Risky Investment

by Beth Moore

  Matt watched as Chris left; his side. His eyes scanned the room and found his friend Jeff trying desperately to get his attention. Matt motioned for his friend to join him and so Jeff approached the group of three.

  “Mom, Dad, you remember my friend Jeff. You met him yesterday.”

  Charles and Marie smiled politely, then went back to discussing the artwork before them.

  “So come here for a second, I need to talk to you,” Jeff said, pulling at Mart’s arm.

  Matt followed Jeff into the next room.

  “I thought you said that your ‘fiancee’ is straight?” Jeff asked.

  “Yeah. Because she is,” Matt replied as if annoyed.

  “Are you sure?”

  Matt sighed. “Jeff, what are you getting at?”

  “Well, I was just watching her yesterday. For a woman who’s straight, she sure spent a lot of time with her eyes on Lynn.”

  Matt looked bored. “She and Lynn have become—”

  “Close?” Jeff finished Matt’s sentence.

  “Yes, close, but not how you’re inferring,” Matt said, disgusted with his friend. Maybe Lynn was right about Jeff.

  “I don’t know about that. There sure were some heated looks between the two.”

  “Oh, first you said that Chris was looking at Lynn. Now you say that they were returned by Lynn?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. And did you notice how often they casually touched each other?”

  “Oh come on Jeff.”

  “When you and your parents left the table yesterday, they ended up feeding their desserts to each other.”

  “God, how close were you watching them?” Matt said with exasperation.

  “Well, I didn’t actually see that. Someone else told me,” Jeff explained.

  Matt ran his fingers through his hair. He didn’t know what to believe. “Lynn promised not to play around with Chris.”

  “Hey, from what I heard and saw, it wasn’t all on Lynn’s part, if you know what I mean.”

  Matt nodded in understanding.

  Jeff put his hand on Matt’s shoulder. “Look, I’m just telling you so that your little charade doesn’t get fucked up.”

  “I know. Thanks, buddy,” Matt said, as he gave Jeff a hug.

  Matt pulled the car away from the gallery and onto the frontage road. The conversation with Jeff still fresh in his mind, he thought back to the times that he, Chris, and Lynn had been together at the same time. Had he noticed a special connection between the two of them? Had Lynn made Chris her latest victim? As he turned the car onto the highway, he concentrated on the conversations that they had all had together. Was there flirting? He and Lynn had always been so comfortable together. He hadn’t really paid attention to any sexual innuendos, any hidden glances. Had they been there?

  The traffic slowed. Another California traffic jam. Matt sighed. Chris turned and asked, “Is there something wrong?”

  Matt looked at her. “Can I ask you a really personal question?”

  “Nothing’s too personal, we’re engaged, remember?” Chris grinned.

  Matt shook his head. “No, this is really personal, oh, forget it, it’s none of my business.”

  “Matt, just spit it out.”

  Matt looked ahead at the traffic, then turned toward her, “It’s just that Jeff asked me… well, if anyone could do it, Lynn could. I mean she’s good looking and sexy. I guess…”

  “English, Matt. Complete sentences, please!” Chris was getting confused.

  Matt looked out the side window, glanced down, then began again. “Jeff asked me if you and Lynn… if you… He thinks that there may be some flirting going on and some staring. I told him you were straight, but—”

  Chris interrupted, her face beginning to turn red. “What exactly are you getting at, Matt?”

  Matt blurted, “Is something going on between you and Lynn?” He glanced toward Chris, then began pulling at some imaginary string on the steering wheel cover. “I mean, I have noticed the closeness that has developed. And you seem to have a lot in common. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, she’s really a great person, it’s just that—”

  Chris interrupted again, looking at him, her face now hot. “Is that what you think?” She suddenly turned toward her side window, knowing that if he looked into her eyes, he might see the truth, that she was so confused about her feelings at this point, that she couldn’t be sure what was happening between her and Lynn.

