Fighting Perfection (The Perfection Series Book 2) (31 page)

     I agreed and said, “If she’s smart, she’ll mind her P’s and Q’s.  She’s developing a history of this behavior.  Surely with the evidence the police have now, she’ll straighten up.”

     “Or become more careful so as not to get caught,” he said.  “Sorry, but at this point, I wouldn’t put anything past her.”

     I took a sip of my martini and nodded.  I knew I was wishfully thinking, but I had to stay optimistic somehow or this would completely overwhelm me.  Since neither of us wanted to spend any more time thinking of her that night, we had a few drinks over a couple of rounds of pool wherein Justin smoked me every time.

     When I arrived back at Grace’s, she was home from work.  I shared the news with her, and she too, insisted on celebrating.  She cooked a dinner of grilled steaks, a garden salad, and baked potatoes.  We ate sitting on her backyard patio enjoying the warmth of the late summer night.  I informed her of James’ demand that I go stay with him.

     “You know you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need to,” she advised, “but there’s wisdom in what he’s saying.  He can do a lot more to protect you than I can.”

     “I think I am going to.  I hate extending my program, but James made the excellent point that it was worth my safety to do so.  I’m going to contact the administration office tomorrow and put everything on hold until the next quarter starts in December.”

     “Good girl.  It sucks that she’s disrupted your life this much, but who knew she was so disturbed?  Are you going to head up north tomorrow?” she asked.

     “If not tomorrow, then sometime this week.  I’ll call James in a little while and find out what time he expects to get home.  If it’s not too late, then I’ll head out sometime after noon.  If he plans to be home late, then I’ll postpone it until whenever he will be free to meet me at a decent hour.  I’ll go home in the morning and pack a bigger suitcase since I don’t know how long I’ll be there.”

     “I’ll miss having you here.  I had been hoping for lots of gossip and girl-bonding, but it can keep.  Now, to get our minds off this nasty business, let me tell you about Ike and me.”

     We spent another hour chatting about her blossoming relationship.  Ike seemed to make Grace really happy and although I thought it was an odd pairing, something akin to the princess and the frog, I recalled how happily that story ended.  From all that Grace told me, it did indeed sound like he was a real prince in disguise. 

     After we went inside, I called James to let him know I was taking him up on his offer.  He assured me he’d be home by four, so we made plans for me to arrive around five the next day.  He was relieved that I was following his advice and admitted he was also happy to just have me closer on a daily basis.  In spite of all the chaos that was going on in my life, I had to agree that it would be a wonderful opportunity to grow closer to each other.

     I reached James’ house just after five the following evening.  On my way there, Detective Lazarus called to let me know that Delia’s bail had been set at ten-thousand dollars, and she had already posted the bond.  She was free pending her next hearing, so I’d gotten out of the city none too soon.  I let him know that I was out of town indefinitely, but he could still reach me at the same number.  I also gave him James’ landline and cell phone numbers in case he couldn’t get hold of me.  Lazarus advised that at some point I would have to come back down and testify at a preliminary hearing, but the district attorney would let me know when I needed to be present.

     James and I stayed in that night watching mindless television just to give me an opportunity to decompress and relieve my mind of the worry I’d been carrying around.  At his suggestion, we took a bath together.  He must have planned it out in advance because he lit fragrant candles around the bathroom and added some bath oil to the water.  It was actually kind of comical in the beginning because he only had a standard-size tub, and he was a big guy.  It took a little bit of maneuvering, but we finally found a position that we could comfortably sit in.

     “I obviously didn’t think this through well enough,” he said once we’d gotten settled.  He was sitting, relaxed against the back of the tub, while I laid draped over his chest and between his thighs.  “Are you sure you’re comfortable like this?” he asked.

     “I may not be able to maintain this position for long, but right now, I’m very comfortable,” I said as I drizzled water over his chest.

     James poured some body wash into his hands and lathered them up.  He began to soap my shoulders, massaging them and working out the tightness that had accumulated there.  After a time, he had me sit up on my knees so he could soap the rest of my body.  When we came out, I was feeling more relaxed and dreamy.

     James insisted he wasn’t done and transferred all the candles to his bedroom where he had me lay down on my stomach while he attended to the rest of my body.  He massaged me from head to toe, working out every kink and knot in my muscles.  He had strong hands that felt absolutely heavenly on my skin.  By the time he was done, I was dead to the world.

