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Sixty-seven.
Sixty-eight.
Sixty-nine.
Lena strained, curling her abdomen, and touched her elbows to her knees. Seventy.
She unlatched her hands from behind her head and let her arms fall to her sides. No matter how many times she tried, she could never do more than seventy sit-ups at one time.
Groaning, she pushed to her feet and grabbed the towel she'd set on the coffee table. She wiped her face, knowing she couldn't use one more exercise to pass the time. Her muscles had called it quit ten minutes ago.
The doorbell rang. She lowered the towel and looked around Thad's house. Was she supposed to answer his door when he was gone?
"Lena?" yelled a man.
Goosebumps covered her arms despite her sweaty condition. The person knew her name.
She walked over to the window and peeked outside. An older man and woman stood outside holding a wicker basket. There was nothing threatening about them. They were probably in their seventies. The man wore a Chevy American T-shirt with black jeans. The woman's colorful jacket complimented her short, gray hair.
The man shrugged at the woman and knocked on the door again. Lena hurried over and leaned against the wood.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"We're Thad's parents. He wanted us to bring some food over for you," said the man.
She ducked her head and grimaced. It'd be rude of her to tell them to go away, and she was starving. Most of Thad's food was in his freezer. His refrigerator was stocked with beer, Gatorade, and milk. She'd settled for toast with butter for lunch because of the few easy choices.
Unlocking the door, she opened the house to Thad's parents, who she hoped was telling her the truth.
"Hello?" she said, keeping her foot behind the opened door.
"Hi, Lena. I'm Karen. This is Thaddeus's dad, Will." His mom pointed at her chest and then at her husband. "Our son wanted us to bring over some food for you to eat because he's going to be late coming home."
Thaddeus? She blinked, struck dumb over a name. Of course, that was his proper name. She should've realized that from the beginning when she'd met him outside the bar.
Mr. Bowers took the basket from his wife. "I'll put this in the kitchen."
"Oh. Um." Lena stepped back. "Come in. Sorry. I wasn't expecting—"
"We understand." Thad's mom squeezed Lena's hand as she walked into the house. "Thaddeus never was one to have food in his house that was convenient to eat. I think he lives off food at the bar most of the time unless he comes over to visit us at dinner time."
Lena shut the door and followed them into the kitchen, highly aware of how she looked. She was sweaty and red faced from exercising. There were dark circles under her eyes. She had no desire to hide under makeup on her day off.
"Honey, put those in the fridge." Mrs. Bowers waggled her finger at the containers of yogurt. "Oh, and the cheese sticks, too."
Lena's stomach growled. She would've given her left kidney for a cheese stick earlier. Though, knowing Thad's parents brought over grocery items, for her, made her nauseous.
"Oh, boy." Mr. Bowers held up a fistful of Snickers bars. "I thought this was food for Lena."
Thad's mom laughed softly. "Stop it. You know how our son is about his Snickers."
Lena watched the interaction going on between Thad's parents. They thought highly of their son. That part was obvious. They also knew his likes and dislikes. When he called his parents to lend a hand, they followed through, bringing food to the house.
Her overheated body chilled. Her stomach cramped.
"I hope there are things here you will eat." Mrs. Bowers sighed. "Thaddeus didn't give us much to go on or if you followed a certain way of eating. So many of the younger generation are eating this way or that way and making it a life choice. Mabel Conrad—she's our neighbor—is always telling us about her granddaughter who eats...what is it called, Will?"
"Pallo or palel. Like the cavemen. Ugh. Me, man," said Mr. Bowers.
"Paleo?" said Lena, fascinated at the direction of the conversation and Thad's dad imitating a caveman, including thumping his chest.
"Yes." Mrs. Bowers laughed. "That's the name. Lots of meats and greens and nuts."
Lena cleared her throat. "Um, no, I eat whatever I like."
"Good." Mrs. Bowers smiled and peeked into the basket. "I guess that's it. If you need anything else or we forgot something, please call and let us know. We can run to the store and pick up whatever it is."
"She needs our phone number, dear," said Mr. Bowers.
"I'm sure I won't need anything. Thad will be home later, and I'm not going to be here long. A couple days, maybe." She couldn't inhale. "B-but, I appreciate what you've done."
"It's no problem." Thad's mom looked at her husband and raised her eyes. "We should go."
Lena's chest tightened. She reached out for the counter, lightheaded and sweating. This was why she never attempted to have a normal relationship where people involved families, planned for the future, and...and she couldn't do that.
