To Protect and Serve (15 page)

             
That night Nancy slept on the couch and neither she nor Jonathon ever brought up the subject of liposuction again.

             
He also never took her out again.

CHAPTER 13

              “Hello!  Earth to Mom!”  Kate was smiling at Nancy.

             
Nancy came back to the present and looked at her hair in the mirror over the bathroom sink.

             
“Oh, honey!  It’s beautiful!”  Kate had always had a way with hair and make-up.  Nancy hoped she would use those talents in whatever profession she chose.

             
Nancy had no preconceived ideas about her children.  All she wanted was for them to be happy and successful in whatever they decided to do.

             
Nancy glanced at the clock on the nightstand in her bedroom and gasped.  “Oh!  I’ve only got ten minutes!”

             
Just then, the doorbell rang.

             
“Make that zero seconds, Mom.  Looks like your date is as anxious as you!  I’ll get the door.”  Kate went down the hall while Nancy put on her jewelry.

             
“Dad!”  Kate’s voice carried down the hallway.

             
Jonathon!?!  What was HE doing here?  And why NOW?  Had she conjured him up by just thinking about him?

             
Nancy came out into the living room just as Jonathon and Kate were finishing a hug.

             
“Hi.”

             
Jonathon turned around and paused when he saw Nancy.  “You look good.  Are you going somewhere?”

             
Nancy felt sucker punched.  Jonathon sounded like he really meant she looked good -- for once.

             
“Mom has a date!”  Kate was smiling at Jonathon.  “Doesn’t she look wonderful?”

             
Nancy frowned at Kate.  What game was she playing?

             
Just then, the doorbell rang for a second time.

             
“I’ll get it!”  Nancy swung towards the door and beat Kate to it.

             
“Hi!”  She smiled at Doug and opened the screen door so he could step into the house.

             
“You look great!”  Doug was smiling into Nancy’s eyes and Nancy was starting to feel that tingle again.  Then he noticed Jonathon.

             
“Hi.  I’m Jonathon.”  Jonathon stepped forward and held out his hand.

             
“Hi.  I’m Doug.”  Doug shook Jonathon’s hand and nodded.

             
The eye contact was palpable.

             
After an awkward pause where both men sized up the other, Nancy said “And we’re leaving.”

             
Since she was already holding her purse, she grabbed Doug’s arm and turned towards the door.

             
“Wait.  I needed to talk with you.”  Jonathon said.

             
“Now?”  Nancy incredulously turned back and looked at Jonathon.  He hadn’t been by her house since the divorce and NOW he needed to talk?

             
And then Doug did the most wonderful thing.  It wasn’t a large move, but he shifted his weight closer to Nancy and rested his hand on the small of her back.  Sort of like saying ‘She’s with me.’  Doug’s small motion made Nancy feel absolutely cherished and protected.  It was thrilling.

             
Jonathon frowned at Doug then looked at Nancy.  “Yeah.  I got something from the IRS and I think it’s for you.”  He handed an envelope to her.  She looked at it a moment and then set it on the table next to the front door.

             
“Thank you for bringing it by, but you could have just mailed it.”  Nancy once again took Doug’s arm and turned toward the door.  “Bye, Kate.  Don’t wait up for me.”

             
And with that the door closed behind her and Doug.  She walked rapidly over to the motorcycle, grabbed the helmet he’d brought for her, and put it on.  Doug followed suit and in no time they were on the road.

             
“Which movie theater are we going to?”  Doug’s voice carried back to Nancy.

             
Sugar!  I forgot to pick out a movie!
  Nancy was embarrassed.  “Oh, Doug.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t get a chance to check what was playing. How about if we go to the Century Theatres?  They always have a gazillion movies playing.”  She was able to make herself heard, even over the motorcycle engine.

             
“Sounds good!”  And Doug headed out for Katella and Main.  With his hand on her knee.  Where it seemed to fit perfectly.

             
However, before they got to the theater, he pulled into the parking lot of the Katella Grill, a small local restaurant that had excellent food.  When he stopped the bike, Nancy got off and looked at him with a question in her eyes.

             
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving!”  Doug smiled and removed his helmet as he dismounted the bike.  Nancy had her helmet off in seconds and ran her fingers through her hair, hoping against hope that Kate’s good work wasn’t in vain.

             
Their fingers brushed when Doug took Nancy’s helmet from her and Nancy found herself trying to catch her breath while he secured the helmets to the back of the bike.  He reached for Nancy’s hand and walked with her to the front door of the restaurant.  He opened the door with his other hand, but wouldn’t let go of Nancy’s, even though it was slightly awkward for her to move through the door and they both laughed.

             
The hostess seated them at a booth and instead of sliding in across from Nancy, Doug sat next to her still holding her hand.  Nancy felt wonderful and gave Doug’s hand a squeeze.  Doug squeezed back, then turned his face to hers.  They were only inches apart and their breaths mingled between them.  Wow!  He smelled good!

             
Doug felt his loins tighten and thought ‘Oh boy, I’m in trouble, if only holding her hand does this to me!’

             
They managed to get through dinner, and Doug sweet-talked the waitress into bringing them the movie section of that day’s paper.

