Illusion of Luck 28

It was 6:45 AM when Rebecca’s cell phone rang. She and Sandy were on their way back to Dallas in his car. “Hello?”

“Hey, Rebecca, this is Cynthia.”

“Hi. I’ll put you on speaker so Sandy can hear too. How did it go at the police station?”

“Fine, I guess. The watch bomb was a fake.”

“Yeah, but still, I know you were glad to get that thing off your wrist.”

“Right. So, they took my statement. They didn’t look like they were going to do much about it, but I guess at least now the police will be on the lookout for him.”

“Yeah. And if he gets pulled over for speeding or whatever, they’ll see that there’s a warrant for his arrest.”

“Well, we’re just glad to be done with it. Right now we’re driving to Shreveport to catch a flight to Orlando. We’ll get there around 2:00. I doubt we’ll go into any of the parks today since we’re both dead tired, but it’s only Monday, and we’ll be there until Saturday. So we’ll still have plenty of time left.”

“I just hope you’re not overdoing it—after all you’ve been through.”

“Well, I guess the smart thing would for me to go home and collapse for a week. But I just don’t feel like doing the smart thing.”

“Yeah, I don’t blame you. But at least once you get there you can spend the rest of the day in bed.”

“Definitely.”

“Oh, yeah, for that too.”

“Yeah.”

Rebecca could hear the tired smile in Cynthia’s voice. They make a great couple, she thought. She had already spent enough time with Greg to see how much he loved her. And after witnessing the joyful reunion that morning, she knew Cynthia loved him just as much. They were so lucky.

“Well, y’all have a wonderful honeymoon,” said Sandy.

“We will. And thanks again for everything y’all did to help rescue me.”

“You’re welcome. Bye-bye.”

As soon as they hung up, Sandy said, “They’ve never had sex.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. They wanted to wait until they got married.”

“Oh, man. So, they wait all that time, and then just when they’re about to go crazy in bed, Larry shows up and steals her away.”

“That’s right.”

“What if Greg had never got her back? I’ll bet then he would have wished they had already done it—at least once.”

“Well, I don’t think so. Once Greg makes a commitment, he sticks with it.”

“What about you? What would you have done?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t have waited. But, if for some reason I had waited and then lost my bride on my wedding night, I’d be kicking my own butt from here to next Tuesday. To me, Greg has funny ideas about some things. But I respect him for it. He does what he thinks is right.”

“So, you think they were foolish for waiting?”

“No, I’m not saying they were foolish.”

“You’re just saying that you wouldn’t have waited.”

“Right.”

“Like you couldn’t wait to rub up against my butt and touch my boobs.”

Sandy grinned sheepishly. “What?”

“You thought I didn’t notice what you were doing when we were in bed together at the LaQuinta?”

“On the bed together—not in bed together. There’s a big difference.”

“Whatever.”

“And it was only one boob.”

“So, you admit to taking advantage of me while I was sleeping?”

“Well, apparently you weren’t sleeping. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have known what I did.”

“Really? Well, just what would you have done if I hadn’t woke up?”

“Well, I…”

“Where else would you have touched me?”

Sandy tried to think of a witty response.

Rebecca didn’t wait for one. “If I had been a sound sleeper, you might have taken off my clothes.”

Sandy smiled at the thought of feeling her naked body.

She punched him hard in the arm.

“Hey. Why’d you do that?”

“Because I’m serious, but you think it’s a big joke. Have a good laugh on Rebecca, huh?”

Sandy’s smile was gone. “I’m sorry.”

“You ought to be.” Rebecca looked straight ahead. “Next time…wake me up first so I can enjoy the whole thing.”

Sandy turned his head so fast, he nearly gave himself a whiplash. “Next time?”

“Yeah—assuming you want to date me.”

“Uh…yeah, I want to…date you.”

“Hey—what did you almost say? You want to what me?”

“I’d love to go out with.”

“No, no. You’re not getting off that easy. What is it you want to do to me?”

Sandy spit it out all at once. “I want to do everything to you and with you. Okay? I really like you a lot. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Rebecca tried to hide her smile. “No…not unless you mean it.”

“Well, of course I mean it.”

“Great. Then how about picking me up Friday night at 7:00?”

“Fine.”

“Well, alright then. I’m glad that’s settled.”

“Me too, ‘cause I’m sick of talking about it.”

“Not as sick as I am.”

They looked at each other with stern faces for one second, and then started laughing.

**********

Even though Crow and Chaucey had been up until 1:00 AM talking, he woke up at 7:00. The couch had not been nearly as comfortable as his bed. But he’d been happy to give it up for his sweet Chaucey.

She had left the bedroom door open, so he peeked in to check on her, and saw that she was still sleeping. He tiptoed in to get a closer look.

She is such a beautiful woman, he thought, as he stood next to the bed. He wanted to protect her, as though he was the father and she was the young daughter.

He leaned over and studied her lovely face and her long, dark, silky hair. As he explored every smooth curve of her face, each eyelash, and her full lips, he was overwhelmed with the desire to kiss her. But he knew it would be improper, so he restrained himself.

He quietly turned and walked out of the room.

She heard him leave, but still didn’t open her eyes. She was in the middle of some serious soul searching.

Chaucey had always been critical of beautiful women who would only date men of equal or greater attractiveness. In high school, all the best-looking guys asked her out. But she soon learned to turn them down. She didn’t appreciate them showing her off like a new car.

Not that average-looking boys didn’t sometimes do the same thing. For the most part, though, those guys were afraid to even talk to her. The way they saw it, she was not just out of their league, she was a completely different species.

So, she started being the initiator. The first time she tried was the most memorable. She walked up to a classmate who was getting books out of his locker. “Hey, Johnny.”

When he turned around and saw who was talking to him, he dropped three of his books. One of them landed on his big toe, causing him to hop for a couple of seconds. “Oh…hi.”

“I’m Chaucey Reed and I sit across from you in Algebra class.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Well, I was just wondering if you’d like to take me to the movies on Friday night.”

Judging by his reaction, she was pretty sure he had just squirted a little pee in his briefs.

“Uh…”

“Great. Pick me up at 6:00.” As she walked away, she spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Can’t wait ‘til Friday night, Johnny.”

The date had been okay, but nothing special. Nevertheless, by Monday Johnny was bragging like crazy, even though there was nothing to brag about.

At one point, she decided to try some brainiacs. Again, the results were not at all satisfying.

She knew the other girls looked at her with envy. ‘She can have any boy she wants,’ they probably said. And that might have been true. The problem was she couldn’t find a boy she wanted.

Maybe if she had been less attractive the boys wouldn’t have freaked out and acted so weird. Then she might have actually liked them. It was a cruel irony that her teenage dating life had been ruin by her beauty.

Now she realized her recent actions had been even more ridiculous than that of those high school boys—all because she thought a certain man’s brain was beautiful. Her risky behavior had nearly gotten her raped or killed. And for what? Sure, the guy was smart, and his writing was eloquent. But his heart was as black as tar.

She had known for a long time that Crow was in love with her. Yet she had not allowed herself to consider whether she had feelings for him. Why? Was it because his IQ was lower than hers? Or because he was a grocer? Or maybe it was the fact that he lived across the hall. That was just too convenient.

Perhaps it was time for her to quit limiting her feelings. She had never pictured herself settling down with somebody like Crow. But he was the best friend she’d ever had. And he was very much in love with her. Why did she keep fighting it? She should just let the feelings flow, for a change, and see what happens. Maybe she didn’t love him anyway.

But maybe she did.