Kiki didn’t know if she was relieved or worried about how easy it was to lie to Ted about the weekend.  How could she do it? Starting the day in bed with one man, and ending the day with another? She made it happen, too, by leaving work early, making dinner, dressing nice and setting the stage just so. Ted, for the first time in a long time, seemed happy with her.  How could she ruin that? Besides, the night before didn’t have anything to do with Ted. It was mere indulgence. A wonderful, sensual, fun, ego-boosting indulgence, but the stars would never align themselves that way again, so no point in complicating things, right?

As the week wore on and the day-to-day pressures reasserted themselves, Sunday’s events began to seem more and more like a dream.

So she was surprised to get a call on her way to work.

“Hello, Miss Parrish? I’m Joe Schick from the Acme Professional Search Company, and our client has an excellent opportunity for talented architects. Do you know anyone?”

“Steve!” She giggled. “You’re silly. I’m driving to work.”

“Great, alone then. How you doing, Kiki-cat?”

“I’m fine, Mr. Schick. Where did you get that name? From your bathroom?”

“You got it, just got up.”  He laughed in response to her, but hesitated before speaking again. “I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed, I kept opening and closing my eyes hoping you’d appear next to me.”

Kiki couldn’t help but blush and smile. “I think it was all just dream.”

“Felt real to me.” Kiki gripped the steering wheel tightly; what was she to do with that?

“You know if this is going to work, you have to stop saying things like that.”

“If what’s going to work?” She could hear the smile in his voice.

“This. This . . . friendship.”

“Hmm . . . so what are you doing today, friend?”

“You really want to know?”

“I really want to know.”

“Okay. First, I have a meeting with the Duncans about you-know-what, then a team meeting after to coordinate everything they’re going to ask for. I need to call Clayton to get an update. And Mia, too.” She stopped short of saying it was to arrange for her to meet Ted. He had been surprisingly supportive about that latest wrinkle. She wasn’t sure if it wasn’t because he hadn’t told his parents yet.

“Sounds like a full day. What you need . . . ” His voice was low and seductive, and he paused to let the full affect be felt. “ . . . is a strong . . . hot . . .  steaming cup of coffee to fortify you.”

“Oh you are not going to make this easy are you?”

“Nope.” There it was again, the giggle. What was she going to do with him?

“I have a meeting I cannot be late for.”

“I do too. C’mon Kiki-cat, just a sip.”

She looked at her GPS screen and mentally calculated the possibilities. Be early to prepare? Or have a cup of coffee with a friend? A few minutes wouldn’t hurt, right? Something took over; she found herself changing course, parking badly on his street, dashing into the coffee shop, trying not to scream ‘hurry hurry’ to the barista, and then running, carefully with the two cups, up to Steve’s.

He was waiting for her, still dressed in his pajama bottoms.  She wasn’t sure who pounced first, him or her, but they’d barely put the coffee cups on the counter before they were at each other. She threw her jacket over a chair and pulled at the waistband of his pajamas. He shoved her skirt up over her hips and yanked down the rest. How they managed the necessities she didn’t know, but it was mere seconds before they were thrashing together, her legs wrapped around his hips, with their lips devouring each other.  It really didn’t take long, but it was exciting and felt so good, she couldn’t help but scream for him.  What did take time was the after-play; kissing, touching and giggling at the strength of their pull to each other.

“I was supposed to say no,” she sighed.

“You’re supposed to say yes,” he replied. His hand cupped her breast and kneaded it softly. He sighed happily then snaked his fingers down lower.

“I’ll be late.”

“One more time, Kiki-cat, for me.” 

His voice in her ear got her tingling again immediately. His touch and whispered urgings did the rest. She melted into him and kissed his shoulder tenderly. “Oh, that’s some way to start the morning.”

“Told you. Shit, um, babe? Time?”

She looked up at the kitchen clock. “Jesus, gotta go!” She rushed to the spare bathroom, he went to the one in his bedroom. She was thankful for the protection; it made the cleanup quicker. They emerged from their bathrooms simultaneously, grabbed their coffees and kissed behind the door before heading off together.  As she readied to pull the car back on the road, she took a deep breath and grinned.

