Gun Shy

by Lori L. Lake

  Jaylynn rose. Frantically she said, “Excuse me, Luella. I’ll be right back.” She crawled over Luella and into the aisle. She could hardly restrain herself from running up the section. She made it out the side exit and back to the “Pump Up Room” before it occurred to her that perhaps she was being too hasty. What if Dez didn’t want her there?

  Too bad. She couldn’t stop herself.

  She scooted around pairs of dumbbells left lying throughout the room. As she rounded the corner and headed toward the stage wings, she saw the three heavyweights being interviewed by a man with a video camera, but as she neared, they finished, and Dez stepped away. She held a baggy gray sweatshirt in her right hand and was turning it right side out. She wanted to grab Dez into a hug, but she wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Instead she gripped Dez’s glistening forearm.

  Surprised, Dez spun around. Her face softened when she saw who it was. “Hey, you.”

  Jaylynn broke into a grin. “You did good.”

  “Right.” Embarrassed, Dez looked down. “I choked.”

  Jaylynn squeezed Dez’s arm, which was warm and oily. “Just because you felt emotional doesn’t mean you choked.” She took both of Dez’s hands into her own. “I’ve got news for you, Dez. Cops do cry. Half of the police in the audience were, anyway. It was so beautiful. You were wonderful.”

  Dez gave her hands a squeeze and let go, and they looked at one another intently. Jaylynn opened her mouth to say something, but the stage director interrupted. “Hey, all of you women pairs. Some of you will be called out on stage now. They’re starting the pairs competition.”

  “Afterwards, okay?” Dez moved away, her eyes smiling though her mouth didn’t.

  Jaylynn nodded, her heart full, her eyes brimming. She didn’t wait to hear Dez and Cowboy’s names called as one of the top three pairs of couples. She knew they would be. She made her way back to her seat and sat patiently, relaxed, for the rest of the program. And she wasn’t one bit surprised when a totally composed Dez Reilly was awarded the Pairs Trophy, hugging and kissing Cowboy on the cheek, or when she won the posedown between the three weight classes to take the Overall Champion Award.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  After a final appearance on-stage by most of the bodybuilders, the All Natural Bodybuilding Championship ended, and a large share of the audience departed for a raucous, earsplitting party at Luella’s house. Carloads of people started appearing almost as soon as Dez arrived with Luella and Vanita. Cops and kids and friends and neighbors spilled out of the house and into the yard. They all showed up and waited impatiently for Dez to come downstairs after cleaning up. Party food covered the tables: pop and beer, hamburgers and potato salad, cookies and bars, and every kind of snack imaginable. Luella and Vanita worked the crowd like veteran caterers, stuffing everyone full of the tasty food.

  Luella insisted on clearing off the mantel for the trophies, which were constantly admired and fingered by the crowd. The three-foot-tall Overall Champ award was a shiny obsidian black nude, and with its sculpted broad shoulders and graceful muscles, the woman on the trophy actually resembled Dez. The two smaller gold trophies were half the height and bookended the larger one. Scores of people crowded around to look at and admire them.

  Jaylynn circulated through the house wiping up spills, clearing away discarded plates, and occasionally chatting with folks. She wanted very much to join Dez upstairs, but she restrained herself, waiting patiently like everyone else.

  When Dez finally came clattering down the back stairs and burst into Luella’s living room, a great cheer went up. She skidded to a halt, obviously surprised, as happy people circled around her, patting her on the shoulder, shaking her hand, and giving her hugs. She ran a hand through long dark hair, which was loose and still damp from her shower. She wore a pair of cutoff denim shorts and a bright yellow T-shirt. Not much of the tan had washed away, and her skin was still unusually dark. Another week or so might pass before the skin dye washed completely away. Even under the tan, clearly she was blushing. Her eyes raked through the crowd until they came to rest on Jaylynn. Jaylynn felt a crackle of electricity that made her stomach flip-flop. Dez looked away and accepted more congratulations from the horde of well-wishers.

  A grumpy voice from the crowd called out, and a big, white-haired man pushed his way through. “I just want you to know you cost me five hundred bucks, Reilly.”

