by Harper Steen
“That’s quite possible. Maybe we should go into the kitchen and see if they’ve done any more damage.” They stood quickly and walked into the spacious, brightly decorated kitchen on whose countertops stood a variety of chrome kitchen appliances and in whose center was an island with a cooktop and a chopping block on it. Colorful, blooming potted plants were positioned around the room, giving the kitchen a fresh yet cozy atmosphere. A round wooden table and four chairs with decorative apple-green pillows on them added to the tasteful ambience.
Gray and Chris looked around, but they didn’t see anything that the women had maliciously destroyed. Then Gray’s glance dropped from the cooktop to the countertop across from it. He let out a groan of horror. Chris saw what had grabbed Gray’s attention. They walked around the island to the countertop to get a closer look.
Dear Gray! You are completely right in saying that we are not yet completely fit and should stay in bed. Since we’re planning to sleep in tomorrow morning, could you please pick up the following things for us? Oreo cookies, peanut butter cups (large package), a family-size bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips, body lotion with aloe vera, ten bottles of Evian, disposable razors, vanilla and rose-scented bath pearls, the Elizabeth Arden gingko skin care set, two latex pillows with ergonomic neck support, and tampons. Thanks a lot and good night! PS: Sorry we couldn’t find any paper.
“And they think that’s a good reason to ruin the counter?” Gray asked out loud even though he knew he wouldn’t get an answer—at least, not from Liz. He rubbed the black writing with the tip of his index finger and gave a morose snort. Of course! Permanent marker. Although, a pencil would have ruined the counter, too. He needed to use a special cleaner on the surface of this countertop to keep it from getting damaged. And of course he’d run out and didn’t have any of it in the house.
Gray looked at Chris, whose mouth was twitching suspiciously. Chris cleared his throat once, and then twice—but then still laughed, anyway.
“I’m so glad that their behavior meets with your approval.” Gray went to the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of beer. After he’d opened them, he handed one to his friend, who had gotten his laughing fit under control by then, and left the kitchen. Still grinning, Chris followed him onto the deck and sat next to him as he stared out into space.
“Don’t take it so hard, buddy. It could have been worse. Imagine if they’d dumped the broken pieces of plate into the garbage disposal and turned it on! The damage would have been even worse.”
“Good thing they’re in bed and can’t hear your idea.”
“You have to hand it to them, they really are pretty creative.” Chris took another sip from his bottle.
“If by creative you mean childish, then I’ll admit you’re right.”
“No, I didn’t mean that. Is that all you think that was? I don’t. They’re starting out small, like mosquitoes buzzing around your head that you try to hit, but can’t get. But at some point they'll jab you and get you. That business with the countertop is just a taste of what’s to come.”
“You think I don’t know that they’re trying to get to me? Liz and Jennifer figure that if they can get me to throw them out, Townsend will suspend the order. But it’ll never come to that. They’d have to take my whole house down first.”
“So what are you planning? Are you going to let them get away with this?”
“Of course not! Their tempers desperately need to get cooled down. And I’ve got an idea about how to do it. Are you in?”
“As long as no one gets hurt, then I’m in.”
“Don’t worry about that. Do you think I’ve forgotten why they’re here? All that’s going to get hurt is their egos.” Gray stood and walked back into the kitchen. There he picked up first Jennifer’s, then Liz’s packages of medications and examined the quantities. He rejoined his friend and smiled.
“So, what are you planning to do?”
“The pills the doctor prescribed should make them very sleepy. They’ll be sleeping like logs pretty soon and they won’t realize what we’re doing.” Gray went on to describe his plan in detail. Chris’s eyes grew wide and he laughed softly.
“Well, that should certainly cool off their tempers!”
They waited a long time, until they were sure that the women were really asleep, and then they slipped noiselessly into their rooms. They gave each other a satisfied look and grinned. Gray went to Liz’s bed, tapped her lightly on the shoulder and spoke to her, but she didn’t react. Just as he had hoped.
