Take This Man (13 page)

Now
things had changed. He had taken Elyse to the ball field last night because of
the memories the place held. She told him she loved him there, and he’d
intended to say those same words to her last night. But he let her distract
him.

Adam
was determined. Tonight he was taking Elyse on a real date, and they’d have fun
like a normal couple, instead of behaving like a pair of sex maniacs.

When
he got home from work, he didn’t grab a beer and flop onto the sofa, as he
ordinarily might have done. Instead he headed to the bathroom, showered and
shaved and changed into a fresh set of clothes.

“Hey,
what’s up?” Elyse asked, her eyes widening at his spiffed-up appearance. She
was sitting on the sofa, working on her laptop.

“Turn
off the computer,” he told her. “We’re going out tonight.”

****

Just
like that. Not a request, an announcement. Mr. Bossy was in good form.

“Out?”
She looked down at her outfit—jeans and a sweater. “But I’m—”

“You’re
fine,” he told her. “It’s casual.”

Elyse
discovered where he was taking her when she saw the signs for St. Dominick’s
Church Festival. Parking was scarce, and they had to pull in far down the
street and hike the extra blocks to the feast. They walked hand in hand like a
couple of shy middle-schoolers out on their first date.

“Wow.
It’s been years since I’ve been to one of these,” Elyse murmured. “Not since I
was a kid.”

She
felt like a kid, too, wanting to play all the games, go on all the rides, and
taste all the treats.

She
kept a tight hold on Adam’s hand as she dragged him from booth to booth. They
shouldered their way through the crowd, tempted by the tantalizing smells of french
fries, pizza, and Blooming Onions. They stuffed themselves with fried dough
sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, sausage and pepper sandwiches, cotton candy.

After
Elyse lost five dollars on the roulette wheel, Adam pulled her away to get some
beer and listen to the band. People laughed with their friends, festival
barkers urged people to try their games, children cried because they were tired
or lost their balloons. As it grew dark, red and white lights twinkled and
blinked.

“What’s
the matter?” Elyse noticed Adam was a little wobbly after they got off the
tilt-a-whirl. It was her idea to go on twice, though Adam tried to beg off by
saying he wanted another beer. This was after they’d gone on the Ferris wheel
and the tea cups, all at Elyse’s insistence.

“What?”
he replied, swallowing hard. “No, nothing.”

“Are
you sure?” Even in the dark, Elyse saw his face was pale and sweaty.

He
held up a finger. “One sec.” His throat worked, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and
down as he swallowed hard several times.

A
moment later he said, “We better go.”

They
had almost made it to the truck when Adam upchucked the evening’s splurge in
the gutter.

Elyse
rubbed his back in sympathy as he wiped his mouth. “Better now?”

“Yeah,
a little.”

“Want
me to drive us home?”

Adam
gave her an
are you kidding?
look. He was back in manly man mode and not
about to let anyone behind the wheel of his truck, even if he was still green
around the gills. “Nope. Let’s go.”

Elyse
held back a sigh as he helped her into the truck.

****

She
placed a cup of tea in Adam’s hand and sat in the chair across from him,
peering at him in concern. He lay on the faded brocade sofa, his large frame
dwarfing the spindly-legged thing. His face was still pale, his forehead
creased in concentration as he focused all his effort on not throwing up again.

He
grimaced. “This is so frigging embarrassing.”

“Take
it easy, it’s no big deal.” Elyse knew he hated seeming weak,
not in control
.
But she liked doing little things for him, like making him tea. Taking care of
him.

He
took a swallow of the tea.

“Better?”
she asked.

Adam
nodded. “Thanks.” He took another sip. “Those sausage and peppers must have
been off.”

“Really?
I had some too, and I feel fine.” A little smile crept across her face. “Why
don’t you admit what really made you sick, tough guy?”

He
gave her a cagey look. “What’re you talking about?”

“Those
crazy carnival rides. You were looking pretty green after we got off the Ferris
wheel. But I think the tilt-a-whirl really sent you over the edge.”

“Shit.”
Turning red, he set the cup on the coffee table. “Busted.”

“Does
anything that spins set you off?”

“Yeah,”
he admitted in a gloomy tone. “I can barely stomach a frickin’ merry-go-round.”

“I
did notice how tightly you were holding my hand on the Ferris wheel.” She had
to laugh. “Stupid me, I thought you were trying to be romantic.”

“Sorry.
It was pure terror. Do your fingers still work?”

“Yeah.
They’re fine.” She waggled them to prove the point. “Why didn’t you say
something?”

“I
didn’t want to spoil your fun,” he grumbled. “How was I to know my little
computer geek liked all those gut-wrenching rides?” At her look he added, “All
right, fine, I didn’t want to look like a big wuss.”

“Come
on, you’re too sensitive.” She moved over to him and patted his knee. “Let me
assure you that I think no less of you as a man, in spite of you puking your
guts out. I still respect you,” she intoned with a straight face.

He
scowled at her. “Ha ha. You got jokes.” Suddenly he grabbed her and pulled her
down on top of him. “Come here, smart-ass.”

Her
heart thumped as she fell onto him and he captured her mouth. As she pressed
against him sparks zipped through her, from her lips to her breasts, her pussy,
the very soles of her feet. Same old, same old…all he had to do was touch her.

The
corner of his mouth lifted. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

“It’s
not so bad, is it?” Elyse asked, playing with the top button of his shirt.

He
took her hand, stilling it. “What?”

“Needing
somebody,” she answered, staring him dead in the eye. She knew how hard it was
for him. To need anyone. To trust anyone. Every bit as hard as it was for her.

