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Physical
Let's get physical, physical
Let's get animal, animal
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So, after a very long and arduous journey, I had dropped Isaac off at the office of his decorator and had somehow gotten to the hospital without killing either Taylor or Zac. Seriously, if I’d had to be in the car with them for 5 more minutes, I was going to kill one of them. At one point in time, I was even wondering why I thought I wanted to be a part of this family. But, once we’d parked and Taylor and Zac had laboriously unfolded themselves from the backseat, everything seemed to smooth back out. I shivered as the ever-present breeze wrapped itself around my bare legs and Taylor had enfolded me inside his enormous leather jacket, his arms wrapped protectively around me. I wanted the walk from my car to the clinic to last a little bit longer. I loved the smell of Taylor wrapped around me, his warm breath soft on my ear, his still damp hair hanging against my neck.
“Okay, you two…” Zac said holding the door open for us. “That is just about enough of that crap. We are in public and the carload of teenies had followed us all the way from Bixby. Which is a serious feat considering Cleo was practicing her technique for NASCAR.” I turned and noticed that indeed the car loaded with squealing teenage girls was slowing cruising the parking lot. “Maybe we should just go and pose for some pictures and get it over with. Or they’ll still be waiting for us when I get done.”
“Okay.” Taylor said turning with me still in his arms and walking out into the driveway. The carload of girls pulled up next to us, the window slowly rolled down. “Hey guys!”
“Hey, what’s up?” Zac said leaning against the car. They were rewarded by a bunch of high-pitched squeals. “What can we do for you?”
“Umm…” The girl in the passenger seat stammered. “Can we get your picture and an autograph?”
“Sure!” Zac said stepping over next to Taylor. The girl lifted the camera up and focused on the three of us.
“Umm, do you think I could get a picture just Taylor and Zac?” The girl asked as she stepped out of her car.
I started to unwrap myself from Taylor, but he continued to hold me tightly in his arms. “I’m sorry, but Cleo is freezing, so I can’t ask her to get out of my coat.” Taylor said his breath was warm and smelled of coffee and Colgate. I blushed a deep and furious red, a pleased smile painting itself onto my face.
“Umm, okay.” The girl said disappointment in her voice.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea.” Taylor said his arms tightening around me even more. “Why don’t all of you get out of the car and we’ll have that guy take our picture.” Taylor said as a random guy headed toward us.
“Okay,” the driver said jumping out of her seat. Soon, the six girls from the car were clumped around Zac, Tay and I with Edgar taking pictures of us. Taylor signed about 20 Hanson CD’s, using my chest as a table. Once they were satisfied with their new acquisitions, the girls climbed back into their car. With a final wave, they pulled out of the parking lot.
“Are you ready for this?” Zac asked as he pushed the door open. “Wayne is a serious hard ass, seriously into giving the pain.”
“I am so excited to learn how to hurt you and have it all be totally legal.” I said as Taylor unwrapped himself from around me.
“You know, I always knew you were a sick puppy.” Zac said as he walked up to the front counter and signed in.
Taylor and I sat in adjoining chairs. He reached down and pulled my legs up into his lap, he softly rubbed my legs. Taylor leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my ear, his breath was warm in my hair, against my neck. He leaned in close and whispered, “Cleo, you really, really need to shave your legs.”
“What?” I asked leaning back.
“You’re gonna shave your legs before tonight, right?” Taylor said as Zac flopped down into the chair beside me.
“I cannot believe you just said that to me.” I said pulling my legs off his lap.
“Well, when your legs are all prickly, it isn’t very sexy.”
“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem, since you aren’t gonna be getting anywhere close to me tonight.” I said crossing my arms across my chest.
“What did I do this time?” Taylor asked a look of confusion spreading itself across his face.
“If you have to ask…” I said pushing away from him and his impossibly long arms. Soon, I was leaning so far away from him I was practically sitting in Zac’s lap.
“My hell!” Zac exclaimed pushing me back towards Taylor. As soon as I was close enough, Taylor had me enveloped in a serious hug again. “Is everything a wrestling match with you two?”
“Zac are you squeamish?” Taylor asked through the curtain of my hair.
“No, but your very public displays of affection are just gross.” Zac said rolling his eyes as he slid farther down into his chair. “I mean, hold hands, hell, even kiss… But this constant groping and molesting? It’s just disgusting!”
“Zac, you’re a little green from this angle.” Taylor said sliding his hand possessively over my arms. “And really, your jealous side isn’t very attractive… Then again, which one is your attractive side?”
Zac didn’t say anything. He just grabbed himself with one hand and flipped Taylor off with the other. “Very classy Hanson.” A voice said from the doorway.
“Augh!” Zac yelled and leaped into my lap, a look of sheer terror painting itself on his face.
“Damn it Zac!!” I yelled pushing off of me. He landed on the floor at my feet in a heap; he quickly wrapped his arms around one of my legs. “What is your problem?”
“Its… It’s her!” Zac said pointing at the beautiful young woman standing in the doorway. She was amazing, kind of like Cassandra Beauregard from Dallas, Texas. She was tall and had a serious body. Her arms and legs were obviously strong and roped with muscles, but she wasn’t a stick. She had curves that seemed to go all the way down her extremely long legs. She had red hair, but not Emory red. She had the type of red where everyone knows it isn’t real, but it looks very cool. But the most arresting part of her was her eyes. She had the most enormous blue eyes. And I mean blue. Taylor’s eyes are blue, but they have a lot of gray in them. Hers were blue, a perfect robin’s egg blue. “Cleo, she’s evil, all the patients call her the hag.”
“And as a bonus, you are oh-so-charming.” She said resting a hand with impossibly long fingers on one of her hips. Her lips curled up in a sneer. “Are you coming?”
