Divorced, Desperate And Dating

by Christie Craig

  Sue turned to the left stall and hissed, “Just a few squares.” When her fingers went unnoticed, she pulled back her hand. “Fine.”

  “All abused women say they’re not abused,” continued the lady with the Jersey accent. “Does he hit you?”

  “Sue?” Jason banged on her stall door. It didn’t seem like he was going to take no for an answer.

  “No! He doesn’t hit me,” Sue said. But it didn’t seem like her stall neighbors were going to take no for an answer, either.

  “Take the mace.” A can rolled into her stall.

  “I’m calling 911,” said the lady to Sue’s right.

  “Jiminy Cricket!” Sue jerked up her pan ties and shorts, then pushed open the stall door, hitting Jason in the chest. The panic in his eyes reconfirmed what she’d suspected: Something had happened. Something bad. She supposed she should be grateful he cared so much that he’d follow her into a women’s restroom.

  He placed a firm grip on her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  She sighed. “My pan ties aren’t fresh anymore, but I’m fine. What is it?”

  “Why would I sit in a different booth?”

  Sue put her hand out to steady herself as Jason hit the brakes a little fast to stop at a red light. It was evening, and they were on their way to meet her critique group.

  They’d butted heads for the past few hours. Sue had told Mary, one of her critique partners, where she’d been headed that day. He’d raked her over the coals for it. She’d reminded him of his spoken belief that Mary wasn’t involved. He’d reminded her that Mary might have told Fritz where she was, and he still suspected Fritz. And since they still hadn’t gotten Mary on the phone, he didn’t like Sue going to meet the group. Sue reminded him that she still didn’t think Benny was behind this, and she’d told him she wasn’t going to start living like a hermit. He’d reminded her that she should leave the police work to him—and that her safety was more important than her social life. Then they’d both seemed to remember they were running on little sleep and should probably stop reminding each other of things.

  Taking a deep breath, Sue tried to explain in a calm manner. “You should sit at another booth because we won’t be able to have a normal meeting if you’re glaring at everyone.”

  “I’m not going to glare, but I’m going to ask Mary if she mentioned your whereabouts to anyone, and then I’m going to find out where Mr. Leather Loafers was all day.”

  “I’ll ask,” Sue said.

  “I want to ask!”

  “See, that attitude is why you’re going to be sitting at another booth.”

  Sue leaned her head back. After failing to find the boy who’d given the note to Cara, Jason had been hovering like a mosquito waiting for fresh blood. He’d practically made her stand in the bathroom while he showered.

  Not that she hadn’t enjoyed the quick glance she’d gotten of his backside.

  He’d then spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone trying to reach her editor.

  As the image of his backside tickled her mind again, Sue tilted to one side and looked at Jason. Yup, even annoyed, she still felt that gushy in-love feeling she’d felt earlier. “I’ll keep the meeting short.”

  He met her gaze. “Thank you. But I don’t trust that Fritz guy. And I don’t see why we can’t stay at Maggie’s another night.”

  Sue sighed. “I know you don’t trust him, but I do. And if you’re going to interrogate anyone, I ‘d prefer you do it tomorrow, not during our critique meeting. And as for staying at Maggie’s, I don’t like leaving the cats home alone.”

  She saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel, and he said, “I want to talk to your friend about where he was today. And I really think the cats will be fine. It wouldn’t hurt to just stay one more night…”

  Sue couldn’t help it; she laughed.

  “What’s funny?”

  “We are. Do you realize we just managed to argue about four subjects at the same time? I didn’t know anyone could think that many thoughts but me.”

  He grabbed her hand and squeezed. “That’s because we’re good together.” He shot her a smile. “Besides, I’ve had practice. Maggie can do six subjects in the same conversation.”

  Sue smiled. She wasn’t sure why knowing she had something in common with Maggie felt good, but it did. Maybe because after seeing the woman and Jason together, she knew how much they cared for each other. Which maybe meant he was capable of caring for her for longer than three months.

