Tempting Mr. Perfect

by Rebecca Rose

  “Really?” Dave asked his father. “You’re going to throw me to the wolves and let them eat me alive? Kathy, I never stripped in my life! These guys are trying to make me sound like a whore.” Even with his dander up Dave still held a sparkle in his eyes for the fun his family was having at his expense.

  She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. If only her own family was as much fun.

  “Oh, no, no. I’d never say or think that, son,” George assured Dave.

  “You pretty much just did!”

  “What your father was trying to say,” Mitch proclaimed, “is while the job was lucrative—”

  Pointing a firm finger at his friend, Dave laughed, “Out of everyone, I thought you’d at least stick up for me.”

  “Nope. I’ll throw you under the bus at every possible moment, too.”

  “He’s thrown me plenty of times,” Simone interjected.

  “So you were never a stripper?” Kathy jested.

  “They like to tease but no, I never was,” he told her with a smile. “Although I could attempt to give you a striptease if you want?”

  Her breath hitched. “I would love that.”

  * * *

  Gosh, she’s cute. Dave couldn’t help reaching for her thigh under the table and couldn’t wait to get his hands on the rest of her. “Tonight? You, me, and that sexy body of yours?”

  “Dave.” Her evident deep breath said her mind was searching for a good retort. “Game on. But if you’re going to dance for me, it might be useful to use Sophie’s dance studio” She smiled seductively. “She has a lot of barres and poles in there.”

  Rich laughter escaped from everyone at the table. “That’ll work.”

  “How many dollars should I bring?” she asked.

  “Not too many. It’ll be my first time.”

  “Modesty will get you nowhere,” Renee informed her son. “Mitch dear, when do all of you have to go home?”

  “We’ll be heading out late tomorrow.”

  “Mitch and I would really love it if the both of you came to visit us soon,” Simone invited.

  “We’d love to.” George leaned over and kissed his wife. “You have our only grandchild.”

  Bending down Mitch searched the diaper bag for a bottle. “Kathy, you and Dave, Jake and Sophie should think about coming up too.”

  Simone gazed down with love at the baby swaddled in her arms. “We have plenty of room and New York City isn’t as scary as you’d think.”

  “That’s very nice of you, Mitch.”

  “Don’t let him fool you, Kathy,” Dave whispered not so quietly in her ear. “He has ulterior motives.”

  “He’s right. I need someone strong who can help me bring our new deck furniture up ten flights,” Mitch confirmed while handing Simone the baby bottle.

  Jake clucked his tongue. “Always was a cheap bastard.”

  “Frugal, Jake. I’m not going to pay hundreds more for someone to do it when I have perfectly capable hands and friends. Plus we really want you guys to come for a visit.”

  The group of them continued on this way for hours until Jake and Sophie readied to leave Mitch and Simone’s hotel room, where they ended up after dinner. They had decided it would be easier if everyone went there in case the baby needed to be put to bed. George and Renee had opted out with the excuse they were still jet-lagged from the flight up but everyone could tell the older couple just wanted to give the old friends time to reconnect.

  “Can you believe he’s sissying out on us?” Mitch asked Dave.

  Both men watched as the huge man squatted down to hug each of the ladies and then give Emma a noisy kiss on her head. He then looked their way. “Later, girls,” Jake announced with a salute.

  “Later,” they replied in unison.

  Dave smiled at Kathy from across the room. She was on the floor crawling with Emma.

  “I know it’s none of my business. But how much did you know about Kathy before tonight?” Mitch asked.

  “Apparently not much. She’s been a little resistant.” Dave frowned.

  “Haven’t you two been dating?”

  Dave gave a laugh that ended with a snort. “No, not really. You kinda showed up at the beginning of my wooing.”

  “Wooing? Ha! You’ve never persuaded any woman in your life.” But Mitch leaned toward him with serious eyes. “I like her. I really do, Dave.”

