Doublecrossed (17 page)

“Hmm, I thought the Riviera was in France. I swear, you can’t trust a thing you learn in school.”

“That’s what we call the towns along the shore down here. You can’t throw a rock and not hit an O’Malley or a McShane.”

“I like it. A lot. Especially this salty air. I’ve been dying for moisture in the air my whole life. I’ve had enough of having my lungs scarred by dust and sand.”

“Is Phoenix really that bad?” Regan shot her a quick glance. “I’ve never been anywhere that’s real dry.”

“No, it’s not bad. A lot of people love it. Both sets of my grandparents moved to the desert from the Midwest. Voluntarily,” she added, chuckling. “We had a chance to get out. My dad had a job offer from IBM when I was real little, but he didn’t want to live in New York.”

“Oh, right. I forget your dad’s in the computer business.”

“Yep. I think that influenced me in choosing my major.” She smiled a sickly sweet grin. “Daddy’s little girl.”

“That’s kinda nice.”

“Yeah, it’s nice to be able to speak the same language. I wanted to go to school to learn design, but the best schools are all private. So I went to Arizona and figured I’d have a real trade.”

“So, is there anything good about the desert?”

“Sure. It can be beautiful, especially at sunset and sunrise. But we didn’t live where you could see the mountains or the real desert, for that matter. We just lived in a nondescript neighborhood where it got a hundred and twenty degrees in the summer. To me, that’s the worst of both worlds.”

“You’ve really never liked where you live?”

“No, I can honestly say I’ve never liked it. A fair-skinned, redheaded girl is not the ideal desert dweller. I spent my youth covering myself with sunblock and looking for shade. I’d probably feel different if I lived in a house facing the Superstition Mountains or if I could see the desert blooming in the spring. But all I remember is being hot in the spring and summer and fall and being cold from the dry, cold wind in the winter. I just wasn’t made for Phoenix.”

“But Dallas is better, right?”

“Yeah, it’s better in lots of ways. But it doesn’t have an ocean,” she said, dreamily, looking past Regan to see the vast expanse of blue, with whitecaps peaking every few feet. “I’ve always dreamed of living near the ocean.” She smiled, a hint of sadness showing in her expression. “I guess I’ve always been a fish out of water.”

*

As they motored down the Cape, Callie entertained Regan, calling out every time she saw a fish shack or a place advertising fresh lobster. “You really like to eat, don’t you?” Regan asked, after a while.

“I lo-o-o-ove seafood. When I was a kid we never had it, so I didn’t know what I was missing. “

“What? You never had seafood? Any kind of seafood?”

“Just fish-sticks at school.”

“Amazing.”

“I didn’t really start to eat it until I went to college. There was a place we went that had shrimp by the bucket and my friends used to have to fight me to get any. I’ve never met a fish I didn’t like.”

“We were raised on fish.” She pursed her lips. “Other than a good burger or a hot dog once in a while, I hardly eat meat.”

“I eat a lot of chicken, but I’d go for seafood all the time if I had a good place to buy it where it didn’t cost twenty dollars a pound.”

Regan smiled at her. “It sounds like you can eat two pounds by yourself, so you’d have to shop for bargains.”

“If I lived here I’d learn how to fish.”

“Don’t tell my dad that,” Regan said, eyes wide. “None of us likes to fish, to his great disappointment. He’d recruit you in a second.”

“You say that like I’d object.”

“You know…I think you need to stay longer than a week. You’ve got a lot to accomplish.”

*

By eleven Regan’s stomach couldn’t resist Callie’s near constant discussion of seafood. “Okay. It’s awfully early, but I think we’ll stop for lunch.”

“Oh, boy. There’s nothing better than going on car trips with people who eat at least four meals a day.”

“I don’t think I’m going to have any trouble gaining back the weight I lost. I might gain it all back this week.”

“Where are we going to go? If you can’t decide we can go to two places. I can easily eat two lunches.”

