The Very Best of Friends

"There two currently hold the same amount of calories," he reached over the bench and took a small knife from the block and quartered a lime squeezing one of the pieces into the vodka and dropping it in. Then he added a small splash of wine to the other glass. "Still the same." He looked at them both the filled the vodka lime mixture with soda water and presented the two glasses. "The kicker is that this one," he said picking up the vodka drink and taking a sip, "has no carbs while this," he passed the small glass of wine to Melanie, "does."

"I'll have what you're having I guess," Joanna said thinking about it. She knew beer had a lot of calories, but she'd never considered wine or spirits as being fattening on any level, other than the sugar of the mixes she usually used with spirits.

"More wine for me," Melanie topped up her glass and took a sip putting the bottle into the refrigerator while Matt made Joanna a vodka lime and soda.

"Everything in moderation," he said in response. "You just need to be informed and make smart choices. Then you don't have to give up anything you like."

"This wine was a smart choice, Melanie laughed. "Thank you, it's wonderful."

"You're welcome," he said with a smile. "Dinner smells good, what are we having?"

"Go sit at the table and I'll start with the entrée," Melanie said. Joanna was enjoying not having to cook this week and happily went to sit at the table.

Throughout the three-course meal that Melanie provided they talked about his philosophy of everything in moderation and making smart choices. He admitted that Melanie obviously had a handle on this aside from the amount of wine she drank. Joanna asked more about good fats versus bad fats. She knew the basic stuff like more vegetables and less meat and carbs, but it was good to be able to ask whether some of the things she had heard and read were true and get that solid feedback on what she thought was right.

Matt surprised Joanna by offering to help clean up the kitchen before sitting down with the two of them to look at a diet plan and some other tips and tricks he had to help move things along a bit faster.

"Do you do a lot of cooking? Or do you have housemates that tend to do it?" Joanna asked knowing that he was single but not knowing if he lived alone.

"I'm not sure I would describe my Nana as a housemate but she likes to cook, so I don't deprive her of that on the nights I am home," he chuckled.

"Oh I didn't realise you lived with your Nana," Joanna said taken aback.

"I moved back home after my Granddad died. Just to help her out. My mum was never around much, so they raised me, and I feel I owe them you know?" He asked.

"She must like having a strong young man around the house to help out with the yard and things," Joanna mused thinking there was more to Matt than she realised.

"Yeah all her friends at her card clubs are jealous that she lives with a man young enough to be her grandson," he winked. "She seems to omit the point that I am in fact her grandson a bit too often from her conversations there." He laughed.

"She sounds like a fun lady to live with," Joanna laughed with him.

"She's great. You wouldn't know she was in her seventies. She tells me she still feels my age and aside of a little arthritis she's fit as a fiddle," he said proudly showing his deep affection for the woman. "She's a bit of a fan of Melanie's do you think Mel would mind meeting her one day?"

"I'm right here," Melanie said from the dining room. "This place is too small to have conversations you don't want to be overheard. I'd love to meet her. I'm not sure what my schedules like for next week yet but this week I'm free. We could do lunch or something."

"That'd be awesome. She plays cards Fridays so what about Thursday?" he asked.

"Sure she can take a few selfies to show the ladies she plays cards with. That should give her something to talk about other than the hot young guy she lives with." Melanie laughed merrily. "Just tell her not to tell anyone until after the lunch I'm a little media shy at the moment."

"I won't even tell her you're coming. We can leave it as a surprise. Then you don't have to worry," Matt suggested.

"Thanks, I know it's a bit of a prima donna move but the media can be a bit feral at times," she took another sip of her wine.

"Between the amount movie success and television roles you've had I'm surprised you keep as much anonymity as you do," he said genuinely impressed that she had managed not to be caught up in the celebrity hype that followed most stars.

"Oh I've been caught up in it and been caught out by it on many occasions," she admitted ruefully. Joanna has always been my port in the storms. She's always had an open door and open heart no matter what was going on with me. Even that idiot ex-husband of hers was protective of my privacy when I needed it."

