"We're not exactly friends."
"But I think that can change."
"When you've disliked someone for so long, it's hard to change your opinion."
"Humor me."
Shay was nothing if not combative. She stared at the scale and rolled her eyes.
"It's been a week. It's not like I'm making you weigh-in every day. C'mon."
"Can I beat you up after this?"
I laughed. "Deal."
Shay closed her eyes and stepped on the scale. I stared down at the numbers, struggling to refrain from making the annoying beeps like they do on 'The Biggest Loser.'
When the scale stopped, I couldn't help but smile. I let out a low whistle. Shay opened her eyes and looked at me.
"What?"
"See for yourself!"
Shay looked down; she actually smiled.
"That's wrong."
"It's accurate."
"Can't be."
"Is."
The scale read one hundred eighty seven pounds.
"Nick, that's sixteen pounds."
"I think I missed my calling," I said. "Obviously I'm a kick ass booty trainer."
Shay laughed. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she hugged me tight. "You're a miracle worker."
I hugged her tightly. "You keep this up and Jake and I are both going to need sticks to keep everyone away."
"Shut up."
She pulled away; she looked so happy and proud. It felt rewarding.
"So about beating me up..." I said. Shay hopped off the scale and knelt down for her gloves.
"It's the part of the day I look forward to the most."
"Should I be scared?"
She gave me a mischievious look. "Always."
Sixteen pounds. Sixteen! Never had I lost that much in such a short period of time. It was amazing. It was incredible. Of course, most of it was probably just water. I had never drank so much water in my life. I felt like I was floating. I was sure the sixteen pounds was just liquid. My fat was still squishing around in me. Even so...
Sixteen pounds.
"Pay attention!" Nick commanded.
I was swinging my arms sloppily. He bounced from foot to foot easily, a few strands of his blonde hair plastered to his forehead. I bit my bottom lip and concentrated on getting the punch through without blockage.
"work on your feet!"
I felt a little like Godzilla smashing all the tiny Japanese people. That's how awkward my stepping was. I had a problem multi-tasking. Either my hands worked well or my feet. They didn't both work well at the same time.
"Bounce...bounce...bounce..."
I thought Nick was watching my feet. I really did. He had to be telling me to watch my heels.
"Bounce..."
I looked at his face. He wasn't watching my feet. He wasn't bouncing on his heels. I let out a squeak and jabbed him in his stomach. He doubled over and grunted. I jabbed my elbow into his back. He slammed into the ground.
"If I'm not mistaken, you have someone else's to watch bounce," I said. I stepped over him and yanked off my gloves.
Our workout for the day was over.
I will be the first to admit that I shouldn't have become so hypnotized watching Shay's boobs bounce as she worked on getting a hit through. It was just so hard not too. They were big and round and...jiggly.
I do have to give her credit for her smack-down moves. As I showered, little shocks of pain kept hitting my gut. I could almost feel the knot forming in my back.
You have someone else's to watch bounce. Shay was right. The only boobs I was allowed to watch anymore were Lauren's.
But try telling that to a guy who had lived his life constantly staring down the shirt of every female that walked by.
Change was hard.
I felt sheepish as I walked out, showered and changed. Shay had already gone down and picked up Jake. He was jumping on a huge exercise ball, letting himself slide off onto the floor. Once his face smashed into the carpet he would scramble up and do it all over again.
"I'm ready. I don't know about Jumpin' Jake," Shay said. We both watched him. Even though his moves were repetitive, it was still fun to watch.
"I'm sorry," I whispered to Shay.
"It's okay," she whispered back. "I just don't want this to turn awkward."
"I know. It won't happen again."
That seemed to be enough. On Jake's last slid to the carpet, Shay scooped him up.
"Ready to go home, wormy?"
"Yup!" Jake said. "Can I have dirt for dinner?"
Shay laughed. "Will pork chops work?"
"YEAH!"
Jake wrapped his arms around Shay's neck. "You coming, daddy?"
Shay hadn't invited me. I opened my mouth to make an excuse. She turned and smiled.
"Brave enough to try my new attempt at healthy cooking?" she teased. I relaxed.
"I'm brave," I said.
Besides, I was also hungry.
I was proud of my new cooking skills. It took a lot longer to make decent food, but the reward was food that filled me up much more than the fast food I'd lived on for years.
The best part was that even Jake loved it. Sure he smothered everything with ketchup, but beggers couldn't be choosy.
"Want something to drink?" I asked Nick. My pork chops were surrounded by steamed veggies and a little brown rice. The windows were open and an amazing early summer breeze was blowing through.
"How about some red wine?" Nick asked. He was helping Jake color at the table. I caught his smile. "It's heart healthy."
I hadn't had any wine since Kevin and I had broken up. I took out the bottle I had brought from Chicago and worked at the foam cork. My thumb began to ache when two large hands covered my own.
"Let me."
A second later a pop filled the room. Jake clapped. Nick handed me the foaming bottle back.
"Thank you," I said softly.
Dinner with a young child is never boring. Jake had Nick mesmorized as he theorized about where pork chops come from and the importance of pepper on potatoes rather than salt. Nick countered with a story about how crayons were made.
It was nice just to quietly observe; to relax. I secretly relished the moment for Jake. I knew it wasn't every day he had his mom and dad all to himself together.
I was glad that Nick and I were mending fences. As I took another sip of the tart red wine, I also thought that it was nice to just have a friend.