  They arrived at the diner with plenty of time. Benny was late, so the critique group started with Mary’s work. As Frank offered a few suggestions, Sue found her gaze moving to the booth across the room where Jason talked on the phone. He’d done as she asked and not talked about the case with Mary yet. The fact that he’d granted her wish made Sue feel bad about making him sit at another table.

  “Sue?” Frank prompted.

  “Let her enjoy herself. I don’t blame her,” Mary said.

  “Blame me for what?” Sue asked.

  Frank laughed. “I think you’re falling for him.”

  As Jason had instructed, Sue had kept the dialogue about what was happening with her stalker to a minimum. For that reason, none of her friends seemed tense; they likely thought the situation was resolving itself. “I might be falling for him,” she admitted and decided at the very least she needed to apologize for what ever he might have said when he’d made his first round of interrogations. “I’m sorry he questioned you the other day. He can be a bear at times.”

  “He wasn’t a bear,” Mary said. “If I was five years younger…” She grinned. “Oh, heck, I’m only thirty-eight. I may still go after him.”

  Sue grinned. “Benny called him an arrogant, green-tinted slime bucket.”

  Frank laughed. “He wasn’t rude with me, either. Benny’s probably just jealous.”

  Sue looked at Frank and then Mary, who shook her head in agreement. She said, “You noticed Benny has a crush on me, huh?”

  Mary laughed. “Yeah, but don’t worry, as soon as he and his wife are back together, you’ll be history. The last time he and his wife were separated, he asked me out.”

  “Hey, you almost can’t blame the guy” Frank added.

  “Because we’re gorgeous,” Mary teased.

  “That, and have you seen his wife?”

  “That’s terrible,” Mary and Sue scolded at the same time.

  “He loves her,” Mary added.

  Sue nodded in total agreement. Then curiosity took hold and she had to ask: “Did you mention to anyone today about me being at the park?”

  Mary wrinkled her brow. “Why?”

  “Something sort of happened there.”

  “Oh.” The older woman looked concerned. “Well, I did call Frank and Benny to remind them of the meeting. I guess I could have mentioned it, but I don’t remember.”

  “You didn’t say Sue was at the park when you called me,” Frank said. Then he added, “You don’t think Benny is behind this?”

  “I don’t,” Sue said and glanced at Jason.

  “Seriously, Benny’s not going to send you a rat,” Frank said. “He might be hitting on you, but he’s not that sick.”

  “That’s how I see it,” Sue agreed, rolling her pencil between her palms.

  “See what?” Benny’s voice startled all of them. “Sorry. My wife was late picking up our son after his game.”

  “Hey!” Guilt made Sue’s voice squeaky.

  Benny scooted in beside her, put his arm around her, and purposely looked at Jason. “I see your bodyguard came with you.”

  Sue saw Jason flinch. She moved out of Benny’s embrace and, claiming a good ten inches of booth, she placed his manuscript on the table. “We should get started.”

  Tina, the pregnant waitress, brought Benny his coffee. Sue went over Benny’s chapters, pointing out places she felt needed more description. “By the way, you were missing a few pages,” she remarked.

  “I was?” Benny
seemed surprised.

  “Mine were all there.” Mary handed over her copy of the manuscript.

  “I liked everything but the giant gopher,” Frank said. “Too cartoonish.”

  Ten minutes later, after concluding their literary discussion on what might make giant gophers less cartoonish, Benny dropped a dollar—just a dollar, which wouldn’t even cover what he’d ordered—on the table. “Thanks for looking at this so fast. I have to run. I told Beth I ‘d come by and talk.”

  Sue’s breath hitched—in a good way. “So, you and your wife are working on things?”

  Benny shrugged. “We’ve decided to try.”

  “Good.” She fought a smile.

  Benny nodded. “But I still don’t like that jerk.” He motioned vaguely toward Jason. “The only reason he suspects me of anything is because I asked you out, which isn’t against the law. Besides, we’re just friends.”

