Deadly dosage, p.15
Deadly Dosage, page 15
“Aggy?” I said in horrid disbelief. I lost my appetite.
“You know how close he is to Nino.”
“Do you hate me? Aggy, Spring? He’s beyond gross.”
“You don’t have to kiss him, Sunny,” she said with irritation. “Just stand next to the guy for the ceremony.”
“If his fat doesn’t push you out of the way,” commented Autumn with amusement.
“Girls. Settle down. This is Spring’s wedding, Sunny. When you get married, you can have Spring stand up with someone gross.”
She said it so seriously, that we all laughed.
“Yeah, okay,” I said. “Autumn, come to the restroom with me.”
Autumn got up and left with me. When we were out of earshot I said, “Can you believe it?”
“Sorry, Sunny, but I’m not changing places with you. Aggy is all yours.”
“Mom doesn’t understand. Aggy’s going to consider it a date.”
“Alan and I will protect you,” she smiled.
When we returned, I stopped short of our table, digging my fingernails into Autumn’s arm.
“Yaow! What did you do that for?” hollered Autumn.
“Sorry. Look who’s heading for our table.”
“Who?” she questioned.
“Sam, that’s who! What, does the guy have GPS on me, or are my phones bugged?”
“Oh who cares. Calm down.”
“I swear I’ve seen him more in the last week than I did when we were dating.”
We slowly walked back to the table. Sam was standing near my mom, dressed in his preppy attire of jeans, light sweater, and blazer. He was charming the hell out of my mother with his dazzling smile and small talk.
“Sunny, look who showed up? My, doesn’t he look handsome, always reminds me of that British actor, Jude Law,” my mom said beaming. “I was just telling him about the wedding. He said he wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Sam turned his attention to me. He drank me in from head to foot and I felt my face flush.
“Is that so, Sam,” I said firmly. “But—”
“See, Sunny, you were all worried about getting stuck with Aggy,” Spring interrupted. “Now you can save all your dances for Sam.”
“Yes, but Sam might not be able to get off of work,” I said severely.
“Nonsense,” he said all smiles. He winked at my mom. “If she plays her cards right, I might decide to make an honest woman of her while we’re there.”
“Wouldn’t that be lovely,” said my mom. Her eyes cut to Autumn. “Then I just have my little Autumn to worry about.”
Our mother did not approve of Autumn’s living arrangement with Alan.
I coughed. “Well, nice of you to stop by, Sam, but we don’t want to keep you from your friends.”
“I suppose that would be rude,” he said sweetly to everyone.
He bent down and kissed me deeply, followed by a short peck on the lips. “Sunny,” he said squeezing my thigh. He stood. “Ladies.” He gave a small bow and left the way he had come.
Autumn locked eyes with me. “Bet Sunny could use a drink to cool off,” she said. “Let’s jump in the limo and get drunk.”
I knew what she meant. My mom and Spring did not.
“Yeah, that was some kiss,” Spring said fanning herself. “Makes me wish Nino was here.”
“Such a nice young man. You’re lucky Summer.”
I didn’t feel lucky. I felt ambushed.
During the limo ride, autumn and I knocked back a few too many glasses of champagne. I soon forgot about Sam and just had fun being silly. By the end of our joyride, we were all quite drunk and it was a sure thing, none of us was leaving the condo.
Chapter 29
Sunday, February 19th
Spring passed the bottle of aspirin to me. I took two and passed it to Autumn. She was on the phone with Alan, explaining why she hadn’t bothered to call or return home from the party. Mom was in bed sleeping it off.
I swallowed the aspirin with a swig of coffee. “I feel like shit,” I said rubbing my temples.
“Join the club,” said Spring. “I didn’t think we drank that much.” She had dark circles under her eyes.
Autumn clicked her cell phone closed and walked over. “We did. My mouth feels like a wad of cotton.” She turned on the kitchen faucet, filled a glass with water, and swallowed her pills. She drained the remainder of the water, the same way she was chugging champagne the night before.