"It's nice to have friends," Matt agreed coming back to the table. He took the books out of his backpack and the went to work on creating a plan that both women could work with. It was more of a flexible document that highlighted the better options and had a list of food that should be avoided over the next few months leading up to the wedding.

Content that this was not a strict diet regime Joanna readily agreed to all he suggested and lamented that Melanie wasn't going to be staying with her next week to help her stay on track and cook for her.

"I like going to the farmers market on Sunday mornings to stock up on a few things, do you want to come along?" Matt asked both of the women but looked at Joanna as he said it. "They have some great snack alternatives that taste as good as anything in our no go list."

"Sure that might be fun, I haven't been to the farmers market for ages," Joanna answered assuming Melanie would just come along if she went.

"Pick me up something totally yummy but just don't tell me it's made out of brussel sprouts or something disgusting until after I've eaten it," Melanie grimaced.

"You're not coming along?" Matt asked.

"I have a date," Melanie said as if it was a strange occurrence and they both looked at her. "It may or may not be with my agent, but it's still a date." Truthfully, Melanie wasn't sure she wanted to be part of their date, but she wanted Joanna to be happy and if Matt made her happy she wasn't going to stand in their way.

"Looks like we do too," Matt said with an easy smile at Joanna, who wasn't sure how she felt about spending time with him alone now. "It was so much easier with Melanie around to stop her from being a silly old woman and making eyes at this nice young man.

"I guess we do," she said. Watching him pack up his books and get to his feet.

"I'll see you ladies' tomorrow afternoon," he said, and Joanna immediately got up to walk him to the door.

"Thanks for coming over, it was fun which was surprising considering what we were talking about," she gave a nervous laugh, thinking about the last time he had left her house.

"It's been great, we should hang out more often," he said easily turning to face her and seeing her smile. "You really do have an amazing smile," he said resisting the urge to kiss her again and turning back towards his car as he left.

*****

Joanna and Brittney left work a little early on Thursday afternoon intending on taking advantage of the late night trading at the local mall. Brittney had decided that the first thing they needed to do was to have Joanna sized properly for everything. So they went back to the intimate apparel shop where the sales assistant had offered her a free bra fitting.

After not shopping for herself properly for years Joanna had convinced herself that it was okay to splurge a little. Melanie had said she should spend at least a thousand on underwear and some new work clothes, and though that wouldn't get her much, it would be a start. Horrified Joanna had dusted off her credit card and decided to embrace the change even though she cringed at the expense. She had been a little jealous of Melanie spending time alone with Matt today, and half wished she could be as glamorous and confident as her friend. Or even Carla for that matter. Carla had no problem going after Matt and making him know she was interested in more exercise than the boot camp offered alone.

He was polite and nice to her as he was with all of the women who did the boot camp but she didn't think he returned her interest. Or at least she hoped he didn't. She realised she had a bit of a crush on their personal trainer and was looking forward to seeing him on the weekend. So, she knew she needed this shopping trip to help her look less like his mother when they met on Sunday.

Joanna let Brittney suggest and guide her into shops that she would never have walked into on her own. She indulged Brittney's sense of style which was in her opinion way too young for her and with the help of shop assistance eventually found a middle road that she was comfortable with. By the time they left the mall she was weighed down with packages and had spent way more than Melanie's prediction.

It had been fun as Brittney had told her it would be, and she had laughed almost all night. In the car on the way home, however, she considered if she was a silly old woman with an infatuation and inwardly cringed at some of the things she had let Brittney convince her to try on. She was doing this whole fitness thing with the sole purpose of managing to be comfortable during one day of nudity. Not even a whole day just a few hours. What did she need a new wardrobe for?

By the time she got home and started unloading her purchases from the car, she berated herself for being swept up by the idea of a good looking guy being nice to her. She had convinced herself she was an old fool and let herself into the house walking into her bedroom and dumping the packages in disgust before heading to the living area at the back of the bungalow to see Melanie.

"I don't know how I let myself get talked into these things, this is all just silly," she said walking up the hall and stopping in her tracks as she realised Matt and another woman sat in her living room with Melanie.

