Amanda shook her head. "Antidepressants."
"Oh. I was asking because both of you are blushing, and so I figured the paper might have been about weirdo sex."
Mavis swatted him on the arm. "Honestly. Chester. Their cheeks are pink from the cold air. You have sex on the brain." She leaned toward Amanda. "He cornered your boss tonight and grilled her. It was embarrassing."
"Nothing embarrasses Gloria," Amanda said.
"I meant that I was embarrassed. He told her that I had her red vibrator on loan."
Will went into a coughing fit.
"Whoops." Mavis clapped her hand over her mouth and giggled. "I forgot that Will wasn't around when all that happened. He doesn't know about my hair-curling attempt."
Will coughed harder.
"Goodness, is he all right?" Mavis peered at Will. "Pound him on the back, Amanda."
Amanda complied, although she knew that if Will stopped coughing, he'd start laughing. Coughing was better.
This conversation was a good thing, though. It took her mind off the stalker. She'd scanned the smattering of other passengers for anyone who was faintly familiar. She'd recognized no one but she supposed the person could be wearing a disguise.
Now there was an unnerving thought. If a guy went so far as to disguise himself, then he might be heading into Ted Bundy territory. Damn it, she wanted to know who it was! The waiting and wondering was wearing her down.
When the red vibrator wasn't mentioned again, Will eventually stopped coughing. "Excuse me," he said. "Got something caught in my throat."
"Happens to me all the time," Mavis said. "You should carry lemon drops. I usually do, but I switched purses to something fancier when I got ready to leave tonight, and I forgot the lemon drops."
Chester shook his head and gazed at Will. "Do you understand this business about fancy purses and plain ones?"
"Probably not," Will said.
"I have one wallet," Chester said. "How many you got?" "One."
"Exactly." Chester gave Will a man-to-man look.
"So even if you're not working tomorrow night, Amanda," Mavis said, "do you want to go to Geekland with Chester and me, anyway? As a customer?"
"No offense, Mavis, but I'd rather not. I'm there enough as it is."
"Oh, I understand completely. Just thought I'd check. I guess we won't go to Geekland tomorrow night, either, then." Mavis patted Chester's knee. "We'll have to find something else to do."
Chester gave her a teasing glance. "Now that I've talked to Amanda's boss, I have some ideas."
"Oh, you" Mavis turned red and gave him a shove that almost toppled him from the seat. "You're impossible."
Amanda was dying to ask Mavis what had happened to turn the tables on this relationship, but that would have to wait until they could have a girls-only chat. In the meantime, they'd arrived at their stop. She could finally be alone with Will and read what had been inside the valentine she hadn't wanted to see while she was working and had to keep her cool.
She could find out if there were any more songs on her answering machine. And she'd experience something entirely new—having sex with Will in an actual bed.
All the way home, except when he was laughing about Mavis and the red vibrator, Will second-guessed his decision not to destroy the valentine in his pocket. He'd had plenty of opportunity during the evening to get rid of it, and he'd come close several times. The threat directed at him might upset Amanda ... a lot.
But in the end he remembered that she wanted to know everything, scary or not. Part of respecting someone was making sure you didn't overprotect them. And he respected the hell out of Amanda.
Nevertheless, he wasn't looking forward to showing it to her. They also had the answering machine to deal with. And he'd decided they needed to talk about defense tactics if someone should manage to break in.
None of those would be fun discussions. Then there was the issue of sex. He wanted to have some. He'd guess that she did, too. But during sex they'd be incredibly vulnerable. No telling what this nutcase would do if he broke in and found them going at it.
Despite Will's efforts not to dwell on worst-case scenarios, he couldn't seem to help himself. The media were always reporting on bad things happening to good people, people who had never done anything to deserve their fate. This latest threat might be enough for the police to get involved, but Will couldn't imagine what they could do unless something more overt took place. He could hardly expect them to park a squad car outside Amanda's apartment building every night.
As the four of them climbed off the bus, Will became aware of the deserted street, the dark shadows, and the overgrown bushes surrounding Amanda's windows. He wished she hadn't taken a first-floor apartment. None of this felt safe.
Either Amanda was putting on a good show for Mavis and Chester or she didn't feel the ominous presence. She was chattering away as if nothing was bothering her.
"We can all go back to Geekland on Monday night." She fished in her purse for the entry key.
Will thought he heard a noise. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one had come up behind them. Amanda seemed to be having trouble finding her key.
"Monday night suits me," Chester said. "They have half-price drink specials on Monday, so I wouldn't have to use up my coupons."
"Honestly, Chester." Mavis shook her head. "Does everything have to have a coupon or be fifty percent off?"
"Not everything." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Amanda finally came up with the key.
Will could swear the bushes rustled. "Come on. Let's get inside."
Her hand on the doorknob, Amanda glanced back at him. "Will?"
The rustling sound came again and panic gripped him. "Just open the door."
"Something wrong?" Chester looked from Amanda to Will.
"Probably not." Amanda opened the door and waved Mavis and Chester inside.
Will practically pushed her through the door and closed it behind them. The security lock clicked into place, and he sighed in relief.
