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              “I don’t want them to wax me.”

              “It’ll only hurt for a moment. You’ll barely feel a thing.”

              His eyes shifted from Audrey to the employee holding the brush. A deep breath and a gentle nod, signaled his readiness. The hot wax brushed against his skin. The paper pressed against his forehead. The woman silently counted to three before ripping the paper from Evan’s head. A loud roar erupted. His scream echoed through the building, bringing a joyous smile to Audrey’s face.

              “When you’re done with his eyebrows, I want his chest done next.” Evan calmed down long enough to hear Audrey’s orders. He watched her face to see if she would change her mind or tell them she was only joking.

              “Hell no! I’m drawing the line. There’s no way this crazy lady is going to wax my chest.”

              “Ladies, may I have a moment alone with my client?” The three employees exited the room, leaving Evan alone with Audrey. He started to get up from the chair, but she moved quickly and shoved him back into it. She leaned towards him, her hands moved up the front of Evan’s robe until they were near his neck. She grabbed a handful and pulled him closer. “Now you listen to me.” The intense tone she used with Evan’s mother returned. It was the type of tone that put men, women, and anyone else in their place. “I’m sick of repeating myself. Your agent hired me to get you ready for this book tour. He told you to do exactly as I say. So this is your last warning. If you refuse to do anything I tell you one more time, I walk and so does your book tour. Do I make myself clear?”

              Evan swallowed the lump in his throat. The anger in Audrey’s eyes ensured Evan knew she wasn’t joking. “Okay, it’s just…that shit hurts, and that was just the space between my eyebrows. How do you expect me to let them do that to my chest?”

              Audrey released her hold on Evan’s robe and stepped back from the chair. “What if I gave you something to focus on while they work on you?”

              It was an enticing offer, but Evan was unsure of what she was going to give him. “What do you have in mind?” Audrey placed her foot between Evan’s legs and bent over it. Her hands gently touched the top of her foot and let her fingertips glide over her bronzed skin. They inched the hem of the robe up her thighs, exposing more skin with every passing second until it the only part hidden by fabric was her pelvis.

              There was an animalistic look in Evan’s eyes. The tease was too tempting. In that moment, he wanted to be those fingertips. He wanted to be the one touching her body. He wanted to see what was hidden behind that robe.

              “I think that should do for now,” Audrey said as she backed away. Her hands relinquished their hold on the robe, letting the fabric drop to her knees. “Now, I want you to think about that for a while.” She moved towards the door as Evan sat with glassy eyed look on his face. Audrey opened the door and let the employees resume their work. Not a peep was heard from Evan for the remainder of his time at the spa.

Chapter 16-Sara

              Sara was nearly dead on her feet when she got home from work. She hated working for a doctor’s office. There were too many egos, not enough pay or benefits, and always had someone telling her to do something that had no relation to her job responsibilities. The uniform was an entirely different hatred. The staff was forced to wear white sneakers, preferably orthotics, a pair of white pants, and a smock, which was nothing more than a hideous floral monstrosity. The thought of anyone she knew seeing her in the uniform would be considered rock bottom. The moment she got off of work, Sara jumped in her car and sped home. Once the coast was clear, she would make a beeline for her apartment and prayed no one from her building saw her. The door opened just enough for a body to slip through before it was slammed shut. It was another day where Sara made it home without running into anyone she knew.

              The sound of a woman clearing her throat startled her. Sara turned to find Julie lounging on the bed. “Julie, what the hell are you doing here?”

              Sara watched as Julie sat up in the bed. Her mouth hung open in shock. “Never mind that; what the hell are you wearing?”

              Sara quickly pulled the hideous smock over her head and threw it to the floor. Her feet kicked off the shoes as she rushed towards her closet. “It-it’s my work uniform.” Sara’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “It’s not like I had a choice.” She slid out of her work pants and jumped into a pair of sweatpants. “How’d you get in here? I locked the door before I left this morning.” A key dangled from Julie’s finger, reminding Sara she had given her friend the spare key in case of an emergency. “What the hell are you doing here?”

              Sara moved to snatch the key, but Julie closed her hand around it. “I told you last night we were going to do something about this Evan guy.”

              “Leave him alone. He’s not a bad guy.”

              “No, he’s not. I actually like the jerk. He seems to make you happy when he’s not ignoring your texts and calls.”

              “He’s been busy.”

              “I know, and we’re going to do something about that.”

              “What do you mean?” Sara stood with her hands resting on her hips. Her eyes were locked onto her friend, trying to read the devious thoughts running through Julie’s mind. “What did you do?”

