Next Time (14 page)

Ryann sank down in her seat when Payton climbed in behind the wheel. “He’s mean.”

“Yeah, we got in trouble. I’d drive out of here really fast, but I can’t raise my arms to put them on the wheel…I’m not joking.”

Ryann squinted as sweat poured down into her eyes. “How many pushups did we do? I lost count.”

“Like two hundred because you started laughing like a jackass.”

“I was crying.”

Payton shook her head slowly. “I did belch just like a man. I thought I was gonna throw up.”

“I heard you, and that was when I started crying.”

Payton whimpered as she tried to contain her laughter.

“Don’t do that! He might see us, drag us out of this car, and make us do more pushups.”

“Can’t help it.” Payton clamped her lips together tightly and snorted. “I really have no strength left in my arms. Can you drive?”

“I can’t feel…my fingertips,” Ryann stammered and dissolved into laughter.

*******

It took Payton a little while, but she managed to get her hands on the wheel, even though they shook as she held it. She didn’t let go of it when she pulled into Ryann’s driveway for fear she wouldn’t be able to lift them again. Ryann made no move to get out.

“You okay?” Payton asked.

“No, I’m not. Do you mind if we skip tomorrow night?”

Payton breathed out a sigh of relief. “I was gonna ask you the same thing, but via text because I’m ashamed. We just paid a guy to hurt and humiliate us. Isn’t that why we signed up for this class, so we could avoid such things?”

“Carry me in the house.”

Payton started laughing again. “We’re gonna have to sleep in this car.”

Ryann groaned and opened the door, but it was a minute before she actually stood. “Thank you for a wonderful time. Please note the sarcasm.”

“I guess after this, asking you to dinner would be too sedate.”

Ryann leaned her head back in the car. “Saturday night?”

Payton nodded with a smile.

“I look forward to it. Good night, Payton,” Ryann said happily.

“Night,” Payton said as Ryann closed the door. She waited until Ryann was inside and a light came on before she backed out of the driveway. “I am so gonna kiss you Saturday night. You want to talk about heat, I’m bringing it, girl.” When the smack talk was done, she whimpered when she had to grab the gearshift.

Chapter 18

Jana chuckled. “So y’all skipped class Thursday and Friday night because you could barely move? You’ve been going to the gym and a couple hundred pushups kicked your ass?”

“We’d already done a hundred of the damn things in the warmup before class,
and
we planked,
and
we punched the shit out of a bag. Ryann almost didn’t go to work on Thursday.” Payton bent over and picked up a roll of tape from Melanie’s coffee table. “This is about all I can lift.”

“You better be shitting me.”

“I am.” Payton stretched out her back. “Thank God, y’all packed up everything already. So what’ve we got?”

“Boxes, a bed, a couple of book shelves, an entertainment center, kitchen furniture, and this sofa.”

“Fridge, washer, and dryer?”

“They stay with the house.”

“Damn, and I was so looking forward to being in traction.”

Jana moved close to Payton and spoke softly. “If Leigh comes home, you might get your wish. You better hide in this house if you see her drive up.”

“Don’t you remember the story I told you about the bully I dealt with when I was twelve?”

“You told me she beat your ass into the dirt.”

“Right,” Payton said with a nod. “I’d rather be beaten half senseless than cower. If she shows up, I’m not hiding anywhere.”

“Baby, less talking, we have to have the truck back by six.” Melanie waved. “Hi, Payton, thank you for helping us. We were supposed to have more people, but so far, they haven’t shown up.”

“Then I guess you know now who your true friends are.” Payton hoisted a box and carried it out to the truck. To her chagrin, Jana followed empty-handed. “When you walk out of the door, something should be in your arms. That’s how you move.”

“Well, I wanted to ask you about Ryann privately. Melanie didn’t ask her to help because she figured Ryann didn’t want to chance seeing Leigh. I kinda figured she’d come with you, though, since y’all are so close now.”

Payton grinned and gave Jana a sideways glance. “No, you want to know if I’ve slept with her, and the answer is no. We haven’t even kissed.”

“Look me in the eye and tell me that.”

Payton faced Jana and stared her in the eye. “We haven’t had sex. My lips have never touched hers. We discussed her coming today, but if Leigh was around, it would only cause drama.”