  The traffic at a standstill, he shifted the car into park and turned toward her. “Look, I don’t know what I think. I just want you to be happy. I really love Lynn. It’s just that she’s not real great with relationships and all, and I wouldn’t want either one of you to get hurt.”

  Chris could not look back at him. She knew he was being sincere. She knew exactly what his face would look like, the look in his eyes. She just stared out the window and was relieved to see the car beside her begin to move forward.

  “The traffic is moving,” was all that she could say.

  Matt took the car out of park and slowly pressed the gas pedal. “Chris, I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said with sincerity, glancing first at Chris and then back at the road ahead.

  “Please, just drop it!” Chris said in anguish. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. Had it been so obvious to complete strangers? Had Lynn thought it obvious, too? She could not look away from the side window. She could not move.

  The traffic now at a steady speed, the silence unbearable, Matt ran his fingers through his hair and reached to turn the volume up on the radio. The car passed by an area of the highway under construction. A worker holding a sign with the word “stop” stood on the side of the road. “Hey, wasn’t he one of the Village People?” Matt kidded.

  But Chris didn’t respond. There would be no more words uttered in the car until they pulled into the driveway of the house.

  Matt fumbled the keys as he withdrew them from the ignition. “You’re all thumbs!” joked Chris, trying to act as if recovered from the conversation. “No wonder you haven’t had a date in a while!”

  Matt laughed. He was glad that she was speaking to him again. He was also glad that they had this conversation. He now knew the truth; he knew that Chris was as confused about her relationship with Lynn as he was.

  Matt unlocked the door, and immediately Chris headed for the patio. She walked onto the deck, desperately in need of some fresh air.

  “Thank God!” came a voice from the sand below.

  Chris looked down to find Lynn sprawled out on a beach towel. Her tan body glistened in the sun from baby oil, which had been applied generously. Chris felt her body temperature rise, from the beads of moisture on the dark skin, coupled with the fact that Lynn lay there practically nude, her bathing suit top straps unfastened and falling to each side.

  “Come here, please! I’ve got an itch in the middle of my back that I’ve been trying to reach for an hour!” came the voice again.

  Chris climbed down the stairs and knelt next to the oily body.

  “It’s right between my shoulder blades!”

  Chris reached out and gently scratched; the rich oil coated her fingers.

  “Oooh… right there.” The body moaned beneath her. “Thanks, Chris.”

  Chris felt lightheaded. She imagined rubbing her naked body against Lynn’s oil-coated skin. She had to clear her head. Maybe a nice quick jog would do the trick.

  “While you’re there, can you fasten my straps, please? I’m going to go cool off in the water.”

  Chris carefully picked up and fastened the straps. On second thought, maybe a grueling run would be better.

  Knowing that she was short on time, Chris rushed into the house and changed into her running clothes. Her body temperature had just returned to normal when she headed out the door to begin her run. Stepping out onto the deck she was suddenly captivated by the figure walking toward her.

  The swimsuit that she had just helped fasten barely cov
ered any of the slim, tan, toned body. Moisture beaded on the dark skin due to the layer of oil that lingered even after the saltwater wash. A glimmer of gold sparkled from Lynn’s stomach. Chris focused her eyes. Lynn’s belly button was pierced. The gold hoop made a shiver run down Chris’s body. Stopping, Lynn looked up at the sun and used her hands to slick back her hair. The view was right out of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

  “What’s wrong?” Lynn called out to Chris.

  Chris shook her head, trying to shake out the dozens of impure thoughts running through her mind. She ran down the stairs and away from Lynn, knowing that seeing that body any closer could send her over the edge.

  Matt watched Chris from his seat on the couch. He saw her rush in then rush out of the house in her running clothes.

  “Are you going for a run?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” Chris replied as she dashed past him and slid open the glass door.

  “Hey! Are you sure you have time?” Matt called out to her as she slid the door shut behind her. He rose quickly and walked over to the door to catch her, calling out, “Chris!”