“Alan’s pissed at me.”
“He’ll get over it,” said Spring.
“Anyone care for some toast?” I said moving at the speed of a snail into the kitchen to join Autumn.
“Sure. Maybe it’ll soak up some of this alcohol,” replied Spring. “Had to be that champagne.”
Autumn pulled the bread out of a breadbox on the counter. “Wheat.”
“Ugh,” I said. “Better than nothing I suppose.”
She placed a couple slices in the toaster and I searched the cabinets for peanut butter and/or jelly. I found neither.
The toast popped up and Autumn stuck in two more slices.
I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a tub of margarine. “This will have to do.”
I found a knife and started buttering the toast. When we had six slices done, I distributed them evenly.
“More coffee anyone?”
Autumn and Spring both held out their cups and I refilled them, along with mine.
We munched in silence, slurping coffee between bites.
“Never again,” said Autumn.
“At least not until my wedding,” said Spring.
“Hey, Spring,” I said walking into the living room with my coffee. I picked up several of the Las Vegas brochures from the table. “Check these out,” I said walking back to where she was sitting on a kitchen stool. I handed the brochures to her. “I think Mom has one on every hotel on the strip.”
“Thanks.” She browsed through them while she nibbled on her second slice of toast.
“Sam looked good last night,” Spring said eyeing me. “You didn’t seem real happy to see him there.”
“I wasn’t.” I stated honestly.
“Why not?” She put down the first brochure and selected another.
I sipped more coffee. “If you must know, I broke it off with him over a week ago.”
She looked up and frowned. Autumn busied herself by grabbing some of the brochures.
“Does he know?” she said smiling.
“I thought I stated it pretty clearly at the time.”
“Want some advice from your older sister,” she said.
“Not really.”
“Boy aren’t you a grouch. We’ll I’m going to give it to you anyway.”
I got up and refilled my coffee, putting extra sugar in it. “Well, go ahead,” I said grimly. I searched the cabinets for some cookies. None.
“It took me a long time to find Nino. He’s not perfect and can at times be bossy. Sometimes I think I hate him but I don’t. It takes two people to make a relationship work. Real love requires compromise on both ends.”
“That’s great advice, Spring. And if I’m not mistaking it, you’re suggesting I hook back up with Sam,” I spit out angrily.
“Sunny, I’m—”
I didn’t let her finish. “Sam is a manipulator. He’s got you and Mom thinking he’s some wonderful prize. He isn’t. Spring, Sam could charm the habit off a Catholic nun.”
“Sunny,” she said, her stubborn voice rising.
“Hey,” said Autumn. “Keep it down, Mom’s sleeping and my head it killing me.”
“Sorry,” we said in unison.
Softly she finished, “If you quit running off at the mouth and let me finish what I was saying, I was going to say you have to follow your heart. Just because he wants you, or you want him, doesn’t mean you’re right for each other.”
I uncrossed my arms, walked over, and hugged her. “You’re right. I’m sorry I jumped at you. I’ve just had a lot going on lately.”
“Well, okay then,” she said smiling.
“So let’s decide on a hotel,” I said taking a brochure. “They all look fantastic.”
“Nino likes to gamble. Poker. He’s good too.”
“The Bellagio, Caesars, and Venetian are supposed to have good poker rooms,” said Autumn.
“Then again, I don’t want him off playing poker on our wedding night. Do you think he’d do that?” questioned an anxious Spring.
“No!” we both said.
“Don’t worry about the room cost. I’m sure Nino’s family plans on a big contribution. I intend to stay in a suite.”
“What about Mom’s birthday?”
“She’s got a free suite pass. We can all room together that night. I think we should make that a different hotel. Just so it’s special for her.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. What about the Cosmopolitan for Mom. She seemed interested in that last night,” I said. “We can take her to one of the dinner shows.”
“Okay. We’ll figure out the details, but we’ll have to let her book it to get the discount.”