  Sue silently gave thanks that the old Benny was back.

  After everyone left, she added a couple of dollars to the tip, then went and scooted into the booth beside Jason. “Can a girl buy you a drink, big guy?”

  “Only if you’re planning on taking advantage of me later.” Grinning, he kissed her mouth and dropped a twenty onto his bill, which was only for coffee. Sue started to motion to get change, but he stopped her. “It’s fine. Looks as if the waitress could use it.”

  Sue fell for him a little more.

  On the way home, they stopped off for her regular Thursday night ritual of cookies and hurricanes at her grandparents’. Jason managed to choke down the burnt cookies and spiked Kool-Aid without making a face. He even feigned interest in another ten-minute discussion about roaches and their ability to survive a nuclear holocaust. Yup, Sue was in love. And that made the idea of sleeping with him all the worse. But she was thinking about it the whole ride home.

  As they got out of his car, a light went on to illuminate her driveway. Sue’s gaze shot up to the new fixture attached to her garage.

  “What’s that?” She shot a look at Jason.

  “I…I meant to tell you about that.”

  “You know, you mean to tell me a lot of things that you don’t,” she accused.

  “Yeah.” He frowned. “I had some light sensors and cameras put up.”

  She let out a gush of air. “Yeah, well, I think you should have told me.”

  “I know.” He pulled her against him. “I was afraid you’d tell me not to do it. So I decided to ask for forgiveness instead of permission.”

  She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have said no, but…You can’t keep making decisions for me. How much did this cost?”

  “You’re not paying for it. I am.”

  “Oh, hell no!” she growled.

  He squeezed her tight. “Sue, please. Please don’t get mad. You are completely right, I should have told you, but after last night…I wouldn’t take the chance.”

  She looked up into his eyes, then into the light and moving camera beside it. She knew his heart had been in the right place; she even appreciated it. To get mad at him now just didn’t feel right.

  “Fine. But I’m paying for this.”

  He kissed her, a slow kind of kiss that reminded her she’d agreed to sleep with him. And when he unlocked her front door, Sue felt as if at least six super-sized butterflies were playing bumper cars in her stomach.

  He held her by the waist, guiding her inside. “You okay?”

  “Fine,” she lied and knelt to give Hitchcock his dose of I’m-home affection while she tried to figure out what to do next.

  She could go for the black teddy, jump his bones in the entryway. Or run into her bedroom and lock the door. What did a man like Jason want? What did she herself want? She hadn’t had sex in so long, and…

  “Gotta pee!” she blurted. Oh, that was really sexy.

  She fled to the bathroom. When several minutes later she came out, Jason was putting a DVD into the player.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I thought we’d watch a movie. How about How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?” He grinned. “You might find a trick you haven’t tried on me.”

  “Great.” She attempted to understand but didn’t. She’d assumed Jason would expect sex. That he still wanted her. That he still wanted to make love as much as ever.

  And soon she learned she was right.

  Before even one way to lose a man had been presented in the film, Sue had figured him out. He hadn’t wanted to watch a movie; he’d just wanted to get her relaxed. And it had worked. Everything he tried was successful. The first five minutes, he’d toyed with her hair. Around minute six, he’d started kissing her. Minute eight or maybe nine—she sort of lost track of time—he kissed his way up to her neck. Shortly afterward he had her in his lap, his hands moving up and under her shirt. It was around minute thirteen that he had her flat on her back with her shirt and bra whisked off.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said, cupping a breast. He lowered his lips to her right nipple and ran his tongue over it. “Tell me what you like, okay?”

  “I like that,” she managed to say.

  She felt him smile against her breast. Then he kissed her mouth again—the kind of kiss he’d given her that night on Lacy’s patio, the kind that had her melting in her pan ties and wanting them removed.

  Instinct took over. She pushed him backward and tugged at his shirt. Unfortunately, she lacked his clothes-removal skills and the garment ended up around his neck like a noose. Laughing, he helped her, and his shirt sailed across the room.

