4

“I’ll see you then. I need to get going for now, though. I need to get changed to go to Alex’s game.”

“Of course. Enjoy. I’ve got to get all of my errands done so I can nap and rest up for our date.” The smile he gave her made her knees go rubbery.

She watched him walk out the door, catching Kelly’s amused grin.

“You move fast,” Kelly said with a laugh. “It’s great that you’re here; I can live vicariously through you!”

“He caught me drooling over his naked chest and asked me out. It put me on the spot.

I’d normally say no to a man when he asked me out for the same night.” She looked at Kelly with a serious face for a few moments until she started to giggle. “Oh, okay! He looked good, smelled good, and I wanted to be squired around on that arm!”

“Oh look, Mom and Howard are here,” Kelly said out the corner of her mouth, waving to her mother and her husband. Rori smiled and got up to make room for them on the bleacher seats, hugging them both.

“Hello, Howard, Mom, you both look good.”

“My goodness, Roberta, you look wonderful. Of course I’d know that already if I’d seen you yesterday.” Her mother took her in with a critical eye. “If you were staying with me instead of your poor put-upon sister,” she added with a sniff.

Aileen Simon, now Frasier, queen of the backhanded compliment. Rori smiled at Kelly then turned to her mother. “I’m not staying with anyone now, Mom. I just got my own place and moved in this morning. I left my new address and what will be my phone number on your answering machine. You excited about your upcoming trip?” Rori had learned the fine art of the conversation segue years ago.

“Oh, well isn’t that nice? Very responsible of you. Thank you, honey. I’m sure we’ll check the machine when we get home. Howard and I are leaving for our vacation to Hawaii tomorrow, as you know. But we’ll be back for our dinner on Sunday, I promise.”

Howard, Aileen’s third husband, just sat there smiling. He adored Aileen and Aileen adored that he adored her. Aileen had never been one to be without a man for very long.

Kelly’s father, Price, was first and he died when Kelly was just three. Then came Rori’s dad, Ben, who adopted Kelly and had died just four years before. He and Aileen had been a true love match. For a while after her dad died, Rori wasn’t sure her mother would make it, but then, in a grief counseling workshop last year, Aileen had met Howard. He’d lost his wife of thirty-six years, and he and Aileen fell in love. Aileen sold the big house they’d grown up in, Howard sold his place, and they bought a condo together in the neighboring suburb of Delta.

Kelly and Rori were happy that both Howard and their mother were able to find each other so late in life and were truly content together. And once their mother had Howard, she was less critical of her daughters -- no small bonus.

After the game, Rori took her nephews out for ice cream and then headed home. She’d stood in her apartment and felt at home and comfortable for the first time in a very long time.

After she’d made her new bed, she stood at her closet door, scanning the clothes hanging there, trying to decide what to wear. As she leaned forward to push something out of the way, she felt someone watching her. She turned and looked out the window to see Jude standing in his living room, looking out at her. Sending him a quick wave, she turned back to the closet to hide her smile.

Inspired, and feeling mischievous, she left the curtains open. Making her choice, she pulled out the spaghetti strap midnight blue dress with the layered handkerchief hem and a pair of blue panties and laid them on the bed.

Wearing a smile, she bustled around and took her shower. Instead of blowing her hair out to make the curls behave, she tousled and scrunched it, giving herself a just tumbled out of bed look. She put on only the barest minimum of make up, added a bit of essential oil behind the ears and then, wearing only her short silky robe, wandered back into her bedroom. It took a quick rummage through her closet but, thank goodness, she spied the matching dark blue strappy Manolos.

Letting the front of the robe gap open, she slowly pulled on the panties and let the robe fall from her body to make a vivid pool of teal silk at her feet. Slipping the dress over her head she bent and slid her feet into the heels -- all done in full view of the window and Jude.

She brought her head up and saw Jude standing there in his own apartment, watching her. His hand was at the waist of his jeans and she quirked up one corner of her mouth, blew him a kiss and pulled her curtains closed.

The knock sounded at the door just as she finished putting on her earrings. Opening it, she got an eyeful of gorgeous. Ryan stood there in gray slacks and a black pullover. His coffee-brown hair was cut close and he had a goatee. He looked delicious.

“Well hello, beautiful,” he said, taking a long look up her body and ending up at her face.

“Hey, you stole my line!” she protested, giving him the same sort of look right back.

He grinned. “You ready?”

“Yes, let me grab my purse.” She turned and grabbed her handbag from the dining room table. She saw in the reflection of the window that he watched her turn and bend, a smile on his face as the hemline of the very short dress inched up even higher. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

The night air was warm and fragrant as they drove through town with the top of his Mustang down. He tooled down the road at a leisurely pace so her hair wasn’t too messed up by the time he pulled into the parking lot of Ginos, a nice Italian place that was a new addition to Oakley’s main street.

