A Game of Horns: A Red Unicorn Anthology

by Gregory D. Little

  Time to move on.

  Except for the thought that Kathy might not be happy. Over the last week Marco had suspected that Kathy’s calm, blissful façade was just an act, that she wasn’t ecstatic over her belated engagement.

  Or was it wishful thinking on his part?

  “Hey.”

  His head jerked up as Kathy dropped onto his lap.

  When had everyone gone in?

  The only sound was the soft music coming from the house and the roar of the ocean. The scent of vanilla, suntan lotion, sea salt, and Kathy teased his senses.

  “You’re looking all glum and dire,” she said.

  “Trying to earn my rep.” His free hand curled around her waist.

  “Ah.” She lifted the glass from his fingers and took a sip. Her eyes went wide. “Damn, that packs a punch. What is it?”

  Reaching over the arm of the chair, he pulled up the bottle for her inspection.

  She squinted in the poor light. “Red Unicorn Vodka? Did you get this in Russia?”

  He grunted noncommittally.

  No one at the reunion knew he was the distiller or that the Red Unicorn brand was a top seller on the West Coast and about to break into the East Coast market. He’d wanted to see his friends’ reactions to the vodka before they felt obligated to say they liked it. The case he’d brought was almost gone. Good test marketing. There were three versions: White Unicorn for the unflavored, traditional style; Red Unicorn for the pepper vodka; and Purple Unicorn for the unflavored, grape-based one.

  Kathy’s finger traced the Red Unicorn logo. Marco stopped breathing. Silly to feel jealous about a logo he’d designed.

  “There’s nothing girly about this unicorn. You can tell he’s male,” Kathy said.

  Marco’s arm tightened fractionally around her waist. “I’m sure that makes him feel better.”

  “He’s secure in his masculinity.” She nodded. “You can tell.” She leaned over and put the bottle on the deck.

  Marco bit the inside of his cheek to suppress a groan. He should not want to toss his friend’s fiancée to the deck and make love to her until she knew they belonged together. He forced his fingers to loosen.

  “Looking forward to heading back to the left coast?”

  Now wasn’t that the question of the year? “Not particularly,” he said. “You?”

  “I live on this coast.” Kathy said. “It’s an easy drive from Corolla to D.C.”

  “Well aware. You know what I meant.”

  Her gaze went distant and turned toward the ocean. “I always hate when this week ends.”

  So did he. They had a platonic “same time next year” relationship. The end of beach week meant another year without seeing her.

  “You never told me how Dustin proposed.”

  “Oh.” She huffed out a breath. “I always figured I’d be married with kids before I was thirty. I mean Dustin and I’d been together since junior year. Why wouldn’t we get married? It was probably a mistake to let him move in after he lost his job.” She shrugged. “Economically it made sense. We were going to get married at some point after all. But thirty came and went. I figured he needed some time to get back on his feet.”

  She took another sip from his glass.

  “He never seemed interested in getting another job, though. I wouldn’t mind so much if he did anything around the house. I get up for work. He sleeps in. When I get home, he’s playing a video game. Dishes in the sink, laundry baskets full, no thoughts of dinner. I’ll cook or order in.”

  Marco’s hand rose to brush her cheek, but he dropped it. Her skin radiated the warmth of the day under his palm. Yes, putting his hand on her thigh and feeling her softness was definitely the way to stop wanting her. Idiot. He pulled her closer.

  “I know,” she said. “Pathetic, right?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t. I know it was … is. So, last year was thirty-five. No ring. No wedding. After beach week, I decided things had to change. I told Dustin he either needed to step up, take the relationship to a new level, and propose or get out of my house. He said, ‘Okay, let’s get married.’”

  “Romantic.” Marco ground his teeth.

  “Anyway, we bought the ring the next day.” She held up her hand to catch the light. “For a little bit—a month, maybe two—things were fine. Good, even. He started looking for work again, picked up around the house, helped out.”

  “Didn’t last?”