    James rose early the next morning as was his custom.  I wasn’t thrilled about being awake at five a.m., but I wanted to see him off.  I made coffee, and he took a few minutes to sit with me before he left.

     “I stocked the kitchen with all sorts of foods I thought you’d like so please feel free to help yourself while you’re here.  In fact, consider this your second home.  You’re welcome to anything I have. “

     “I promise I won’t go nosing around too much.  I brought a few books with me to help pass the time.  Sooner or later, I’m going to have to figure out something else to do.  Maybe I’ll start watching The Food Channel,” I said with a wink.

    “You won’t hear me complain if I come home to gourmet cooking.”

    “Don’t get your hopes up there, buddy.  I can cook, but I don’t know if it will ever achieve gourmet status even with some new recipes.  Hell, we’ll have to see if it’s even edible.”

     James stood and kissed my forehead before taking his mug to the sink.  “Well, if it is as good as your coffee, then I think it will work out fine.”

     “You have more faith in me than you should.” I laughed.

      After James left, I went back to bed.  I had lots of sleep to catch up on, and I intended to do just that.  Later in the day, I got my iPod out and went for a walk around the neighborhood.  I met one of James’ neighbors and stopped to get acquainted with her.  Her husband was also a pilot, and they had just gotten married.  We had a nice chat before I continued on my walk.  I didn’t know how far I’d walked, but I felt good for getting out and taking in the fresh air.  It was a relief to be able to move about in public without the worry that Delia was somewhere nearby, just waiting for the opportunity to strike.

     Once I got back to the house, I started in on one of the romance novels I’d brought with me.   About an hour before James was due to arrive home, I surveyed the contents of his refrigerator and pantry.  He may have stocked up, but it was all convenience foods and snacks.  I must not have given him a very good impression of my dietary habits or he had poor ones that I didn’t know about.  When he got home, I teased him about his choices.

     “I know I told you I love Oreos, but they don’t make much of a meal.  I went through all this stuff you bought, and there is nothing to make a whole meal out of, especially one that will satisfy you after a hard day.”

     “Alright Kitten, we’ll go shopping and see what we can get that will appease your palate this weekend.  For tonight, we’ll just go out somewhere.”

     We went to a small sushi restaurant in town.  I was pleased to learn we shared a mutual love for sushi.  I always felt it was an intimate meal when sharing selections from one large plate.  We made it even more romantic by feeding each other slices of each roll we’d ordered.  Of course, I tended to be a little clumsy with the chopsticks and dropped a piece or two into his lap. 

     “Kitten!  Be careful would you?  These are my best pair of shorts.  I’m doused in soy sauce now.”

     “That’s what you get for insisting on calling me Kitten.” I teased.

     “I’m going to have to find another pet name for you then.  Something that denotes your clumsiness,” he shot right back.

     “Maybe Kitten is fine, after all,” I mused.

     “Yeah, remember the kinds of names we come up with for call signs.  You could end up with something way worse.”

     “I hadn’t considered that.  Pumpkin is a terrible name although I can see why you chose it, what with his ginger hair and all.”

     “That actually had very little to do with it,” he explained.  “He brought around one girl when he first got here.  She was from the south and had the most annoying nasally voice with a real strong accent.  She insisted on calling him Pumpkin every chance she got.  He said he ditched her because her voice was like nails on a chalk board to him.  She may not have lasted long, but the name stuck.”

       “So you just pick a name for each other and that’s it?” I asked, interested to learn more about how things worked in the squadrons.

     “That’s the most common way.  You never get to pick it yourself, and once you get it, you’re stuck with it.  It’s bad luck to change a call sign.

     “There are some guidelines for picking them.  It can’t be overly cool like the names in Top Gun, so no ‘Maverick’ or ‘Iceman.’

     “It can’t be too good for the pilot.  For example, Pumpkin is not the best decision maker out there.  So, most other names would be considered ‘too good.’  Of course, this is based solely on the opinion of your friends.  You could be a decent pilot but get lots of crap from the guys and end up with a name you hate.

     “You don’t get to ask for a name you picked out.  It’s a big mistake, and one that will increase your chances of getting a bad one.  It has to pass the bar test, and it can’t be too embarrassing.  Usually, you get your name over something you did in your initial few months in the squadron whether it was something awesome you did or stupid.  It can also be like mine which is a play off my name, obviously.

