Scandalous Read Online Free Page A

money.
    Then he added, “ You should come and see me sometime … but not here. Down at the beach. ”
    He didn't have to explain anymore. With the way his muscles bulged through his skin and the mention of the beach, I knew what he was talking about. Venice Beach. Muscle Beach -- the one that Arnold Schwarzenegger , among others, made famous. I didn't get a chance to get down to the beach too often, but whenever I did that was the first place I stopped. I mean, really. Fine, half-naked men with skin that glistened beneath the baking Southern Cali sun? What self-respecting, men-loving woman wouldn't stop there?
    “ That's where you work out. ” It was a statement more than a question.
    “ Where I work out and where I work. I'm a trainer for the bodybuilders. ”
    I nodded; it figured.
    “ So, you think you'll come by? ”
    “ Yeah, ” I said.
    He grinned.
    I added, “ Maybe me and my fiancé will come and check you out. ” My words were meant to push a stake through the heart of this fantasy -- for Roman and for me. It had been fun, but it was over.
    “ He'll be your husband by then. ” I guess that was Roman's way of letting me know that the game was over for him, too.
    I nodded, smiled, and uncurled my fingers from his grasp. As I made my way over to where Kyla and her silly friends still gathered, I knew Roman's eyes were on me. I could say that I felt them, but I didn't -- I just knew. Men were always happy to see me coming, but they were just as thrilled to see me go. It was what I carried in my trunk that had made me all that money as a stripper. That's not conceit; that's just a fact.
    “ Wow, you were over there talking to him for a long time, ” Kyla said to me, then giggled.
    I wasn't about to explain it to her; I just said, “ Turns out we have a few friends in common. ”
    “ Really! ” Kyla exclaimed. She glanced over to where Roman still stood at the bar. “ Who could you two possibly have in common? ”
    I shook my head. I wasn’t offended in any way, though. That was my girl, Kyla. She was bourgie from way back. It was in her genes, from her mother's side of the family, and now that Kyla was a doctor's wife, her head was way up in the sky.
    Still, I loved her. How could I not? Kyla was what I called a Big F Friend. Even though her friends didn't like me, that didn't matter to Kyla. She loved me, period. And I had a feeling that if she had to give up all of her friends to stay friends with me, she would do just that.
    “ Yeah, we do know some of the same people, ” I said. “ He knows a couple of people at my job. ” Then, because I didn't want to explain or lie any further, I added, “ Anyway, let me get out of here. I still have a lot to do before Saturday. ”
    Those words brought out the pout from Kyla that I expected.
    “ I really wish you would let me stay with you tomorrow. That's what a matron-of-honor is supposed to do. That's what you did when you were my maid-of-honor. ”
    “ Yeah, but we're different, ” I said, stating the obvious. “ You wanted company and I want to spend my last night as a single woman by myself to reflect on everything. ”
    “ But we can do that together? ”
    I shook my head then hugged her. “ I'm not gonna talk about this anymore. I'm gonna be fine. ”
    “ I know you are, ” Kyla said as she pulled away from our embrace. “ Anyway, you wanna wait for a couple of minutes and we'll walk out together? I'm just waiting for Alexis to come out of the bathroom. ”
    I rolled my eyes and that was enough to get my message across.
    “ Stop it, ” Kyla said. “ I don't know why you and Alexis can't be friends. ”
    “ Because I could never befriend anyone who shares the name and characteristics of a female dog. ”
    “ Stop it, ” Kyla said again, but this time, she couldn't hold back her laughter. She may have thought what I'd said was funny, but to me, it was nothing but the truth. I didn't like Alexis. She'd gone to college with Kyla and when