I Opia (14 page)

“Oh my God. Oh my God, this is awful!” Blaine exclaimed as she started to cry.

The officer was now joined by his buddy who also just stopped and stared at the beautiful half-naked woman standing in the doorway crying.

“Simply, awful,” she continued sobbing, “I should have known it wasn’t him.”

“Miss?” Officer Number One said, “Miss? Are you okay? We have a ‘Priority One’ alarm from this residence. Are you Mrs. Webber?”

Blaine dramatically started sobbing letting the towel drop just enough to give a peek of the top of her breasts. “Oh, Mrs. Webber?” She sobbed, “I know she is behind this. I should have known.”

The officer looked at his buddy. The two shrugged their shoulders at each other. “Ma’am we really need to come in and look around or understand what has happened here.”

Blaine flung her hair back in a dramatic manner and wiped a tear from her eye, still very strategically holding the towel barely around her. “What has happened here, officer, what has happened, is that my boyfriend’s wife has played a dirty, dirty trick on me. I am now the victim of a horrible revenge prank.” And with that she started sobbing and turned her back and walked into the entry hall. The officer looked over his shoulder at his partner. His partner motioned for him to follow.

Blaine continued, “Look around all you want. This isn’t my house. It is my boyfriend Dan’s. Dan Webber. He said he was going to leave her. “ Blaine continued sobbing, “He told me to come here and wait for him, so I did. When he was almost an hour late I started to realize that the texts may not have been from him. He is never late. And, then,” she sobbed, “and then, you showed up. Don’t you see? This is the perfect way to ruin Blaine Anderson’s life.”

The officer opened his eyes wide and suddenly realized that this beautiful half-naked woman was indeed Blaine Anderson. Everyone knew of Blaine Anderson. She was in the paper often and was a very well known businesswoman. He had never seen her in person and was stunned at how beautiful she really was. He was in a dilemma, however, as the alarm had been triggered and yet it was obvious that no crime was being committed here. So he made a quick decision, “Okay, Ms. Anderson. Here’s what we are going to do. My partner and I are just going to take a quick look around as a matter of procedure. You go get dressed. We will report this as a false alarm. And there will be no reason whatsoever that we will need to mention your name in the report. Does that seem fair?” He looked at his partner who nodded his agreement.

Blaine smiled and gushed, “Oh thank you so much officer. This is so embarrassing. I am incredibly indebted to you. How can I ever repay your kindness?”

The officer blushed and just shook his head, “No problem Ms. Anderson. Get dressed so we can secure the property.”

Blaine quickly made her way back to the bedroom where her clothes lay on the floor and Vince was under the bed. She got down on her knees and looked under the bed. Vince was staring at her with the same stunned expression as when she had left the room. She whispered, “Quick! Get out from under there. We have to get you out of here.”

Vince slid his laptop out and then followed. Blaine was hastily dressing.

“What is going on? Are you okay? I was so damn worried!” he whispered.

She put her finger to her lips and motioned out the door. “Two officers are waiting on me. It is okay. I will explain everything, but you have to get out. Now.”

Vince looked around and spied a door leading from the bedroom to an outdoor courtyard area. Blaine motioned for him to get out. He stepped out the door and she quickly and quietly closed and locked the door behind him. She smoothed her hair and walked out very calmly to where the officers were waiting. She was unaware that Vince had stepped out and looked around to find himself now stuck in a private courtyard that had 8-foot walls and no gate.
Oh for fuck sake! What am I doing to do?

Blaine walked out with the officers, “Thank you again for being so kind.” She smiled and handed him a card. “Please let me know if there is anything I can ever do for you.”

The officer blushed again and just shook his head. “No problem. We can certainly say we’ve seen it all now.” He said as his partner laughed.

Well, you really didn’t see it all, thank goodness.
She climbed into her car and started it. The officers pulled out and Blaine made sure to drive the opposite direction.
I will just drive around the block and come back and get Vinny. Holy crap! This was close.

