Free TAMED: #2 in the Fit Trilogy by Rebekah Weatherspoon Page B

he saw in that picture. She was completely worth it.

    ✶

    What’s this guy do again?” Shelly asked. The rest of Nailah’s friends were already inside the restaurant. When Armando called from the airport to say that he’d landed, she figured it would be easier to meet him in the lobby of the hotel instead of him picking his way through the crowds to find them. Plus, she wanted ten seconds alone with him before she introduced him to her friends. Too bad Shelly wouldn’t let her leave the table alone.
    “He owns the gym where I work out. He trains me too. And his name’s Armando, not This Guy.”
    “Calm down. We’ll all call him by his name. It is serious or just banging?”
    Nailah made a dismissive, non-committal noise. “Don’t know yet, but I figured he’d keep me distracted once RJ and Meena get liquored up. Or more liquored up.”
    “Oh god. Did you see them at the pool?”
    “Everyone saw them at the pool.”
    Shelly offered a dramatic shudder. “Sick.”
    Before Shelly could ask any more questions, Armando came striding out from the bank of elevators.
    “This is him.” Nailah stood a little straighter, but managed not to fix her hair or smooth down her dress as he came closer. He just looked so good, wearing crisp, dark gray slacks and a matching suit jacket. The white button-up shirt he had on underneath was open, showing off a bit of that chest hair Nailah loved. The sides of his hair were freshly shaved, and long strands on top were perfectly slicked back. Nailah swallowed and forced herself to relax.
    “Oh my god. He’s hotter than Kalli,” Shelly said. “And who was that guy before him?”
    “Doesn’t matter.”
    “You are not lying. This one’s the hottest by far–Hi!”
    “Hey!” Armando said back, even though he looked completely confused by Shelly’s enthusiasm. Nailah covered her mouth as she snorted. Then she straightened up once she realized Armando wasn’t alone. His friend Daniel was with him. Daniel was kind enough to distract Shelly so Nailah could hug the only person she actually wanted to see this weekend. Still, Nailah wondered why Daniel was there. They did their introductions, then headed into EIG8T, the steakhouse Shelly’s boyfriend had picked for dinner.
    “Planning to ditch me again?” Nailah muttered, as she let Armando take her hand. He stopped walking and pulled her around to face him as Daniel followed Shelly to the table. Nailah managed not swoon against his chest when he touched her cheek. Damn, she was getting soft.
    “There will be no ditching. His mom lives here. He’s just tagging along for a bit. Besides, Daniel knows how to take care of himself. I’m all yours.”
    “Hmm. Okay. You look really good right now.”
    “Thank you. You look beautiful. As always,” he replied with that devastating smile that tore up her insides.
    “I would have kissed you back there—”
    “I get it. Just meeting the friends. We don’t need to suck face in front of them.”
    “No. This lipstick is just really tacky,” Nailah said, gesturing to the red tint on her lips. “It would be all over your mouth.”
    “I see.”
    “Later.”
    “Sounds good to me. Let’s go join them.”
    Dinner went as well as could be expected. Other than Meena blatantly flirting with Armando in front of RJ, and Mario rudely asking Daniel about how he lost his hand. When Daniel responded with, “I’ll just say it’s never a good idea to play with explosives,” that shut Mario right up. But other than those few unnecessarily awkward moments, Armando definitely charmed her friends. Nailah was glad she’d invited him.
    After dinner, they planned to go to a rooftop club where RJ had booked a table and bottle service, but there was some debate about killing time with some more pre-partying. Meena had stopped at the liquor store on their way from the airport, but the drinks by the pool and the drinks with dinner and the drinks to come weren’t nearly enough. It was still a little