All Larry had to do was rent a motel room near Disney World, catch her alone and take her away. Once she had a good taste of Larry Lover, she would never want to go back to Greg.
**********
Greg pushed the third floor button and the elevator doors closed.
“Can’t wait to get in the shower,” said Cynthia.
“I hope the bed is comfortable.”
“Right now I think I could sleep on the floor if I had to.”
They walked off the elevator and down to their room. Greg sat the overnight bags down, unlocked the door, pushed it open, and held it with his foot.
“I think we need to try this again,” he said, extending his arms.
“Good idea.” She smiled and let him pick her up.
“My dear Mrs. Tenorly, thisis the officialcarrying over the threshold.”
“So noted, Mr. Tenorly.”
Greg carried her into the room. He expected a quick peck on the lips before she got down, but instead she gave him a soft, sensual kiss and then looked deep into his eyes. “I love you so much, Baby.”
Then she jumped down and ran for the bathroom. “First dibs on the shower.”
“Cheater,” said Greg playfully.
He opened the door and grabbed their overnight bags from the hallway. Their suitcases would be delivered soon.
Greg could hear the shower running.
“Okay if I bring your bag in?”
“Sure, Honey. Come on in.”
Greg opened the bathroom door just enough to slip the bag in. Then he closed it, walked over to the TV, and picked up the remote.
When Cynthia finally came out, he was sitting on the bed watching the Disney promotional channel.
“Look at this cool new ride, Sweetie,” he said without turning around.
“Can’t wait to ride it with you.”
Greg glanced up and saw her in the mirror standing behind him. She was wearing a lacy red nightgown. It was conservative—not too revealing, but very sexy. But then again, Greg thought, she’d look just as sexy to him if she was wearing overalls. How about when she’s wearing nothing? He feared his head would explode. Well, maybe not his head. He turned around “You look amazing, Cynthia.”
She smiled. “Thanks. I feela lot better now.”
“Okay. My turn.”
He picked up his bag and walked way around her to get to the bathroom.
“Afraid I’ll try to attack you?”
“No. I’m afraid you’ll smellme—now you’re all clean and fresh.”
Greg went into the bathroom and closed the door.
Cynthia teased him through the door. “That’s right. I’m fresh as a daisy, waiting to be picked. And I want you to pick me, and pick me good. You can pick me all night long.”
Greg cracked the door and peeked out. “Look, it’s hard enough to wait as it is, without you saying stuff like that.” He stuck out his tongue at her and then closed the door.
“Oh, really? So, I’m making it harderto wait? Well, that’s good. I like it harder.”
“Quit saying that or it may not beharder by the time I get out there.”
“Okay. I’ll leave you alone. Happy showering, Baby.”
Greg stripped quickly, throwing his clothes in the corner. Then he stopped and took a deep breath. He wanted to get out to her as soon as possible, but he decided to slow down just a little. If he tried to break the world’s record for showering speed, he might slip down and break an arm. And the emergency room was the last place he wanted to spend the night. Not that it was nighttime. It wasn’t even dinner time yet.
Why was he thinking about the time of day and dinner? He was about to get into that king size bed and make love to the most beautiful, caring, loving woman he had ever known. His only regret was that he hadn’t met her much sooner.
Why not ten years ago when he was only 25? No, he thought, that was too far back. She was only 20 then. Maybe five years ago when they were 30 and 25. And why had they both fallen for the wrong people and had to suffer through unhappy marriages?
But maybe they wouldn’t have been right for each other five years ago. Perhaps the exact time they met was theonly perfect time for them to meet. Did God plan it this way? He didn’t know for sure, but he did thankGod for her every day.
When he walked out of the bathroom he was disappointed to see that she was already asleep. That was okay, he thought. They were both exhausted.
He turned off the TV.
There was a knock at the door.
It was their luggage. He had the man quietly carry it into the room. Then he tipped the man, and closed and locked the door.
Just before turning off the last lamp, Greg took a few seconds to savor the vision before him. His lovely bride looked like a sleeping princess. A sleeping beauty, he thought. How fitting.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had taken a nap in the afternoon—and under the covers.
Once his eyes had adjusted, there was just enough light seeping through the drapes that Greg could see Cynthia lying there—three feet away. He slid over, trying not to wake her. But when he leaned in to kiss her delicately on the lips, she immediately began to kiss him back.
She scooted closer to him and put her arm around him under the covers. He responded in kind. It was then that he realized she was naked. What had she done with the gown? Who cared? “I thought you were asleep.”
“I was just resting.”
“Your body feels so amazing.”
“Well, thank you. I’m glad you like it.”
He kissed her cheek and then began to nibble on her ear lobe.
She moaned and moved in closer.
Greg could feel her firm nipples against his chest.
He felt like the man who received a huge refund check. The guy was overjoyed—until the IRS realized their mistake and took the money back.
He looked into her eyes, which were barely visible in the faint light. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Yes, you do. And Ideserve you. We deserve to be happy together for the rest of our lives.”
Greg thought about it for a second. One thing he knew for sure: there had never beenand would never beanother man who could love Cynthia as much as he did.
