These Foolish Things

by Thatcher, Susan

  Keeping his foot firmly on the accelerator, Ty exhaled and glanced at Liz. “You can stop with the white knuckles now.”

  A crack of lightning and near-simultaneous boom of thunder made her jump. Liz glanced wildly out the window. “Maybe not.” She tried to shrink into the car seat.

  “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of thunderstorms.” Ty looked at her.

  She nodded. “Always have been. My mom used to tell me to get over it, but I never could.”

  He stole a glance at her. “And you were going to walk through it? God, you’re brave.”

  Another boom made her catch her breath. “Not really. Just didn’t have a choice if I wanted to get home.” Another flash. Liz shut her eyes. Her shivering returned.

  She felt a warm, strong hand covering hers, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry,” she heard. “You’re safe. I’m not going to let you get hurt. Just trust me.” His voice was as warm as his hand. She could feel a warm flow of energy coming from it. It ended abruptly when he put both hands back on the steering wheel.

  In no time, they were pulling onto Route 114 in Peabody and headed towards Salem. The rain hadn’t abated, nor had the wind. Some hurricanes die harder than others and this one was going kicking and screaming. The roadway was a river. When the tires weren’t hissing on wet pavement, the car was splashing through huge puddles. “This has got to be one of the worst nights I’ve ever seen,” Ty commented.

  “You’re right,” said Liz, “but I bet you Beanie makes a break for it, anyway.”

  “You’re on. What’s the bet?”

  Liz was startled. “I don’t know. I was speaking rhetorically.”

  “How about if I win, you pay for dinner and if you win, I get you another two dozen sterling roses and pay for dinner?” He glanced at her, “Hand delivered by me, if necessary.”

  “Dinner?”

  “Usually I charge more to rescue soggy damsels, but seeing as how you kept me out of jail, I’ll give you a discount this once.” He winked. She felt an electric charge from it.

  “Okay, but rain check on the dinner. I don’t have a thing in the house.” Another flash of lightning. “And I don’t want to go back out in this.”

  “I know this is out in the boondocks by city standards, but I presume that the new-fangled idea of take-out and delivery has hit Salem? Or are you guys still stuck in the seventeenth century?”

  Liz leaned back and closed her eyes. What was going on here? Surely this wasn’t romantic, thought Liz. She had at least 15 years and 30 pounds on any of the girls he’d dated. Corey had filled her in on names and descriptions. Did he feel guilty over the black eye? Maybe he’s just being kind. Or maybe he figures I’m an easy lay, Liz mused.

  They pulled up in front of her house “Here’s the plan,” said Ty, “We’ll get you inside first, then I’ll get the bags, okay?”

  Liz could tell her consent was not actually sought, but that didn’t matter. Ty came around to her side, umbrella opened, and hustled her to the front door. A gust of wind caught the umbrella and blew it inside out a split-second before Liz found the house key in her bag. She froze at a particularly close and loud crash of thunder. Ty dropped the umbrella and pulled her close against his body. “Give me the key,” he murmured as he took it from her nerveless fingers. “Breathe,” she exhaled, “And again. Atta girl.”

  He had the door opened in seconds, but not before the downpour had soaked them both again. Beanie was poised on the threshold, positioned for an escape attempt. He started to dive for the opening and stopped dead at the edge of the threshold, nose and tail twitching. A few raindrops hit his face and that decided the issue. Beanie ran for the indoors, Ty pushing Liz inside after him.

  “Be right back.”

  Within a minute, Ty was back in the house, bag and briefcases in hand, dripping as if he’d just emerged from a swimming pool. Liz had an incredibly powerful urge to throw herself into his arms. Then she sneezed. Great. So did he. Peachy.

  “Uh, look, take off your shoes and leave them to dry there. The bathroom’s upstairs and I’ll see what I have for dry clothes for you, Ty,” Liz suggested, “Shower if you want to,” Her voice trailed off as a mental picture of Ty in her shower leapt into her mind. Ty in the shower with her.

  “You’d probably benefit from a hot shower yourself,” Ty replied, “Care to…”

  Liz sneezed again.

  “Yeah. I’m going.” Ty padded upstairs.

