Cash (4 page)

“Great idea and have fun.”

“You too.”

Cash
headed down the first aisle. Some booths had so many visitors he couldn’t even
see what they were selling. He walked along a booth selling lingerie.
Crotchless
black lace panties were pinned on a display. The
thought of Katy in them brought a smile to his face. He could see her lying on
the bed beckoning him over with her finger. He swallowed and felt himself
getting hard. He wondered if the other guys walking around this place were
having the same
problem?
Maybe he should have worn
looser fitting pants so they didn’t give away his obvious arousal. He looked at
the panties again. He’d buy a pair. Yeah, he’d get her a pair and he’d think
positive. The doctor had told him there was no reason for him not to have sex
like he used to. He made a note of where the booth was at and on his way back
he’d pick up a pair.

Edible
panties were displayed at the next booth which didn’t have as many people
milling around it.

“How
are you doing today?” asked the young girl manning it.

“Pretty good.”

“You
ever indulge in edible underwear?” she asked.

Cash
laughed. “I can’t say that I have.”

She
reached for the display. “We have strawberry, raspberry, root beer, and my
personal favorite, chocolate.
 
Yes, we
even have them in guys’ boxer shorts. You want to try a sample?”

Cash
hesitated but then she tore off a piece of the chocolate flavored ones and
handed it to him. He didn’t want to offend her so he slipped it into his mouth,
once again imagining he’d bitten a piece off while Katy had been wearing the chocolate
undies.

“What
do you think?” she asked.

“Pretty good.”

“You
own a store?”

Cash
shook his head. “I’m here with a …”

What
exactly was Katy? He didn’t want her to be just a friend but it didn’t seem
like they were dating because they hadn’t slept together and hadn’t even really
kissed like a proper couple. Well, apart from the one last night.

“Someone who owns a store.”
He left it at
that.

“Then
here’s our promotion package.
Samples of all flavors and the prices.
And my business card.”
She handed him a blue bag
filled to the brim with goodies.

“I
will certainly give them to her and I’m guessing she’ll place an order.”

“Great,
and enjoy the rest of the convention.”

Cash
walked along to the next couple of booths.
Lollipops in the
shape of cocks and boobs.
 
Next
booth, well, he could hear the noise long before he saw the merchandise.
Vibrators.
A group of people stood around a TV screen. He
glanced over at it and saw it was some kind of movie of a woman showing you how
to use it.

Yeah,
he was blushing big time again. By the sounds she was making these things
obviously did their job well.

“Couples
often like to use them too,” said the voiceover.

That
was it. He’d get one of these babies, and pleasure her, build up their physical
relationship that way and hopefully it would buy him more time.

Chapter Four

Katy
sat down and rubbed the soles of her feet. She’d worn her most comfortable shoes.
Well they had been up until today. She flexed her toes hoping that would get
the blood circulating again. The place was getting more crowded by the
minute.
 
She’d gotten some great samples
of things that she knew would be a hit in the store. Creams that supposedly made
women experience a deeper level of orgasm. Just a plain old one would make her
happy.

Which made her think of Cash.
She wondered
where he was and what he’d been checking out. They hadn’t spoken about what
happened outside their rooms last night. Neither of them had raised the issue
and did that mean neither of them thought it was an issue?

Katy
knew she would have to at some point. She’d rather him be honest and tell her
he just wanted to be friends or whatever he wanted to be. She didn’t want to
get more attached to him only to have her heart broken. That had
happened
a couple of times before. She’d start to really
like a guy and he’d either say he wasn’t ready for a commitment or he’d rather
have things remain platonic.

A
broken heart wasn’t an easy thing to deal with. Now she was over thirty and
sometimes felt like her biological clock was ticking down and that she’d end up
a lonely old woman with too many cats, or Connor’s kid’s spinster aunt who wore
mismatched clothing.

“Caught you.”

She
jumped when Cash, yes, she recognized his voice, sneaked up behind her.

“Feet
hurting you?” he asked.

“Yeah, how about you?
How come you
look so fresh and perky?”

He
sat on the wall beside her and placed a carrier bag by his foot.

“I
sat down and took a rest for about half an hour.”

“Did
you go to the sports hall?”

“Sure
did. Lots of great stuff but I didn’t buy a single thing.”

“So
what’s in the bag?”

“I
have one surprise that I’m not going to show you and also a lady gave me a
sample of some edible panties for you.”

He
took them out and handed them to her.

“Chocolate.
 
