Come and Talk to Me (4 page)

“I didn’t know I was your errand boy. I thought we had a dinner date.”

“It’s just a stop since we’re out there. I really want to go to Longhi’s for dinner, too. Okay? Truce? Can we try not to kill each other tonight?”

“You retract the claws and I’ll stop with the names.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll try to have you home before midnight so you don’t turn into a pumpkin, princess.”

She slammed the truck door and he laughed.

~*~

Van parked by the famous banyan tree, in a spot right off the Lahaina harbor. Having already done the tourist thing and learning the history of the enormous tree, Van casually walked around the car and helped Reggie out. Their destination, Longhi’s, was all the way at the other end of Front Street, but Reggie had said she wanted to walk the store fronts before they went to eat and she was sure to want to walk after eating and drinking as much of his money as she could.

Van wanted to go for a quick walk through the harbor. It was clear he was searching for something as he studied all the boats, not just looking around.

“You don’t look like you’re sightseeing, Van.”

“There’s been a lot of activity here lately. I wanted a quick peek. Sometimes the ones trying too hard to be obvious are the ones that have something to hide.”

“Are we on a date or are you on duty?”

He reached down and took her hand. “Let’s go.” She found an excuse to break his hold after a few paces as they approached the first gift shop. She feigned interest in something and never went back for his hand.

They strolled down the street admiring the different art galleries and specialty jewelry shops. The price tourists would pay for a gold pendant shaped like a whale’s tail or for an oyster they had to open themselves to find a pearl then buy an overpriced setting for it always amazed Van.

They came to about the tenth jewelry store when Reggie said, “This is it. I’ll be right out.” He waited as he was told. She came out in a huff about two minutes later. “That idiot.”

“Do I need to go hurt someone?”

“He called me saying they had a ring I was looking for.”

“And they didn’t?”

“What schmuck doesn’t know an alexandrite from an aquamarine?”

“Meet that schmuck.”

“Really?”

“Really. What is it?”

“It’s my birthstone. It’s a pretty green in the sun, not like emerald green, and it’s a real pretty purple when you’re inside.”

“The stone changes color?”

“It does. It’s amazing. I saw one years ago and fell in love with it.”

“Why didn’t you buy it?”

“Because it was a gazillion dollars.”

“A gazillion, huh?”

“Close enough. The kid was either new and knew nothing about jewelry or misunderstood the note.”

“Did you bite his face off? Should I call 9-1-1?”

“No. I was nicer than I should have been, though. I would have been pissed if I drove all this way for just that.”

“Happy to be of service.”

She looked at her watch. “It’s only five thirty but I’m starved. I skipped lunch. Can we go eat?”

“Of course. Lead me there, prin…Reg.” Again he put his hand out to her. This time, she accepted it.

They stuffed themselves sharing an appetizer and each other’s main dishes. Crab stuffed mushrooms, steak and lobster, grilled shrimp and pasta with a heavenly white sauce were washed down with two bottles of wine instead of mixed drinks. They both declined dessert and began a slow stroll back on the other side of the street. Reggie wanted to walk by the ocean. “It never gets old for me. I don’t think I could ever live anywhere away from the water.”

They stopped to lean over the railing and stare out at the ocean. The sun was already gone, but it was still a wondrous sight.

“That’s why I like my job so much,” Van said. “I love the ocean. I don’t think I’d be as happy if I was in Duluth or somewhere off a lake.” He turned and looked at her. Her eyes were closed as she took in the ocean breeze. He leaned down and kissed her.

Her eyes sprang open but she smiled. She pulled on his hand to continue walking back to the car. After a few steps she finally said, “You promised to behave.”

“I should have set a dress code when I made that promise. You’re killing me, Reggie.”

“Ice cream?” she asked when they came across a storefront at the Pioneer Inn that offered soft serve in a waffle cone.

“I thought you were stuffed.”

“I was. Now I want ice cream.”

He laughed, pulled out his wallet and walked over to the employee. “What kind do you want?”

~*~

When they reached the truck, Reggie leaned against her door and looked up at Van. He took the hint, leaned down and kissed her. She immediately opened her mouth wanting his tongue; he gave it to her. He pulled her closer and brought her off the ground with his strong embrace. Her arms went around his neck then her legs wrapped around his waist. Needing the truck for support, he leaned her back. For a second, they forgot where they were. A car’s horn blast brought them to their senses. He put her down, but lingered over one last kiss before clearing his throat and opening her door.