  As she heard the shower begin to run, Liz found herself wondering what he looked like naked. She’d felt the strength in his arms as he’d held her; the rest must be just as muscular. Another lightning flash roused her. She shook her head and took off in search of dry clothes.

  Keeping an ear on the bathroom activity, Liz found a flannel shirt and some shorts large enough to fit Ty. The water stopped. Just as Liz was about to knock on the door, she heard a “what the?” from inside the shower and a scrambling noise. Liz smiled as she knocked on the door. The door was yanked open and Beanie ran by at top speed, heading downstairs as fast as possible. Ty peered around the door, amazement on his dripping face and a towel clutched around his waist. “That was a first,” he said. “Does he always get in the tub with you?”

  Liz handed Ty the clothes. “Only for showers. He fell in once when I was taking a bath. We found out that cats don’t like to dog paddle. He usually stays on the rim of the tub.”

  “He did,” Ty answered, “I was just startled to see a face poking out from behind the curtain.” He touched Liz’s cheek and started to pull her in. Lightning flashed and she pulled back at a particularly big crack of thunder, willing herself not to scream. He started to come towards her and she backed away before she could think. They stood and stared at each other for a moment. Liz broke off by turning away and mumbling about having to do something. He closed the door.

  What the hell was he thinking? She leaned against the wall, hugging herself to calm the violent shaking.

  Liz knew Ty thought she was shivering from being cold and wet and scared. She knew she was shaking from storm terror and from the huge effort it took to stop herself from removing Ty’s towel and caressing his beautiful body. It was even better than she had pictured, slightly thinner, but fit, very fit. Liz admitted to herself that she had never wanted any man as powerfully as she wanted this one. And she had just refused an implied invitation to join him.

  She headed for her bedroom and, dropping to her knees beside the bed, hastily hid the copy of the Kama Sutra Millie had given her as a gag Christmas gift. Just in case. Liz grabbed dry clothes for herself and returned to the bathroom as Ty emerged.

  “My turn,” Liz said a little too brightly. She pointed to the wet garments in his hands. “Clothes dryer or hangers?”

  He studied her face, then answered, “Hangers, I guess. I think it’s all dry clean only. Are you okay? You look ready to jump out of your skin.”

  “I will be. When this storm passes, I will be.”

  His hair was still towel damp, accenting the natural wave in it. Liz’s hand itched to touch it, then stroke downwards to his face. She could see herself doing it. Under the bundle of clothes in her hand, she dug her fingernails into her palm. “Uh, there’s a closet in the spare room over there. There should be plenty of hangers.” The words came out a little too fast.

  Ty nodded, still studying her. Liz wondered if he could see her intense desire for him. “Okay.” He stepped aside to let Liz through the bathroom door, a little more than necessary, she thought. As she closed the door behind her, Liz heard him say, “See you in a few.”

  Liz stripped out of her sodden clothing and looked long and hard at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was plastered down in snakelike strands, mascara trails ran from her eyes down her cheeks and she was paler than usual. Liz looked at the rest of her body, hating the sight. Nothing out of Playboy in here, she thought. No flat stomach or defined rib cage. Just a 40 year old body. Of course, it looked a hell of a lot better than it had wh
en it was a 35 year old or even 30 year old body, but still, Liz had to admit the Silicone Queen had her beaten as far as shapes were concerned. There was a knock at the door.

  “Liz? You okay?” She could hear concern in Ty’s voice.

  “I’m fine, just moving kind of slow.” She spotted the crumpled towel he had used and discarded on the floor. Liz had to suppress the urge to wrap herself in it. The door opened a crack.

  “I’m not peeking, I swear,” Ty said. “Want me to start a fire?”

  ‘Uh, sure,” she said unsteadily, picturing the two of them making love in front of a roaring fire, rain beating against the windows. She squeaked out, “that’s a great idea.”

  As Liz soaped her body, her mind kept fixing on the image of sharing this with Ty, having those elegant fingers of his stroke and probe, her hands gliding over his chest and down, the two of them kissing.

  The shaking began again. Liz shook off her daydream.

  Liz rinsed off the last of the bubbles, warning herself that she had to keep her hands to herself if she wanted to see this man again on anything but a business footing.

