A Basic Renovation

by Sandra Antonelli

  ‘Hoo, boy. An officer has to respond according to what he perceives as a threat to others. With the bottle in your hand and the fingers pointing at you, DeVargas had probable cause to believe you’d committed a crime. I’m sorry I wasn’t the one on the scene.’

  ‘I never thought handcuffs would be so uncomfortable.’

  He gave her back the keys and pulled the neckline of her dress together. ‘You’re kinda peeking out there.’

  ‘Thanks,’ she said and then felt her nose go red. Tears burned in her eyes and she screwed up her face. ‘Oh, no. No, no, no. I’m not going to cry now. Not over this.’

  John brushed a fat tear off her cheek. ‘Tell you what,’ he smiled softly, ‘I can’t promise anything, but I’ll talk to Pia and see if I can persuade her to drop the complaint. You go home. I’ll take you to breakfast tomorrow.’

  ‘I can’t,’ she sniffled, ‘the kitchen’s being delivered in the morning.’

  ‘Well, I’ll call you. Maybe we can have dinner.’

  ‘OK.’ she wiped her nose with her forearm.

  ‘You know, Lesley, some girls are really pretty when they cry,’ he shook his head, ‘but you’re not.’

  ‘Shut up.’

  John leaned over and kissed her cheek. ‘See you later.’

  She nodded and swept the wetness from her face as she watched him walk away. Then she took a deep breath, turned to get into the Bronco, and found Dominic coming around the front fender. ‘Now what?’ she groaned. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Am I all right? I got arrested! I got charged with a felony! Does that sound all right to you?’

  His expression was grim. ‘My mother has a cut on her arm that she said ca—’

  ‘Screw your mother and what she said!’ Lesley’s hand shot to his chest and she shoved him— – tried to. ‘I don’t care what your mother said and I don’t care what you think! She started a fistfight and I got the blame. Again! I don’t deserve this! I’m sweet, I’m wonderful, I’m fuckin’ incredible if anyone in your damn family ever bothered to get to know me!’ she shouted.

  ‘What the hell do you think I’ve been trying to do?’ he yelled back.

  Lesley smothered a screech. She knew what he was trying to do. She’d sat in Starbucks with him and stuck out her boobs just so he’d look at the goods, just to tease him, just to make him hard for her. Yeah, she knew. They were both on the same page there. Only he was reading English and she was reading desperate hormonal lust. She slapped her palms over her face and dragged her fingers down her neck. It made her dress gape open, but she didn’t care now. ‘Go away. Don’t apologise, don’t explain, don’t sweet talk me and don’t show up at my house with flowers and candy! Just go away! Fuck the hell off!’

  ‘No! I had to listen to you, now it’s your turn to shut up and listen to me.’

  ‘How about you listen to this,’ Lesley held up a middle finger, right between his eyes. ‘You got that? Or do I need to turn it to eleven for you?’ She flipped up the other bird.

  Dominic barely caught himself. If she’d been a man he would have slapped her hands out of his face. He closed his eyes and made a half-assed attempt to count to ten, but all he could think about was the peek-a-boo glimpse of her breasts through her safety-pinned dress, and damn, she had beautiful little womanly breasts.

  Christ, this was all wrong. She was all wrong. He wasn’t supposed to want her. She wasn’t his type. She was too short. She swore too much, had a tongue as barbed as a cactus, and she’d been sort of married to his brother. Yet somehow she burrowed deep under his skin and it had nothing to do with unresolved lust. It wasn’t about wanting to get in her pants.

  OK, part of it was, but there was more. A lot more.

  Everything she said, everything she was or said she wasn’t, didn’t matter. Who she was, who she had been was irrelevant. He felt something. He felt something for her and he was a little light-headed when he realised how much.

  When he opened his eyes, Lesley had unlocked the Bronco. She reached for the handle and opened the door.

  He moved by instinct, stopping her, pressing her back against the side panel, both hands on her shoulders. Unfortunately he’d misjudged her height. She was much shorter without her Cuban-heeled boots so he spread his legs apart a little wider and leaned into her as she swore at him. He fastened his mouth over hers mid-cuss.

