Bucky examined the printed handwriting for a moment, then tore the small envelope open.
“What is it?”
“Hang on.” He read the brief message out loud. “I knew your dad back in college, and I saw in the newspaper that you and your high school team are here in Honolulu. I would love to meet Phil Stone’s all - star son. Can I buy you lunch? Meet me in the lobby at 2:00 if possible.” It was signed “Timothy O’Neill.”
“What in the world?” Bucky read it again to himself. “I never heard of this guy.”
“You gonna go?”
“I don’t know.” At the moment meeting some strange man for lunch wasn’t high on his list of things he wanted to do.
“Oh, go ahead.” Dan kicked his basketball shoes off and sank down on the short mini - sofa. “I’ll sack out for a bit and then we’ll hit the beach.” He crossed his legs and began to massage a bruised spot on his right calf. “Your dad’ll like it if you meet this guy. Who knows, maybe he’s a millionaire.”
Bucky sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.” He looked at the note again. “How am I going to know it’s him? It’s 2:00 now.”
“He’ll know you, sounds like,” Dan murmured, already with his eyes closed. “Hurry back, shorty. Waikiki and the babes of Honolulu are waiting to meet Litton and Stone.”
Bucky quickly changed into a pair of clean shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt. Glancing in the bathroom mirror, he remembered that he still hadn’t shaved. But there wasn’t time now. Hopefully Mr. O’Neill, whoever he was, wouldn’t mind his scruffy look. Picking up a room key, he quietly slipped out.
Downstairs he scanned the huge lobby. There weren’t many people standing around, just a few tourists sitting at the bar over in the far corner. A huge flat-screen TV had ESPN on, and soft island music drifted in through the hotel PA.
“Guess I just stand here until someone recognizes me,” he muttered to himself, already resenting the unexpected social obligation. Hopefully lunch wouldn’t take all afternoon.
“Are you Mr. Stone?” The familiar voice came from behind him.
He turned to look into Deirdre’s eyes. “Oh, hi!” Nonplussed for just a moment, he couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Waiting for someone?”
“Well . . . yeah.” His heart skipped a beat as he looked at her. Deirdre had on a pair of tight jean shorts with a belt and a button - up tank top. He could feel his face flushing. “Actually, I got some note from a guy who wanted to meet me for lunch. Some friend of my dad.”
“Oh really?” For a moment she looked disappointed. “I was hoping you could buy me lunch.”
For a second he considered the possibility. Deirdre was right here – and a date with her sounded a lot better than making polite talk with some old man he’d never met. Still . . .
“I better not,” he managed. “I mean, this guy really wants to meet me. Because he knows Dad and all.”
“Who is it?” She was still frowning slightly.
“Oh, I don’t remember. Mr. Something - or - other. Wait, I got it here.” He began to dig in the back pocket of his shorts for the piece of stationery.
“Mr. Timothy O’Neill, for example?” A bit of a smile began to show itself on her face.
He gaped at her. “Yeah! That’s what it is! How’d you know?”
She laughed out loud, easing herself closer to him and planting a soft kiss on his whiskered cheek. “Didn’t recognize my handwriting, did you, babe?”
Chapter Eleven: Turning Point in Room 1929
Bucky stared at her stupidly. “You did that?”
Delighted at his confusion, she laughed again. “Stone, you’re so cute. Of course I did.”
He shook his head, still baffled. “How come?”
Deirdre took him by the hand and led him over to the restaurant. “Look,” she told him. “I want to be with you; you want to be with me. Right?”
“Well, sure.” No sense denying it, he told himself.
“But I know you don’t want to have to keep sneaking off and making up wild stories to get away from Sergeant Litton.” Her hand tightened in his. “I mean, I like Dan. I know how you feel about him.” She slid her hand up until it was in the crook of his elbow. “So I decided to help you out a little bit.”
“Two for lunch?” A waitress sized up the couple.
“Yeah.” Deirdre told her. “Over in the corner if we can.”
“Follow me, please.”