“Have you ever had Ipswich clams?”

“No, but I want to. Right now, please.”

“I like traveling with people who are willing to try new things.”

“Then we’re gonna be very good travel friends.”

*

Callie raved about the Ipswich clams and pronounced her crab cakes “world altering.” When she took a bite of Regan’s lobster roll, she said they’d have to come back for dinner even though Regan assured her that the roll only rated a B. They headed off again and now Callie could focus on the scenery, which she continued to rave about.

They arrived at twelve thirty, with Callie so excited that Regan feared for her blood pressure.

“This is so cute! I knew it would look just like this. Of course, I also spent about thirty hours looking at pictures on various photo-sharing sites.”

“I think it’s great that you spent so much time getting ready for this trip. There’s nothing blasé about you.”

“I can be blasé, but not about things that really interest me. And I could hardly be more interested than I am now.”

“It’s cool for me because almost everyone I know is from the area. I don’t get to see New England through an outsider’s eyes very often.”

“I’m a rank outsider, but I hope that doesn’t last long.”

Regan parked her car in a sliver of a spot in front of a saltbox-style home, painted one shade darker than the crisp blue sky.

“Is this it?” At Regan’s nod, Callie said “This is the cutest house I’ve ever seen.”

Regan stood still for a moment, a puzzled look on her face as she gazed at the simple building. “Really? These kinda houses are a dime a dozen.”

“I’ve never seen one until today.” She tilted her chin, clearly thinking. “Nope never. It’s really cute.”

“Yeah, I guess it is. They’ve put on some little touches that make it nice.”

“These kinds of houses are probably like adobe-style houses in Phoenix. You get used to them and stop noticing.”

“I’ll try to pay more attention.” Regan put an arm around Callie’s shoulders. It wasn’t possible to resist her charms. And she was the kind of person who liked to touch a lot. That was nice. She made you feel kinda warm inside. Like family. “You’re helping me see things that I’d normally miss. I like it.”

They got checked in and spent a little time putting their things away. It was almost three o’clock when Regan said, “Ready for a tour?”

“Definitely.”

“Let’s go for a running tour. Lace ’em up.”

*

First they went all the way down Commercial Street, the main business street. They stopped whenever the mood struck Callie, which was often. When they had exhausted all of the stores, they went on a long run on the firm sand of the harbor-side beach. Callie kept taking exaggeratedly huge breaths of air and letting them out through her nose. “It’s so wonderful to breathe air that’s moist. At this time of the year in Phoenix I’d have to run just after dawn or at sunset and even then it would be too hot to enjoy it.”

“Well, it’s just getting nice here. It’s too early in the season to go in the water, but it might be warm enough to lie on the sand tomorrow. Cross your fingers.”

“I don’t care if we can do that or not. It’s so nice to see you again that I’m just happy to talk…and eat.”

*

That evening, the air was cool but not brisk, and it was very pleasant to stroll down Commercial Street while Callie marveled at how many women were there.

“There are more women during Women’s Week in October. This weekend’s primarily for singles. The one in the fall has more couples.

“I guess we’ve come to the right one.” Callie said giving Regan a smirk.

“I hardly notice attractive women. My normal instincts are all screwed up.”

“I don’t know how you could ignore this many women. I haven’t been looking at home, but this is paradise.”

Regan smiled and patted her on the shoulder. “Feel free. You have my cell phone number. Just call me before Monday at noon and I’ll find you.”

“I think I’ll stick with you. Besides, I don’t think I’m ready to hook up again. Sometimes women are more trouble than they’re worth.”

They decided to go to a dance at one of the bigger venues. It was crowded and very loud, but they found places to sit next to the bar in a little nook that allowed them to shout into each other’s ear. Callie had playfully attached her own and Regan’s orange sticker to her shirt, showing she was doubly single. “So, you’re impervious to women these days?” Callie asked.

