Caching In

by Tracy Krimmer

  Grabbing my beer, I slid off the stool, bumping into someone. “Sorry,” I said, not bothering to look up. I continued toward the table, before someone took a hold of my arm. “Hey, what do you think you’re -” I turned to stand face to face with Josh.

  “Ally.”

  “That’s what they call me.” Not another encounter with him. Last time we saw each other, he planted a kiss on me. The thought of his lips on mine again sickened me. He stared at me, his eyes locked, and my nerves on edge. “Well? What do you want?”

  A mixed drink occupied his right hand, probably something fruity. His preference always leaned toward the “girlie” drinks, and I loved to tease him about it. “I noticed you at the bar and thought it’d be rude if I didn’t say hello.”

  “Now you said it. Can I leave?”

  He switched his drink to the other hand. “You’re here alone.”

  Not a question. A total obvious, pitiful statement. “Yeah. So, what.”

  “I’m on a date.”

  Like he could ever be alone. I should have realized he was there with a date. Probably tall, blonde, no, maybe brunette this time, caked on makeup. It didn’t matter. He dated anyone with boobs. “Good for you.”

  “Look, I wanted to apologize for the other day.”

  “Done. Forgotten. Let’s move on.” I wanted him to go already. What was with this guy? Now that we broke up, he refused to leave me alone, jumping in and out of my life like a ghost.

  “You know, it takes a lot for me to apologize.”

  “So what, you want a medal or something? How about apologizing for all those women you slept with while we were together?” I put my finger against my chin. “Oh wait, you tried that and then kissed me.” A slender woman with dark hair and fancy glasses approached. “You must be Josh’s date.”

  She put her hand on her chest to either point out her huge tits, or because she was so proud to be his date. “Yes. I’m Nadia.”

  “Hello, Nadia. I’m Ally, Josh’s ex-fiancee. If you love a man who sleeps with everyone he meets, well then he’s your guy!” A few people around us stopped to witness our conversation. “Class act guy over here, folks,” I shouted as I pointed to him. Nadia stood with her mouth dropped open as I walked away, and realized strangers weren’t the only ones watching.

  ----------

  Even I had to admit, Daryl pulled a suit off pretty well. Something about seeing him outside of the office, in an entirely different setting, made him slightly more attractive. Only slightly, though, because he still registered as a creep on my scale. “Oh, Daryl. Hi. Sorry you had to see that.” My sarcasm wasn’t a secret in the office, but I never brought out slighted, pissed off Ally to play before.

  “It’s quite all right. I heard what happened. I always knew you broke off an engagement, but I didn’t know why. I’m sorry, Ally.”

  I waved my hands in defeat. “Don’t worry. Old news. So, what are you doing here?” I played dumb.

  Daryl pointed back to his now empty table, its only occupants half eaten plates of food, a bottle of wine, and a few papers. “I’m here with Chelsea. We’re discussing the position.”

  “And Chelsea is where?”

  “Bathroom. She excused herself, so I thought I’d get myself a manly drink.”

  And there was the Daryl from work. “How’s the interview, or date, or whatever it is, going?”

  He smiled. “I don’t think I should discuss that with you. You are the competition, you know.” His creepy eyes looked me up and down. “What are you doing here?” He glanced over my shoulder. “Except destroying your ex.”

  A true moment in history presented itself when Daryl made me laugh. A valid answer escape me. Why had I come? I couldn’t very well admit to spying on him and Chelsea. If Chelsea saw me, I wouldn’t need to lie. I never went to the bar alone. My cover would be blown. James Bond never would let that happen. Even though we were arguing at the moment, I didn’t want her to hate me forever. How long did a pregnant woman take to use the bathroom? I didn’t have much time. “Today was a bit of a rough day, so I stopped off after work for a drink. You know, to calm me down.” I raised my beer as though I needed proof.

  “What gave you trouble? You should have come talked to me. My door is always open.”

