by Debra Druzy
“Humph!” She smacked her forehead, remembering where she’d left it, then trekked downtown slipping along the sidewalk coated in black ice. The roads would be riskier to maneuver on bald tires. It wasn’t worth it for a new clothes. Still, she needed to drive the car home tonight, or else she’d have to hike this route at dawn, plus a few miles further.
Pausing to catch her breath in front of Violet’s window, the memory of Nick’s hands all over her body put a cramp in her stomach.
“Oh, screw it.” She twisted the brass doorknob, pushing her way through the magic portal, to the land of cutout lingerie. A wave of vanilla and baby powder enveloped her like a warm blanket.
It wasn’t so bad in here.
In fact, it was quite lovely, and larger than she expected. Not entirely pornographic as she presumed. Maybe there was something here for her after all.
In addition to see-through baby-dolls, peek-a-boo bras, caribou-trimmed teddies, and blinged-out thongs in the window, less-flashy ensembles were in the back.
She steered clear of a canoodling couple with their hands all over each other, wincing at their PDA, and redirected her attention to the wide selection of jewel-toned velour tracksuits hanging on a round rack. Had she known about this modest collection she would have shopped here a long time ago, except everything was out of her price range, including the items in the clearance section.
Just because she brought the credit card reserved for extreme emergencies, it didn’t mean this was a carte blanche spending spree. Flipping price tags helped the decision-making process.
Considering the frosty weather conditions, low-heels were the best choice. Amongst the stilettos, she found one pair of flats in her hard-to-find size-six—black suede knee-high boots with laces up the back and ruffle trim—on sale half-price at four hundred dollars! She cringed, nearly choking on a mint.
The beautiful boots were so far out of her price range she should have dropped them and run for the door. But she took them anyway, carrying the big box in both arms as careful as if it were a baby.
Next, she found a hunter green knit dress that fit in her comfort zone on sale for a mere hundred-fifty bucks.
The purple curtains on the three dressing rooms against the back wall were closed. Lily peeked underneath to see if any were available.
Two sets of feet—small bare ones with French-manicured toenails and a pair of men’s loafers—occupied the one on the left. The newlyweds were in there, Lily presumed, imagining what they could be doing.
She skipped the vacant middle room and aimed for the one on the far right.
Unfortunately for her budget, everything fit perfect.
Posing in the three-way mirror, she noticed lines from her cotton panties. Unacceptable. There had to be a solution aside from wearing a thong.
She poked her head out the curtain, and beckoned the saleswoman. “Excuse me.”
The elegant-looking lady with silver-streaked hair asked, “May I help you?—oh, hello, Lily. I didn’t see you come in.”
Feeling sheepish in strange new clothes, Lily smiled awkwardly at one of Sophia’s friends. “Hi, Marie,” she whispered, “I, uh, need something to go underneath.”
“Hmm.” Marie gave a liberal nod after a quick inspection. “It looks very good on you. However, it can look better. Wait—” She held up her palm and hurried away, returning with what looked like a piece of skimpy skin on a hanger—nude spandex with a lacey panel down the center. It was very pretty and looked impossible to put on. “It’s a control slip. Built in wire-cups. Shapes your hips, tummy and tush all in one. Hides any lines. Give it a try.” She left her alone to dress in private.
Stripping down to her boring hip-huggers, Lily didn’t know which end to get into. Did it go over her head? Or was she supposed to step in it?
Over the head didn’t work at all—it was like jamming a ten-pound boloney in a five-pound bag. She tried the other method, wiggling her hips until the cool, stretchy material reached her boobs, and she could pull the straps over her shoulders. Smoothing out the painted-on fabric, she liked the way it felt on her body and under her hands.
Like a human sausage.
She struggled to reach the clasp between her shoulder blades, spinning in a circle, hoping the mirrors would be her guide. A dog had a better chance of catching its tail.
“Marie?” she sang over the heavy breathing from the couple two thin walls away. Lily peeked out and saw her at the register tending to customer, so she gave it another try and finally connected the two narrow tabs.
