A Witch and Her Man (Jeff and Gail) (3 page)

Jeff sprang into a sitting position, as if he had been drenched in scalding water. His face turned beet red in embarrassment… again.

Gail cast a sideways glance at his discomfort and forced down the giggle that came to her throat. "I don't think you've been in that position for a long time either. Almost as long as it has been since I had a man's face down there."

Now why did I say that? That was way out of line, even for me. I bet he thinks I'm just easy.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. We hardly know each other."

She seemed to be doing quite a bit of apologizing lately, especially since meeting this maddening man.

Jeff changed the subject by giving her directions to his place. The rest of the ride was spent in silence as his face returned to its normal color. When they reached his apartment, she joined him inside.

"Have a seat. I'll be just a few minutes," he said and pointed in the direction of the couch.

When he disappeared into the other room she looked around. A smile touched her lips. Rather than take a seat, she strolled around the room.
This is definitely a bachelor pad.
She examined the big screen television and large stereo in a black entertainment center with a glass front. Sizable speakers sat in the four corners of the room.

Walking over to a white couch, she took a seat and smoothed her hand over the cool, faux leather surface. Two facing chairs made of the same material were separated by a black coffee table with a glass top. The chairs and couch appeared to have had little use. A collection of men's magazines were neatly arranged on the table. There were no pictures on the wall and no houseplants.

Jeff continued to make noise in the bedroom as he packed.

There's definitely no female living here and that's a positive sign. That he's not turned off because of my beliefs is encouraging. I hardly know him but I sure wouldn't mind getting to know him better. Now, if I can just find out whether he feels the same way.

Jeff finally returned to the living room carrying a suitcase. Setting the case on the floor beside the coffee table, he made first one call and then a second. The silence from him told her that he got answering machines instead of actual people. From the expression on his face he was not happy. Moments later he confirmed her suspicions. "I just tried calling Shorty again. He didn't answer either of his numbers." Although Jeff did not say more, Gail could tell he was concerned.

Lifting the suitcase, Jeff led her out of his apartment and back to her car. He placed the suitcase onto the rear seat and climbed into the front beside her. Silence filled the car as they drove back to Gail's house. She was sure he was thinking about Shorty. About ten blocks from her house, Jeff prepared to duck out of sight again.

"Not a word," he cautioned in a stern voice.

Gail made a zipper motion across her lips and attempted to look serious but spoiled it with a quick grin. As a precaution, Jeff removed his sport coat and laid it over her lap.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to take that off," she started then fell silent when she caught a glimpse of the deadly looking pistol he wore in his shoulder-mounted holster.

They drove the rest of the way in silence. When she had parked in the garage and lowered the door, he sat up and cautioned her to remain there while he went in and searched the house. A few minutes later, he returned to the garage and told her it was safe to enter. Jeff took his sport coat from Gail and grabbed his suitcase from the back seat. Laying his coat over the back of the couch, he took his suitcase to the extra bedroom and laid it on the bed. Without bothering to open or unpack, he joined Gail in the kitchen.

"Do you mind?" he asked, patting the gun. "If you do, I can always put my coat back on and cover it up."

"I'm not much on guns but considering the situation, I feel much safer." Changing the subject, Gail opened the fridge and pulled out a pitcher. "How about some lemonade and lunch?"

****

Gail took their empty plates, rinsed them off and placed them in the sink. Pouring them both another glass of lemonade, she told him it was time for her daily workout.

"Where do you go?" he asked cautiously. "I can't really watch you at a gym."

Gail laughed and led him down the hallway to the second extra bedroom. When she switched the light on, he remembered the third bedroom was filled with exercise equipment. "Can you watch me here?" she asked.

"I can definitely keep an eye on you here."

"I'll be right back unless you need to watch me while I change." Gail arched one eyebrow and the twinkle in her eyes indicated mischief.

"No, I'll wait here. Just don't go outside," he added, clearing his throat and grumbling under his breath about infuriating females.

Gail disappeared down the hall and he passed the time looking at her exercise equipment. A treadmill, climbing machine, rowing machine and a home gym filled the room along with a large exercise mat. A CD player sat on a table in one corner near the mat.

Gail returned a few minutes later wearing a hot pink sports-bra, a black spandex leotard accented with hot pink stars and moons and hot pink tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled back and tied in a ponytail.

"This will be a first. I've never exercised in front of an audience before. Marla and I used to exercise together but she was exercising too and... It was just different," she said and became silent for a moment. She stepped to the CD player and made a selection from the storage rack beside it. Moments later, slow paced music filled the room.

"I usually go to the gym myself, but since I'm on duty, that's out. Maybe I'll join you tomorrow if you don't mind." He watched her lithe body go through her routine on the different machines.

"That would be nice," she said, not even breathing hard. "Right now I feel like you're watching my every move."

