“Anyway, I’m on my own this weekend. My boys are both at a three-day soccer camp. They left this morning.”
“Oh good, maybe we can do something tomorrow night then. Unless you have a hot date,” Sunny teased.
“Who? Me?” Maggie stuttered and her purse fell from her hands and hit the pavement. Sunny could swear she blushed as Maggie ducked behind the door to collect her fallen bag. Maybe not. She seemed her normal composed self as she popped back up and scoffed, “Are you kidding? You know BOB’s my only date these days.” Maggie loved to tease them about her dates with BOB, her Battery-Operated Boyfriend.
“Maggie, stop that.” Sunny laughed. “TMI- too much information.”
“Hey, you asked.” She shrugged, a devilish smirk on her face.
“Well, if you and BOB aren’t too busy, maybe we could catch a movie or something,” Sunny suggested.
“Well, I’ll have to call you.” Maggie looked down as if something in her purse caught her attention. “I’ve got a lot of work to do this weekend. Big case I‘m working on, you know. I’ll have to let you know.” She smiled and climbed into the car as she pulled the door shut behind her. Through the front windshield, Sunny could see her root around in her purse, then pull her Blackberry free. Sunny watched a funny smile play across her friend’s face as Maggie absently waved goodbye.
“I’ll try to call you tomorrow,” Cassie called through the open window of the van as she backed from the driveway into the street. She dropped the car into gear, gave the horn a little toot, then headed off down the street.
Sunny shook her head and called to Beau to come inside. She didn’t know what was so exciting about the mailbox that made it the Holy Grail of Dog Scents, but Beau couldn’t go outside without making a beeline for the mailman-scented pole. His eyes looked up at her from where his nose was submerged in a fragrant patch of grass. He took one last sniff, circled the mailbox, lifted his leg to leave a yellow trail of urine running down the pole, then loped toward her, his tongue panting in happy anticipation of the treat he would receive for doing such a great job of peeing.
Suddenly, Beau turned his head and let out a low growl. Surprised, Sunny looked up and down the street but nothing seemed out of place. She took in the Harrison kids playing basketball across the street and the neighbor’s white plumbing van parked in its usual spot next door. Everything seemed normal.
Sunny rubbed Beau’s head and gave him a soft “Good dog”, and he seemed to settle down. Then they headed back into the house and closed and locked the door behind them.
* * *
Turning off the warm water, Sunny placed the third wine glass in the strainer and put the bowls from their subsequent dishes of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream into the dishwasher.
She dried her hands on the dishtowel and squirted a pump of lotion from the dispenser next to the sink into her hand. As she reached to turn the kitchen light off, Sunny noticed the little letter symbol in the corner of her kitchen laptop that notified her ‘You’ve Got Mail’. She rubbed her hands up the sides of her arms to soak up the excess lotion, then moved the mouse to the Inbox.
Sunny clicked the mouse, fully expecting to see another forward from her mom. How many 'this one really works' and 'you’ve got to try this one' make-a-wish forwards could one woman send? Did she really believe if Sunny scrolled down and wished hard enough that a potential husband would pop into her kitchen?
O-kay. Maybe one of those wishes may have worked. Sunny must have held her breath just right, stood on one leg, and tugged her earlobe when she wished the last time (Okay, sometimes I make the wish. What can it hurt, right?) because the email sitting in her Inbox was from Jake.
It was titled, We need to talk, and Sunny got a little chill from the anticipation of him wanting to see her… and from the fear of him wanting to see her because she and her friends had found out about his weird little online dating hoax.
She double-clicked the message and gave a little start as his email began, Dear Sunnygirl. That meant he knew he had been caught on the online dating site. With apprehension, Sunny continued to read, I also enjoy movies, reading, and love dogs. I would like to accompany you next time you take yours for a walk. Call me. Jake.
Hmmm. Not ‘do you want to go on a walk with me?’ or ‘would you like to have a talk?’ but more of a direct order of we are walking and we are talking. Sunny wondered if he was trying to be funny or cute, or was this an actual threat?