  She took another sip of vodka. His hand tracked its way up her back and rested on the nape of her neck. Her lips fascinated him. Would they be as soft as her skin?

  He should not rub small circles on the back of her neck. He should not think about kissing her. He should not stroke a finger down her jaw line.

  “When was the last time he made you happy?”

  The sound of his voice startled him. He hadn’t planned on asking more about Kathy and Dustin’s relationship. Seems he couldn’t let it go, couldn’t let her go.

  The glass was empty. She looked down as if hoping it would magically refill. “I don’t remember.”

  Her cheek was so soft against his palm. Gentle pressure at the nape of her neck brought her closer. The kiss began as a sharing of sympathy. A quick meeting of lips between friends. It flared into St. Elmo’s fire. Her tongue darted between his lips. He gave what she wanted to take. The glass clanked to the deck.

  “I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he said, pausing to catch his breath.

  Then he tunneled his fingers through her hair and sealed her mouth with his.

  Voices spilled out from the house.

  Kathy pulled away. Her eyes wide. She scrambled off his lap.

  “I—I can’t,” she said as she backed away. She turned and jogged down the stairs to the beach.

  He should not chase his friend’s girl down the beach even if she was the woman of his dreams. He should not have kissed her. He should not want to do it again, or want to see the moon’s glow on her skin as his hands learned all about her body.

  He chuckled. It was too late to worry about should. He was all sorts of past should.

  What he shouldn’t do is let her get away.

  He picked up the bottle and glass, then headed to the beach the way Kathy had gone. He found her leaning with her back against the retaining wall five houses away. Her head angled up toward the sky, baring the white skin of her neck to the moon; her eyes were closed.

  “Kathy.”

  “If you say you’re sorry, I’m going to kick your teeth in.”

  Sorry was the last thing he was.

  He held out the bottle. “Drink?”

  “Hell, yes.”

  He leaned next to her before handing her the refilled glass. They watched the tide roll in.

  His fingers tangled with hers.

  “Do you want to marry him?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.” Her laugh was soft and self-deprecating. “If I don’t I’ve wasted almost twenty years of my life on him.”

  Taking the glass from her hand, he asked, “What’s worse? Spending the last twenty years hoping for something that never happened, or wasting the next twenty because you’re unwilling to let go of something that isn’t working?”

  “You’re one to talk.”

  The warmth of the vodka flowing down his throat brought a welcome calm. “Yup. Completely sucked at the marriage thing.”

  “What happened?”

  His marriage had been a disaster. Annoyance became active dislike after a few years. His divorce had been more amicable than his marriage.

  “Boring story. We’d been living together. Didn’t see how a piece of paper would change anything. It did.”

  Her leg brushed against his, and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

  Closing his eyes, he breathed in her scent. “We both changed. Or maybe I just didn’t change enough. I was working to build a business. When I did come home for a few hours of sleep all she’d do was harp on me. The fun-loving
girl I’d fallen for, the one I thought I’d married, was gone. So I stopped coming home.” He shrugged.

  “You cheated.”

  “Never. Not that Lilly ever believed that.”

  The glass never made it to his lips. Kathy’s warm hand closed over his. “You’re hogging that.”

  The warm scent of woman mixed with vanilla that was Kathy enveloped him. She pressed against him. A growl built in the back of his throat. His palms itched to lift her silver mesh top; he wanted to spread his hands across her back and settle her close to him where she belonged. He released the glass when she tugged on it.

  “I have more.” His voice was deep and rough. He turned to grab the bottle.

  She chained him in place with the gentle caress of her finger on his cheek.

  “Kathy—”

  She took a gulp from the glass then pressed her cool lips against his. He opened for her. Warm vodka flowed into his mouth tasting of both the signature pepper he’d infused in the alcohol and Kathy. Her tongue speared into his mouth. His fingers dug into her hips and hauled her closer. She molded to him, her leg wrapping around his calf. Her sharp teeth pulled on his bottom lip, then nipped down his throat.