Vince in the meantime was trying to figure out how to scale the wall. If he moved the patio furniture so he could climb over, it would be a dead giveaway to the Webbers that someone had been here. Plus he had his laptop making it even more difficult.

His phone went off: I am circling the block to give my new friends time to leave. Walk to the end of the block. I will pick you up there.

Vince:
I wish. I am stuck in a fucking courtyard. No gate.

Blaine:
LOL. Very funny. See you in 3.

Vince:
I AM SERIOUS!!!

Blaine:
Shit!

Vince:
Yes, shit.

Then it hit him. He would have to move the furniture climb out and then come back and put the furniture back in the original place. It was the only way.

I am climbing out. Meet me at end of the block.

Blaine:
Ok. Be careful.

Vince pushed a table to the wall. He stood on it and he was just tall enough to see over the top. It looked like he could safely drop down. Luckily this part of the house was not visible to the street. He placed his laptop on top of the wall and then hoisted himself up. He swung his legs over, grabbed his laptop, took a deep breath and jumped down. His goal was to protect the laptop and try not to hurt himself. He landed on his feet with his laptop still carefully cradled in his arms. He looked around and then sprinted out of the yard.

Blaine was waiting in the car. When she saw him sprinting towards her she thought,
Slow down Vinny! Act casual. A guy running down the street with a laptop is not exactly invisible.
As if he read her mind, he slowed his pace and walked up to the car and got in.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. “Blaine, look, I am really sorry . . .”

“Vinny stop beating yourself up! We are okay. Let’s just get out of here.” She said interrupting his apology.

Vince grimaced, “Well, there is one little problem. We have to go back.”

She looked at him like he had lost his mind, “What are you talking about? We can’t go back!”

He looked at her and nodded his head somberly, “Yea, we do. I have to get over that wall, move the table back and then get back over so as not to leave anything out of place.” The look on Blaine’s face let Vince know that the gravity of this was sinking in.

She looked at her watch. “Well, let’s figure this out quick. We have to get dressed and be at the event in the next hour. Our absence will be noticed. We cannot have that happen.”

Vince nodded, “Not only that, but Eric is going to kill me if I am late.”

“So what are we going to do?” Blaine asked as she began driving.

Vince replied, “There’s a Home Depot about a mile away, let’s go there. I have an idea.”

The two were in and out of Home Depot and were heading back to the Webber’s with their purchase—two rope ladders designed to escape from a second story window in case of a fire. Neither of them spoke as they made the drive back and parked the car. Vince looked at Blaine, “Ready?”

She nodded, “As ready as I am ever going to be.” They walked casually back to the Webbers.

Blaine asked,” Are you sure we aren’t going to trigger the alarm again?”

“At this point, B, I am not sure about anything. So, let’s just get me in and out of there and be on our way.” he responded.

She nodded gravely. “Okay, just not sure my getting naked again is going to work.”

They stood on the outside of the wall. Vince threw the rope ladder up and the plastic hooks caught. They looked at each other and smiled. So far so good. Vince tugged to make sure it would hold and then made his way to the top of the fence. Blaine lifted the other rolled up ladder to him. He carefully, hung it in place and let it drape over the inside of the wall. He then disappeared from her sight as he dropped down on the other side.

He looked at his watch, keenly aware that if they had triggered an alarm, he had only minutes.
Which is really all I need. Minutes.
He shoved the table back in place and took one last look.
Everything looks exactly like it did. Tracks covered.

Blaine was standing on the other side impatiently shuffling from one foot to the next.
Come on Vinny!
He reappeared over the wall. He sat on the top and rolled up the ladder from the inside. He dropped it down to Blaine and then unhooked the outside ladder and let it fall. He jumped down beside it.

The two silently and calmly walked back to the mini van. Each with a rolled up rope ladder under their arm. They put the ladders in the back and got in.

