Deadly Dosage (55 page)

Eric
and Rob started laughing. Fred and Tina looked amused and Lloyd smirked and flipped
me off.

 Nik
laughed and refilled my glass from their pitcher of beer. “See. He’s okay with
you here,” she whispered.

We
must have been on a different page. I wasn’t seeing any sign of friendliness in
his gesture.

     It was
time for the band to return to the stage. My eyes followed Lloyd’s every move
and continued doing so up until the last performance when Lloyd sung “Street of
Dreams
”
sans the dedication. I wasn’t sure if he sang it to be nice, or
only to prove he remembered the lyrics.

On
Nik’s insistence, I hung around while Lloyd and the guys packed their
instruments and equipment in their vehicles. I should have left earlier for a
myriad of reasons but mostly because I was, take your pick: pie-eyed, soused,
or plastered.

I
hugged and kissed Nik goodbye and waved to the other band members. Lloyd
avoided me like the plague. After a bit of searching, I found my keys and was
ready to leave. I was walking toward the door when I heard Lloyd’s voice.

“Nik!”
Lloyd said angrily. “You can’t let her drive home. She’s your responsibility.
You gave her the damn beer!”

“Pills,”
Nik explained, “Rob and I would, but we have no room in our car. You’ll have to
do it.”

“Well,
call a cab for her,” he added, perturbed.

“Sorry,
no phone. Bye, Sunny,” she said with a wink and ran past me, out after Rob.

I
kept walking. I appreciated her efforts but his refusal to take me home hurt
like hell. He probably had some groupie waiting for him outside. Screw him. If
I drove slowly and watched the fog line on the road, I’d make it home just fine
and dandy.

So
out the door I went and paused until I spotted my car in the nearly empty lot.
All three of them. I shrugged and headed for the one in the middle.

“Sunny!”

I
looked around, saw no one, and shrugged. I beeped my door open from some
distance away. Nothing happened so I kept trying. I hit the horn button and a
loud beeping noise erupted, threatening to wake the entire neighborhood.

Footsteps
came up running up behind me and a hand pulled the remote out of my hand and
disengaged the alarm.

“Hey,”
I yelled, “give that back.”

“You’re
in no condition to drive,” Lloyd said flatly.

“Not
your problem.”

“I’m
taking you home,” he stated pulling me towards my car.

“Sorry,
the offer for makeup sex expired after the first set.” I snapped my fingers.
“Oh, that’s right, you weren’t interested. Better plans. Don’t let me keep
you.”

“Quit the crap, Sunny. I’m tired,” he said, his tone
irksome.

“Then leave.”

“I can’t. Fred drove my car home so I could take you.
Tina followed him in their vehicle.”

“So call a cab, like you wanted Nik to do for me.”

 “You’re
impossible,” he said bristly. He took a calming breath and tried again. “Sunny,
friends don’t let friends drive drunk, do they?” he asked softly.

“Is
that what I am now? A friend.” My eyes moistened. “That’s a laugh. Give me my
damn keys.” We were at my car and my patience was at its limit.

He
opened the passenger door and waited for me to get in.

“How
can you stand there and say you’re my friend, Lloyd?” The tears started as I
continued. “You and Sam. My best friends. Both claim to be so damn much in love
with me until I give in and start believing it myself. Only difference is, you
conned me way better than Sam did. He was surprised when I dumped him. He
couldn’t understand how I fell in love with you while he was busy dating my
roommate, among others. Imagine the arrogance?” I laughed through my tears.
“Yet I felt guilty afterwards, still do. Doesn’t that beat all? So I guess it
was only fitting that you dump me in front of him. Ironic, isn’t it? Must be
Karma at work.”

My
voice was getting hoarse. “Well, you’ve had your pound of flesh, I hope you’re satisfied.”
My handbag dropped and I bent to pick it up. I took out the package of tissues
Nik gave me earlier. “The alcohol is wearing off and I’m freezing. Fine, take
me home for the last time, Lloyd. I’ll call a cab for you when I get in my
apartment.”