After they were seated, Bucky took a quick drink of water and then looked up at her. “You really are a naughty thing,” he grinned.
“And you love it.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I kind of do.”
“Don’t pretend.” She reached out and traced a slender finger along his hand, just as she used to do back at Hampton Beach during Bucky’s sophomore year. “You’re tumbling just as fast as I am.”
To hear his own thoughts said out loud and to sense the sudden emotion in Deirdre’s voice unsettled him. He looked into her eyes, trying to get some kind of clue to what she was thinking. But for the moment her gaze was quietly serious. Silently he nodded.
The moment passed almost as quickly as it had come. “Anyway, here we are, Mr. Stone.” She leaned across the table, her eyes dancing again. “A nice private lunch, just me and my sweetie. And then I want you to meet my folks.”
“Sure.” He resisted the temptation to look at his watch. An hour’d be plenty of time, and Dan wouldn’t mind if he was a little bit late.
All at once a questioning frown crossed his face. “Wait a minute,” he said. “How’d you know where we were staying and everything? I mean, with the note under our door and all that?”
“Come on. Are you serious? That hotel fire and you and Dan – it was on every news program this morning. And then Channel Five said they’d finally moved you to your new hotel. So while you were at your game, I just came over here, said I was the long - lost love of basketball superstar Bucky Stone, and could they tell me what room you were staying in. As soon as they heard that name, Bucky Stone, they all leaped to attention, bowing and scraping and wanting my autograph. The rest was easy.”
He laughed, the frustration of losing a game that morning wiped away. “You’re too much.”
“I know.” She picked up the menu and handed it to him. “Come on, babe. Pick us out something good.”
The food was a little on the spicy side, he noticed, as they leisurely ate. But the tropical lemonade was marvelous, and the waiter came back twice with free refills. Deirdre asked him a hundred questions about the fire and how he and Dan had saved the five children.
“I just get all goose - bumpy being around a heroic kind of guy like you,” she told him. “It’s almost hard to catch my breath.”
He tried not to wince when the waiter brought the bill. The amount would wipe out his meal allowance for the whole day, but he wasn’t about to complain in front of Deirdre.
“Let me get that,” she urged. “This was all my idea.”
“Don’t be silly,” he told her. “I’m the man around here, so shut up.”
“That’s true.” Deirdre nodded in agreement. “Ready to come meet the family?”
“Sure.” Actually, the thought had Bucky feeling a little jittery, but right now he would accept anything that involved having Deirdre at his side. The blonde had never looked so gorgeous, and he felt a little jolt of excitement every time he glanced at her.
The January sunlight was warm on his bare skin as they walked the short distance to the other hotel. “See how close we are,” she said. “You can flash me little ‘I love you’ messages through your hotel window at midnight every night.”
“OK,” he grinned. “You better be watching. But I’ll have to wait until Dan goes to sleep.” A quick laugh. “Seems like everything this whole trip has happened to me after Dan’s gone to sleep.”
“Mmmmmm.” She eased a bit closer to him as they entered the lobby of her hotel. “Right this way, Mr. Stone.”
They
had the elevator all to themselves and she pushed the button for the nineteenth floor. As the doors quietly slid shut, she pulled him closer. “Last call for free kisses.”
Bucky could feel his heart racing a minute later as they stepped out into the hotel hallway. The carpeting was a bright tropical flower arrangement, but muted in the soft lighting. She took him by the hand as they went down toward the end of the hall. “Here we go,” she murmured. Fumbling in her purse, she pulled out the security strip. Inserting it into the lock, she waited for the little green light to flash. “After you.”
It was a large room. Not quite a suite, as Bucky and his teammates had occupied earlier, but a full bedroom with a large living area. It contained a small table, a big sofa, and then in the far corner a king - sized bed and huge window overlooking the beach. A bit of cloudiness softened the late - afternoon sunlight as it filtered into the room nineteen floors up from the beach.
“This is great!” He took in the spacious view and the quiet elegance of the luxury hotel. “All three of you stay here?” All at once a strange thought hit him. “Wait a minute. Where are your folks?”
