Sharp Edges (11 page)

He tilted his head and smiled.
“Well, I appreciate you lending an ear.”

“That goes both ways,”
I said.

“
Good. Because I enjoy helping ‘damsels in distress.’”

I laughed.
“Damsels? Is that what I am?”

“Definitely. I spent many years being a hell-raising punk and now I’m determined to be a good guy,
no matter how boring it is.”

“
Oh, now good is boring?” I asked.

“Eve
n you have to admit that being bad is a hell of a lot more fun.”

“I don’t know, I’ve be
en a good girl most of my life, except for when I was in high school and used to sneak out for parties.”

“
That long ago, huh?” he said, looking amused. “Well, we should fix that.”

I laughed. “Is that so?”

He nodded. “Yeah. In fact, I’m going to mull over this for a while and get back to you.”

“
Let me guess this straight…you’re going to think of ways for
me
to be bad?”

He smiled darkly. “Believe me, the idea probably excites me more than you.
And of course I mean that in a strictly platonic way.”

“Wow,” I chuckled. “
I don’t even know what to say.”

“
You’ll be saying ‘thank you’ once I’m finished. By the way, you can still be bad and do it legally; just so you know.”

“Oh, I know,” I said, glancing
at him out of the corner of my eye. I knew there were many ways to be bad, but at the moment I wasn’t thinking of anything ‘platonic.’

“So,” I said
, changing the subject before my dirty little mind worked overtime. “You never mentioned your dad.”

“My dad,” he laughed bitterly. “The asshole is probably alive, but I don’t know for sure. He was one of my mom’s ‘Johns’.”

I cringed. “Oh.”

He shrugged. “I’ve learned to accept it and no
t blame her. She was at the mercy of the drug and did what she could for money. I guess you could say that my mom, my dad, and I were all victims of Heroin.”

“
Ain’t that the truth,” I said.

“Okay, now that you know my life history, what about you?
Are your parents alive?”

I t
old him about my hippy, free-spirited mom, and her younger boyfriend.

“Well, she sounds pretty cool, actually.”

“She’s definitely not your typical fifty-five-year-old. In fact, I guess you could say that growing up she was more like a sister than an actual mother.”

“Was that bad?”

“Most of the time it wasn’t. But, there were times I definitely needed a mother and she didn’t mature to that point until I found out I was pregnant at eighteen. Then she blamed herself for not being strict enough and changed her parenting ways.”

“What do you mean?”

“She became a strict overly-protective mom to my younger sister, Caroline.”

“How’d that go for your sister?”

I smiled. “She complained about it constantly, but she ended up going to college and marrying a doctor. I suppose they have a good life, although we don’t talk much, anymore.”

“Why?”

“Lots of reasons, the main one being Scott. She never cared for him.”

“
Now
might be a good time to catch up with her, then.”

“I don’t know, I just hate dragging my family into my problems.”

“I can understand that. That’s why it also helps having good friends.”

I nodded. “Yes, it does.
So, the holidays are coming up. Where do you spend your holidays without family?”

“I still have plenty of friends,” he answered. “I try not to impose but if they ask me over for
dinner, I’m certainly not going to refuse,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “I’m a lousy cook myself.”

“Well, next holiday, if you aren’t busy, you’re welcome to join my family.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure Scott would just
love
that.”

“Truthfully, I’m beginning to
doubt that Scott will even be invited back,” I answered.

“Well, I hope everything works out for the best, whatever it is.
You deserve it.”

I smiled.
“Thanks.”

When we finally made it
to the coffee shop, both of us ordered ours black and over ice, then sat down to enjoy a couple of blueberry scones.

“
These are really good,” I said between bites. “But I think I’m defeating the purpose of trying to lose weight. These have to be filled with mucho calories.”

He shrugged. “You look great. Forget about losing weight and focus on feeling good.
Tell you what, if you keep getting your heart rate up every day for at least twenty minutes, you won’t need to worry so much about watching calories.”

“
Well, to be totally serious with you, I’m not much into running. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep this going.”

“There are othe
r ways to get your heart rate up. Biking, aerobics, walking,” he grinned, wickedly. “Even sex.”

I snorted.
“Well, if Scott’s moving out permanently, I can count that particular exercise out, too.”

“
You’re a beautiful and sexy woman. I’m sure that you’ll find plenty of willing partners.”

“Right,
” I said, blushing.

H
e rubbed his chin and smiled. “That’s another thing that fascinates me about you. You’re so unassuming and unaware of your effect on men, it’s refreshing.”

I burst out laughing.
“My effect on men?”

“
You haven’t noticed the way some of these guys in this shop have been eyeing you?” he asked, finishing his coffee.

I raised my eyebrows
and looked around, not really seeing it, myself. “You’re kidding, right?”

“See, that’s exactly what I mean.
Not only are you modest, but you’re unpretentious.”

I put my han
d to my cheek. “Stop, sir, you’re making me blush,
again
,” I teased. “And I’m much too old for that.”

“Yeah, you’re
so
old. What are you, early thirties?”