Peter, however, was not smiling when she walked in to her office.  “Kiki, I thought we were getting in early before the meeting? Now there’s barely time to prepare.”

“I stopped for coffee then took a few minutes to drive around the site.” That wasn’t a lie; she had done that.  Pete gave her a questioning look but she met his gaze. “What? I tell you what, though, the more I think about it, the more I think we’re right about the Enright building.  It’s gorgeous and full of possibilities.”

“Don’t you dare say that to Teddy.”

“I dunno. I might.” Kiki giggled.

“Kiki! What’s gotten into you?”

Kiki smiled, still feeling a rush from what had gotten into her.  “Don’t worry, Peter, the meeting will be fine.”

It went better than fine. They’d done their homework and had prepared exhibits showing how the entire complex would use a fraction of the energy than the office building across the street.  She’d simplified the unit plans, too, which would make construction easier and less expensive.

Teddy’s gruff demeanor dissolved by the end of Kiki’s presentation. “Very good, Katherine, this is just what we needed. Now how soon can we get the marketing materials for the units? We’d like to start offering them as soon as the approvals are secured.”

“We’ll have those mocked up for your review next week, Teddy.”

“Excellent.”

Kiki looked at Peter and winked. He put his hands up and mouthed “Don’t!” but she paid no heed. “Listen, Teddy, even though you’re not interested in pursuing the Enright site, I also know you like to be prepared for any possibility.”

“Go on.”

“I’ve done a few plans for the Enright building. A few ‘what ifs’. They’re for your eyes only, I haven’t shown them to anybody outside of this room.”  She laid them on the conference table in front of the Duncans.

“Kiki, we told you not to do that.”  Ted rose form his chair to stand behind his father for a better look.

“I know Ted, but you can be sure someone else in this town is doing this exercise.”

“Why, have you heard something?”

“Katherine’s right, Ted.  There are whispers that the Monahan Group has expressed interest.”

“Whoa, I didn’t hear that.”

“Well, if you had gone to the club with me instead of gallivanting off to San Francisco, you might have learned a thing or two.”  Kiki looked at Ted.  So he had other reasons for escaping last weekend.  “I’d be interested to know where you heard it, though, Katherine.”

“I didn’t. It just makes sense. A beautiful old building like that can’t lay fallow for long.”

“I’ll take these back to my office to review, but this is very interesting. Again, well done.” He stood and waved at Ted to gather up the drawings. “Peter, if I could have a minute with these two?”  Peter bustled out of the room, looking happy not to be involved in the family dynamics.

“Katherine, Ted has told me about your recent discovery. Is it legitimate?”

Kiki bristled at his choice of words. “I’m sure of it. She had photographs and documentation, and I don’t know,” she said with a shrug, “it just fits with how my family was, growing up.  And the house, I knew all along my Dad had done it. She’s as legitimate as I am.”

“Still, it might be a good idea to verify it, medically.”

“A blood test?” Kiki was aghast at the suggestion. “I’m not doing that.”

“How do you know she won’t go public with this? Think of the ramifications.”

“The ramifications are between Mia and me. Who else would care?”

“We’re using the Parrish name prominently in relation to this project, Katherine. Whatever sullies his name, sullies the project by association.”

“But that’s not right!”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s right or not.  Will you take care of this?”

“We’ll take care of it, Dad.”  Kiki glared at Ted, but waited until Teddy had left before asking him about it.

“What does your Dad mean, ‘take care of it’?”

“Make sure she doesn’t sell her story to a magazine or something.”

“Are you kidding? She’s as overwhelmed as I am about this.” 

“Yeah, okay.”

Again, Kiki was surprised at his acceptance. She wondered if he was preoccupied with Teddy’s earlier comments. “Ted, your friends are going to be the movers and shakers in a few years, if they’re not already; don’t let him guilt you.”

