Tropical Storm - DK1

by Melissa Good

  Kerry settled on the edge of the desk and opened the bag, spreading out a napkin, then setting out a container of Chinese food. “They have a limited selection around there, and I didn’t think you’d appreciate Taco Bell.”

  Tropical Storm 279

  Dar peeked inside the container and grinned. “Good choice.” She sniffed the sweet and spicy chicken appreciatively. “I was in the mood for this today.

  How’d you guess?”

  “I think I just got lucky.” Kerry chuckled and handed her a pair of chopsticks. “Oh, and, um…” She overturned her cupped hand and poured a trickle of silver-wrapped Hershey’s kisses on the desk. “Dessert.”

  “Heh.” Dar immediately abandoned the chicken and pounced on the chocolate. “Listen, be careful in that meeting you’ve got with Eleanor this afternoon. I just offended her pretty badly.” She happily munched a kiss. “On top of it, I have to be nice to her at a cocktail party tonight.”

  Kerry grimaced. “Thanks for warning me. Tonight’s my skating night with Colleen. I’ll be ready to let out some frustration by the time I get done with them, I bet.” She paused, seeming to want to go on, but fell silent.

  “We still on for tomorrow night?” Dar asked, watching her face. “If you want, we can go back to my place afterward. Maybe take a swim in the pool?”

  Sea green eyes warmed. “I’d like that.”

  Dar silently unwrapped one of the kisses and handed it to her, eyes twinkling.

  The opening door surprised both of them and they jumped a little. Maria entered, giving them a glance, then smiling. “Ah, Kerrisita, I have mail for you.”

  She bustled forward and handed Kerry several pieces of mail. “Dar, I got your tickets, but Dios mío, it is expensive.” She handed the executive an itinerary.

  “And remember, you have your follow-up visit to your doctor tomorrow.”

  Dar nodded, taking the sheet and examining it. “Great. Thanks, Maria.”

  She thought a minute. “It probably won’t take long tomorrow, I’m his first visit. He just wants to repeat the bloodwork he did last time.” She glanced at her watch. “Let me swallow this, and I gotta get going.”

  “Me too.” Kerry nodded. “Wish me luck.”

  The dark-haired woman rolled her eyes. “Good luck. And remember, she’s probably in a foul mood.” Dar thought a minute. “Especially since she probably missed lunch.” She grinned evilly and bit a piece of chicken in half.

  Kerry groaned. “All right. See you all later.” She got off the desk and left the office, leaving Maria shuffling papers and Dar chewing.

  The door closed. “Ay, she is such a nice person, Dar.” Maria sighed. “So sweet.”

  “Mmm, yeah. It was nice of her to bring me back some lunch. She’s a good kid,” Dar replied offhandedly. “Glad I found her.”

  “Si, is good,” Maria agreed. “And how is your headaches?”

  Dar took a breath to answer, then stopped. She blinked. “I…I haven’t had one since I went home that day,” she murmured, a little disconcerted. “Now how do you like that?”

  “Is good! Maybe seeing Mickey Mouse helped,” Maria suggested.

  “Maybe.” Dar took another bite of chicken and smiled in return.

  “Or maybe it is Kerrisita being so nice to you, yes?” Maria asked with an impish expression.

  Dar paused in mid-chew and looked at her.

  “I will go make copies now. Enjoy your lunch, Jefa.” Her admin bustled out, closing the door softly behind her and leaving Dar in wide-eyed silence.

  280 Melissa Good KERRY STRAPPED ON the Rollerblades, looking up as a knock came at the door. “C’mon in, Col,” she called out cheerfully, then grinned as the door popped open and Colleen came rolling in, waving her hands for balance.

  “Hey, watch it!”

  The redhead plopped down on the couch, sticking her wheeled feet out in front of her. “Hey, Ker, what’s up?” Her eyes twinkled mischievously at her friend. “Was that Dar’s Lexus out there last night?”

  Was it only last night? Jesus. “Um…yeah,” Kerry knew she was blushing,

  “it was. She came over for dinner.”

  Colleen chuckled in triumph. “I knew it. We think you two are soooooo cute together.”

  Kerry’s head came up so fast it made her dizzy. “What? Who is we?”