  Liz dried her hair and pondered the next step. Did he expect to stay the night? He couldn’t possibly want to share her bed. She shook her head. Leave it alone for now. Let things unfold. The lights flickered. After donning another old flannel shirt and a pair of shorts, Liz hung up both her towel and Ty’s, pausing to smooth his towel a little. She nearly fell on her face leaving the bathroom, tripping over Beanie who was waiting outside the door.

  “Beanie, how many times do I have to tell you? There’s no life insurance and you don’t inherit dime one if you kill me.” Beanie just blinked his green eyes and wagged his tail. Liz headed downstairs, Beanie at her heels. She found Ty in the living room, fire crackling as promised, examining her print of Pygmalion and Galatea and sipping a beer. He turned towards Liz as he heard her approach. Ty raised the beer. “I hope you don’t mind. I found it in the fridge.”

  “Not at all,” answered Liz, “Buying you a drink is the least I can do for you.”

  Too late, she wished she had re-phrased that. Ty’s eyebrows went up. “Oh? And what else would you do for me?” he asked softly, eyes gleaming.

  You don’t want to know, trust me on this, thought Liz as she blushed. “Actually, I need your help. The lights just flickered and that means the electricity is about to go. I’m going to dig out candles. Would you mind grabbing my boom box out of the spare room for me? We can have music, at least.”

  “As you wish,” Ty disappeared, Beanie following closely.

  Liz deliberately focused on the mundane task of hauling candles out of an antique breakfront. She shook her head. Sure, she could light every house in the neighborhood, but all the candles were scented like roses, apples or, worst of all, something called “Seduction.” Oh, brother. She quickly sorted out enough in a single scent to provide light and took them back to the dining room table. She busied herself with lighting them. Rainy night, romantic light, incredibly desirable man within my sight, she thought and stopped. She reminded herself: a one-night stand with Tyrone Hadley and she’d never forgive herself. One night would not be enough, even if it was all she could have.

  Liz heard footsteps and saw a blur of white dash into the room ahead of Ty. He was smiling as he watched Beanie’s antics. Ty held out the boom box. “Your sound system and link to civilization. Where do you want it?”

  Liz paused in lighting candles. She waved her hand. “Anywhere is fine. Let me get a take-out menu.”

  She lit the last candle and ran for the kitchen. Rummaging through her junk drawer, Liz located a menu from a Chinese restaurant. As she headed back to the living room, the lights went out. Before her eyes could adjust to the darkness, Beanie dashed under Liz’s feet, causing her to lose her balance and fall into Ty hard enough to knock them both to the floor.

  “Oof!”

  “Dammit, Beanie!” Liz found herself sprawled on top of Ty. She looked into his face and said, “I am so sorry. Are you all right?”

  Ty started to laugh. Beanie trotted up to his head and began to sniff his face, giving him a quick lick. Ty laughed even harder and Beanie sat back on his haunches, tail wagging.

  Liz became aware of the full body contact with Ty and how great it felt. When they’d collided in the softball game, Liz had been wearing her catcher’s gear. Now, there was nothing between them save for clothing. She felt one of her legs between his, bare skin to bare skin, his hand in the small of her back, also on skin and a sneaky desire to stay snuggled up to this man for a long time. 40 or 50 years would be just about right. If she stayed much longer in this intimate touch, she’d kiss him again. Liz rolled off of Ty and leaned against the wall.

  Ty raised himself on his elbows, still smiling and laughing quietly. “Tell me,” he finally said, “When I plowed into you in that softball game, did I hit you as hard?”

  “Harder maybe. I had my gear on.” Liz gestured to Beanie. “Jack the Tripper there seems pleased with himself.” She held out a hand to Ty, who sat up without her help and leaned against the wall next to Liz. She reflected that, although she’d really enjoyed being tangled up with him, apparently the pleasure wasn’t mutual. Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted.

  She withdrew her hand and covered up her awkwardness by picking up the dropped menu. “I like this place a lot. Food’s great, they cook with natural gas, so a power outage doesn’t affect them and,” Liz sneezed, “they make a powerful won ton soup.” She sneezed again.