Carefully he picked her up in his arms and stepped to one side. Chris picked up her mattress and followed Gray, who had already gone downstairs and was on his way into the yard. When they reached the side of the pool Chris set the mattress down and Gray lay Liz back on it again. Then they got Jennifer and her mattress. Once they were done, they looked down at the sleeping women with satisfaction.
“What happens if one of them rolls over and falls into the pool before the medication’s side effect wears off?” Chris sounded uneasy.
“The pills aren’t that strong. Anyway, we’ll stay out here to make sure that doesn’t happen. You want another beer?”
“Please.”
Gray grabbed two more bottles and switched on the outside lights, which bathed the patio in a soft light. Then he put a deck of cards on the table and sat across from Chris for a game of poker. Every now and then they looked over at Liz and Jennifer to see if they were still sleeping and to make sure they hadn’t rolled into the pool.
***
It was already light when Gray and Chris noticed that the women were beginning to stir. Quickly the men got up from the table and took up positions next to them. Liz and Jennifer opened their eyes and scanned their surroundings, which didn’t look at all like a bedroom. Liz was the first to grasp the situation. A look of understanding came over her face, but before she could call out a warning, Gray and Chris grabbed the sheet that was stretched tightly over each mattress and wrenched it upwards. Screaming loudly, Liz and Jennifer sailed through the air and disappeared into the pool with a loud splash. The women popped back up out of the water, swept their hair out of their faces and started yelling.
“Are you nuts?” Liz shouted. “What’s the big idea? Is that your idea of us resting?”
“We just wanted to thank you for your polite message on the countertop. We wanted to tell you as quickly as possible that of course we’ll be happy accommodate your requests. But we had to wait until you were truly awake… Are you awake?” Gray crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at them like a cat that had just caught a fat mouse.
Chris was not as restrained. He was doubled over laughing, slapping his palm on his thigh. Every once in a while, he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes and then grabbed his stomach again.
Liz and Jennifer swam to the edge of the pool and climbed clumsily out of the water. They glared at the men as they walked angrily over to them. Liz stopped directly in front of Gray, tilted her head back and looked into his silvery gray eyes that shone with malicious glee. “I’ll get you back!” she hissed softly.
“Go ahead, if you can handle the retaliation that will follow,” he answered calmly, keeping a straight face. His eyes followed her as she stalked into the house, muttering curses about men in general and damning Gray in particular the entire time.
Chris stood next to Gray as they checked out the women together. Their curves were clearly visible through their wet pajamas. While Chris’s eyes were trained on Jennifer’s well founded backside, he said softly, “We should do that more often.”
“You think?”
“Absolutely! Did you see how good they looked in those wet clothes?”
“You think I’m blind?”
Laughing, they lifted up the mattresses and carried them back up to the second floor, dumping them outside the doors to the women’s rooms.
“What do you want to do now?” Chris covered a yawn with his hand.
“Let’s start by catching
up on some of the sleep we missed. They’ve learned a good lesson and should leave us in peace for now.”
Chapter 7
It had been seven days since Liz and Jennifer went swimming against their will in the pool. During this time, Gray had made sure that the women scrubbed the countertop well and supervised the operation with eagle eyes. After that, there had developed a kind of truce in the house. The women avoided the men or, if they accidentally ran into them, simply ignored them. Their bruises had almost completely disappeared and on the surface there was barely a trace of their adventure with the missiles; only their bruised ribs would need more time to heal.
When Liz and Jennifer went for their follow-up exams exactly a week after their discharge from the hospital, they were disappointed by what they were told. Both had hoped that they would be released from their forced convalescence, but the doctor sentenced them to at least another three or four weeks of inaction. Even worse, in their eyes, he praised Gray and Chris effusively for having taken such good care of their patients.