I’ve been stocking the strawberry ones at the
store.”

“Try
those, they are really good.”

“You’ve
sampled them?”

“Yes,
I mean from some she’d torn up and had on display.”

Katy
smiled. He was blushing. Maybe he was just shy about having sex. Maybe he was a
virgin. Maybe he was saving himself for marriage. Shit, she hoped not. Just
thinking about Cash eating edible panties from off her body made her cream.

She
flexed her toes again.

“You
want me to give you a foot massage?” asked Cash.

That
caught her by surprise.

“I’d
love one but my feet are sweaty and probably not much fun to be around.”

Not
that she wanted to pass on the offer but at the same time she didn’t want to
put him off touching her.

“I
don’t mind. How about we go over there and you can put your foot up on my lap.”

“Okay.”

Yeah,
she wouldn’t say no.

They
found two empty chairs and Cash turned them around to face one another.

Katy
put her right foot up on his lap. He lifted it and began massaging its sole.

Was
she allowed to groan? His hands were strong and the tension in her body began to
escape.

“You
have pretty toes,” he said.

“Why
thank you,” said Katy.

She’d
always thought she had big feet for her height. She wasn’t tall like Connor and
knew she’d gotten her short genes from her mom’s side of the family.

Cash
began tickling her feet. She burst out laughing.

“I
sensed you were ticklish.”

“I’m
ticklish all over.”
 
If you want to check.

She
lifted her other leg and let her toes touch his crotch. He was hard. Yeah, she
turned him on. That wasn’t the problem. His body reacted to her.

“I’m
getting hungry again, you ready to get some dinner?”

He
gently lifted her feet and placed them back on the ground.

She
turned him on and that’s what bothered him. Now all she had to figure out was
why it did.

Chapter Five

They’d
had a nice meal. Great conversation and here they were outside the rooms again.
She wasn’t going to take no for an answer tonight. She grabbed him and then
kissed him but tonight he stepped back away from her immediately.

“Are
you gay or a virgin? Have a problem with sex or something?” Katy asked him.

There
it was out. Sort of personal, but she had to know.

Cash
looked down at the floor.

Now
she was sorry that she had been so blunt. His sexual orientation was his
business and she didn’t care if he said
yes
I prefer men
. Whether he’d had sex, even wanted sex was also his business.
She’d still be his friend but she had to know if she was wasting her time and
her fantasies on a man who wasn’t on the same page as her in the sex
department.

“No,
I’m not gay and I’m definitely not a virgin.”

“Then
what’s the problem, Cash? Are you married? Already have a girlfriend or
something?”

He
put his hand on his heart.
“None of the above.”

She
looked at him and shook her head. Tears were now filling her eyes.

“Katy,
I promise you I want to be with you. There is something I have to tell you but
could it wait until the morning because I walked too much today and my leg’s
hurting me and I really need to rest it. But I promise you we’ll talk in the
morning.”

So
there was something. She’d always been the one to peek at the gifts under the
tree. Never could wait like Connor. Thinking back it spoiled the whole surprise
of Christmas. Could she wait until the next day to hear what he had to say? If
they had a future then she had to respect him and his request.

“Okay,
but tomorrow,” she said.

“I
promise you.” He leaned over and kissed her quickly on the lips.

So
what was it he was going to tell her and would it be good news or not?

****

Cash
thought he’d fall straight to sleep when his head hit the pillow but he didn’t.

He’d
promised to tell Katy his secret and what had kept him from taking her to bed.
And he’d keep his word. He couldn’t keep leading her on. She was a beautiful
young woman and had a right to be with a man that could take care of
all
her needs.
 
He’d grown so fond of her, yeah, maybe even
borderline in love with her over these past three months. He’d never felt this
sort of thing for a woman so quickly and that’s what made him think he’d
finally found
the one
.

Bile
rose in his throat at the thought of losing her…Katy walking away and him never
seeing her again. So many thoughts spun around in his head. He picked up the
book on the bedside table, read for an hour hoping it would put him to sleep,
but it didn’t. He finally gave up thinking he’d turn on the TV but he didn’t
want to disturb Katy. She was sleeping on just the other side of the wall.

He’d
never watched her sleep.
Never been in her bed.
How he
wanted to open the door between their rooms, crawl in beside her and hold her.
Ask her to have patience with him. Let her get used to his broken body first.
Let him take some time being bold enough to let her see him naked.