“So we’re talking a month from now?” asked Autumn.
“Isn’t that going to be a lot to plan in a month?” I said.
“Don’t you know your mother is the best travel agent in town?”
“Mom!” we said as she walked into the room in her furry robe and slippers.
“That’s if Spring isn’t gone every week on a business trip.”
Spring shot her a furtive glance.
“Don’t worry, dear. I’ve done it for strangers; I can do it for my own daughter.” She eyed the kitchen. “Autumn, will you get me a cup of coffee?”
Autumn rose to the task and came back seconds later with a cup and saucer, and placed it on the table.
We spent a couple more hours discussing wedding plans, laying down the foundation for the big event. Mom promised to find cheap airfare to keep the costs down, for which I was grateful.
I dropped Autumn off at her house around eleven and returned to my apartment a little after noon, with two bags of groceries.
My stomach was growling, so I ate a few peanut butter cookies before taking a quick shower.
When I got out, there was a message from Brandi saying she would be home in time for lunch. I guess that meant I was supposed to have a meal waiting when she walked in the door.
She would get her wish. The cookies weren’t enough for lunch, and I needed a big meal to satisfy my appetite. I pulled one of those meal-in-a-bag frozen pasta dishes from the freezer and dumped the contents of the bag into a frying pan. Instructions said ten minutes. I could wait that long. In the meantime, I heated up a pot of broccoli and warmed some Italian bread.
Brandi walked in just as I was setting the table.
“Hi. Mmm, smells yummy.” She dumped her stuff on the couch and strolled over. She washed her hands in the kitchen sink, dried them on the dishtowel, and took a seat.
I hadn’t planned to serve her, and I refused to. I poured some milk in a glass for myself and took it to the table. I went back, and spooned some pasta and broccoli on my plate and carried that along with a plate of bread back to the table. Brandi stared at me dumbly.
“Help yourself,” I said and began eating.
Reluctantly, she got up and fixed a plate for herself.
“So, Brandi,” I asked casually with my mouth full of bread. “How’s it going with Sam?”
She took a sip of milk and looked down at her plate. She stabbed at her pasta with her fork as she spoke. “Not going anywhere I’m afraid.”
I sat up straighter and gave her my full attention. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, that first night I ran into him, you know, at Hot Pants, he was all into me. He was drunk, but then most of the guys there had a few too many.”
She bite into a slice of bread and chewed so long I almost told her to spit it out and continue.
“I mean the sex was great, real intense. Frankly, I can’t understand why you broke up with him. He sure knows how to move,” she grinned.
Not what I wanted to hear. I felt like choking her until her eyes popped out.
Brandi ate some broccoli. “This is really good. Kind of crunchy.”
I silently prayed that the broccoli gave her horrible gas the next day.
“And the pasta is good too,” she said selecting a chunk of chicken from the creamy sauce.
“Yeah, not bad for six bucks.” I tore a piece of bread roughly in two. “So, Brandi, go on. If Sam’s such a stallion, what seems to be the problem?”
She stared off into space, remembering something that put a smile on her face and then she pouted. “I wasn’t too thrilled when he called me Sunny when he climaxed, though.”
Her expression brightened. “But then hey, the guy was drunk. Am I right? And it wasn’t the first time some guy called me by the wrong name. Guys can be so stupid.”
Women too, I thought. He might have called my name out of habit; however, this added a new twist, so I probed deeper. “Happens,” I said. Not to me personally. “You two have been quite an item lately.”
“Not as much as I’d like. He’s always so busy. Whenever I call, he’s working, going to the gym, or hanging out with his friends. No offense, Sun, but every time I get him over here, you show up and ruin all my fun. I want to be irresistibly hot, so he concentrates only on me. His kisses make me so horny.”
“So, what? You want advice from his ex-girlfriend?” I asked sardonically.
“Got any?”
How about, go fuck yourself. I took a deep breath and plodded onward, ignoring her question.