When Van sat down behind the steering wheel, he leaned over and kissed her again. This time a hand went over her breast on the outside her dress. She let out a slight gasp, but didn’t motion for him to remove it.

Van finally stopped the kiss and sat upright. “We need to get going.” Reggie nodded in agreement. It was almost an hour back to her house; that would be the longest hour she’d spend in this lifetime. After over two years of avoiding men, she suddenly thought she was going to explode if she didn’t have him soon.

They were on the Pali, the curvy road along mountains and cliff sides, when she pointed to a path past the tunnel on the ocean side. “Pull over here.” They still had a half an hour to go. Time was not being her friend. From him stroking her arm and his kisses to her hand, to her caressing his thigh, they were lucky they hadn’t cause an accident. He pulled over to the side of the road.

“No, there’s a road here,” she said, pointing again. He continued around what she called a road. It barely fit the truck with a few feet to spare before it was sheer cliff. She opened the door and hurried out as soon as the truck came to a stop. Rushing out as well, he met her at the front of the truck. In half an instant, she was high on his hips again. They kissed like wild animals that had been starved for food for days. She frantically undid his belt buckle and scooted his shorts down as best as she could with one hand; the other held onto his neck.

~*~

Van groaned as she touched him while he hungrily kissed down her neck and across her breasts. Accepting her actions and the fact that his shorts were halfway down his thighs as an invitation, he slipped a hand under her dress. His hands discovered what he had been picturing under her dress all night; a thong. Delighting in the eagerness of her response to him as he caressed the small patch of material, he no longer entertained thoughts of wanting to move slowly. Bringing his other hand under her dress, he pulled her to his chest. He scooted the thong aside as he lowered her onto himself.

Reggie let out a gasp as he entered her, tightening her arms around his neck as she buried her head deep into them. “You okay?” he asked. “You wanna stop?”

She shook her head ‘no.’

“No, you’re not okay or no, don’t stop?”

“Don’t stop.” She opened her mouth and gently bit at his neck.

He leaned her against the truck and claimed her deeper. She bit harder and another gasp escaped her.

She felt too good. Van was afraid he wasn’t going to last. He only managed slow, gentle strokes while balancing them against the truck. It was as if things were moving in slow motion. He was brought out of his daze by her whimper. She tightened around him, sending him over the edge. He released into her with more than a whimper of his own. It was an animal howl of pure pleasure. He didn’t know how he remained standing.

When he finally caught his breath, Van turned around and sat on the bumper with the two of them still as one. She still clung tightly to his neck. “You all right?”

She nodded a ‘yes.’

He brought her face in front of his so he could see it. “Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head ‘no.’ Her silence scared him.

“Reg, you weren’t a…you know. Were you?”

“No,” she said, softly. “I wasn’t a virgin, Van.” She rested her head on his shoulder again and kissed at his neck. “It’s just been a very long time for me.”

He stroked her hair and kissed her head. “How’d you know about this place? You been here before or did we get lucky?”

“I’ve been here before, not like this though. Will you do something for me?”

“Anything, babe.”

She sat up and looked him in the eyes. “Will you take me home?”

“Dammit.” He pulled her close. “I did hurt you.”

“No. You didn’t. I’d like to try that again without breaking the orgasm speed record.”

He laughed. “I think I can handle that.”

“You were right, you know.”

“About what?”

“That ain’t no small change you have there.”

He grinned. “There’s no faster way to inflate a man’s ego than discussing his unit.”

Reggie rubbed her hands up and down his back then across his chest. He held her tight, gentle moans escaping at her touch. She could still feel him inside her. She moved her arms round his neck and picked herself up slightly then went back down slowly onto his lap. “Maybe I don’t want to wait until we get to my house after all.”

“Lord Almighty.”

Another car slowly pulled up, but immediately began to back up when Donovan’s truck was in view. Reggie hopped down and straightened her dress. Van buckled up. “Looks like someone else had our great idea. Let’s get going.”

