High Score (14 page)

“I don’t mind if you do that, but not tonight, okay? How about tomorrow? On Sunday, no one will bother us.”

“I would, but Dot made plans for us tomorrow. She’ll freak if I make other arrangements.”

Thor stifled his impatience. “That’s fine. But let’s make it some evening next week, okay?”

“You’ve got a date! I should have known you wouldn’t be around on a Saturday night.”

“You got that right.”

“Well, I’ll have a word with Dot. Maybe I can get free Sunday afternoon for a while.”

“That would work better for me.”

“So, you’re going out tonight,” Joe mused. “The Boys told me she’s a real looker. You getting serious about her?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Come on, Cuz. This is me. The Boys said you got it bad. Is that true?”

Thor took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yeah, Joe, I got it bad. Now are you happy?”

* * * * *

Rita peered over her shoulder as she backed her blue Honda Civic out of Shelley’s driveway. “The movie is showing around two. You want to grab lunch first?”

“You haven’t eaten?” After the rich blueberry waffle she’d indulged in, Shelley wasn’t sure she’d be hungry again for days. Probably a good thing, since the waffle had undoubtedly gone straight to her hips.

Rita straightened out her car, shifted into drive, and headed down the street. “It’s lunchtime! And we always eat out. It’s our favorite pastime.”

“All right.” Shelley sighed. “That will give me a chance to talk to you about something, and it won’t be easy.”

“Really? What?”

“You’re going to kill me.”

“Uh-oh.” Rita said. “Sounds serious. That calls for pasta. Lots of it. I’m heading for Tino’s.”

“Suit yourself.”

As Rita drove, she flicked a sidewise glance in Shelley’s direction. “Well? Start talking.”

“Wait ‘til we get there,” Shelley stalled. “Then I’m going to ask your advice about something.”

“Okay.”

At Tino’s, a young waiter seated them and took their orders before departing.

“You’re only having wine?” Rita asked.

“Yep.” Shelley heaved a sigh.
How to begin?

“If I’m going to kill you,” Rita said, “it might be for keeping me in suspense.”

Shelley glanced around to make sure she wouldn’t be overheard. “I’m feeling so confused right now.”

“Pre-wedding jitters?”

“It’s more than that.” Shelley let the silence drag out as she searched for words.

The waiter appeared with two wineglasses, which he set before them. After he left, Shelley took a gulp of wine, which led to a coughing fit.

“I don’t want to pressure you, but if you don’t get to the point,” Rita threatened, “I’m going to stab you with this breadstick!”

“Okay, okay.” Shelley’s voice squeaked. She cleared her throat. “What would you say if I told you I was thinking about breaking my engagement to Dickie?”

Rita stared at her. “You can’t! The wedding is next weekend!”

“I know.”

“You already bought me a matron of honor dress and it’s gorgeous and if I don’t get to wear it I’ll jump off a bridge onto the freeway during rush hour.”

Shelley felt as though her insides were on fire. Drinking wine when she was stressed out wasn’t smart. “Everyone will be pissed at me, not just you, I realize that. But getting married is important. It’s my life we’re talking about here. I don’t want to screw it up.”

“All because Skeeter hired a hooker for the party? Shelley, she doesn’t mean anything to Dickie.”

“So? Do you know anything about her? Have you seen her?”

“No, but she’s expensive. I assume that means she’s top-of-the-line.”

“Shit!” For a moment, Shelley wasn’t positive the wine she drank would stay down. “She’ll know all the right moves, I bet. Dickie will spend the rest of his life comparing her to any woman he marries.”

“No, he won’t, Shelley. Come on! He loves you.”

“Yeah, right.”

“He does! One thing I’ve learned being married for a while, men are different. They can screw anything in a skirt and not give their hearts away. They can have intercourse without engaging their emotions at all.”

“That says a lot for them, doesn’t it?”

“Face reality, kiddo.”

“I didn’t think Dickie was like that,” Shelley said. “I guess I was wrong. Not only did he agree to Skeeter’s ridiculous plan, the bum lied to me about it.”

