A Twist of Date (Better Date than Never)

by Hatler, Susan

  Matt put his arm around me. “Cozy enough for you?”

  I definitely felt cozy against him, but no way would I let him know. “Shouldn’t we focus on our jobs?”

  Matt winked at me. “Not my first choice, but whatever you say.”

  “Rodolfo, dai.” A man’s voice, with a thick Italian accent, echoed from the vent and I pictured him gesturing with his hands as he talked the way Rudy did. “The business, it is going under. You want that we help you o no?”

  My breath caught in my throat. Going under? We’d suspected it, yes, but having it confirmed gave me a horrible sinking feeling. Poor Rudy. And poor me, too. Where would I find another job in this economy?

  “You know I try to do business with you.” Rudy’s accented words clipped out. “But the amount you offer is niente. Pietro, you are my cousin, my blood. You offer me fair price, I sell to you now.”

  Matt leaned away from the vent, and whispered. “Told you that Zambini guy was family.”

  “You said brother,” I reminded him.

  “Never claimed to be clairvoyant.” Matt held his palms in the air. “Don’t start with that ‘my word is my word’ thing again. I admit freely that I was incorrect, okay?”

  “Wow.” Erica clasped her hand around Matt’s elbow. “A guy admitting he’s wrong? That’s positively yumzy.”

  “Can we get back to the issue at hand, people?” Steve tapped his index finger on the wall.

  We all turned back to the choppy conversation.

  “Guarda, cugino mio. Nicollò and I here to help you, no?” The thickly accented Pietro took on a companionable tone and I pictured him putting an arm around poor Rudy. “We keep price same ma we keep you on to manage, yes? You will receive a fine salary.”

  Rudy sighed. “Va bene. Totally Fit, it is yours.”

  “Bravo, my cousin. You never regret this.” It sounded like they were slapping each other on the back. “Allora, we make some changes. Nicollò?”

  “Sì.” There was a rustling of papers. “Our goal is to increase revenue, and cut costs. I’ve gone through the books and found some places to trim spending.” This Nicollò guy had a deep, sexy voice and must’ve grown up in the States because he spoke without a trace of accent. “First, your trainer, Steve Burns?”

  I turned toward Steve, whose eyes widened.

  “The guy charges eighty bucks an hour for his services and you only keep twenty-five percent? No wonder your gym’s isn’t making profit.”

  “Steve is excellent trainer.” Rudy’s voice was shaky. “He brings a lot of business and the clients, they like him.”

  “We’re going to raise his services to ninety an hour and he can keep half of that. If he doesn’t like it, we’ll get a replacement.”

  Steve’s face paled.

  I put my hand on his forearm, knowing I barely scraped by on my Totally Fit paycheck. What if they decided to cut my salary, too?

  “Sì.” Pietro was speaking again. “Like the one at the front desk. This guy Steve want to walk? We replace with the front desk guy. He in good shape.”

  Reflexively, I turned toward Matt out, remembering his muscular silhouette at the door. Staring at his biceps, I blinked. Had he been working out more often?

  Matt nudged me. “You can rest easy. I’m not interested in Steve’s job. Actually, I won’t be working here much longer, anyway. I’ve finished my thesis.”

  My stomach sank. I couldn’t imagine Totally Fit without Matt. It just wouldn’t be the same. Out of nowhere, tears sprang into my eyes.

  “Don’t be sad.” He gave me a squeeze. “I’ll still be working out here.”

  What was wrong with me? Matt would have the PhD he’d worked so hard for. I should be happy for him. “Congratulations, Matt. That’s great.”

  The sound of breaking glass broke my thoughts, and my eyes darted to the dusty air vent.

  “Pietro. Look what you do to my desk.” Rudy barked.

  “Relax, Rudy.” No accent. “It’s not like he knocked his drink over on purpose.”

  “There is glass all over my office. It is sticky everywhere.” Rudy sounded like he might snap. Must be the tension of losing the gym because Rudy normally kept his cool. “Pietro, just clean this up. Go next door, bring back the mop and bucket, then fix this mess.”

  “I’ll get it.” No accent, so it had to be Nicollò who offered to grab the mop.

