Sharp Turn - Marianne Delacourt [50]
His green aura expanded a little and the greyness shrank. He was in a pair of cut-off track pants and a tight tee. Okay, I couldn’t help but notice. He had a man’s physique without Tozzi’s extra kilos. Ed was muscled but barely out of his teens. Nice Guy was kinda perfectly in the middle of them.
‘Snap,’ he said, nodding in sympathy. ‘You want me to spot your weights for you?’
I gave a tentative smile. ‘Sure.’
We didn’t talk much while I grunted my way through three sets but I got an eyeful of his chest as he bent down to help me rest the weights. When I’d finished, I towelled off while he leaned against the bar rest.
‘You want to catch a bite sometime soon? I could cook for you,’ he said.
I froze mid-wipe. The question was totally unexpected and I had more than enough on my plate right now without contemplating a date with another guy. Still, I thought about it for a moment. I mean, it looked like Ed wasn’t being exclusive, so why should I be? And part of me wanted to get closer to Nice Guy’s calm green aura.
‘Um . . . maybe. Yes. Err . . . I don’t know. No.’
Instead of being offended by my indecision, he laughed. ‘Ah well, I’ll be here for a few more days if you change your mind.’
I gave him a smile and stood up. ‘Thanks for spotting for me. See you next time.’
My legs got me outside with some decorum, which was just as well because he watched me all the way.
Cass was in bed flicking through the cookbooks when I got home.
‘Dinner’s in the fridge,’ she said without looking up.
I peered into the cold cavern that normally only housed dried-out cheese and soured milk and saw a cling-wrapped plate of a delicious-looking chicken salad. My cheesecake over-indulgence had long worn off and my mouth was watering so I hurried to have a quick shower.
When I returned, I grabbed my plate and settled on the couch. ‘You make this?’ I asked.
She nodded. ‘Joanna showed me how. I never thought about putting meat in a salad before. Joanna says it’s all about the dressing. This one’s orange and pecan.’
I shook my head in wonder. Joanna’s interest in Cass was unnerving me. What could the vampire lady be planning?
Once the food hit my stomach, fatigue followed, making it too hard to worry much about Joanna. I checked my phone. Two missed calls from Nick Tozzi now. I contemplated ringing him back then dropped the idea. He’d just try to make me explain something I couldn’t.
‘Same again tomorrow?’ asked Cass.
‘Tomorrow I need to concentrate on Team Chesley. They use their own caterer, so they won’t come by the van.’
‘I can ask T-Dog.’
‘Yeah, do that. And I’ll talk to Sharee again. We’ll need to finish on time though. I have to get to the Aprilia office in Fremantle before 4 pm, see what I can find out about Clem’s and Dave’s backgrounds. Then I’ve got some other things to do.’
It was kinda weird having to share my schedule with a sixteen-year-old.
Cass looked a bit down in the mouth.
‘I’m going to a friend’s to get some self-defence lessons. Why don’t you come along?’
Her face sparked up. ‘Cool.’
We arrived at Hoshi Hara’s a little after seven thirty. I’d lent Cass some exercise gear, but my spare sneakers were way too big so she’d settled for bare feet.
After the introductions, Hoshi took us to the sleep-out, which he’d decked out with rubber mats and a boxing bag.
‘You stand there.’ He positioned us opposite him.
‘Now watch. I teach from gendai budo. Today, judo kata.’
He proceeded to demonstrate a range of quick movements like a strange dance.
Cass looked unimpressed.
‘Now you grab me, Missy. Grab me hard from behind like attacker,’ Hoshi told me.
He turned around and showed me his back, hobbling a few steps like a little old man. I did as asked, lunging forward to envelop him in a bear hug. The next thing I knew I was upside down and looking at his crotch.
He peered down at me. ‘Easy peasy Japanesy.’
Cass burst out laughing.
The evening progressed from there. I learned two important things before we headed home: how to break a grip,