The phone rang, and Sunny absently answered as she tried to decipher the meaning of Jake’s message. “Hello.”
Sunny snapped to attention as her hello was answered with nothing but the sound of a deep inhale and exhale of breath on the line.
“Hello,” she said again.
More deep breathing. How could the innocent sound of a life-sustaining, involuntary movement cause such a deep fear to rise from the pit of her stomach? The fear was a hard lump in the back of her throat, and she struggled to swallow. Her mouth had gone dry, and the hair stuck up from the goose bumps that pimpled her arms.
She sucked in a deep breath and slowly said, “Quit calling me. I have already notified the police.” Sunny clicked the off button as she berated herself for not checking the caller ID before she answered the phone.
Rinngg.
Sunny jumped and almost dropped the phone as it rang again in her hand. Her heart pounded furiously, and this time she waited for the second ring to see who was calling.
The phone completed its second ring, and Walter’s number appeared in the display. Is that who had just called me? Was Jake behind these calls?
She wished she would have waited for the caller ID on that last call. If it had shown unknown, she wouldn’t have answered, but at least she would have known if the call was coming from her neighbor’s house.
The phone rang a third time. This is stupid, and Jake is definitely not stupid. He’s the one who told me to watch the caller ID in the first place. Sunny clicked the phone on and softly said, “Hello”.
“Hey Sunny, it’s Jake. I saw your kitchen light on and hoped you were still up.”
“Yeah, I’m up. I just got your email.”
“Oh, you did?”
Sunny couldn’t see his face, but it sounded like he was smirking.
“That’s good,” he said. “So, you’re expecting me to accompany you and Beau on a walk tomorrow. Because I think we have some stuff we need to talk about.”
Stuff? What kind of stuff? Like ‘I want to kiss you again’ stuff or like ‘you may have seen me on last night’s episode of America’s Most Wanted’ stuff?
“Okay,” she said. Letting her curiosity get the best of her, she asked, “Um, Jake?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you just call me a minute ago?”
“No, I just got back from a run and saw your light on.” His voice hardened as it changed from the light-hearted banter a moment before. “Why? Did you get another weird call? Do you want me to come over?”
Sunny’s heart leapt at the thought of him coming over to protect her. She thought about the way he would charge through the door and take her in his strong arms. She imagined his warm lips as they kissed hers, then trailed down her neck, alternately kissing and nibbling and sucking… as his hands moved up under her shirt along her ribs, and his mouth moved down toward the exposed flesh of her…
“Sunny? You still there?”
“Huh? What?” Jake’s voice startled her out of her reverie. Sunny’s mouth had gone dry again, and the kitchen suddenly seemed very warm.
“I said, do you want me to come over there?”
“Um, no,” Sunny stammered and tried to collect herself. “I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she assured him, though after kissing him, she was not sure she would ever really be fine again.
“Well, you know the number over here. Will you call me if you need me?”
I need you right now. She wished she had the courage to tel
l him what she was really thinking. I need you to be my hero. I need you to not have hurt Walter. I need you half-naked, in my bed, and wielding a pirate sword. “Yes, I will,” she said.
“Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow, and we’ll take that walk.”
“Okay.”
“Goodnight, Sunny. Lock all the doors and be careful tonight.”
“I will, thanks. Goodnight.” Sunny hung up the phone and sighed. How could she want so strongly to add excitement to her life, and yet be so afraid to reach out and grab it when she has the chance?
She spent the day at a park trying to make a connection with some guy she didn’t even know, yet she wasn’t brave enough to tell the one she did know how she felt. But did she really know Jake? That was the real problem.
Sunny checked the lock on the back door and called to Beau. She hit the light switch and headed for the stairs, ready to face another night, with only a shedding, slobbering dog and an unfulfilled pirate fantasy to keep her company.
24
Thud.
Sunny’s eyes popped open as she started awake at the unfamiliar noise. Heart racing, she checked the alarm clock. The digital readout shined eleven-forty-eight pm through the dark room.
