Wrong Way Renee (17 page)

“You'll find out.
”
He picked up a wooden salad bowl from the counter
and
brought the dressing to the table as Renee poured them each a glass of wine.

“Oh, I forgot something.
”
Circling around the couch, he picked up long butane lighter, and lit a log in the fireplace. Then he pressed a button on the stereo and soft
rock music
filled the room.
“Now we're ready to eat.”
 
He’d obviously gone to a lot of trouble for her.

“You know, officer, I could get used to this.
”

“Glad to hear that.
”
He lifted his glass, fixing his smoky stare on her.
“To you.”

“To us.
”
Although she was hungry and the food looked good,
t
here
was no room in her stomach
with all the butterflies dancing inside it.

They discussed their jobs, their families, politics and even religion. Their opinions concurred on just about everything. Joe told her about the stupidest criminals he'd ever met and Renee shared tidbits about some of her more interesting clients. They never seemed to run out of things to say. After dinner, she helped him clear the table and load the dishwasher. When the work was done, they settled on the couch in front of a roaring fire.

“Your hair glows in the firelight.
”
He combed through her locks with his fingers, sending
a pleasant chill
through her.

Feeling more relaxed than she had with a man in ages, she stretched out on the sofa. Joe lay next to her. She might be heading for trouble, but she couldn't help herself. His dark soulful eyes burned for her, she could feel it, and it made her whole body tingle with excitement.

He kissed her gently at first, then deeply, hungrily. She squirmed, feeling a flutter down below. He slid his hand up under her shirt and
a whisper of a breeze pebbled her already sensitized nipples. She shivered as
his hot breath
landed
on her skin.

She
found the velvety skin of his back and felt him
quiver
. He unfastened the hook on the front of her white lacy bra
and opened it. His eyes caressed her for a moment before he lowered his mouth to her breasts
. The stubble on his chin scratched
her
delicate skin.

His erection poked against her stomach, hard and urgent. Her heart pounded as intense desire burned through her, throbbing, begging her to continue. She was simmering just for him, her whole body on fire. Her hips seemed to have a life all their own as they rocked
against him
. Soon there would be no turning back. She had to stop this, but it felt so good, so right.

But she shouldn't, she couldn't.

“Stop.
”
She pushed him away.
“I'm not ready for this, not yet.
”
Although her heart told her otherwise, she forced her brain to rule.

He hung his head.
“I'm sorry. I'm really
…
I like you, a lot. You turn me on so much, Renee.
”
He got off the couch and offered her his hand to help her up. She let him pull her into his arms.
“But
I’m a gentleman and I'll wait until you're ready.”

“I like y
ou too, Joe. And I'm very
attracted to you. But I need a little time
. Thank you for understanding.”

“Can I see you tomorrow or Sunday?
Maybe we can
rent a movie or something? Or go out, I don't care what we d
o, I just want to be with you.”

“How about tomorrow?
”
The sooner, the better.

“Okay. I'll be over about six. We can decide what we want to do then.
”
He walked her to her car, kissing her before she got in.
Again, the bulge in his pants pressed into her stomach. “I need to take a cold shower.”

“You and me both, mister.
”
She slid into the seat.
“Thanks for dinner. You're a mul
ti-talented man.”

“Just wait.
”
His eyes sparkled, hinting at pleasures yet to come.

She knew he'd be worth the wait.
But as much as she liked him and knew she could easily fall for him, the prospect of introducing a white man to her family gave her pause. Who needed a cold shower when the image of her mother’s face was all the sobering it took.

* * * * *

Just before lunch
Saturday morning at the salon
,
Chantelle
's cell played the theme from
The Jeffersons
.
“
Mama
? What's up?
”
she asked, then she quickly held
the phone
away from her ear.

Renee could hear
Chantelle
's mom shouting,
“You bitch, you rotten bitch.”

After waiting a moment,
Chantelle
put the phone back to her ear, laughing.
“Oh,
Mama
, it was a joke
…
I don't know, I thought maybe you'd meet him
…
Can't you take a joke?
”
After a short
,
less-than-sweet conversation, she
put the phone down and continued working, oblivious to the fact that every eye in the salon was fixed upon her.

Finally, Zoey
came over
.
“
Chantelle
, was that about Hazel?
”
Muscles around her jaw visibly tightened
.

Chantelle
feigned innocence.
“Hmm? What Zoey?”

“You heard me. Was that about Hazel?
”

“Oh, my
mother was venting, that's all.”

Zoey’s complexion was growing redder by the second. “Did she get a call from Hazel
?”

“Um, yeah, I think so.”

Zoey tapped her foot. “And
?”

