The Barter System (15 page)

Chapter
Seven

The smell of chicken frying
and warm cobbler assailed Riya’s senses when she stepped up on the porch.  The
sound of women laughing in the kitchen had her missing Tawny and Aunt Maggie
desperately for a moment.  Riya took her time cleaning her boots on the mat,
much longer than the task required, before taking a deep breath and stepping
inside.

Victor waited for her,
smiling as if he knew how nervous she was.  He took her hand and led her
through the great room to the kitchen.  All the activity was going on in here.

Her first impression was
happiness.  An older woman, whom she assumed was Victor’s Aunt Cyndi, stood
laughing in the bright yellow space with two younger women.  He stepped up and
pecked Cyndi on the cheek and she swatted him with the kitchen towel. 

Riya knew the taller of the
younger women had to be Victor’s sister, Amelia.  He confirmed it when he
lovingly scooped her up and swung her around yelling, “Sissy, there is nothing
to you.” 

When he set her laughing on
her feet, he turned to the other woman, who’d gotten very quiet when they
entered.  “Shay, how are you?  Haven’t…seen you in a while.”  She nodded and he
smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes and he turned immediately to Riya,
“Everyone, this is Riya.  She’s only here for a few days until she has to go
back to school.  Make her feel welcome.”

Riya felt warmth as Cyndi
and Amelia hugged her and said, “Welcome, honey, we’re sure glad to have you
with us a while, love what you had him do to the house” and “Don’t know what
you’ve done to my brother but he looks plum happy or something, you can stay as
long as you like, darlin’” simultaneously. 

Cyndi was padded but not
fat, silver haired with a creamy complexion.  Amelia had height, not like
Victor’s, but easily five-nine and slender.  Same coloring, same basic laugh. 
Extremely attractive and outgoing.

Riya held her hand out to
Shay who took it carefully but not in an unfriendly way.  The woman was about
her height, long reddish blonde hair, and blue eyes.  A good-looking woman with
healthy curves and flawless skin.

“Please to meet you, Riya.” 
They all turned back to their previous business, shooing the two of them out of
the kitchen while they cooked. 

Amelia and Cyndi set to
giggling and whispering the moment they hit the first steps to the second
floor.  Riya felt heat crawl up her face and Victor stopped her on the landing
to lean her back against the wall and pummel her with rough kisses.  It almost seemed
like he’d fuck her right here, right now. 

She could have stayed right
there, doing nothing else, if a quiet cough below hadn’t dragged them back to
reality.  Riya brought her head down and Victor lifted his mouth from her
throat to peer at Shay standing at the base of the stairs looking like she’d
rather be anywhere but there.

She cleared her throat like
she really needed to this time and said, “Cyndi needs you to haul the cooler in
from the trunk of her car, Vic, when…that is, when you get a sec.  It has
homemade ice cream in it to go with the cobbler.  Sorry, really, I didn’t mean
to interrupt.”  She backed away hurriedly and that was when Riya realized the
young woman was totally in love with Victor. 

The object of her revelation
laid his head on her shoulder with a sigh and she patted his wayward hair
gently.  They were at eye level since she was two steps above him.  “I think
you’d better get that before it melts.  I’ll go change and freshen up.” 

He lifted his head and
planted a loud smack on her lips before turning and tromping down the stairs. 

Riya took advantage of the
time alone to upload notes to Tawny’s server, emailing, “We are going to have
so much to talk about when I get back.”  That would chap her cheeks for sure. 
Her best friend
hated
being left hanging like that.  She chuckled and
pulled items from her duffle to change into.  Simple was better. 

Once she felt clean and
presentable again, she headed back downstairs to join the group.  One thing was
certain, she’d have memories to last her a lifetime once her dissertation was
complete. 

Victor looked up from the
table where he sat with a glass of lemonade and took her in with obvious
appreciation.  She was wearing a tank top and cut off shorts.  Simple
flip-flops on her feet and her hair pulled back in a loose braid. 

His eyes traveled up her
body and when their eyes met, he winked.  She smiled and asked Cyndi if there
was anything she could do to help.  The older woman was dicing ingredients for
potato salad. 

“Oh no, child.  I wouldn’t
hear of having you work on your vacation!  Now you go sit down and relax.” 
Unused to being sedentary, Riya began cleaning the dishes in the sink while she
listened to the other women talk. 

It was immediately obvious
that Shay was usually energetic and vocal, a fact Riya appreciated.  She wanted
to learn more about this woman and get a better read on her. 

“I’m cutting LouAnn’s hair,
involved in our conversation because you know how she can go on.  In walks Miss
Prissy Pants, and says ‘ya’ll need to get me in right away, I have important
business’ and actually comes back to my chair as if I’m going to boot LouAnn
out and sit her right on down.” 

The other women seemed to
know who was being discussed and mm-hmm’d in agreement.  “I told her we already
had a full day booked and I was real sorry we couldn’t accommodate her, but
she’d either have to wait or go somewhere else.  She was fit to be tied…nobody
tells her no.” 

“You do hair, Shay?”  Riya
asked her with interest.  And an ulterior motive.

Shay looked stumped, not
sure how to respond as if she’d been asked an algebra problem or something. 
Riya waited patiently while she gathered her thoughts, “Yes.  Yes, I do, Riya. 
I have my own little place in town.”

Riya smiled and did a little
internal victory dance.  “That’s great.  Listen, do you think you could cut
Victor’s hair for him?  I can get him up there whatever time is good for you. 
He needs a style, don’t you think?”  Now the poor woman was truly frozen. 

