Suits and Spark Plugs by Aspen Hadley

Author:Aspen Hadley [Hadley, Aspen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-13T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I was sitting on hard, wobbly bleachers at the local recreation center a week later, watching a handful of men warm up to play basketball. Kelly’s boyfriend, Scott, was one of them. “It smells like dirty socks,” I grumbled to her.

“I think it’s the scent of the floor varnish, because I’ve never been to a gymnasium that didn’t smell bad.”

“Do people still use the word gymnasium?” I tried to keep a straight face.

“I’m a person and I just used it.” Kelly kicked my foot with the side of hers. “Focus less on the smell and more on those sweet calf muscles of my boyfriend’s.”

“I’m not comfortable ogling your man.” This time I chuckled.

“He’s man enough to handle us both ogling him,” Kelly replied serenely.

“Remind me again why I’m spending my Saturday morning in a gym watching thirty-year-old men chase a ball back and forth.” I leaned against the brick wall behind us and flinched as one of the men made a quick turn and the squeak of his shoes on the wood floor reverberated through the room.

“You’ve been grumpy this week.”

“I’m getting that a lot lately, but I think it’s my most endearing personality trait.”

She made a face. “Maybe in the past, but you’ve been like Oscar the Grouch level, and it was time for you to leave your house and breathe some new air.”

“Which explains why you brought me to the land of stale, stinky, sweaty air?”

“It was this or hot yoga at the retirement home.”

I laughed, and it felt good. Kelly was right, I’d needed to get out. I wasn’t broken-hearted, but I was grumpy and a little mopey after the breakup with Blaine and the self-esteem hit that had been. Obviously, it was disappointing to realize that he and I had been envisioning very different things—including the truth about each other. Plus, it was totally normal after a breakup to play the game of “poor me” and “I’m going to die alone.” At least I’d heard that was normal. All the breakup websites I’d been visiting said it was.

Kelly’s sigh pulled my attention back. “Be honest, don’t you think my boyfriend is the best-looking guy on the court?”

“Out of the five men out there, yes, he is the best.”

I grinned when Kelly pulled a face at me and said, “Count again. There are seven of them, and he’s still the hottest.”

I only smiled. Scott’s dark hair was trimmed close, as was his equally dark beard. With his olive skin and lean build he was definitely attractive. I watched as he ran toward the hoop and hooked his arm to make a layup. The lines of his body were graceful, and I began sketching them in my mind. He’d be an interesting character to paint. Maybe, if the relationship lasted, I could do some kind of portrait for Kelly’s summer birthday. I let my mind wander over colors and patterns while I stared unseeing at a wall across the way.

Another squeak of a shoe pulled me back.

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