Blaine was halfway home when she finally broke the silence, “What a cluster that was!” And then suddenly she started laughing. Hysterically. So much so that she almost couldn’t keep driving.

Vince looked at her. “What the hell is so funny?”

Blaine tried to talk through her laughter and tears, “Dude . . . I got naked for the police . . . I mean you hid under the bed . . .” she gasped from laughing, “while I paraded around . . . .” she was now laughing so hard she snorted, “ I told them. . . holy crap . . . I told them Dan Webber was my boyfriend!” She kept laughing and wiped the tears from her eyes. Vince was glad to see her laughing and not angry at his mistake with the alarm.

They pulled into his driveway. She was still laughing. “Dan Webber? For reals? And then you get stuck, for fuck sake, get stuck in a courtyard.” She started snorting again.

Vince joined in laughing. “B, damn girl, that was close.” They both sat in the car laughing hysterically. Perhaps it was just the relief of having made it out of a bad situation intact. Vince finally caught his breath. “Okay, I gotta go in and get ready. See you at the event.”

They hugged and Vince stepped out and sprinted in his front door.

Blaine walked into the country club
only a few minutes after the Webber’s event had started. She was escorted by one of her favorite lovers, Walter. An older, attractive man who often flew in just to be her escort. After Vince had gotten out of the car, she had pulled into her own driveway and parked. She had forgotten about Walter until her phone buzzed:

Hey Baby Girl. Did you forget about me? Dressed and ready.

Holy crap! I did forget! He flew in just for me.

Forget? Haha! No one could forget you! Just got stuck with work for a bit. See you in 20. Better be ready!

Always ready for you, baby girl.

True to her word, Blaine pulled up in front of his hotel in 20 minutes. As always, Walter was dashing. Not wild sexy like Stephan, but sexy in a sophisticated way. Blaine even liked his voice. He slid into the seat next to her and gave her a kiss, “Hey baby girl. You look beautiful as always.”

Blaine had decided to go with traditional black. However, black was the only thing traditional about her dress. It was a jersey material that clung in all the right places. A halter-top style with a slit almost to her waist that held nicely to each breast so that the effect was exactly what she wanted. Her back, her trademark, was exposed, as were her toned arms. She wore simple chandelier earrings that were rhinestone with a matching bracelet. While Blaine may draw attention to herself with her body, she was careful never to draw attention by appearing to spend an excessive amount of money, such as on rare and expensive jewels. Instead, she chose to be simple and tasteful. A lesson that she first learned from Elizabeth and was reinforced by Julian.

The two had walked in arm in arm to greet the hosts and then worked the room. As usual, every one was impressed by Walter. After about 45 minutes, Blaine finally saw Vince and Eric walk in.
For crap sake! It takes you two longer than most women to get ready!
Blaine had been anxious. With the events of the afternoon, she felt that it was imperative that she and Vince be seen. She wanted nothing out of the ordinary. Being at an event was the best alibi ever.

Vince and Eric made their way over to Walter and Blaine who were chatting with a group. Both gave Blaine a hug and air kisses on each cheek. “You look wonderful, darling, you do.” Enthused Eric.

Riiight. You know you hate my guts!
“Oh thank you so much!” Blaine cooed, “Let me introduce you to Walter. Walter, this is Eric Young, Eric, this is Walter Thomas.”

“Well, well, Miss B. You have been keeping this one secret.” Eric said as he touched Walter’s arm. “Seriously, the suit is fab! What are you drinking?”

Walter looked at Blaine with humor in his eyes and then smiled at Eric, “I am having the Caymus Cabernet. You should try it. Very nice.”

“You know what? I think I will. Vince, honey, will you please get me one.”

Vince and Blaine exchanged glances. Usually Eric was not very social. It was rare that he attended an event with Vince, which was fine with Blaine. The guy was super germaphobic and didn’t always like people. However, it was obvious that he was enamored with Walter. Walter didn’t seem to mind and the two chatted for most of the evening.