Jana smiled and laid a hand on Payton’s shoulder. “You’re taking it slow, I’m so proud of you.” Her smile was wry when she said, “I really miss hanging out with you.”

“I miss you, too, but it’s okay. You have a partner now, and I understand that. Between work, the gym, and Krav classes, I’ve been busy, too. Now let’s get to work before your petite flower kills us both.”

They walked back into the house, and Jana kicked it into gear. She and Payton concentrated on moving the furniture while Melanie loaded the boxes, and it seemed that they would escape an encounter with Leigh until the very end when Payton and Jana were wrangling the kitchen table and chairs into the back of the truck.

Payton caught a glimpse of Leigh walking across the yard and watched out of the corner of her eye as she and Melanie hugged. Payton hoped that all her stars were aligned and that Leigh would say her goodbyes and go on. But as luck would have it, Leigh followed Melanie into the house and returned moments later with a box.

Jana, who’d been trying to stuff all the chairs into empty spots, looked positively stunned to find Leigh standing at the rear of the truck, her gaze on Payton. Words started pouring from Jana’s mouth in rapid succession. “Well, hey, Leigh. Did Melanie rope you into helping? Pretty day for moving, I was so afraid it was gonna rain. You’re dressed too nice for this. I wish we would’ve rented a bigger truck because Mel had more than I thought. It’s stuffy in here.”

“Hello, Payton,” Leigh said dryly.

“Hi, Leigh,” Payton threw out casually as she took the box from her.

Melanie joined them cool as could be. “I’m gonna miss having you as a neighbor. You know where I live now, so don’t be a stranger.”

Leigh tore her gaze from Payton and turned to Melanie. “Everything changed, didn’t it?”

“Change means new opportunities.” Melanie looped her arm around Leigh’s and led her back to the house.

“Payton, run,” Jana whispered.

“I am not.”

“Mel’s giving you a shot, and Leigh looks a little unstable. You can meet us at my house.”

“If I do something like that, it’s only going to make it worse. She’ll either think I have something to be guilty for, or she’ll think she has the upper hand because I’m afraid of her.”

“I’m fucking afraid of her. She looks like a dog that’s about to bite,” Jana rasped. “She’s like a head taller than you, and you haven’t been taking those classes long enough to—oh, shit.”

Payton saw Leigh heading toward them with another box. Payton busied herself with one of the chairs that Jana hadn’t been able to do anything with. This time, Jana took the box from Leigh and began chattering again.

“How’s work, still busy? I like that suit. Is it new? I have to wear them at the office, too, and I never can seem to find anything besides black. That’s like a dove gray, isn’t it? Where’d you get it?”

“Payton, can I speak to you for a moment?” Leigh said.

“If it’s about Ryann, no. Other than her, I can’t imagine you and I have anything to discuss.”

Complete silence filled the back of the truck except for Jana’s flatulence, which usually signaled that she was about to freak out.

“I know you’re seeing her,” Leigh said flatly.

Payton shoved the chair roughly into a spot and faced Leigh. “You’re not going to goad me into a conversation about her.”

“Look, they’re just friends, that’s—”

“Jana,” Payton said with a tone of warning while holding Leigh’s cold gaze. Leigh did look a little unhinged, and Payton suspected drunk, as well.

Leigh folded her arms. “I’ve got your number, Payton.”

“Don’t call it.”

“I think she means she has you figured out,” Jana interjected nervously.

“I know exactly what she means, and she understands me just fine, thanks.”

Melanie had kept her distance, but as the tension grew, she walked over. “Leigh, you promised no drama,” she reminded gently.

Leigh backed away from the truck, gave Melanie a quick hug, and walked away.

Jana sighed heavily. “I wet my pants a little bit.”

*******

Ryann reluctantly answered the call she knew was coming. “Hi, Mom.”

“Ryanna, I was very sorry to hear the news Shelly had to share. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said as she sank down onto the couch.

“Why did you wait so long to tell us, or allow Shelly to, for that matter?”

“Would you be in a hurry to announce that?” Ryann chewed her bottom lip and decided not to mince words. “My relationship wasn’t something you’ve ever been too eager to discuss anyway.”

“It wasn’t the relationship that I didn’t care for, it was Leigh. I never trusted her in the first place. I realize I should’ve said something sooner after speaking to Shelly. She also told me that you’re already seeing a new woman.”