“You know what?” he said. “You’re exactly right.”
“I’m glad you agree. But is that all you have for me today, Mister? Just a lot of talk?”
As she spoke, she ran her soft hand down his back and across his butt.
He watched her lips form a sexy smile as she said, “Don’t you have something more substantialfor me?” She slid her hand around to the front. “Oh—wait a second. Thisis what I want.”
And he was more than happy to give his wife exactly what she wanted.
Chapter31
“I don’t know if I feel like watching a movie, Crow,” said Chaucey.
“Ah, come on—it’s supposed to be really funny.”
She sat down on his couch. “What’s the name of it?”
“Flushed Away. It’s animated.” He handed her the pizza box. “Here—dig in.”
“Thanks.” She took out two slices and put them on her paper plate.
“So, they got your door fixed?”
“Yeah.”
“How much did they charge you? I want to pay for it.”
“That’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“Hey, I’mthe one who busted it.”
“Yeah, but you did it to save me. There’s no way I’m letting you pay for it.”
Crow slid four slices of pizza onto his plate. “Did you get any work done today?” He took a big bite out of a slice. “Or did you rest all day?”
“I worked for a little while, but I had trouble concentrating.”
“You’ll feel better tomorrow. I’m sure your bed is lot more comfortable than mine.”
“It was fine, Crow. And you were so sweet, letting me have your bed while you slept here on the couch.”
“Happy to do it for you.”
He took a sip from his Dr. Pepper and then clicked the remote to play the DVD.
Just as the movie as started, he heard Chaucey sniffling. “You okay?”
She nodded.
But Crow noticed that her eyes were puffy. “Are you sure?”
She broke down and wept.
He stopped the movie, sat his plate down and slid across the couch to her.
“What’s the matter?” He put his arm around her.
She dropped her plate on the coffee table and put her head in her hands and cried.
“He gave me nightmares last night.”
“I’m sorry, Chaucey.”
“And I was so tired all day, but every time I tried to take a nap I saw his face.”
“I just want to breakhis face,” said Crow.
She looked at him and smiled for a brief moment, and then started crying again.
“I just don’t understand how you got involved with the guy.”
“It was stupid. He’s writing a novel online and I was reading it, and I thought it was really good. So, I left a comment and he responded.”
“Okay. So, how did that lead to you meeting him in a motel room?”
She cried louder. “I was an idiot. He could have raped me and killed me right there. I was lucky to get away.”
“It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
“I don’t know what I was thinking. And he had that other woman with him—it must have been the redhead from the novel. Apparently, his book is notfiction. No wonder it sounded so real when he talked about the main character poisoning his girlfriend and burning up her body in a barbecue pit. He must have really done that!”
“That’s awful.”
“And if he murdered his girlfriend, he wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me—at the motel or in my apartment. I’m telling you, Crow, you got there just in the nick of time.”
Crow felt a sudden rush of anger. He wanted to take Barry out into the woods, grab him up in his powerful, big hands and break him over his knee like a skinny, dried-out tree branch. Then he would use his body for kindling to build a roaring campfire.
Having those thoughts made Crow think he was no better than Barry. He couldn’t really do that, could he? But it was painful to see Chaucey hurting so much. And would she ever really feel safe, knowing Barry was still out there somewhere? Crow wouldn’t necessarily have to killhim. He could just torture him for a while and then turn him over to the police. But first he’d have to find him.
Then he had an idea. “What was that man’s name who came by with his friends last night, asking about his wife?”
“The redhead’s husband.” Chaucey had a talent for remembering names. “It was Greg…Tenory. No—Tenorly. Greg Tenorly.”
Crow said the name in his head repeatedly. “I’ll be right back. Gotta go to the ‘little boy’s room.’”
He walked to the bathroom. Once inside he pulled out his cell phone and recorded a voice memo: Greg Tenorly. Greg could probably give him some clues to help him find that sleaze, Barry.
When Crow walked back into the living room he could see that Chaucey had pulled herself together.
She said, “Now, what’s this movie about?”
“Let’s see.” Crow picked up the DVD box and read the blurb. “It says it’s about this well-to-do mouse living in London who gets flushed down the toilet to the world of the common mouse.”
“Gee, I don’t know, Crow…”
“It stars the voice of Hugh Jackman.”
“Okay. Sounds good.”
“I knewit.” He pointed at her, grinning. “I knew you were hot for Hugh Jackman.”
She tried not to smile, but couldn’t stop herself. “Okay, yeah, I like him. But who’s the leading lady?”
“Kate Winslet.”
“Your girlfriend,” she teased.
His face turned red. “She’s notmy girlfriend.”
“Do you dream about her?”
“Maybe. Do you dream about Hugh Jackman?”
“Just daydreams.”
Crow thought a second. “So, you’re gonna be getting all turned on hearing his voice in this movie?”
“Well, that’s not so bad. ‘Cause maybe when it’s over I’ll let you kiss me.” She couldn’t believe she had just said that.
Crow couldn’t believe she had said it either.