She was still holding the room key security strip in her hands as she leaned against the open doorway. Now she shut the door and gave the key a little flip onto the floor. For a second she didn’t say anything. Then she looked up and faced him,
“You know something?” she said, hesitating for a moment. “I guess I must have been confused. We’ll have to meet my parents later. They’re gone until 9:00 tonight.”
It took Bucky a second before realization hit him. “I’m sorry. What?”
A slow smile began to tug at her. “I really messed up,” she told him. “Mommy and Daddy are gone. They rented a car and went up to the north shore to go to the Polynesian Village. I guess they won’t be back until 9:00.”
He wet his lips, taking a step closer. “Really?”
“Very really, Mr. Stone.” She chewed on her lower lip like a little girl. “I hope you’re not too mad at me.”
Over the past two days the same thought had occurred to him several times. What would it be like to be alone with Deirdre? He hadn’t really thought about all the implications of that unspoken thought . . . and now here they were.
“I don’t know if you look very happy, Mr. Stone.” For a moment her sultry voice was back. She stepped closer to him and cocked her head to one side. “I’m just standing here in this nineteenth- story hotel room, waiting for someone to kiss me. Now, are you the man or aren’t you?”
His heart raced as he tried to think of an answer. “You did this on purpose.” He tried to inject a teasing note, but it came out sounding kind of strange, almost complaining.
She nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m a guilty girl. I’m afraid you’re right. It was all on purpose. The note under your door, sending my folks away, everything.” A tiny grin. “I’m even the one who set that fire so I could get you up here.”
Bucky managed a laugh, but his heart was still racing. “Nine o’clock. Is that what you said?”
She came right up to him and slipped her arms around his waist. “Nine o’clock tonight, Mr. Stone. That’s about six hours from now.”
“What about Dan?” The thought of his teammate had just lurched into his mind.
Even at five feet ten, Deirdre had to almost lift her heels off the carpeting a bit in order to kiss him. “Dan Litton is going to have to take care of himself this afternoon,” she murmured. “Because you, Mr. Bucky Stone, are here with me. Just Bucky and Deirdre and Room Number 1929 in Honolulu.” She kissed him again. “Have you got the picture, babe?”
Now he returned the kiss. “Yeah, I guess so.” In the large mirror over the dresser he could see her reflection as she melted into his arms. They kissed again, and he could feel her warmth against him.
“Why don’t you just step this direction, sir.” Her voice was husky as she led him over to the large sofa. She sat down and gave him an expectant look.
Sitting next to her, he reached out to trace his fingers along her cheek. “You are so beautiful.” Her eyes softened as she leaned closer and kissed him again.
Warning voices began to intrude into his mind, but he pushed them away. He wanted to be with her. After the last two years of dating girls and having every relationship come crashing to a wrenching halt, he was tired of holding back. Deirdre was here in the flesh – she wanted to be with him. She liked him, cared for him. Why should he keep saying no?
During the last three days here in Hawaii it had become easier and easier to simply blank out his conscience. It was almost like hitting the delete button on Dad’s computer back home. One little motion and the warnings would subside.
For a moment they paused. He looked into her eyes, savoring the excitement, the moment. There was a wonderful aloneness being just with her and knowing she wanted him.
Deirdre’s face nestled against his shoulder as her hand traced along his muscular forearm. “You don’t have to say you love me yet,” she whispered. “But someday you will, babe.” She reached up and pulled his face toward hers. “Someday.”
A moment of nervous fear flickered through Bucky’s mind over what he had just realized. For three years now he had waited. He’d always planned to wait – saying no was what he’d always intended. But that was before. He couldn’t have known that Deirdre would be here during the most precarious week of his entire life. And now the experience every guy in the world thought about . . . was moments away.