Their fingers were laced as they sat together in the truck. She was riding in the middle of the bench seat. The passenger seat was too far away now. He kissed the back of her hand and she nibbled at his ear until he said, “You’d better stop it or I’ll wreck.”

They ran up the two flights to her apartment. The elevator would have been too slow. They hurried to the bedroom without a second to waste, hastily undressing each other, to begin round two. Things moved a little slower at first, but not much. The wanting was too great; the desire had built up for too long. Reggie couldn’t hide how she felt about him anymore and she didn’t want to. He brought her to pure ecstasy again. She was in bliss once more, somewhere around one in the morning, and again when they woke up in each other’s arms at six a.m.

“I can’t believe you will be gone for a week.” She pouted as she laid her head on his chest, still lying flat on top of him after the morning workout.

“Yeah, but I’ll still be averaging sex once a day while I’m gone.”

“Swine.” She playfully bit his chest.

“Ouch!” He rubbed where she bit him. “I think I could use the rest of a hard week at sea. You sure know how to wear a guy out.”

“Is your schedule always like this?”

“It depends.” He made long strokes down her back. “It depends where you are and what’s going on. I’ve had a schedule of two days on, two days off sometimes. A couple times a year we might be underway for two weeks.”

“Two weeks? Troy’s never been gone for two weeks.”

“You’re on a small island. The patrols are different and Troy has rank on his side. I was in dry dock doing ship repairs once. That was pretty much twenty-four seven for a month. You’ve never seen so many cranky sailors before.”

“I can imagine.” She rested her head on him and sighed. “I don’t think I’d like you being gone all the time.”

He rolled her off his chest and sat up. “Well you’d better think about it because that’s my job, sweetheart.” Standing, in a bit of a huff, he pulled his shorts on.

His harshness shocked her; she didn’t know what to say. She pulled the sheet up, covering herself while she watched him get dressed.

After glancing over at the clock, he turned back to her. “I need to report in an hour. I have to go.” He leaned down to kiss her goodbye, but she turned her head away. Letting out a heavy breath, he walked out of the room and left her apartment.

Reggie walked to the shower, still in a daze. She let the water run a tad hotter than she could stand and stood under it until it ran cold. When she was done, she angrily pulled the sheets from the bed and threw them in the washer. It was remade with a set of clean silken ones. Sitting on the bed, she pulled a pillow to her face and took a deep breath. Dammit. She could still smell his cologne.

She dropped onto the bed still hugging the pillow, refusing to cry.
Epic fail.
The tears flowed freely. She finally let her guard down; what a mistake that was. To find such grand ecstasy then horrific heartbreak all within twelve hours;
ain’t life grand.

The phone rang and she jumped to her feet. The caller ID read
Donovan Kimball.
She wanted to reach for it but pulled her hand back. “Go to hell.” Jerking the phone cord from the answering machine, she spoke through gritted teeth. “I don’t need your bullshit in my life. I have enough of my own.”

R
EGINA
M
ADE
I
T
T
HROUGH
W
ORK
that morning on automatic. By the grace of all that is good, the lunch date she had to keep with the lighting representative was with a woman. She couldn’t take another “martini lunch” with an ogling, over-aged light bulb salesman.

In surrendering the road sales position, she had agreed to take over the lighting department in addition to her other duties. It was no big deal. The display was small and stock was kept to a minimum. She could maintain the inventory there and still break down a blueprint and quote an entire house in a day. She could stretch it to two if there was any level of difficulty at all. Three was acceptable by the men who were her peers. It was also accepted that she did all the answering of the phones while they bullshitted about last night’s game or some other manly chore worth grunting over. That was accepted of course until they were put on commission—then she was called a phone hog.

“Geez, Reggie. Give us a chance to answer it before you dive on it.”

Kiss my what?

When her commissions were the highest from that first month, she was told she had the best seat in the office. It was received as a humiliation rather than the pat on the back her boss intended when he listed everyone’s earnings in the break room. There was a never-ending run of excuses for why she made more. They couldn’t accept that she worked the hardest. According to them, she had the highest sales because she had tits.

Reggie vowed to take the face off the first person who crossed her that day. Amazingly, everyone was well-behaved. Rumor had it there was a chalkboard hanging in the men’s bathroom with ‘Women to avoid this week’ on it. Reggie hoped she was on it today, but that still wasn’t enough. She didn’t want to be there. After lunch, claiming to have gotten a bad sandwich, she called the office informing them she was going home sick. She also called in on Tuesday.