  “Lieutenant Andres,” Dez said with a wry smile on her face. “You’ve been called many things, but cheap has never been one of them.” She slapped him on the arm. “By now you should know better than to bet against me, but hey, look at the bright side: it’s all going to a good cause.”

  Just then the “good causes” squeezed through the crowd. “Dez, Dez!” Jeremy called out. “That was cool. Me and Jill were so happy when you won.”

  Jill stepped shyly forward and took Dez’s hand. Dez looked down at her and said, “What did you think?”

  “Parts were awful boring, but when you were up there, it was great. And those are neat prizes.”

  “Yeah? And which one do you like best, the black or the gold trophy?”

  Jill thought a moment, but Jeremy burst right in. “The black one is so big—and you can see her chest!”

  Everyone laughed hilariously. Julie caught Dez’s eye and shook her head. “Just like his dad,” she said. “Always looking at the chest.” This drew more laughter.

  “What do you think, Jill?” Dez asked.

  “I like the gold ones a lot. The black one is awfully big.”

  Dez headed across the room, and the crowd parted to let her through. She took the two gold statues from the mantel and headed back to stand before the two kids. She handed one trophy to each. “They’re yours,” she said.

  Julie said, “Wait a minute, Dez—”

  “I won those for Jeremy and Jill. I want them to have them. I don’t need ’em.”

  “Yeah,” Luella said. “If you all went up and looked at that bare apartment of hers, you’d see why she’s giving them away. She’s totally into minimalist art—as in the art is so minimal, it isn’t even there.” Again the group laughed, and Luella went on, “There’s a ton more burgers and salad. I don’t want a bit of leftovers, so eat up.”

  Julie made her way over to Dez and guided her off to a corner to argue. Dez listened for a moment, then stepped up and enfolded Julie in a hug. Into her friend’s ear she said, “I can’t give them back their daddy, Julie. The least you could do is let me give them a couple of dumb trophies.” She pulled away a bit, still holding Julie’s shoulders. “Look at them strutting around showing them off. It makes ’em happy. So let it be, okay?”

  Wordlessly Julie nodded. She wrapped Dez in a tight hug. “Thank you. This—all of it—means a lot.”

  “I’m glad,” Dez said gruffly.

  All through the evening, Jaylynn watched and listened as the partygoers cheered Dez and laughed and sang, and generally acted like teenagers rather than the rode-hard cops most of them were. Crystal and Shayna spent part of the evening going over the “take,” and after checking their figures, they reported they’d collected over six thousand dollars. Even Dez was surprised.

  Periodically Jaylynn looked up from whatever she was doing and caught sight of those bright blue eyes watching her from over the heads of the many guests. Each time, her heartbeat took off and she got butterflies in her stomach. They both smiled a brief little smile, just for the other, and went back to what they’d been doing.

  As Jaylynn picked up some stray paper plates, she felt a touch on her arm and straightened up.

  “Hi, Jaylynn.”

  “Oh, hi.”

  “I’m Julie.” The statuesque brunette shook Jaylynn’s hand.

  “Of course.” Jaylynn smiled, squeezed the woman’s hand and let it drop.

  “Luella has told me a lot about you and about how much Dez cares about you.”

  “Luella?” Jaylynn said.

  Julie leaned in conspiratorially. “Y
eah, I get most of my good info about Dez from her. Isn’t she great?”

  Jaylynn wasn’t sure whether she was talking about Dez or Luella, but she opted for Luella. “I’ve met few people in my life quite as wonderful as Luella. She’s a sweetie.”

  “Yes, she is.” Julie beamed at Jaylynn. “And so is Dez.” In a quiet voice she said, “And I see the way you look at her.” She nodded and smiled. “It’s not like Dez would fill me in on anything, so I’m glad Luella rats her out to me. She’s told me all about you.”

  Jaylynn wondered what exactly Luella had said. And what had Julie meant about the way she looked at Dez? She looked around the room, and again, Dez caught her eye, arching an eyebrow and raising her bottle of sparkling water. Dez turned back to Cowboy.

  Jaylynn blushed.

  “See what I mean?” Julie asked.

  “Wha–what?” Jaylynn started to feel queasy.