White fairy lights glittered amongst the trees out front, like a pretty little wonderland.

She liked the feel. Lit candles decorated the tables inside, the warm light low and romantic rather than dark and cheesy.

His hand on her elbow, he guided her to a table toward the back and she noticed they turned a few heads as they went to sit down. Rori might have been away from a small town for ten years but she hadn’t forgotten everything. The news of Ryan and her date would be all over town by the time church let out tomorrow afternoon.

“So, Max says you are a writer?” Ryan asked as he poured her a glass of wine.

She took a sip and nodded her thanks at him. “Yeah. I write romance novels, mainly paranormals. I also write erotica, which is something new for me.”

“Paranormals?”

“Yes, vampires, werewolves, that sort of thing.”

“Really? Interesting. And erotica?”

“Mmm. I started on a whim and it worked out. I only write about one erotica book for about every five of my mainstream romances, but it’s a good outlet. I sometimes want a more graphic love scene but am hindered by my publisher. With erotica, I can be as graphic as I want.”

“I’d love to read all of it, erotica and all. And I’m not just saying that because I’m dying to know what you find sexy -- I am truly interested. Why did you choose romance and erotica?”

“Well, I suppose part of it was the process of me wanting to really find out who I was. I was a virgin until I was twenty-three years old. Unlike many women, my first experience was really good. I realized what I’d been missing and I started writing sexual interludes in my journals, which turned into short stories, and they turned into novels. I sent a few out as a lark and I got published.” She shrugged. “The erotica came later. I like to write about sex.”

“I really am going to read your stuff now. I remember you read a lot in school.”

“Yeah, I love to read, I always have. Of course, I went to college and then graduate school for literature degrees, wanting to teach, and now I’m a writer. Thank goodness I got scholarships.” She laughed at the irony. “Anyway, how did you end up being a cop?”

“Well, you know Max and I have been friends since the second grade. When he went to the police academy after graduating high school I thought ‘why not’ and I went too. I ended up working with my dad for a few years, though. Anyway, my brother ended up taking over for my dad and I felt free to do something else. Max was moving up by then and I got on at the department and I’ve been there ever since. It’s interesting work most of the time. Oakley doesn’t have huge crime problems -- enough to keep us busy, but nothing like serial killings. It’s also nice that I get to work with pretty much all of my friends.”

“Speaking of your brother, how is he anyway?” Ryan’s older brother had graduated with Kelly and Max. He was another very nice guy.

“He’s good. His son plays on Shane’s team, left field. He’s been married forever. But that probably happened back when you were still here.”

“Yes, we were still in high school then. Any other kids?”

“Yes, they have four. Three boys and a girl ranging in age from eleven to two. They are all really great kids.” He took a sip of his wine and looked up at her seriously. “Rori, why did you come back? Why really?”

She sighed. “I really did miss Kelly. I left here as one person -- and a major part of me is still her -- but I traveled and met people and changed. I found out that I was more than I thought I was -- not just because of losing weight and getting contacts, either. Being away from Oakley, from everything that was familiar and in its own way, confining and defining, forced me to be reliant on myself. That pushed my own boundaries, helped me to redefine myself. I like who I am but I still like my roots as well.”

“I suppose you really did find yourself then. I like that about you. And it doesn’t hurt to come back home when you look the way you do,” he said.

She blushed. “Well, I can’t lie and say I don’t find pleasure in being asked out by men who didn’t look at me twice ten years ago. But yeah, I think it was important for me to get away, to be someplace where I wasn’t hemmed in by expectations: being Kelly Simon’s little sister, being the shy fat girl with pimples and braces.”

“I may not have felt romantically interested in you but I always liked you, Rori. You always had a good heart and a great sense of humor.”

She clutched her chest dramatically. “Ugh, the fat girl with the sense of humor, anything but that!” She laughed for a moment and then sobered a bit. “I know. Thanks. I wouldn’t be sitting here now if you had been mean to me.”

“So you traveled a lot?”

“Yes, India, Japan, China, most of Western Europe and Eastern Europe. I did a trek through Belize and Costa Rica and last year I went to Peru to see Machu Picchu and walk the Inca Trail. It’s why I can’t buy a house now.” She shrugged. “My addiction to travel and shoes is what keeps me in an apartment.”

“Shoes, huh?”

“Yes. I should be embarrassed, but as addictions go, it could be worse. Luckily, my ex had connections in the fashion world and I got most of my stuff at discount.” His eyes made a slow circuit down the line of her body and stopped at her feet, appraising the shoes. “Well, I must say, those are extremely sexy. Your ex? What did the dumbass do to make himself an ex?”

“He fucked the dog walker in our bed,” she said before taking a long drink of wine.

Ryan blanched. “No shit? What an asshole.”

