Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The following Wednesday, Laura considered whether she should go to the munch again. She had told Kate she would be there, but having Chris identify her as “Laundromat Lady,” had scared her more than she wanted to admit. She wasn’t sure why she was afraid. It wasn’t a bad thing Chris knew about James and her, was it? Did Kate know, too? There was only one way to find out the answers to all her questions. She’d never been one to run away from a challenge. Surely this couldn’t be any harder than walking into the munch alone in the first place. She debated it off and on all day at work.
When she got home, she changed into more casual clothes, remembering how laid back everyone had been the last time, but she still wasn’t sure if she was going. In the end, she decided to go outside and if she had to wait more than ten minutes for the bus, she wouldn’t go.
She set off walking briskly down the street, only to see the bus pull up ahead of her. So that was it, she thought, uncertain whether she was relieved or disappointed. But the bus waited, which buses never do, so if she was leaving it up to Fate, Fate had spoken. Reluctantly, she got in and was on her way to her second munch.
Laura arrived at the Smokehouse about five minutes after seven and found several people there already. Kate came over to greet her, but before they could do more than exchange greetings, another couple she hadn’t seen before arrived and Laura was able to escape without any questions. Julie hailed her from across the room and Laura headed in her direction, hoping to keep as many people between herself and Kate as possible.
“Hey, glad you made it,” Julie said with a genuinely pleased expression on her cute face.
“Thanks, I wasn’t sure I was going to until I left the house.” And then, despite ducking Kate just to avoid questions about James, she went ahead and blurted, “What’s the deal with this guy, James? Chris started talking about him when I ran into him at the Festival last weekend.”
“You’re asking me?” Julie cocked her head, studying Laura like she was an unexplainable compiler error. “Wasn’t he your one-night stand?”
Before Laura could answer or ask Julie how she knew, Chris and James came into the room. Laura's heart sank as a chilling sensation coursed through her veins.
His gaze fixed on her, James didn’t hesitate or stop to greet anyone else. He came straight to her.
Laura tried to back away from him, but ended up against the wall.
James walked right up into her space and put his hands on either side of her head, effectively caging her. “Hi, honey. Nice to see you again,” he said with that quiet confidence, that narrow stare, and oh God, that smile.
Laura stammered hello back at him and tried to duck under his arm to get away. She still wasn’t sure what she was scared of, but she didn’t like feeling trapped. James blocked her again, and this time, she knew what to do.
“Red!”
James immediately dropped his arms and stepped back. His shoulders slumped and he couldn’t have looked more defeated if she had slapped his face. “Laura, what’s wrong? Why are you scared of me?”
Laura stumbled away on shaking legs. James reached out to help, but she waved him away.
Julie stood up, concern etched in her delicate features. “What’s going on here? Laura?” She swiveled her head from side to side as if watching a tennis match. “James? I could have sworn I heard Laura say ‘red.’”
Neither of them answered.
Laura clapped a hand over her mouth. “I really need to get out of here.”
Before anyone had a chance to act, Kate walked over and said in a calm tone, “Laura, if you want to leave, that’s perfectly okay, but could we talk for a moment? Just the three of us – you, me and Julie,” she clarified, emphasizing Julie’s name to make it that much more apparent that James was not invited.”
Laura sighed. “I suppose so. At this time of night, I’ll end up waiting half an hour for the bus anyway. What do you want to talk about? Him?” she pointed at James, who was still hovering around the periphery of the group.
Kate took her by the elbow and led her away with Julie trailing after them. “Partly, yes. But I also want to let you know this is a safe space. James honored your safeword, didn’t he?” Kate asked as the three of them found their way to a table on the other side of the room .
Laura admitted he had, but it didn’t make her any happier.
“Did he do something he shouldn’t have that night?” Kate asked.
“No, of course not. It was completely consensual.”
“Then what did he do?” Julie pressed.
“Nothing! It was what he didn’t do,” Laura grumbled, picking up a napkin to shred just for something to do with her hands.
Julie and Kate exchanged glances. “What does that mean?” Kate asked.
“He didn’t call me.”
“Did you?”
“I didn’t have his number, I told you!”
“Did he have yours?” Kate asked patiently.
“I…”
“So he’s the bad guy because he didn’t contact you afterwards, but you’re not for not contacting him because…?”
“That’s not the problem,” Laura insisted. She wasn’t sure precisely what the problem was, only that it was all mixed up – the wonderful memories and the miserable ones, James and Jake, love and pain. After thinking a moment, she demanded. “Was this a set-up? Were you all trying to get James and me together?”
“Would that be so terrible, Laura?” Julie placed her hand over Laura’s trembling fingers and gave a reassuring squeeze. “The way you talk about your ‘one-night stand,’ you seemed happy, and definitely hurt that he hadn’t found you afterwards. Well, here he is, and he seems really happy to see you. I haven’t seen him smiling since… I’m not sure when. Before the tornado, maybe? ”
Kate agreed, “He hasn’t been the same since the storm.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he was devastated,” Laura scoffed, folding her arms tightly over her chest. “He never even tried to find me.”
“That’s not what Chris says,” Kate countered.
“Oh? And if Chris knows so much, why didn’t he tell me at the first munch?”