As Mavis and Chester started down the hall together, Amanda hung back and lowered her voice. "What was it?"
"I thought I heard something. It might have been the wind."
"There was no wind."
"I know."
Mavis and Chester passed Chester's door, which was once again decorated with the red heart Mavis had put there. They both paused at Amanda's door and Mavis turned. "Thank you for a wonderful evening. I especially liked the singing. It was like old times."
Amanda smiled at her. "I'm glad you had fun."
"We did. Come along, Chester."
"Only if you promise not to cook me anything."
"Don't be silly. Eating at this time of night is very bad for you. Ruins your digestion. Good night, kids."
Amanda stared as the two of them disappeared inside Mavis's apartment. "I can't believe it. You should have seen how they used to fight."
"Maybe the red vibrator broke the ice."
"Maybe." She opened her door and walked into the dark apartment. "Shoot, I forgot to leave a light on."
"Stay right here." Leaving the door open in case they needed an escape route, Will moved carefully into the living room. Adrenaline flooded his system.
"Will, you're scaring me."
"I'm scaring myself, but I don't want to be stupid about this, either." Listening for any sound—the scuff of a shoe on the carpet or a cough—he made his way over to the end table and tamed on the table lamp. No one was in the room.
Then Amanda gasped. "The window."
He looked, and there, outlined in white spray paint, was a giant heart. Heart pounding, he walked over to touch it. "It's on the outside."
"I... forgot to close the drapes."
Will reached for the cord and took care of that. Then he turned to her. "There's no reason to stay here like sitting ducks. We can go to my apartment for the night."
Pressing her lips tog
ether, she shook her head.
"Why not? I'm on the second floor. He may not have any idea where I live."
She took a shaky breath. "Because that will only prolong it. He's not giving up, so that means we have to wait until he shows himself. Then we can deal with him."
"I'll bet we could outwait him. If you moved in with me for a couple of weeks, he'd probably get tired of not knowing how to get to you and go away." Will wasn't sure of that, but it sounded better than hanging around this apartment with its overgrown bushes and easy access.
"He'd only track me to your place. He knows I work for Gloria and he knows I work at Geekland." She clenched her fists at her side. "I'm sick, sick, sick of the suspense. I want him to make his move. Then, one way or the other, it will be over."
"Let me check out the rest of the apartment, and then we'll talk about it." He started toward the bathroom.
"We can talk about it all you want, but I'm staying here."
And if she did, so would he. But they had to come up with some defensive strategies. He looked behind the shower curtain in the bathroom and then made sure nobody was hiding in her bedroom, either.
He almost tripped over a thick book lying beside her bed, and underneath the bed he found the wand for her vacuum cleaner. She was too neat to have them there by accident. As effective weapons, though, they left something to be desired.
Continuing on to her closet, he discovered that she didn't have a lot of clothes, but the ones she had were hung up neatly. Her shoes were arranged in a tidy row on the floor. He was reminded of the hummingbird's nest he'd seen.
Someone was trying to destroy that nest, which created a fury in him that he'd never felt before. Not even Helen's betrayal had affected him like this. He wanted the son of a bitch to show himself, too.
Maybe Amanda was right about staying here and drawing him out into the open. The jerk had been toying with her long enough. Judging from the escalating threats, he'd make contact with her soon. When that happened, Will wanted to be ready.
"Nobody's here." He walked back into the living room, shrugging out of his coat on the way. "At least he didn't try to break in tonight."
In his absence Amanda had locked the door and taken off her coat. She stood gazing at the red numeral glowing on the answering machine. "Before I play this, tell me what was in the valentine."
He dug it out of his pocket, unfolded it and handed it to her.
She read it and glanced up at him. "Okay, we can go to your apartment if you want. I didn't realize he'd targeted you, too."
"That's not why I suggested it. I'm not worried about myself. I'm worried about you."
"Whatever. Let's go. Give me five minutes to get a few things together. And I think we should call a cab instead of hanging around the bus stop and making ourselves easy targets." She started toward the bedroom.
He caught her arm. "Wait."
"I'm not putting you at more risk, and that's that." Determination gleamed in her blue eyes.
He'd never wanted to kiss someone so much in his life. But this wasn't the time for kissing. It was the time for a logical approach.
Still, he wasn't above using touch to bolster his point. He took her other arm and brought her in a little closer, within range to be convinced, one way or another. "I thought you wanted to give the guy a chance to show himself?"
"That was before I found out he's offering to get rid of you."
"Maybe that's only a scare tactic." "Well, it worked. There's more security in your apartment. I think you even have better locks."
"With all we had going on, you noticed the locks?"
"Yeah." Her expression softened. "I'm capable of focusing on something besides condoms, you know."
"I'm sure you are. So let's focus on catching this guy. We can do that better by staying here."
She shook her head. "Not if it puts you in more danger. I dragged you into this, and I can drag you out again."
"I don't think so. Not anymore."
Her eyes searched his. "Just because we had a little sex doesn't mean—"
"In the first place, it was a lot of sex. And in the second place, I have these powerful protective instincts to deal with."
