A Girl by Any Other Name (24 page)

“I don’t have any clean clothes here.” She was right. She’d been wearing my T-shirts and

boxers, but we couldn’t exactly go out like that.

“You can wear my T-shirt.” I shuffled in the drawer, pulling out a pair of sweats. “And these

have a drawstring.”

She laughed, but put on the pants. They looked ridiculous on her, threatening to eat her up. It

reminded me of the way she’d dressed when she’d first come into my life all those years ago.

“Why don’t we go back to my place?” she suggested, trying with concerted effort to tighten the

drawstring. I walked over and helped make a tight enough knot so they wouldn’t fall off.

“So you can get your stuff?”

“Cal, I need to be home for a while. I’ve spent the last two days here.”

“I’m not comfortable with that.”

“I didn’t say I needed to be alone. Pack a bag, Tex.”

“I suppose that’s a fine idea then.” I wanted to see her place too. I wanted to check all the

windows and doors. I went to my closet, grabbing my backpack and Glock revolver. I loaded it with

bullets.

“You have a gun?” she asked with disbelief.

“You can take the boy out of Texas, but you’ll never take the Texas out of the boy,” I replied

with a grin. She didn’t laugh at the joke.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be carrying it around.”

“Relax. I have a permit for it. Hey, how about we go to the range next weekend?”

“Why?”

“So I can teach you how to use it. We can get you your own. It would make you feel more

comfortable around it, and it would give me some peace of mind to know you had one.”

She swallowed. “I don’t know if that’s the best idea. I’m not exactly a fan.”

It occurred to me why she would look at it with such disdain. A bullet had been responsible for

taking away her parents. I put the gun down, and walked over to her. “It’s not the gun, baby. That’s

just a tool. It’s the user that’s dangerous. Guns can protect as well as harm. It all depends on who’s

using them. Trust me on this.”

“’Kay,” she replied. I decided not to press her. She’d conceded and that was what I needed to

hear.

We found ourselves at a chain convenience store on Piedmont. Sylvie was cracking me up,

staring at all the various packages of condoms, reading the promises on the labels. Some things never

changed.

“Baby, I know what we need,” I said, taking the simplest package.

“I don’t know about that, Cal. This one says it’s for my pleasure. Don’t you want to try it out?”

she asked, waving a package in front of my face. I snatched it from her hand, shaking my head as I put

it back on its hook.

I laughed. “Like our earlier conversation. It’s not about the tool, but rather the user. Are you

complaining?”

“Hell, no.”

I almost turned to walk away, but I decided to grab a few more boxes to be sure we didn’t run

out again. I made my way to the register when she called out my name.

“What?”

“We can’t just leave here with four boxes of condoms,” she whispered, gesturing me back over

to her.

I strode back. “You’re fucking with me right?” She shook her head in a demure, shy way that

always made me smile. “We’re of age, and this is an acceptable pastime for consenting adults.”

“I don’t want the old guy at the cash register to know we’re going to have sex.” She stared down

at the boxes in my hand. “Or how much we’re planning to have.”

I chuckled. “I’m fucking proud of that. Hell, I’d get on the store intercom and announce it right

now if you’d let me.” I bent down, hovering my lips over her ear. “I’m going to touch, lick and kiss

every part of your beautiful body. And then I plan to fuck you a million different ways so that even

when I’m not inside of you, you’ll feel me there. Our personal demand will be responsible for

shortening the supply of available prophylactics in this world. That’s how much I want you.”

“’Kay,” she said, swallowing hard. I laughed, pulling her against me. After a deep breath, she

smacked my chest. “Stop, I mean it. We have to buy some more stuff so it’s not obvious.”

“Fine,” I grumbled. “You get something and I’ll get something and we’ll meet back here, but

hurry.”

She nodded, with a shy smile, turning around. I couldn’t resist smacking her scrumptious ass.

She gasped, but it turned into a giggle as she scampered off.