“Yes. I came in and caught him, walked past them both, packed my stuff while he got her out and tried to make up some bullshit lie and I left that day. Flew back to St. Louis and back into my old place but I wasn’t happy there really. I started talking to Kelly and she was working on me to move back to Oakley. I finally gave in and ended up here six months later.”

“Wow, that blows. I’m sorry. I caught Dena with Tom Clay in our bed. This was a week after she’d agreed to marry me.”

Rori winced. “At least I could move a continent away. I saw Dena this morning at the grocery store when I was out running errands. And, Tom Clay, of all people? What a jerk he was, even back when we were in school. She still with Tom?”

Ryan laughed. “No, he’s doing five to seven up at State for embezzlement.”

She joined him in laughter and clinked her glass against his. “To karma!”

“So, Rori, would you care to see a movie with me?”

“Yes, that sounds fun.”

They went to see an action flick at the new six-plex and he fed her popcorn in the dark and put his arm around the back of her seat. He stroked over her shoulder with the tip of his finger and stole a quick kiss near the end of the movie.

Rori enjoyed herself. Ryan was a nice man, a sexy man. He was intelligent, funny and considerate. It’d been a long time since she’d been on a date as comfortable as this one was.

Problem was, she wasn’t sure comfortable was what she wanted.

They drove back to the apartment complex and he asked her to his place for a cup of coffee. On the way there, they bumped into Amy and Jude.

“Hey, Ryan, what’s ... oh, hey, Rori,” Jude said, and they locked gazes, the shared memory of her getting dressed in front of her window for him earlier flowed between them like an electric current.

“Hey, Jude, hi, Amy,” Rori said as she and Ryan walked past and up the stairs to his place, which was across the landing from Jude’s. Jeez, what on earth possessed Amy to wear that outfit? Does she actually think showing that much of her ass is sexy? Has no one ever told her that a little goes a long way? Why am I even thinking about this? She mentally shook off thoughts of what Jude and Amy were doing in his apartment. She drew up short mentally when she remembered that he’d told her he rarely brought women back there. She snorted as they climbed the stairs to Ryan’s place.

Ryan’s apartment was more modern-looking than Jude’s, although the requisite giant television and sound system were there. “What is it with men and televisions? I mean, that’s the biggest television I’ve ever seen. How’d you even get it into the door?”

Ryan laughed and handed her a mug of decaf coffee. “We had to take the sliding glass door off the tracks and move it in that way. It’s perfect to play X-Box live on.”

Rori rolled her eyes. Like that answered her question. She sat on the comfortable sofa and watched him move around the apartment with an air of confidence. Confident men were really sexy.

He walked over and turned on the stereo. “Do you mind country music?”

“Only if it’s really twangy. I find I enjoy a lot of the newer stuff.”

He put on a Keith Urban CD and came to sit with her, placing their coffee on the squat table in front of the couch. Turning to her, he put his fingertips to her forehead, lightly tracing her brow line and then over her cheek. He used those same fingertips to tip her chin up, angling her just so to deliver the softest butterfly of a kiss she’d ever received. Just the briefest brush of his lips over hers.

Slowly, inexorably, he increased the pressure, each brush of his lips stayed longer, pulling her into a sensual web. Unable to resist the full swell of his bottom lip, she traced over the curve of it with the tip of her tongue.

He adjusted his position then, pulling her to him more tightly, mouth opening over hers. He slid his palm up the line of her neck, gently holding her to his body. The other hand was wrapped around her ankle, fingers lightly tracing circles around her ankle bones, sending delightful shivers up her legs.

She took the opportunity to flick her tongue inside, tasting him. Tasting coffee and red wine and man. A low noise escaped her throat when he sucked at her tongue.

Despite the shivers of delight and general pleasantness of the kissing, Rori just wasn’t feeling any real connection with him. As sexy as he was, as gorgeous and funny, Ryan just didn’t really ring her romantic bell.

With an internal sigh, she broke the kiss, smiling softly up into his handsome face. “I should probably go. I haven’t been writing like I should and I have deadlines. I had a really nice time tonight, Ryan, thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he murmured and flashed a cocky grin. He stood and reached for her hand, helping her up off the couch. He insisted on walking her back to her apartment, giving her another kiss at her door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night?” he asked.

Rori smiled and nodded as she remembered the dinner she’d planned to make to thank everyone for helping move her new furniture. “Absolutely.” After he’d turned and gone downstairs, back the way he’d come, she went inside.

Through her bedroom window, she watched Ryan walk back to his place. The way he carried himself, confident, sure and sexy, made her smile and when he turned back and saw her watching him, she waved. He blew her a kiss. With a laugh, she closed her curtains.

Kicking off her shoes, she put them and then the dress back in the closet, replacing them with a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top. Pulling her hair into a loose pony tail, she padded out to her living room. She grabbed a big glass of water, some popcorn, and her laptop, intending to get to work. It had been two days since she’d written last and she’d had a heck of a lot of inspiration lately.