  The redhead noted that her friend didn’t dispute the statement. “Ray and Susan and me. We hung around talking about you Saturday night.” She grinned unrepentantly at Kerry’s shocked look. “Okay, okay, so she passed the grilling. She’s not a gorgon.”

  “C’mon, Colleen, it was just dinner.” Kerry tried a weak laugh. “You’re acting like we’re a couple or something.” After a slight silence, Kerry looked up and saw her friend gazing at her, a knowing look on her face. They stared at each other for a long, tense moment before Kerry sighed and dropped her gaze, looking down at a pair of knotted hands between her knees.

  Colleen got up and rolled over, crouching down next to her and putting a hand on her knee. “Kerry, if it makes you happy, it’s all right.”

  “It’s not all right.” Kerry looked up. “She’s my boss, Colleen. It’s against company rules, and we could both get in a lot of trouble.” She couldn’t keep the tiny smile from stretching her lips. “We’re trying to keep it a secret. I think we’re doing a miserable job of it, though, if you guys came to that conclusion after just having dinner with us.”

  “Well…”

  “Before we’d even so much as kissed each other,” Kerry finished, resting her chin on one fist. “Am I wearing a sign or something?”

  Colleen sat down on the floor and crossed her legs, careful not to boot her friend in the shins with the Rollerblades. “Listen, hon, let me ’splain something to you about something we call chemistry.” She put a fingertip on Kerry’s knee. “Do you know what I’m talking about?”

  Kerry exhaled. “Not really, unless you’re referring to periodic tables or something bizarre like that.”

  “Okay. Well, chemistry is when something clicks between two people.

  You can see it on the TV screen sometimes, but not always because those are people who are playing characters, you know?”

  Kerry’s brow creased. “Not exactly.”

  Colleen thought. “Okay, have you ever seen a Richard Burton and Liz Taylor movie?”

  “Um, sure, that Roman thing. Yeah, okay.” Kerry nodded. “They’re really good together, I thought. I really believed they were in love with each other.”

  “Well, they were,” Colleen smiled at her, “in real life. And that showed when they were on the screen together, too. When they looked at each other, or just how they acted…you could tell.” She exhaled. “That’s chemistry. And a Tropical Storm 281

  lot of times you’ll hear someone say ‘those two had chemistry’ when they’re talking about people on TV, or in the movies, or even just two people they see.” She paused. “You understand?”

  “Not exactly,” Kerry admitted. “I mean, yes. I know what you mean about characters. I usually notice when people are supposed to be in love on the screen, and it’s obvious that they can’t stand each other in real life, so, yeah.”

  Colleen rubbed her temples. “I was trying to put this gently, but I can see it’s a wasted effort.” She laughed softly. “Kerry, when you look at her, your whole face lights up.” She glanced up at the startled woman. “And when she looks at you, there’s an electricity that I can almost feel.” She searched Kerry’s face for a reaction. “You two have chemistry going, big time, and it doesn’t take a PhD to pick up on it.”

  Kerry thought about that. “Oh.” She made a wry face. “I had no idea we…hmm.” She considered. “I didn’t realize we were that obvious.”

  “Obviously.” Colleen patted her on the knee. “And it may not be so apparent to people who don’t know you that well, but remember, lassie, we’ve been friends for a few years now.”

  “Mmm.” Kerry rested her chin on her fists again. “I
t makes me feel good to be with her; I guess it shows.”

  The redhead laughed softly. “You could say that. But if you guys are trying to keep it quiet, you’d better not hang around each other at work a lot.”

  “Well, we don’t,” Kerry mused. “I saw her all of once today.” She exhaled. “We’re both pretty busy. Maybe it was worse that night because we were kinda…um, I mean…we didn’t…” She stopped and gathered her thoughts. “Afterward we went out to Crandon and walked on the beach, and, um, we kinda…I guess we admitted that we were attracted to each other,” she finished awkwardly. “So now it’s not so, um…”

  “Freaky,” Colleen supplied understandingly.

  “Yeah, exactly. We both understand what’s going on, and it’s not so frustrating, so I’m sure it’s not as readily noticeable.”

  Colleen grinned knowingly. “Did you guys kiss out there? On the beach?”