              “I haven’t done anything yet.” She moved to the end of the bed and bent over, retrieving a duffle bag. She dropped it next to her with a smile.

              “What’s that?”

              “Your bag. We’re going on a little road trip.”

              “Wait, what? Where?”

              “Where do you think? Look out Long Island, double trouble’s heading your way.” Sara stood stunned by Julie’s declaration. She knew there was no changing her friend’s mind. Sara quickly turned towards her closet. “What are you looking for,” Julie asked.

              “I don’t know. But if we find Evan, I don’t want him seeing me like this.” Sara pointed to the sweatpants and sports bra.

              “I already have clothes in the car for you. Go take a shower, and get that stale smell of the doctor’s office off of you. I’ll bring your bag downstairs.”

              Sara smiled and hugged her friend. “Thank you,” she whispered in Julie’s ear.

              “I’d do anything for you, including driving two and a half hours just so you can see this fool. Now hurry up before I change my mind.”

              The girls were in the car less than an hour later. The G.P.S. said it would take two hours and forty minutes to arrive at their destination. But with Julie behind the wheel, Sara expected to be there in an hour and a half. It was a girl’s night out/road trip. It wasn’t common, but it also wasn’t the first time Sara was dragged on a random road trip with Julie. The last random trip was brought on by Julie’s craving for an authentic Chicago deep dish pizza. It ended with Sara sleeping in the car while Julie found some random guy at a bar to hook-up with.

              “You better not ditch me for some guy again,” Sara joked.

              “Please, I think you’ll be too busy with Evan to notice I’m gone.” Julie reached to play with the radio, trying to find a new station since the local ones she listened to faded and became nothing but static.

              “What if he’s not there? What if he doesn’t want to see me?”

              “Oh stop with the what-ifs already. That boy is crazy about you and he’d be crazy not to want you. And besides, if it doesn’t work out at his place, we can tear it up at the Long Island clubs. Either way we’ll be going home with someone.”

              Sara slapped Julie’s arm playfully and laughed. “Concentrate on the road, I got the radio.” She turned the dial one more time and found Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off. The girls sang along while dancing in their seats. Sara seemed to get into it more than Julie did.

              “Damn I wish I wasn’t driving right now. You’d go viral on Youtube within a week.”

              “Shut up; I’m just having some fun.”

              “I am too. I have fun being a pain in your ass.”

              Sara continued dancing in the passenger seat as song after song seemed to be another one of her favorites. She was happy, happier than she had been in a long time. The only thing that would make her happier would be to see Evan.

              Sara stared out the window and watched as the car pulled into a mall parking lot. “Tell me you’re not seriously going shopping right now.”

              “Of course not. You need a place to change, unless you want him to see you looking like that.” Sara rolled her eyes as Julie pulled into a parking spot. “Come on; let’s find you a bathroom to change in.”

              Twenty minutes later, Sara emerged from the bathroom stall. She was wearing black four inch heels, tight blue jeans, and a low cut, baby pink, V-neck t-shirt. Her dark brown hair fell just beneath her shoulders. She applied a small amount of makeup including strawberry lip gloss, something she knew Evan would like.

              “What do you think?”

              “I think we’ll have to scrape your boyfriend’s tongue off the floor. There’s only one more thing to add.” Julie dug into her purse and pulled out a small diamond shaped glass bottle. She sprayed Sara’s neck and wrists, letting the strong lilac scent surround them. “There, that should do it.” They exited the mall, heading for the car. “Now, let’s go find your man.”

              The drive took them another twenty minutes, but found the house easily. Sara stared at the large building. The two floor home seemed to tower over them like a mansion. The long paved driveway led up to the two car garage and a white wrap-around porch. Sara admired the gorgeous house, while Julie’s mouth hung open.

              “Wipe your mouth,” Sara joked.

              Julie used her thumb to check the corners of her mouth. “You didn’t tell me he was loaded.” She turned to Sara, eyes wide with delight. “Do you know if Evan happens to have a brother?”

              “Seriously?”

              “What? If he’s anything like Evan, he’ll be a nice guy, treat me like a queen, and spend all his money on me.”

              “You’re such a gold-digger. And yes, he has an older brother.”

              “How old?”

              “I don’t know. We didn’t talk about his brother or his family that much.” Sara looked up at the house. It appeared to be dark inside, but with all the outside lights being on, it was hard to tell. “Should I call him?”

              “Sure, why not?”

              Sara took out her phone and dialed Evan’s number. After a few rings, the call went to his voicemail. “He didn’t pick up.”