Ted smiled and squeezed her hand. “Thanks, baby. You’re the greatest. We’ll work things out.”

Seemed like he wasn’t going to make things easy, either.

~*~

The next few weeks were a blur of activity for Kiki. At work, the buildup to the next public hearing was picking up steam. At the house, construction was going quickly, helped by her new friends on the weekends and the occasional evening or two.  Mia was spending more and more time at the house, too, although Kiki suspected Ajay had as much to do with that as she did.  Kiki started plans for a house party, which, if all went well, would be right before the public hearing.  And that was two and a half weeks before the wedding.  It looked like she might pull it off.

But if those aspects of her life were carrying on at a dull roar, her romantic life was exploding.  What was it about Steve that she couldn’t stay away from him? Was it the excitement that went with them being new lovers? Was it her reaction to stress? Whatever it was, she found that at the least provocation they were hooking up.  They met mostly at his in the morning before work, but they’d managed other rendezvous too. Each time the subject of Ted and the wedding was carefully avoided. Their world was limited to each other for the few minutes they could steal together.

After one such morning, Kiki sped into work, hoping that Peter wasn’t keeping close track of her schedule. If he did, he didn’t say anything. And if Ted suspected, he hadn’t let on either. The only thing he had noticed, proudly, was that she was wearing his ring all the time. By afternoon, she’d once again resolved not to see Steve again. She’d go home, cook dinner, and be ready for Ted when he came back. That was her plan.  Until she realized the ring wasn’t on her finger.  She pulled out her phone and frantically dialed Steve.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up! Oh, Steve hi!”

“I’m here. Where’s the fire, Kiki-cat?” His giggle was infectious, but she braced herself not to notice it.

“I left something,” she whispered quickly into the receiver. “Can I come get it?”

“At my place? Can’t you just get it next time?”

“No! I left it,” she dropped her voice lower, “on the bedside table.”

 

“Oh, hmm.”

She wondered what he was thinking. “Could you meet me there? I can leave now.”

He laughed. “Sure, meet you there, babe.” 

Kiki pulled together some materials to work on at home and sped over to Steve’s.  She barely said hello to him when he opened the door and rushed past him to the bedroom. The bed was still messed from the morning’s lovemaking, but the bedside table was clear. “It’s not here! Oh God, did it fall under the bed?” She got down on her hands and knees. When she couldn’t find it she stood and ran into the bathroom.

“Looking for this?”  She turned to see Steve in the doorway, holding the ring up in his hand.

“Thank God, yes.”  She went to take it but he put it out of her reach.

“Don’t know if I want you to wear this.” He turned his back to her and walked to the living room.

“What?! Steve!”

“I said we’d talk about him eventually. I’m ready now.”

“I’m not, give me the ring.”

“No.” He sat down and put his feet on the coffee table. “We’re talking.”  Kiki took a deep breath and sat on the couch.  “Are you going through with this?” He held up the ring again.

“Steve, I never said I wasn’t. Ted and I’ve been together for three years. I can’t just give up because of a rough patch.”

“Are you fucking me because of your rough patch? How can you be with us both?”

Kiki looked at him; His mouth was hard and his eyes bore into her. “The same way you can be with Beth still.”

He shook his head. “That’s done.”

“It is?”  The breath caught in her throat. “When? Why? Because of me?”

“Jesus, of course because of you, Kiki!”  He ran a hand through his hair. “It was time, we agreed.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“I’m telling you now. So you marrying him or what?”

“It’s complicated.”

“How complicated can it be? You love him enough to get married or you don’t.  If you do, you shouldn’t be here. If you don’t you should call it off. Don’t wait until you’re at the altar, baby. I’ve done that and it’s not pretty.”

“You left a girl at the altar?”

“I showed up, I just fainted.”

“Oh my God!”

“Yeah, it was stupid. So believe me. It would be worse for you with the Duncans involved.”

“I know,” she said quietly, still trying to imagine how Steve came to do that. “But give up three years of a relationship? How do I know this isn’t just the excitement of forbidden fruit? If I were free, would this still burn as hot? Besides, you’re leaving.”

