Forgotten Read online

  “That was back when I was still with Carlos,” Frankie said. “I remember telling you I was going to scream if I couldn’t let off some tension and that was when you said we needed to take an exercise class together.”

  “Your ex is the one who really ought to be glad that coin toss led us to yoga,” Lacy said, taking another sip of her juice. “If you were about to become a kick-boxing master like you’re going to be a yoga master, you would have kicked his ass six ways to Sunday by now.”

  “Don’t tempt me.” Frankie sighed and swirled her straw through the green matcha slush in her glass. “You know my mom has been inviting him to family dinners lately? She and my abuela are so sure if I see his face enough I’ll magically want to go back to him.”

  “Ugh!” Lacy made a face. “That’s awful, Frankie—you should stop going.”

  “Like hell I will.” Frankie frowned. “I’m not going to let that hijo de puta keep me away from my own family—even if half of them think I’m crazy and the other half aren’t speaking to me.”

  “Is it really that bad?” Lacy squeezed her arm sympathetically. “I’ll come with you to the next one if you want—for moral support. Only you’ll have to translate for me—you know how bad my Spanish is.”

  Frankie laughed. “As if I could forget! Do you think we would ever have gotten to be such good friends if Mr. Gonzalez hadn’t paired us up in tenth grade Spanish Class?”

  “I like to think so,” Lacy said comfortably, taking another sip of latte—none of which would settle on her slender figure or perfect little butt, Frankie was sure. “We’re kindred spirits, after all.”

  Frankie shivered. “Hey, don’t say the K word, all right? You know that since my divorce from Carlos is final I have to go register for the draft.”

  “I’m surprised they reinstated it after all the trouble we had with them a while back,” Lacy remarked. “But don’t worry, Frankie—you know the chances of getting called as a bride are super slim. I'm registered too and I'm still here. Neither one of us is going to end up on the Mother Ship.”

  “We'd better not,” said Frankie darkly. “My abuela would have another fainting spell if she knew I was having dinner with Professor Ramlow and he’s just white and Protestant. If I ended up with one of those freaking huge alien Kindred who aren’t even human, she’d probably have a heart attack.”

  “All the more reason to keep it from her. And speaking of the sexy professor, you are going to go down to that new salon, Wax Me Beautiful, we were talking about, and get yourself looking all smooth and gorgeous in case the night gets amorous.”

  “I can’t afford that,” Frankie protested. “And even if I could, nothing is going to happen. Just because I had the nerve to get a divorce doesn’t mean I can shake a lifetime of being a good Catholic girl all at once.”

  “Yes, you can,” Lacy protested. “You haven’t gone on a single date since you got away from that jerk, Carlos. It’s high time you got some good nookie.”

  “I’m not going to—” Frankie began.

  “Well, just go get waxed anyway, just in case you change your mind.” Lacy finished her latte and pointed her dripping straw at Frankie. “Do it, Frankie—you’ll feel like a whole new woman, I promise. And you can take my appointment—it’s already paid for and you can just pretend to be me.”

  “I can’t do that,” Frankie protested. “I can’t let you buy me such an expensive gift.”

  Lacy waved her protests away. “Oh please, I got it on Groupon so it was way cheaper than it would normally be. Besides, I was just getting it done because I was hoping Doctor Sloan would ask me out.” She sighed. “He didn’t though and the weekend is officially upon us. So you might as well take the appointment—you’ll get more use out of it than I would.”

  “He’ll ask you out next weekend,” Frankie said, squeezing her friend’s arm soothingly. “And if he doesn’t, he’s just an idiot who can’t see how gorgeous you are.” She finished her own drink. “And now I need to get going. I’ve only got one more hour left on my shift and then I’m out of here.

  “Good for you—some of us are working a double” Lacy sighed. “Maybe I should go back with you to VS and see if I can find some sexy underwear to cheer myself up before my dinner break is over. You should get some too, you know. To go with your new wax job.”

  “I’m not getting waxed there,” Frankie protested. “It hurts too much! I’d rather shave.”

  “Shaving doesn’t get you nearly as smooth,” Lacy informed her. “And the waxing might hurt but it only takes a second. You have no idea how sexy you can feel until you have a fresh Brazilian and a new pair of naughty panties to go with it.”

  “I’ll consider it,” Frankie promised, sliding off her stool and pitching her plastic cup in the trash. “But for now, I really do have to get back. I just hope Mrs. Hofstadter isn’t going to show up at the end of my shift and want to talk my ear off.”

  “Is that the one into all the super kinky BDSM?” Lacy asked with interest.

  Frankie nodded and shivered.

  “I swear the things she tells me she and her hubby get up to—yuck!”

  Lacy smothered a smile. “Hey, give her a break! Personally, I’m inspired by her. I think it’s amazing that a woman in her seventies is still getting busy.”

  “I have no problem with her getting busy,” Frankie said. “I just don’t want to have to hear all the dirty—and I do mean dirty—details. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to hear them if she was twenty-five. It’s just too much information.”

  “Well just think, you’ll be out of there soon. TA-ing for the sexy professor and teaching yoga like nobody’s business. You’re going to be amazing.”

  “What I’m going to be is tired.” Frankie yawned. It had been a long day and she would be glad to get home and take a hot bubble bath before crawling into bed.

  Lacy yawned too. “Me too. You know, I think I’ll just head back to UCH, hon. I need to conserve my strength if I’m going to get through the second half of this double.”

  “Okay—talk soon,” Frankie said, giving her a hug.

  “All right and I’ll text you the details for that waxing appointment.” Lacy hugged her back. “And you better go. Believe me, you’ll be thanking me later when you want to get busy with the sexy professor.”

  Frankie laughed and shook her head. “All right, all right. I’ll tell you all about the date tomorrow night after he goes.”

  “Unless he stays the night.” Lacy waggled her perfectly shaped eyebrows expressively, making Frankie laugh again.

  “Yeah, right—whatever. Never gonna happen. I’m not letting any man stay the night at my place.”

  “You might be surprised,” Lacy said mysteriously as she left.

  Frankie waved her friend’s words away and went back to her job. Luckily Mrs. Hofstadter didn’t make her usual appearance and so Frankie was able to get through the store closing routine fairly quickly. At the end of the night, before the registers closed, she even picked out a nice bra and panty set—a black lace one that minimized her butt—well, as much as it could be minimized—and a sexy bra to match. Lacy was right—who knew what might happen? She might end up with a man staying the night at her place after all…

  The ride home wasn’t too long and Frankie was able to get her bubble bath and climb into bed in fairly short order. Which was perfect—she needed a good night’s sleep because she had a very busy weekend planned. Between the waxing appointment, her yoga final exam, her “date” with Professor Ramlow and the weekly family dinner where Carlos was sure to put in an appearance, she was going to be running from sunup ‘til sundown all day Saturday and Sunday.

  That’s all right though, she told herself comfortingly as she snuggled down into her worn but clean cotton sheets. I can handle this. I’m ready for anything…

  Or so she thought. But then she started to dream…

  Chapter Two

  It was such a vivid dream Frankie almost thought it must be real. But how