"We'll get out of your hair." Mrs. Bowers patted Lena's arm. "Come on, Will. Let's go home."
"Nice to meet you, Lena." Thad's dad mouth softened, and Lena had to look away because Mr. Bowers had the same baby blue eyes as Thad.
"Thank you," she whispered, following them to the front door.
She wanted to push them outside, make them leave, shut herself away from the fact that Thad had loving parents that cared about him, even though he was a middle-aged man. Adding another kick to her stomach, she caught sight of Mr. and Mrs. Bowers holding hands on the way to the car before she shut the door and stumbled to the couch.
Her body vibrated, and she pulled her legs up and leaned into the arm of the couch gasping to get enough air in her lungs. If she would've known Thad would involve his parents in her life, she never would've stayed with him. She would've taken her chances with Tigres.
Wiping her palms over her face, she pulled her hands away and wrinkled her nose. She needed a shower and to calm down. Thad's parents said he'd be home later and she wanted to be ready. The last thing she wanted was a bunch of questions about why she freaked out meeting his parents.
She stood, more exhausted than she should be and headed toward the bathroom. Clarity over her situation came with Thad's parents visiting her. She couldn't even jump into a relationship with him if he followed the rules because he lived differently than her. He'd only end up getting hurt, and she couldn't deal with the added pressure from him involving his folks and his club in her life. That was something she hadn't asked for.
Hours later, Lena woke up with the sound of a motorcycle rumbling the bedroom. She swung her arm out and felt along the night stand for her phone, then squinted at the screen. It was almost midnight.
She sat up, turned on the light, and double checked what she was wearing. Yoga pants and a sweatshirt covered her completely. Nothing to tempt Thad into touching her. Getting out of bed, she walked barefooted out of the room, down the stairs, and sat on the bottom step.
The crinkle of a wrapper came from the kitchen, then Thad walked into the living room and stopped at the sight of her on the step.
"Hey," he said, around a bite of Snickers. "I wasn't expecting you to still be awake."
She pulled the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands. "I'd like you to take me home tomorrow morning or tonight. It won't take me long to put my things in my bag."
"We had an agreement."
She thrust her covered hands between her legs. "On our second date, I figured it was only you who I'd have to deal with...and I was more than willing to be with you if you agreed not to turn this into something bigger than it was, but now it's not just you. It's your folks. It's your club. It's me living here. Even for a normal relationship, this—what is happening to me— is too much. I like my life. I enjoy my job. I'm extremely attracted to you, but I don't want everything that comes with you."
"Slow down. Talking is free, and you have no rules against that, right?" He finished the rest of the candy bar.
Her heart raced. She wasn't unreasonable. Nothing about the situation was normal. "You sent your parents over here and involved them into our arrangement. I don't do families, of any kind."
He walked out of the room and returned minus the wrapper. "Fine."
"What do you mean fine?"
"You don't want to deal with my parents, I won't ask them to help me when you're here. You won't have to see them." He tilted his head to look at her. "Did they say something to upset you or scare you?"
"No."
"Do you have a problem with me?" He walked over, patted her thigh to move her over on the step, and squeezed in, sitting two steps above her.
"No." She half turned, surprised that he'd want to talk about how she was feeling. "I don't like being tied down where people start having more feelings than...a mutual respect. Like, you and me, we can respect each other. Keep our feelings from going out of control. But, now, your parents have met me. Your club is involved with this gang thing that's happening to me. I'm feeling claustrophobic."
His hand landed on her shoulder and his fingers squeezed. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I've got the cure for that."
His deep, husky voice sent a shiver through her. He'd tipped the teeter totter she found herself stuck in the air on, and put her feet back on the ground. She could now leverage her life.
"What is that?" she asked.
He grinned. "Sex. Good sex."
Her stomach released all the tension she'd held inside of her since his parents had shown up unannounced. A sexual relationship between them she could handle. It was why she wanted to keep seeing him.
"Okay," she whispered.
He whispered back, "Okay, then."
He lifted her to her feet and walked her to the bedroom. They were going to have sex. She liked when she understood what was happening. When Thad was focused on her, she accepted their relationship. It was when other people came between them that she stopped wanting to work on the two of them.
Inside the bedroom, more confident than earlier when she was left alone, she stripped out of her clothes and turned toward Thad and raised her arms out to the sides of her, ready to have sex.
Thad remained standing in the bedroom, fully dressed, and frowning. He wasn't looking at her body. His intense gaze zeroed in on her eyes. And, what she saw staring back at her was foreign and shocking.