Willow Smoke (30 page)

Nick
wished
he
could
be
certain
Tom
was
wrong.

“Can
you
dance?”

“What?”

“Kid,
you’re
not
listening
again.”
Nick cupped
the
bare
knee
poking
out
from
her
robe.
They
sat
on
the
loveseat
at
her
apartment
reading
the
Sunday
paper.
He’d
stayed
the
night.
He
liked
waking
up
early
in
the
morning
so
he
could
study
Daisy
sleeping
next
to
him.
Her
place
was
so
much
more intimate than his. He’d never
brought
a
woman
to
his
house
since
his
divorce.
He
squeezed
her
knee
and
smiled
as
her
lips
parted.
“I
said,
c
an
you
dance?”

“Not really. We
practiced some at
the
home, but we
never went to a dance.”

“Two weeks from last
night is the
End
of
the
Summer
Charity
Ball
for
the
continuing
battle
against
AIDS.
A
lot
of
mucky
mucks
will
be
there.
I’ve
got
to
at
least
make
an
appearance.
We’ll
have
you
dancing
with the best of them by then.
Should
be
fun.”
He
watched
pure
fright
sweep
across
her
face.

“You’ve
got
to
be
kidding.”
She
pulled
away.
“You
can’t
take
me
to
a
ball.
That’s
for society folks. I’m just a...”

“Just
a
young
woman
who
trains
horses
and
happens
to
be
my
business
partner
and
my
lover.
Now
who
else
would
I
be
taking?”

“Anyone
else.
I
won’t
go!”

Nick
smiled.
“I
love
it
when
you
put
on
a
defiant
show
like
that.
Of
course
you’ll
go.
You
placed
me
in
responsibility
for
your
sex
education,
didn’t
you?”

“Yes,
but
that
takes
place
in
bed.”

“I
beg
to
differ.
We’ve
actually
found
several
other places that work just fine.”

Daisy frowned. “You know
that’s not what I meant.”

“Okay.
I
was
tweaking
you
on
that
one.
But
I
think
those
videos
you’ve
studied
may
have
left
you
believing
that
sex
is
only
about
positions
and
such.
As
your
teacher, I’m here to tell you that your
sex
education
must
include
romance. And
that
includes
being
comfortable
with
dancing,
with
holding
a
glass
of
wine
in
one
hand
and
a
plate
of
food
in
the
other,
with
inane
chatter
that
bores
you
to
death
to
such
an
extent
that
you’ll
find hours
of
requisite
lovemaking
even
more
refreshing.”

“You
make
it
sound
so
easy.”
Daisy
chuckled.
“Is
that
what
you
think
about
when
you
balance
a
glass
of
wine
in
one
hand
and
food
in
the
other—lovemaking?”

“If
you’re
beside
me,
or
across
the
room,
I’ll
have
you
undressed
in
my
mind.”

“Is
this
part
of
the
romance
you
talked
about?”

“Yes,
it
is.
So
you’ll
come
along,
right?
Or
do
I
have
to
drag
you
caveman
style?”

She
scowled.
“I
guess.”

“Good. That’s settled.
Now, get your
cute
butt
dressed;
we’re
going
shopping.”

“Shopping?”

“Absolutely.
Part
of
romance
is
when
the guy
takes
the
girl
to
Macy’s
and
buys
her
a
dress
for
the
ball.”

“Macy’s! It used to be
Marshall Fields—my
most
favorite
place
in
the
world.
Each
Christmas
season,
Mom
would
take
us
to the toy department. We might
spend an
hour or two just staring
and dreaming.
We’d
watch
the
toy
trains
go
round
and
round.
And
there
were
so
many
dolls.”
Daisy
sobered.
“One
year
she
went
back
and
bought
something.”
The
corner
of
her
mouth turned up. “That’s where I first
met
Bear,
and
I
was
so
thrilled
when
he
greeted me that Christmas morning.

“After
Mom
died,
Maxine
and
I’d
sneak
into
Field’s
to
look.
Grandma
thought
we
shouldn’t
waste
time
dreaming.”
Daisy
shook
her
head
and
hugged
herself.
“I
still
make
at
least
one
trip
each
Christmas
season
to
stare
at
the
dolls
and
all
those
stuffed
animals.”

Nick
slid
an
arm
around
Daisy
and
nibbled
on
her
ear.
“I’m
glad
you
dreamed.
Maybe
I
can
help
you
dream
even
more.”

“You
already
have,”
Daisy
murmured.
“That’s
the
problem.”

- o -

Daisy
tried
not
to
gawk.
The
lobby
at
the
downtown
Macy’s
was
a
delight
even
when
it
wasn’t
Christmas.
She’d
so
loved
coming
there
as
a
child.
But
she
always
knew
she
didn’t
belong
rubbing
shoulders
with
people
who
could
afford
to
buy
things.

She
was
surprised
Nick
knew
his
way
around
the
store
so
well.
He’d
taken
her
directly
to the most classy part of the women’s section.

Between
Nick
and
the
stylishly
dressed
clerk,
they outfitted her from the skin out.
They’d
decided
on
a
long
black
dress
in
matte
jersey. It showed off her trim figure,
according
to
the
clerk.
Side
slits
that
came embarrassingly close to her rear
not
only
allowed
her
to
walk,
they
displayed
her
legs
very
nicely.