She wasn’t sure what woke her, but her mind registered the fear her body recognized. Something was wrong. Sunny pushed up to her elbows as she scanned the dark room. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness as they took in the familiar shapes of dresser, chair covered in laundry waiting to be put away, lamp…oh God. A huge, dark figure of a man stood silently against the wall of her bedroom. Had her body responded to the sound of his breath as he silently watched her sleep?
Sunny backpedaled into a sitting position and pushed as far into the headboard as she could. Her mouth opened, but she couldn’t seem to produce a scream as the dark shape in the corner of the room moved slowly toward her.
A deep resonant voice spoke from the shadow. “Hi, Sunny.”
Her body tensed, and Sunny could smell the pungent odor of her own body as fear seeped through her pores and sweat drenched her t-shirt. She squinted in the darkness and tried to see the face that went with the voice.
“I’m not here to hurt you.” He moved closer. “I just want to talk to you. I would never hurt you.”
He stepped forward into the dim light that cut across the bed from the hallway nightlight.
Hank.
Sunny released her breath slowly, and the mattress groaned as he sat on the edge of her bed.
It’s okay. It was just Hank. She knew him. Her heart skittered to a stop. She knew he was a big, strong, overbearing, obsessed guy who had pinned her against the side of her house as he pushed himself against her. He had kissed her, and touched her, and she had been powerless to try to stop him. Jake’s warning of how strong Hank was rang in her ears.
She tried to pull her legs closer to her body. He dropped his hand to rest on her bare skin, and she was amazed at the size of his hand as it engulfed her calf. He let out a sigh, and his chin dropped to his chest. He looked so sad, like a little lost puppy…oh no…puppy! Where was Beau?
Sunny’s head snapped to the doorway, and she let out a whimper as she spied Beau’s lifeless body on the floor of the hallway, a half-eaten cupcake on the floor by his head.
“Oh, sorry about that.” Hank motioned to the dog’s body. “I had to take care of him so I could talk to you. Last time he tried to attack me when all I wanted was to see you.”
Last time? Fear and sadness waged inside of her. Hank had been the mysterious man that had tried to come through my window! And now he had killed my precious Beau!
Pushing aside her fear, Sunny could feel the anger in her build over this man who invaded her home, her bedroom, and hurt her dog. Suddenly her paralysis broke. Sunny scrambled forward lashing out with her arms and legs as she hit and kicked at the figure on the bed and she let loose a ferocious scream of rage and terror.
For such a big man, Hank moved with lightning speed as he pinned Sunny back against the headboard, his left hand crushed against her mouth. Her kicks were ineffectual, and he easily held both her wrists in one of his meaty palms as he held her body down with his hip.
Who was she kidding? This man played football. He spent years tackling men double her weight. Her fear returned tenfold as Sunny realized the minimal effort it took for him to completely immobilize her.
Hank leaned his forehead against the side of her head and spoke directly into her ear. “I just want to talk to you. I told you I wasn’t going to hurt you. Why did you tell Matt you didn’t want to see me? Why are you acting like this?” His breath was hot against her ear, and she could smell the stale scent of coffee on his breath.
Sunny twisted her body and tried to pull away from him. His fingers still covered her mouth, squeezed against her cheeks, as he shifted and his grip tightened on her wrists. She tried to turn her head, but his enormous hand covered most of her face and threatened to cut off her breathing. He moved his fingers from her nose, and Sunny inhaled a deep breath. His hand smelled vaguely of French fries and chocolate, and his class ring cut into the side of her cheek, but at least she could breathe.
Her eyes scanned the dark room for something to use against him or to distract him. Sunny wanted to weep as she tried in vain to come up with a means to get away, but she couldn’t move, and she was struck again by how little effort it took him to completely restrain her.
A single drop of sweat rolled down her arm. The beating of her heart tripled. She was powerless against this huge man.
