Tame An Older Man

She would, after she finished her margarita, Phoebe vowed silently. She must be crazy, contemplating an open flirtation with Jeff. She might just scare him to pieces. But she had no doubt the gossip would fly. Though Wyatt wouldn't witness her flirtation himself, someone would mention it to him. The Mesa Blue grapevine was healthy.

'Wait a minute,' Olga said. 'Who is that?' She surreptitiously nodded toward the edge of the courtyard. That's when Phoebe spotted Bill, patching a crack on a concrete walkway.

'That's Bill White, our super.'

'Ooh, la-la, he's a handsome devil.'

'Mama, no. Don't even think about it. He's spoken for.'

'Oh, nuts. Married, huh?'

'Well, no…'

Olga's eyes lit up. 'Engaged?'

'Not exactly.'

'Then he's fair game.'

Phoebe put a hand to her forehead. There was no stopping Olga when she was like this. She only hoped the fragile state of Bill and Frannie's new romance could withstand the onslaught.

Olga straightened her bathing suit and patted her pouf of short, white-blond hair, which was almost the same shade as Phoebe's.

Phoebe drained her drink, set down her plastic tumbler and decided to make her own move. She got up from her lounger and slunk over to where Jeff was working diligently.

'Hi, Jeff. Watcha doing?'

'Cleaning the-' He looked up, and his eyes bugged out. 'Oh, hi, Phoebe. New suit?' His voice cracked slightly.

Phoebe sat down on the edge of the pool and dangled her feet in the water. 'Yeah. Like it?'

'Oh, yeah.'

'Want to join the party?'

'You want me to?' He looked at her, earnest and a little doubtful, and Phoebe realized she couldn't trifle with his affections. Jeff was a nice kid, and his flirtations seemed meaningless, but it wouldn't be fair to encourage him under false pretenses.

'Look, Jeff, it's like this. I'm trying to make a certain guy jealous.'

'You mean Wyatt?'

How was it that everyone knew there was something between her and Wyatt? She thought they'd been rather discreet.

She saw no point in denying it. 'Yes.'

'You mean he did something stupid like blow you off?'

It hadn't happened quite that way, Phoebe recalled with a twinge of conscience. In fact, she was the one who'd walked out. 'He treated me like I was dumb,' she said. 'You don't think I'm dumb, do you, Jeff?'

'Hell, no, Phoebe. You're a damn rocket scientist.'

Phoebe recognized a calculated line when she heard one. He probably did think she was dumb. Everybody did. When one had more than a passing resemblance to Malibu Barbie, it just came with the territory.

'So is it okay if I flirt with you? With the firm understanding I don't mean anything by it?'

Jeff's eyes lit up. 'Are you kidding? It'll be great for my reputation. There are a couple of girls around here I wouldn't mind making jealous.' He nodded toward the shallow end of the pool, where two college-age women were lounging, trying to be aloof. Phoebe had invited them to join the party, but they'd declined.

'Then put that skimmer back together and come get a margarita.'

He frowned. 'You all didn't bring glass out here, did you?'

Phoebe laughed. The pool was Jeff's true mistress. 'Nope. Just plastic.' She took his hand and led him back to the crowd. 'Mama, pour this hardworking man a-' She realized her mother's lounger was empty.

'Over there.' Daisy indicated with a nod.

Phoebe looked. Olga was chatting with Bill, and she was in full-coquette mode. 'Oh, shoot,' Phoebe muttered. She glanced around for Frannie but didn't see her.

'Mama!' Phoebe called, trying to distract her. But Olga didn't budge. 'Olga!' she called louder. Maybe her mother was trying to pretend she didn't have a daughter Phoebe's age. Olga glanced over.

'Come meet Jeff.' She linked her arm playfully in Jeff's. He grinned and slid his arm around her, enjoying his role.

Olga waved and nodded, but she wasn't budging from Bill's side. Bill, for his part, was talking and gesturing and laughing, and when Olga touched him lightly on the arm, he leaned toward her.

Bad body language, Phoebe thought. Her only consolation was that Frannie wasn't around to witness Bill's behavior. She wondered where Frannie had gone.

She got Jeff a drink herself, handed it to him, then leaned up to whisper in his ear. 'Laugh like I just said something hilarious.'

He laughed, then whispered back, 'Now you laugh.'

She did-but before she could do more, Elise and Daisy appeared on either side of her, each grabbing an elbow. They practically dragged her away.

'What do you think you're doing?' Elise said.

'Are you crazy?' Daisy asked at the same time, then added, 'This is so unlike you.'

'You mean that I'm acting like a complete airhead?'

'No, that you're throwing yourself at Jeff,' Elise said.

'Just living up to everyone's preconceived notions,' Phoebe mumbled.

'What did that brute Wyatt say to you?' Daisy asked fiercely. 'Just say the word, and I'll beat him up. '

The picture of petite, feminine Daisy going toe-to-toe with six-foot-one Wyatt made Phoebe smile. 'Nothing much. He just laughed at my dreams and couldn't believe I was smart enough to be a scientist.'

'The ogre,' Elise muttered.

'Okay, so he's a miserable cockroach,' Daisy said. 'What are you trying to accomplish here?'

Phoebe sighed. 'Maybe I'm just tired of fighting who and what I am. I'm sick of downplaying my looks and trying to get people to respect me for my brain.'

Elise and Daisy looked at each other, obviously perplexed, then back at Phoebe. 'Phoebe, dear,' Elise said. 'I don't know how to break this to you, but you've never tried to impress anyone with your brain. We know you're smart. But you do tend to downplay that side of yourself.'

'Hah. You should have heard me at Wyatt's last night. I told him my GPA, my SAT scores, even my IQ. I didn't hide any smarts under any bushel. I did just what Jane Jasmine advises-and Wyatt laughed at me.'

Elise and Phoebe looked at each other again.

'What kind of numbers are we talking about, here?' Daisy asked cautiously.

Phoebe realized she'd never told her best friends the whole truth. They knew she was going to school, they knew she was studying biochemistry. But that was the most she'd told them. So she spilled it. Everything. And when she was done, they just stared.

'You're a genius?' her friends said together.

'See?' Phoebe cried, thoroughly frustrated.

'See what? You probably scared the poor man to death,' Elise said. 'Yes, men like smart women. But Jane Jasmine aside, I can see how a man, any man, might be a little frightened by a woman with enough IQ for two people.'

'You scared us,' Daisy added. 'And before you get all defensive, it's not just because you're blond and pretty. I'd be surprised if Jeff or Frannie or anyone I thought I knew suddenly revealed a hidden side of him-or herself.'

'Wyatt was probably just surprised,' Elise said. 'He'll get used to it.'

No, he won't, Phoebe thought, because she wasn't going to give him the chance. She'd been insane to allow anything to develop between them. He would never be able to think of her as anything but a former-actress-turned-makeup-artist.

'Maybe so,' Phoebe said noncommittally. 'But meanwhile, I'm having fun. Jeff and I are just kidding around. He