"You need to disconnect those instincts immediately."
"Sorry, no can do." He caressed her arms. "They come hardwired in most guys, and it's quite often activated once you let them have sex with you."
"Is that right?" In spite of everything, she smiled.
"Do the research. You'll discover that the same instincts which prompted the cavemen to fight off the saber-toothed tiger are driving me, now. After eons of human development, there's no stopping the process."
"You are so full of bullshit." But her eyes told him she was loving every nerdy word of it.
"Let's stay here and man the barricades."
"Or woman the barricades, whichever makes more sense at the time. I demand equal barricade time."
"I knew that." He was falling for her. After eons of human development, there was no stopping that process, either.
TWENTY-SIX
If Amanda had heard the song on the answering machine before making her decision to stay in her apartment, she might have chosen differently. But she'd committed to staying and catching the guy and she knew that was the best course of action. Still, hearing Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" rattled her more than she wanted to admit.
"Forget what I said," Will said. "We're going to my place."
She reminded herself that this kind of mental torture could go on for a very long time if she didn't make a stand. She looked Will in the eye. "I'm staying."
"But there's stuff in that song about blood on the carpet."
"You said it yourself. He's trying scare tactics. He might be angry that you're on the scene."
"Might?" Will blew out a breath and pushed his glasses more firmly on the bridge of his nose. "That's like saying Michael Jordan might be the best player the Bulls ever had."
"Okay, so he's angry."
"He's more than angry. He's furious because you have a boyfriend."
"Good. Then he'll want to do something, something that will draw him out where we can see him." "We need a strategy session."
"We need coffee." She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a can of Folgers out of the cupboard.
"Good idea. You got anything sugary, to jump-start our brains?"
"Ding-Dongs." She gestured toward the counter. "They're four months old."
"Ding-Dongs? Really?" He picked up the package. "I haven't had these in years."
Amanda dumped the coffee in the basket and ran water in the carafe. "One bite and it'll be years before you have another one. They're a gift from Chester. He had a coupon."
"Maybe they'll work as weapons." He took one out. "Still too soft. We could freeze them."
She punched the button and started the coffee. "Great plan. When the valentine guy shows up, we'll have him wait in the living room while we get the frozen Ding-Dongs to pelt him with."
"Seriously. We need something." Will bit into a Ding-Dong. "These are incredibly stale."
"I have a vacuum cleaner hose and a copy of the collected works of Freud."
"I know. I almost tripped over them, but it's not enough. Got any knives?"
She shuddered. "I can't picture myself stabbing anybody." She saw his expression and reconsidered her answer. "But I'll work on that. I realize that when the time comes ..."
"It probably won't get to that. He's only one person and we're two. But still, I think a knife would be good to have handy. Which drawer?"
"To your left."
He opened the drawer, took out the biggest, baddest knife she owned, and laid it on the counter.
She looked away. "Yuck. I wish I knew karate or something."
"Me, too. Some protector I am, huh?" That got to her. He'd willingly interrupted his life to deflect this threat, and it was turning out to be much hairier
than either of them had thought. Walking over to him,
she put her arms around his waist and gazed up at him. "What?"
"I won't have you minimizing what you've offered to do for me." He felt so good that she pressed closer, which naturally caused him to put down the Ding-Dong so he could wind his arms around her, too.
"I haven't done much," he said.
"Yes you have. You've been wonderful, and I'll never forget it."
A gleam came into his green eyes. "Are we talking about my bodyguard abilities or something else?"
"I'm talking about your friendship."
He smiled. "Thanks. You're pretty darned friendly, yourself."
She rubbed against his crotch and felt him respond. "We can't have sex tonight, can we?"
"Not if we stay here. We'd be too vulnerable." His gaze grew hotter. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to my apartment?"
"Of course I do." She stood on tiptoe so her hips aligned perfectly with his. "You'd think I'd had enough, but I feel as if we just got started."
He cupped her bottom and pulled her in tight. "Then let's call a cab."
"Nope." She rubbed against him, tormenting herself as much as she was tormenting him. "And don't think I don't regret that choice. You have an amazing effect on me."
He leaned down to nibble on her mouth. "Same here. And you taste a hell of a lot better than Ding-Dongs."
She accidentally began kissing him back, and before she knew it, his tongue was in her mouth. Things went downhill from there, or uphill, depending on what perspective a person had on the situation.
Kissing her with increasing enthusiasm, Will edged her out of the kitchen and toward the living room. "We shouldn't do this." He unbuckled her belt.
"No." She unzipped his fly.
"We'll be quick."
"A quickie." She reached inside his pants and found exactly what she was looking for. He was silky smooth and rock hard—the exact components that made her heart race faster and her panties become wetter.
He shoved those wet panties down around her knees about the time she engineered the release of his penis. By nudging one shoe off, she could pull one leg free of being trapped in her pants leg.
He'd propped her up on the arm of the couch, which meant he only had to reach around to the seat cushion where his laptop case lay. She suspected he'd planned it that way. In seconds he scored the last piece of the puzzle, a shiny gold packet, and ripped it open.
My Nerdy Valentine Page 26