I honestly tried to pick out miscellaneous items I didn’t need, but in the end, I only found useful

products that would assist me in the promises I had whispered to her. I found her lollygagging in the

candy aisle instead of by the condoms where I’d told her to be. She held up two boxes of foreign

chocolates, wrapped in gold foil. “For old times’ sake,” she said, smiling.

I held up the basket I’d picked up and she managed to chuck them inside, holding her arms up.

“Score,” she yelled.

“Now come on so I can score,” I replied, wrapping my arm around her and speed-walking to the

register.

Her smile faded when I put our combined contents on the register. We had two bottles of wine, a

six-pack of some power energy drink, baby oil, four boxes of condoms, two bags of chocolate and…

lube.

She whispered in my ear, “So much for not making it look obvious.”

I shrugged. “At least we’re going to get good use out of all of this.” I caught up to her as she was

exiting the store. “Are you really mad about this?”

Her lips curled, fighting a smile. “Yes, but rest assured, I’ll think of a way to punish you later.”

“Are you planning to withhold sex from me? Because I’ll buy out the whole goddamn store if

you want.”

She bit her bottom lip, but I knew she was now doing it on purpose. Now that she knew what it

did to me. “That would be punishing myself, and I’m no masochist.”

“That’s my girl,” I replied, putting my arm around her shoulder.

Chapter Fourteen

Sylvie’s place, an efficiency apartment situated in an artsy part of town, matched her style. “So

this is you,” I said, gesturing to the space. There was a small couch, which I supposed Momma would

refer to as a loveseat. The only other furniture was a twin-sized bed that I wondered how we were

both going to sleep on and a chest of drawers. One wall screamed out, painted bright red, but the rest

were stark white. It felt like Sylvie in some ways, but it also felt cramped and foreign too.

“It’s not much, but rent’s cheap.” She took the bags from me, and placed them on a small

countertop that housed a few miniature appliances and served as her kitchen.

I immediately started checking the windows and locks. “You need a deadbolt. The one you have

isn’t very strong and you don’t even have a peephole.”

She shrugged. “I don’t get many visitors. Do you want beer or wine?”

“Beer. It doesn’t matter how many visitors you get. It’s a pretty basic safety protocol.”

“I’ll call the landlord if it makes you feel better,” she responded, handing me a beer.

“Don’t bother. I can do it. We’ll hit Home Depot tomorrow.”

“You know the US Marshal’s office still looks after me.”

“Yeah, and they did such a fucking brilliant job the first time,” I spat. She winced at the

harshness in my tone. I put my arm around her, pulling her close to me. “I’m sorry, I just want to take

whatever precautions we can.”

“I understand. I work tomorrow, but we can go in the morning.”

I suddenly felt pretty stupid since this was such an obvious thing for me to know and also the one

thing I hadn’t asked her about. “I don’t know where you work.”

She laughed. “Of course you don’t. I never told you. I work at an art supply store.”

“Do you like it?”

“It’s boring most of the time, but I teach a few classes for children and I love that part.”

“You were always good with kids. You were very good with Mandy.”

“Oh, my God, I never asked you how she was,” she replied, clapping her hand to her mouth in

guilt.

“Sylvie, don’t freak out about that. Like I said, we know each other, but we do have to get

reacquainted, and there’s plenty of time for that.”

“How are your mom and Mandy? I know some things because I’ve been keeping tabs on the

Internet, but only what they post on their Facebook pages.”

“They’re really good. Momma’s still running bake sales and heading up the choir. Mandy’s in

college at Baylor majoring in music therapy. She got a scholarship.”

“You must be so proud of her.”

“We are, but you had a hand in that too. Between my dad, Mom and you, she developed a great

love for music.”

“She had a true talent for it. Far more than I did.”

“I don’t know about that. Remember, I heard you singing at the WC.”

“Yes, but you’re tone deaf.”