“He didn’t know! James told Chris he had been stuck with a woman at the laundromat during the tornado. You said you had a one-night stand with an unnamed man, no mention of laundromat or a tornado. How was he supposed to put that together?” Kate placed a finger beneath Laura’s chin and gently turned her face. “Did you know he’s been trying to find you ever since the storm? He’s haunted that laundromat since it re-opened, according to Chris. He had no other way to find you. This is the first munch he’s been to in ages, and I think the only reason he came tonight was in hopes of seeing you. Why don’t you at least talk to him? What could it hurt to give him five minutes of your time?”
“Why do you care?” Laura countered.
Kate dropped her hand, her expression wounded. “Because James has been a friend of mine for a long time and you’re my friend, too. Isn’t that what you said when we had lunch?”
“I hate it when people use my own words against me,” Laura muttered under her breath. Aloud she said, “All right, if it means that much to you, I’ll talk to the man. But I want Julie nearby. She’s the one who noticed I needed help before.”
Kate waved James over and Chris came, too. “Laura has agreed to talk with you, James. I suggest the table over there, by the entrance. Julie is going to be within earshot, so Laura feels safe.”
“What does she need to be safe from?” Chris asked, clearly affronted on behalf of his friend.
“Shut up, Chris,” James said. “If Laura wants Julie close by, that’s fine with me. At this point, I’ll stand on my head if it gets Laura to talk to me. She could handcuff me to the chair, and I wouldn’t object.”
Wordlessly, James and Laura moved to the table and Julie took up her post at the bar.
“Hello again,” James said.
“Hi, I’m sorry I tried to run away,” Laura began tersely. “But I haven’t heard from you in weeks and then you turn up here and push me up against the wall?”
“Right. That… I didn’t think about that. I couldn’t think at all. I saw you and it was all I could do not to just grab you.” He ran a hand over his stubbled chin ruefully. “I guess what I actually did wasn’t much better. I’m sorry.”
“Okay, well… I guess I can forgive you for that.”
James smiled and raised his arm as if to take her hand. Laura held her posture stiff and leaned away. Why did the man have to be so gorgeous and smell so good?
After a moment, James lowered his arm again. “I’m sorry, too, Laura. For what it’s worth, I’ve been trying to find you all this time, but all I had was your name and it’s not exactly unique. I knew what you did, but not where you worked. I knew where you did your shopping and your laundry, and I hung out there until the Hy-Vee threatened to have me arrested for solicitation, but I never saw you. ”
“You could have come to see me at the hospital,” Laura said in a small voice.
“I tried! They wouldn’t let me in! I wasn’t on your contact list.”
“My--?” Do you want us to call anyone or put anyone down for visits ? “Oh,” she said, hot with embarrassment.
“Oh,” he said back at her, but not in a mean way.
Laura’s stiff shoulders unlocked and slowly fell. “I know I’m not being fair. I know that. I just can’t help feeling… When I didn’t hear from you, I figured I was just another notch on your bedpost, and you weren’t really interested in me. I was embarrassed that I’d let myself be used like that.”
“Laura, no.” Horror stricken, he blinked. “I wouldn’t do that to any woman. We had something special that night. I got to the hospital, but they wouldn’t tell me anything. I didn’t know if you were still there or not. They wouldn’t even give you my phone number.”
“I know. I know! And they even asked me… but I just didn’t think…” She tugged on the collar of her blouse and darted a glance at James. “I’m sorry I thought badly of you. Our night together was special for me, too.”
“Maybe we could continue this conversation with a little more privacy?” James suggested, his tone reflecting a desire to prevent any further retreat on her part.
She swallowed and considered his proposal. “I’d rather stay here, if it’s okay with you. Julie doesn’t need to be my guard dog anymore, though.” She waved Julie over to tell her, and added, “but would you please tell Kate and Chris we’d rather not be disturbed?”
“Sure thing.” Julie beamed and bounced away, much like Abby would .
“Would you like to order some dinner?” James asked.
“Why not? Can we get a menu?”
After they had ordered food, James put out his hand. “Hi, I’m James Black,” he said with a broad smile. “I work in construction, and I’m known as a good Dom.”
Laura smiled and decided to play along. “I’m Laura Turner. I work in IT. I’m new to all of this, but I think I’m a submissive.”
“Oh, Suzie, you won’t believe what happened tonight!” Laura exclaimed over the phone.
“What? Is something wrong?” Even through the line, Suzie’s alarm was evident in her tone of voice.
“No, no, something’s right, for a change,” Laura reassured her sister. “Remember James, the man from the laundromat? He was at the munch tonight. We talked and it was wonderful. I felt such a powerful connection.”
Suzie interrupted with a pointed, “And did he explain why he didn’t call you?”
“Yes, and you’re right. We didn’t exchange any personal information. You told me so. Turns out he’s been looking for me these last three months. He’s been going to the laundromat ever since it reopened, hoping I would show up. Isn’t that romantic?”
“I can see the Hallmark movie now, Love Among the Suds ,” Suzie drawled. “So what are you going to do now? Are you going to see him again?”
“Yes. He invited me out for dinner a week from Friday. I’m so excited.” Laura gave up on adulting and did a silly little Abby-dance with the telephone pressed to her ear .
“Where is he taking you?”
Giddy with excitement, Laura exclaimed, “Swagat at Zona Rosa Town Center!”
“Girl, you need a new outfit.” The words burst from Suzie like a waterfall, and both sisters bubbled over with laughter.