Aah. She silently applauded her solo-success, then wiped the perspiration from her hairline and studied her reflection. The dress would probably look better now, but after working up a sweat she was in no mood to try it again. It fit without the slip, so it’ll fit with it.
The slip alone didn’t look half-bad.
Hmm. If Nick could see her now, she’d make him regret hooking up with a skank like Britney.
Ugh! Thoughts of Nick and Britney had her seething. And to think, she went to the firehouse ready to pour out her soul to him.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Forgetting Nick Knight shouldn’t be this painful. It was her own fault for being so weak. And it would never happen again. I swear, she promised her infinite reflection.
Now that she found what she was looking for, she could go home and wait for tomorrow to come, but first she had to get out of the slip. Another impossible feat.
“Um, Marie, would you mind helping m—?” Lily pushed aside the edge of the curtain and her heart stopped.
Chapter Ten
Nick stood ramrod straight on the other side of the flimsy dressing room curtain waiting for Lily to come out. Once it opened, his little soldier sprang to its fullest attention at the clear view of her hourglass figure.
If looks could kill, he’d be dead already. “What the hell are you doing here!” she growled through clenched teeth.
The eyeful of her nearly nude body scattered his thoughts, leaving him dumbstruck. “Geez!” slipped past his slack-jaw. Of course she had curves under those tracksuits, but he had no idea she was stacked right and tight, a well-proportioned powerhouse. Good, God!
She yanked the curtain closed, but the glorious vision was already branded in his brain. “Go away, Nick.”
“I want to talk to you,” he whispered rougher than he intended.
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you.” Her powdery voice radiated through the thin barrier.
The urge to rip the fabric off the rod crossed his mind, but he squashed the impulsive idea. Sure, approaching her on the sidewalk would have been a better idea than stalking her. But what he lacked in good sense, he made up with intrepid determination once he set his mind on the coveted prize. Inconvenient timing wasn’t going to stop him. This game of cat and mouse was getting old.
Thinking of games, was it not but two weeks ago she’d told him flat-out how she never shopped in this sex-apparel store? Now, lo and behold, here she is, shopping—her least favorite activity, if he recalled correctly.
Lily peeked out with blazing eyes. “What are you still doing here?”
“What are you doing? Period.” He rumbled low enough to avoid attracting the attention from the salesclerk, his mood growing more volatile with each passing nanosecond.
“I. Asked. You. First.”
“Okay, fine. You’re right. You asked first.” He ran frustrated hands through his hair. “I saw you come in here. I wanted to talk to you so I followed you. Now, would you tell me just who the hell you’re planning on wearing this get-up for?”
She jerked the curtain closed again.
“Lily, just come out so I can talk to you.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t get this thing off.”
The salesclerk was with a customer. “Want me to help?”
She poked her head out. “Are you kidding?”
“I’m sorry about Thanksgiving.” As soon a
s Nick took a step closer, she shut the curtain. “I never should have pressured you to talk. I’m a jerk.”
Her fingers parted the curtain once more as she leaned out to say, “You’re right, you are a jerk.”
Nick seized her hand so she couldn’t disappear while he unloaded the weight in his heart. “I’ve missed you like crazy. You’re all I think about. I’m sorry for everything. I can’t pretend it doesn’t bother me that we haven’t figured out this thing between us. I know you feel something for me, too.”
When Lily opened her mouth, he expected her to scream. The first tear fell; he caught it on his fingertip. “You’re right. I do.”
“I just need to know if there’s someone else in the picture.”
“Are you serious?” she squealed. A broken smile twisted her pretty lips as she dug her fingers painfully into his hand, inching her way out of the dressing room. “You have some nerve accusing me…after…after I saw you!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, give me a break.” She shoved his chest. “You’re gonna make me spell it out? Okay. Fine. I. Saw. You. With. Britney,” she hissed, smiting him with her laser vision. “I didn’t think you were so hard-up you’d be willing to pay for it.”