  Approaching the glass door, Matt stopped as he watched the same scene that had Chris hypnotized. He had forgotten just how beautiful Lynn was. And if he, a gay man, had been caught off guard by the view, he could just imagine what Chris, a very confused woman, was feeling.

  Matt went back to his seat after watching Chris take off in a steady run. She probably really needed to let off some steam.

  Matt turned at the sound of the door sliding open, and then the voice.

  “What’s wrong with Chris?” Lynn asked, still toweling off.

  “I think that she just needed some time alone,” Matt replied. “But I hope that she doesn’t lose track of time.”

  “She has plenty of time,” Lynn answered.

  Matt looked up at Lynn. “Do you think that you could wear anything a little more revealing?”

  “Matt, this is my tanning suit. You’ve seen it a million times and it’s never made you uncomfortable before,” Lynn said as she walked toward the bedroom.

  “It’s not me that you’re making uncomfortable,” he muttered to himself.

  Halfway down the hall, Lynn turned around and smiled. “You’re not turning straight on me, are you?”

  “Ooh, baby, I want your body!” Matt said as he grabbed a pillow from the couch and hurled it toward her.

  Chris’s feet pounded the hard wet sand as she ran along the water’s edge. She passed by a group of guys playing football and thought to herself, See, I still think those guys are good looking. Next she came among some women in bikinis, sunning themselves. Stopping for a moment, she concentrated on each one, and then, realizing that she was staring, began her jog again. She smiled to herself. She had not thought one of them attractive. So what was going on between her and Lynn? Was it all in her mind? No, Matt had made that perfectly clear. She looked down at her watch and realized that she needed to quicken her pace to make it back to the house with time to shower. She reached the house with no answers to her questions. It was going to be a long night.

  Lynn found herself sorting through everything in the closet. Jeez, what am I doing? she asked herself, thinking that she was looking not just for something suitable but something that would make her attractive to Chris. Get ahold of yourself! she thought, reminding herself of one fact about Chris—she’s straight, she’s straight, she’s straight! Grabbing a pair of black jeans, a red silk shirt, and her black boots, she proceeded to get dressed.

  Lynn stepped out onto the patio deck and leaned on the railing, taking in the red and orange sunset. She glanced at a small figure coming down the beach. As it drew near, she saw that it was Chris.

  “You’d better get your butt in gear, girl, you don’t have much time!” Lynn yelled out to her.

  Chris sped up as she reached the deck of the house and heard Lynn’s voice. “Oh God, here we go again!” she mumbled to herself as she felt her heart jump a beat seeing Lynn in the red silk shirt. Blowing in the breeze, it opened just enough to show a thin gold chain glimmering on her tan neckline.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” Lynn asked.

  “Oh, nothing, I said I lost track of time,” Chris puffed as she stretched out her leg muscles before entering the house.

  “Is there anything I can do to help you get ready? Iron something maybe?” Lynn offered as she followed Chris into the house.

  “That would be great.” Chris pulled out a short black dress. “It just needs a little touch-up.”

  “No problem.” Lynn took the dress and headed to the ironing board. Sure, no problem., just seeing you in this dress is going to drive me crazy all night, she thought to herself.

  And it did. Chris came into the living room, where Matt and Lynn sat waiting, with five minutes to spare. Matt glanced up at Chris. “Wow! You look great! Doesn’t she look great, Lynn?”

  Lynn did not want to look up. She raised her eyes slowly. Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t blush, she said to herself. Chris did look as good in the dress as she had imagined. Lynn immediately stood, turning so that Chris could not see her face just in case she was blushing. “Yes, great! Are you guys ready to go?” They both nodded and began to file out the door.

  “You know, this is nice,” Marie commented. “Nice to have a quiet evening between the big party last night and the big dance tomorrow night.”

  “Big dance?” Chris questioned as she shot a stabbing stare at Matt. Matt winced and smiled as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

  “Didn’t Matt tell you about the big annual hoedown?” Charles chuckled.