Cash
switched off the light and lay looking up at the ceiling. The lights of Vegas
danced outside the window. He turned on his side and watched the slow steady
flicker. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Well, him and Katy hadn’t gotten
up to anything worth keeping a secret about.
Had to be a
first.
He closed his eyes and gently nodded off.

Cash
was back in action.
Back as a soldier.
Back in the place where the roadside bomb had gone off.

An explosion and bursts of colors.
He couldn’t
hear, couldn’t see, but pain racked his body. The smoke cleared and he could
see his buddies lying there, body parts scattered here and there. The putrid
smell of burning flesh choked him.

He
threw up because the pain was so unbearable. He called out for help but no one
came to help.

Cash
screamed louder and quickly realized it was no longer in his dream.

****

Katy
sat bolt upright. Someone was screaming. It was a man’s voice.

Cash.

She’d
been around him long enough to know his voice when she heard it.

He’d
called out for help. Something was wrong. She jumped out of bed and ran to the
door that joined their two rooms. She turned the handle surprised that it
wasn’t locked. She hadn’t realized his side was open.

“Katy,
don’t come in here,” shouted Cash.

“You
screamed. What’s wrong?” she called through the door.

“I
know a bad dream but I’m okay now.”

She’d
honored his wish about waiting until morning to talk, but something was wrong
in there. She wasn’t taking no for an answer. His voice sounded weak and shaky.
He needed help.

She
turned the handle and went into his room. The light was on. Cash was in bed,
his face and neck drenched in sweat. He looked toward her and then up at her.
Something told her what scared him was on the chair.

Katy
glanced down at it and beside it set a prosthetic leg.

“Cash,
I had no idea, I didn’t…”

She
didn’t know what to say, partly from shock, partly that she’d obviously put him
in a terrible situation. She wanted to run and hide but couldn’t move. Why
hadn’t he told her? Once again that was his own business that he hadn’t.

“
It’s
okay, Katy, come and sit down on the bed next to me. I
guess it’s quite the surprise.”

She
made her way to him and sat on the edge of the bed. Cash grabbed her hand and
sandwiched
it
between both of his. His skin was
clammy and beads of perspiration still clung to his cheeks.

Katy
tried not to because she didn’t want to make him feel any worse than he
probably already did. However, she couldn’t help but look down at the bed
covers. The lower part of his left leg wasn’t there.

“I
should have told you, but I don’t share it with many people because I don’t
want folks feeling sorry for me.”

“Cash,
you should have said something. I’ve had you walking all around that convention
center today.”

“It’s
nothing, just makes me tired and sore. That’s why I wanted to come to bed.”

“So
how did it happen?”

“I
was in the Army. I served in Afghanistan and my unit got hit by a roadside
bomb. I was the only survivor.”

“Oh, geez, Cash.
You never said
you were in the service. You are such a secret one.”

“Yeah,
my mom used to say the same thing. I guess I’d rather not talk about some
things.”

“So
you lost your lower leg?”

Cash
nodded. “Broke both my arms and had some three degree burns and was in the
hospital for months. But I guess you’d call me the lucky one.”

“I’m
so sorry.” Katy put her arm around him and squeezed Cash tight.

Geez,
he’d just said he didn’t want people feeling sorry for him.

“You
walk like…”

“You
can say it.”

“Like
there’s nothing wrong with you. I mean I would never have guessed in a million
years.”

“You
wouldn’t have said that when they first fitted me with that leg. I fell over so
many times I lost count. Got pretty angry and smashed up a few things in the
therapy room…”

“Who
can blame you for that? I’d be angry and resentful.”

“I
was a pretty messed up and pissed off guy, even thought about ending it all.”

Katy
rested her head on his shoulder. She was so glad he hadn’t or she never would
have met him.

“But
then…”

“Then
what?” asked Katy.

“My
uncle encouraged me to go bid on a woman and I saw you and thought um, she’s so
cute.”

Katy
squeezed his hand. “So is this what this is all been about? You
not wanting
to get physical. You thought that maybe I’d be…”

“Put
off by my injury?”

Katy
nodded. In a way she was so relieved that finally she was getting to the truth
and it wasn’t because he didn’t like her or find her attractive.

“Well,
that’s part of it.”

What
did he mean by part?

He
grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. “My body got burned too. Skin
grafts didn’t make me look any better. Truth is I haven’t had sex since I lost
my leg and I’m scared about it. That’s why I haven’t wanted things to progress
past a kiss. I’m not sure if I’m ready for sex or if I ever will be.”