  “But?”

  “I think there’s more there. I don’t know. Maybe I’m talking out my ass.” Mitch pondered and took a long sip of his beer.

  “You don’t think she’s marriage material?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying.”

  “Then what are you saying? Because I’m damn close to being in love with her and feeling a little—”

  “Defensive?” Mitch asked with a chuckle.

  “Yeah.”

  Mitch took an uneasy breath and said what was on his mind. “I think you need to know her better before making grand plans in that thick skull of yours.”

  “Didn’t you know right away when you saw Simone? What’s so different about this?”

  Both men turned and looked at the women in their lives. Simone was currently tickling the baby’s feet and Kathy was laughing.

  “Yeah, I did know,” Mitch began. “It was like a cement truck running me over. This is different though.”

  Dave pressed his lips together and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Why can’t everyone just be happy for me? There’s always strings attached, someone trying to cut me off at the knees.”

  “That’s not what I’m doing. And I’m totally screwing this up. Look, Dave—”

  “No, you look.” Dave poked a finger in Mitch’s chest. “I have a damn cop on my ass and a business that’s barely holding on because of the recession. My parents are worried I’m getting depressed, not to mention pressuring me to settle down. Then my dad looks like hell and I’m wondering if he’s having heart problems again but doesn’t want to worry anyone,” Dave said. “Not to mention, I need to get a new car but haven’t really done much planning for that financially so it’s been pushed to the back burner for now.” Dave pulled an agitated hand through his hair.

  “Don’t you have anything in savings, Dave?” Mitch asked.

  “Yeah, but every time I get behind the wheel my heart starts racing. Jake gets it but it annoys the shit out of me.”

  “Gotcha. You need time, Dave. No one’s going to blame you for that. At least you have someone there for you. I’m not sure Kathy does.”

  Dave looked long and hard at his friend then over at the woman he was referring to. “What do you mean?”

  “Firs, do you feel better after getting that off your chest?”

  “Ha, ha. Yeah.”

  “Personally, I think you should take it slower with Kathy.”

  Dave sat back in his chair then started rotating the beer bottle around. “Why do you think so?”

  “Maybe it’s that girly sensitive side of me—”

  “Always had us wondering what team you were playing for,” Dave said with a smirk.

  “Whatever. But that girl’s been hurt… bad.”

  “Ex-husband.” Dave retorted without thought. “Bad sexual partners.”

  “Right. But I’m thinking it’s deeper than that. Family stuff.”

  Dave’s eyes met Mitch’s serious ones. “Maybe I’m getting dense. Are you saying you think… yuck… that it’s her family. You think they’re that open with each other?”

  Mitch’s mild look of annoyance had Dave pressing his lips together. “You are thick, Dave. You know that, right? No. I don’t think they had sex with each other, I think maybe something happened with one of her parents’ friends. Geez.”

  Mulling this over for a minute Dave opened his mouth to say, “No way!” but nothing came out. Instead he took another sip of beer and ate a handful of popcorn. It would explain so much. Kathy had said he couldn’t shock her father. That he’d have to meet him to understand. The
picture of her childhood and the distrust she had in herself and others began to get clearer. “I don’t want to think about that. Maybe you’re right but maybe you’re not.”

  “All I’m saying is listen a little harder to what she says. I think she’s more scared than shy.”

  “Gives a lot of mixed signals, too.”

  “It would explain why,” Mitch added.

  Dave pondered his friend’s family with a ping of envy. “You have a nice family, Mitch. Someday I really hope to have my own.”

  “You will.”

