Page 27 of Training Maisy

“Okay, and if he’s half as sexy as those badly-shot pictures of him you managed to send me, then I just might stay and have a workout myself.”

Maisy smiled at that. “Then I guess you’d better wear something you can work out in.” They both heard a knock at the door, and Maisy went to check it out. It was Chloe, and she was carrying a small bag with her. Maisy let her in, and they both joined Brittany who had gone to the kitchen to look inside the fridge.

“Hey, Chloe, surprised you’re up this early. I heard you go into your house pretty late last night. This is Brittany,” Maisy introduced the out-of-towner, who popped her head out from inside the fridge to greet Chloe.

“Hi, nice to finally put a face to the name Maisy’s been mentioning all this while. Just thought that since this is Saturday, I could come over, and we could raid your fridge and maybe paint our nails.” Chloe lifted the bag, and Maisy saw it was a makeup bag.

“Well, Brittany just came down from Chicago, and we’re supposed to be leaving for the mall soon,” Maisy said, looking over at Brittany who came out with a plate of cookies from the fridge.

“Well, she could join us,” Brittany suggested. “I mean, if the spa wouldn’t mind us squeezing in one more person.”

Chloe was already shaking her head at the idea. “Nah, you guys should go on without me. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your reunion or anything like that. I mean, you guys have a lot to catch up with already.”

“Nonsense,” Brittany said as she walked up to Chloe. “I may not know you well, but from what Maisy has told me, I can say you’re her closest friend here. Which makes you my friend, too.” She placed an arm around the both them. “So, we’re going to go to the spa and have ourselves a girls’ day, and maybe at night, we can go to the bar, and I can see if I can snag myself a guy as hot as Carter.”

“Carter? Oh, you mean Maisy’s trainer?” Chloe asked as she took a piece of cookie from the plate Brittany pushed towards her.

“Yeah, and her . . .” Brittany paused as she took one look at Maisy and realized Chloe didn’t know about her and Carter.

“Well,” Chloe spoke up, not picking up on the message between Brittany and Maisy. “I can’t say you would find one as hot as Carter, but there are other cute guys here, too.”

“You know, I think I’m starting to like this town,” Brittany said as the three women walked back into the living room, arms around each other.

* * *

“You should try the grilled chicken,” Maisy suggested to Brittany as they perused the menu at Ralph’s. After their session at the spa, they had said goodbye to Chloe, who had work to do, and headed to Maisy’s house for what was supposed to be a short nap, but they instead ended up talking for pretty much the whole afternoon. It was now late evening, and they were having dinner alone.

“Well, it had better be good because I’m really hungry, and I know how that sounds considering what we had for lunch, but hey, I missed your cooking. Now I’m almost always eating takeout.”

“Well, if you had listened at any of the million times I tried to teach you, maybe you wouldn’t be having this problem,” Maisy said as she lifted her hand to tell Gina they were finally ready to order.

“Why should I learn how to cook when I had the best damn cook I know living almost right next to me?”

“Well, how’s that working out for you now?” Maisy asked on a laugh.

“Now, I know I like Chinese, and also pizza, and a glass of wine should be added to gourmet menus in restaurants,” Brittany said, then they both gave Gina their order.

“How early are we supposed to be going for this thing in the morning?”

“Around five,” Maisy said, then waited for the shocked expression she knew was coming.

“Five? Work is the only thing I get up that early for. This guy better be worth it, and he has to take his shirt off.”

Maisy was about to say something, then stopped as she felt her heart go bump-bump. The way it always did when she saw him, followed by a smile that was special enough for Brittany to have a pretty good guess who it was that had caused that smile. Maisy waved at Carter till he noticed her and then he sauntered over. It was odd seeing him out of the gym, dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans that didn’t do a thing to dim the sheer sexiness of his ripped body. Maisy so wanted to just reach up and kiss him, not only because she loved the feel of his lips on her own, but so everyone in the restaurant could know he was hers, both male and female, who were looking at him like he was the special on the menu. But not only could she not do that, but he wasn’t even really hers to begin with. This thought was sobering enough that, by the time Carter got to her table, she was able to keep her excitement in check.

“Hi, Maisy,” Carter greeted, an easy smile on his face.

“Hey, Carter, what brings you to Ralph’s?” Maisy asked, eyes only for him.

“Well, I heard the food is great here, and eating is something I’ve learned I need to survive. So here I am.”

Maisy laughed at his joke, his sense of humor something she always found really amusing. “Very funny, Carter; I thought you guys existed solely on those protein shakes.” Then remembering Brittany by her side, who had stayed quiet all the while, she added, “Carter, I want you to meet Brittany, my best friend.”

“Hi, Brittany; nice to finally put a face to the name.” Carter held out his hand to shake Brittany’s, who took it and then just held it. Then before anyone could do anything, she quickly tried to wrap her hand around his bicep. Carter looked at Maisy as if to say, :Hope your friend isn’t cuckoo.” But Maisy just stood, understanding that sometimes it was best to let Brittany do her thing.

“Look, Maisy, my hand can’t even go around it.” She glanced at her friend, a look of amazement on her face.

“Umm . . .?” Carter asked, looking again at Maisy.

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