“Didn’t get any fun on your sleepover party?”
“Well, Friday night, he was in a real pissy mood after that dreamy Lloyd left. I figured Sam was jealous because I paid too much attention to him. He said Lloyd was full of it and he didn’t understand how you and I could be taken in by such an obvious line of crap. I didn’t know what he was talking about. Lloyd seemed real nice to me.” She shrugged her shoulders and took a slice of bread. “Anyway, I ended up going to bed early and he stayed up watching the news.”
Her eyes opened wider. “Then, I swear it must have been around four in the morning, I heard a door slam.” She made the motion with her hand and almost knocked her glass over. I made the save in the nick of time.
“Nice catch. So where was I?” She paused.
“Door slammed.”
“Oh, yeah. Okay. Then I heard him in the hall, mumbling something like, “goddamn her, if she wants fucking, I’ll fuck with her” and he storms back into the bedroom and jumps me.”
I was speechless.
Brandi continued, “Do you think I tried something in the middle of the night? You know, like grabbed him?”
“Maybe,” I lied.
I wondered if Brandi really misunderstood the meaning behind Sam’s actions. If so, her ignorance was a blessing. Maybe I owed Sam an apology. He wasn’t as dimwitted as Brandi was.
“Anyway, like I was saying, he jumps on me, and just when things get started, he swears and rolls off. He just got up, left the room, and took a shower. What’s up with that?”
How could I tell Brandi she was being used? She probably wouldn’t believe me anyway. So I told her, “Brandi, Sam’s a bit self-centered. Maybe you’d be better off seeing someone else.”
“Oh, I don’t mind that. I like guys who see and take what they want. Only losers ask for things. That’s how you get turned down. No, my door’s always open, if you know what I mean. Sam’s as hot as they come. I know how to get what I want too.”
“I’m sure you do,” I said more to myself than to her. “Finish your lunch,” I said patting her arm. Now I understood the visit from the harry beast. Sam was holding out.
I felt the corners of my mouth ruthlessly turn upward. I didn’t want to relish in Brandi’s sexual troubles, but it was a needed boost to my ego.
Brandi left for orientation for her new job at two. She officially started on Monday; however, she explained that today they would be going over all of the paperwork, like health insurance and company policies. It was scheduled to last four hours.
I waved goodbye and retrieved my cell phone from my handbag. No messages. My heart sank. I needed comfort food, so I made some instant hot chocolate.
With mug in hand, I grabbed a plastic container of assorted bakery cookies and took them into the living room where I placed them on the coffee table. I tuned in an oldies station on the radio and plopped down on the couch, listening to a song by The Grass Roots.
By the time I finished my third cookie, I had decided to call Sam. I wanted to put it off, but Brandi was gone and I knew he’d know I opened that drawer by now and saw the charm.
I held my breath and dialed his number. It rang three times before he picked up.
“Sam here,” he said.
“Sam?” I didn’t know where or how to start.
“Sunny, I’m glad you called,” he said earnestly. “It was good seeing you last night. You looked pretty. Spring’s seems pretty happy about her upcoming marriage and—”
I interrupted him. “Sam, I found the charm on my bracelet. It’s really beautiful. I honestly didn’t think you had that much romance in you.”
“Then you weren’t looking hard enough,” he said softly.
“Sam, why did you choose to use my bracelet to propose?”
“You mentioned how much it meant to you. I wanted you to think of me every time you placed it around your wrist.”
I pulled the quilt down from the top of the couch and wrapped it around me. I felt vulnerable and wanted protection. “Why do you suddenly want to marry me? What about your interest in Brandi?”
“Sometimes you don’t know what you want until it’s gone. I miss you.”
“Sam. I can’t accept the charm. I’ve been unhappy for a while now. You know that. I just needed to break it off.”
“Let me come over, Sunny.”
“Brandi won’t be gone long. It would be awkward if you were here when she returns.”
