Chapter 13
Forcing my feet to move, I stepped into the elevator and turned my back to Needledick. The doors closed, trapping me with an angry bastard.
“I told you we don’t want people like you in this hotel.”
I turned to him, and with these heels on, our eyes were level. “Pardon. I don’t?—”
He clutched my arm.
The anger that I’d successfully eradicated was back in a flash. “Let go of me,” I hissed through clenched teeth and tried to pull my arm away.
He cocked his head. “Or what?” His grip increased.
I stared right at him. “I’ll kick you in the groin, karate chop your throat, and take your knees out from under you.”
His fingers dug in like pincers. “Pfft, yeah, right.”
And that’s exactly what I did.
Within seconds, Needledick was on the floor clutching his balls and groaning like he was giving birth.
The doors pinged open, and I stepped over him andscurriedacross the lobby.My heartwas an earthquakeas I strode up the street, eager to put serious distance between me and the hotel.
Ten minutes and fiveor soblocks away, I did the inevitable and rang Lolita.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?”
“Feel like picking up Memphis again?”
She burst out laughing. “Hell yeah. Where are you?”
“I’m at the playground parking lot at Currawa Beach. Do you know it?”
“I’ll find it. I won’t be there for about twenty minutes, though. Is that okay?”
I screamed on the inside. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
She laughed as she hung up. I scanned the area, looking for a place to hide.Deciding it was best to steer clear of the kids playground, I chose to stand next to the trunk of a gnarly old tree that looked as if it’d withstood centuries of coastal wind. From my vantage pointI’d be able tosee Lolita drive into the parking lot.
As I counted out the minutes, I tried to ignore the disgusted looks from the young women pushing over-decorated baby carriages toward the swings.
My thoughts turned to my boss, and soon, the anguish over what I’d donehad my heart rightback into earthquake mode. I was in trouble. Memphis had gone too far this time.
I actually assaulted him.
I was a quivering messby the timeLolita’s enormous Jeep Grand Cherokee drove into the parking lot. Leaving my shelter, I strode toward her, but she didn’t slow down.
I ran toward the car, and as she sped past, I yelled out, but she must not have heard.
Frantically waving above my head, I stood in the middle of the parking lotin a desperate attemptto catch her attention.
The brake lights went on, and her car lurched to a stop in the middle of the road.I ran as fast as my heels could take me, and the second she stepped from the driver’s side door, I heardbothher thumping music andherraucous cackle.
She came around the back of the car, and her cackle hit hysteria. Her perky boobs threatened to bobble right out of her low-cut top as she folded over in fits of laughter.
I rolled my eyes as I slowed my approach.
“Fucking hell, babe, who are you?”
“Can we just get in the car?”
“Look at your eyes. Is that purple? Ooooh, I want some. Wow, you’ve even got gold eye shadow?—”
“Lolly, please.”
She hugged me to her chest and her shoulders jiggled withherexcitement. “You’re a scream, babe.” She pulled back.“Now get in.I want all the juicy details.”
We slipped into our seats, and as I did up my seatbelt, she shut down the music and turned to me. “First, are you hurt?”
“No.” I rolled my eyes. “But Needledick may be.”
Her perfectly trimmed brows shot up her forehead. “Needledick? What happened?”
I debated for about three seconds over telling her to move from the middle of the road, but knowing it was pointless, I told her what I’d done to my boss.
“Holy shit. I wish I’d seen that. Fucking bastard deserved it.”
I scrunched up my nose. “Not really. Allhedid was clutch my wrist.”
She pointed her bright pink fingernail at me. “No. It was more than that.Hetried to restrain you. Silly bastard shouldn’t have done that. He doesn’t know who he’s messing with.”
A car horn beeped behind us, and Lolita simultaneously gave them the finger and put the car into gear.
As she drove from the parking lot, I pulled off the black wig andlet out a huge sigh.“I’m in trouble.”
“No, you’re not. Memphis may be, but not Jane. You remember that.”
That was true.
“You just need to be more careful.”