Stunned and confused by the accusation, he shrugged. “I don’t understand. Pay for what?”
“Sex!” she shouted.
Two doors down, the noisy couple poked their heads out of the curtain with ruddy cheeks and ruffled hair.
“Don’t worry—we’re not talking about you.” Nick pushed Lily into the dressing room, and she yanked him along, propelling his back to the mirrors. This infuriated woman giving him the evil eye was almost intimidating if she wasn’t so damn adorable. “I didn’t have sex with Britney.”
“I saw the two of you. Together. In the chief’s office. You paid her.”
“Yeah. That’s right. I did pay her. For lunch.” He went on to explain the food delivery from the diner.
“Oh.” Lily stepped back, a lovely shade of crimson spreading across her creamy exposed skin.
Nick stepped forward, swapping positions, pinning her in the corner. “So, you’re jealous,” he whispered. “Silly girl, thinking I want Britney, when it’s you I’ve wanted all this time.” He brushed tendrils away from her face. “I’m flattered.”
“Well…” She refused to look up. “I-I…”
“You, what? Spit it out, sugar,” he teased. There was no way she could conceal the glow of embarrassment. Afraid she’d start hyperventilating, he cut back his taunting before she passed out. “Are you trying to apologize? Because if that’s the case, I accept, fully and completely.”
“I-I…” She wet her lips and he took it as a yes.
He curled a finger under her chin and tilted her face, thrilled she didn’t fight his tender kiss. But when he tasted her salty tears, he pulled back to swipe them from her cheeks with his thumbs. “You can’t imagine how much I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” She panted the words like a drunken midnight confession and it was all he needed to hear.
He crushed his mouth to hers, while his hands encircling her ribs, trying not to squeeze too hard under the pressure of his greedy fingers. Her equally desperate kiss should have been proof enough. Still he couldn’t resist asking the barrage of questions, only softer this time. “Who are you buying this for? Are you seeing someone else? Tell me and I’ll stop.”
“No. There’s no one else. Only you.”
He paused to study her eyes, seeking the truth. As hard as it was to imagine a catch like her staying single for too long, he believed her. “I need to see you.” It was a plea more than a demand, and his groin strained painfully behind his zipper to prove it. “Will you go out with me tonight? We don’t have to talk. I just wanna be with you. We can go for a drive. A walk. Get coffee. Or ice cream. Anything. Anything you want. I just wanna be near you.”
“Ice cream?” She perked up.
“Is that a bad idea?” He winced, recalling her affliction for sweets and perfect teeth.
Her smile brightened. “Ice cream is never a bad idea.”
“Okay. Ice cream it is,” he said, even though it was freezing outside.
After unfastening the slip, he stepped out of the dressing room while she changed.
She emerged a few minutes later wearing a coy smile.
He took the merchandise from her hands. “Let me buy it for you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.” He pulled out a wad of cash at the register. “See anything else you like?”
“Nick, you really don’t have to— Okay, fine,” she exhaled. “Since I know you’re wondering, it’s for a job interview tomorrow—well, three interviews. In Manhattan. I need to make a decent impression.”
“You look great in whatever you wear.” And even better without—
“Thanks. But you’re not hiring me.”
“Which votive would you like?” The sales clerk indicated to the stubby little candles in colors that matched their fragrant names: Gingerbread Boyfriend, Lavender Fields Forever, French-Kiss Vanilla, and Forever and Evergreen. “It’s free.” The sign on the counter read: COMPLIMENTARY GIFT WITH YOUR PURCHASE.
“No, thanks.” Lily waved them away.
“Go on, take the candle.” Nick sniffed the green one. It smelled just like a Christmas tree.
“Nah, it’s okay. I don’t do candles.”
“What do you mean? Girls love candles. That’s why they’re giving them away.”
“Not me.”
“What about on birthday cakes? Don’t tell me you don’t do birthdays either?”
