Page 42 of The Weight Of It All
I chewed the inside of my lip, still not convinced. “I don’t know…”
“It’ll be fun!”
“I think you need a dictionary because that’s not what fun means. Running seven kilometres is torture. Of the cardiovascular kind.”
The elevator doors opened, and we headed toward my car. “I can get you into a cardio-aerobic class if you like?”
Okay, he’d officially lost his mind. “Like the Olivia Newton John 80s music video?”
He laughed, and the sound echoed throughout the underground car park. “You don’t have to wear leg-warmers if you don’t want.”
I lifted my chin. “Maybe I want to wear them.”
“So you’ll do it?”
“What? The Bay Run, or ‘Let’s Get Physical’ dance moves?”
“Both.”
I cringed. “Why do I feel like I’ll end up doing both whether I want to or not?”
Reed grinned victoriously. “Excellent.”
I pressed the unlock button on my car and threw my new purchases into the back. “Hey!”
“Hey what?”
“You never bought me a coffee! That was part of our deal!”
He looked genuinely sorry. “I forgot! We can go back up if you want?”
“No, it’s fine. I can always email that eBay buyer and ask if he still wants the lemon tart.”
Reed rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Wow. You play mean.”
I got into the driver’s seat and waited for Reed to contort his huge body into the passenger side before I started the car. “Yes, I do. It’s part of my charm.”
“That’s okay, though, because I got you doing a gym cardio classandthe Bay Run.”
And as we made our way back up to street level and out into the easy Sunday traffic, my phone rang. Of course Bluetooth picked it up and the call came through the speakers of the car. It was Anika, and without really thinking, I hit Answer. “Hi.”
“Oh hey,” she replied. “Are you driving?”
“Yes. And you’re on speaker, and Reed’s in the car.”
There was a beat of silence, and that was when I truly regretted taking her call. “Oh.” I could tell she was smiling. “Hello, Reed.”
He looked at me and half-frowned, half-smiled. “Uh, hi.”
“Where have you guys been?” she asked slowly. She was still smiling, I could tell.
“In the city,” I answered, commandeering the conversation. “And I ran into Colin and James.”
“Oh man.”
“And my mother and Eadie.”
Anika laughed. Really loudly. “Did you break a mirror or walk under a ladder this morning or something?”
