And the lady lived in the Tampa area, which gave me another booze-filled brilliant idea. I was liking the images coming at me fast and furious…
“Are you still there, Marco?”
“Which would be faster, bringing the car to Tampa or to Boston?”
“Shit, Tampa’s a thirteen-hour drive. I could make it to Boston in about six if I break the speed limit the whole way.”
“Change of plans. Have the car delivered to the Oceanis Resort in Belleaire Beach. That’s right outside of Tampa. Can you have it there tomorrow? I’ll wire the funds in the morning.”
“If you wake up, you mean.”
“I’ll be awake. I’m going to fly to Tampa tonight if I can.”
“Why Tampa?”
“Something I forgot to do.”
“Okay. I’ll email all the information to Frank, as usual.”
“Nope. We go direct on this one. Just have the car in Tampa tomorrow, earlier the better.”
“Probably won’t leave until the morning, but I think we can have it there tomorrow night before it’s too late. What’s so special about it?”
“I have plans for that back seat, at sunset. So, make it before sunset.”
“Then I’ll have to start tonight. Fuck, Marco, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Tony, I’ve never been worse, and I’ve never been better. I’m going to grab hold of something good, and if it isn’t good, I’m going to hold it until it is good. But I don’t have a lot of time. I’ll have to be in D.C. by Tuesday.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“One thing is for sure. It’s either the dumbest thing in the world I could do or the best thing in the world. I’ve already done some pretty good things, and I’ve just come off of doing a really dumb thing, so the odds are good I’ll hit one of those extremes again. I can just feel it in my bones, and some other places, too.”
“Somehow I get the impression there is a woman involved.”
“You could be correct.”
“A reconciliation with Rebecca perhaps?”
“You just lost your twenty-five-thousand-dollar bonus, Tony.”
“I don’t want to take your money, Marco. I just want you to be safe.”
“This is not only safe, it’s a life-saver. It’s going to change my life forever. Trust me.”
“Well, if the President and the Vice President and the Secretary of State do, then I do as well. I’ll get working on the papers now. And I better brew some coffee.”
After he hung up, I thought about the Tampa weather girl as I scanned the clouds lit up by the lights of the harbor district. I remembered she’d cried, for some strange reason, and it wasn’t because I’d hurt her. It was because some kind of connection was made. I knew that connection was going to be just the lifeline I needed.
Maybe the thought of screwing—no, making love in the back seat of that convertible with that beautiful, gentle and intriguing woman was all a fantasy. But I willingly walked head-on into that fantasy, welcomed the images of her lips, her breasts and the way it felt to make her shatter, with her hips hugging mine and her arms holding me pressed against her. Her combination of softness, sweet female pheromones I hadn’t experienced for years going back to before Rebecca, was something I’d missed and somehow overlooked.
I dared to peek under the carpet and examine that part of my life that belonged to Emily. I forced myself to feel the pain of her loss, staring right at the reality of how my life would have been different if she hadn’t been killed in that accident. It was something I’d not had the courage to look at again. Somehow, Shannon brought back those days like a spirit from the past.
Maybe the old Marco hadn’t been such a dumb fuck after all. Maybe that’s where my mojo, my secret of success lay. It was a shame I’d laid it down with tuber roses and lilies at that little grave in Santa Rosa. Maybe, contrary to what I’d told myself these past fifteen years, that was the day all this craziness started, and maybe, just maybe it had nothing to do with Rebecca.
Well, I was going to find out. And if I didn’t get all my answers, at least I’d have some new memories of sunsets and leather seats, soft arms and lips that craved to be pleasured. Maybe she was someone who needed me just as much as I needed her. In a few minutes I’d phone her, and make sure the welcome I’d felt was still present. I wanted her to anticipate my coming, to ready herself for someone to rock her world. It was better that she was fully ready to receive me rather than being surprised. Give her a chance to get out all the nice stuff and try to make an impression, because that’s what I was going to do. I was going to woo her in a way she’d never been wooed before. She’d never forget this weekend.
Maybe we could need each other into oblivion, stop all the pain and hurt, and begin to heal in each other’s arms.
There were crazier ways to find out, but I liked that it would start with an impulsive private flight to Tampa tonight, as soon as I got confirmation my pilot was ready, and I finished packing. It would continue with a fast drive to the gulf in an even faster red convertible. And maybe it would end with a sunset to all the darkness in my life, a bon voyage to all the misery and pain, and the start of a new day.
Chapter 10
Shannon
As a drinking buddy, Rebecca made a fine one. I was actually having a great time, stumbling around, playing music, mostly oldies for her. Her favorites were all Em’s favorite tunes too: Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, even some Steely Dan thrown in. All these albums we found on her cell phone. We danced together like two long-lost friends. Except for her
