about Kevin for a few more weeks. It would make her happy. Give her something to brag about with the other women. If, by her next doctor’s appointment, she was still training, then she would tell them.
Handling her parents was going to be the easiest part.
Figuring out Kevin was going to be a bit trickier.
Chapter 4
When Jessica stopped next to her cart of reshelves, Julie looked up from the magazine rack she was kneeling in front of. “I didn’t do it,” she said.
“Do what?”
“Whatever you’re about to yell at me for.”
“I’m not here to yell at you.” Jessica checked her watch. “You haven’t seen Kevin, have you?”
“Kevin? Fire Apparatus Journal guy? No. Is he coming to take you to lunch?”
“He’s meeting me here, and we’re going to Sears.”
“Oh. Hardware stores are so romantic.”
Jessica leaned on the cart. “It’s study. I need to look at tools for the exam.”
“You started studying?” Julie stood and scooped up a pile of magazines.
“Last night. Except for the tools, I don’t think I’m going to have much trouble with the written exam. I took one last night and got an eighty-six.”
Julie started putting away the magazines in her arms. “Let me know if you need any help. I can quiz you. Mindi’s still freaking out, isn’t she? Sonya said she and Diana had to drag her away yesterday.”
“They did.”
“It’s not like she didn’t know you wanted to do this.” Julie walked into another aisle with her pile of reshelves. “I knew, and I haven’t known you since college.”
Jessica stared out the window. The sun scorched the parking lot. The summer was shaping up to be a lousy time to do any physical training. She’d gone running this morning before work and at five-thirty it had already been hot. What if her mother and Mindi were right? What if it was too hard?
“Hey, are you going to look like this?” Julie held out a weightlifting magazine. The woman on the cover wore a bathing suit made of two three-inch strips of silver material, and she arched her back so the suit ran in a taut line from between her legs to where it tied at her neck.
“Yuck.” Jessica opened the magazine to the photo spread of the cover model. She always had her back arched as much as possible. Her long blond hair showed about an inch of dark roots and her breasts were as perfect and pert as Tupperware bowls. Her shoulders, arms and legs showed hours of hard work. She looked like she could lift a Clydesdale. “I hope not. You could shoot arrows off her spine.”
“Do you think that bathing suit would slice her in half if she stood up straight?” Julie snickered.
“No, but she’d probably need to go to the emergency room to have it removed.” Jessica felt her lip curl with disgust. Never in her life had she thought of working out for the sole purpose of working out. “I don’t think I’ll end up like that. Bobbie Kelly isn’t this bulky. This chick is built.”
Julie looked over Jessica’s arm at the magazine. “You could look just like her, though. Think of all the hotties you could pick up. All those great big guys who talk about creatine and protein shakes.”
“Is this really attractive?” Jessica asked.
“Not to me.”
Jessica jumped at the sound of that velvet voice over her shoulder. She tried to close the magazine too quickly, and it flipped out of her hands. Julie leaped backward. The armload of magazines she’d been carrying slipped out of her grasp onto the floor. Julie cursed and knelt down to pick up the magazines.
“Uh, hi. I didn’t see you come in,” Jessica stammered.
“I noticed.” He glanced down at Julie, who was working around his feet, and looked back at Jessica. His face was blank. Like he had woman crawling on the floor in front of him all the time. Maybe he did. Maybe Bobbie didn’t know him as well as she thought she did.
Jessica crouched down to help Julie clean up the mess and pull herself together, but Julie
Handling her parents was going to be the easiest part.
Figuring out Kevin was going to be a bit trickier.
Chapter 4
When Jessica stopped next to her cart of reshelves, Julie looked up from the magazine rack she was kneeling in front of. “I didn’t do it,” she said.
“Do what?”
“Whatever you’re about to yell at me for.”
“I’m not here to yell at you.” Jessica checked her watch. “You haven’t seen Kevin, have you?”
“Kevin? Fire Apparatus Journal guy? No. Is he coming to take you to lunch?”
“He’s meeting me here, and we’re going to Sears.”
“Oh. Hardware stores are so romantic.”
Jessica leaned on the cart. “It’s study. I need to look at tools for the exam.”
“You started studying?” Julie stood and scooped up a pile of magazines.
“Last night. Except for the tools, I don’t think I’m going to have much trouble with the written exam. I took one last night and got an eighty-six.”
Julie started putting away the magazines in her arms. “Let me know if you need any help. I can quiz you. Mindi’s still freaking out, isn’t she? Sonya said she and Diana had to drag her away yesterday.”
“They did.”
“It’s not like she didn’t know you wanted to do this.” Julie walked into another aisle with her pile of reshelves. “I knew, and I haven’t known you since college.”
Jessica stared out the window. The sun scorched the parking lot. The summer was shaping up to be a lousy time to do any physical training. She’d gone running this morning before work and at five-thirty it had already been hot. What if her mother and Mindi were right? What if it was too hard?
“Hey, are you going to look like this?” Julie held out a weightlifting magazine. The woman on the cover wore a bathing suit made of two three-inch strips of silver material, and she arched her back so the suit ran in a taut line from between her legs to where it tied at her neck.
“Yuck.” Jessica opened the magazine to the photo spread of the cover model. She always had her back arched as much as possible. Her long blond hair showed about an inch of dark roots and her breasts were as perfect and pert as Tupperware bowls. Her shoulders, arms and legs showed hours of hard work. She looked like she could lift a Clydesdale. “I hope not. You could shoot arrows off her spine.”
“Do you think that bathing suit would slice her in half if she stood up straight?” Julie snickered.
“No, but she’d probably need to go to the emergency room to have it removed.” Jessica felt her lip curl with disgust. Never in her life had she thought of working out for the sole purpose of working out. “I don’t think I’ll end up like that. Bobbie Kelly isn’t this bulky. This chick is built.”
Julie looked over Jessica’s arm at the magazine. “You could look just like her, though. Think of all the hotties you could pick up. All those great big guys who talk about creatine and protein shakes.”
“Is this really attractive?” Jessica asked.
“Not to me.”
Jessica jumped at the sound of that velvet voice over her shoulder. She tried to close the magazine too quickly, and it flipped out of her hands. Julie leaped backward. The armload of magazines she’d been carrying slipped out of her grasp onto the floor. Julie cursed and knelt down to pick up the magazines.
“Uh, hi. I didn’t see you come in,” Jessica stammered.
“I noticed.” He glanced down at Julie, who was working around his feet, and looked back at Jessica. His face was blank. Like he had woman crawling on the floor in front of him all the time. Maybe he did. Maybe Bobbie didn’t know him as well as she thought she did.
Jessica crouched down to help Julie clean up the mess and pull herself together, but Julie
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