She
pulled her hand from his and leaned back to unbutton the first button of his
shirt, then the second. Blood pumped through her veins as slow and sweet as
syrup.

He
caught her hand again. “What are you doing?”

“I
would think it’s obvious.” She rubbed against him, his hard cock jutting
against her belly. “Don’t you want to?”

“Let
me ask you something, Elyse.” There was no mistaking the annoyance in his hard
expression or his tone of voice. “Is that all we have? Sex?”

She
moved off him to a corner of the sofa, suddenly on edge. “You’re objecting to
sex now?”

“I’m
not objecting. I’m asking a question.”

“Yeah,
and I don’t see the point.” Was he asking if she had feelings for him? Since when
had he cared? She wasn’t going down that road again. No way.

“The
point
is I want to know if you think of me as anything besides a great
big dildo.”

“This
is crazy.” Elyse threw her arms up impatiently. “I want to screw, and suddenly
you’re all pissed off.”

“Who
said I was?” He demanded, clearly pissed off. “And why do you have to say it
like that?”

“Like
what
?”

“You
want to screw. You want to fuck. Why do you have to make it so dirty?”

Elyse
wondered what alternate universe she had fallen into—and how to escape. “What
do you want me to say? Let’s copulate? Fornicate? Have sexual intercourse? Make
looove?” She drew out the last word mockingly.

“Is
that so terrible?” he asked, watching her intently, his voice quiet. “To call
it making love?”

She
had no intention of answering that. She’d put her heart out there once and
gotten it stomped on. Never again.

Sex
was good between them. It was safe. Why was he trying to mess with it now?

Adam
began tearing at his buttons so fiercely a couple of them popped off. Elyse
stared at him. “What are you doing?”

He
tossed the shirt on the floor. “I thought you wanted to
screw
.”

He
kicked his shoes off and pulled off his socks, flinging them across the room.
He popped the button on his fly, edged down the zipper, and gave her a look. “You
change your mind?”

She
stared at him, her hands curling helplessly into fists.

He
shrugged. “Whatever.”

She
called to him as he headed barefoot for the bedroom. “Adam.”

He
didn’t stop. Elyse hopped to her feet and followed him. “Hey!”

Adam
turned so suddenly Elyse nearly collided with him. “What?”

“I
had a really nice time tonight.” Her voice was quiet. She didn’t want to argue
with him. Nor did she want to get into some serious discussion about what it
all
meant
. “Please, let’s not spoil it.”

He
stared at her as if waiting for her to say more, or wanting to say something
himself. But all he finally said was “I had fun, too.”
His mouth
quirked. “Well, aside from the hurling.”

He
gave her a half-smile, but there was a shadow of sadness on his face. She
wanted to do something to chase the sadness away, so she took his hand, and
they walked together to the bedroom.

When
they reached it, Elyse kissed Adam softly and sweetly on the jaw. “Do you want
to…just hold each other?” She almost wanted to roll her eyes. It sounded so
damn sophomoric. But he needed something more tonight than sex, and Elyse, in
spite of herself, wanted to give him that.

“I’d
like that,” he answered. Their hands parted, and they moved to stand on
opposite sides of the bed.

He
took off his pants and slid into bed in his briefs, and she, taking his hint,
did not get naked. Nudity was too suggestive of sex, and tonight was about a
different kind of intimacy. She took off her jeans, socks, and bra, and crawled
in on her side wearing her shirt and panties.

They
lay side by side, arms wrapped around each other, not speaking. It was a long
time before either of them slept.

****

Meet
me for coffee
.
3:30
. Jason sent her the text the next morning, after Adam left for
work. When Elyse arrived at the hotel, he did not take her to the charming
little coffee shop downstairs, or to one of the others in town. Instead he
escorted her to his black BMW, and they drove to a place some twenty miles
away.

“How’s
this?” he asked as he pulled into the lot and parked, clearly not expecting an
answer. Elyse was silent as she descended from the vehicle. Something was very
wrong.

Jason
was not himself. Today he was not the easy-going charmer, the wise-ass, the
clever character with a ready quip at the tip of his tongue. He was in his own
world.

The
ride over had been quiet, except for the classical music from the CD player.
Jason had responded to Elyse’s attempts at conversation with polite but clipped
responses. It wasn’t like Jason to be rude. Elyse knew something was troubling
him.

And
she knew what it was as soon as they walked inside. Cooper Caddiman was at a
corner booth with his back to the door, seated across from a slim young man.

Elyse
looked quickly at Jason, who evinced not the slightest surprise. He took her
arm, leading her to a table as far from Coop and his friend as the small shop
allowed. He had Elyse sit so she was facing the other men, while he had his
back toward them.

She
glanced at Coop, and then back at Jason, whose face was tight with anger. “You
knew he’d be here?” she asked.

“I
knew.” His tone was full of weary disgust.

“Maybe
it’s nothing.”

But
even she didn’t believe it. Elyse looked at the two men and it was obvious they
were flirting, if that was the right term. Coop more so than the other guy, a
slim redhead who seemed more reserved. He sat with his back pressed against the
bench while Coop leaned forward over the table. Yeah, he was pouring it on
thick. He reminded Elyse of the young guy at Hanover’s, who’d been trying to
impress his date with the Facebook stuff.

“If
it was nothing, he would have told me about it,” Jason answered. “He wouldn’t
sneak someplace out of town, after telling me he had to meet with his lawyers.”
He smirked. “Well, you’re now officially entitled to say
I told you so
.”

Elyse
shook her head. “I have no intention of saying that.” There was plenty she’d
like to say to Coop, though. Most of it profane.

“You
should. I deserve it. I’ve been an idiot.” Jason sighed. “I promised you
coffee. Do you want to order something?”