“Candy is dandy,” Jesse said, “but liquor is quicker.”
“Man,” Suit said. “I never drink in the middle of the day. I barely sipped a little wine, and I had to go home and take a nap.”
“Being a lush is heavy work,” Jesse said. “What’d they tell you.”
“Well, for openers,” Suit said, “they talked about it like it was some kind of high-minded philosophy of life. The swinging lifestyle.”
“Liberated,” Jesse said.
“Yeah, ‘free of prudish’ . . . what did she say? ‘Free of prudish limitations.’ That’s what Debbie told me,” Suit said.
“Only a repressed pervert would disapprove,” Jesse said.
“Debbie says that studies show that swingers have happier relationships and more stable marriages.”
“Because they are open and loving, and there’s no surreptitious nookie going on,” Jesse said.
“Wow,” Suit said. “Surreptitious nookie.”
“I amaze myself, sometimes,” Jesse said. “How’s it work?”
“The swingers club?”
“Yep.”
“Couples only,” Suit said. “No single guys.”
“Leaves us out,” Jesse said.
“Yeah,” Suit said. “Don’t seem fair, does it?”
“How about single women?” Jesse said.
“No rules that I know of about that,” Suit said.
“Sexist bastards,” Jesse said. “So do they meet regularly?”
“They meet once a month at a club member’s home,” Suit said. “And they also have, you know, parties and cookouts and picnics, stuff like that.”
“And this is all about partners having sex with other people’s partners,” Jesse said.
“I guess,” Suit said. “I know that sometimes one partner watches while the other partner does it.”
“I wonder how they decide,” Jesse said.
“Who’s gonna do what with who?” Suit said. “Yeah, I wondered about that.”
“But you didn’t ask,” Jesse said.
“I was getting embarrassed,” Suit said.
“Cops don’t get embarrassed,” Jesse said.
“Never?” Suit said.
Jesse grinned at him.
“Hardly ever,” he said. “Debbie seems to have done most of the talking. What did Kim have to say?”
“Not much. She was kind of agreeing with Debbie, but I don’t know. She didn’t seem to have much to say about it.”
“She’s the one we should talk with,” Jesse said.
“Because she didn’t say much?”
“Be good to know why she didn’t,” Jesse said
21
JESSE SAT at a table in Daisy’s Restaurant and looked at Sunny Randall sitting across from him wearing tight jeans and a white tank top.
“Hard to carry a concealed weapon in that outfit,” Jesse said.
“This outfit is not about concealing,” Sunny said. “Gun’s in my purse.”
Jesse nodded.
“The outfit is doing its job,” Jesse said.
“Of not concealing?”
“Yes.”
“I was hoping you’d notice,” she said.
They were drinking iced tea and eating sandwiches. Sunny had a BLT. Jesse had a lobster club.
“We got an agenda on this visit?” Jesse said.
“You mean why did I come up here and have lunch with you?”
“Yes.”
“How about because you’re a white-hot stud, and I’ve missed you,” Sunny said.