Defeated,
I walked around to the passenger side of my Kia wiping my eyes. As I passed
Lloyd, he pulled me into a tight embrace and kissed me so passionately I forgot
I was angry. He stroked my hair and kissed my face and my neck, sending waves
of desire through my body. Without caring where we were, I returned his kisses
with fevered urgency.

“I’m
so sorry, hon. I’ve acted like a complete jackass.” He said between kisses.
“I’ll do anything to get you back. Just name it.”

“Makeup
sex. Here. Now,” I demanded, losing a rare opportunity to request jewels or
exotic vacations.

He
grinned at my simple request and looked around. Only the two of us left in the
parking lot. He shrugged and followed me into the small backseat and closed the
door. We laughed as we tried to undress enough to do it. It was quick. It was
urgent. And it was absolutely wonderful.

Pulling
me into his lap, he laughed. “Cramped… but fun.” He held me tight for a few
minutes before speaking, my head resting on his shoulder, his hand rubbing my
back.

 “When
Fred pointed you out at the bar, I knew I had to sing that song for you. I
thought you would know it meant I still loved you. That’s why I sang the last
song too.”

“I
thought they were for me but I wasn’t sure.”

“Just
like I thought your relationship with Sam was over last Friday night, but I
wasn’t positive.”

I
looked up at him. “I’m sorry. Now I understand how you felt. From now on, let’s
not expect each other to know what the other is thinking. Tell me what you’re
feeling and I’ll do the same, okay?”

“Okay.
I’ll start. You looked so sexy seated on that barstool with your legs crossed
and that enticing little bracelet on your slim ankle. When you suggested makeup
sex, I immediately got hard. Pissed me off because it made it impossible to
stay angry at you.”

I
grinned. “I didn’t smoke a joint. I was outside bawling my eyes out, just like
you thought.”

“I
was jealous of Eric the rest of the night because of your comment.”

We
both found that hysterically funny. 

“I
wanted you so badly when you walked on stage Lloyd. When you were standing by
me and your fingers touched my ankle I felt like I was on fire.”

“I’m
sorry I made you cry, Sunny. For what it’s worth, my heart wasn’t in the
rejection.”

 “Lloyd,
do you think we can go to your house?” I asked, hoping this wasn’t the end of
the line.

“In
a New York minute,” he said with a grin.

He
kissed me and hopped into the front seat. I followed him. He pulled the front
seat back and turned the engine over.

     Thirty minutes
later, we were repeating our backseat activity in his bed.

Chapter 63

Sunday, March 11th

I woke from a miserable dream, where I was married to Sam
and neither he, nor our three, creepy sons seated around the breakfast table
would share their bacon with me. The dream ended as I was throwing my glass of
milk in Sam’s face, but the milk splashed into Lloyd’s face. Weird. I rolled
over and found I was alone in bed. The alarm clock on the bedside table read
nine-thirty, which was amazing, since we didn’t get to sleep until after three
in the morning. It was a rather active night!

Lloyd kindly left his gray
sweatshirt and a pair of sweat socks for me on the bed, so I pulled the
sweatshirt over my head and tugged on the socks. Learning from past sleepovers,
I started carrying contact solution, makeup and a toothbrush in my handbag. I
grabbed it from the floor and padded off to the bathroom to see how scary I
looked.

I gawked at my refection. Eyes a
little puffy. Overall, not too bad. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and
brushed out my rat’s nest. My contacts were a bit foggy from sleeping in them
but I’d rinse them out later after my shower.

The house was unusually quiet. As I
walked through the living room, I smelled coffee and saw Rufus sleeping on the
couch. He opened one eye as I neared and closed it before I passed him.

I turned into the kitchen and saw a
note propped up on a mug near the coffee maker. It read:

Enjoy the coffee. Went out for a paper and some breakfast
food for us. I put out a fresh towel out for you. Use whatever you need.

Love you, hon, Lloyd.

P.S. Borrowed your car so you couldn’t leave.

 Behind the postscript, he drew a
smiley face with a heart. I smiled and poured a mug of coffee, adding some
cream and sugar from the containers he left on the countertop. This guy was
definitely a keeper!

I drank half of my coffee and
decided to hop in the shower before he returned. If I moved quickly, I would
have time to call Autumn and let her know everything turned out okay last
night.