I AM watching your every move. Pretty good workout, although I think you could do more since you aren't even exerting yourself, judging from your breathing.

An hour later she finished her routine on the machines and was not even sweating. He noticed the air coming from the room vent was almost cold. Gail went to the CD player and put another CD in. She took up station on the exercise mat and waited for the music to start. It started out slow and she danced gracefully to it, stretching her muscles more.

The music changed to a fast beat. One after another fast songs played. "Very impressive," he shouted to be heard over the music.

"Not done yet," she answered loudly and smiled.

He could feel his jaw drop in amazement when the music changed again to an even faster beat. Gail spun, twirled, kicked, leaped and twisted in near frantic motion to the song "She's a Maniac" from the movie
Flashdance
. The scene from the movie did not hold a candle to the way Gail danced. Her arms and legs were a blur of motion.

After twenty minutes, the music ended and she stopped. Several strands of her hair had come loose from her ponytail and were plastered to her face. She was covered in sweat and panting. "Now I'm definitely impressed. I'm in good shape and I work out a lot, but in comparison, you're the queen of the workout," he quipped.

After taking a big swig from her bottle of water, she told him, "I'm going to take a shower."

Jeff followed her, but stopped in the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch while she disappeared into her bedroom. He turned on the television but paid little attention to what was on. It was more for background noise to block out the faint sound of the shower, though his thoughts would not be deterred. He could picture her agile, naked body standing beneath the stream of hot water, washing off from her amazing workout. He pictured rivulets of soap cascading down over her creamy soft breasts…
Keep your mind focused on keeping her alive, Jeff, and not on her attractiveness,
he reminded himself.

A short time later, Gail came into the living room wearing a silk black robe that flowed to her ankles. It reminded Jeff of the ones worn as part of a Halloween costume.

"That was a very strenuous workout. You say you do that every day?"

"Every day, although maybe today I worked out just a little bit harder to impress my audience. Not much harder, but maybe a little." She smiled brightly and winked.

"Wow. No wonder you're in such good shape. Why the black robe?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Normally I do Circle, a Wiccan religious ceremony, once a week. I usually do it in the backyard when it's warm outside. When it's cold, like now, I do it in here." She indicated the living room. "Marla used to come over and we'd do them together, but..." she hung her head and paused momentarily as she remembered Marla, tears forming in her eyes. "You aren't Wiccan though and I wouldn't feel comfortable performing one in front of you."

"How long does the ceremony last?"

"About an hour."

"Why don't I go exercise for awhile and take a shower. That should give you the privacy to perform your ceremony. I won't disturb you and you can let me know when you're done."

"Sounds perfect." She smiled and added, "Fresh towels and wash cloths are in the hall closet."

****

Gail cooked a supper of baked fish, steamed vegetables and salad. "I'm afraid this is not really a male cuisine," she apologized.

He laughed, "This is fine. You don't have to make anything special for me."

With supper finished, Gail collected their dishes and put them in the dishwasher. He followed her into the living room and at her indication, seated himself on the couch. Gail turned on the television.

"Tell me a little more about Wicca if you don't feel I'm being too nosy."

Gail turned the television volume down. "What would you like to know?"

"Since I don't know much more about it other than a name, I don't know what to ask. Just tell me what ever you feel comfortable discussing."

"I'll start then by telling you our basic beliefs then. More lemonade?" She asked.

"Not right now, thanks. Go ahead."

Clearing her throat, Gail proceeded to explain. He paid close attention to her words while at the same time studying her.

"And that gives you a little idea of what I'm about," Gail said a few hours later. "Now I think maybe we should turn in. Are you certain you want to sleep on the couch? The bed would be more comfortable."

"Thanks for the offer but I'll be fine," he said.

She slid gracefully from the couch and disappeared down the hall. When she returned, she had a blanket and pillow in her hands. She handed them to him. Gail yawned and stretched. "Goodnight, Jeff. See you in the morning." Padding softly across the floor, Gail went into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Jeff fluffed the pillow and pulled the blanket over him. He lay in the dark thinking of what she had told him. He was just dozing off when a rattle of the front door lock brought him to alert.

In a flash, he was wide-awake and rolled to the floor, drawing his gun from its holster on the coffee table. The door opened and two men stood silhouetted in the doorway.

"Stop right there," he ordered, not knowing who the newcomers were and not wanting to accidentally hurt one of Gail's friends. He could not think of a friend who would come over in the middle of the night unannounced and let themselves in, but the remote possibility did exist.
 
His indecision was answered seconds later when the man in front drew his weapon and fired.

Jeff heard two bullets hit the couch with a
thunk
where he had been asleep moments before. An instant before he fired back, the man dropped to a crouch and the round missed. The man's partner was not as lucky. The round meant for the lead man struck his chest.