She slapped him on the arm. “I’m just kidding. Start the movie.”
But he wasn’t absolutely sure she had been kidding. Maybe she really did want him to kiss her. But he wouldn’t try it unless he was sure.
How could he be sure?
**********
It was 8:20 PM, and Greg and Cynthia were sitting in their robes, enjoying a room service meal.
“I have never slept that sound before in my entire life,” said Greg.
“Me either. It was fantastic. And I’m sohungry. I’m afraid I’m going to eat too much.”
“It’s our honeymoon. Enjoy it. Quit worrying about your weight.”
“Okay.” She smiled.
He stopped eating and just watched her.
“What?” She put down her fork. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“I was just enjoying the view. Lovingthe view, actually. Loving you.”
“You loved me very well this afternoon. I think I may have underestimated your level of endurance.”
“That’s because I can’t stay up with you when it comes to jogging. But when it comes to sex—well, you just make me go crazy.”
“Now that’sthe kind of crazy I like.”
“I just hope I can walk tomorrow.”
She giggled. “What you mean? You seem to be getting around just fine.”
“Yeah, but we’re not done…are we?”
When she saw the look in his eyes, she forgot about the food. She stood up, seductively removed her robe and laid it across her chair. Then she rolled onto the bed and smiled at him.
It was the first time he had seen her completely naked in the light. Amazing, he thought. But, hisbody was farfrom perfection, so he began to turn off all the lamps. He was about to click off the last one.
“Leave that one on,” she said. “I want to see you.”
“You sure about that? You know it’s too late to get out of this thing. We aremarried.”
“Take off your robe and come here, Silly.”
“Well, okay.” He pulled his robe off and threw it toward a chair. It landed on the floor instead.
“Now, get over here and kiss me,” she said.
Greg’s cell phone rang. He wanted to ignore it, but answered it anyway. “Hello?”
There was no answer—just somebody breathing.
“Hello?”
Still just the sound of someone breathing.
Greg hung up.
“Wrong number?” said Cynthia.
“I guess so. I don’t recognize the number or even the area code.”
“Maybe you should turn it off. We don’t want any more interruptions.”
“Good idea.” He turned it off. “In fact, I think we should leave both of our phones off the whole time we’re here.”
“Fine with me. Of course, I don’t even have mine. Larry took it from me.”
Great, thought Greg. Now she’s thinking about Larry. That can’t be good just before we make love.
Cynthia quickly added, “Forget I brought himup.” She paused for a moment, and looked as though she was solving a math problem in her head. “There—forgotten. Now come here and make love to your wife.” She shot him a very sexy smile.
He instantly forgot about Larry too. “Yes, ma’am, I’m coming—literally.”
He got down on hands and knees and crawled across the bed to her. Then he bent down and kissed her passionately.
She said, “You have wonderful lips, Honey.”
“Well, I’m glad you said that.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m about to use them on every inch of your glorious naked body.”
“Ooh, that gave me tingles in all the right places,” she said.
He started kissing her on the neck. “Good.”
Next, he began to slowly walk his wet lips down the middle of her chest. “Now let’s see if we can work those tingles into tremors.”
“Mmm,” she moaned.
“Then I’ll build the tremors into full-blown throbbing.”
“Oh, yeah.”
He gently kissed along the underside of her right breast.
She lay in a hypnotic state as she softly said, “I’m all yours, Baby. Do whatever you want with me.”
**********
It was nearly 9:00 PM, and Larry was dying for a big, juicy steak and fries. He exited Interstate 10 to find a restaurant in Pensacola. He would easily make it to Orlando in time for a nap before the Disney World parks opened.
He had finally checked the results of the Texas Lottery drawing from Saturday night and found that he had lost!It had been quite a shock when he realized that his$45 million would be going to someone else.
Perhaps he had somehow disappointed his God of Luck. Maybe he was being punished. Or, more likely, he was being protected. Because if he tried to collect the money, the police might be waiting there to arrest him for the murder of his girlfriend, Erin, or that lawyer, Melanie Maylin, or that old lady in the parking lot.
And because the authorities were probably looking for him, he couldn’t take a chance on using one of his credit cards. Yet he now had less than $100 cash in his wallet. He needed money for gas, a motel room, park tickets, meals, etc. Where could he get some?
He spotted a steakhouse across the street from a convenience store. The 24-hour store had two ATM machines—one inside, one outside.
Larry had plan. A perfect plan.
Chapter32
Larry parked the Jaguar around the corner from the steakhouse—just in case. But wasn’t that hedging his bets? Why was he afraid to park the car right out front? A true believer would not give it a second thought. A true believer would jump off into the darkness, trusting his luck to protect him. Just like he had done at the football stadium. But maybe that hadn’t really been faith at all. Maybe it was pure desperation.
He hated to admit it, even to himself, but losing the lottery had put doubts in his mind. He had been so sure he would win. His faith had been completely blind. Oh, the sweet freedom of throwing caution to the wind, he thought. He would regain that kind of faith. But perhaps not tonight.
Illusion of Luck Page 16