     “The best thing is to not piss off the other pilots, to beg for mercy, and give large bribes to your fellow pilots, then hope for the best.”

     “Wow, I had no clue that there was such a production of it.  I thought the guys just picked something that reminded them of you or just seemed to suit you.”

     “It largely is, but you have to remember these are military guys.  They’ll fuck with each other as much as humanly possible.  There has to be some limits.”

     “So, I take it Pumpkin pissed someone off?”

     “Oh yeah.  Aside from being his goofy-ass self, he made the mistake of asking for “Blade” as his call-sign.  That pretty much sealed his fate.”

     “Oh dear, he didn’t,” I said, shaking my head in embarrassment for the guy.

     “He sure did.  So now and forever more he will be Pumpkin, unless he does something spectacular in combat.  Which, knowing Pumpkin, is highly unlikely.”

     “What’s Zach’s name?” I asked curiously.

     “Santa.”

     “Santa?  How on earth would he get a name like that?”

     “When he first joined the squadron, he was always complaining that he wasn’t getting any.  So one of the guys called him Santa because the big man only comes once a year.  It’s another one that stuck.”

     “I am so glad I am not a pilot, then.  I would end up with some fucked-up name.”

     “Nah, you’d end up with something like Goddess,” he said with a serious face.

     I snorted.  “You’re biased.”

     “That I am, but that would probably be considered too cool for you considering your awful clumsiness,” he said as I tried to lift a piece of sushi to my mouth and ended up dropping it on my shirt.

     I had to agree.

     The days began to blend into each other.  Living with James felt like vacation to me.  I suppose part of it was since I no longer had the responsibility of school or the worry about Delia tormenting me.  I was worried about Justin, however.  I hadn’t heard from him during the weeks I’d been in Lemoore.  I had told him before I left where I was going, and he agreed it was a good decision even if he didn’t like it very much.  He told me he still had his sights set on me, but didn’t feel it was fair to me to pursue anything while his life was in such a shambles.  I had gotten so far with James that my attraction to Justin had waned.  I still thought him marvelously sexy and he was as dear a friend to me as ever, but James was holding one-hundred percent of my attention.  I hadn’t the heart to tell him that James and I were officially together.  At least to my way of thinking we were even though it was a bedroom promise. 

     It was a Friday in late October when I received a call from the district attorney informing me that there was a preliminary hearing scheduled for two weeks from the following Monday at eight a.m.  Both Justin and I would be required to give testimony as part of the proceedings to determine if there was enough evidence for a trial date to be scheduled.  My heart started pounding as I would essentially be confronting Delia by accusing her of all the things she’d done.  It was one thing for the matter to be between the two of us with her continually harassing me with nothing being done about it by the police.  It was quite another to take an oath and sit before others recounting all the horrible things she’d put me through.  The thought of looking into those crazy dark eyes of hers made a shiver run down my spine.  Worse, I’d have to go back down to Los Angeles even earlier to meet with the D.A. and go over my testimony potentially leaving me vulnerable to any new acts of terror from her.  Just the idea of being back in my house made me uneasy.

     I told James what I had learned when he came home from work.  He knew the day had been coming and that he likely would not be able to attend, but he was no less disturbed by the fact that I’d have to handle it on my own.  We discussed it all over dinner that night, one that I had cooked from a recipe I learned on The Food Channel website.  It was made with clams, called Almejas a la Marinera.  Essentially, it was steamed clams with onion, garlic, and dry white wine along with a few herbs to set off the flavor.  I served it over linguine tossed with butter and olive oil.  It was a very simple recipe and tasty as all hell.

     “You did a fabulous job on this meal, Kitten.  You say you’ve never made it before?”

     “No, I just learned about it online.  I’m glad you like it.  I was a little nervous not having had any experience cooking with shellfish.” I said as I leaned back in my chair stuffed full of pasta and clams.  I still had some on my plate, and I noticed James in front of his empty plate looking at me expectantly.

     “Do you want the rest of my food?” I asked.

     “If you’re not going to eat it.  I can’t let any of this go to waste,” he replied practically salivating all over the table.

     “By all means.  I am done.”  I handed my plate over to him which he dove into with gusto.  I cleared the rest of the table and went into the kitchen to make coffee.  When I returned, James was all but licking his dish.

