Free Five Minute Man: A Contemporary Love Story by Abbie Zanders Page A

considering the idea, Holly nodded. Liz had been trying to get her to go for a while now. As much as she eschewed the idea of public exercise, it would be worth it to see Adam again. She could use his reaction to seeing her as a kind of sign post, hopefully providing direction into the nebulous realm of what-the-heck-is-he-thinking. She could stop all of this non-productive obsessing and guessing and move on from there. “Sounds like a plan.”
    “Great. We can hit Target – “ Liz pronounced it tar-jhay – “after dinner tonight and pick you up a mat and some flattering yoga pants.”
    Holly frowned. “Why can’t I just wear my sweats?”
    Liz rolled her eyes and gave Holly a look of suffering. “Because we want him to notice your ass.”

Chapter 15
 
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    A dam’s head wasn’t in the game. He’d let too many guys get by him because he’d caught a glimpse of Holly on the way in. She’d been in one of the group exercise rooms, looking way too flexible in a tight black number that hugged her curves like a high-performance vehicle on a mountain road. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, and she was smiling at that young yoga instructor as he tried to demonstrate a pose that put her cute little ass high in the air and slammed him with a wave of heavy lust in the process.
    He forced himself to concentrate, stealing the ball and driving down the court. Shoot. Miss. Again. Damn . Well, at least he was being consistent. He hadn’t made a decent shot all night.
    After the game ended, Adam hovered near the door, hoping to catch another glimpse of Holly. He hadn’t called her since leaving her place abruptly on Friday. Christ, if the dog hadn’t intervened, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself. That soul-searing kiss would have turned into some heavy petting, the kissing and suckling of several other areas, and probably hot and sweaty sex right there on her living room floor. Why that might have been a bad thing, he was having trouble reasoning out; all he knew was that Holly deserved better than that.
    Was she disappointed that he’d turned tail and run? Or relieved?
    “You’re off your game tonight,” his friend Chuck observed as they gathered their things. “Everything okay?”
    Adam shrugged and refilled his water bottle. “Yeah. It happens.”
    Chuck looked doubtful, then he caught sight of something over Adam’s shoulder and grinned. “Nevermind. I get it now.”
    All Adam could think of was that Chuck had spotted Holly in that form-fitting spandex. Chuck couldn’t possibly know about him and Holly, because he hadn’t told anyone, but any guy with a working pair couldn’t fail to notice her. The thought tapped into his inner caveman and released something sharp and ugly. He turned, ready to place himself between Holly and anyone else’s line of vision, and was immediately sorry he did.
    “What’s her name again? Ellen? Erin?” Chuck asked quietly when the woman caught sight of Adam and started making her way over to them.
    “Eve,” Adam said with little enthusiasm and a whole lot of dread. For one very long night he’d had to endure just how cute she’d thought it was that his name was Adam and her name was Eve, a “sure cosmic sign” that they were fated to be together.
    “Right,” Chuck laughed. “Uh-oh. She’s got an apple. Prepare to be tempted.”
    Adam groaned. She really did have an apple in her hand. Not that she needed it. On the surface, the woman was temptation personified. Tall and blonde, with a fuck-me smolder that was so perfect she must have practiced in front of a mirror for hours. Her feminine assets were beautifully displayed, wrapped in something that looked more like it came from Victoria’s Secret than the Sports Authority. Unfortunately, once you got past all the pretty packaging, the rest left a lot to be desired. Yeah, the woman had some impressive skills in the bedroom – she was limber as hell - but she was lacking