“I am careful, but whatam I supposed todo when I run into him in the elevator like that?”
She started to chuckle. “Kickhimin the balls, of course.”
Her giggles were contagious, and soon we were both belly-laughing.
The drive to her house took less than twenty minutesand bythat time, I had my hair unpinned and thanks to her travel makeup kit, I removed most of my makeup.
As I plucked out my purple contacts, Lolly asked me where I got them from.
“The optometrist at Pacific Fair. They werereallycheap.”
“Wow, I want some.”
I didn’t bother asking what for, afraid of what she might say. I wrapped the lavender disks into a tissue. The paper would ruin the contacts, but I wasn’t too worried; I couldn’t foresee myself wearing that color againanyway.
She pulled into her driveway, and I felt like I’d been hit by a Mack truck as we made our way inside. “Is Calvin home?” I dreaded that he might be.
“No. Poor bastard is going tobe so pissedthat he missed this.”
Lolly led the way, and at the kitchen table, she pulled out a chair and urged me to sit. “Now I want to hear all about the sex and don’t miss even one thing.”
I groaned, sighed, and then, determined to get it over as quickly as possible, I replayed every sordid detail.
“Holy shit, babe. That sounds fucking awesome.”
“Yeah, it was pretty good.”
“Pretty good? Sounds way better than that.”
I closed my eyes. My morning full of adrenaline rushes made me feel like I’d climbed Mount Everest.
She clicked her fingers. “Oh, I get it.”
I snapped my eyes open. Oh no, here we go with the lecture.
“You’re having doubts, right?”
I nodded, thenplonked my headon the table and stared at a tinylittlespeck in the white marble as I waited out her impending speech.
“Here we go again. Don’t worry about Needledick; he deserves everything he gets. Was he late today?”
“Yep, didn’t get in until a quarter to eight.”
“What? Fucking hell. Jane should’ve kicked him in the balls.”
I huffed and sat up.
She touched my arm. “Nothing has changed. Jane’s still safe. Jeez, I didn’t even recognize you—there’sno way he would have.”
That was true.
“Just carry on like nothing happened and see what he does about it.”
She was right, and when I started to nod, she clutched me around the shoulders again. “There you go.Allbetter again. Now, want a champagne?”
I shook my head. “I just want some sleep.”
“I’m not surprised, you horny little bitch.” She roared with laughter, and as I giggledalong with her, my final threads of tension melted away.
By the timeshe dropped me back at the hotel, wearing yet another one of her ridiculously tiny outfits, it was nearly midday.I waved her goodbye, breathed in deeply, planted a smileon my face, and strode up the front steps like Inormallywould.
The gods were on my side because Needledick was not only serving someone, but he also had eight people hovering around, waiting for their turn. It was checkout time, and I made a mental note to utilize that more often. I arrived at my apartment without incident.
I showered, put on my winter PJs, had a bite to eat, brushed my teeth, pulled back the covers of my bed, and wriggled in. Sitting with my diary on my lap, I turned to the 5th of August, and at the top, I wrote, Mason Cole, Room 37.
I didn’t bother writing about Needledick and the disasterthat had happenedafter; instead, I wrote about Mason and the incredible sex I’d had with the confused bass guitarist.
As I thought about his dilemma and how easy it would be to agree to marry someone just because you’d been with them for a long time, I vowed that I would never do that.
I made a promise that the man I married would be the one I truly loved, deep down in my soul. Our love would be so strong it would be a living, breathing thing, making our hearts ache when we were apart and piecing them together every timewe were clutchedin each other’s arms.
With that thought, I wrote, Passionate Promises beneath the guitarist’s name.
I closed the diary, slid down the bed, and rolled onto my side. My body was weary, but my mind flippedaroundfrom one crazy thought to another.
I shut my eyes and forced myself to think about a man holding me, our hearts beating as one as we shared the rest of our livestogether.
Provided Needledick doesn’t have me arrested, that is.
And I spend the rest of my life crying myself to sleep.