Page 53 of Crazy About Love (All About Love)

“Nice, huh? Gym four times this week,” I tease, and attempt to shake my booty, but I end up knocking over half the body spray bottles on my dresser.

“No, no.” She gapes. “The tattoo.”

I snort and twist so that I can show her the whole thing. I tuck my thumb into the waistband of my brand-new Fruit of the Looms and pull it down just a tad.

“Got it the other day. Cute, right?”

A knock comes at the door before she can respond, and a long muffled whine from the other side tells me it’s Shay. Liz hurries to answer while I toss on a tank top and my gym shorts. I’m not exactly shy about my body around Liz, but I’ve only known Shay for a little while.

“I’m going to kill your landlord,” Shay says, waddling into the living room. It’s not really cold outside, especially for this time of year, but still…it’s not warm enough for what she’s wearing. The spaghetti straps on her maternity dress slide a little off her shoulders as she tosses her purse on my floor. She looks like she’s been sitting in a furnace all day.

She plops down on my unusually free-of-laundry sofa, her knees a foot apart from each other. “When are they gonna get that damn elevator working?”

“They said this weekend, but who knows.” I skip around to the fridge to grab her a water. She looks at me as if I’m handing her a million dollars, and when she takes her first gulp (and second and third and fourth…damn, she just puts half of it away within five seconds) tears start falling from her eyes.

Liz gives her a concerned look, dropping down to the couch next to her. Shay just shakes her head and says, “I don’t know why. I just cry all the time for no reason. Probably making up for all the days I forced myselfnotto cry. Or maybe it’s because none of my cute heels fit or because it’s eighty thousand degrees in midwinter. Or maybe because I sneeze-peed in the hallway.”

Shay swipes at her tears while Liz presses her lips together (she does a much better job at covering her laugh than I do) and gives Shay a side hug. I catch her eyes drifting to Shay’s round stomach and I know that she’s stoked for Shay and Jace having a baby together, but she’s also envious of it. Liz and Landon have been trying to get those eggs fertilized for a while now, and, well, patience isn’t the greatest strength of either of them. I hope he knocks her up soon.

“Hey, do you want to come with us?” Liz asks. “We need to make Theresa’s ass look as good as mine.”

I chuck an unpaid bill from the counter at her.

“Not really…,” Shay answers, moving her eyes up to meet mine. Her bottom lip juts out the teensiest bit; I don’t even think she’s aware she’s silently begging. But I know her well enough to know what she’s asking for. Shay’s been bouncing around in an RV for the last six months, and she’s ready for a steady bed and a Netflix binge.

I let out an exasperated sigh. “Just don’t sneeze-pee on my sheets.”

She makes a tiny squeal, like a parrot mating with a rat, and sticks her arms out so we can hoist her off my couch. For such a tiny person, it sure takes a lot of effort to get her out of there.

Once we set her up for the night, remote in hand, eyes already fluttering closed, and pillows under her knees, Liz tosses my coat at me and we head out to get a dress that doesn’t make me change color. Time for the night that will change my life.

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