“What do you expect? I can’t imagine any man admitting something like that to his girlfriend.”

Shelley gave her friend a severe look. “I’m going to overlook, for the moment, the fact you’re sticking up for him. After all, you’re under the influence of the man who invented double standards.”

Rita stuck her lower lip out defensively. “Dickie didn’t have to go along with it if he didn’t want to!”

“I’m not arguing that. I’m just saying Skeeter could use a lesson in friendship. If he was trying his best to break us up, he couldn’t do a better job.”

“Dickie’s the one who confided in Skeeter about feeling inadequate and asked for his advice.”

“He said that? He said he felt
inadequate
?”

“Well, I don’t know. Words to that effect. He was definitely nervous, and Skeeter offered to help. He promised to host the best bachelor party this town has ever seen.”

Shelley snorted. “Yeah, Skeeter deserves the Host-of-the-Year Award. I suppose he’s giving up his own bed for Dickie and the hooker?”

“No, the guys reserved a room at the Hilton for them.” Rita’s meal arrived, and she attacked her pasta primavera with a vengeance.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Shelley asked, breaking the silence. “Has Skeeter always been faithful to you? Even before your wedding?”

“When we first started dating, we weren’t exclusive.”

Shelley sighed impatiently. “But he’s been faithful to you since you married him?”

“Yes,” Rita said. “Except for that one time when he was going through a bad time at work.”

“A bad time at work? What are you saying? That life was hard, so he found himself a mistress on the side?”

Rita looked down at her plate, but not before revealing the hurt in her eyes. “It didn’t last that long. He confessed and promised never to do it again.”

“And you forgave him?”

“Of course, I did. Loving someone means being ready to forgive and forget. Letting bygones be bygones. Nobody ever said marriage was a rose garden.”

Shelley tried to make sense of Rita’s attitude. “So you’ve never regretted marrying him? Never considered leaving?”

“No. He treats me well and brings in good money. We quarrel once in a while like everybody else. Whenever I feel down, I think about Rachel’s husband who beats the crap out of her. What if we had that to contend with? No, I don’t regret marrying Skeeter. And I can’t believe you’re so upset. How can you even think of calling off your wedding at the last minute?”

“Well, I’ll tell you why.” Shelley took a deep breath. “I’m not sure I love Dickie. Maybe I never did.”

“Oh, Shelley! Of course you love him. You two are perfect together.”

“He’s a nice guy, but—”

“He’s got a good job. He earns a decent salary. He’d make a great father—”

“How do you know?”

“Well, he seems like the type that would.” Rita leaned forward. “The point is, he’s the only guy you ever thought you loved. We’ve both been disappointed in the poor pickings around here. Now you’re talking about throwing away the best choice of the lot. Think long and hard before you do something you regret.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing? I’m going crazy.” Shelley hesitated, wondering how much she wanted to tell her friend about her private life. But who else could she talk to?

“You want to die an old maid?” Rita asked.

Shelley had to confide in someone, and who better than the friend she’d known since high school? “Okay, there’s more. I figured if Dickie didn’t want to wait until his wedding night, neither did I. So I tried to seduce him.”

“You seduced Dickie?” Rita’s eyes widened, then she grinned.

“Emphasis on
tried
to seduce him. He’ll sleep with a hooker, but not with me.”

“Ooh, now I see why you’re upset.”

“I was so angry! I wanted revenge, so I went over to High Score and hit on Thor Ryersson.”

“You what?” Rita shrieked. “You tried to seduce Thor?”

“Shhh!” Shelley gestured for Rita to lower the volume. “Don’t tell the whole world!”

Rita’s mouth was gaping. “Do tell me the emphasis is on
tried
.”

“I
tried
, and I succeeded. After reading the books you bought me and watching the video, I wanted to try out some things.”

“Oh my God! I don’t believe this!” Rita shook her head as though to get a clearer picture. “And he…um…accommodated you?”