             
“Okay.  It’s a toss-up between the newest Bruce Willis movie
Die
,
Already
and the new Keanu Reeves movie where he’s a cop again.”  Doug looked at Nancy expectantly.

             
“Wow.  That’s a tough choice.  I like them both.”

             
“Okay, we’ll see both!”  Doug slid out of the booth pulling Nancy behind him.

             
“Both!  I’ve never done that.  We won’t get done until really late!”  Nancy exclaimed.

             
Doug turned back to her and put his face a couple of inches from hers and said in a low husky voice, “You have a curfew, Miss?”

             
Nancy felt her stomach do flips.  Oh, man, his eyes were gorgeous!

             
“Nope, no curfew, Officer.”

             
Doug gave her a swift kiss, directly on the lips this time, and Nancy thought she’d never be able to catch her breath again.  It felt so right every time he touched her.  The kisses.  The hand holding.  His hand on her knee while they were on his bike.  It felt natural.

             
Nancy really like the fact that Doug was so affectionate.

             
They parked right in front of the theater and after buying sodas, and popcorn, and Jordan Almonds, and red licorice, and a box of ice cream bonbons, they settled into their 5th row seats and waited for the Keanu Reeves movie to start.

Nancy was surprised to discover that Doug really enjoyed the palate of an 8-year old.  It was actually quite endearing.

              When Doug held up one of the bonbons to put in Nancy’s mouth, Nancy shook her head “no.”

             
Doug frowned, “Why not?  I thought you liked ice cream.”

             
“I do!  In fact I like it TOO much.  I’m trying to lose some weight, so I’m cutting out the sugar.”

             
Doug popped the bon-bon into his own mouth, leaned down and gave Nancy a cold, ice-cream flavored kiss.

             
“I think you look perfect.  You look like a mom and a woman.  You’re not built like a little boy.  You’ve got curves.  So sue me, I like curves, especially when they’re on you.”

             
Nancy looked into Doug’s eyes, looking for the lie.  She’d thought for so many years now that she was fat, and here was this extremely attractive male telling her she looked perfect.  He dropped his eyes to her chest then looked back up and winked at her.

              Then he reached into the bon-bon box, pulled out another one and held it to Nancy’s lips.  This time she opened her mouth and he gently placed the sweet inside.  She closed her lips and chewed once, right before he leaned down and kissed her again.  This time his tongue went across her lips and he made a yummy noise.

             
She thought she was going to melt right through the seat when the lights dimmed and the pre-previews advertisements started.  They reluctantly turned towards the screen and hunkered down in their seats.

             
They sat elbow to elbow and every time Doug reached into the popcorn box that was on Nancy’s lap, the back of his arm brushed against her right breast.  He kept his eyes glued to the screen and didn’t seem to notice, but Nancy needed oxygen.  She felt like a hot flash was going to happen any minute. 

             
She handed the movie treats to Doug and excused herself for the ladies’ room.

             
“Hurry back!  You don’t want to miss the previews.  We’ll figure out what we’re gonna see next weekend.”  Doug smiled at her.  From his smile, she knew that he knew exactly what he’d been doing to her.

             
Nancy’s heart was racing a mile a minute and she just made it into the ladies room before the hot flash hit.  Luckily it wasn’t one of those that made her scalp wet, too.  She rinsed her face and fluffed her hair.

             
While Nancy was in the bathroom, Doug sat in the theatre chewing popcorn as well as chewing over what he was doing. 
Come on, man.  Slow down or you’ll scare her off.  Yeah.  Easy to say; hard to do.  And speaking of hard.

             
Doug adjusted himself by shifting in his seat and vowed to behave himself.

              Nancy arrived back just in time for the previews and they decided they’d see the new Al Pacino movie next week.  It looked entertaining.

             
Their first movie of the evening was fast-paced and full of “hero moments” for the good guy, who surprisingly wasn’t Keanu Reeves!  Instead, Keanu played the villain and did an excellent job.

             
However, when it got to the scene where he seduced the leading lady, both Doug and Nancy kept their eyes glued to the screen and didn’t even touch elbows. 

             
It would have been sensory overload.

             
That movie ended with the hero getting the girl.

             
In the next theater, the Bruce Willis flick had something exploding every 3 or 4 minutes and was noisy and riveting.

             
See?  Nancy thought during one close up of Mr. Willis.  Bruce just keeps getting better and better with age even though he’s lost so much hair that he’d shaved his head.  He’s sweating, he’s dirty and he’s hot.  Yes, he’s hot.  And Doug’s very hot.  And so was she ... again.  Damn, another flash.

             
She used one of the napkins and tried to wipe her face without Doug noticing.  Fat chance of that.  They’d been tuned into each other all evening like sonar in a submarine tuned into a torpedo coming straight at the sub.

             
He looked at her questioningly when he saw in the light from the screen that Nancy was perspiring and looked uncomfortable.

             
“Are you all right?”  He’d leaned close and whispered into her ear.  All that did was make her hotter.

             
“I’m fine. I’ll be right back.”  Nancy escaped into the ladies room for the second time that evening and waited for the redness under her skin to go away.  Her doctor had said that she should avoid spicy foods, coffee and alcohol if she wanted to lessen the symptoms of her hot flashes.  Too bad the doctor hadn’t also mentioned sitting too close to a very attractive male!