* * *
Jake blearily opened his eyes to find himself stretched out in the recliner. He had one arm thrown carelessly over his head and the other tucked down the front of his shorts, his hand cupping his package to ensure it had neither fallen off nor been penis-napped while he blissfully slept. The credits to Die Hard rolled along the television, and he didn’t know if the absence of dialogue or something outside had caused him to awaken. The clock on the wall read quarter to twelve, and he knew he should be in bed.
He brought his left arm down to release the recliner and stood to stretch. As long as his right hand was there, it made itself useful and gave himself a full-on package scratch. He pulled his hand free from his shorts and leaned down to pick up his empty soda can and paper plate, the remains of a ham sandwich sliding sideways as he picked up the plate.
Jake headed for the kitchen, looking out the big front window he passed on the way. Something felt off, and he paused to study the darkened street in front of Walter’s house. There, that dark car parked down from Sunny’s. It had been there earlier tonight.
Hurrying into the kitchen, he tossed the trash on the counter and reached above the refrigerator to where he kept his gun. He grabbed the gun and a small flashlight, then snapped off the back porch light to better conceal himself in the darkness. He pushed his bare feet into his sneakers on the way out the door, the untied shoelaces of one snapping against the driveway pavement as he jogged toward the dark car.
His eyes quickly adjusted to the dark, and he cautiously approached the car, his gun held ready at his side. Peering through the window, he saw the front seat full of crumpled fast food wrappers, a silver Thermos, a red and white baseball cap, and Kit Kat wrappers strewn across the floor. He shined the flashlight into the backseat which held more trash, a gray gym bag, and a child’s baseball mitt and ball. The car was empty, and Jake let out a long held breath as he dropped the flashlight into his pocket.
He leaned back against the passenger door of the car and looked up at Sunny’s house. He studied each window as he looked for anything out of the ordinary, anything to give him an excuse to ring the bell and make sure she was all right.
Suddenly, a scream of rage and fear pierced the night, and Jake took off running for her house, the flashlight banging against his leg with each step. He leaped the bushes along the side of the house as he headed for the back door where he had seen her use her hide-a-key last week.
He reached the back do
or and slid his hand along the top of the door frame. His breath was coming hard, and in his haste, he knocked the key free, and it fell into the garden next to her back stoop.
Damn! He dropped to his knee, his left leg squishing the pansies Sunny had planted this summer. His right hand still held the gun, and he braced himself against the house as he dug furiously around in the dirt with his left as he tried to find the dropped key.
* * *
Calm down. He said he wasn’t going to hurt me.
As if he sensed her calm, he relaxed against her and took his hand away from her mouth. Knowing her strength was no match against his, Sunny switched tactics and hoped that if she could talk to him, she could get him to let her go and leave her house. She tried not to shudder as he smoothed her hair against her head.
“Hank, why are you here?” Sunny asked softly.
Hank dropped his head onto her shoulder and spoke into Sunny’s neck. “I just wanted to see you and talk to you. I think about you all the time. After Linda left, I was so lonely, and then you came into my life. You seemed so nice and funny, and your hair smelled so good.” His head slowly came up, and he buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply.
“Linda took Mikey back to stay with her at her mom’s,” Hank continued, “and I sit alone in my apartment and dream of how my life with you could be. I know I could make you happy, Sunny-D.” He kissed Sunny’s neck, his breath hot against her throat.
Sunny cringed and pulled her head back as she tried to shrink away from him. Hank pushed closer, and his hands tightened against her wrists as he continued to talk.
“I know I call you too much, but I need to hear your voice and know you aren’t out with someone else. But then you answer, and I get all flustered. I can’t think of what to say to you, so I just listen to you breathing. I like the way you breathe, Sunny.” He kissed her neck again and moved closer to her face. “I can’t get you out of my mind. I sit outside of your house. I watch you laugh with your friends, and I want them to be me. I know we could be good together if you gave us a chance. I need you, Sunny.”
Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Body (A Page Turners Novel) Page 21