  This time he didn’t stop the growl. Yanking her up, he set her on the wall. Her legs wrapped around his hips and put him right where he wanted to be. He pressed into her warmth.

  With a curse, he jerked back to put distance between them. Her whimper of protest went straight to his groin.

  “You’re engaged. We shouldn’t—”

  His thoughts scattered as her mouth met the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

  “Kathy.” His snarl was born of deep frustration. “I can’t promise forever.”

  “You can’t even promise tomorrow. You live in California.”

  He didn’t want the one-night stand she might offer. He wanted more.

  “I travel a lot for business. Where I’m based doesn’t matter.”

  A hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. Kathy screeched as she fell off the wall. Dustin’s right fist connected with Marco’s jaw. He dropped to the sand.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  The copper taste of blood filled Marco’s mouth. He shielded his eyes as if the light reflecting off the nearby house was too bright. “H-h-heeeey, whaz up, buddy?”

  “Don’t ‘buddy’ me.” Red blotches appeared on Dustin’s cheeks and neck.

  “Ya try the w-w-vodka?” Marco slurred. He let his legs slide out from under him to make it seem like he was trying to stand but couldn’t. “Ith reeeeal gooood.”

  “Get up so I can knock you down again.” Dustin loomed over him.

  “Stop it.” Kathy stepped between them.

  Don’t do it, Kathy. Let us work the male ego part out.

  “Stay out of this.” Dustin snarled.

  “We’re done.” She held out something—Marco assumed it was her engagement ring—to Dustin.

  “We’re not.”

  She dropped the ring onto the sand.

  Dustin’s mouth hung open. “Do you know how much that cost?”

  Kathy cocked her head. “Actually, I do. I paid for it. On second thought—” She picked up the ring and placed it on her right hand. “I’m keeping it. Get your crap out of my house.”

  Dustin went an alarming shade of red, his lips a tight white slash. He grabbed Kathy’s arm.

  Marco slowly got to his feet. “Don’t,” he said. “Instead, you want to walk back up to the house, get your stuff, and find someplace else to sleep tonight. Like a sofa.”

  The mental math was apparent on Dustin’s face as he shifted his eyes between Marco and Kathy, weighing the odds of taking Marco with something other than a sucker punch.

  “Bitch.” Dustin spit on the beach near Kathy’s feet.

  Marco watched Dustin until he passed the second house, then he turned to Kathy.

  “Wait,” she said as she pulled her cell phone from her shorts pocket. “Hey, Jilly. Sorry to call so late but I need a favor. Can you get a locksmith out to my place? … Yes, now. I just dumped Dustin, and—”

  A high-pitched squeal from the other side of the line cut her off. At least one of Kathy’s friends had despised Dustin. The woman’s tone dropped low enough that Marco couldn’t hear her. A minute later, Kathy pocketed her phone.

  Marco raised an eyebrow.

  “Can we just … sit?” Kathy asked.

  They sat side by side on the beach. The gentle crash and hush susurration of the ocean told the story of eons. Kathy lay back in the sand. She grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him down with her.

  “That wasn’t because we kissed,” Kathy said.

  “Are you sure? I have it on pretty good authority that I’m an amazing kisser.”

  Kathy laughed and thumped him on the chest. Propped up on an elbow, she leaned over him. “Dustin’s passive-aggressiveness was becoming less passive and more aggressive as the week approached. I think he was worried I’d press for a date while we were here. We’ve barely spent any time together, and what we have hasn’t exactly been pleasant.”

  Marco had watch Kathy and Dustin throughout the week. When Dustin had reached around her to get a beer on the first night of the trip, she’d shied out of his way like she didn’t want him touching her. Marco’s heart had felt a traitorous stab of hope seeing that, even as his fists curled. He’d spent every minute since looking for fissures in their relationship. They hadn’t been hard to see. Until now he hadn’t known if they were real or his wishful thinking.

  “He didn’t want to marry me. He just didn’t want to lose the lifestyle I’ve let him become accustom to.” Kathy ran a finger over Marco’s jaw where Dustin had hit him. “Hold on a sec.”