  Small hands and keys pushed into his stomach. His body flattened her to the Ford. She made a little sound and his hands moved into her hair. A second later, she made the sound again, her lips parted and her tongue, wet and hotter than sunshine, skimmed over his.

  Dominic came back to himself with a little gasp. He lifted his head, dropped his arms and stepped back. ‘Jesus, you’re burning me alive,’ he half-whispered.

  Lesley was completely still. She stared at him with eyes like molten jade. Then all at once she exhaled, her shoulders squared and she swallowed. With her gaze fixed on his she slid across the side panel and climbed into the cab backwards. ‘Get in,’ she rasped through her teeth.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Get. In.’

  He did. He ran around to the passenger side and before he could buckle himself in, Lesley tore from the parking lot. She cut off a blue pickup truck as she squealed onto Fifteenth Street. The light turned red when she made a right turn into Trinity Drive. Five seconds later, she made a sharp left and bumped up over a curb, spraying gravel behind the old Ford. She slid into a car space in front of the Comfort Inn and killed the engine.

  Dominic undid his seatbelt and reached for her in one move. His mouth found hers, one arm slid around her, but the blind need sprinting up his spine made him forget he was in a Bronco with bucket seats, not a Chevy truck with a bench. The manual transmission thwarted his seamless movement. As he tried to pull Lesley over onto his lap, her knee tangled into the tall gearshift then his foot knocked into the glove box. The compartment popped open, CDs, tampons, and maps spilled out. He barely noticed. One hand slipped into the neck of her dress and settled over the softness of her breast. Her nipple was a small, hot stone in the centre of his palm. Feeling it hard beneath his touch seared him with a pleasure that was almost painful.

  ‘I had to take off my bra before they put me in a cell,’ Lesley murmured, ‘I never put it back on. I’m not wearing undies either.’ The very tip of her tongue traced his bottom lip while her fingers trailed up the erection straining against his fly. Her fingers were slow, maddening, as she unzipped. She burrowed into his pants and tickled beneath the cotton of his boxers. The pad of her thumb skated on smooth, taut, aroused skin.

  ‘If we don’t get out of this truck right now, we’ll both be arrested for indecent exposure,’ he groaned, leaning into her, kicking his foot free of jewel cases.

  ‘Wait,’ she breathed into his mouth, ‘oh, wait.’

  ‘Keep touching me like that and Walks With Hard-on will soon be Has No Rod.’

  Urgent, Lesley fumbled around for the handle somewhere behind her. When she found it she pushed the door open, lost her balance, and with a whoop, fell sideways out of the Ford.

  Dominic had tried to grab her, but found himself sprawled across her seat, hands empty. The steering wheel was at his elbow, the gearshift between his long legs. Lesley had one ankle still stuck inside the vehicle and she hadn’t been joking about being panty-free.

  Giggling, she pulled her dress down over her knees and sat up.

  Dominic got out of the Bronco and hoisted her to her feet. She rubbed her shoulder and he yanked his shirt out of his pants instead of zipping up. ‘Let me see. Are you hurt anywhere?’ He drew her close and ran his hands over her, down her back and bottom, over her hips, waist and ribs. ‘Of course, I’ll conduct a more thorough exam once we’re inside.’

  ‘Will I have to call you doctor again?’

  ‘No,’ he said biting her ear and grinding his erection into her, ‘I only want to hear you call me Dominic, preferably while I’ve got yo
u pinned to a mattress with your legs locked around me.’

  The image was accompanied by a jet stream of desire that took her breath away. Lesley felt herself shudder with anticipation.

  Then she caught sight of a diminutive redhead through the hotel’s glass doors. The seething passion drained right out of her. Dominic fizzed into oblivion and her vision tunnelled into sharp focus on the bright auburn bob. ‘Are you kidding?’ she mumbled.

  ‘OK, you can pin me to the mattress. That’ll work too. Do you want to get the room or should I?’

  Lesley shook her head, trying to form a simple sentence. ‘N-n-no,’ she stuttered when GP took Mr. Flanagan’s hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm. ‘Oh, no. This is ridiculous.’

  Dominic felt her stiffen. ‘What’s ridiculous?’

  She pointed to the hotel entrance, frowning. ‘That!’

  ‘OK, let’s go someplace else. Quickly. Your house is closer than mine.’