By ten-thirty, I was dressed in last night’s skirt, Lloyd’s
sweatshirt, and his sweat socks. No hair dryer, so I pulled my wet hair into a
ponytail. I added some mascara and pink lipstick and returned to the kitchen to
finish my coffee.

I sat down and dialed Autumn’s
phone number. As I waited for her to answer, I glanced up and saw Lloyd through
the sheer curtains hanging from the back door window. I hung up before she
answered and opened the door.

“Morning, handsome,” I said
stepping aside so he could enter.
“Here, let me take that.” I grabbed
the brown paper grocery bag from arms and he placed a case of soda on the
floor.

“Thanks.
Cold out there,” he said unzipping his jacket. He hung it on a wall hook by the
entrance to the open basement stairs.

“I
can tell,” I said placing the bag on the table. “Your nose is cold. Vern run
okay?”

“Vern?”

“My
car. I always name them.”

“Easy
to get attached to them. Ran fine. More pep than I thought it would have.” He
shook his head. “Vern?” he asked with an arched eyebrow. “Reminds me of the
chubby, stupid kid in the movie
Stand by Me
.”

“That’s
right! The kid with the comb.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Might have to rethink
that name.”

“I
didn’t think you’d be up yet. Did Rufus wake you?” he asked pulling out the
Sunday paper from the grocery bag.

“No.
Just wasn’t tired anymore. What time did you leave?”

“Oh,
sometime around nine. Took me awhile because I dropped off some ham and rolls
at my parents. That’s what we’re having too. My mom gave me a coffee cake she
baked yesterday if you’re interested. My dad says hi.”

“Definitely.
Looks yummy,” I said taking the tray from him. I took the ham and rolls he
handed to me and placed them on the counter.

Lloyd
folded the bag and stuffed it under the sink.

“Your
dad knows I’m here? Great. Probably thinks I’m a slut.”

Lloyd
smirked. “I doubt it. He’s been up since five. Half the day is gone for him.
Probably thought you came over for lunch.”

“That’s
good. How’s he doing?”

“Real
good. Back to normal.” He yawned.

“You
look tired, Lloyd. Why don’t you sit down and read the paper? I’ll pour some
coffee for you and fix breakfast. Black, right?”

“Right.
Thanks. Nice outfit.”

“My
blouse reeks of smoke.” I poured a mug of coffee and placed it before him.
“Thanks for making the coffee and leaving the note. Loved the little smiley
face. I’m keeping it.”

He
smiled and scanned the headlines on the newspaper before pulling out the
business section.

“You
want the ham heated or cold?”

“I
usually just have it cold but if you want to heat it up, that would be good.”

I
opened a cabinet and pulled out a frying pan. I added some water, the ham, and
a couple of cloves found in a jar on the handy spice rack. While it was heating
up, I sliced a couple of rolls and the coffee cake.

“Want
anything on your sandwich? Mustard?”

He
sipped some coffee. “Sure. Mustard.”  

     I
glanced at what he was reading. “Interested in IPO’s and the stock market?”

     “Just
checking how poorly my 401K and company stock is doing. I should have spent the
money on my Challenger instead of worrying about the future.”

     I opened
one of the upper cabinets and pulled out a couple of plates. I wanted the
smaller ones on the upper shelf. Only one way to get them. I hiked up my skirt,
pushed myself up, and climbed onto the counter one knee at a time. It wasn’t
easy.

     “Sunny.
Not that I mind the view, but why are you perched on my kitchen counter like a
mountain goat?”

     I
looked over my shoulder at his amused face. “I’m trying to reach these plates.”

     “You
could ask for help. I’m not going to bite your head off.”

     “I
didn’t want to disturb you. Besides, I can manage.”

     “Manage
to break your neck.” He got up and took me down, followed by the plates. “You
don’t have to get fancy. I can eat off a paper towel and be happy.”

     “If
I can do it for Brandi, I can do it for you.”

     “How
is the walking Petri dish these days?”

     I
turned off the stove and fixed the sandwiches. “In love or lust with a cowboy.
I’m sure he’ll be living at my apartment, eating my food, while I’m in Vegas.”