Spring Secrets - Allie Boniface Page 0,28
turned to her friend without another word to Sienna. “Pol, you’re not even listening to me.”
“Yes, I am.” Polly typed something, bit her lip, typed again. The ding of a return message turned her cheeks red.
“Don’t say that,” Harmony said, reading over Polly’s shoulder. “He’ll get the wrong idea.”
He who? Sienna was dying to ask.
“No, he won’t. And how do you know, anyway?” Polly finger-combed her hair from her face and typed something else.
“Everything okay?” Sienna asked, though clearly it wasn’t.
“It’s fine.” Harmony reached out and snatched Polly’s phone away. “Stop texting him,” she said in a low voice.
“Guy troubles?” Sienna asked, more to make conversation than anything else. Dash’s phone was burning a hole in her pocket. If Harmony knew I had it, she’d probably wrestle me to the ground for it.
“I’m trying to convince Polly to spend her time with a guy who makes a decent salary,” Harmony said. “Not someone who’s barely making ends meet.”
Polly flushed.
“A decent salary is nice,” Sienna agreed, “but it’s not everything. Besides, wouldn’t you want to make your own money? So you don’t have to rely on a guy to take care of you?”
They both looked at her with surprise. “I want a guy to take care of me,” Polly said. “I don’t want to have to worry about paying bills for the rest of my life. I want to have kids and take care of them.”
“Oh.” Sienna didn’t know what to say after that.
Thankfully, the principal rounded the corner at that moment. “Sienna? I’m glad I caught you. Do you have a minute?” The other two women scattered.
“Of course. What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things...”
It was almost five o’clock when Sienna finally walked into the gym. She looked around for Dash, but the place was eerily quiet. Two women walked on treadmills and a single guy lifted weights in the corner. Other than that, the place was deserted.
“Welcome to Springer Fitness.” A new, young employee greeted Sienna at the front desk. The girl looked all of sixteen with a figure that rivaled that of a lingerie model’s.
“Ah, hi.”
“Can I help you with something?” The girl studied her, as if guessing Sienna wasn’t a regular. She wore a tiny diamond stud in her nose and bright pink lipstick.
“Is Dash here?”
The girl tossed her ponytail and popped a piece of gum into her mouth. “Actually, he just left.”
“Oh.” Sienna fumbled with her purse. Somehow she didn’t feel like leaving Dash’s phone with a neophyte who looked like she’d jump into his bed at the snap of his fingers.
“Did you, like, want to leave a message or something?” The girl blew out a large pink bubble.
“No, I don’t think—”
“Hey, Sienna.” Hans came up behind her. “If you’re looking for Dash, he left early today.”
“Oh. Okay. I have his phone.”
The girl gave her a funny look.
“Oh, man,” Hans said. “That’s why he didn’t answer my messages. Just came in, worked out, and left like his house was on fire.”
“Should I leave it with you?”
Hans stuck his hands in his pockets. “You could, except then he won’t get it ‘til tomorrow.”
“Is he home? I could drop it off.” Was that a stupid suggestion? Would Dash think she was stalking him?
But Hans didn’t seem to think so. “Maybe that’d be best. I’m here until closing. And that’s not for a few more hours.”
A funny feeling slipped through Sienna, as if she might be crossing an invisible line. So far they’d only spoken at the gym, the school, and the diner. Public places. Safe places. Knocking on Dash’s front door felt like an invasion of privacy. But what were her options? Leave it here with blondie big-boobs?
“Okay, I’ll do that,” she decided. “Can you give me his address?”
Chapter Fourteen
Dash spent a long time under the hot spray of the shower, savoring the warmth and replaying Sienna’s smile. She liked it. And she was surprised. Her happiness had made Sunday’s long drive over the mountain well worth it. He lathered up, taking his time, stretching his arms and knowing his triceps would be killing him tomorrow. He’d pushed himself during the afternoon’s workout, which always felt good, but he’d pay for it later. He turned off the water in time to hear the pipes knocking.
Damn. Winter in Whispering Pines did nothing for old homes like this one. He toweled off, left his hair wet, and wrapped the towel around his waist as he hurried to the basement. Can’t let the pipes freeze. He’d