“She told him she wasn't interested. I'm sure she was polite to him. He told her over the phone about his
…
uniqueness.
”

“You better p
ray that's how it went down.”

Chantelle
continued filing her client's nails
as Zoey stomped away
.
Chantelle’s poor client
was getting her skin filed off too.

After a tense and unusually silent afternoon, Becky stood in the center of the room and banged the broom handle on the wood floor.
“I call a meeting,
”
she bellowed.
Anyone could call a meeting as long as there were no clients in the shop and all the hairdressers and nail techs were there for it. They all stopped their cleaning and sat down.

“Here's a new rule, ladies.
”
Becky propped the broom against her chair.
“There will be no fixing any client up with any other client, friend or relative. This practice can prove detrimental to our livelih
oods. Are we all in agreement?”

“Yes,
”
they all muttered.

“Okay. Meetin
g adjourned.”

Renee loved that about Becky. She didn't say much until you really needed her to. Then she stepped right up to the plate with no fanfare and took care of business.
With any luck, that would be the e
nd of the strife in the salon.

* * * * *

“Is that for me?
”
Renee
gestured
toward the
gift bag Joe carried as he came inside her apartment to pick her up Saturday
night.

“Nope. It's for my other girl.”

What? “Who is that?
”

He opened the bag and took out a catnip-stuffed mouse. Grabbing the tail, he dangled it above the floor.
“Here
,
Apple.”

The cat
came scampering over and jumped high enough to snatch the toy from his grasp.

“Good girl
.
”
He gave Renee a sexy wink.
“I thought the best way to your heart might be through your cat. I'm not very subtly trying to win her over. What do you think?
”
Snaking his hands around her waist, he drew her closer.

She leaned into him, brushing her lips over his, drinking in
his
comfort
.
Desire flared inside her.

Joe covered her mouth with his, coaxing her lips apart. Not that it took much effort.
He tasted minty and sweet. God knew she had a sweet tooth, especially when it came to men. She took her fill of him and he did the same.

Finally,
reluctantly
, she
pulled away.
“Where are we going
?”

“Here's what I had in mind. I thought we'd stop by the Seven-Eleven to pick up a couple hot dogs. Then we'll go out to the mud bogs or watch the demolition derby championships.
”
His grin gave him away.

“You scared me there for a minute. What are we really doing?
”

“Okay, you found me out. I'm a lousy liar. Here's the real deal. We're going to a seafood place I know where they have the best shrimp, mussels and clams I've ev
er had. Do you like shellfish?”

She nodded.

“Good. Then we'll head to International Drive for a game of miniature golf, which I am really good at, by the way.
”
He squared his shoulders.
“
I plan to beat your pants off.”

She grinned.
“You won
't get them off any other way. Tonight.”

He feigned a choking cough. “
Anyway, then we'll head to a smoke-free pool hall I know of where I'll beat you at that.
After I’ve bested you again,
I'll climb a tree and beat on my chest to proclaim my
dominance over the weaker sex.”

She lifted an eyebrow.
“Okay, buddy. The gaunt
let has been tossed. Let's go.”

They had a dinner of shrimp cocktail, steamed mussels and fried clams. Renee had to agree, it was the best shellfish sh
e'd ever had. Joe played footsy
with her all through dinner.

At the Wonders of the Ancient World Miniature Golf Course, they were tied the entire game until the very last hole where Renee got a hole in one. She jumped up and down screaming,
“Whew, whew.
”

“Anything you can do, I can do better,
”
Joe said.

“You might be able to do it as well as me, but at this poin
t, you can't do it any better.”

He lined up his shot with his putter, kneeling on the ground to
scope out
his best plan of attack. He took a full minute to set it up then hit the ball toward the hole. It rolled right around its mark, then veered away. Sinking to his knees, he cradled his head in his hands.
“Nooooooo
…
I'll never h
ear the end of this. Why, God?”

“Don't blame
him
for your lousy shot.
”
She rested her putter over her shoulder and marched to the cashier hut.

Joe complained all the way to pool hall.
“You cursed me. That's why I missed it. The moon is full and everyone knows
that gives women an advantage.”

“What are you talking about? Admit it, you're an inferior player. Go ahead and say it. Say 'Renee is a better player than I am.' Say it.
”
They stopped for a red light and she tickled him.

He squirmed in his seat, doing a poor job of keeping himself from laughing.

“Say it,
”
she demanded.

“Never.”

When they arrived at the pool hall, Joe carefully picked out a cue. He tested four before deciding on one, rolling each between his hands. Renee chose one of his rejects. She let him break. In fifteen short minutes, she'd
handily
beaten him.

He stood there, shoulders droop
ed, stunned. The second game yie
lded the same results. She was positively giddy from her win.