By Wednesday, she vowed to pull her head out of her ‘asset.’ She would put on the proverbial big girl panties and continue on with life. Busting a contractor trying to get away without paying for a wheelbarrow full of items was a great start to her day. If only she had the authority to kick him where it counted she would have felt better.

By noon, Reggie became lightheaded. She hadn’t eaten since her lunch with the rep. Reggie had horrible eating habits to begin with, but when she was upset, they hardly existed at all. Exercise was never part of her daily routine, but she never fought to keep her size-three waist; she simply forgot to eat sometimes. Other times she put away an entire large pizza by herself. It all balanced out in her mind. Today was a pizza day. She ordered six pizzas and notified the ‘will-call’ boys that lunch was on her. There were five guys outside that ran for all the items that she typed up on invoices for the contractors and two that were dedicated to pulling the entire house loads. She was the only one who went out of her way to show appreciation for the ones who did the legwork and heavy lifting. Again, she heard comments from the other salesmen for why the will-call boys really played favorites. It couldn’t be the fifty dollars she spent making sure, once a month, they each had their favorite beer for their tailgate party on Friday or for the spontaneous pizzas. It was surely because,
“They’re called boobs, Ed.”
Erin Brokovich rocked. She thought about picking the movie up on the way home.

Sitting with the boys at lunch, she didn’t mind the flirting so much today. She needed to be reminded that someone thought she was pretty. She was paged for a long distance phone call, but asked that a message be taken. It had been Van.
Kiss my ass twice.
Instead of her smugness making her feel better, she heard his voice in her head.
Where and when, doll-face. Where and when?

On the Pali last Sunday, dick head.
She was losing it. Now she was arguing with herself. She needed to get good and drunk.

“I don’t want to drink until I’m sure I’m not pregnant, hon. Sorry,” was Sabrina’s answer when she called her best friend. “Come over for dinner, though. Troy went this week with the guys. I wanted to call you anyway. Your timing is good. I’m lonely.”

“You mind if I drink?”

“Hell no. Plan on sleeping over too so you can really tie one on if you want. It’ll be fun.”

The girls had a great dinner and Reggie had a few different mixed drinks. Nothing tasted good tonight.
I can’t even get drunk right.

Sabrina clicked the TV off after they finished a rerun of
Friends
. “So tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“Come on, Reg. How did your date with Van go? I’ve been dying for you to tell me about it. Why so coy?”

“There’s nothing to tell, Bri. We get along like oil and water. You knew that. Why the hell did you even try to set us up in the first place?”

“Don’t give me that. There’s a spark there and I know it.”

“You couldn’t be more wrong.”

“I know there’s more to this and there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“Why?”

“Because Troy said Van won’t tell him anything either.”

“Really?” Reggie was surprised. She was sure he would have bragged about their night together and laughed about getting another notch on his headboard. The only reason she agreed to come over tonight is because Troy was gone. The thought of facing him after her night with Van was unbearable.
What would he think of me now?
Princess? Yeah, right.

“What’s happened, Reggie? You don’t keep secrets from me.”

“Nothing, Bri. Nothing.” She stood up. “I’m going home. I only had a few drinks. I’m fine.”

“Stay, Reg. Please?”

She walked over and gave Sabrina a hug. “I love you; I just really want to go home.”

“Will you come with me to the dock on Saturday when the guys get back?”

“I can’t. I have a work-related commitment.” She lied.

“Will you come for dinner at least?”

“I’ll be busy all day.”

Sabrina crossed her arms. “You know you can’t lie to me.”

“I’m serious, Bri. I’m driving to Hana to quote a job.”

“On Saturday?”

“I do Saturdays sometimes. I can’t leave the office all day on a weekday. This is a busy time.”

“You can stop by when you get back to town.”

“It’ll be late.”

“So come for brunch on Sunday then.”

“Stop it, Bri.” Reggie faked a laugh. “You don’t need to entertain me. I really have to run. See ya.” She hurried out the door before her friend could make another protest or try to set another date.

