Gage, Ronna - The Search is Over (Siren Publishing Classic) (6 page)

Her tongue teased the bottleneck as she licked the side where the foam dribbled onto her fingers. Rafe watched her. Embarrassed, she avoided eye contact by looking around the table only to find Jack also watching her. Her embarrassment grew another level. She took a drink of the foamy top and her eyes connected with Rafe. The flutters in her stomach grew more erratic. She gave him a quick smile and focused her attention back on the conversation.

“Dr. Pepper will be in there tomorrow,”
Chandler
said as he took a drink of his beer. “I have to go to the store and get some first.”

“I want a Sprite,” Candi said, interrupting the conversation. Beer wasn’t her favorite drink. It always tasted bitter, and she hated that. “I need something to chase this down.” Candi stood up and patted her pockets for change. Realizing the silk running shorts had no pockets, she sat back down on the chair. “Never mind, I didn’t bring any money,” she said, pouting.

Rafe shook his head. “I can see you pouting from here.” He stood up and pulled out a wad of crumpled dollar bills from his jeans. Straightening them out, he grasped the one on top.

“Good Lord, Rafe! Were you at the titty bar again tonight?”
Roy
blurted out suddenly, his eyes glued to the pile of money.

Rafe gave him a smirk. “I have to do my part to put them girls through college.”

“Ah! Giving tithes to the silicone temple, huh?” Candi couldn’t believe she said that. She didn’t know Rafe from the man on the moon or his habits, but for some reason she didn’t like the idea of him being at a strip club.

Rafe stopped, turned, and looked back at her. His roguish smile churned the fluttering insides to gel. Leaving the table, he made no comment of retort, but shook his head and walked to the garage. He fed the dollar bill into the machine, pushed a button, and then, bending, retrieved the can of Sprite. He set the can of unopened soda in front of her and still said nothing, but his smile remained.

“Looks like she’s got your number, Rafe,”
Chandler
teased, and then took a drink of his beer.

Looking up into Rafe’s eyes, Candi felt the strong stirrings of lust grow deeper.
I hope he has a good sense of humor
. “Thanks.” She spoke softly, and then hesitated before opening the can of soda.

His retort will likely come in the form of a spewing soda can
. But to her relief Sprite foamed to the top, but it didn’t erupt into sticky bubbles. He gave her a wink and sat down again at the end of the table to Candi’s disappointment.

The sliding glass door at
Chandler
’s house opened, gaining everyone’s attention.
Chandler
’s wife, Debbie, and his mother, Donita, came outside. Donita dug into her purse as they approached the group. Finding her keys, she stopped at
Chandler
’s side of the table. “That was a good movie.”

“What movie did you see?” Minerva asked.

“
Dirty Dancing
.”

Donita’s black hair was pulled back into a thick well-cared-for ponytail which shone with very little gray. She didn’t look her sixty-plus years due in part to her small thin, well-maintained frame. “I love that movie.” Her eyes sparkled with girlish mischief. “I would love to do some moves of my own to that young Patrick Swayze.”

Everyone at the table laughed. Debbie sat by
Chandler
. “Glad you had a good time. Now, you be careful going home, all right?”

Debbie’s blonde hair set off her brown eyes, yet they reflected impatience this evening. She looked to be in a snit of a mood, obviously ready to be rid of her mother-in-law.

Donita bent to hug
Chandler
but stopped at the comment at the table.

“Candi, are you going to drink that beer or sip on it like a freaking cup of tea?” Rafe asked.

She looked up at him and saw that he teased her. So she played along. “I don’t like your attitude,” she remarked back, silencing him again.

Donita looked at the two drinks sitting in front of Candi. “What the heck are you drinking? You have a beer in one hand and a Sprite in the other.”

Candi looked at the two drinks and thought for a logical answer. “Mixed drink,” she replied after a second, barely getting it out due to the bout of laughter that overcame her. It was the only thing that seemed to make sense at the time.

“Why not drink one or the other?”

“I don’t like the taste of beer, unless it is really cold. I didn’t want to ruin a Coke by chasing it with the beer.” Candi shrugged at the sensible excuse. Then she took a swallow of the beer, chased it down with a swallow of the Sprite just to prove her point.

“It sounds disgusting to me.”

“You have to try it before you knock it,” Rafe defended quickly.

Candi felt tingly inside. Her heart soared at the gallant act of defending her against the busybody, goody-good Donita Grimes.

Candi extended the two cans toward Rafe. “You want a drink?” she offered with a hopeful smile.

“No.” Rafe laughed. “I like beer! It makes me a jolly good fellow.” he sang and rubbed his stomach.

“So going to worship every night at the silicone temple doesn’t make you jolly?” Candi asked sarcastically.

The chaser didn’t cut the buzzing effect of the beer, and Candi, barely weighing over one hundred and twenty pounds, buzzed easily. The laughter of the crowd at Rafe’s expense exhilarated and enabled her quick wit. She loved the power of besting him, and she did engage him.
Success.

Donita looked around the table. “I think I better go. The shit is getting too deep around here.” She patted
Chandler
on the back. “I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow, Mom.”
Chandler
kissed his mother on the cheek.

“Bye, Donita!” the group around the table said in unison as they all watched her walk to her car.

 
Donita started the engine and then backed her Cadillac out of the driveway. Heading the car down the rocky, bumpy drive through the park she was gone in a minute.

* * * *

Chandler
leaned forward and kissed Debbie’s cheek. “Did you have fun, sweetheart?”

Debbie looked at him and softened her facial expression. “Yeah, but I could use some tea.”