  Lesley didn’t quite hear what Dominic suggested. She was too busy being flabbergasted. GP had bought the jumbo box of Trojans. His intention was plain; she just never thought he’d follow through.

  Had he been here all afternoon?

  ‘Did you…’ she began, ‘my…I can’t believe this is happening.’ She shook her head again.

  Dominic dropped his hands and took a small step back, his heart suddenly stuck in his diaphragm. The cop. She’s with the cop. You idiot. You jackass. Think with your dick and that’s all you end up with. ‘Oh, Jay-zus. You’re seeing him, aren’t you?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Tilbrook. You’re involved with him.’

  ‘John? No.’

  ‘Then…what…Is this is going a little too fast? Is that what it is?’

  Lesley rubbed her eyes. ‘I’m sorry. This is so bizarre. I think I’m having an out of body experience.’

  ‘What do you want, Lesley? Is this going too fast or are you playing some kind of game?’

  The flame behind the blue eyes intently watching her flickered, and Lesley’s mind clicked back into place – completely into place. ‘Game? Too fast? I seem to be unable to think around you. You make me crazy. My family is making me crazy. My ninety-two year old grandfather’s in there with his new girlfriend and a box of condoms, I just got out of jail, I’m not wearing panties and I’m out here tickling your tadpole. I’d say I’m cruising on light-speed.’

  ‘Condoms. I didn’t think about those.’

  Lesley sighed heavily and cursed herself. ‘Well don’t think about them now. I’m leaving in September. I’m here to renovate a house and visit my family, not to run interference for my grandpa, give my parents a grandchild, play criminal to your insane mother, or…or…’

  ‘Have a fling with your sort-of ex-brother-in-law.’

  ‘It’s just stupid.’

  ‘What if it’s not a fling?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I said what if it’s not a fling? What if we pretend I have no morally bankrupt brother or nutcase homophobic mother who can’t see reality? What if we forget all that, focus on you and me and just…just…take it slow? See where it goes?’ Softly, he touched her cheek with his thumb.

  Lesley took hold of his wrist. She felt his pulse beneath her fingers. ‘Take it slow?’ His heartbeat was as vibrant and steady as his gaze. Hers was riotously erratic, turning somersaults and thumping out some kind of bongo beat in her ears. Was she terrified, excited, or coming down off a hormone-fuelled adrenaline rush? Could it possibly be all three? ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Let’s try. Let’s find out.’

  ‘I think I’m too afraid to find out.’

  Dominic gave a short rumble of laughter. ‘You survived my brother, rats, my mother, jail and a bear. Glory days, Lesley, I think you can handle me.’

  ‘What if I’m worried you can’t handle me?’

  ‘If there’s one thing I love, it’s a challenge.’ Smiling, he drew his hand away and started walking backwards towards Trinity Drive. ‘I’m going back to close up the store. We eat late on Wednesdays. Go home, clean up then come for dinner at eight. And wear your cowboy boots.’

  Chapter 16

  Kyle opened the front door, an amused smile on his face. ‘So, Lesley, did you become anyone’s bitch while you were in the slammer?’

  ‘Seeing how I was the only one on the entire block, no. But I was pretty bitchy if that counts for anything.’

  ‘They fingerprint you?’

  ‘Yes, but not with ink. They’ve got a machine with a flat screen you roll your fingers on.’

  ‘Did you wear an orange jumpsuit?’

  ‘No, hospital-type scrubs with orange stripes – and flip flops. Your dad’s home, isn’t he?’

  He stooped and grabbed Clementine before she nosed her way out the door. ‘He’s in the shower.’ Kyle stood there stroking the puppy’s ears. He frowned slightly, looking so very much like a teenage twin of his father. ‘Um, you want me to tell him you stopped by? Have him call you or something?’

  Lesley held up a bottle of red wine. ‘Your dad invited me over. Didn’t he tell you?’

  ‘Pfft,’ Kyle made a face, ‘he doesn’t tell me anything.’

  ‘I take it you two haven’t talked about this afternoon yet?’

  ‘Not beyond the idea of Grandma’s potential dementia. You got any dementia in your family? Or are you normal? What’d they bust you for anyway?’

  ‘Aggravated battery.’

  ‘No foolin’?’

  ‘Kyle?’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Can I come in?’