  It was well after two in the morning before Dave slid into bed. His parents were sleeping down the hall in the room they’d occupied since he and Jake had been children. After he bought the home from them, Dave couldn’t bring himself to move into the bigger bedroom. That would remain his parents’ room, no matter how many changes he made to the place. New kitchen with oak cabinets, heated tile floor, top-of-the-line appliances, and walls knocked down to open up the whole first floor. The only thing not new was the casing around the back door where his parents measured him and Jake every first day of school. There was a bathroom added to a finished cellar. And his pride always burst at the seams when people asked about the wraparound porch he built onto the two-story cape. Jake said it would look odd but after adding a new wood front door with side windows and bigger living room windows with new siding, the exterior looked and felt original. Dave made the home into the place he wanted to raise his children and live out his days married to the woman of his dreams.

  But as comfortable as his bed was, as much as his body wanted to drift into the land of images and fantasies, Dave’s mind wouldn’t let him. Instead he thought about Kathy and the traumatic childhood she only hinted at having. If things were as bad as Mitch seemed to think, would she consider a life with him? Dave’s stomach churned and twisted. He really hoped so because somehow Kathy had become one of the most important people in his life.

  Chapter Eleven

  Looking out her apartment window, Kathy saw the glistening sun warming everything its vibrant fingers could touch. It happened overnight. Spring decided to make its grand entrance. Daffodils’ sunny petals smiled. Trees that had been barren with sticklike fragility now had soft buds ready to burst. People were about raking and cleaning up the winter mess on their lawns. A perfect day. Maybe she would go for a run or a stroll with Dave.

  Lately he seemed to fill her mind more and more. After dinner with his family and Mitch, their relationship changed from casual to intimate. The potent attraction was now something deeper, newer, sweeter. A week ago she had asked him to be patient and Dave did back off without any questions. However he now called or texted her every morning when he woke—just to say “Hi” and Kathy couldn’t have been happier. On one occasion, after discovering she loved Greek food, he surprised her with a cozy dinner for two with candles and soft music on his living room floor. They kissed passionately then he laid her back on the floor and covered her body with his. She held him tightly against her as she opened her legs so he’d fit more comfortably between them. Dave was rigid everywhere; his back, his bottom, his arms. And when his firm lips traveled to her earlobe and nipped, she wished his parents weren’t in the other room. Kathy wondered, on more than one occasion, if maybe they weren’t ever going to be together in that special way. Wanting him to touch her, hold her, and lie naked next to each other was becoming almost an obsession—a fantasy she needed to have fulfilled. The powerful want Dave created in her pushed Todd, and the moments his memories had marred with other men, away. With Dave there would be only them in that intimate embrace, no ghost of her ex and their past standing over them.

  Dave believed in the little things, which only swelled her heart more with what felt precariously close to love. Every day he would bring her coffee to work with a hot cinnamon bun. Then, for no reason at all, he began picking her up so they could drive in together. He still had Jake’s car, and didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get one of his own.

  With him on her mind, Kathy got in the shower. What surprise would he have for her today? There was always something. The weekend before Dave convinced her to go over to his place for a barbecue. Then he cornered Kathy with questions on the type of flowers she thought he should plant around his home. She was surprised by how much he genuinely cared for her opinion.

  “I’m sick of the grass going right up to the foundation. It looks so bland,” he told her.

  “I agree.” Kathy scratched her head. “I’m really not that good with stuff like this. I never had a garden.” She laughed. “Or anything close to a yard of my own.”

  On a laugh he kissed her cheek. “Here’s the chance. We can figure it out together.”

  “I don’t know.” She bit her lower lip and squinted at the front of his cape home. “Maybe you should call a landscaper.”

  “Er. Little expensive for me.”

  “Well, do you want a lot of flowers or shrubs?”

  “I guess shrubs. But then I’d have to trim all the time, right?”

  Kathy sat on the front steps. “I hadn’t thought of that. Umm, I guess you should go with the flowers then.”

  “What kind of flowers?”

  “The ones that come back and the ones that you have to keep planting,” she told him.

  “Not sure. Die and thrive—maybe?” She giggled at Dave’s response. “Muffin, you’re damn near irresistible when you do that.” Placing his hands on her knees, he leaned down and gave her a kiss that seemed to touch her soul.