  What a crock of shit. Daryl Bell, Comedian. “No, no, it wasn’t anything big. Just busy, and a few of those customers who thought the bank owed them something. You’re well aware of the type. Anyway, I need to get going home now. Do me a favor and don’t mention to Chels you saw me, okay?”

  “Why not? What’s the big deal? It’s not like you’re checking up on her.” He raised his eyebrow. “Are you?”

  Yes. “No. Nothing like that. But I don’t want her to think that, either.” I glanced back at the table and noticed the wine again. “She’s not drinking, is she?”

  He shook his head. “She said she’s too nervous to drink.”

  Good girl, Chels. “She can be a lightweight,” I lied. Not even close. That girl could hold her own, but thankfully she was smart enough not to drink.

  “I’ll let you get out of here. Next week we’ll get together and chat. Sound good?”

  It sure didn’t, but I agreed anyway, sucking it up for the job and to keep my cover. I quickly raced my empty bottle back to the bar, and slipped out before Chelsea came back to the table.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Saturday morning arrived with a bright and inviting sun. After a pretty comfortable sleep, which surprised me after running into Josh and almost having my cover blown with Chelsea, I woke up refreshed, downed two cups of coffee, got in a session of yoga, and a hot shower before Seth rang my doorbell. It was his first time to my apartment, and for some reason nerves consumed me. I spent the morning dusting every surface, scrubbing the toilets, and vacuuming the little carpeting I had. I didn’t think Seth would judge me based on my living quarters, but he lived in an enormous house, even though he shared it with strangers every single night. The bed and breakfast was nothing short of spectacular, and I had my tiny duplex, on top of my landlord’s place, who was about two hundred years old and I suspected spied on me from time to time. I kept it neat and very clean, not that most guys even cared about that - Josh certainly didn’t. I didn’t consider my decorating style too much out of date. Sure, my walls probably could use more pictures, and my furniture was second hand, but it still seemed presentable to me.

  The doorbell chimed, and I jumped off the couch. Before I opened the door down the stairs, I took a moment to compose myself. A few weeks passed since we started dating, and I thought the giddiness and anxiousness would pass, but it hadn’t. After not seeing him for almost a week, I craved him. I opened the door in anticipation, and a large bouquet of flowers covered Seth’s face. He lowered them enough for me to see his eyes. Oh, those eyes. “Flowers! Thank you, Seth.” I inhaled the perfume-infused scent of the purple and yellow petals as I took them, and planted a kiss on his lips. “Find the place okay?”

  “I’ve lived here my whole life. I knew exactly where this was.”

  Okay, dumb thing to say. “Come in, come in,” I ushered him in the door. He followed me up the stairs, his shoes echoing against them. I assumed my elderly landlord would be peeking her head out any moment. We reached the apartment, and I shut the door behind us. He stepped in, taking in the surroundings as I went into the kitchen to find a vase for the flowers. “You didn’t have to get me flowers.”

  “I know. I wanted to.”

  I found a vase, filled it with water, and carefully placed the flowers inside. “How did Kate’s appointment go?” I figured I should take some interest in his sister, even if I never imagined getting along with her.

  “Good, I think. It’s difficult those days she’s off. It’s hard to run the bed and breakfast with only one person.”

  “Did you ever considered hiring another person?” I entered the living room, where he stood by the table next to the couch, looking at the picture on it.

  Picki
ng up the framed photograph, he asked, “Is this your brother?”

  I nodded. “My twenty-third birthday. We had a blast.” Chelsea had taken the photo of my brother and me. We went to a bar in downtown Milwaukee, bringing out the Happy Birthday party hats and noisemakers.

  He set the picture back down. “Anyway, yeah, one day we’ll hire someone I’m sure. For now, though, we make it work. She lives and breathes the bed and breakfast.” He looped his arm around my waist. “Let’s not talk about my sister.” The warmth of his hands against my back melted me. Within seconds, we found ourselves in a deep kiss, his hands roaming all around me, and finally found our way to the couch. He laid on top of me, his body pressing into mine, and our kisses got harder and harder, until there was barely room to breathe. The braid I’d put my hair in started to come loose against the pillow, and his hand sneaked up my shirt, my bra covered breast in his hand.