  The mop. Blaring alarms went off in my head. The mop’s was in here.

  Rudy’s office door squeaked open, and I rolled toward the others momentarily, then scrambled to my feet.

  Seconds later, the janitor’s closet door burst open, and in walked the sexiest guy I had ever seen. Dark hair, dark eyes and the body of a Greek statue. Or, an Italian statue as the case may be. Either way, in his Armani suit—and one gold chain—I could see the man was built.

  He stared at the four of us critically.

  We all stood frozen.

  Then, the Italian God made eye contact with me. My knees weakened, and I pressed a hand to the wall for balance, unable to speak. If this guy was surprised to see us, he hid it well.

  His mouth twitched, and a dimple formed in his left cheek. “Hello.”

  Words failed me, but I had to do something so I scampered across the small room, removed the mop from the hook on the opposite wall, and handed it to him.

  “Thanks.” His dimple deepened and his brown eyes pierced mine as he grasped the mop handle. “I’m Nick.”

  Nick. Out of habit, I glanced down at his ring finger. Bare. He was single. My heart drummed a mile a minute and I breathed in deeply to calmly introduce myself. “I’m aaaahchooo!”

  Both hands flew to my nose, and I squeezed my eyes shut. What. Just. Happened? The dust from the vent. This was Rudy’s fault for canceling the janitor!

  I sniffed several times, rubbed my nose, then tilted my head up and opened my eyes.

  Nick’s gaze seemed transfixed on mine as he reached into his breast pocket, removed a white handkerchief and held it out for me.

  My heart melted. What a gentleman. I accepted the handkerchief and dabbed my nose.

  Suddenly, Erica appeared at my side—a hair in front of me actually, holding her hand out to Nick. “I’m Erica Conner, and may I just say how thrilling it is to have such an authoritative man in charge around here.”

  It annoyed me that Erica had stepped up when I’d been here first. Still, it didn’t grate on my nerves the way it did when she flirted with Matt. Weird. But my competitive side wouldn’t let her get away with upstaging me.

  I rolled my shoulder so it was slightly in front of Erica’s, and broke their handshake. It may have been childish, but it sure felt good.

  She narrowed her eyes at me, then turned back to Nick. “I’m not scheduled to work for another hour so I’d be happy to assist if you need help with . . . anything.”

  Nick turned back to me—ha!—gave a small smile, then held up the mop. “Actually, I’d better get this to Rudy before he has a coronary. Nice to meet you all.”

  “The pleasure was mine.” Erica gushed. “Welcome to Totally Fit.”

  “Thanks,” he said, then stepped out of the closet leaving the door open.

  Erica spun toward the three of us and clapped her hands. “Things around here are about to get interesting.”

  “Yes, they are,” I said, watching her bounce out of the closet. She’d totally made a move on Nick when he’d clearly noticed me first. Wasn’t there a girl friend code on first dibs?

  Not that I wanted dibs, necessarily—let’s face it, I couldn’t make a move in any dating direction without authorization from Patti—but, it just wasn’t right how Erica had jumped in front of me.

  “Back to work, people.” Steve clapped his hands. “Especially me.”

  I stood motionless, watching Steve lift his head high as he strode out.

  Matt came up beside me. “You okay?”

  I turned toward him. “I’ve been better.”

  “That’s right
,” he said. “I’m sorry your date didn’t go the way you wanted.”

  “It’s okay.” I shrugged, and meant it.

  Surprisingly, I didn’t miss Brad at all. Guess I really hadn’t been that into him. Wow. I pictured the figurative bright yellow light bulb flashing above my head. I’d been so excited to find love that I’d imagined I had it. What a confusing revelation.

  He slipped his arm around my waist. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

  My body vibrated from his touch. “Thanks, Matt. You’re a good friend.”

  As I strolled out toward the locker room, part of me wanted to race back to Matt, agree to go out with him, and have a good time—forget about finding love, commitment, and that whole elusive mess.

  But, I refused to give up on true love. That’s what my mom had done.

  Nick seemed nice. Maybe he was the type to make a relationship last. That is, if Erica didn’t snatch him up first. Remembering The Boyfriend Bylaws, I groaned. I couldn’t make a move toward Nick without checking with Patti first.