  “Since Beanie didn’t make a break for it,” she continued, “dinner’s on me. I really don’t know how to repay you for everything you’ve done today.” Liz handed Ty the menu.

  He gave her another unreadable look as he accepted the menu. “I hope your land line works,” he said, “My cellular service isn’t working right now. I think it’s the rain. You don’t have to thank me. If I didn’t want to drive you home, I wouldn’t have.”

  Liz was flustered, “But you must have had plans or had to be somewhere or with someone.” This last hurt to say.

  Ty frowned slightly. “No. No plans. My date cancelled. She was grounded for coming home too late on a school night,” he said mockingly.

  Liz buried her face in her hands, listening to him chuckle. She could feel herself flushing brick red. “God, am I ever sorry I said anything.” Her voice was muffled. Ty hauled himself to his feet, then held out a hand to Liz.

  “Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ve had worse things said to me. Besides,” he said as he pulled Liz to her feet, “it’s a lot of fun to rake you over the coals about it. You blush very nicely. Like you’re doing right now,” he teased. She ducked her head.

  They headed for the candlelit dining room. Ty seated Liz in one of the chairs and pondered the menu. Beanie jumped into an empty chair near the humans, only his head showing over the edge of the table. “So, even on a lousy night like this one, these guys will deliver?”

  Liz nodded, seizing on the change of subject. “Yeah. The Lins are not easily deterred. I’ve seen Fred out in even worse weather than this.”

  Ty shot her a look. “Fred Lin? The guy who owns the Chinese restaurant is named Fred Lin?”

  Liz smiled, “No, his son is named Fred. Fred makes the deliveries.”

  Ty was curious. “Is that just a coincidence? Father’s from the old country and just happened to name his son Fred?” Liz laughed as she looked at Ty. He relaxed, watching her and smiling.

  “Not unless you consider Saugus the old country,” Liz finally said, still laughing. “Roger Lin is the biggest Red Sox fan I have ever met. I don’t know how he persuaded Celia to name their son Frederick Carl Lin, but she went along with it. Notice the name? “Green Dragon Wall”? Green Monster didn’t sound Chinese enough. Celia drew the line at naming a dish ‘Yankees Go Home’.”

  Ty was laughing as he listened. He picked up the menu, still chuckling.

  “You know, Counselor, you’ve got some of the damndest stories I�
��ve ever heard,” he said. They decided on a few items, including a double dose of soup. Since the only light was from candles, it was necessary for them to put their heads close together to both be able to read the menu. Liz could smell the soap on him from his shower. It was almost more than she could take. Another big crack of thunder and she nearly threw herself into his arms.

  “Okay, we’ve got a plan,” Ty finally said. “Now we need a phone. And I’m buying dinner,” he added with authority.

  “No, I lost the bet. Beanie didn’t try to escape,” Liz stated with equal authority as she looked hard at Beanie. He didn’t care.

  “He stuck his nose past the edge of the step and thought about it very hard,” Ty answered as he, too, tried to give Beanie a severe look, “It’s an escape attempt. End of discussion. Now where’s the phone?”

  “Kitchen,” said Liz. She handed him a candle. “Here. I forgot where I left my flashlight.”

  Ty rose and pointed his free hand at Liz. “Just sit. I’ll take care of this.” He headed for the kitchen. Liz listened to him placing the order and after he gave the address, she heard him say, “A what? I don’t know, let me ask.” Liz?” Ty called from the kitchen, “What’s a Beanie Box and do we want one?”

  “Oh! Yes! I forgot! We need a Beanie Box!” Liz called back. This seemed to get Beanie’s interest and he jumped up on the table to walk over and sniff Liz’s face. “Down. Now.” He got back into his seat.

  Ty returned to the table, two beer bottles in one hand and the candle in the other. He passed one bottle to Liz and seated himself. “Fred says ‘hi’ and that it’ll be about a half-hour.” Ty raised his bottle. “Happy Birthday to me,” he said softly.

  “What?” Liz was stunned.

  He looked at her. “It’s true. Today’s my birthday. Here,” He showed her his driver’s license. The date matched.

  Liz stared. “My God. Why aren’t you at a party or spending the evening with friends?”

  Ty shrugged as he put away the wallet. “No friends to throw a party.”