A frown furrowed Regan’s brow. Why didn’t Callie understand this? She must be ready to find a woman or she wouldn’t ask that question. “Yeah, I suppose I am. Maybe seeing all of these women dance will shock my system back into working order.”

“You’ll dance with me, won’t you?”

She took Regan’s hand and tried to pull her towards the dance floor. There was something awfully nice about having a woman as pretty as Callie give off that sultry look. No wonder she’d found a girlfriend the minute she’d decided to give one a try. “You don’t need me. Every woman who’s walked by has given you a second look.”

“Really?” A huge smile settled on Callie’s face. “Maybe they can tell I’ve been on a starvation diet.”

When a particularly cute woman gave her a questioning glance three times, Regan pointed to Callie, pointed to the woman and then touched her fingers together—then she put her hand on Callie’s back and propelled her toward the woman.

“Your friend’s trying to get rid of you,” the stranger said when Callie bumped into her.

Callie turned and saw Regan’s grin. She stuck her tongue out at her, then turned back to the woman. “No, she just wants me to have fun.”

The woman’s dark eyes glinted with interest. “Then let’s start. I’m Tracy.”

As they moved away Regan watched them avidly. Callie batted her eyes as if she was just playing, but Tracy looked smitten already. Who could blame her? Callie was the best looking woman there…when you took into account how much fun she was, she didn’t have a bit of competition. You could see the energy in her eyes, even if she hadn’t been dancing like she’d had twenty cups of coffee. Yeah, she was a prize. And if she wanted to be faithful, she’d make a damn nice girlfriend for some lucky woman. If not, you’d be better off alone.

*

Over an hour after she’d left her seat, Callie fought her way through the crowd to find Regan. It was as though she were spit out when the crowd disgorged her and banged her into Regan’s knees. “Sorry!” she said, having to put her mouth almost against Regan’s ear to be heard. She noticed a pretty dark-haired woman who was obviously talking to Regan. The stranger was looking at Callie as though she wanted her to get lost.

“Having fun?” Callie asked.

“Yeah. I’m good. Hang out if you want.”

“Want me to stay?”

“You can, but you don’t need to. I’m fine.”

Callie was dancing in place, while leaning over to speak into the ear furthest from the woman who was clearly set on making something happen with Regan. “Wanna dance?”

“No, I’m fine right here. I just got a drink.” She inclined her head towards the woman next to her. “Want to meet my friend?”

“I don’t want to intrude. Have fun!”

Callie turned back towards the crowd. A woman swooped by and took her by the hand, grinning as she started to dance. Callie joined her and in a few seconds put her hands over her head and started to jump up and down in a happy cry of freedom as she sang along with the hit tune, “Now that you’re gone, I can be who I wanna be…”

*

At midnight Regan said her good-byes to the woman she’d been talking with. She was from Quincy and they’d known each other briefly in junior college. They had a few friends in common and had gone down the list, chatting about who was where and with whom. The music had gotten even louder and Regan was starting to lose her voice, so she decided to pack it in. She’d seen Callie dancing with at least six different people and when she finally found her at the other end of the club, she stopped and stared in surprise. Callie was sitting on a woman’s lap kissing her with malicious intent.

She stood there, transfixed for a few seconds, then moved far enough away so Callie couldn’t see her. Her heart was thudding in her chest and she puzzled over that for a moment. Maybe the thud came from the music, but the beat wasn’t the same. She was amazed to find herself looking at Callie just like the woman whose lap she sat on. Callie was so damn alluring. She had a way of staring into that woman’s eyes like she was the most interesting thing on earth. Like every word out of her mouth should be written down.

Then Callie held the woman’s head, kissing her fiercely as she shifted and straddled her lap. No wonder Marina was so into her. Callie was as hot as they came. Her hands were shaking when she took out her wallet, found a scrap of paper and borrowed a pen to write a quick note telling Callie the address of the house and asking her to call if she wasn’t going to come home. Then she went back and placed it daintily on the table and started to walk away.