  Chapter Five

  Twenty minutes before my aerobics class started, I stretched out in the aerobics room with Patti, who attended my classes at least once a week. Sitting with my legs out in front of me, I folded my chest onto my knees and spilled the news. “I’ve met a guy.”

  Patti stared at me blankly as if waiting for the punch line. After a few seconds, she pointed a finger. “You better not have given whoever-this-is your phone number. That would be a direction violation of The Boyfriend Bylaws, and Betty would be mine.”

  “No, I didn’t give him my number.” I bent one knee, brought my heel to the inside of my thigh, and reached for the opposite foot. “Although he might already have it.”

  Patti twisted her body toward the left, until it cracked. “You sneak. Did you have someone else hand your number to him? I hereby invoke Rule Number Six by adding Rule Number Seven: No third party interference.”

  Darn. That had been a great loophole I’d missed. “Relax, Patti. He has my number because he just bought Totally Fit from Rudy. My number must be in my employee file.” Well, assuming Rudy was that organized. I released my foot and turned to Patti. “His name is Nick. He seems like a total gentleman, not to mention he’s insanely gorgeous. Can I get permission to go on a date with him before he asks me out?”

  Patti scoffed, straightened her leg, then reached for her right foot. “No way.”

  Why did she have to be so difficult? I was playing by her rules. “What’s the point of waiting until he asks me out, and then calling you? That’s just stupid.”

  “Why should you wait? Let’s see. Brad. Paul. Mike. Marcus. And don’t think I didn’t see the wink your co-worker, Matt, gave you at lunch today.”

  “Matt?” Sweet, intelligent and, unfortunately, enjoys-playing-the-field Matt? Remembering the way he’d smiled intimately at his lunch date made me ill. “I’m not interested in Matt.”

  “Yeah, I could tell by the wicked daggers you were shooting his lunch date.”

  “Well, she didn’t seem right for him.” I raised my chin, defensively. She’d been too . . . something. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Time to change the subject. “Nick is different.”

  “Oh, I’m sure.” Patti glanced back, and waved at a couple women from her school who’d entered the aerobics studio. “I’ll even bet he’s The One.”

  The way she said it irritated me. “At least I’m willing to take a risk and try to find the right man. Unlike you.”

  “Well, put it out there all you want.” Patti stood, put her hands on her hips, and leaned backward in a final stretch. “As long as you follow the bylaws.”

  “Oh, I will.” I gave her a meaningful look. “Don’t even think you’re going to win Betty.”

  She laughed, then her face grew serious. “Your mom called again. Talked to me forever, trying to find out why you won’t call her back.”

  My brows came together. “What’d you say?”

  She blew out a breath. “I was vague, but you can’t avoid her forever.”

  “Try me,” I said, then flipped on the music, then bounced from foot to foot, warming up.

  With the beat blaring out, I listened to the music, waiting for the upbeat energy to wash over me. Instead, all I could focus on was Patti’s rules, which were getting increasingly irritating. How could she say no to a date with Nick?

  These bylaws bugged. They’d better lead me to my happily ever after. For some reason, thinking of forever made me picture Matt. Deep down, I wished he’d change his ways and want a serious relationship. But I’d found out the hard way in life that you can’t control another person. Maybe I should return my mom’s call, and have it out with her—again. The mere thought exhausted me.

  “Good evening, ladies.” I took position in front of the class. The music ringing out, I began flexing my biceps as I tapped my foot. “Are we all ready for a fantastic workout?”

  As I started to fall into my usual groove, I spotted Nick, Matt and Steve walk by through the open doorway. They were heading toward Rudy’s office, and I wondered why they’d be meeting this late at night.

  Nick glanced back over his shoulder at me, so I tightened my abs and flashed him a smile. The corners of his mouth turned upward. Nice. Good sign he was interested. Come tomorrow, I’d find out if he was a player or looking for a relationship.

  “All right, everyone.” I lifted my head, smiled and swung my hips to the beat. “Time to pump up the energy!”

  Come tomorrow, I’d work my energy on Nick.