  “You, young woman, are very nearly transparent. Come here.” Julie grabbed Jaylynn by the wrist and led her down the hallway to the spare bedroom. She sat on the edge of the double bed as Jaylynn hovered in the doorway. “Sit down,” she said and patted the bed beside her. Jaylynn shuffled over in a daze and sat next to her. “Look,” Julie said, “Dez was very dear to Ryan. He’d want her to be happy. But she hasn’t been for a very long time—not since he died.”

  Jaylynn’s head was spinning. She didn’t feel prepared to take in this information at all, but she tried to focus on what Julie was saying.

  “Ryan and I always hoped she’d find someone special, but he didn’t live to see it.” Her face clouded over and she got a faraway, wistful look in her eyes. Then she sighed and refocused on Jaylynn. “Do you know there’s something between you two—a kind of electricity?” She smiled and gazed quizzically into Jaylynn’s face. Jaylynn gulped, and Julie went on. “I feel like I know you because of Luella, and this probably feels weird to you, but I wanted to say thank you for looking after Dez. She’s a tough one to read, but Luella was right. I can see how much she cares about you. Don’t give up on her no matter what, okay?”

  “Okay,” Jaylynn replied, her face red and her heart pounding. Julie rose and Jaylynn popped up, too.

  Julie said, “I’m glad we had this talk. And I’m very glad to finally meet you. I hope you two will come over often, maybe take Jill and Jeremy on an outing.”

  “I’d like that.”

  Julie smiled brightly. “Guess we’d better get back to the party, huh?”

  They went out to the living room, and Jaylynn looked over into the next room to find Jeremy and Jill sitting at the dining room table looking tired and bored. She moved toward them and saw Luella open a drawer in the built-in buffet. Over the sound of laughter from the living room Luella said to the two kids, “You want to play a game? I’ve got about ten decks of cards here.”

  Jeremy nodded, though Jill looked skeptical. Jaylynn advanced to the table, saying, “Do you two know how to play ‘Hand and Foot’? It’s a good card game.”

  She sat down at the table with the two kids and patiently explained the rules of the rummy game. As she dealt the cards, she glanced out into the living room to find blue eyes observing her in amusement. Dez winked at her and focused on Crystal again, leaving Jaylynn’s heart skipping beats.

  The party went on until past midnight. If any neighbors were upset, it was their misfortune because every cop on duty managed to swing by at one time or another. At one point there were five police cars double-parked in a row outside the house.

  Finally, when the last of the partygoers bid goodnight, Luella, Vanita, Jaylynn, and Dez plopped down on the couch and chairs and surveyed the wreckage.

  Luella declared, “That’s the most fun I’ve had in ages.”

  From the rocking chair Dez said, “I had no idea. You must have spent a fortune!”

  “Whew,” Jaylynn said. “The evening blew by. I can’t believe it’s so late.”

  Luella said, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” Her eyes came to rest on the lanky woman rocking slowly across from her. “So, sweet pea, was it worth it? All those days and nights of rabbit food—are you glad you did it?”

  Dez looked at her seriously as she continued rocking. “Yeah, I think so. It was hard.” She paused for a moment. “But I could do it again if I had to.”

  Vanita said, “You mean if you were nuts enough to!”

  Dez smiled. “Are you referring to the food constraints, Van, or do you mean the actual competition process?”

  “The food, of course,” Vanita said. “I’m surprised to say this, but I actually liked the show. I must admit I was kind of shocked at first to see all those nearly naked people running around, but once I got used to it, I did start to understand all that business you’ve been talking about—you know, about muscle definition and leanness and such. I enjoyed it, ’specially when you won.”

  Jaylynn sat in the recliner and watched the two older women sitting side by side on the sofa, both so alike and yet so different, as they rehashed the pomp and pageantry of the evening. She studied Dez across the room. She looked tired, but content, her face relaxed and open. Still listening, Jaylynn rose and gathered up a few stray paper plates and cups left on the table and windowsills. She carried it all into the kitchen, got out the garbage container, tossed in trash, and tidied up the counters. She went back to the dining room table to clear away the leftover food, and saw Dez nod toward her. “Let me give you a hand, Jay.”

