Page 33 of Definitely Not a Thing
Three sentiments that youwantedfrom a fitness class.
I made sure to share them with Winnie before I left – and made a note to tell Shia that one class member had crashed out mid-round on the ex she was pretending to fuck up.
Jeanie.
That girl was a damn menace.
I grabbed a togo plate fromPot Liquoron the walk home, tearing into the roasted chicken and greens as soon as I got through my front door, after smelling it the whole way. With my appetite sated and my energy zapped from class, all I had left to do was shower and go to bed, and hopefully wake up to a better day tomorrow.
I pulled out all my stuff for agoodshower – limited edition scents and the good exfoliating scrub, shave oils, all that. Insteadof the overhead light, I set the mood with candles and music, stripped down, and got to work.
Everything else was so good that I wasn’t even bothered when my music died halfway through – I finished taking my time scrubbing, shaving, smoothing, plucking, and whatever else.
I felt like a whole new woman by the time I opened the bathroom door to let the steam out, ready to feel the rush of cool air from the other room.
A rush that… didn’t happen.
“What the hell,” I muttered, stepping out into a pitch black apartment. I was energy conscious sure, but notperfect setting for a slasher movievibes like this.
I grabbed one of the candles, using it to light the way for me to hurry and get some clothes on, then found my phone.
An accident on Harris Avenue has resulted in a damaged power line. Heights Municipal Services has already dispatched a crew, and will have power restored for all affected neighbors as soon as possible. Please check on young children, elders, and pets who are not able to care for themselves. There are cooling stations in place at the library and community center if you cannot safely remain in your home.
I’d gotten that message twenty minutes ago.
Right around the time my music died – which meant what I’d assumed to be a simple lost signal was actually a power outage affecting…
I hit the link in the message, pulling up the map they’d provided, marking the affected areas and the cooling stations.
Half the block was dark.
I groaned as I realized I wasalreadybreaking a sweat.
The weatherproofing in these old buildings was basically non-existent, so any “build up” I’d had of cool air had already dissipated.
I was going to have to open the windows.
Which,thatshit was a task in itself.
By the time I was done, I was in a full-blown sweat, debating about thecooling stationsfor my damn self.
I didnotfeel like peopling at that level though.
Like, at all.
So, I used the last cubes the ice maker had granted to fill my water bottle and went to sit outside on the balcony, hoping to at least catch stray breeze.
What I caught was an eyeful of Calvin.
There were emergency strip lights on the balconies, solar powered. They were meant to be unobtrusive, so it wasn’t enough to read or anything, butmorethan enough to see that Calvin was outside in his boxers.
Looking like a promo for… hell,sex.
Gosh this man is fine.
As much as I wasn’t really trying to look at himlike that,I kept running into circumstances that made it hard not to.
“You want some?” he asked, when he realized I’d stepped out.
