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and her chair into the warm place where she was totally surrounded by his presence. “You don’t have to do anything. . . .”
    â€œI’m not saying no,” she repeated.
    â€œYeah. But you’re second guessing yourself,” he said, brushing a stray hair off her cheek. “That kind of thinking is for the cookie-cutter people, the ones who inspect every opportunity while feeling too terrified to ever actually act.”
    Heather sighed, running her fingers along the highly toned bicep that was draped across her chest. “You’re making it all sound so tempting,” she said. “I just want to think it over some more. Is that all right?” She looked up, meeting his eyes and hoping not to see that awful disappointment again.
    He sighed, too. It wasn’t quite disappointment. Maybe more like hope. “I wish you’d do it,” he said. “I want the best for you. I want everyone to see what I see in you.”
    With that, he locked lips with her, and Heather felt like she was drinking turbocharged Gatorade .
    â€œI’ll keep taking these,” she promised, opening her bag so he could see the prescription bottle. “That way I’ll be ready at a moment’s notice when it’s time to do it. All right?”
    â€œThat’s totally cool,” Josh said. “Think it over. I know you’ll make the right decision, whatever it is.”
    Heather relaxed and nestled into his muscular warmth. As she sat breathing in his musky scent, her mind wandered into a reverie: Her and Gaia facing off, Gaia focused and determined until Heather began fighting back with amazing speed. Then she saw Gaia’s face fall apart like a puzzle, confused and startled by Heather’s new grace, speed, and bravery. Heather finished her off with a kick to the gut, and Gaia fell. In her daydream Heather turned to see Josh, who nodded, took her by the hand, and drew her in for a passionate smooch. Heather shivered as a delicious thrill ran through her.
    â€œCold?” Josh asked, rubbing her arm.
    â€œStone-cold,” Heather answered with a grin.

Maxim-Level Hotness

    ED LAY ON HIS BACK ON A TABLE, his legs pumping at a beeping machine. He was trying to concentrate on making his legs work on the weird StairMaster thing, but mostly he was trying to ignore the fact that a woman with the body of a Playboy Playmate was kneading the muscles of his thighs. This was like the beginning of a really bad late night Showtime movie.
    â€œSo, uh. . . where’s Brian again?”
    â€œHe’s out in San Francisco for the next few weeks,” said Lydia, his substitute physical therapist. “Taking an advanced seminar in dynamic massage. You’re stuck with me today.”
    Stuck? Lydia was hot. Which in any other setting would be a fine way for Ed to take his mind off his confusion over Gaia and Tatiana. But in this case, it was cause for distraction. Ed tried to think about baseball.
    â€œFeel the burn?” Lydia asked.
    â€œSheee-yeah,” Ed grumbled.
    â€œAll right. We have to talk.” Thankfully, Lydia took her hand off Ed’s upper leg and crossed her arms. She glared at Ed, and he wondered if his overactive hormones were somehow showing. Hey, I’m just a healthy, red-blooded American, he thought.
    â€œDo you want to tell me why you’re still on those crutches when you clearly don’t need them anymore?”
    What?
    â€œUh, hello, Earth to medical professional,” Ed said, rolling his eyes. “I was in a massive skateboarding accident? Big hill, no brakes, Ed meets gravel? Two years in a wheelchair? Is any of this ringing a bell?”
    Lydia laughed and turned to face him. “Yeah. But that’s all in the past now. You’ve progressed a lot further than you’re willing to admit, but you won’t take that first step.”
    Ed stared at her, flabbergasted.
    â€œI see this a lot,” Lydia said. “The