Page 28 of All for Love

MERCEDES

Ellora and I met up at our spin class before work on Monday morning. She grinned at me from the pair of stationary bikes she was standing between, waving me to her as she mounted hers just as the music started.

Our instructor burst onto the stage with her microphone on, her energy lighting up the room like a Christmas tree as upbeat remixes of old pop songs blared through the speakers. Emily counted us down as she mounted her own bike, and I scrambled to reach mine on time.

I’d been half asleep when I’d walked in here, but between the energy now infusing the air, the music, and the volume of the speakers, I was wide awake now. As always, the instructor put us through our paces, making us sweat like crazy as she pushed us to keep up with her.

By the time the class was done, my knees felt like pudding and my legs were wobbly, and I hadn’t even said a word to my best friend yet. Without discussing it, we headed to the health shop next door for our usual order of green smoothies with protein, and it was only as we collapsed at a booth in the corner that I even managed to say good morning.

My face was hot, my heartbeat and breathing only just evening out. Sweat slid down my back and dried quickly on my brow now that we were out of the warm studio. “Man, that was a workout. Is it just me, or is Emily slowly turning into a slave driver?”

“She is.” Ellora laughed, also still panting a little. She took a sip of her smoothie. “Emily and my mother seem to smoke the same stuff before they get out of bed in the morning. It’s either that, or they’re on uppers. Who has this kind of energy at the end of the year?”

“Uh, Emily and your mom?” I suggested lamely. “Although I suppose Emily has to fake it even if she really isn’t feeling it. What’s up with your mom?”

“We’ve been really busy at work getting ready for the Christmas season. It’s usually a crazy time of year for us, but Mom’s determined to make it the best season we’ve ever had.”

My nose scrunched in sympathy, but I also pulled up my shoulders in understanding. “It makes sense. Your boutique is a great place for gift shopping.”

It really was. They didn’t only sell clothes but also home décor and specialty items. In addition to all that, they’d imported a few new ranges earlier in the year, so I got that her mother was trying to make the most of the holiday season.

Ellora sighed, pouting at me as she pointed the straw in her smoothie my way. Thankfully, the cup had a lid on it and none spilled out, but she didn’t even seem to be thinking about that. “I realize it’s a great place for gift shopping, but she’s making me go in earlier and earlier and stay later and later to get everything ready. I don’t know how she does it. I’m exhausted, and it’s not even December yet. She’s instituting extended shop hours for the entire month and she wants to have a sale.”

“I hate to say it, but it does make sense.”

She wrinkled her nose, but then she inhaled and shrugged. “Yeah, I know. That’s the worst part. It does make sense, but it’s been damn hard work and I don’t see it letting up anytime soon.”

“It’ll be worth it in the end,” I said confidently. “She obviously thinks you could have an amazing season, and if she’s right, that means you’ll get a bonus.”

She perked up a bit.

I smiled. “And at least you’ve got the possibility of a bonus to look forward to. Meanwhile, I’m also putting in longer hours than normal and all I get for it is goading and bitching.”

“The stepbrothers?” she asked sympathetically.

I nodded. “Singular, not plural. One of them is fine. It’s the other that’s giving me a hard time.”

“No prizes for guessing which is which,” she teased. “If Kody is making your life difficult, tell on him to his brother and let them battle it out.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?” she frowned. “You don’t owe him anything, Mercedes. If he’s goading you and bitching about your work, you need to set him straight and it’s easier to just let the not-evil twin do it.”

“It’s not that.” I hesitated for a beat, chewing the inside of my cheek. In the end, I decided to just give it to her straight. I needed to talk about this again, and she already knew we’d slept together once. “I’ve dug the hole deeper with Kody and I don’t know how to get out of it anymore.”

Ellora’s eyes grew wide as she stared at me. “No!”

I winced. “Yes.”

“When?” she asked. “How many times?”

“Last night. Once, but we were at his dad’s house. I can’t guarantee that it wouldn’t have happened again if we’d been anywhere else.”

“Why?” she moaned, covering her face. Then she peeked out at me from between her fingers as she cocked her head. “What happened to it never happening again?”

“Yeah, uh, that didn’t quite work out the way I planned it.” I blew out a breath through my nostrils and dragged another back in. “I rose so easily to his bait last night, and the worst thing about it is that I knew what he was doing. I knew he was just pushing my buttons. Baiting me, and I did it anyway.”

“Well, I mean, it was good last time, right? So maybe you let him push your buttons so that it would happen again. There’s no shame in that. Good sex is surprisingly hard to find these days.”