“More than happy to. He taught me things I’d never dreamed of.”

“Christ on a motorcycle!” Rita’s voice was a hoarse whisper, but probably more from shock than discretion. Her lips moved, forming what appeared to be the word “Unbelievable”.

“Believe it.” Shelley smiled grimly and took a sip of her wine. “So you see, what Dickie is doing today, I already did. And you know what? I don’t much give a shit what he does tonight.”

“Well.” Rita directed her unfocused gaze for several moments on the candle sputtering in the center of the table. “You’ve managed to amaze me. Completely.”

“I shouldn’t be telling you all this. You’ll want to tell Skeeter, and no doubt he’ll tell Dickie.”

Rita frowned. “Your friendship means more to me than that. I can keep a secret.”

Relief washed through Shelley. “Good. I apologize for doubting you.”

“As well you should!” Scowling, Rita viciously stirred her fork through her spaghetti, spilling sauce on the pristine tablecloth.

“I’m sorry.” Shelley reached across the small table and patted Rita’s hand. “I’m acting like a real poop today. It’s just that I’m not myself right now.”

“Tell me about it!”

“You want to hear the rest?”

“There’s more?” Rita lifted her head, her expression attentive.

“I like Thor. I like him a lot.”

“Ah, Jesus, Shelley! Don’t tell me that!” Rita grimaced.

“I can’t help it! He’s so different from anyone I’ve ever met. He’s not afraid of me, he’s not afraid of sex. But when I asked Dickie to go to bed with me, he broke the record on the hundred-yard dash.”

“That is strange.” Rita admitted. “But still—”

“I don’t really know Thor that well. Not yet. But he’s exciting! He’s strong and virile. I feel safe around him, because he’s not afraid of anything. Compared to him, Dickie is an immature boy, scared of his own shadow. I don’t want a husband who’s afraid to have sex with me!”

“Well…Dickie just wanted to gain experience so he can be a better husband to you.”

“Bullshit!” Shelley waved to the waiter, gesturing that she wanted another glass of wine. “If that’s true, then he’s got a ways to go. I mean, maybe it’s too soon for him to consider marriage. He needs to do some growing up first.”

“Maybe so, but if you two get married now, you can learn together. He won’t need a hooker again after tonight.”

“So you say.”

“Shelley, listen to me. You have to stay away from Thor Ryersson. You can’t see him anymore. You know that, don’t you?”

If it wasn’t so rude, Shelley would have clapped her hands over her ears in order to shut out the words she didn’t want to hear. Her friend might have a point, but she just didn’t understand, might never understand, the strength of Thor’s attraction.

“It’s only one week, okay?” Rita said. “Keep yourself busy and it will fly by.” She shook her finger. “I’m telling you this for your own good, and I can’t state it strongly enough. Stay home!”

Shelley stared morosely into her empty wineglass. Hard as it was to admit, Rita was right. If Shelley did something drastic without thinking it through, she could ruin everything she’d been building toward. Dickie was a sure thing, while Thor was wishful thinking.

“Say you will. Shelley, let me hear you say it.”

“All right! I will!”

* * * * *

Shelley agreed to a double feature at the movies, grateful for the temporary distraction. Being alone all day with her chaotic thoughts wouldn’t have been much fun at all.

It was after six o’clock by the time Rita dropped her off at home. Shelley entered the quiet house with a sense of dread. No distractions were likely to pop up here tonight, nothing to keep the thorny questions from nipping at her like a school of piranhas.

On the way to the kitchen, she glanced at the clock. 6:20. Thor had practically ordered her to meet him at the store at 7:30. Well, he would know she wasn’t coming when she didn’t show up. She had some hard thinking to do, and seeing Thor would make that impossible.

If only she could turn off her emotions. Rita had said men could turn their feelings off quite easily. Was it more difficult for women because they believed in romance and happy endings and forever after? Most men might enjoy a liaison, but scratch the
romance
. Endings, they could handle, too, but hold the
happy
.