“Then let me pick you up and bring you back here. This is too important to discuss on the phone.”
“You know how close he is to Nino.”
“Do you hate me? Aggy, Spring? He’s beyond gross.”
“You don’t have to kiss him, Sunny,” she said with irritation. “Just stand next to the guy for the ceremony.”
“If his fat doesn’t push you out of the way,” commented Autumn with amusement.
“Girls. Settle down. This is Spring’s wedding, Sunny. When you get married, you can have Spring stand up with someone gross.”
She said it so seriously, that we all laughed.
“Yeah, okay,” I said. “Autumn, come to the restroom with me.”
Autumn got up and left with me. When we were out of earshot I said, “Can you believe it?”
“Sorry, Sunny, but I’m not changing places with you. Aggy is all yours.”
“Mom doesn’t understand. Aggy’s going to consider it a date.”
“Alan and I will protect you,” she smiled.
When we returned, I stopped short of our table, digging my fingernails into Autumn’s arm.
“Yaow! What did you do that for?” hollered Autumn.
“Sorry. Look who’s heading for our table.”
“Who?” she questioned.
“Sam, that’s who! What, does the guy have GPS on me, or are my phones bugged?”
“Oh who cares. Calm down.”
“I swear I’ve seen him more in the last week than I did when we were dating.”
We slowly walked back to the table. Sam was standing near my mom, dressed in his preppy attire of jeans, light sweater, and blazer. He was charming the hell out of my mother with his dazzling smile and small talk.
“Sunny, look who showed up? My, doesn’t he look handsome, always reminds me of that British actor, Jude Law,” my mom said beaming. “I was just telling him about the wedding. He said he wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Sam turned his attention to me. He drank me in from head to foot and I felt my face flush.
“Is that so, Sam,” I said firmly. “But—”
“See, Sunny, you were all worried about getting stuck with Aggy,” Spring interrupted. “Now you can save all your dances for Sam.”
“Yes, but Sam might not be able to get off of work,” I said severely.
“Nonsense,” he said all smiles. He winked at my mom. “If she plays her cards right, I might decide to make an honest woman of her while we’re there.”
“Wouldn’t that be lovely,” said my mom. Her eyes cut to Autumn. “Then I just have my little Autumn to worry about.”
Our mother did not approve of Autumn’s living arrangement with Alan.
I coughed. “Well, nice of you to stop by, Sam, but we don’t want to keep you from your friends.”
“I suppose that would be rude,” he said sweetly to everyone.
He bent down and kissed me deeply, followed by a short peck on the lips. “Sunny,” he said squeezing my thigh. He stood. “Ladies.” He gave a small bow and left the way he had come.
Autumn locked eyes with me. “Bet Sunny could use a drink to cool off,” she said. “Let’s jump in the limo and get drunk.”
I knew what she meant. My mom and Spring did not.
“Yeah, that was some kiss,” Spring said fanning herself. “Makes me wish Nino was here.”
“Such a nice young man. You’re lucky Summer.”
I didn’t feel lucky. I felt ambushed.
During the limo ride, autumn and I knocked back a few too many glasses of champagne. I soon forgot about Sam and just had fun being silly. By the end of our joyride, we were all quite drunk and it was a sure thing, none of us was leaving the condo.
Chapter 29
Sunday, February 19th
Spring passed the bottle of aspirin to me. I took two and passed it to Autumn. She was on the phone with Alan, explaining why she hadn’t bothered to call or return home from the party. Mom was in bed sleeping it off.
I swallowed the aspirin with a swig of coffee. “I feel like shit,” I said rubbing my temples.
“Join the club,” said Spring. “I didn’t think we drank that much.” She had dark circles under her eyes.
Autumn clicked her cell phone closed and walked over. “We did. My mouth feels like a wad of cotton.” She turned on the kitchen faucet, filled a glass with water, and swallowed her pills. She drained the remainder of the water, the same way she was chugging champagne the night before.