  ****

  After class, I showered in the locker room, then threw on a clean shirt, jeans, and a hooded sweatshirt for dinner at my dad and Janet’s house in Land Park.

  Swinging my bag over my shoulder, I strode out of Totally Fit while waving good-bye to our evening desk clerk, Carrie. She mostly kept to herself, never joined us if we had an after-hours event, but seemed nice enough—just quiet.

  Pushing out the exit door, I’d just stepped onto the sidewalk when a hand grabbed a firm hold of my arm. Gasping, I swung around to find Matt coming up behind me.

  “Slow down, beautiful.” He let the door shut behind him, then moved toward the brick wall of our building to let a man in a suit pass by. “What’s your hurry?”

  I brushed my bangs out of my eyes. “Late for dinner with my parents.”

  The corner of his mouth curved upward. “Never thought you’d rush for that.”

  “Guess there’s a first time for everything.” Tilting my head, I peered up at him. Standing alone in the dark with Matt, caused an ache inside me. Why had he asked me out the other day? It had just served as a cruel reminder of what I could never have with him. “What are you doing here so late?”

  The green and blue lights from the Totally Fit sign cast shadows across his subdued face. “Meeting with Nick. He cut my hours.”

  “Seriously?” Matt’s schedule had been set in stone for over a year now. “How can he do that?”

  He shrugged. “Carrie and I overlap during the day, and her pay rate is lower. Makes sense, financially.”

  I lifted my lashes. “Still.”

  “It’s all right, Mel.” His eyes were soft as he stared down at me. “My thesis advisor recommended me for a part-time teaching position at the college, and I got the job. I gave Nick my notice, which I was going to do anyhow.”

  Immediately, tears burned behind my eyes. Sucking in my bottom lip, I turned away.

  “Hey.” He lifted my chin, gently. “We’ll still see each other. At the gym, or we’ll make plans with the gang.”

  My throat tightened, and I couldn’t meet his gaze. “It won’t be the same.”

  He ran his thumb along my jaw line. “You could always agree to go out with me. Then we’d see each other all the time.”

  “Don’t start.” Rolling my eyes, I wondered, once again, why Matt didn’t want to settle down. The more I thought about it, the more it drove me crazy. I needed to get him out of
my head, and me off this sidewalk. I started to step away. “I have to go.”

  “Hold on a sec.” He gave another little tug on my arm. “There’s no Brad, anymore. Thank goodness you’re rid of that clown. And you know there’s something between us. Admit it.”

  Goosebumps danced along my neck and my mouth opened, but words didn’t come out—because I did have feelings for Matt, I’d just never admitted it to anyone. Not even to myself, really. “I-I can’t believe you just said that.”

  His eyes went wide. “Why not?”

  “There’s no point discussing this.” Plus, Janet was going to disown me for being so late to dinner. Although, why was always trying to please her? It would never happen. Just like it’d never happen that Matt would settle down, which kind irked me right now. “It’s just, well . . .no, it’s none of my business.”

  His jaw pulsed as if he was thinking. “What’s none of your business?”

  “The way you date around,” I blurted, ripping away the protective wall around my heart, and leaving it exposed.

  He took a step closer to me. “The way I what?”

  I felt incredibly vulnerable, like I had when I was fifteen, and my world had been torn apart. “Nothing. Forget it.”

  His brows came together. “What am I missing here?”

  A relationship with me. I couldn’t say that though. You couldn’t make someone want to be with only you. Just thinking about what my dad had gone through brought tears to my eyes.

  His expression softened, and he lifted my hands. “Mel, what’s wrong? What are you afraid of?”

  His hands were especially warm in the cool evening air, and chills radiated up my arms from his touch. No. I would not fall for him. I couldn’t. It wouldn’t last, and I’d be the one left hurting in the end.

  I jerked my hands out of his, suddenly angry. “You know, it’s hard not to take you seriously when you act like this.”

  His forehead creased. “You think this is an act?”

  “Last week it’s the brunette at the dance club, at lunch today it’s the girl in the sexy business suit, and tonight . . . who knows with you? You’re just a—” My jaw tightened, and all the terror of feeling vulnerable burst from inside me. “You’re such a player!”