  Sue fell on top of him, loving the feel of her breasts against his chest. She kissed him with no thoughts of stopping. Then she heard his voice: “Ef ur gona op…”

  She was on a roll here, didn’t he know that? But she pulled back nonetheless. She stared down at him, hands on her hips. “Now who’s talking when he should be kissing?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Jason brushed the hair from Sue’s eyes. God, she was beautiful when turned on.

  “I just said that if you’re planning on stopping, maybe we should call it off now before…” He hesitated. “It’s been a while, and I’m pretty eager.”

  “How long has it been for you?” she asked.

  “Four months,” he replied, wondering if he’d ever get tired of seeing her face. Or of touching her. He moved his hand over her bare back and to her waist. She leaned in and her breasts against his chest felt so damn perfect.

  “Four months. Not since…I kissed you.”

  And just like that he knew why no other woman had intrigued him in so long. He’d wanted her. He’d wanted this.

  “Four months is nothing.” She dove back for another kiss.

  He caught her. “How long has it been for you?”

  She turned her head to see the clock. Her hair brushed over his chin. “Two years, five months, twenty-six days and…four hours, thirty-six minutes and I’m not sure of the seconds.”

  He laughed. “Then let’s not keep you waiting.”

  He rose, scooped her up in his arms, and carried her to the bedroom. She weighed so little that he could carry her anywhere. And for a long time. She’d definitely have Godiva chocolate in her Christmas stocking. And on Valentine’s Day, he’d get her another big box. Even bigger than before.

  He laid her down on the white sheets. He ran a finger over her lips, down her breasts, then lower until he came upon the snap of her jeans. His heart thumped in his chest, sending blood rushing between his legs. He tried to undo her jeans, but his hands shook.

  Damn, he hadn’t been nervous about sex since…

  Never. Even his first time, in the back of that old Chevy at sixteen, he’d dived in headfirst and let instinct guide him. It probably helped that the girl had been three years older and had enough experience for the both of them. But now he had experience and his instincts were loud and clear—as loud and clear as the deep voice saying he’d better make this good for her.

  Hell, he’d better m
ake it great. After waiting two years, five months, twenty-six days, four hours, and thirty-six minutes, Sue would expect a grand performance. She deserved a grand performance. And though the show was just getting started, her part in it was already getting his standing ovation.

  Finally getting her jeans undone, he slipped them down her slender hips, careful not to remove her pan ties. In spite of his body’s standing ovation and his comment about not keeping her waiting, he intended to do just that. To make it as good as it could get, he needed to last. If he had her completely naked, he’d be too damn tempted to bury himself inside her and enjoy the pot of gold before the rainbow. To night was all about the rainbow. She’d see every dad-blasted color known to mankind.

  Looking up, he saw her blue eyes were open, staring at him with such tenderness that his hands shook again. He had a feeling that to night he’d see a few colors he’d never seen before himself.

  Leaning over, he pressed his lips to her navel and brought one hand to her knees. Slowly sliding his palm up her thigh, he came within an inch of touching the crotch of her pink silk pan ties, but then he stopped and moved back down her leg. She moaned and lifted her hips. Pressing closer, he brushed his lips down to the top edge of her panties and trailed his tongue from one hip to the other.

  She moaned again and he glanced up. “Licking in private is okay. You told me that, remember?”

  His hand started its upward sweep again, moving deeper between her legs. He came even closer to her center. So close that he felt her heat and dampness but didn’t touch.

  Touching came after teasing. And he had a lot more teasing to do.

  Stretching out beside her, he walked his fingers up to her breasts and drew circles around the rose-colored tips. Then, because his erection pressed painfully against his zipper, he removed his jeans but not his boxers.

  Before he could stretch out beside her again, Sue pressed her hand against silk boxers, against his arousal. He drew in a hissing breath. The tip of his sex throbbed. Probably moistened his underwear. He caught her hand and pressed her fingers to his chest.

  “We’re saving that for later,” he said.