"Oh I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I didn't realise anyone else was here. Hello," she approached the other woman. "I'm Joanna nice to meet you."

"Edith, but you can call me Edie. Nice to meet you too, Joanna," she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I had to cancel lunch, so I took Matt and Edie out to dinner," Melanie said and gave her a sly smile. "Which you were invited to as well by the way."

"You knew that I was going out with Brittney tonight," Joanna defended herself. "I sent a text to you explaining," she looked at Matt apologetically even though she spoke to Melanie.

"I wasn't complaining." He reassured her.

"He so was complaining, wasn't he Edie," Melanie asked the woman.

"I wouldn't say complaining exactly. He might have mentioned that he missed seeing you there tonight," she answered delicately making him give her a frown.

"I'm assuming Melanie didn't drive tonight, and you made sure she got home safely?" She asked and laughed lightly surprised at how good Edie's words made her feel.

"I'm perfectly fine," Melanie said rolling her eyes. "I invited them back for dessert. Edie wanted to meet the woman we were talking about over dinner."

"I think what you are doing is wonderful. I would hate to miss Mattie's wedding if he ever decides to settle down but I don't know that I could be as brave as you if he asked me to do it nude," she said.

"I'm still not entirely sure I can do it," Joanna said not sure that she was happy to be talked about when she wasn't there to defend herself. "He said I didn't have to and that we could have our own celebration after it, here in the city, if I didn't make it to the island. He wouldn't ever pressure me to do anything I'm uncomfortable with." She defended her son.

"He sounds like a good kid. My kids put me through hell but Mattie makes up for all those years. He's good to his Nan," she smiled lovingly at him.

"She makes it pretty easy. I don't have to do much but show up now and then and ask her how she is," he chuckled.

"Well it's been a long day, how about a few more selfies before we head off," Edith asked handing over her phone to Matt and standing up. Joanna was pulled into the photos and in the end found herself standing beside Matt and Edith as Melanie took the photo which seemed so odd as Melanie was the celebrity Edith had come to see. They left shortly after that and Joanna poured herself a glass of wine.

"That was the last thing I expected," Joanna said to Melanie after they had gone.

"Yeah but he kept bring up your name over dinner and Edie was intrigued and wanted to meet you," Melanie shrugged. "She suggested coming over here for dessert, not me. What was I supposed to say?"

"You could have texted me," Joanna sighed.

"And you could have checked your phone and found that I did! Why are you so weird about this?" Melanie asked. She knew, though; she had banked on the fact that Joanna would be weirded out by meeting Matt's mother figure.

"I'm not weird, the whole night was weird," Joanna said testily and walked back to her room planning on putting away her purchases before Melanie decided to go through them.

"You want to know what I think?" Melanie asked in a know-it-all tone.

"Do I have a choice?" Joanna snapped back.

"I think you both have the hots for each other and would be doing us all a big favour if you just admitted it and slept together to get it out of your systems," she said angrily. She didn't begrudge her friend some fun, but she knew that Joanna was not the type to have a quick fling, and she worried about losing the closeness they enjoyed. She stalked down to Joanna room and stopped in the doorway. "Holy shit!" She exclaimed looking at the amount of shopping bags and parcels on Joanna's bed.

"I'm a stupid old woman with a school girl crush on a man half my age," Joanna admitted sadly. "I can't believe how stupid I've become. I mean look at all this stuff!"

"You are not old, and you are not stupid," Melanie went to her and hugged her tightly enjoying the softness of the embrace. "This she spread her arm indicating the bed was long overdue, and I can't wait to see what Brittney talked you into buying. It's just like Christmas only better!"

"Better?" Joanna asked with a confused frown.

"Sure I get to help you unwrap all this stuff, and I didn't have to spend a cent." She laughed and picked up a bag from Urban Rebel. "I just have to see what's in here! Maybe even get you to model it for me?" she lifted an eyebrow.

"Don't get your hopes up too much I made compromises with Brittney. I didn't just go along with everything she suggested," Joanna laughed as they began to unpack her shopping.