Liz and Jennifer had counted on being able to convince Gray and Chris that they were fit again, but after their doctor appointments, that clearly wasn’t going to be possible. No matter how hard Liz and Jennifer tried to convince him, he refused to give them a clean bill of health. Worst of all, he actually extended the amount of time they were required to spend convalescing.
Still furious, they sat on the bed in Jennifer’s room and considered their next move. They had no alternative if they were to get out of here. They needed Gray to throw them out so they could get out of his reach and out of his control. What, they wondered, could irritate him enough that they could achieve their goal?
“Have you thought of anything?” Liz looked at her friend and stopped monotonously tracing with one index finger the convoluted pattern on the bedspread.
“It’s Gray’s house, so he’s the one we have to make mad enough to kick us out. That’s for sure! If Townsend’s watchdogs won’t go along with it anymore…,” she pointed in the direction of the door with her chin, toward the rest of the house where Gray and Chris were, somewhere, “…then he won’t be able to say anything either. All he’ll be able to do is shake a finger at us because of our bad behavior. But he’ll rescind his order for sure!”
“Hm. So what could possibly upset him so much that he’d lose control?” Liz asked, not expecting Jennifer to have an answer. She fell back onto the bed and crossed her arms behind her head. They both lay there quietly for several minutes, thinking. Suddenly, Liz sat up with a jerk.
“That’s it!” She was all smiles, she was so excited. Liz had good ideas before, but this one would take the cake: inherently evil and completely crazy, but perfectly suited for their purposes. If this didn’t work, nothing would! As she explained her plan, Jennifer nodded often in approval.
***
Chris lay on a lounge chair by the pool. With his arms crossed behind his head, he looked at his friend over the top of his sunglasses, his eyebrows raised.
“They’re acting unusually calm, don’t you think?” Gray looked up from where he sat across from Chris in a deck chair. “Yesterday they went nuts because the doctor first praised us, and then extended their rest period. And what are they doing today? Sulking in Jennifer’s room and coming out only to eat,” Chris pointed out.
“The calm before the storm.”
Baffled by Gray’s coolness, Chris sat up straight. “And you can just sit there? Aren’t you afraid they’re plotting something?”
“If they want me to throw them out, they’ll have to blow up the house. And since there aren’t any C4, Semtex or other kinds of explosives here, I don’t have to worry about that. If they want to try any other kind of nonsense, they’ll just have to suffer the consequences.” Gray sipped his Coke and tried to get back to the thoughts Chris had interrupted.
He’d been thinking that it was a shame Liz was too mad to talk to him right now. He’d hoped to have the chance to get to know her better. And he knew Chris felt the same about Jennifer. He frequently hung out on the second floor in the hope of running into the woman of his dreams. Gray wondered if he should annoy Liz a little more, to draw her out of her shell. Things might even turn more intimate, if he played his cards right. It was time to change from Plan C as in convalescence to Plan O for offense.
Even though Liz was avoiding him like the plague, his interest in her wasn’t fading. In fact, it was just the opposite. His determination to eventually get closer to her grew each day. On one hand, he was hoping that she would have an affair with him and Gray would spare no effort to make that happen. On the other hand, he sensed that an affair with Liz wouldn’t be enough for him. This emotional conflict confused Gray a little. He wrinkled his forehead and knit his brows at the realization of how different this was from his usual relationships. He had always known what he wanted from a woman and made sure that he got it. Maybe, he thought, he should just wait and see how things developed between Liz and him and forget about Plan O. Sooner or later, he was bound to figure out his feelings for her. A smile spread across his face as he imagined ways he could draw Liz out of her shell. He couldn’t wait to set his ideas into motion.
As if on cue, Liz and Jennifer appeared behind him on the patio, drawing his gaze. Almost simultaneously, he and Chris turned around and faced them. The women wore their swimsuits and headed for the pool, towels in hand. As they had been doing for days, they completely ignored the two men.
Old gum on the bottom of their shoes would probably get more attention from them, Gray thought. And then his breathing faltered when Liz walked past, coming within a few feet of him.