“Alan’s pissed at me.”
“He’ll get over it,” said Spring.
“Anyone care for some toast?” I said moving at the speed of a snail into the kitchen to join Autumn.
“Sure. Maybe it’ll soak up some of this alcohol,” replied Spring. “Had to be that champagne.”
Autumn pulled the bread out of a breadbox on the counter. “Wheat.”
“Ugh,” I said. “Better than nothing I suppose.”
She placed a couple slices in the toaster and I searched the cabinets for peanut butter and/or jelly. I found neither.
The toast popped up and Autumn stuck in two more slices.
I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a tub of margarine. “This will have to do.”
I found a knife and started buttering the toast. When we had six slices done, I distributed them evenly.
“More coffee anyone?”
Autumn and Spring both held out their cups and I refilled them, along with mine.
We munched in silence, slurping coffee between bites.
“Never again,” said Autumn.
“At least not until my wedding,” said Spring.
“Hey, Spring,” I said walking into the living room with my coffee. I picked up several of the Las Vegas brochures from the table. “Check these out,” I said walking back to where she was sitting on a kitchen stool. I handed the brochures to her. “I think Mom has one on every hotel on the strip.”
“Thanks.” She browsed through them while she nibbled on her second slice of toast.
“Sam looked good last night,” Spring said eyeing me. “You didn’t seem real happy to see him there.”
“I wasn’t.” I stated honestly.
“Why not?” She put down the first brochure and selected another.
I sipped more coffee. “If you must know, I broke it off with him over a week ago.”
She looked up and frowned. Autumn busied herself by grabbing some of the brochures.
“Does he know?” she said smiling.
“I thought I stated it pretty clearly at the time.”
“Want some advice from your older sister,” she said.
“Not really.”
“Boy aren’t you a grouch. We’ll I’m going to give it to you anyway.”
I got up and refilled my coffee, putting extra sugar in it. “Well, go ahead,” I said grimly. I searched the cabinets for some cookies. None.
“It took me a long time to find Nino. He’s not perfect and can at times be bossy. Sometimes I think I hate him but I don’t. It takes two people to make a relationship work. Real love requires compromise on both ends.”
“That’s great advice, Spring. And if I’m not mistaking it, you’re suggesting I hook back up with Sam,” I spit out angrily.
“Sunny, I’m—”
I didn’t let her finish. “Sam is a manipulator. He’s got you and Mom thinking he’s some wonderful prize. He isn’t. Spring, Sam could charm the habit off a Catholic nun.”
“Sunny,” she said, her stubborn voice rising.
“Hey,” said Autumn. “Keep it down, Mom’s sleeping and my head it killing me.”
“Sorry,” we said in unison.
Softly she finished, “If you quit running off at the mouth and let me finish what I was saying, I was going to say you have to follow your heart. Just because he wants you, or you want him, doesn’t mean you’re right for each other.”
I uncrossed my arms, walked over, and hugged her. “You’re right. I’m sorry I jumped at you. I’ve just had a lot going on lately.”
“Well, okay then,” she said smiling.
“So let’s decide on a hotel,” I said taking a brochure. “They all look fantastic.”
“Nino likes to gamble. Poker. He’s good too.”
“The Bellagio, Caesars, and Venetian are supposed to have good poker rooms,” said Autumn.
“Then again, I don’t want him off playing poker on our wedding night. Do you think he’d do that?” questioned an anxious Spring.
“No!” we both said.
“Don’t worry about the room cost. I’m sure Nino’s family plans on a big contribution. I intend to stay in a suite.”
“What about Mom’s birthday?”
“She’s got a free suite pass. We can all room together that night. I think we should make that a different hotel. Just so it’s special for her.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. What about the Cosmopolitan for Mom. She seemed interested in that last night,” I said. “We can take her to one of the dinner shows.”
“Okay. We’ll figure out the details, but we’ll have to let her book it to get the discount.”
“So we’re talking a month from now?” asked Autumn.