“I’m not leaving. The New York gig is only for three months. I’ll be back some weekends.”

“To see Olivia.”

“I’d visit you, maybe you could stay here, water my plants?” He joined her on the couch and took her hand. “Kiki-cat, you know we’d burn as hot no matter what. What’s keeping you from leaving? Is it his money?”

“You know I don’t care about that.  I turned down that check even though I’m in massive debt.”

“But he’s still your safety net, so it’s almost as if you took it.”

“That’s not fair!”  She wrested her hand from his and stood to pace. “I wasn’t so confused when he proposed. He loves me, how can I do that to him? Or his family? Look at the opportunity his Dad is  giving me. All I’d ever done up to now are food courts and strip malls.  How can I just say ‘fuck you’ to them like that!”

“Don’t you think it’s odd, them giving someone untested such a big role in a high-profile project?”

“By the time he was my age, my Dad had done several high-profile jobs.”

“Private developers like the Duncans don’t take such chances unless it’s for profit. They’re using you, Kiki-cat, don’t you see that? They’re using your name to distract the Planning Board.”

Kiki looked wide-eyed at him. “Congratulations, you finally know me well enough to be cruel.” She scanned the room to find where she’d left her purse, retrieved it and headed for the door.

“Aw, fuck, babe, don’t go.”

“Why shouldn’t I?! How can you say that to me?”

“Kiki, think about it. They throw out the Parrish name all the time, in every article they plant in the paper, at the last hearing . . .”

“They like what I’m doing.”

“But do you?” He took her hands again and sighed in exasperation. “I’m not trying to be cruel, babe, I love you, can’t you fucking see that?!”

“Oooh, lucky me!” She saw him cringe at her sarcasm and reached desperately for the doorknob, but he pushed it shut again.

“Will you just listen to me, for fuck’s sake?”  He paced and ran his fingers though his hair.  Kiki waited for him to speak.

“You’re not talking, I’m going.”

 “No, wait.” He sighed heavily. “I don’t want to argue with you now. But think about what I said, will you?”

Kiki sighed back, she wished they weren’t arguing. “Okay.”

“I can’t tell you what to do. But I can tell you what I’m going to do. And I’m not a kid any more, Kiki-cat.  I can’t just play around.” He shoved his hand into his pocket, pulled out her ring, and slowly put it on her finger, looking in her eyes as he did it. “Better get home, Kiki-cat.”

“Yeah.” She bowed her head and stared at her finger, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

“That really is a god-awful thing.”

“I know . . . Steve, please.”

“No, go home and think about things. We should cool it for a while, okay? Fuck, I can’t believe I’m saying this.  But next time we’re together, I want us to be together.  Okay?” She nodded her head and he leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Later, Kiki-cat.” 

Kiki left, her mind numbed by what just happened. Did he really love her? Why didn’t she answer him? Could the Duncans be using her? Could Ted, who’d swept her off her feet, who courted her with flowers, and trips, and jewelry, who’d shared the burden of having a powerful father? Was it overcoming what had drawn them together now pulling them apart?

Kiki drove home on automatic pilot. She hadn’t arrived before Ted, like she’d planned.

“Hey, sweetheart, where were you?”

“Just trying to clear my head, Ted. I’m exhausted.”

“Yeah, I bet.”  He retrieved a glass of wine from the kitchen and handed it to her. “Just a few more weeks, and you’ll be able to clear your head on a warm, sandy beach.”  Kiki nodded, that part sounded nice, anyway.

“Everything’s set for Saturday, Ted. You’re coming, right? The party?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”  Ted took her in her arms. “May have to duck out early though; Dad said I can’t miss the poker game at the club this time.”

“But Ted, it’s my party! The house is just about finished! I’d think you of all people would want to celebrate that.”

“Fuck yes, and I’m not missing the party.  Now let’s eat and hit the sack early, huh?”  He waggled his eyebrows at her.