  “I can take that off if you want,” I suggested.

  “Oh, how I want that.” He squeezed once before removing his hand. “But we can’t. Not right now.”

  My eyes softened, and the rejection I felt shone through.

  “We talked about this, Ally.”

  We sat up, opposite ends of the couch. “I know.” I pulled my leg up to my chest. “Maybe this will be more difficult than I expected.”

  “It’s just as hard on me.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Trust me.”

  The more we discussed our pact not to have sex, the hornier I became. I pictured my fingertips grazing the top of his shorts, landing on the button, and slipping my hand in. At least he already felt an intimate part of my body. I hadn’t been so lucky. “Okay! Let’s get going!” I jumped off the couch to distract my body from the sensations slipping through. “Who’s driving?”

  Seth smiled at me, his eyes probably undressing me, and I hoped he considered going back on our agreement. The thought crossed my mind more times than I could count. I didn’t understand what held him back from being with me intimately, and I hoped it wasn’t me. Sure, I didn’t turn heads everywhere I went, but I wasn’t terrible to look at, either, and my active lifestyle kept me pretty fit.

  One thing was for certain - we needed to get out of the vicinity of a couch or a bed, before I threw him on it.

  ----------

  We planned a picnic lunch, but after our short, but heavy, make out session, we needed food to fuel our bodies, and eating strawberries and sitting next to each other on a blanket didn’t seem like the best idea. Not that I didn’t like the thought of us sitting so close together, maybe laying back and kissing a bit. But, as odd as it seemed to me that this man wouldn’t go beyond some kissing with me, I needed to respect him.

  Today we headed indoors for our geocaching mission. “This place is a little different. I’m surprised this is my first time searching for a cache in one of these.”

  “Okay, where are we going?” I secretly hoped we sought a cache placed by a spa because I sure could use a massage, but I highly doubted that. He didn’t request I wear something particular (although, I’d much rather be in my apartment, naked, with Seth, than completely clothed searching for whatever). This cache couldn’t be too much of an adventure.

  “We’re headed downtown. To the library.”

  I locked the door to my apartment as we took our time down the stairs. “The library?”

  “Don’t you like the library?”

  If I said no, would he think less of me? Did my bookshelf define me as a person? “Reading doesn’t interest me much, I guess.” Books never held a prominent place in our house while I grew up. My gossipy mom fell hypnotized by her daytime television. She picked up the occasional romance, but typically “books” around our house centered around entertainment magazines. Despite the lack of sophisticated reading material in the house, my mom didn’t sit on the couch watching television all day. And, of course, I read all the required books in high school, and college. “I read some in grade school, but not much after that.”

  “Okay, so when you read in grade school, what books did you read?”

  I searched the card catalog in my mind. “Laura Ingalls Wilder, Judy Blume, Ann M. Martin.”

  “Who’s she?”

  “Babysitter’s Club. I could read one of those in a day. Easy.” Embarrassing. Books about kids running a babysitting club wasn’t the same as War & Peace or Anna Karenina (tried both, never got into them), but, at least I had an answer.

  “Can’t say any of those have been on my to-read list. I pick up a lot of Douglas Adams, Ray Bradbury, George Orwell.”

  “I’m positive I don’t know those names. What kind of books are those?”

  We reached the car and he opened the door for me. “Not about babysitting. They’re science fiction.”

  “Science and I have a hate-hate relationship.” I paused. “Apparently me and reading, too.”

  “Ah, don’t worry. It’s not for everyone. My parents spent a lot of time reading. They often read to me as a child, and we went to the library every single week.”

  A new library had just been built in town. The old one sat above City Hall, and the few times I had gone in, usually to vote, it smelled dusty and old. The brand new facility was built about two years ago, and I still hadn’t gone inside. “Why aren’t we going to the local library?”

  Seth clicked on the radio. “It’s not in our library. In fact, we’re not even going inside a library.”

  We just finished a conversation about reading, centered around the library and this cache. How could it not be in a library? “Okay, so where is this thing?”