Chandler
smiled and hugged her. “Hey, go and get my bottle of Crown will you?”
Chandler
placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

“I suppose.” Debbie stood up from her seat. She stopped and gave Rafe and Candi a resentful once-over before she turned to go inside.. Her stomach churned bile while she fumed with jealousy as Rafe and Candi ogled one another with intense desire.

I think I’m gonna be sick!

Debbie stomped into the house, letting the sliding door slam against the metal threshold. She took the bottle of bourbon from the bar and removed the lid.
Chandler
will never know the difference if I took one little sip.
Taking a huge gulp, she let the burning liquid mellow in her mouth before she swallowed. She opened the refrigerator and took a quick drink of lemonade, and gulped it down. She then grabbed a can of diet soda and set the cold can to her forehead. Satisfied that the trembling feeling was past, she turned toward the window and watched Rafe outside at the table. “What does he see in her? She’s just a little airheaded knitwit. She has as much class as…” She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and sighed. She smoothed a shaking hand over her face. “It is such a shame to have that hot, virile man outside looking so damn good when I look so shitty.” Debbie bit her tongue. “You better change your attitude right now, or the whole park will know your business. Get a grip on your emotions before you go back out there,” she told her image.
God, I hope my body doesn’t look as bad as I feel. Rafe is too fine a piece of ass to get by me, baby or not.
She pinched color back into her cheeks, smoothed a hand over her hair, and licked her lips. Gathering
Chandler
’s bottle of bourbon, ice cups, and ice, she went outside to join the rest of the group.

Chapter Six

The effects of the two beers she drank crept up on Candi. Sipping the second beer, it became warm. She took a deep breath and downed it until it was finished. Her body trembled with the taste of bile. She watched
Chandler
take a shot of bourbon from the bottle and then passed it to her.

“Chase that beer with this,” he suggested.

The opened bottle passed under her nose. The smell of the bourbon watered her mouth. “I don’t have any more beer, sorry.” Candi tried to hide her disappointment. She preferred whiskey to beer, and right now she was in the mood to get wasted.

“I can fix that,”
Roy
said, and handed her a tall can of another lite beer.

“Would it be a good idea to mix beer and bourbon?” Minerva’s concern was evident. “She’ll get a horrible headache.”

Candi took the beer from
Roy
. “The silver bullet! I was raised on this stuff.” She pulled on the tab and easily opened the beer. She grabbed the bottle of bourbon, tilted it back, and took a big shot. She swallowed, and the burning liquid scorched its way down her throat. She chased it down with a big swallow of cold beer. “Ahhhh, that’s good!”

The table erupted in another round of laughter.

“Oh my gosh! She did it! I didn’t believe you would do it,” Jack blurted out, giving her a high five.

“I’m not a weak little girl!” she protested.

“Candi, be careful. Don’t get so fucked up you won’t be able to go to school tomorrow,” Minerva reminded her as she worried her bottom lip.

“It’s Friday, Minerva. She doesn’t have school tomorrow,”
Roy
reminded her impatiently.

“God, you’re such an ass tonight,” Minerva commented. She took the bourbon from
Chandler
and defiantly slammed down a shot. The sharp intake of her breath alerted the table.

Swiftly,
Roy
slapped her between the shoulder blades. “Goddamn it, Minerva, you’re going to vapor lock yourself to death,”
Roy
hissed.

Minerva said nothing, but she quietly sipped her beer, brooding over
Roy
’s patronizing ways.

Chapter Seven

Rafe sat back and watched Candi drink the shot of Crown but said nothing. He wondered if she was a boozing alcoholic but decided she was more of a light weight than a boozer.
Which is good, because
I don’t need the drama that comes with alcoholics.
What do I care anyway? She’s just a possible fuck, a passing fancy to get off with some night.

Who was he kidding?

Rafe was enamored with her.
She’s funny, witty, and cute
. She impressed him with her quick wit
.
He liked a woman who could think on her feet, and several times that wit put him in his place.
The silicone temple comment was creative. I’ll give her that.

Knowing that she was single changed his views of her. He thought about asking her out.
She would be a cheap date if two beers and a shot were all it took to get her buzzed.

He almost fell off the bench earlier tonight when
Chandler
requested Minerva ask her to the table. The perfect opportunity presented itself to see her up close. When she walked up from the darkness, Rafe felt the stiffness in his jeans. Her wet hair wet hung loose around her shoulders.
I love her hair wet
. She’s prettier up close, not that she wasn’t through the window.

“Rafe, what bar did you go to tonight?”
Roy
’s question abruptly took his attention from Candi.

“What?”
Roy
is trying to put a cold patch on the warm ambience at the table
.
Good move!
“I went to Desert Illusions. You know, the one on
Main
.”

“Oh, well.” Candi waved her arm. “Come on back to reality. It’s so much better.” Her speech slightly slurred.

The table erupted in another peal of laughter. Rafe laughed as well. In a war of words Candi could probably come very close to becoming the victor.

But close is not good enough.

“That’s good, Candi,” Rafe praised. Candi gave a simple shrug of her shoulders. He leaned back hugging his knee. “I have a question for you.”

“All right. What’s your question?” She took a swallow of the beer and cocked her head in challenge.

“Has anyone ever made you wiggle, giggle, shit, fart, faint, and pass out?”

Candi spewed beer on a squeal of laughter spraying the liquid over the table.

Jack quickly jumped up and grabbed his own beer. “Towel!” he yelled. “We need a towel here,” he said wiping his chest.