  Kerry felt the blush heat her face, but she nodded. “Yeah,” she admitted shyly. “It was…it wasn’t what I was expecting.” She relived the moment. “We were just out there, talking about stuff—the Bermuda Triangle and dinner…and—I don’t know, it was like there was stuff going on underneath it all. I asked her if I could ask a personal question. I have no idea what I was going to ask but she kind of just stood up and kissed me, and said ‘does that answer the question?’ ” She grinned at Colleen’s rapt face. “And it did. It was…very strange, but really nice.”

  “That’s really romantic, Ker.” Colleen sighed. “She seems like a really deep person.”

  The blonde head nodded. “She is, yeah, she is. There’s all kinds of stuff going on in there. I think that’s what makes her so interesting.” She paused.

  “At least to me.”

  Colleen nodded a little. “ Did she stay over all night last night?” She asked delicately, or not so delicately.

  Kerry remained silent for a moment. “Yes,” she finally admitted softly.

  282 Melissa Good A small quiet descended. “You all right with that?” the redhead asked hesitantly. “I know…I mean, we talked about how you felt… Oh, you know what I mean.”

  She knew. “I wasn’t…I mean, I didn’t really know what to expect, Col. I was a little nervous, I’ll tell you that, and freaked out, and a dozen other things, but, I…” She stopped to breathe. “It’s okay.”

  Colleen’s brow creased in concern. “She’s not pushing you into any of this, is she? Kerry, listen, don’t feel like you’re being pressured to do something you’re not comfortable with.”

  Kerry blushed a deep red, and scratched at her jaw. “Um, actually, I was the one who started it,” she muttered sheepishly as she gave Colleen a little shrug. “I’m all right with it, really.”

  The redhead patted her arm. “Good for you.” She smiled. “So, when are you guys moving in together?”

  Kerry’s jaw dropped. “What?” She burst out laughing. “Jesus Christ, Col, it’s not like that. It’s a physical thing. We’re just…it’s not that serious.” She paused thoughtfully. “Yet.”

  “Uh…huh. Okay.” Colleen bit off a smile and gave her a nod. “When are you guys seeing each other again, then?”

  “Tomorrow night. After the gym,” Kerry explained. “I told you I signed up for those classes. If I’m going to keep on hanging out with her, Rollerblading isn’t going to cut it.” She cocked her head. “You guys have a program for that gym, too. Why don’t you come along?” she inquired. “I signed up for that beginner self-defense class, it should be fun. I could use some moral support.”

  “Okay, I could do that,” Colleen mused. “It’s right down the street from our office, too. And besides, I’d better if I want to be able to see you other than waving hello in the mornings,” she teased gently. “Anyway, c’mon, let’s get rolling. It’s muggier than a hot sauna outside. Sooner we finish, the sooner I can take a shower.”

  “I’ll vote for that.” Kerry looked up and grinned. “Know what I wish this place had? A hot tub.”

  “Hot tub?” Colleen put her hands on her hips. “Well, hoity hoi hoi. Let me guess—does Dar have a hot tub, by any chance?” Kerry nodded with a rakish smirk. Her friend laughed. “I guess this is another good reason for you to tell your parents to kiss your ass when you go home for Turkey Day, huh?”

  Kerry finished velcroing herself into the skates and stood up, balancing expertly. “I had a lot of good reasons before that, but, yeah.” She finally allowed a frankly happy grin to take over her face. “This kinda puts the nail in it, so to speak. I just hope I can find a way to do it without getting kicked out of the family.” Firmly putting aside worries about her parents, she shook her head and plodded over to the door, pushing it open. “Let’s go.”

  DAR WAS GLAD to get out of the damp wind and into the cool, quiet peace of the condo. The cocktail party had been outdoors at Viscaya, and she was glad the less than perfect weather had given her a good excuse to get out of there early and escape the throngs of alternately fawning and sniping sales managers clustering around.

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  Eleanor had been particularly cutting, oozing up to her and telling her what a lovely young person Kerry was, and how she was going to do her best to steal her away and save her from having to suffer where she was. “She’s destined for bigger things than being your peon, Dar.” Then the woman had smiled at her.

  Dar tossed her jacket down on the couch and kicked off her shoes.

  “Wonder if you knew how close you were to being thrown into Biscayne Bay, Eleanor?” she remarked wryly to the air. “Toss, sploosh, whoops. Sorry, Mariana, I know that creates a mountain of paperwork.”