  A faint pink tinge coloured the boy’s face. ‘Uh, yeah. OK. Sorry.’ He took a step back and held the door wider.

  Lesley followed him into the cool house, all the way back to the kitchen where something bubbled away on the stove. She’d forgotten how hungry she was until the aroma of garlic and beef made her mouth water, which in turn kick-started her empty stomach back into rumbling action.

  Snickering at the sound, Kyle raised his eyebrows. ‘Don’t they feed you in the pen?’

  ‘I think I was between meal times.’

  He put the dog on the floor and tossed a tennis ball into the dining room. Clementine skittered after it. ‘You want something to drink? Can you drink when you’re out on bail? You got out on bail, didn’t you? How’s that work anyway? Did you have to surrender your passport?’

  ‘A glass of water would be nice.’

  ‘Are you too hungry to talk about it?’

  ‘No, just too tired. It’s been a long day.’

  He took a bottle of water from the fridge. The cold liquid glug-glugged into the glass he set on the table. ‘Sit down if you want.’

  Lesley pulled out a chair and had a seat. ‘Your dad said Clementine got her shots today.’

  Grabbing a bottle of Coke for himself, the teenager nodded. ‘You know, she didn’t yip or anything when the vet gave her the needle. I thought she’d squirm or something, but she wagged her tail and licked me li—’

  ‘Kyle!’ Dominic called out from someplace in the house.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Get your dog out of my bedroom!’

  ‘She’s not in your bedroom!’

  ‘Then what’s chewing on my shoe?’

  ‘Aw, crap.’ Kyle put his Coke on the countertop. ‘Would you mind keeping an eye on that?’ he pointed to the pot simmering on the stove.

  ‘OK.’

  ‘Just give it a stir if I’m not back in a minute. The spoon’s right there. Thanks,’ he said and left the room grumbling under his breath.

  It was odd, but Lesley felt both unsettled and comfortable in Dominic’s kitchen. She’d been there for dinner once before, but the sensation was familiar beyond that evening of pepperoni pizza with a bear chaser. Her skin prickled with a sense of déjà vu that wasn’t exactly déjà vu. But it was something. She stared at the shiny stainless steel pot on the Bosch range and tried to pinpoint the root of the ethereal familiarity. What came instead of clar
ity was a yawn.

  The long shower she’d taken had been revitalising, but it had done nothing to alleviate the knots of tension between her shoulder blades. She stood and stretched her arms overhead. One slow twist from side to side and her spine released a satisfying pop.

  With a noisy exhale, she went to the stove and picked up a clean wooden spoon resting on a chipped blue saucer. She knew Dominic was there before he spoke.

  ‘You’re early.’ he said, a half step behind where she stood.

  ‘Didn’t you say to come in an hour?’

  The fake tortoiseshell claw at the back of her head didn’t belong there. Dominic couldn’t help himself. He took out the plastic clip and watched strawberry gold, white, and blonde spill down. ‘I thought I said come at eight.’

  ‘It is eight.’

  ‘By my watch it’s seven fifty-five. Dinner’s not ready yet. I haven’t set the table.’

  ‘Should I go away and come back in five minutes?’ she said as she turned around, spoon in hand, heart swinging on a yoyo.

  ‘You stay right where you are.’ Dominic smirked, his fingertips combing through strands of her hair. It was still faintly damp. His eyes wandered all over her face. She had a tiny mole beside her eyebrow, so small it looked like a dark freckle.

  ‘Are you going to kiss me or style my hair?’

  ‘I haven’t decided yet.’

  ‘Is it that hard a choice to make?’

  ‘I have a child to think about. It might be inappropriate for Kyle to see Daddy coiffuring a woman in the middle of the kitchen. Image the nightmares.’

  ‘You mean you don’t want to start—’

  ‘What I can’t finish,’ he nodded, ‘Especially when I’m ravenous.’

  Lesley chuckled and shifted forward. His arm circled around her waist. As he drew her closer, she nuzzled her cheek to his chest, the spoon flat over his heart. He smelled of soap and clean clothes. His chin settled on top of her head and stayed there for a long minute, his breath kissing her hair.

  This was a first for Dominic. He tried hard to remember the last time he’d simply held a woman and felt content.