              “Well, you said he’s been really busy lately.”

              A sleek black car pulled into the driveway just as Sara hung up the phone. She watched as two shadowy figured emerged from the backseat. One was wearing high heeled boots, the other was a man that matched Evan’s height and build.

              “Who the hell is that?” Sara’s eyes were fixated on the pair, watching them closely as the man’s arm draped across the woman’s neck. “Oh hell no! I’m going to kick that two-timing man-whore’s ass.”

              Sara unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door, but Julie’s hand stopped her. “Wait for me.”

              They bolted from the car. Their heels clicked repeatedly against the concrete as they hurried to catch up. Sara made it up the driveway first, falling only a few steps behind Evan and the mystery woman.

              “What the hell, Evan?”

              The man retracted his arm from the back of the woman’s neck. He spun around. The word “BUSTED” was written all over his pale face. “Sara, what are you doing here?”

              “Apparently catching your cheating ass with another woman.”

              “What? No! It’s not what you think.”

              “I can’t believe Julie and I drove all the way out here for you…for this. How long has this been going on?”

              “Shit, Julie’s here too.” Sara moved to the side so Evan could see the five-foot-nine woman in four inch heels stomp her way up the driveway. “I swear it’s not what you think. Tell her Audrey.”

              The woman Evan stood next to stepped back, putting distance between them. “Sorry Evan, I don’t get involved in personal matters.” Sara watched the woman inch a little closer and whispered something to Evan before walking back towards the car. Julie started to follow her, but Evan shouted for her to stop.

              “You both need to calm down and listen to me.” Sara snapped her head towards Evan, giving him the evil eye. “I’m not hooking up with Audrey, and I’m not dating her either. She’s my publicist.”

              “What happened to the other girl you were at the book signing with,” Sara asked.

              “I don’t know. She wasn’t there the last time I saw Mr. Waters. He told me Audrey was hired as my publicist and she was now in charge. I have to do everything she says to improve my image before the book tour.”

              “Why was your arm around her?”

              “Can we do this in private?”

              “What you don’t want the whole neighborhood to know what a lying, cheating, son of a bitch you are?”

              “No, because I really don’t want to say this in front of Julie.”

              Sara looked back at her friend and nodded. Julie walked down the driveway, ensuring she was out of earshot, but close enough for Sara to call her if needed. “Okay, now out with it, and I want the truth.”

              “Yesterday, Audrey made me work out with her personal trainer until I almost collapsed. My body is still killing me. Every muscle I move feels like someone’s punching me.” Evan’s pale complexion was becoming more noticeable to Sara. “Today she took me to the spa. I thought it would be cool at first, but then they started plucking my eyebrows, and the skin around my fingers and toes. Then there was the wax.”

              Sara let out a hiccup of laughter that she desperately tried to hold back. “So they waxed your eyebrows. It’s no big deal.”

              “No, it wasn’t a big deal, until they were told to wax the rest of me.” Sara couldn’t contain her laugher any more. “You don’t believe me?” Evan raised his shirt, showing off the red blotches where they tore the hair from his chest. Sara howled at Evan’s discomfort. “It’s not funny.

              A cat call came from the street. “Looking good sexy,” Julie shouted. Sara clutched her side from laughing so hard.

              “I’m glad you’re both finding this so funny. I’m in excruciating pain, and you two are carrying on like a bunch of hyenas.”

              Sara did her best to keep a straight face. “I’m sorry. I believe you.” She took one look at Evan and let out another burst of laughter.

              “Thanks, I’m glad it took this,” he pointed to his chest, “for you to believe me.” He dropped the shirt and leaned on the porch railing. “Sara, what are you doing here? How’d you know where to find me?”

              “It wasn’t hard, especially when you texted Julie your address last night.” She could see the wheels turning in his head. “We came here to see you. We figured, since you’ve been so busy prepping for the book tour, and since you’re going to be gone for the next few months, you wouldn’t have much time to come out to Jersey. So I came here to see you instead.” Sara saw the color return to Evan’s cheeks. She could see the desire in his eyes, but he was holding back. “What’s wrong?”

              “I want to hug and kiss you right now, but I’m afraid of how much it’ll hurt.”

              “Kiss her already,” Julie shouted from the street. “Or I’ll hurt you worse than you feel right now.”

              Evan held out his arms, and Sara was too willing to let herself get wrapped in them. “How long are you staying?”

              “Julie packed my bag, and I have off tomorrow, but am supposed to work Friday. Then I’m off for the rest of the weekend.”

              Evan looked back at the house. “Where are you staying?”