Free InstructionbySeduction by Jessica Shin

ten-thirty
class. She leapt out of bed and dashed into the shower.
    Leah’s hair was still wet as she settled down into her seat
for her public speaking class. Once she sat down and was still for a while the
aching of her body began to set in. She’d run twice and taken an ass-kicking
class after being mostly sedentary for years. It was going to take its toll.
    Leah woke herself out of her daze in time to hear Mrs.
Larson discussing the final for the class.
    “We won’t have a regular test for our final. Your final exam
will consist of a ten- to fifteen-minute speech on the topic of your choice.
The only stipulation is that you have to be speaking as though you’re giving
the class a mini-seminar. Teach us something. Tell us something we can take
with us when we leave. Leave us wishing your speech were two hours instead of
fifteen minutes.”
    The class laughed. Leah was still. Ten to fifteen minutes?
That was forever. How could she possibly keep talking in front of the group
that long? It might as well be two hours! And what the hell could she possibly
talk about that would keep the class awake, much less wanting more?
    Leah walked home feeling sore and scared. She’d once heard
that the fear of public speaking was worse than the fear of death. Maybe it was
because teachers forced unsuspecting students to act like professional
speakers, she decided.
    Once home, Leah powered up her aging laptop and sent an
email to two of her classmates asking for notes from the class time she’d
missed that morning, only half caring if they sent her a response. She was
feeling worse by the minute and still needed to call Kelly.
    Leah held down the four on her cell phone, speed-dialing
Kelly’s home phone number. She got her voicemail and asked her to call, then
laid down on the sofa with three pillows and a strong desire for a dream about
Hale.
    The blaring ring of Leah’s phone several hours later
interrupted a naked shopping dream. Grateful, Leah picked up the phone and
answered it with a muffled, “Hmmlpho?”
    “Leah?”
    “Yeah.”
    “It’s Kelly.”
    “Oh hey, sorry. I was asleep.”
    “At three in the afternoon?”
    “Yeah. I’m sore.”
    “Really,” Kelly said in a very suggestive tone. “He that
rough on you?”
    Yes.
    “I took a kickboxing class last night.”
    “Girl, I totally want to do that! Where are you going? I
should do it with you.”
    “Prepare for a total ass-beating.”
    “I’m ready for it. So what’s up?”
    “I wanted to see if you were still up for our girls’-night
thing.”
    “Totally. I’m off Wednesday so we could do it tomorrow
night.”
    “Perfect. Can we do it at your place?” Leah decided she
didn’t want to risk Hale showing up in the middle of girls’ night and
suggesting a threesome. It totally sounded like something he would do.
    “Sure.”
    “I have news,” Leah said slowly.
    “You’re getting married?”
    “No.”
    “You’re pregnant?” Kelly sounded panicked.
    “No!” Leah laughed. “You’ll just have to wait.”
    “I hate you.”
    “I know. And I want you help me dye my hair.”
    “Now you’re talking. Blonde?”
    “Nope. I’m going back to my old color.”
    “Hmm,” Kelly said thoughtfully. “You have news, you’re going
back to your old color…some sort of personal renaissance going on?”
    “Could be.”
    “Or does Mr. Hot Sex just like brunettes?”
    “I’m hanging up now.”
    “Later!”
    Leah pressed down the red button on her phone to end the
call and tossed it on the floor. She’d slept away most of her day off. Instead
of feeling guilty as she normally would she felt blissfully at peace about it.
But hungry.
    Pawing through the refrigerator and cupboards, Leah began to
feel ill. Processed food, junk food, snacks. She started a pile on the kitchen
table.
    “No wonder I feel like shit all the time,” Leah muttered.
“Shit in, shit out.”
    By the time she got done she had a trash bag’s-worth of junk
food on the kitchen table