“Isn’t that going to be a lot to plan in a month?” I said.
“Don’t you know your mother is the best travel agent in town?”
“Mom!” we said as she walked into the room in her furry robe and slippers.
“That’s if Spring isn’t gone every week on a business trip.”
Spring shot her a furtive glance.
“Don’t worry, dear. I’ve done it for strangers; I can do it for my own daughter.” She eyed the kitchen. “Autumn, will you get me a cup of coffee?”
Autumn rose to the task and came back seconds later with a cup and saucer, and placed it on the table.
We spent a couple more hours discussing wedding plans, laying down the foundation for the big event. Mom promised to find cheap airfare to keep the costs down, for which I was grateful.
I dropped Autumn off at her house around eleven and returned to my apartment a little after noon, with two bags of groceries.
My stomach was growling, so I ate a few peanut butter cookies before taking a quick shower.
When I got out, there was a message from Brandi saying she would be home in time for lunch. I guess that meant I was supposed to have a meal waiting when she walked in the door.
She would get her wish. The cookies weren’t enough for lunch, and I needed a big meal to satisfy my appetite. I pulled one of those meal-in-a-bag frozen pasta dishes from the freezer and dumped the contents of the bag into a frying pan. Instructions said ten minutes. I could wait that long. In the meantime, I heated up a pot of broccoli and warmed some Italian bread.
Brandi walked in just as I was setting the table.
“Hi. Mmm, smells yummy.” She dumped her stuff on the couch and strolled over. She washed her hands in the kitchen sink, dried them on the dishtowel, and took a seat.
I hadn’t planned to serve her, and I refused to. I poured some milk in a glass for myself and took it to the table. I went back, and spooned some pasta and broccoli on my plate and carried that along with a plate of bread back to the table. Brandi stared at me dumbly.
“Help yourself,” I said and began eating.
Reluctantly, she got up and fixed a plate for herself.
“So, Brandi,” I asked casually with my mouth full of bread. “How’s it going with Sam?”
She took a sip of milk and looked down at her plate. She stabbed at her pasta with her fork as she spoke. “Not going anywhere I’m afraid.”
I sat up straighter and gave her my full attention. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, that first night I ran into him, you know, at Hot Pants, he was all into me. He was drunk, but then most of the guys there had a few too many.”
She bite into a slice of bread and chewed so long I almost told her to spit it out and continue.
“I mean the sex was great, real intense. Frankly, I can’t understand why you broke up with him. He sure knows how to move,” she grinned.
Not what I wanted to hear. I felt like choking her until her eyes popped out.
Brandi ate some broccoli. “This is really good. Kind of crunchy.”
I silently prayed that the broccoli gave her horrible gas the next day.
“And the pasta is good too,” she said selecting a chunk of chicken from the creamy sauce.
“Yeah, not bad for six bucks.” I tore a piece of bread roughly in two. “So, Brandi, go on. If Sam’s such a stallion, what seems to be the problem?”
She stared off into space, remembering something that put a smile on her face and then she pouted. “I wasn’t too thrilled when he called me Sunny when he climaxed, though.”
Her expression brightened. “But then hey, the guy was drunk. Am I right? And it wasn’t the first time some guy called me by the wrong name. Guys can be so stupid.”
Women too, I thought. He might have called my name out of habit; however, this added a new twist, so I probed deeper. “Happens,” I said. Not to me personally. “You two have been quite an item lately.”
“Not as much as I’d like. He’s always so busy. Whenever I call, he’s working, going to the gym, or hanging out with his friends. No offense, Sun, but every time I get him over here, you show up and ruin all my fun. I want to be irresistibly hot, so he concentrates only on me. His kisses make me so horny.”
“So, what? You want advice from his ex-girlfriend?” I asked sardonically.
“Got any?”
How about, go fuck yourself. I took a deep breath and plodded onward, ignoring her question.
“Didn’t get any fun on your sleepover party?”