  “I’ll show you when we arrive.” He pressed through the stations. “It was only added a few days ago, and someone already claimed the first to find, so unfortunately we won’t be the first ones.”

  “Is it a big deal to be the first to find a geocache?”

  The look he shot me was like I told him I didn’t shave my armpits (don’t worry, I do). “What?”

  I cleared my throat. “Well, like, what’s the big deal if you find the cache first?”

  “What’s the big deal? Haven’t I taught you anything?” He shook his head. “The thrill! The success of being the first to find is such a high!”

  “If it’s about the high, can’t you just smoke some pot?” I stared at him, the seriousness never leaving my face. My lips tightened until I couldn’t hold a laugh in any longer. “Fine. I get it. Have you ever been the first to find?”

  “Not yet. I hope to soon.”

  I hoped to be able to find a bunch one day on my own, without having to rely on Seth to get me through. At first glance, geocaching seemed easy; however, I quickly learned it was a skill. Seth assured me the more and more I found, and as I eventually started to place some, I’d develop the skill and finding them would come easier. Right now, I found it frustrating. Spending time with Seth was the part I loved best.

  We pulled into a parking structure connected to the library. Seth grabbed a ticket, brought up the app on his phone, and placed it in his phone holder. He touched the navigation button. “I’m confused,” I uttered.

  “About what? People park their cars here.”

  I leaned over and slapped his knee. “Stop it! You know what I mean. Where is the cache supposed to be hidden?”

  He drove around the corners of the structure, and I watched the app as the distance came closer, then shot away as we moved toward the next corner, and back again. Finally, he parked. “Somewhere on this floor of the structure, I believe. Let’s get looking. We’ve got to be close.”

  He left his phone in the car as we got out. Cigarette smoke and exhaust consumed the area, overwhelming my nose. I wanted to make this quick. Not only did parking garages reek, but they scared the wits out of me. I always imagined someone being murdered and stuffed behind a car or something. No matter what time of day, the parking structure was always dark and creepy. No, thank you.

  I got my wish with Seth’s master skills. We managed to find the cache within
ten minutes, tucked away behind a banister for the stairs. We quickly signed our names to the log and literally raced back to the car as Seth joked my nightmare came true and we were being chased. We hopped into the car, out of breath.

  “You’re hilarious,” I told him as I ran my hand across my forehead. “And a bit of a jerk.”

  “Did you really think someone was chasing after us?”

  I rolled my eyes at him. Of course I didn’t, but it didn’t make it feel less real.

  “Do you know what else I am?” He leaned over the console toward me.

  “What?” I whispered.

  He kissed me. “Head over heels for you.”

  My heart skipped a few paces while his lips pressed against mine. I was more than head over heels. I was falling in love.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Seth and I spent a fantastic weekend together, I hated seeing it end by the workweek starting, and my impending interview, or whatever the hell it was with Daryl, right after work Monday. Every time the evening with Daryl entered my mind, I worried about impressing him, and then considered canceling so I didn’t need to fake my way through the evening. But, I wanted, no needed, this promotion, and I had to kiss ass to get it. Sucking up to people didn’t top my list of skills. Sarcasm with a side of honesty, that’s how I rolled. Lying through my teeth, pretending to enjoy something I didn’t never came easy to me. When I stood up in my cousin’s wedding, I pretended to love the lime green dress she forced me to wear, and while trying to mask how much I hated the dress, I forgot to cover up how much I despised her new husband. My dislike became obvious throughout the night. Though she’s now divorced from the scumbag, our relationship still hasn’t been repaired.

  Daryl asked if I wanted to go home and change before our meeting. My dress slacks and button down blouse seemed find to me, and I managed to get my hair into a cute, professional looking braid, and I thought I presented myself well. I thanked him for the rude offer (without calling him rude, I was trying to be good), and offered to meet him at the restaurant. I didn’t want this to be like a date, so I suggested we go to Panera for a sandwich. He objected multiple times, until right before I left, I mentioned I’d see him there, out the door before he had a chance to argue.