“There,” she said. “Can we sleep now?”
I turned and looked at her. “Uh-huh. Sleep tight.” I got to my feet. Holding the blanket, I went into the hallway. “If you’re not warm enough with the sheet, there’s a spare blanket in the hall closet. This one’s mine.”
“Hey.”
I went into the living room, flopped down on the couch which emitted a distinct doggy odor, and began to arrange the bed-clothes around me.
She came in, padding on bare feet and stood in front of me, ghostly and small in my shirt. The thing was huge on her, reaching four inches above her knees. I couldn’t see her face.
“You can wear a suit of armor, if you like,” she said. “You can recite the Boy Scout oath—brave, thrifty, chaste, whatever—but no one is going to sleep on that damn couch tonight. Or I can go back to that howling roach palace on East Fourth.”
She stood there, waiting, hands on her hips. I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. Finally she said, “I promise I won’t touch you, Mort.”
“Yeah? What if that’s what I’m afraid of?”
I saw her teeth in the gloom, meaning she was smiling or about to bite. She yanked the blanket off me, which left me wearing nothing but the dark of night. “Come on, dope,” she said. “You can’t sleep there.” She left, taking the blanket with her.
I got up and followed her into the bedroom. She was seven years younger than me. Seven years isn’t much. She was thirty-four, fully grown. I didn’t know where Greg had gone astray, but other than that thing he had going with Dale he’d had this PI thing all wrong.
Kayla sank down on the bed, leaving room for me. Her voice came out of the gloom. “You already got a pretty good look, right? That first night, checking for bullet holes?”
“Pretty good, yeah.”
“So?”
“I didn’t see any blood so I let you sleep.”
“Well, nothing about me has changed since then, Boy Scout, so what’s the problem? I intend to sleep, period, how ‘bout you?”
“Absolutely.”
“So, sleep. Put on underwear. Put on a shirt and tie if that’ll help. Wear nothing if that’s your usual. And here. This is my usual.” She pulled off the T-shirt and tossed it to me, then settled in, closed her eyes.
I opened a drawer and grabbed a pair of boxers. In the morning I would find that I’d got the ones with little red hearts all over it, a lucky grab in the dark.
“Night,” Kayla said, voice already drifting off.
“Night. Place had roaches, huh?”
“Bunches of ’em. Big ones. They wore nametags. Ralph told jokes.”
Then she was gone.
* * *
I slept fine, oddly enough, better than I had in days, since before the week’s festivities began. I didn’t stir until quarter past eight. When I did, I looked over at Kayla. She was still conked, mouth slightly open, a glint of moisture on her teeth, blond hair tangled, one naked shoulder showing. I marveled that I’d managed to sleep at all, next to a creature so beautiful.
I got out of bed quietly, grabbed some clothes and went out, into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. Soap and water first, then breakfast.
I had a nice lather going when she opened the shower door and stepped in, shut it behind her with a decisive metallic click.
“Hey, hey, hey!” I yelped.
“Hey yourself.”
She kissed me. I didn’t have any choice but to return it. It was either that or drown.
“I’m confused,” I said, once I got the chance.
“You’re sweet,” she said.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“You didn’t try to touch me last night.”
“Yeah? I’m still trying not to.” I wasn’t succeeding very well, however. The stall wasn’t big enough for the two of us.
She nudged me aside and hogged the water for a moment, then said, “Do my back, huh?”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, hold it right—”
“Now what?”
“You know what.”
She looked into my eyes “Okay, I’m being kinda forward here and this is unexpected and you’re uncomfortable because you don’t know where the limits are or what to make of it, right?”
“Right. You got that exactly right.”
“If we’re going to share a house and a bed, why tiptoe around each other? What’s the point?”
“That isn’t any explanation at all.” I was trying not to look at her breasts, which were magnificent. Finally I gave it up since it didn’t seem to matter, at least not to her.
“That’s because there isn’t any. Do I need to explain it? Nicole said you were a nice guy and I trust her. She’s a sweet kid. And I happen to think she’s right. I’ve learned to trust my instincts. I’m not the type to get all uptight and hysterical about conventions, especially those of other people. I mean, how big a deal is this? I didn’t see a bunch of religious artifacts lying around the house, no crucifix on the wall. But, hey, if you want me out of here so you can shower in peace, I’ll leave you to it.”
She put her hands on her hips and stared at me.
I was aware of her, all of her, the challenge, the playfulness, the risk she was taking, the gift and the taking, her naked body, water and steam, the scent of soap, the waiting look in her eyes.
“Three more seconds,” she said, “…two…one…”
I have more than my share of slow moments, but I’m not a complete dimwit, at least not all the time. I picked up the soap, turned her halfway around and started to scrub her back.
“Good,” she said. “You had me worried there for a moment.”
It was a nice back, slender, full of fine muscles, nicely sculpted shoulder blades, tapered waist, trim rear end. I felt myself heat up at the silken feel of her body under my fingers.
“This still feels strange,” I said. “You and me, here, like this.”
“Uh-huh. Anything else?”
“It feels…good.”
“Uh-huh. Anything else?”
“Better than good, okay?” I ran my hands up her sides, catching the weight of her breasts