“Well, Friday night, he was in a real pissy mood after that dreamy Lloyd left. I figured Sam was jealous because I paid too much attention to him. He said Lloyd was full of it and he didn’t understand how you and I could be taken in by such an obvious line of crap. I didn’t know what he was talking about. Lloyd seemed real nice to me.” She shrugged her shoulders and took a slice of bread. “Anyway, I ended up going to bed early and he stayed up watching the news.”
Her eyes opened wider. “Then, I swear it must have been around four in the morning, I heard a door slam.” She made the motion with her hand and almost knocked her glass over. I made the save in the nick of time.
“Nice catch. So where was I?” She paused.
“Door slammed.”
“Oh, yeah. Okay. Then I heard him in the hall, mumbling something like, “goddamn her, if she wants fucking, I’ll fuck with her” and he storms back into the bedroom and jumps me.”
I was speechless.
Brandi continued, “Do you think I tried something in the middle of the night? You know, like grabbed him?”
“Maybe,” I lied.
I wondered if Brandi really misunderstood the meaning behind Sam’s actions. If so, her ignorance was a blessing. Maybe I owed Sam an apology. He wasn’t as dimwitted as Brandi was.
“Anyway, like I was saying, he jumps on me, and just when things get started, he swears and rolls off. He just got up, left the room, and took a shower. What’s up with that?”
How could I tell Brandi she was being used? She probably wouldn’t believe me anyway. So I told her, “Brandi, Sam’s a bit self-centered. Maybe you’d be better off seeing someone else.”
“Oh, I don’t mind that. I like guys who see and take what they want. Only losers ask for things. That’s how you get turned down. No, my door’s always open, if you know what I mean. Sam’s as hot as they come. I know how to get what I want too.”
“I’m sure you do,” I said more to myself than to her. “Finish your lunch,” I said patting her arm. Now I understood the visit from the harry beast. Sam was holding out.
I felt the corners of my mouth ruthlessly turn upward. I didn’t want to relish in Brandi’s sexual troubles, but it was a needed boost to my ego.
Brandi left for orientation for her new job at two. She officially started on Monday; however, she explained that today they would be going over all of the paperwork, like health insurance and company policies. It was scheduled to last four hours.
I waved goodbye and retrieved my cell phone from my handbag. No messages. My heart sank. I needed comfort food, so I made some instant hot chocolate.
With mug in hand, I grabbed a plastic container of assorted bakery cookies and took them into the living room where I placed them on the coffee table. I tuned in an oldies station on the radio and plopped down on the couch, listening to a song by The Grass Roots.
By the time I finished my third cookie, I had decided to call Sam. I wanted to put it off, but Brandi was gone and I knew he’d know I opened that drawer by now and saw the charm.
I held my breath and dialed his number. It rang three times before he picked up.
“Sam here,” he said.
“Sam?” I didn’t know where or how to start.
“Sunny, I’m glad you called,” he said earnestly. “It was good seeing you last night. You looked pretty. Spring’s seems pretty happy about her upcoming marriage and—”
I interrupted him. “Sam, I found the charm on my bracelet. It’s really beautiful. I honestly didn’t think you had that much romance in you.”
“Then you weren’t looking hard enough,” he said softly.
“Sam, why did you choose to use my bracelet to propose?”
“You mentioned how much it meant to you. I wanted you to think of me every time you placed it around your wrist.”
I pulled the quilt down from the top of the couch and wrapped it around me. I felt vulnerable and wanted protection. “Why do you suddenly want to marry me? What about your interest in Brandi?”
“Sometimes you don’t know what you want until it’s gone. I miss you.”
“Sam. I can’t accept the charm. I’ve been unhappy for a while now. You know that. I just needed to break it off.”
“Let me come over, Sunny.”
“Brandi won’t be gone long. It would be awkward if you were here when she returns.”
“Then let me pick you up and bring you back here. This is too important to discuss on the phone.”