She took a deep breath, hoping she could pull off what she was about to say. “I was thinking . . . maybe we should sleep apart until the wedding night. It’ll make the night more special, you know?”

“No sex for more than two weeks?!!”

“Think how horny we’ll both be.” She waggled her eyebrows back at him.

“Hmmm, that has possibilities.” He looked at her and laughed. “Okay, I think I can handle that length of time, but not a minute more.” He squeezed her waist and led her to the dinner table. “And just think, next time we’ll be together, we’ll be together.”

~*~

Steve called Jason early the morning of the party to arrange for a ride. It was a working party for him, and he wanted to get there early to film the empty house first. Except it wasn’t empty anymore. When had she managed to furnish it? Sparse at it was, the furniture made the house feel that much more alive.  After he filmed, he and Jason checked all the cameras for one last web cast.

“I don’t know who’s going to want to watch fifty or more people milling around a house,” he told Jason. 

“People do. Not like they’re glued to their monitors, people click around. But they’ve been watching, you should see my board.”  He brought up his message board and showed him a few of the topics.

“Hey, that’s my name!” Steve shoved his hand over the keyboard and scrolled back. “What are they saying?”

“Oh, that’s old, there was this stupid discussion over whether you were Ted or not, when Kiki has clearly called you ‘Steve’.”

“Why would they think I was that asshole?”  Steve knit his brow and read more closely.

“’Cuz he’s never here, and you’re here a lot.”  Jason laughed. “People are following this like a soap opera, I tell ya.  Then there’s another faction that gets pissed because they’re not discussing the moldings or the authenticity of the fixtures.”

“Oh-kay. What’s the buzz about the bigamy? Still going on?”

“That’s died down. You know it wasn’t a surprise to those who’ve studied Parrish.  The guy was a hound. You know Kiki’s mother was his third wife?”

“Third? I thought second?” 

Jason shook his head. “It’s surprising there aren’t more siblings waiting to be found.”

“I wonder how the girls deal with that.” 

“I see them talking together, guess they’re dealing.”

“You see a lot of things, don’t you, Jason?” Steve laughed, thinking how often he’d ignored Jason’s presence in the room.

“Front row seat,” he said, laughing.  “Don’t worry, I keep quiet about things that aren’t my business.”

“Good.” Steve patted him on the shoulder.

“But I will say this:  Dude, she’ll come to her senses.”

Steve paused, not believing his ears for a minute. “I hope so. But shush.”

“’Nuff  said, dude.”  They heard something drop in the kitchen and turned their heads in that direction.

“Who else is here?”

“Kiki and Ted came, thought you saw.”

“No, I was upstairs. Shit!”  He was hoping there’d be more people around when Ted arrived. “I suppose I should say hello.”  He picked up his steady cam and headed for the kitchen, stopping short when he heard them talking. It wouldn’t hurt to test the temperature of the room before walking in, he told himself.

“The house looks good, Kiki. Did you buy this furniture or rent it?”

“Don’t you recognize this table, Ted? It was in my apartment. All of this is my old stuff, with the exception of some pieces Mia added. I thought it’d be easier to sell if it was furnished.”

“Smart move, getting rid of the furniture too.”

“I’m not selling the furniture.”

“Why keep it? It won’t fit with our décor.” Steve saw Kiki clench her jaw and drop her head. She didn’t answer him, but he kept on talking. “So who’s coming to this thing?”

“My friends, Ted.  Peter and Barb, if they can get a sitter. Kevin Clayton and his crew, you know Clayton, right?”  Ted nodded his head. “Mia and the boys.”

“The boys? She’s got kids?”

“No, ‘the boys’ are Jason and Ajay. Jesus, I only talk about them every day!”

“Yeah, right, right, I remember.”

“Then the other volunteers who’ve been such  a big help. You met a few, I’ll have to reintroduce them, I guess.”

“I meet a lot of people, Kiki, I’m sorry. “  He looked at the kitchen table again. “But do you have enough food for everybody?”