  When she lay down next to him again she had the bottle of vodka in her hand. She placed the Red Unicorn against the bruise forming on his cheek. The bottle felt cool on his hot skin.

  “Why did you let him hit you?”

  “It’s a guy thing.” He chuckled at the furrow in her brow. “Seriously, I deserved it. I kissed his fiancée. He was entitled to one. Just one.”

  “And the drunk act?”

  “You mean the being-drunker-than-I-am act?” When she nodded, he took her free hand and brushed a kiss over it. Sea salt mingled with the taste of her. “To give you choice. If I’m drunk, the kiss is my fault. Well, mine and the Red Unicorn’s. Not yours.”

  “Never figured you for the chivalrous type.”

  “I’m usually more of a rake.” His fingers brushed lightly over her arm, over her shoulder, then down her back.

  The small shiver that ran down her body was somewhat undercut by her bright laugh. “You really were listening during those dramatic romance readings.”

  “Hard not to when you’re talking about throbbing breasts and heaving manhood. Wait. I think I got that backward.”

  The silver bell of her laughter eased something deep inside him. Kathy leaned down. The Red Unicorn bottle dropped to the sand. His hands circled her waist and drew her on top of him as their lips touched. Heat flared. Every luscious inch of her melted into him. He slid his hand under her mesh top and up her back. The firmness of her breasts pressed into his chest. He resisted the urge to pin her under him and explore every curve.

  “I’ll change my flight, come to D.C.,” he said when they came up for air.

  She rolled off him. The cooler air against his skin was a slap in the face.

  “What exactly do you think is going on here?” she asked.

  He propped himself up on his elbows. “I know what’s not going on. I’m not your rebound guy.”

  She flinched.

  Inching closer, Marco took her hands in his. “There’s always been the possibility of more between us. I want that chance.”

  “Didn’t you just say you couldn’t promise me forever?”

  He cupped her face in his hands. Lips brushing over her cheek, he said, “You don’t want to hear about forever. You just kicked Dustin to
the curb. How about just happily for now?”

  Her arms wound around his neck. His finger hooked the chain holding her unicorn pendant.

  Delight danced in her eyes. “Dustin hates it when I wear it.”

  “I’ll bet.” He leaned back when she leaned forward. “Do you want me to come to D.C.?”

  Her gaze drifted back to the waves. Muscles tightened in Marco’s neck as the pause lengthened. He clamped his teeth closed to keep from blurting out all the reasons why she should give them a chance. His hands dropped from her shoulders to her sides.

  “In a month,” she said.

  His exhaled breath ruffled her hair.

  “Can you give me a month to get everything resolved with Dustin?” she asked.

  Business had him in Singapore at the end of September. He’d reschedule.

  “Tell me when you want me, and I’ll be there.”

  “How about right now?”

  His body tightened in anticipation.

  “No.” The word coming out of his mouth shocked him.

  Hurt flashed in Kathy’s eyes.

  He placed a kiss on her forehead and gathered her in his arms.

  “Please don’t take that the wrong way,” he said. “I would like nothing better than to reenact From Here to Eternity with you right now. But you just said you needed time.” He held up a hand to forestall her. “Make that offer again in a month and see how quickly I accept.”

  She nodded.

  “Besides, as angry as Dustin was, I suspect we only have another minute or two before everyone suddenly wants to see the ocean and what we’re doing.”

  “Sure you don’t want to scandalize them?” Kathy tilted her face up to him.

  “I’m sure you don’t.”

  It took a minute to untangle where her legs had intertwined with his. By the time he heard the sound of a dozen drunks staggering up the beach, Kathy and he were sitting side by side, his arm around her, her head resting on his shoulder, watching the waves. It was something they’d done hundreds, if not thousands, of times over nearly twenty years.

  “One dead unicorn.” Kathy nudged the empty vodka bottle.

  The top hadn’t been on tight. When he’d dropped it, the remnants had leaked into the sand.