  “No,” Chris responded with a chuckle of her own. “A hoedown?”

  “Oh, Chris! It’s so much fun!” Marie said. “I just love that two-step dancing!”

  Charles groaned then smiled as he patted his son on the back. “And this year Matt doesn’t have an excuse not to dance.”

  Lynn laughed. “I would love to see Matt doing the two-step!”

  “Lynn, I wish you would reconsider coming, although I understand.” Marie read Lynn’s eyes.

  “Thanks,” Lynn said. “But I think I’ll stick to the holiday dance at the bar. At least I’ll have someone to dance with there.”

  Charles interrupted by clearing his throat. “Lynn, how about we go up to our suite so that I can show you the information on the investment that I’m interested in?”

  Lynn nodded and pushed back her chair.

  Chris watched as the two left the room. It was very odd how Charles relied on Lynn’s investment advice, considering that Lynn had no professional training.

  Charles unlocked the door of the suite and ushered Lynn through the door. He walked over to the table and picked up a manila envelope.

  Handing it to Lynn, he motioned for her not to open it. “Please don’t feel like you need to open it right now. Just take a look at it later and see what you think.”

  Lynn nodded. “What kind of money are we talking about, Charles?” she asked.

  “Well, it’s quite a chunk. But it promises a rate of return of about twenty percent.”

  Lynn looked suspicious. Nothing she knew of promised that kind of return these days. “And you’re going to pull some of the funds from your established portfolio?”

  Charles raised his hand and scratched his chin in thought. “I’m sure that you know about the loan I made Matt to start up his shop. The note comes due next month. If he comes up with the money, I’ll use that to make the investment. If not, which I highly suspect, yes, I’ll have to pull some out of my existing portfolio.”

  Lynn had no clue about the loan Charles spoke of. Wanting more details, she pretended to have forgotten. “Wow, has it been that long already? I know he’s told me, but I can’t remember—how much is the balance on that loan?”

  “Enough to get into this investment. Somewhere around thirty thousand,” Charles answered.

  Lynn nodded, but inside, she was angry. Was thi
s what had Matt so troubled? This entire charade was due to money that he owed his dad? She could have solved this problem so easily! Then she remembered the last time that she tried to help Matt out. He adamantly refused, saying that he didn’t want money to come between them because it could ruin their friendship.

  Lynn’s thoughts were interrupted by Charles’s question. “So, you’ll check this out for me then?”

  “No problem, Charles. I should have something for you at the end of the week,” Lynn answered.

  Charles ushered her out of the suite and into the elevator to return to their group.

  “So how’s business going?” he asked.

  “Good. Really good,” Lynn replied, still preoccupied with the recent conversation.

  “So the whole up-and-down thing with the stock market?”

  “Oh, you know. It was bad for the short-term investors. But most of my clients are in it for the long haul.”

  Charles nodded. He was happy to have their investment relationship. The elevator opened and the two made their way back to the table.

  Lynn sat down and put the packet beside her chair. Picking up her drink, she suddenly was shaken by Chris’s knee knocking against her own. She looked over at the woman who was deep in conversation with Marie, but received no response.

  For a moment Lynn was lost in a daydream. She slid her hand onto Chris’s knee and continued up her soft skin, under the black dress, onto her upper thigh, turning inward…

  Her daydream was interrupted by another nudge from Chris’s knee. Shaking herself back into reality, she caught the gist of the topic at hand. Marie was talking about the details of a wedding she had just attended. Lynn heard the woman ramble on—the flowers, the colors—that’s what Chris’s nudge had been about. She needed a way out of this conversation.

  Lynn waited for Marie to pause, then butted in, “So Marie, how was the gallery opening today?”

  Marie turned to Lynn. “Oh Lynn, it was wonderful.”

  Chris rubbed her knee against Lynn’s as if to say “Thanks for the save.” Lynn tried to continue the conversation but had trouble concentrating because of the knee pressed against hers. Neither Chris nor Lynn moved for the rest of the evening.