Steve couldn’t keep from laughing. His presence revealed, he walked into the kitchen. “Sorry, I overheard that. It’s a potluck, ever heard of the concept?”

“Him I remember. What’s he doing here?”

Steve held up his camera. “Filming. Last day. House is done.”

“Last day?” 

Steve noticed that Kiki appeared to be holding her breath.

“Michael and I start a new project in New York next week.” He spoke to Ted, but kept his eyes on Kiki. Her eyes were flashing at him as if to say, “Be nice.”

“Yeah?  Well good luck then.”  Ted offered his hand to Steve.

“Thanks, pal.” Steve shook it, wishing he could wipe the smug smile off Ted’s face. That’d be easy to do. “You should hear her moan my name when she comes, motherfucker.”  But he didn’t, he just grinned back.

“Aren’t all these well wishes nice,” Kiki said finally, touching their fiercely gripped hands “Is that the front door I hear? Noisy old thing. Let’s see who’s here, Ted.”  She pulled him by the elbow and led him out of the kitchen.  Steve chuckled and hoisted the camera on his shoulder.  Show time.

It was a steady stream into the house: construction workers, their wives, the volunteers and their dates or spouses.  Everyone brought food or drink, so there was plenty for all.  The conservatory seemed the main gathering place, much to Kiki and Mia’s delight. Kiki made her way through the crowd, greeting and thanking everyone for their help in making it to the finish line. Ted tried to keep up with her but finally retreated to the kitchen. Pete took pity on him and brought him a beer.  Feeling blanketed by the camera, Steve maneuvered into position to overhear them.

“Lotta people here, huh, Ted?”

“When did she meet all these people? I don’t know them.”

“The house brought everybody together, amazing thing.”

“Yeah,” his voice wavered a bit as he swigged his beer. “Listen, Pete, mind if I ask you something? That Morrison guy. You were with him and Kiki all those Fridays, right?”

“Sure I was, have you watched those pieces? We had fun doing them.”

“I saw one or two.” He scanned the crowd looking for Kiki. “I don’t see her, do you see him?”

“I’m right here.”  This was getting to be fun, eavesdropping on him. “Filming you.”

“You don’t have my permission to use that.” 

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Ted gave him a withering look.

“Do you know where Kiki is?”

“Nope. She’s here somewhere.”

“Thanks a lot. Hey Pete, I gotta go, my Dad’s expecting me.” Ted clapped Pete on the shoulder and craned his neck looking for her. “Ah, there she is. See you Tuesday night, huh? Gonna be ready?”

“We’ll be ready.”

Steve waited until Ted was out of sight before putting the camera down. “Jesus, asshole can’t even stick it out for her for one night.”

“What’s it to you, Steve?”  Pete asked pointedly.

“Just makin’ an observation.”

“Hmm, I think we both ought to stay out of it, okay?”

“Not saying anything, I’m here to film. Excuse me.”  Steve made another circuit, following others as they explored the renovated home.  He’d long since gotten the footage and had stopped recording. He just wanted to keep occupied.

The party slowly started to dissipate until the only ones left were Kiki, Mia, Pete and Barb and the boys. They were gathered in the conservatory, drinking the rest of the beer and reliving some of the adventures of the past nine months. When it was time for him and Barb to go, Pete offered Steve a ride, but he begged off. “I want to take a last tour, then pack up the cameras.  Jason will give me a ride, won’t you, Jas’?”

“Sure dude.”

While the others started cleaning up the remains of the party, Steve began to dismantle the cameras, one by one, leaving the one in the kitchen until Kiki was ready to close the site down for good. He’d just entered the master bedroom and flipped the switch when he heard the bathroom door open.

“Hey, you’ve been working all night, won’t this wait?”

“You might sell this place before I get back, don’t want you to have to worry about the cameras.”

“Peter could do it. C’mon, I hate to think you haven’t been able to have fun tonight.”