  The cool tile felt good against her tired feet, and she paused a moment, flexing her toes before she wandered into the bedroom. She slid out of her skirt, hose, and silk blouse and into her baseball shirt and shorts with a feeling of utter relief, enjoying the feel of the soft cotton against her skin.

  Humming lightly, she wandered into the kitchen and pulled open her refrigerator, peering at its vast emptiness with a pensive expression. “I’m gonna get teased tomorrow if I don’t put some stuff in here,” she muttered to herself, startled when a soft knock sounded at the door.

  For a moment, her heart bounded, considering the possibility it might be Kerry, then she realized there was no way for the blonde woman to get on the island without them notifying her first. She felt curiously disappointed as she crossed the floor and peered through the small window in the door. “Evening, Clemente.” She opened it and allowed the short, round, always perspiring manager of resident services to enter.

  “Good evening, good evening, Ms. Roberts. I’m sorry it’s so late, but I saw you pull in.” The man wiped his brow with a handkerchief. “The floor waxing people will be here on the island tomorrow, and you said to let you know the next time so you can have the tiles done in here.”

  “Oh, sure.” Dar glanced around. “That would be fine. And, hey, listen, Clemente. Can I get your people to do something for me?”

  “Surely. What can we do?”

  “Shop,” Dar replied, “for groceries.”

  Clemente waved his hands in a very Cuban manner. “Of course. Give me a list and I’ll have Rosalita pick everything up for you and put it away.”

  “I don’t have a list,” Dar muttered. “Can she just pick up the normal stuff people have in their houses?” She glanced at the kitchen. “Just, whatever?”

  The man’s brow crumpled like corrugated cardboard. “Ms. Roberts, I can’t have her shop for something I don’t know what to tell her to shop for.

  What is it you need?” He peered at the kitchen. “Bread? Fruitas?”

  Dar sighed and motioned for him to follow her. “Look.” She opened the refrigerator. “I need things other than this.” She lifted her hands and let them drop. “If I go, I’ll end up with a case of Oreo cookies, six gallons of milk, two tins of Edy’s ice cream, and a jar of peanut butter.”

  Clemente covered his eyes. “Dios mío.” He rubbed
his face. “You want…orange juice? Bananas? Soup?”

  Dar thought. “Bananas are good,” she answered cautiously. “Uh, grapefruit juice. Maybe some English muffins?”

  “Si, si.” Clemente pulled a pen from his pocket and scribbled.

  “Marmalada?”

  284 Melissa Good

  “Apricot is okay, or grape.” Dar considered. “Oh, and some tea.”

  “Pekoe, China?” Clemente inquired.

  “The kind you put in a cup and drink,” Dar replied wryly. “Just some bags. If they have herbal stuff, that’s good.” She drummed her fingers on the counter. “They have strawberries?”

  “Si, Driscolls.” the man answered, making a note. “They have a nice box today. The big ones, si? All laid out like roses, very nice.”

  She flashed him a grin. “Get me a box of those…and two big bars of milk chocolate.”

  She gave him a few more items, then watched him leave, sighing as the door closed behind his round figure. “That’s taken care of.” She found herself grinning in anticipation of seeing Kerry’s face when she actually had something more than milk to offer her. She got herself a glass, and checked the terminal, seeing the blinking mail-waiting flag. “Mail.”

  “Dar Roberts, seven mail, none urgent,” the terminal replied, displaying the screen.

  She reviewed them. “Read six.” Her face was already creasing into a smile as her eyes saw the author.

  Sent by: Kerry Stuart

  Subject: Party

  Time: 7:34 PM

  Hey…

  Just wanted to drop a note to say hi. Hope the party went well. You were right about Eleanor, she was all over me like white on rice at the meeting, and if she didn’t tell me twelve times I was wasted where I was, she didn’t say it once. I haven’t been buttered up that bad since some Young Republicans found out who my father was when I was in high school.

  Wonder what she’d do if I told her I’d rather work for Moammar Kadafi than her? At least with him, you know where the knife is coming from. And he’s cuter. She smells like slightly rancid make-up foundation.

  Anyway, she made a particularly disgusting joke about you, and I think she’s testing me to see if I tell you about it. So I’m not going to. But I did pull the plug out of her remote control while she was doing the