The bikini he had packed hugged her body and was so skimpy, it covered up only the most private parts. Gray figured Liz would be arrested for indecent exposure if she were to wear it in public. The tiny bits of cobalt blue material were held together by thin strings. It was almost a miracle that they were able to keep the bikini in place. The delicate fabric looked like it could tear with any movement. In his heart, Gray was hoping that it would do just that.
Liz and Jennifer walked to the opposite, sunny side of the pool, laid their soft, fluffy beach towels on the lounge cushions and sat on them. Each of them put sunscreen on herself before helping to put some on her friend’s back, and then they lay down on their stomachs.
“You know what I wish I were now?” Chris whispered as his eyes greedily devoured Jennifer.
“That towel beneath Jennifer?”
“That would be my second choice. No: the small scrap of green material she’s wearing now.”
Gray suppressed a laughed and grinned broadly.
“Similar thoughts went through my head when I saw Liz’s tiny two-piece.” He tore his gaze away from the women’s seductive bodies and looked at his friend. “Would you like something to drink? You look like you could use it.”
“Oh, boy, could I use it,” Chris said without taking his eyes off of Jennifer. “Otherwise you might have to hold me back from running over there, throwing her over my shoulder and dragging her up to my room like a caveman. And it certainly wouldn’t be so she can convalesce!” This time Gray laughed, albeit quietly. He stood up, took their empty glasses and walked into the kitchen.
When he came back out of the house a short time later, instead of wearing jeans and a T-shirt, he had on a skin-tight black bathing suit that emphasized his muscular body. He glanced at the far side of the pool, just as Liz rolled over on her lounge chair. She raised an arm, lifted up her sunglasses and bent a leg. Her skin shone so seductively and invitingly, Gray had trouble dragging his gaze away. Sighing, he sat down on a deck chair and handed Chris the cold drink he’d promised him.
“Are you planning to go swimming?”
“Either that, or I’m going to have to take a half-hour long, ice-cold shower.” With a broad grin and a meaningful look, he pointed down at his bathing suit which bulged suspiciously. Chris’s eyes flew open in disbelief and he coughed as he tried to swallow a hu
ge gulp of his Coke. Hastily, he jumped up and stormed into the house. He wasn’t doing much better than Gray was, and he desperately needed cooling off, too. The ice-cold Coke wasn’t cutting it.
Gray strolled over to the edge of the pool and slipped into the water. When Chris returned a short time later, now dressed in a bathing suit, he took a running start and jumped into the pool. When he surfaced, he gave a relieved sigh and shook the water out of his hair.
“You can’t believe how much that helps.”
Gray laughed in answer. Whatever he believed, he felt the proof in his own body.
They swam a while, one following the other, until neither one felt the effects of his arousal anymore, and then they went over and treaded water on the same side of the pool where the women were sunbathing.
“If you lie in the sun much longer, you’ll get burnt. Why don’t you come in the water and cool off a bit?” Chris asked nicely.
“Leave us alone!” came Jennifer’s muffled answer. She was still lying on her stomach, one arm in front of her face. The men glanced at the women, both wearing wolfish grins on their faces, and came to decision without saying a word. They climbed out of the water and strolled over to Liz’s and Jennifer’s lounge chairs. With one quick movement, Chris grabbed Jennifer, who began screaming in anger and shock, and lifted her in his arms. Calmly he walked the few feet to the edge of the pool and sent her flying. Then, laughing, he jumped in after her.
Surprised, Liz sat up halfway, propped herself up on her elbow and watched her friend disappear into the water. Her gaze wandered from the pool to Gray who, dripping wet and with an expectant look on his face, was standing next to her with his hands on his hips.
“Are you going in willingly, or shall I throw you in?” He smiled, one dark brow raised.
“Neither! I want to lie here quietly,” Liz said and patted the cushion of the lounge chair with one hand.