“I’ve had fun, Kiki-cat. It was a great party. And the house, it’s just amazing.” Steve was afraid to look at her, afraid his resolve would waiver.  Kiki was walking in circles around him too. “You should be very proud.”

“I am.” She stopped and sat on the bed. “I can’t believe it’s done. I wish I could give them more than a party, after all everyone did.”

“You did, you gave them your friendship.”  He couldn’t help it, he stepped in front of her and brushed the hair from her face. “You know why I kept busy, don’t you?”

She leaned her face into his hand. “Same reason I did?” He looked down at her, still stroking her head. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close. He resisted just a little, but then she nuzzled her face into his belly.  “Mmmm,” she sighed into him.

“You’re purring, Kiki-cat,” he said with a giggle.

“Well you’re petting me.”

“Uh, uh, this is petting you.” He slipped a hand down the front of her blouse and under her bra.  Her gasp encouraged his fingers to wander inside. She rubbed his belly with her cheek and drew her hand from his backside to his front side. “Wait, Kiki.”

“Why? This is a most interesting development here.”  He groaned when she squeezed her hand around him, straightening him through his jeans.

“Because, oh, Jesus . . . “  He knew he should stop her from unclasping his belt, from tugging his jeans down, from pulling him from his boxers and sliding her hand, then her lips around him.  But he didn’t want to.  Her mouth felt so warm and moist, and she sucked him in so tightly that he reacted by twisting her hair in his fingers. She moaned and took him in deeper. Was this how he wanted to end it, if it was the end? “No, Kiki, babe, no.”  She pulled back.

“You don’t like?”

“I like, fuck yes.” He pushed her back on the bed and hovered over her. He never wanted any woman more than he wanted her just then. “Does this mean . . .”

She looked wildly into his eyes; he could tell she was struggling with her answer. “When I’m with you it’s yes . . . ”

“And when you’re not?” 

“I don’t know how I can fix it, Steve . . . I don’t know what to do. I feel trapped either way.  You’ll leave if I don’t leave him, and I’ll be in such a mess if I do.”  He saw tears drip down the sides of her face.

“Life’s not like Neapolitan ice cream, babe, can’t have all the flavors served up separate and equal. It’s all mixed up, and sometimes there’s not enough chocolate.”

“I know, I know,” She reached up and wiped more drops away.

“Don’t cry Kiki-cat, I’ll wait. I’ll wait longer.”  He leaned over and pressed his lips to her salty cheeks, trying to kiss the tears away.

“No, it’s not fair to you.  I need to do something.” His crotch was pressed against hers and she was undulating into him.

“You need me to make love to you, is what you need.” He tugged up her skirt and reached for her panties, then paused. “Shit, I’m not prepared.”

“It’s okay, I want to feel all of you for once.” 

“You sure?”

“I’m sure. Please?”  She writhed out of her panties and lifted her hips for him to slide in. The groan they both emitted quickly turned to giggles. “Man that feels good,” she sighed.

If her lips felt good around him, this felt like a little bit of heaven. He almost didn’t want to move. Almost.  Once again they were transported to another state, lost in each other, consumed by each other and they didn’t come back until the last warm waves of pleasure were spent.  He was surprised to see fresh tears.  “What’s this? What’s this?”

“Just that you came inside me,” she grinned. 

“I did.” He chuckled. “Sorry, it’s messier this way.”

“It’s okay.” Her eyes twinkled and she giggled again. “Don’t compare it to ice cream, though. Mr. Metaphor.”

“Hey, I thought I was being profound.”

“You were. I like Strawberry though.”

“Really? I thought everyone liked chocolate.”

“I do! Just like strawberry better.”

“Wanna go out for it? Everybody out for ice cream?” 

She let out a happy little sigh and brushed his hair back. “Oh, God, I hope they haven’t noticed we’re both gone.  Damn, we get carried away.”

“Better hurry back down then.” They arose and washed up quickly. Steve remembered that he needed to dismantle the camera. “Just a second, let me get this. Fuck. That’s weird. I turned this off.”

“I turned it off when I came to use the bathroom.”