Lily frowned. “Birthday candles are for children who believe wishes come true.”
“But wishes can come true.” Nick was determined to prove it.
“You don’t have to burn it,” the saleswoman said. “Use it to scent your lingerie drawer. Or for decoration.”
“Oh, fine. I’ll take that.” Lily pointed to the one in Nick’s hand. “Thank you,” she said to the clerk. Then her eyes drifted dreamily at Nick. “Thank you, too.”
He carried the packages and offered to drive her to her car, which she accepted without a cross-examination.
“What’s that?” Lily indicated the big red bag between them on the bench seat.
Making room for her, he quickly stuffed it into the back with the gear he’d forgotten to remove. “That’s just the Santa suit.”
“Not the Santa suit?”
“Yep.”
“Can I see it?”
“On Christmas.” He threw the truck in Park next to her orange station wagon. “If you’re a good girl.”
“Oh, I’m good, all right.” She giggled and he caught a naughty gleam in her forgiving eyes.
“How about I follow you home—that is, if you still wanna to go out…” He escorted her to the car, nervous, like it was his first time asking a girl on a date.
“Sure.”
He opened the door, but she hesitated, with eyes big and bright like two glittery stars. The white vapor of their breath mingled in air. Thank God the tears were gone. He hated seeing her cry. And felt worse being the cause of it.
“Nick, I…” she started, but her quick pink tongue moistened her bottom lip, beckoning his mouth to come closer and he couldn’t resist the kiss.
Warm.
Deep.
Long.
A steamy slice of heaven in her lips lingered after they pulled themselves apart.
“Wow.” She swiped her mouth dry with the back of her hand.
“Get in the car before you freeze.”
He followed her home with his windows open so the icy air could clear his head. When they pulled into her driveway, he parked behind her, waiting with the engine running.
She ambled to the driver’s window. “Would you like to, um, come inside?”
“Uhh, sure!” Her invitation was the right step in a better direction. A million times better
than last time he brought her home.
Nick followed Lily up three concrete steps and she hip-checked the front door, grumbling, “It sticks sometimes. Just needs a little shove.”
“Let me try.” He jiggled the key in the lock and leaned his weight against the warped wood until it finally opened.
She flicked a wall switch and a floor lamp in the corner set the small space aglow. Tiny and tidy as it may be, it was easy to figure out why she wanted to sell it. Bringing this time capsule of eclectic eras up to today’s standards would take a lot of money. Dark wood paneling covered the living room walls and worn ornamental rugs hid most of the dull linoleum floor. Like his place, it would be easier to tear down than fix up.
“Sorry it’s so cold in here. The heater is behaving badly.” She breezed through the living room to the kitchen on the other side of the half-wall.
Cold was an understatement. He pushed on the front door to make sure it wasn’t the source of the major draft. A quick glance at the windows and he spotted the culprit across the room; the kitchen window over the sink was opened an inch and arctic air rattled the curtain like a ghost.
“Do you want something?” She indicated to a selection of large gift baskets on the floor lined up along the kitchen wall. “They’re Christmas gifts from clients. Take whatever you want.”
He wanted Lily but knew that wasn’t what she meant.
Staring through the cellophane, he studied the innards of the array of baskets: cheese and crackers, pastas and sauces, smoked sausages, herbal teas, flavored coffees and creamers, candies, cookies, gourmet hot chocolates, baking items, and other treats. There was even a basket of assorted soup.
She flicked on the oven and pulled down the door. “It’ll warm up in a minute.”
“It could be a whole helluva lot warmer in here if you kept that window shut.”
“Yeah, I would if I could. That’s as far as I can get it. I usually stuff it with a dish towel to cut the breeze.”
“You do know that using the oven to heat your house is a fire hazard.”
“I only do it when it’s really cold. Just to take out the chill.”
If she did this with a firefighter around, he worried what she does while he’s gone. “I’ll check the chimney. Then you can use the fireplace.” And he could scratch the last name off his list.