Ryann scowled at the fact that Shelly had run off at the mouth. The minute the call ended with her mother, she was going to call Shelly and verbally dissect her. “Payton is very sweet.”

“If she’s a good woman and treats you with respect, then I’m very happy for you,” Carol Seely said with more affection than Ryann had heard in her voice for a long time. “The few times I tried to talk to Leigh, she never met my eye. Some people are shy, but I didn’t sense that in her. She was hiding something, and I wanted more for you.”

Ryann didn’t know what to say. “Well…thanks, Mom.”

Carol sighed. “We have some mending to do. Your sisters and I would like to come down there one weekend and see your new home. Do you need anything?”

Ryann smiled. “Fortunately, your youngest collects furniture like you do. She loaned me the sofa out of the game room, and I picked up a bistro table at a secondhand store. All I really had to buy was a bed.”

Carol sounded just like Shelly when she said, “You should’ve cleaned that house out and left that woman with a few breadcrumbs. What about dishes, pots, pans, and the like?”

“I bought that, too.”

“Well, you know I’ll do my own inventory. The Seely women never turn down the opportunity to shop. Where did you meet…Payton, isn’t that her name?”

“You know the whole story,” Ryann said with a laugh. “Don’t pretend that Shelly didn’t tell you all about Payton and her impression of her.”

Carol chuckled. “She did mention that she liked her. We both know for Shelly to say flattering things about someone else, they must be pretty special.”

“I think she is,” Ryann admitted with a warm smile. “I just have a really good feeling about her. I did the moment we met.”

“I know you’re a grown woman, but I can’t help but dispense motherly advice. Don’t rush into cohabitation so quickly this time.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’ll let you know when we plan on coming down. I hope Payton will be available then because I’d like to meet her. I love you, honey.”

“Love you, too, Mom.”

*******

“Why didn’t you have a yard sale before the move?” Payton asked as she and Jana piled stuff up in her garage.

“Because we couldn’t agree on what to get rid of and what to keep. She hates my couch, and it is ugly, but it’s the most comfortable one I’ve ever found. Hers is like sitting on a board.” Jana brushed her hands off on her pants and sighed. “I love Melanie, and I’m so glad I found her, but sometimes, I feel like I’m giving up part of myself, the part I like. I have to eat healthy now, dress differently, and accept that I have no taste in decorating. I really never cared that none of my furniture matched, but it’s a big damn deal now.”

Payton laughed. “We’re never satisfied, are we? When we’re alone, all we can think about is meeting that someone. When we do find them, it’s all about trying to figure out how to live with them.”

“Exactly,” Jana said as she read a label on one of the boxes. “Stick this in that open spot on the top of the others if you can reach it. Hey, you’re changing, too, and you’re not even with Ryann yet. You were all tough and steely at Mel’s house when you were talking to Leigh.”

“Because I meant what I said. My loyalty is to Ryann. I messed up in that department once, and I won’t do it again.”

“You are so falling for her.”

Payton mulled that statement as Jana went back outside for more boxes. Falling was an apt description. In the past, she’d stepped into love gradually. With Ryann, she felt like she was on a steep incline. She never really could plant her feet, they just seemed to be skidding down the hill fast. At any second, she could topple head over heels.

“Where’s she from originally?” Jana asked as she dragged a small file cabinet into the garage.

“She was raised in the country, that’s all I know.”

“What kind of movies does she like to watch?”

“Ones without serial killers. What’s with the questions?”

“I just wanna know how much you’ve learned about her so far. Does she have a retirement plan, savings account, is she frugal? Or is she up to her ears in credit card debt? Has she ever filed for bankruptcy? These are important questions because the answers could affect your future.”

“Jana, I haven’t even kissed her yet.”

“I don’t think that matters at this point. I downloaded a list of scripted questions to subtly obtain the answers to all the questions I just asked you. I used it on Melanie, that’s how I knew she was financially stable. I’ll email it to you and you can just slip them into conversations with Ryann.”

Payton stared at Jana with a bewildered expression. “How do you two have sex? Do you go to bed with pie charts? Green is for oral sex, it should last exactly twelve minutes. Yellow is for a five-minute recovery and cuddle time.”

Jana slapped a hand on her hip. “You know there’s nothing wrong with being explicit about what you want in bed.”

“Oh, my God, you really do use charts,” Payton said in horror.