The Big Bang by Linda Joffe Hull Read Free Book Online Page B

to the white board and erased a portion of the extra-long tail on the
S
at the end of
COUPON CLIPPERS
. “No hard feelings?”
    The first bars of a Lady Gaga song filtered up the stairs from the aerobics studio and helped Will push back a burbling urge to ram Frank’s face into the Plexiglas lid of the diorama. Truth was, Frank hadn’t done anything but give the people what they thought they wanted.
    “No hard feelings.” Will managed a feeble wave and escaped toward the steps as Frank turned to address a pair of women who’d wandered in the front door.
    “Ladies, would you believe the sweats my wife’s wearing retail for well over a hundred but only set me back $24.95? Come to Coupon Clippers and I’ll teach you how it’s done.”
    Will bounded down the stairs. In seconds, he’d be in aerobics, alongside the one person on his block who’d believed in his cause. And, he couldn’t help but note, she’d likely be wearing a much more appealing ensemble than anything Maryellen or Frank could dig up on sale. He conjured a quick memory of how Hope looked in much less before Roseanne Goldberg blocked his view like a human pylon in a tangerine T-shirt and compression shorts that pressed her cellulite toward her knees. “You missed some interesting covenant violations on Monday.”
    “I have the notes from Jane.” Unable to see around her, he looked through the triangle formed by her hand on her hip for a glimpse of a blond ponytail.
    “Did you read about the family on Wonderland Valley Court who got cited for trying to clean carpeting on their driveway?”
    “I haven’t had a chance to look anything over, yet.” He spotted Hope, standing in her usual place, stretching her quads with the graceful, light-footed stride of a ballerina.
    “Frank let it slide, but there could be an underlying issue that—”
    “I’m afraid my class is about to start.”
    “No problem,” she said. “I’m leaving some books you need to read in your milk box.”
    “Great,” he said, lacking the nerve or the time to tell her he was probably done fighting the futile fight anyway. “We’ll chat later.”
    Before Roseanne tried to pin him down to a discussion coffee time, he slid around her, bolted down the hallway, and made his way to the door of the aerobics studio.
    Hope, standing in her usual spot, stopped, bent over, grabbed her water bottle, and unscrewed the top.
    Time slowed along with her long, drawn-out sip.
    He watched a water droplet dribble down her chin and disappear between her breasts.
    She spotted him, smiled in his direction.
    He sauntered into the room.
    She motioned him toward the empty step behind her, where a ten-pound set of weights, a body bar, and an extra-tight band sat beside the step.
    She’d set up his equipment for him!
    Was it possible that she’d ever, even for a second, thought about him in the same way that he couldn’t help but think about her? “I’m a married man,” he’d have to say. “I can’t deny my attraction to you either, but I stood before my wife and vowed to…”
    “I figured you were running late,” she said as he put his towel down and took his spot.
    “Thanks.” His dorky, stammered
you’re the best
was drowned out by the instructor, Sarah Fowler’s, amplified voice. “Ladies,” she slapped her perfect round bottom, “we’re starting with squats, so remember to be sure and stick out your rear like you’re sitting in a chair.”
    As Will squatted in time to “It’s Raining Men,” he gnawed on the inside of his cheek so he wouldn’t smile as a pleasing spandex spectacle unfolded around him.
    Letting it go
didn’t seem so hard after all.
    ***
    “You wouldn’t believe how many great savings tips the Griffins gave this morning.” Laney Estridge plopped down beside her best friend, Sarah Fowler, on the steam room bench and took a deep sinus-cleansing breath. “I have a page full of notes on everything from buying expired cereal in bulk to getting $4 generic