     “I guess I’ll have to make that one again.” I said as I put his cup of coffee in front of him.

     “Oh please.  I’ll be thinking about it for days now.  It was delicious,” he said as he pulled me down by my hand to place a light, and somewhat greasy, kiss on my lips.

     “Wipe your mouth,” I teased.  “You’re wearing almost as much of it on your face as is in your belly.”

     Once I had sat down and James had sufficiently cleaned himself, he started talking about my upcoming trek home. 

     “When are you meeting with the D.A.?” he asked.

     “I’m supposed to be there the week of the hearing, that Tuesday.  Our appointment is at ten in the morning so I figured I’d drive back the preceding Monday and stay at the house until the after the conference.”

     “That’s a whole week by yourself.  I’m not crazy about you staying alone.  Can’t you stay with Grace?”

     “I called her, but she and Ike are going to be away on vacation that week.”

     “She won’t let you stay there by yourself?” he asked with both eyebrows raised.

     “She offered, but they’re leaving the Friday before.  I don’t want to have to drive all the way down there early in the morning just to pick up a key and drive all the way back.  It’s just too inconvenient.  Besides, Ike gave her a puppy recently and she’s already arranged to have a dog sitter come to stay.  If I stayed, I’d be wrangled into watching the dog for the entire time they’re gone, and I don’t want to be down there that long.”

     “As much as I hate to suggest it, why doesn’t Justin stay with you or vice versa?  I don’t relish the idea of my girl having another guy around twenty-four/seven, but at least I’d know you’d have some protection.  Assuming he’d stand up and handle Delia if she shows up.”

     “Don’t be too hard on him, James.  He was just trying to handle the situation as deftly as he could.  He was working against his nature, so it wasn’t something he did with any aplomb.  He’s already being hard enough on himself.”

     “If you say so.  Did you call him to see if it was a possibility?” he asked, still looking a bit uncomfortable with the idea.

     “I didn’t.  If you really want me to, I’ll give him a call tonight and see if he will agree to stay at my house.  That way I can bring back some more clothes so I don’t keep wearing the same things over and over again.”

     “Alright.  Set it up.  I’d also like to talk to him before the conversation is over.  I need his personal assurance that he will take care of you.”

     “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” I said, hesitantly.  “Don’t you think it will be awkward?  He’s said he still wants to pursue me eventually, and here I am with you.  I don’t think he’d be very receptive to your input.”

     “First, if he cares about you as much as I do, he’ll take heed.  Second, he’s a man.  I need to set down my boundaries for him.”

     “Don’t you think my own boundaries are sufficient?  I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize our relationship,” I stated tersely.

     “It’s not just about him keeping his hands to himself, Mimi.  It’s about taking care of you the way I would take care of you.  Trust me, even though it might be uncomfortable, he’ll respect it if he’s the man you say he is.”

     After we finished our coffee, I went into the other room to make my call to Justin.  He                   was gung-ho on the idea indicating he had already considered it himself.  He too, agreed that he should stay at my house.  Although Delia had been to my house before (including the time she broke in), she was far more familiar with Justin’s place.  We agreed that I would call him when I was on my way down so he could meet me at the house.  After that, I let him know that James wanted to talk to him.

     “I was waiting for this.  You two are together, aren’t you?” he asked.

     “I think so.  We haven’t had a conversation about it directly, but our relationship has taken on a more serious tone.” 

     I heard him sigh, before saying, “Okay, put him on.”

     James ushered me from the room once I took my cell phone to him.  He insisted he wanted to have a private man-to-man conversation with Justin, and I didn’t need to hear any of it.  I left the room scowling at him.  What kind of caveman bullshit was that?

     About fifteen minutes later, he brought my phone back to me with Justin still on the line.  He had a satisfied look on his face so I assumed his message must have been well received.  I put the phone back to my ear as James left the room.

     “Hey,” I said, “I hope that wasn’t too unpleasant.”

     “No, not at all.  I’d do the same thing if you were mine, Peaches.  He loves you.  That much was obvious.”

     “Yeah,” I said, softly.  “He does.”

     “Do you love him?” Justin asked, sounding afraid of the answer.

     “I don’t know yet, Justin.  You know my only experience with love was with Vance, and that was unique and powerful from the very beginning.  I know enough to know that love doesn’t usually hit you in the face like that normally.

