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responds with such conviction, you’d think she was arguing that Santa is real.
    “Hurry up,” I command. “I want to get on that mat before the hoards arrive.”
    Andrea and I warm up a bit on the treadmills. After fifteen minutes, she’s done. “That’s it?”
    “I hate working out. I’ll watch you.”
    I take the next ten minutes at a fast run, and she mumbles “showoff” under her breath before she walks away. After my warm up, I arrange a sparring session with an instructor on the mat. There are a few dozen people in the gym, all doing their own thing. With luck, I won’t have an audience. It bothers me a bit when I do, but once I begin to get in a zone, everyone around me disappears. I take my black belt training very seriously. I worked my ass off to get where I am.
    My instructor works me hard and by the time we bow, I’m wiped. She smiles sweetly. “I enjoy sparring with you. It’s hard to find a compatible match around here. I’m Kelly.”
    “Nice to meet you, Kelly. Same time tomorrow?”
    She nods and says, “I’ll be here.”
    I find Andrea sitting on a couch, texting. “Good workout?”
    “My thumbs are very toned.” She looks up and laughs at my safety gear. “You look like a storm trooper. Are you done? Can we hit the third floor now?”
    “Fine.”
    She drags me up to get a pedicure with a reflexology massage. “Oh my God. Fucking heaven,” she says with her eyes closed. “I really do want to live here.”
    “Mmm,” I respond, completely relaxed in my own world.
    “So, what did you think of Ben?” At the mention of his name, my heart starts beating a touch faster. I turn to look at her, but stay silent. She remains in the same position, head back, eyes closed. “Well?”
    “What’s wrong with him?”
    “Nothing. You’ve seen him. He’s perfect.”
    “I’m not saying his looks. Why is someone like him still single? And why haven’t you ever mentioned him? Besides the occasional reference to Rob’s partner, you’ve never spoken of him before. Tell me the truth. What’s wrong with him?”
    “ Nothing is wrong with him. He’s a typical guy who’s afraid of commitment. I haven’t mentioned him because it didn’t cross my mind that you’d be perfect for each other. Timing was bad. You were with Mr. Boring, and he’s been screwing the skank who I want out of his life.”
    Great, he’s attracted to skanks…probably the blonde bombshell kind with huge boobs and huge sexual appetites. “He’s not my type.”
    “You lie. He’s exactly your type.” She finally opens her eyes to meet mine. “And you’re his type to a T . The sparks between you two were practically visible in the air.”
    “Pfft, what do you know? You were drunk.”
    “I got drunk after he left. I know plenty.” She resumes her stance, closing her eyes and leaning her head back, making me think that is all she’s going to say. When I settle down and relax, she adds, “I know sexual tension when I see it.”
    “You don’t know shit.”
    “We’ll see.”
    I feel a mixture of unease and…what?
    Excitement?
    No, it can’t be excitement. It’s just unease that I feel at the moment. That’s what is making me uncomfortable and causing my heart to slam hard in my chest. That’s what this is, unease.

    “Rob said they’re not done yet,” Andrea says, as she gets comfortable on my couch. We ordered a pizza, and I’m pouring out two glasses of wine. “I’m glad I worked out today, now I can have two slices,” she says, grabbing her first slice. When I stop pouring, she asks, “What?”
    “How you keep fit is beyond me.”
    “Lots of incredible sex.”
    Great.
    We settle on my couch, and I flip through the channels to find something good on TV. Our topics of discussion are very random. I never know what Andrea’s brain will come up with next. The one topic I’m hoping she brings up, or not hoping she brings up - I’m still undecided at the moment - is Ben Stone.
    She said we had