As he kissed her again, a corner of his mind grappled with the idea of the inevitability of what was going on. To feel so helpless made him feel less guilty – almost innocent, in fact. You didn’t blame people when tidal waves washed right over them. But why did this moment seem preordained, almost fixed? He’d always been so strong. Coach Brayshaw and Dan and Sam thought of him as strong. “There’s nobody in this high school like Stone here,” Coach had often said to classmates and newspaper reporters. Even this morning, with the flames all around, it had been Bucky who had led Dan back into the burning building. Dan had always leaned on him to be strong.
As Deirdre’s lingering kisses continued, the warning thoughts continued to jab at him. To go on now meant a trade. In a sense, he would be giving away that label of strength. He wouldn’t be the special guy at Hampton any longer. Dan might never find out. Coach wouldn’t know. He and Deirdre could spend the rest of this week in Hawaii together – and maybe even continue their relationship into the future. No one would know what he had traded in.
But he would know. The relationship with God that had made him different and special . . . would be changed. And even at this moment he began to feel that the exchange would be far more expensive than he had thought.
Bucky looked at Deirdre once more. She had a breathless, almost - out - of - control look that was new and exciting. Always, when they had dated earlier, she had been cool and mysterious. Always the one in charge. Always able to take a conversation and steer it in a new, fun direction. Now her face was flushed, expectant.
He kissed her again, passionately, the feminine warmth of her body flooding through his skin, invading his brain, but now the thoughts couldn’t be forced away. The tugs from both sides tore at him. He tried to whisper something in her ear, but his voice came out muffled, hoarse.
Suddenly the voices on the one side were simply too much. He thought of all the answered prayers these past three years, how God had made him a team leader on the Panthers. How God had given him and Dan the ability to take the team to the championship. How God had given him strength to face a hostile baseball squad and still do what was right. He thought of Pastor Jensen’s sermons and his probing question, asked nearly every week, “Just what is Jesus worth to you?” At this very moment those seven words seemed to almost be a shout, a pleading Calvary cry, from somewhere in his past.
Somehow, not knowing exactly why, he pulled himself free. “I can’t,” he told her, his voice shaking. “Babe, I can’t.”
“Wha
t?” Deirdre’s breath had been coming in little gasps. “What’d you say?”
“I can’t do it.” He glanced over at the bed. It wasn’t too late to go on, he knew. But he felt a tiny little burst of extra resolve. “Deirdre, I can’t . . . I’ve gotta go.” The words sounded strange between them, electric but still chilling.
“Oh, babe.” She traced his face with her hands. “Oh, babe. Come on. We’re here. And all alone. Don’t back out on me now.”
He felt a trembling that began in his voice and now almost shook his whole upper body. “I’m sorry,” he pleaded, “it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let it go this far. But I can’t.”
The realization of what he was saying was just now hitting her, he realized. She wet her lips, thinking. “You really don’t want to?”
Bucky looked away from her for a moment, his mind in agony. He could say no now. But there would be other moments, other girls, other opportunities. Could he stand up to all of them? Maybe it would be easier to just be done with it now. All kinds of Christian kids had sex – he knew that. It was the hardest battle a guy could ever fight. Should he even try to be the rare kind who didn’t give in?
He looked at her again. “I can’t. I just . . . can’t.”
“Why don’t you want to?”
“I do want to!” For just a flash he almost had anger in his voice. But not at Deirdre. “I want you right now more than I . . . could ever tell you. These last three days . . .”
“Well, then.” She reached out and touched his lips with her fingertips. “Let’s get back to it, babe.”
All at once he felt moisture in his eyes. The memory of his wrenching phone call to Lisa, the twinges of compromise during the past three days, the emotional tension of the fire earlier that same morning . . . and now this. It was all too much. He felt a single tear trickling slowly down his cheek, and he didn’t bother to wipe it away.
Deirdre pulled back slightly, noticing. Her face softened as she reached out and quietly dabbed at the drop. “Bucky . . .” She leaned over again and gave him a kiss, now simply from one friend to another. “Sweetie, why don’t you just tell me what it is?”
Bucky Stone: The Complete Adventure (Volumes 1-10) Page 91