“Where’s Wayne?” Zac demanded not moving to pull himself up off the floor.
“Wayne’s sick.” She said matter-of-factly. “So, that leaves me to deal with the spoiled, lazy, little rock star.
Taylor snorted with escaping laughter. “I like this girl.”
“Fine, you go to therapy.” Zac said finally dragging himself to his feel. “I think I’ll just wait out in the car for you two.”
“What’s the matter Hanson? Afraid of a little hard work?” She asked leaning against the doorframe. “Dang, is he always such a whiner? If so, how do you guys ever get anything done?”
“Now, you see why Isaac calls the Diva Tay and Prima Donna Zac?” I said standing up and shoving him from behind. “Get moving little boy…”
“Cleo, you don’t understand...” Zac whined. “She is scary, you’ll see.”
“Does Ike really call us that?” Taylor asked following us down the hallway.
“Yes and on many occasions, I agree with him.” I said shaking Taylor’s hands off my shoulders.
“What?” Zac demanded walking backwards down the hallway watching Tay and I closely.
“When?” Taylor said falling in step with me, threading his long fingers through mine.
“Okay, was I the only one in the car?” I asked stopping short. I eyed both of them in disbelief. Soon, they both began to hum and haw. Zac compulsively dragged his hands through his hair, while Taylor shifted from foot to foot his hand buried deep in his pockets. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“Hanson!” The therapist said sternly. I almost laughed out loud when Zac visibly flinched. “While we’re young.”
“You know, I do have a name.” He said walking into what looked like a torture chamber of sorts. “My name is Zachary! Say it with me: Zac-ah-ree…”
“Okay Hanson, on the bike.” She said pushing a monitor over next to a stationary bike. Zac gave her a look of death. He climbed on the bike and pulled up his shirt showing just how skinny he was and the little patch of hair growing there. She quickly stuck a bunch of monitors onto his chest, making sure at least two were stuck in hair. “Give me your finger.” Zac obligingly stuck his middle finger up in the air; she fitted the monitor over the end of his finger. “Hanson, it’s a wonder you’re still single.”
“Okay, for the 400th time, my name is Zac.”
“Sure thing Hanson.” She said turning and adjusting the monitors. “Okay, now I need you to go about 15 miles maintaining a spin of 60 mph, that should take you just a little longer than 20 minutes.”
“You’re kidding right?” He said his mouth hanging open, his eyes wide with surprise.
“No, not at all.” She said going over his chart. “You should be this far by now, Wayne is way too easy on you, Hanson.”
“Okay, I know that’s my last name, but it’s also the name of my band.” Zac said his voice filled with exasperation. “So, every time you call me Hanson, I think I need to go and sit behind my drums or that I need to find a hiding place from the teenies. So please, for the love of God, call me Zac.”
“Sure thing, Hanson.” She said noting something in his chart, an evil smile stealing over her lips.
“See, I told you she was evil.” Zac said shaking his head.
“Zac, you’re just too sensitive.” Taylor said trying to hide his laughter but really, he wasn’t doing that great of a job. I mean, of all the things my baby may be, an actor isn’t one of them.
“While he mewls and whines on the bike, we need to go over a few things.” The therapist said stepping over to me. “My name is Jessica Love, by the way.”
“I’m Cleo.” I said accepting her outstretched hand.
“Ah yes, the famous Cleo.” She said leading me over to a desk. As she sat down the bike began to give off terrific beeps. “Hanson, you need to stay above 60 or the bike is going to…”
“Explode? Like in Speed?” Taylor asked hopefully.
“Good idea, I’ll have to see if I can rig something up.” She said absently. “Unfortunately, I have no explosives. But if you go under 60, the bike will get harder to pedal, cause you’ve gone below the set tension.”
“Bite me.” Zac huffed as he tried to get the bike back above a spin of 60. I then spent the next few minutes going over the information in Zac’s chart. She showed me the progress he had made and where he was headed. She showed me how to use the portable monitor and what his target heart rate is and what the oxygen saturation should be. She had made a chart with all of the information on it and had drawn some diagrams of the exercises he would need to do each day while we were in Los Angeles.
“Yo, hag…” Zac panted. “I’m at 15 miles.”
“Zac, be nice.” I said walking over to Zac. He was sweaty with bright red cheeks. He looked like he had just played the drums of 3 hours. “She has a name, it’s Jessica Love.”
“Your last name is Love?” Zac asked as she checked the monitors and went through over the readout that was printing.
“Yes, as a matter of fact it is.” She said absently.
“That isn’t just a stage name…” Zac said his voice trailing off. “I mean, Jessie Love? It sounds like… Are you a stripper or maybe a porn star?”
“Um, no.” She said taking the monitor off his finger.
“Love, love, love…” Zac said breaking into the chorus of a Beatles song. He lifted his shirt when she started pulling on the cords. She reached up and pulled both of the pads stuck in his hair off in one quick movement. “Ow! That really hurts.”
“Not nearly as much as your singing hurts me.” She said smiling sweetly.
Zac climbed off the bike and shook his legs out. “Oh man… My legs feel like Jell-O.”
“You are never gonna get better or stronger if you don’t push yourself.” She explained as he followed her into a room with a bunch of weight sets. “I’m just trying to help you to make your life easier.”
“Yeah, you’re a veritable holiday.” He said breathing heavily as he sat at a weight machine. “In fact, I’d call you a luxury cruise… THE LOVEBOAT, SOON WILL BE MAKING ANOTHER RUN…”
“My heavens, do you even need a mic on stage?” Jessica asked.
“No Loveboat, I do not…” Zac grunted with the effort of moving the considerable weight.
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