I laughed. “You
were
on a roll, why didn’t you say twenties?”

“Because we’re friends, and I’m not trying to
feed you a line of bullshit. Obviously, with two children in their teens, you’re probably not in your twenties.”

“
Okay, I’m thirty-three. What about you?”

“Me? I’m thirty-five
. Anyway, my point is that you’re still young and even though you’re going through some tough shit right now, keep your chin up. Don’t let anyone, including your husband, take advantage of you. Life is much too short.”

I nodded
, knowing what he said made perfect sense. It just wasn’t an easy option for me, however, especially having two confused children and bills that I couldn’t possibly pay on my own.

Hi
s phone began to vibrate.  “Shit, I’d better take this,” he said, checking the caller I.D.

I stood up.
“I have to stop into the bathroom, anyway. Meet me outside?”

He nodded
and grabbed our empty cups.

When I was fin
ished in the ladies’ room, I met Jake back outside and he seemed agitated.

“I have to get moving – quickly,” he said. “Some shit at work. I’m sorry.”

I waved my hand.
“Oh, Jesus…no problem at all. Why don’t you run back and I’ll take my time? I might just do a little window shopping at some of the shops around here anyway.”

He swore under his breath
. “I’m really sorry about this. Are you sure?”

“Of cour
se, I have nowhere to go and you obviously do, so you should go.”

“Thanks,” he said
, and then before I could respond, he bent down and planted a warm kiss on my cheek. “That’s for being such a kick-ass neighbor as well as a good listener.”

“
Well, you’re welcome,” I answered, unable to wipe the grin from my face.

“
You know, I was planning on picking up a couple of steaks on the way home from work Friday night, maybe do some grilling. It wouldn’t be until after nine, but are you interested in joining me for a late meal? It gets a little lonely eating alone all the time, you know?”

I wondered about the
pretty brunette again. 
Obviously
, she’d been invited over for more than a just a plate of food. But Jake and I were just getting to be good friends. “Sure. I’d be happy to keep you company.”

“Great. Second question, join me
again tomorrow?”

I grimaced.
“I don’t know… I mean, I’ll just slow you down again.”

He snorted
“Don’t worry about it. I enjoy the company.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay; s
ame time tomorrow?”

“You bet, unless more shit
comes up at work,” he said, motioning towards his cell phone.

“Right, well
, I guess I’ll see you then.”

I took my time going back home and even passed by Tina’s place to see if she was around and wanted someone to confide in. Unfortunately, she wasn’t but her husband was outside, mowing the lawn and he recognized me right away.

“Well, well…look who it is,” he said
, shutting off the lawnmower. “Tina’s new little buddy.”

I ignored him and kept walking, angry at m
yself for even choosing that particular route home.

H
e sauntered towards me, taking a swig from a bottle of beer. “You’d best keep on walking, you nosy little bitch, if you know what’s good for you.”

I stopped and glared at him, unable to help myself.
“You know, it’s sure a pity.”

He
smiled coldly. “What’s a pity?”

“It’s a pity that a woman is beaten by someone who’s supposed to uphold the law and keep everyone safe. It’s even more of a pity that a grown man w
ould use his fists not only on his pregnant wife, but also his little girl.”

His lips curled into a scowl. “You don’t know what you’re
talking about, you cunt.”

I glared at him.
“I think I do, and I certainly know a coward when I see one.”

His face t
urned red and he took another step closer to me. “You know who you’re messing with, bitch?”

“
You don’t scare me,” I said, raising my cell phone. “And
I’m
certainly not afraid to call for help.”

His nostrils flared.
“You should get the hell away from my property.”

I pointed at him.
“And you should keep your fists off of your wife.”

We stared at each other with mutual hatred until I
pulled myself out of it and began walking away.

“That’s right, you should be scare
d, Lindsey!” he hollered. “And don’t forget to lock your doors, especially at night. Keep out the boogieman!”

I fro
ze and turned around to face him, wondering how the hell he knew my name.

He
finished the rest of his beer and smiled. “Bye, now.”

***

By the time I made it home, I was nauseated and shaking, but not from running. I decided to tell Jake about the confrontation with Jerry as soon as he came home. It certainly troubled me that he’d found out my name and hinted at knowing where I lived.

Locking my doors, I grabbed some clean clothes and jumped into the shower. When I was done,
I noticed that Darcy had left me a message to call her back.

“Hi
, lady,” she said. “Just calling to see if you received my little gift in the mail yet?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Little gift?”

She sighed. “Guess you haven’t.”

I narrowed my eyes.
“What exactly did you do this time?”

“It’s a surpri
se and you’ll just have to wait,” she teased.

“
A surprise? You have to quit spoiling me like this.”

“
You’re my best friend, for God’s sake. Someone’s has to look out for you.”

I smiled
. “Well, thank you.”

“So, did you talk to Jake about the woman we almost ran down last night?”

I told her what had happened, including my most recent episode with Jerry.

“That son-of-a-bitch,” she snapped
. “I think you should report that.”