“No, I turned it off when I came in.”  They looked back and forth at each other then at the camera, and where it was pointed.

“Oh, no. Oh, no, don’t tell me.  Tell me the other rooms were running.”

“Just here and the kitchen.”

“Oh, no, no, no . . . “  Kiki’s face blanched.

“Fuck!”  Steve bounded down the stairs and into the living room where Mia and the boys were standing.

“Have fun, you guys?”  Jason said, biting his lip to keep from laughing.

“How much . . . how much did you see?”

“Got a great view of your ass.  But if I had to rate your moves . . . “

“Jason!” Kiki had stepped into the room. “Was it on the bedroom the whole time?”

“If it was working like it should, it switched back and forth between the kitchen and the bedroom. I shut it down as soon as I realized what it was. Don’t worry, you guys, you couldn’t see either one of your faces, as far as I could tell. Not that I watched. Okay, I did see Steve’s ass.”

“Oh Jesus.”  Kiki ran out of the room, covering her face in her hands.  Mia followed her, waving at the others not to follow. 

Steve turned to Jason and Ajay and started to pace. “Let’s be rational about this. What are the odds someone was still paying attention at this hour?”

“Want me to look?”  Jason touched some buttons on his laptop.

“No. I don’t want to know. You’d have to act pretty fast to capture that, right?”

“Not necessarily, there are ways. But why would anybody do that? It was pretty tame. Nothing good showed.”

“You said you didn’t watch.”

“It must have registered from just a glimpse.”

“Okay, okay, we don’t make a bit deal out of this, and it will go away, right? You couldn’t see our faces? Hell, I could have been Ted, right?”

“Exactly, Steve, don’t worry about it.”  Jason patted Steve on the shoulder for reassurance. Steve wasn’t sure if he was being honest, but he didn’t want to think about the consequences, either.

“I think the web cast portion of the site is officially done, don’t you think?”  Steve pointed at the computer. Jason took the hint and sat down to remove it.  Steve and Ajay went to the conservatory, where they saw the girls huddled together on the couch.

“We don’t think anybody saw it, Kiki.” Ajay said, trying to sound convincing. “And if they did, it was just seconds before we cut it off, I’m certain.”

“But you don’t know!”

“No.”

“Oh God,” Kiki buried her head again. Mia flashed Ajay an annoyed look.

“Kiki, someone would have to be happening upon the site at the exact time and they’d have to have a recorder on. . . it’s so unlikely it was anything but a quickie peep show.”  Mia lifted her gaze to Ajay in a silent reproach.  Steve was grateful Ajay didn’t mention the other possibilities. “I think I’ll stay with Kiki a bit,” she added. “You guys okay?”

“Need a ride, Steve? I’ll give you one.”

Steve paused, not wanting to leave, but Kiki looked up and nodded. “Jason said he’d give me one. But let me get my gear and the cameras.”  

Everyone joined him on the porch to say goodnight. Steve shook Ajay’s hand, and kissed Mia on the cheek, pausing before Kiki as she offered her hand to him. 

Jason laughed at their demeanor. “Fuck, after what we saw, a kiss won’t shock us.”

“True. But still. Turn around.” The others turned their backs. “I’m sorry, Kiki-cat. I’m sure it’s just vanished into air by now.”

“Yeah, hope so.”

“I meant what I said, before,” he said softly.

“I’ve so much to think about now,” her brow was knit with worry; Steve wanted to kiss it away. “And you’re going away.”

“Wednesday, yeah.”

“I guess this is it for a while then.”  She offered her hand again, but he kissed her instead. She dropped her reserve and kissed him back but withdrew after sensing the others’ presence again.

“Not too long, I hope.” He whispered in her ear before stepping apart.  She nodded, said ‘bye’ softly, and hurried back inside.

Jason tried to make conversation on the way home, but Steve didn’t catch a word.  The highway markers whizzed by in a steady rhythm, seeming to say, ‘So close, so close, so close.’

All of a sudden it felt very, very far away.

Chapter Nine

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