Reggie unplugged her phone when she arrived at home. The caller ID showed two missed calls from Van and Sabrina had tried to call already. She wanted to be left alone.

~*~

When the Coast Guard Cutter docked at noon that Saturday, Sabrina was there to greet Troy. Van wasn’t surprised that Reggie didn’t show up. She hadn’t been taking his calls. He had screwed up—big time. He tried to get past Sabrina, but she wouldn’t allow it.

“What happened with you two?”

“It just didn’t go well, Bri.” He tried walking away.

“That’s an understatement, because now she’s not talking to me.”

“What?” He stopped and whipped his head around.

“I haven’t been able to get a hold of her since Wednesday. That’s not like her at all. Something happened between you two.”

“I’ll go find her.”

“She said she wouldn’t be home, but I think she was lying.”

“I’ll find her. I’ll stop by later and fill you in.”

“Thanks, Van,” she said as she gave him a strong hug.

He showered in record time at the station then headed for her apartment. Her car wasn’t parked where it was before. He thought maybe she wasn’t home, but then he found it tucked next to the dumpster. She was hiding. When she didn’t answer her door, he went downstairs and looked around the pool. He didn’t find her there, but he did find her across the street at the beach.

“Bri said you were in Hana today.” Sitting up on her straw beach mat at the sound of his voice, she pulled her towel up to cover herself. “I’ve seen you naked, Reg. That skimpy bikini isn’t going to do anything for me.”

“The job was postponed,” she said as she defiantly threw the towel down.

“Why aren’t you talking to Bri?”

“I’m not—not talking to her. I saw her Wednesday.”

“And she’s been trying to get in touch with you ever since. She’s really upset.”

“Are you her keeper now?” Reggie stood up and gathered her things.

He removed her bag from her hand. “Stop it, Reggie. I want to talk.”

“We have nothing to talk about. You wanted a quick ride. You got it. You happy?”

“You know that’s not true.”

“Do I? I said I’d miss you and you freaked out.”

“I wanted you to know what you’re up against. It’s no picnic for me either, you know.”

“Now why is that, Van? Don’t you have a girl in every port?”

“That’s Navy, sweetheart.”

“Fine. Joke away.” Reclaiming her bag from him, she walked away. He followed her.

“Look. Maybe it came out wrong. Maybe my timing was bad.”

“Maybe? I’ve been through some crap, but I don’t ever recall feeling so used!”

He had to grab her by the arm to stop her from walking into a passing car. “Careful, Reggie.” He held her other arm as well. “I’m sorry. I wanted you to know that sometimes I’ll be gone. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

“We had sex, Van. Do you really think I was looking for a commitment after one night?”

“We didn’t have sex…we made love. There’s a difference.”

Making sure there were no cars coming this time, she shook herself free and crossed the street. He silently followed her back to her apartment and was a little more than surprised when she let him come in. “I’m hot. You want a beer?” she asked.

“Sure.” She offered him a Mickey’s and stepped out onto the lanai. She had left the sliding glass door open when she left for the beach. The crime rate was high here, but being a couple floors up, she wasn’t worried about it. He followed her out.

“I’ll apologize to Sabrina later,” she said, turning to him. “If we run into each other there, let’s promise now to be civil to each other. Okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not going to avoid them, worried that you’re going to be there, Van. They’re my best friends. Promise we’ll be civil in front of them if we happen to be there at the same time.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said at all?” He reached for her beer and put both of them down on the table, then held her face in his hands. “We made love, dammit. We didn’t have sex. I like you a lot, Reggie. I want you in my life. I’m sorry that it sounded differently. If I could take back how I said what I did, I would.” He leaned down and kissed her gently then looked into her eyes again. “It made me crazy thinking that maybe you didn’t want to be there for me. I don’t know what I’d do if you said you couldn’t handle my schedule.” He kissed her again, possessively. Her arms came up around his neck as she returned the kisses. They walked back a few paces until she was leaning against the wall. He broke the kiss after a few minutes. “I lied.” She looked up at him, confused. “That bikini is killing me.” Once again, her legs wrapped around his waist after he picked her up. She was instantly dreaming of reliving their first time together in front of the truck. It was only a week ago, but it seemed like years. She didn’t have to dream for long. Apparently they shared the same thought. He was already busy with her bikini top.