  Luella sighed and started to rise.

  Dez said, “No, no, not you. You’ve done enough work for the night. Ladies, both of you just relax.”

  “We can help,” Vanita said, but she didn’t budge from her comfy spot on the sofa.

  Luella continued to struggle up off the couch. Dez shook her finger at her. “You sit that sorry carcass back down, Luella. Your legs are sore, I can tell.”

  “No, not at all. I’m ready for a foot race.”

  “Yeah right.” Dez rolled her eyes. “You’ve done enough for me for the day. Please! Let us clean up. Jay and I won’t break a thing.”

  “Kind of hard to break paper plates, young lady,” Luella said in a mock serious voice. She settled back on the couch near her sister.

  “That’s right,” Dez said. “You let us put things in order for you.”

  Dez joined Jaylynn in the dining area and started carting dishes and platters into the kitchen. Jaylynn gave a shy smile. “How about you put the leftovers in containers, and I’ll wash stuff up?”

  “Okay.”

  Dez whistled softly as they worked wordlessly for several minutes. She went back out to the dining room table with a wet rag to wipe it down and returned to the kitchen. She tossed the rag in the dishwater and took Jaylynn’s arm. With a finger to her lips she said, “Shh.” She beckoned with her other arm as she pulled Jaylynn along. They peeked around the corner into the living room.

  Luella and Vanita sat on the sofa asleep, their feet up on the coffee table and their heads leaning back against the couch cushions. “Ready for a footrace,” whispered Dez. “Ha.”

  They retreated back to the kitchen and Dez finished wiping down the stove. When she was done, she stood awkwardly with her hands in her pockets. Jaylynn crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter searching out blue eyes. “Guess I’d better head home.”

  Dez smiled at her warmly. “You were great today, Jay. Thank you. Thanks for everything, for coming to the show, for being here today and tonight.” Unexpectedly shy, she looked down. “It really mattered to me that you were there.” She took her hands out of her pockets and stepped closer, spreading her arms wide. “Can I hug you?”

  Jaylynn uncrossed her arms and welcomed Dez into an embrace, first tentative, and then secure and tight. Wrapping her arms around the thin waist, she felt Dez’s palms flat on her back, a belt buckle at her stomach, hips pressed close. Flustered, she released her hold and stepped back, saying, “Dez, you’re just skin and bones! How in the world did you manage to look so ga
rgantuan on stage?”

  “Ah, smoke and mirrors. You know, a little grease, a lot of tanning dye.” She winked.

  Jaylynn said, “What happens now?” As the words came out of her mouth, she hoped Dez would take the question in the way she meant it. She hastened to add, “I mean, do you stay on that severe diet or what?”

  Dez stepped back, leaning against the counter again. “Nah. Some guys start packing away tons of food and ice cream and crap, but I won’t. I’ll increase my carbs, eat a bit more of the so-called forbidden foods, and try not to gain too many pounds. I think I feel best weighing in about one-sixty-five, maybe one-seventy.” She looked out the darkened kitchen window. “I guess I’ll be glad to get back to a normal routine. The diet was hard to do.”

  She looked so tired that Jaylynn was reminded of the hour. “I’d better go now.”

  Dez nodded. “Sneak out the back, okay? Let’s not wake up the oldsters if we don’t have to.”

  Jaylynn took her car keys out of her pocket as she moved toward the back door. “See you Wednesday?” she asked over her shoulder as grasped the doorknob.

  Dez looked startled for a minute. “Yeah, sure. Call me if you want to do anything before then though.”

  Now it was Jaylynn’s turn to look surprised. “Like what? What do you mean?”

  “You know, like go see a movie or something.”

  Jaylynn moved lightning quick across the hall, put her hand to Dez’s forehead, and grinned. “No fever, but who are you and where is the real Dez?”

  Dez blushed and stuttered out, “I–I–I just thought—”

  Jaylynn laughed at her and retreated to grab the doorknob again. “Listen, you goofball, sounds like a good idea to me. Don’t take me too seriously. I’m teasing. Go ahead and give me a call if you like. I’m around all day tomorrow. That is, after I get about twelve hours of sleep.” She opened the door and looked back smiling.