     “I do feel differently about him, though.  He makes me happy.  He goes the extra mile all the time just to make sure I am.  He doesn’t need to. I am happy just being around him, but he plans all kinds of surprises for me, just to see me smile, he says.  He makes me feel safe and protected but also special.”

     “That complicates things for me somewhat looking into the future.  All I want in the end is your happiness, and if he gives that to you, then I am satisfied.  That said, I’m not convinced yet and until I am, I won’t give up hope for us.  I did promise him I’d be on my best behavior when I see you though.  I don’t want to cause any conflicts while we’re still in the midst of this Delia thing, but I want you to know that I’m still here and nothing has changed for me as far as you’re concerned.”

     “Justin…” I began.

     “No, Peaches.  We don’t have to talk about anything right now.  Just keep that thought in the back of your head.”

     I let the subject drop because I didn’t want to deal with it.  It was like I’d said to myself all along, if James and I were meant to be, it would be clear to me at some point.  I felt that I wanted to be with him, but I wasn’t ready to commit myself to the idea that I was already in love with the man.

     We chatted a little while longer about more mundane things, but it was hard to keep up the pretense of normalcy when so much was going on around us that was not normal.  We hung up with his promise to keep me safe while I was there.

     Despite my dread, the two weeks went by quickly.  James had done a great job of keeping my mind off of it and focused on him.  I loved every minute I spent with the man, and as I was driving down to my house that Monday night, I realized that on top of everything else, I already missed him.

     Justin was waiting for me in my driveway when I arrived at the house.  He had brought his Porsche rather than the motorcycle, saying this way I wouldn’t have to drive anywhere.  While I had no qualms about letting him use my car as he’d driven it way more than once in the past, I wasn’t about to complain.  That little black car was f-u-n even if you were just taking a trip to the grocery store.  That thought made me wonder about the contents of my refrigerator.  I’d thrown most everything away before I left for my last trip up to James’ house.  If we were going to stay there, we needed to make a trip to the supermarket.

    After settling our stuff into the bedrooms, I went and surveyed the contents of the refrigerator and pantry.  While I still had a fair amount of dry and canned goods, the fridge was nearly bare but for some condiments and a jar of pickles.  The freezer was likewise empty with not even a frozen dinner to be found.

      I advised Justin of the dismal contents of my kitchen.  It was nearly dinnertime, but I was too tired from my drive to go out for dinner.  He suggested that we just pick up a few things and he’d make dinner that night.  We could go out for more staples after our meeting with the attorney in the morning.

     On the way there, we discussed the upcoming hearing.  We both had our reservations about facing Delia again. 

     “I wouldn’t put it past her to come flying over the defense table to try to get to me.  I’m sure she won’t with the marshal being there as well as her attorney and everyone else, but this situation has been so dramatic already, my imagination can’t help but run wild.”

     “I have envisioned the same things,” he said as we pulled into the parking lot.  “She’s too unpredictable and law enforcement has meant nothing to her so far.”

     “She’s been good since she got arrested though, hasn’t she?”

     “She hasn’t been obvious about anything, but I think I’ve caught sight of her once or twice driving down my street.  That’s another reason I didn’t want you coming to my house.”

     We continued to discuss the situation as we walked through the market selecting things for dinner.  Justin wanted to make a simple meal of crab-stuffed pasta shells in Alfredo sauce.  I was too tired to care what we ate.  Personally, I would have been just as happy getting fast food.

     As we were leaving, Justin stiffened beside me.  “What is it?” I asked, immediately on alert.

     “I think I just saw Delia’s car parked a few lanes over.  There’s someone inside the car, and it looks like a female, but I can’t be sure in this light.” 

     “Let’s get out of here as fast as we can, then,” I said.  “Nothing good is going to come from her seeing us together.”

     “That’s for sure,” he said as he quickly steered us out of the parking lot and onto La Brea Avenue.  Traffic was average for Los Angeles near quitting time.  That is to say, it was a mess.  As we slowly made our way back to my house, Justin just muttered “Shit” under his breath.

     “Now what?” I nervously asked.

     “Don’t turn around, but it’s definitely her.  She’s two cars back in our lane, but she keeps moving over to pass when she can.  I think she’s angling to get directly behind us.”