"You know he's not nearly as young and sweet as he seems," Melanie said tentatively now that they had cleared the tension of Matt and Edie's visit. "People are pretty accepting of all types of relationships these days once again quashing her confused feelings after hearing her friend's confession about her crush.

"He's a young guy who is going to want his own family one day," Joanna said as if that explained everything.

"Not everyone wants kids, look at me. I don't regret the decision not to go down that road," Melanie shrugged.

"It's different for men I think, you know the whole son and heir thing," she said quietly.

"You don't know that for sure, and I am pretty sure the crush is reciprocated. He brought you up a lot in conversation tonight," Melanie teased.

"Probably because I'm someone you have in common. The only thing you have in common," she laughed.

"It's been a long time since you let anyone into your life. Maybe it's time. Not for a full on relationship but if it's only a fling it could be a lot of fun," Melanie gave her a sly look and grinned as she saw Joanna think about it before throwing a pillow at her. Melanie realised that despite her own feelings, she needed to step back and let her friend see where this might go. "How long could it last anyway?" She asked herself.

*****

On Friday, Joanna was stunned by how many positive comments she got on her new outfit. Brittney had decided the next change would be her hair and had already begun to come through celebrity gossip magazines in search of the perfect hair style for Joanna. She had decided that if they did the cut during week two that maybe by week six they could do something funky with the colour.

Joanna arrived at the Friday afternoon boot camp relaxed and in a good mood after a nice day at work. As always Matt was totally professional, and Joanna decided Melanie had rocks in her head if she thought he saw her as anything other than a client. Disappointed that he hadn't shown her any special attention she was one of the first to walk back to her car after the session and she drove home once again think she had been an old fool.

Melanie had decided to go back to her place tonight after the boot camp and do a bit of cleaning over the weekend and prepare to re-engage with her agent and show biz friends next week. Joanna thought she might have had a date that she didn't want to talk about so just accepted what she had said at face value and didn't ask any questions.

The house was dark and empty when Joanna arrived home. She showered and got into her old comfy pyjamas then went to the kitchen looking for food. Her phone buzzed on the counter top where it sat on charge, and she looked at it.

"Forgot to mention I wouldn't be at boot camp tomorrow. Have a great weekend and enjoy the markets on Sunday. Mel xxx," she read with a smile. She was certain now that something was going on with Melanie. She sent the answering X's and O's back to her friend and opened the second message that showed as unread.

"Hi, wanted to talk to you after boot camp but you left so quickly I didn't get a chance. Hope to see you there tomorrow. Matt." She read wondering why he wanted to talk to her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go tomorrow without Melanie and she put the phone back down without replying to his message.

She'd been so good during the week that she decided to be a little naughty and forgo a proper dinner in favour of a glass of wine and a cheese and pate plate. She added a few cherry tomatoes and a small bunch of grapes to the plate to make herself feel better about the fat content and took it into the living room. She had just started a DVD and was getting comfortable when her phone rang. She contemplated not answering it but after not answering her phone last weekend she didn't want to miss a call from Justin if he happened to try again this weekend.

"Hello?" she answered quickly without checking the number.

"Hey," Matt's voice sounded in her ear. "I wasn't sure if you got my text so I thought I'd call, did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, I was just about to watch a movie," she looked guiltily over at her plate of treats and the full wine glass. "You said you wanted to talk to me after boot camp? I'm sorry I rushed off I didn't realise. With so many there tonight you seemed too busy to chat, so I left you to it. It's not like we have to wait long to see each other again." She gave a half laugh that sounded totally false even to her ears.

"I wanted to make sure you weren't upset that Edie and I were there when you got home last night. I also thought you might want to do a baseline check in after the first week to see if all this work has made any difference," he said in a rush as if not wanting the answer to the first question.

"That would have been good but to tell you the truth I am already in my jammies and I'm being a bit naughty with dinner which you probably shouldn't know about," she admitted. "I was just having an end of week treat while I watched a movie now that I have the house to myself."