Page 48 of Mr. Red

“I thought you were letting go. Live a little. Some surprises are good—like the size of dicks. I bet hesurprisedyou with a good one.” Paige winks.

“Are dicks all you think about?”

“It makes my world go round.” She looks dazed.

“Okay, if I do this, call me any time you need something! I’ll come back immediately if you need me to.”

“You’re going to do this. We’ll be fine,” Lana insists. “I’m sure you’ll give us a whole color-coded outline of everything we need to do. As long as you come back before the opening, we’ll be solid.”

“Yeah, one of us should be having some fun with a hunky guy,” Paige says.

“Who says hunky anymore?” I squinch my face.

“Hunky is a fabulous word.”

I turn to Lana. “Lana, are you okay? I know you’re still trying to get over your ex, but I’m worried about you. Can we do anything to help?”

“I know I’m not myself right now. Thanks, you guys, for hanging in there with me. I guess I’m not sure where to start. Seeing random guys doesn’t seem to be the route I want to go. No offense, Paige.”

“None taken.”

“I’ll figure it out,” Lana says, dismissing the air with her hand.

“Okay, well we’re here if you need anything,” I reiterate.

“Always,” Paige agrees.

“So, let’s schedule a date to do a lookover of the gym. Lay out a plan for what we should work on first.”

“Oh geez,” Paige smacks her forehead.

“Let me know what day and I’ll be there,” says Lana.

I take out my phone to make sure we have a date and time to review everything that needs to happen. We all need to be on the same page if this is going to work.

“Thursdays are out for me. As long as my dad doesn’t cancel again. How about Tuesday?”

“Works for me,” says Paige. “It’s the slowest day at the spa.”

“Okay, perfect.”

Once we schedule our day, we carry on chatting and planning for the gym for an hour before we decide to call it. I have a lot to prepare before I leave with Matt. I’m excited to see where things lead with him. Why not travel with him? The girls have given me some clarity. For some reason, I can let go and be fun around him. He’s showing me a new side of myself and the things I want in a relationship. I don’t know where I’ll end up, but I’m hoping for a hot “horse” to ride into the sunset with me.

I video call him once I get home. He answers wearing casual clothes and with wet hair like he just got out of the shower.

“Hello, Miss Scarlett.”

I smile while my cheeks heat. Why does talking to Matt make me blush?

“Hey there. Guess who’s going with you to some location she has no idea about?”

“I already knew that. There’s no news there, sweetheart.”

“I said I would have to talk to my business partners before I agreed.”

He stares at me, looking bored with my reply.

“Anyway, do I need a passport? I don’t have one,” Iask.

---