Riya waved her over and she
came slowly, wiping her hands on a towel.  “Feel his hair; I tell you, it is
gorgeous but quite an unruly mess.”  She pulled Shay’s hand closer to Victor,
who also had no idea how to handle this strange conversation.

Shay lifted a thick swatch
of Victor’s hair, then another, until she actually ran her fingers through it
with a stunned look of pleasure on her face.  “I…I can do it.  Yes, Victor has
great hair.”  She backed away, bumping her hip against the center island. 

The other women in the
kitchen were eyeing Shay knowingly; Cyndi gave Riya a look that said she was
reading the situation for exactly what it was.  “Give me a call anytime, Riya. 
I’ll fit him in.” 

The innuendo in that remark
made Riya smile and Shay’s skin flame.  Shay turned away, the blush still
obvious from the back.  Cyndi’s calculating look at Riya turned into a sly
smile.  Riya was almost positive she heard breath hiss through Victor’s teeth. 
His expression was suspiciously blank.

If Riya’s plans came to
fruition, Shay certainly would be fitting him in.  She heard a diabolical laugh
in her head and figured it must be remnants of Tawny, who was the usual
troublemaker while Riya was always the peacekeeper.

About an hour later, other
vehicles started pulling in the driveway.  The first was an old Chevy Nova
carrying who she thought must be Victor’s cousin, Jason, and his very pregnant
girlfriend.  They were very young and very sweet. 

Victor’s uncles showed up
together and were instantly in trouble with Cyndi when they tried to snag fried
chicken.  More cousins, aunts, and friends including the men who worked with
Victor on his boat. 

She tried to stay out of the
way, mostly.  After all, she’d be gone in a few days and right now she didn’t
know what relationship, if any, she’d maintain with her subjects long-term. 
Victor sought her out and insisted she sit beside him once the food was carried
to the big picnic tables out back. 

After half the food was gone
and the men cracked open beers, Riya saw another side of the people in Victor’s
life.  The men thought him soft, teasing him unmercifully. 

“What you need to do, boy,”
his uncle began, “is marry up a young thing and set to make her pregnant.  You
ain’t out and about enough to keep the Johnson loose.”

“Nope, you sure ain’t. 
Peter gonna dry up and fall off at the rate you dippin’ your wick,” another
relative chimed in with authority and an amused gleam in his eyes. 

The barbs went round and
round, Victor being good-natured about it, until Riya had had enough.  “Victor,
you are so modest.  I guess none of them know what you’re really made of, do
they?” 

She turned to the huddle of
men, making sure she was out of earshot of the women and said with quiet
seriousness, “I can assure you, gentlemen, he is in
fine
working
condition.  This isn’t my first rodeo, and I came all the way up to Georgia to
relive my memories from Key West.” 

She got a deliberately sad
look on her face, “I can’t move here, he can’t move to Florida.  I only have
him for a few days and sure hope someone else doesn’t snatch him up before I
get another crack at him.”  After a loud sigh, she stood and gathered up empty
beer bottles, putting an extra swing in her step as she walked to the house. 

At the steps, she said over
her shoulder, “Like nothing else I’ve ever experienced.  Oh.  My.  Lord.”  Riya
stood still for a moment, closed her eyes as if remembering, then opened them,
and gave a little delicious shiver.

She waited just inside the
door, listening to the stunned silence outside.  After about thirty seconds,
Jason said, “Damn, Victor…what the hell you put on her?  She is hotter than
fireworks and looks like she’d jump you right now.”  He shook his head, “And
all these years, lettin’ us make asses of ourselves while you probably laughed
at what we didn’t know.”  He looked toward the house again.  “She is a fine
piece of ass, tanned and sleek.”  

“Watch it, Jason.  Do not
disrespect Riya.”  The men asked all kinds of questions and Victor sat with
quiet dignity, answering them as honestly as the situation allowed without
impugning her honor.  He really was a class act. 

She never heard Shay come up
behind her.  “That was a real nice thing you did, Riya.  They been making him
miserable for years.”

“You and I need to talk,
Shay.  Why don’t we go out front where it’s quiet?”  Once on the porch, she
asked bluntly, “Tell me why you’re not with Victor?  What are you waiting for?”

The floodgates opened.  Riya
heard about the first girl that broke Victor’s heart and how he rarely dated
and never seriously.  That Shay had been in love with him for years and just
didn’t know what to do about it.  He thought of her like a little sister. 
Jason had told her he recognized Riya from her website but the other woman swore
she’d never breathe a word. 

“I’ll put him in your way. 
What you do about that is up to you, Shay.  I’ll be gone in a few days and
Victor’s life could go back to being too isolated if he doesn’t realize how
much he’s worth.”  She paused and chose her next words carefully, “If Jason
recognized me, then you know why I’m here.  This is about my dissertation and I
am having sex with Victor, Shay.  If things were different, I’d have no trouble
falling in love with him.  It’s time for you to be strong and take what you
want or both of you will suffer.” 

They talked conspiratorially
for a while longer, and Riya was shocked when Shay asked bluntly, “Is he good,
Riya?  In bed, I mean.  I know he’s good everywhere else in his life.  I’ve
been real curious about that though.”

Trying to decide how much to
tell the other woman, she finally said, “He’s like a low fire…he builds slow
and burns a long time.  Victor is amazing in bed, I wouldn’t lie about that. 
He’s strong, attractive, and attentive.  He’s big all over and knows exactly
how to use it.  I don’t want to go into details but let me say he is one of
those men who make sure you’re good and satisfied before he gets his.  I would
say Victor is the most generous lover I’ve had or heard of.”