Authors: Cheryl Richards
“Lloyd, do you think I’m worth a real diamond?”
He took my hands in his and kissed them. “Yes, Sunny, you are
definitely worth a real diamond.”
I leaned across the table and kissed him. “I’m still hungry.”
“More food is probably a good idea. Why don’t you order
dessert?”
“Okay. What should we get?”
“How about some flan?”
I made a sour face. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“Trust me. You’ll like it. Has a nice caramel sauce.”
“I trust you, Lloyd.” I smiled in a foggy, drunken haze. “Not
like Sam the scam.”
He placed the order for dessert and pushed the coffee in front
of me. “Drink.”
“Yuck, black.” I said, turning the corner of my mouth down.
“Drink it.”
I did as instructed, making faces.
The waiter arrived and placed the plates before us. I pulled the
plate toward me. “Look, Lloyd, it wiggles,” I giggled.
He rolled his eyes. “You’re banned from margaritas for life.”
I pouted.
“So,” she said accusingly.
Lloyd and I looked up from our desserts, surprised by the angry
voice. We turned simultaneously to find an attractive woman standing by our
table with her hands on her shapely hips.
She wore the look of a scorned woman. Her coal black eyes blazed
in contempt and her silicone-enlarged breasts heaved with each syllable in her
tight red dress.
“So, I’m guessing this,” she said pointing in my face, “is your
headache.”
My eyes passed from Lloyd to her.
“Lauren,” he said with annoyance. “You’re drunk and making a
scene. Go back to your table.”
“Judging from the looks of her, you like ‘um drunk.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who are you calling drunk?”
“You, you skank. Lloyd forget to tell you about me?”
“I’m getting tired of this, Lauren. It’s been over for months.
Quit calling me. Quit following me.” Lloyd said through gritted teeth, his
growing anger threatening to rip the seams of his tolerance.
She threw her shoulder length, coarse, black hair over her bare
shoulders and began shouting in rapid Spanish.
“C’mon, Sunny,” he said standing. “Let’s go.”
Before I had a chance to get up, Lauren grabbed Lloyd’s flan and
threw it at me. It hit me in the face. Caramel and flan chunks dripped down
into my hair and fell in clumps onto my lap.
Lloyd’s mouth dropped open and I lunged from my seat, knocking
Lauren to the floor. I pulled her hair. “You bitch,” I screamed.
Lauren managed to crawl away when Lloyd pulled me off of her.
“I won’t forget this, Lloyd!” she yelled from the bar. She
grabbed her coat and left.
Lloyd tried wiping my face off with a wet napkin. “I’m sorry
Sunny.” He kissed the top of my head. “Didn’t realize you were such a little
hellcat,” he said with measured amusement.
The waiter hurried over and Lloyd paid the bill and gave the man
an overly generous tip.
“Darn it, Lloyd,” I said regretfully. “I didn’t get to try that
flan.”
“You can bring back the one you’re not wearing.”
“Good.”
He ushered me to the restroom so I could clean up before putting
on my coat. When I stepped inside and viewed myself in the mirror, I almost cried.
I did the best I could, hoping none would get on my coat. At least all of the
flan and caramel washed out of my hair.
I came out and he handed me the boxed flan. We walked to his car
in silence. He opened the door to let me in and I swayed. I put the box on the
seat and turned to face him.
“I don’t feel so good,” I said.
Before he had time to say “oh, oh,” I vomited on the sidewalk.
He rubbed my back as I puked a second time. I stayed bent over,
dry heaving.
“Are you okay now?”
I nodded and wiped my mouth with some stray tissues I pulled from
my pocket.
He walked around the mess the best he could and placed me in the
car.
“Some night,” he said to himself. He buckled me in and headed
for home.
I fell asleep on the ride back and woke when he stopped the car. We
were in his driveway. He came around and let me out.
“What are we doing here?” I asked confused. “I have to work
tomorrow.”
“I’m not dropping you off like this. It’s still early. I want
you to take a shower and have some coffee.”
I started to object.
“Listen, Sunny, I feel guilty as hell, so just humor me. Okay?”
“Okay,” I said.
Rufus ran to the door when Lloyd stepped in. He bent down,
picked him up, and carried him over to his food dish and put him back down. He
pulled a bag out of a nearby cabinet and refilled his dish.
I followed him to the bathroom where he handed me a fresh towel
and washcloth. He turned on the shower and I sighed as he closed the door.
I put the lid down on the toilet and sat
down, holding my head between my knees. What a night. Slowly I unhinged the
clasp on my bracelet and put it on the counter. The cubic zirconia flashed in
the incandescent light. True Sam never claimed he gave me a diamond, still the
proposal suggested that it was. It hurt un poco. No, it hurt a lot. I’d been
duped, yet again.
I searched his medicine cabinet and found
some aspirin and Tums, along with hundreds of samples of prescription medicine.
I downed three aspirin and two Tums, undressed leaving my clothes in a heap on
the floor, and hopped into the shower.
The heat felt good on my cold skin. I washed
my hair twice and used Lloyd’s bar soap to scrub the crusted caramel glaze off
my face and the rest of my body. It smelled nice and spicy, much better than
the cucumber gel.
When I stepped out, Lloyd had his plush robe
on the toilet seat for me. I toweled myself off, climbed back into my underwear,
and slipped into his robe. I’m sure I looked like a five year old in it. I hung
up my towel and combed my wet hair. My mouth tasted foul, so I searched in his
cabinet until I found a bottle of mouthwash. Using the cap for a cup, I gargled
until my mouth burned. By the time I walked barefoot into the living room, my
drunken fog had lifted. He had coffee brewing.
