"Hey," I said, "is this really necessary?"Katya looked back at me with determination. "Daphne," she said, "the kitchen is the hardest gym of all. Here...it is too easy to go wrong. Too easy to slip back. Too much junk here." She picked out a pack of burgers from the freezer and tossed it onto the pile. "You cannot run on junk. Cannot train with rubbish in your body."I found her a plastic bin liner. She carried on scooping things out of the cupboard and into the bag. I hadn't thought I had that. The only reason Manatee Bay High School is clothing-optional rather than clothes-free is because of Manatee Bay's 'nudity' by-law. Full nudity is permitted everywhere in the county for children up to the age of 18 but forbidden for adults. About half the students in grade 12 are 18.When I was elected city councillor four years ago, one of the first things I did was have that by-law amended or rather, clarified; now, anywhere a man may be top-free, the law clearly states that a woman may also. I. I take in her legs next, creamy-white and a stark contrast to the dress. She has them crossed and I follow their slender lines to where they disappear below her calf into dark-maroon Dr. Marten boots. It comes as no surprise that she is already chatting with a flirtatious gent trying his hardest to win her favor. I take a deep breath and make my way to her.“Is this guy giving you trouble, babygirl?” Tracing my fingers down her spine, I press into the bar pinning her between me and dude. He. The jet black sky had lightened vaguely with the first gray intimations of daybreak. There was no traffic on the streets, no sound in the predawn stillness -- just myself, groaning and huffing under the onus of the fully loaded front basket and the three bulging canvas bags whose combined size was almost three times my own.Halfway up the hill, the burning in my thighs told me I had no choice but to dismount and walk the load to the crest of the upgrade. Cursing under my hot breath, I stopped my.