“Funny, smartass. Do you still play? I don’t see a piano.”

“There’s no room for one. I can barely fit my bed.” She went over to her bed and removed her

cowboy boots. It was a pretty funny outfit—cowboy boots, baggy sweats, and a Lynyrd Skynyrd T-

shirt. Yet she looked sexy as hell.

“When you move in with me, there will be.”

She gulped her beer and her eyes widened. “I like it here.”

“Don’t be stubborn, Sylvie. This place isn’t very safe. I also think that maybe you should quit

your job. I can—”

“Stop. Right now. I mean it, Tex.”

“What?”

She walked over to me, placing her hands on my chest. “I know you’re concerned about me, but

I’ve lived the last ten years without incidents. Locking yourself up is not living and I won’t do it. Not

even for you. You can’t expect me to change my lifestyle.”

“I understand you’ve had almost ten years—”

“Fifteen. Almost fifteen years of my life have been in hiding, and even though I’m living in

hiding, I refuse to hide.”

“You have to understand that I almost lost you once. I don’t want to risk it again. I’ve only had

two days with you and they’ve been the most pleasurable and uneasy of my life.” She stared at me in

confusion. “Baby, do you know what it feels like to have the knowledge that someone out there is

looking to harm the most important thing in the world to you?”

She placed her hand on my face, “I know exactly how you feel. I’ve felt that way about you, but I

have to live my life and you do too. The thing I love about being with you is that it’s so easy. So

normal. I crave that.”

“Yeah, as easy as breathing,” I replied, kissing her gently.

“Right, so don’t suffocate me.”

“Fine, but I’m fixing the deadbolt, drilling a peephole and putting a chain on this door.”

“Fine.”

“Also, I want you to text me when you get to and leave work. Every free minute we have is with

each other. We will not sleep apart again, agreed?”

“Tex, I’ll do what you want, but I think we need to take this just a bit slower,” she replied. I

couldn’t understand her need to be separated from me, but I decided not to push it too hard. Not yet.

“Fine,” I grumbled.

She smiled, kissed my cheek then stood on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear, “Just give it time.

You need it too, even if you don’t realize it yet.” Before I could respond, she started walking away. “I

have something for you.” She went into a large closet. I took a minute to check the rest of her space. I

noticed the painting in the corner of the room sitting on an easel.

“You still paint?”

“Yes, people commission me to paint portraits. I do it for extra money.”

My jaw clenched as I stared at the painting of an older man, imagining him alone with her in this

small apartment. “Relax, Tex, they send me pictures and I do the paintings from those and mail them

out. I don’t even have any clients in Portland.”

“How do you always know what I’m thinking?”

“Because we have this weird connection.”

“You’re still an amazing artist. I may be tone deaf, but I sure as hell have eyes.”

She shrugged, standing in front of me. “Good enough to get paid is good enough for me.” She

opened her hand, revealing the silver chain with the St Michael’s pendant I’d given her so long ago.

“You still have it?”

“Of course I do. I wear it to bed every night.”

I twirled a strand of her hair around my finger. “You wear it to bed?”

“I used to wear it all the time, but people touched it and asked about it. It made me too sad. I

know it sounds strange to put on jewelry before bed, but it helps with the nightmares, and you were

right about it. It feels like you’re there with me when I have it on.” She pressed it into my hand. “You

told me you were lending it to me until I didn’t need it anymore. I know it’s overdue, but I’m ready to

return it now.”

I put it back in her palm and closed her fingers around it. “You keep it a while longer. Not that it

helped you any when you needed it.” My mind raced back to that night and how I’d seen the glint of

the pendant in the darkness so I could find her.

She shook her head. “It did. I’m safe and you’re safe. We’re very lucky to be here.”

“You’re right, so that only supports my case that you should keep it longer. It’s managed to keep

you safe for ten years, and I’m not about to ask for it back now.” She nodded and surprised me by