Rufus met me and brushed against the robe. I
pet him, and then followed my nose. Lloyd grinned when he saw me, and then
notice my bare feet.
“I have a mug of coffee here for you. I’ll
get you some socks before your feet freeze.” He rushed past me and returned
moments later with a pair of clean white crew socks.
My feet were cold, so I put them on. He
handed me the mug of coffee complete with cream and sugar.
“Better?”
“Yeah. I took some medicine from your cabinet. You could start
your own pharmacy.”
“Perks of the trade.”
“Look at me,” I said holding out my arms.
“First you see me in my ratty nightgown with no makeup and now like this after I
practically puked on you.” I cupped the mug in my hands and sipped the hot brew
before placing it on the table.
“I like you like this,” he said, hugging me.
“You’re crazy,” I said earnestly.
“Maybe.” He took his coffee from the counter
along with the pot. “Want to sit by the fire?”
“Yeah, that would be nice.” I followed him into the living room with
my mug of coffee and sat on the couch. He sat next to me, cuddling me close, my
head resting on his shoulder. Soft music floating from the stereo filled the
room and Rufus spread out in front of the fireplace on the floor like the cow
that jumped over the moon.
The heat from the fire warmed me from head to toe and I relaxed.
“Want a massage? You may have strained something rolling around
on the floor with Lauren.”
“Sure.” I pushed the coffee table forward slightly and sat on
the floor in front of him. He began massaging my neck and I closed my eyes. His
hands were strong and warm. “That feels wonderful.” His hand moved to my
shoulders. “So tell me about Lauren.”
His hands stopped for a second and then continued moving over my
skin. “Lauren Sanchez. What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” I said.
“Let’s see. Met her at a physician’s office
on a sales call. Seemed nice, so I asked her out. We dated off and on for a
couple of months. Then she started showing up at my house, my parents’ house,
God, everywhere, uninvited. I didn’t appreciate it, so I broke it off—over two
months ago. I might have to get a restraining order after what she did
tonight.”
“Love ‘em and leave ‘em Lloyd,” I stated.
“Cute.” His hands circled my neck and he gave me a shake. “No.
No promises made to this one. She isn’t playing with a full deck.”
“I know,” I laughed. “She gave me the flan flip off.”
He laughed and bent over to kiss my neck.
“You know, you’re the nicest man I’ve ever met. Look at how
you’re taking care of me.”
“God don’t say that. It’s the kiss of death. No guy wants to be
the nice guy, unless he’s gay. Nice guys finish last.”
I turned to look at him. “You didn’t do too badly. You scored
with me.”
“Drunken sex doesn’t count.”
“It doesn’t?”
“No.”
“What about slightly tipsy?”
“Ah…uh-uh. Have to be completely sober.”
“Fantastic! I’m a 28-year-old virgin!”
He shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint but I just remembered
our little Saturday morning romp.”
“No way. Sex under five minutes doesn’t count.”
He gave it some consideration. One eyebrow rose. “Did you come?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Then it counts,” he said smugly.
“Fair enough. So Lloyd, that means you’re the only man I’ve
slept with. Guess you better marry me then,” I joked.
“Okay there, Lauren. I’ll get right on it.”
“I’ll get you for that!” I struggled to get up and he leaped
over the couch laughing. “No fair. I’m tripping over this ginormous robe and
these socks.” I managed to climb into a kneeling position on the couch facing
him. “Get over here so I can beat you to a pulp.”
As he walked slowly back to the couch. I reached down, grabbed a
pillow, and smacked him in the head.
“Stop that you little hellcat,” he said trying to take the
pillow from me. “Or I’ll throw my flan on you.”
“Okay, I give.” I put the pillow down. “Now what?”
He reached over and slipped the robe off my shoulders. His eyes
filled with desire. “Drunken sex doesn’t count,” he whispered and kissed me.
“But I’m sober now,” I replied.
“Even better,” he said as he gently fell over the top of the
couch onto me. He crushed me with his weight and his kiss leaving me
breathless.
I closed my eyes in anticipation.
Chapter
38
Thursday,
February 23
rd
Someone
shook my shoulders and I bounced on the bed. I rolled over but the shaking
continued.
“Sleeping
beauty, wake up.”
I
slapped at the hands and covered my head with the pillow, moving lower under
the blanket.
“Wake
her, Rufus.”
A
furry face pushed under the pillow and purred loudly. My efforts to get away
from the noise were futile, so I lifted my head. Rufus stared back at me
purring with stinky tuna breath. “Hi big guy,” I said sitting up. He rubbed on
me and jumped off the bed. “What time is it?” I yawned.
“Time
for you to call in sick.”
I
glanced at his alarm clock rubbing the crusty sleep from my eyes. Seven o’clock.
Seven o’clock! I fell back on the pillow. Lloyd stared down at me, looking
irresistibly hunky, in his jeans, shirtless, showing off his hard abs and
strong shoulders. Maybe I was still dreaming. I closed my eyes and opened them
again. Still there.
I rolled over on my side so he couldn’t see me drool. “What
about you? Aren’t you late for work?”
“My
hours are flexible and I take off when I need to. You need a day of rest after
last night, and I want to spend it with you.” He handed me my cell phone. “Call.”
I
dialed Ageless Grace and waited for Phyllis’s voice mail. “Um Phyllis, this is
Sunny. I’m not feeling well; think I have the flu so I won’t be coming in
today.” I closed my phone and looked at Lloyd.