made.

“Love? Really? Another bites the dust.” He shook his head at me like I had disgraced him. “You sucked as a wing-man anyway.” I laughed because it was true.

“I know you didn’t intend for all of this to happen. Sorry I’m pissed, but that bitch can make a lot of trouble for us.” He looked over at me, his face turning serious again as we waited to cross the street. “I know you will do everything to protect the business. Let’s call our lawyer when we get in.”

“Let’s change topics. How are things with Alexa?” Da

And just like that, Da

“Thanks, asshole. Yes, things are great. I couldn’t be happier right now with her. She’s amazing.”

I sounded like a lovesick puppy. But I was. I was head over heels in love with her. It happened so fast, it was like I was hit over the head with a frying pan.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Alexa

It was a perfect day for ru

Mile fifteen came and went as I jammed out to my training playlist. Four hours of motivating, heart thumping music were selected to keep me in the zone. Ahead of me was a steep descent from Wellesley Hills, a very wealthy neighborhood, to Newton Lower Falls. The houses that lined the course were enormous. With iron gates at the street level, they looked like estates. As I ran past them, I decided that I never wanted to live off a major road no matter how big the house. Plus, I preferred a smaller house that felt like a home, and not one that was so big it swallowed us whole. I wanted to be able to scream Luke’s name from one side of the house and him hear me in any room.

Luke and I were so new. I had no business even thinking about marriage and home ownership with him, but it put a smile on my face. The image of waking up to him every day put an extra pep in my step, which I needed because I still had over eleven miles and the four hills of Newton ahead of me.

The first hill was steep, but once I got to the top, the crowds grew bigger and their encouragement louder. Some college kids offered beer instead of water. I couldn’t believe some ru

After the second hill came a small reprieve of flat ground before the infamous Heartbreak Hill. That sucker was no joke. After already ru