  “Dave, stop that. Your neighbors could be watching. And you’re making me want to rip your clothes off and take you right here.”

  “I don’t mind. That might be kinda fun.” He sat down next to her.

  Ultimately Dave was able to convince her to help the very next day and the following weekends. Heck, it sounded as if she’d be there for the whole yard transformation. Thinking about it now, a light came on in Kathy’s head. It seemed awfully convenient, and a total ploy, that he needed help when she knew he was good with plants because the inside of his house was full of them. She made a face at herself in the mirror. She couldn’t deny the excitement running through her at the thought of spending more time with him.

  The phone rang and she ran to answer it with enthusiasm. “Morning!”

  “Hi, Kathy.”

  Her world went still.

  “What do you want, Todd? I thought I made myself clear that I don’t want to talk to you.”

  “I—”

  “What?” She demanded.

  “I don’t like the way we left things. And I didn’t get a chance to tell you I’m happy to hear you found a job. It’s very tough in this economy to be laid off and then find work.”

  “So.”

  “I think it’s super.”

  “Thanks,” she replied with a desert-dry tone.

  Todd cleared his throat. “I’ve been thinking—”

  “Wow, that’s new.” It really wasn’t. Kathy had heard him use that opening line often to get people to do things for him. “Must not be doing too much of it ’cause I thought I made myself clear last time we saw each other.”

  “Kathy, I miss you and I’m so sorry for the times I caused you pain. But I’m a different person now.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “No. I really am.” His plea fell on deaf ears and when she didn’t respond to his declaration, Todd continued. “I know it’s been a long time. Hell, years. But I still think about you and wonder what’s going on. Losing you broke my heart and now, with…” he trailed off obviously wanting her to think about him dying.

  “Good-bye, Todd.”

  Kathy slammed the phone down and when it rang two seconds later, fury engulfed her. “What! I don’t want to talk to you. Stop calling!”

  This time when she hit the end button, she also unplugged the phone from the wall. At the burst of unexpected tears, Kathy sank to the floor. The treason of what her parents did hit her hard. How could they not stick up for her? D
idn’t they want what was best for their daughter? Throughout their relationship all Todd did was lie, be selfish, break promises, and hurt her. He said he would get a job, and that the whole financial burden would not be on her. But in the end every job he got turned into one he lost or quit. No one treated him right; he was looked down upon; they didn’t appreciate his work and all he did for them. And her favorite excuse, “I don’t think working is for me. I’m still trying to find myself.” Oh yes, Todd always seemed to be “finding” himself. The stinker was that her parents “understood” him and thought she should be more sympathetic. After all they once needed to do the same thing. But Kathy was eighteen for goodness sakes! She wasn’t supposed to be taking care of anyone, they should have been doing that for her. Her parents said he was the best thing to ever happen to her. That they were so proud of her. Now he was supposedly dying. What kind of person was she to turn away a terminally ill man?

  No, she wasn’t going to do this. Todd was the past and he would stay there forever. He was never there for her emotionally—only her for him. He couldn’t understand why she didn’t want to live like traveling gypsies and why it was so important to her to have a job with welcomed responsibilities. But Dave did. He was a stand-up kind of guy who knew both sides of this sometimes awful world. And he appreciated her, liked all her quirks, and never asked her to do anything she didn’t feel comfortable with. Why would she leave such a wonderful man to go back to that lowlife loser and her parents?

  Wiping the tears from her face and pulling up her imaginary big girl panties, Kathy did an emotional moving on. Sometimes, she told herself, the only way to get to where you want to be, is to be the strongest person you know.

  She stood straight and rolled her shoulders back. This was the ending of an era. From here on out she was going to be her own person. Looking out the window at the cloudless sky she did a mental midday sunset on the past and all its afflictions. No more. She was going to break all her bad habits until there was nothing left but the positive of a new day.