Death by Chocolate to be exact. I sat on my bed, pillows propped up behind me, my legs across Courtney's lap as she fed me triple chocolate ice cream while Lola and Hannah each rubbed one of my feet.
"Mah." I opened my mouth for another bite of ice cream. Courtney gave me another spoonful and I rolled my eyes in ecstasy.
"So all in all, sounds like everything went well," Hannah said, rubbing her thumb through my arch. I threw my head back and hissed as she worked out the tightness.
"It really did," I finally managed when the pain subsided. "There's a really great structure in place. I'm basically coming in to support it and keep the ship afloat."
"Do you think you'll be okay working with Holly?" Courtney asked, supplying me with another spoonful. I nodded as I swallowed.
"I think the better question is will she be okay working for me. If the attitude keeps up, then something will have to change."
Lola moved up my ankle and started to work my calf.
"She's just as snobby as Katy. I don't understand how she's lasted that long there, let alone got into management," she said, pressing her fingers into my calf.
"She's what I call a charmer. Hospitality is full of them. They seem to have great interpersonal skills based on how they treat guests but behind closed doors, they have the personality of tofu." The thing with charmers was that, sooner or later, their true colors showed and then it was usually time for them to go.
"It probably doesn't help that you beat out Katy for the job," Hannah added.
"Yeah but she wasn't qualified. Why she even thought she should apply goes to show how delusional she is," Lola said, rolling her eyes.
"Her dad probably said he'd put in a good word and she thought that meant the job was hers," Courtney suggested, scraping the bottom of the pint for my last bite. Katy's dad worked for the State and was known to throw his weight around when he had the chance. He suffered from "big fish in little pond" syndrome.
"Well it's mine now. Thank you for the ice cream and the massage. I need to hit the hay, though. I have to pick up my car early in the morning." I yawned and stretched my arms up.
"How did that go this morning?" Courtney asked, dropping the empty ice cream container into my garbage can.
"It was weird. I showed up and the girl couldn't find my appointment even though Kade made it himself. Luckily, he showed up and took my car anyway, but I think he suspected someone deleted my appointment."
"Really?" All three girls exchanged a look.
"Yeah, apparently he has a key log program installed, so he pulled the records. When he called to tell me my car was ready, he apologized and said he fixed the problem."
"Was it Rian this morning?" Lola asked, hands on her hips.
"Yeah, you know her?"
"Ha yeah. She's Katy's cousin."
"Seriously?" I asked deadpan. All three of them nodded. "Great. Things like this remind me of why I hated this town."
"And yet here you are," Hannah said, stretching out next to me, her bunny slippers dangling off the end of the bed. I whacked her with a pillow.
"Clearly I'm a glutton for punishment." Lola and Courtney gave me hugs and left. Hannah stayed laying on my bed while I changed into my pajamas. My phone vibrated and she picked it up.
"Why is Brady texting you?" I whipped around so fast I missed putting my foot in my pajamas shorts and ended up on my knees on the floor. "How did he get your number?" She sat up, holding out the phone to me. I snatched it and opened the text.
'Hey. Wanted to see if you were free this Saturday?'
"Sara, why is Brady texting you?" Hannah asked again. She didn't look mad, just curious.
I blew out a breath, tossing the phone back on my bed.
"We ran into each other at the grocery store yesterday. He told me he had a crush on me and asked for my number." I finally managed to get my bottoms on. "Are you mad I didn't tell you?"
"I wish you would've said something but I'm not mad. He's nice and his last girlfriend was not. I think he would be perfect for you to get back in the sack with," she said with a grin. I frowned.
"You mean saddle."
"I said what I said."
"Hannah!"
"What? I may be madly in love with Dean but I'm not blind. Brady is fine and probably not looking for anything too serious right now. Same for you. You're wanting to focus on work and being home, so a friend with benefits would be perfect."
"You don't even know if he's interested in that kind of relationship." Heat flared in my belly remembering the tight t-shirt and his muscular legs. I briefly wondered if all of him was that toned.
"Puh-lease. The guy worshipped your ass, literally your ass, for years from afar. He wants you." She picked up the phone and handed it back to me. "If it makes you feel better, you have mine and Dean's complete blessing." I hesitated a second and then took the phone from her.
'I wish. I'm going to be moving into my apartment this weekend.'
'Need help?' I bit my lip.
"What?" Hannah asked. I sat down and showed her the exchange. "Tell him yes. We have all that furniture from great-grandma's house." My great grandmother had passed away years ago and had a house full of real wood furniture that none of her children could bear to part with. None of the grandchildren really wanted it, so as each great-grandchild had moved out, they took what they needed. Even after my brothers and cousins items took items, there was still an entire storage unit full of things and it was my turn to take what I wanted.
"Good point. That shiz is heavy."
'You offering to help?' I texted back.
'Absolutely. Just tell me when and where.'
'My house, 8AM.'
'Dang, that's early for a Saturday.'
'I want to get it over and done with.'
'Good call. I'll be there.'
'See you then.' Hannah squealed and threw her arms around me.
"You have a date Sissy!"
"I have a warm body to do manual labor for me."
"Dang girl, keep it PG please." I threw my pillow at her which she dodged. She blew me a kiss and went back to her room.
I picked up the pillow, putting it over my face and flopping belly down on my bed. Brady's handsome face flashed in my mind and I wondered if I could do a purely sexual relationship. How would I even approach that? If Brady really did have such a big crush on me, would he be satisfied with being friends with benefits? Of course then my mind began to wonder about what those benefits would feel like and goosebumps ran down my arms. I groaned. Definitely time for bed.