Call On Me

by Angela Verdenius

  It succeeded marginally. Sitting on the sofa beside Minx, she chomped her way through a bowl of grapes and scared herself spit-less. It might have worked for the time the movie was on but once she was in bed and fell asleep the images that stole through her dreams were anything but horror.

  Instead of green vomit, heads whirling on shoulders, rasping voices and horror, her dreams were filled with strong hands, a deep voice, and the sure, erotic sensation of a man moving against her, deep inside her, taking her to pleasures she’d only dreamed of, mastering her and loving her all at once.

  When she awoke in the morning her eyes were heavy, her head pounded, and her panties were damp. If that wasn’t the definition of the kind of damage a man could do to a woman, twisting her up in knots so that she ached with desire and pain, she didn’t know what was. Bloody men!

  And bloody Ghost.

  She really had to get this under control.

  Lori arrived home not long after Ali rose.

  “’Morning.” Lori nodded to her as Ali came into the kitchen.

  “Hi.” Crossing to the kettle, Ali poured a cup of tea and put two slices of toast in the toaster. “You having breakfast?”

  “I already ate at the servo.” Sitting in one of the chairs at the kitchen table, Lori had her socked feet up on the opposite chair, Minx in her lap, her discarded sneakers beside the chair and a cup of Milo steaming at her elbow.

  “Be careful you don’t knock that over onto yourself,” Ali said automatically, as she’d said for countless years.

  “Never going to happen.”

  “It’s happened heaps of times and you know it.”

  “Whatever.” Lori watched her from sleepy eyes.

  “Anything interesting happen overnight?” Leaning against the kitchen bench, Ali waited for the toast to pop up.

  “Same old, same old.” Yawning, her sister rubbed her eyes with one hand. Her red polo shirt with the service station logo on it had an oil stain on the front and her hands, while scrubbed clean, still had traces of oil along the sides of her nails.

  “Have a fight with an oil can?” Ali queried.

  “How can you tell?” Lori replied drily.

  The toast popped out of the toaster and Ali flipped them onto the plate, cursing as she burned her fingers. After buttering the toast, she spread on Vegemite and took both the plate and the cup to the table. Sitting across from Lori, she started to eat.

  “So,” Lori said. “I had a same old, same old night. What about you?”

  “Oh, you know, same old, same old.” Ali took a bite of toast.

  “Because having a cop car pull up in front of the house is so, you know, same old, same old.”

  Ali coughed and choked, spraying crumbs liberally across the table. It took several minutes and a mouthful of hot tea before she managed to croak out, “Shit, who told you?”

  Grimacing, Lori wiped some crumbs off her arm. “Matt.”

  “Matt?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He should mind his own business.”

  “He did mind his own business, he wasn’t here when it happened” Lori replied. “He heard it from Mrs Hubble across the street who saw it all and told him this morning as soon as he came home from shift.”

  “Great. It wasn’t like Adam had his lights on and siren blaring, for God’s sake.”

  “No, but he did put Ghost in a headlock.” Lori caught Ali’s rolling eyes and added, “Apparently.”

  “Sweet baby Jesus, the gossip in this place is out of control!”

  “So Adam didn’t have Ghost in a headlock?”

  “No!”

  “Huh. Mrs Hubble will be disappointed.”

  “How do you figure that? She made it up.”

  “Only to excite herself.”

  Ali stared at her sister. “Oh – ewww.”

  “Not like that.” Lori took a thoughtful sip of Milo. “Though, mind you, who knows? I’m sure I heard a rumour that she went to the male strip revenue when it came to town last month.”

  “I repeat – ewww.” With a shudder, Ali took another bite of toast.

  “Hey, she’s eighty three, not dead.”

  “Oh, that’s just so wrong!”

  “Speaking of wrong…” Lori arched an eyebrow.

  “Hey.” Ali narrowed her eyes. “If you heard all this, how come you didn’t ring me to see if I was all right? Or wake me up? When, exactly, were you told?”

  “The first time?”

  Groaning, Ali closed her eyes. It hadn’t taken the gossips long.

  Lori smiled. “Don’t worry, Adam got to me first. He spied Mrs Hubble peeking out of her bedroom window – well, not exactly peeking, she did have the blind all the way up and her nose pressed to the window so she didn’t miss anything. He knew the word would spread and didn’t want me to worry. So he told me last night nothing bad had happened, you were fine and it was a false alarm. Then this morning, right before I left work, Old Man Parker was walking his dog past the servo and had great delight in informing me that you and Ghost had gotten into a fight, Maxine informed me there was broken glass from the front window where you’d apparently hurled a vase, and finally Matt told me if we needed anything to call him. By the way, nice job of replacing the window so fast.” Lori grinned.

  “Oh har-de-har.” Taking another sip of tea, Ali shook her head. “The gossip in this town is out of control.”

  “Oh, it’s only a few people.” Lori’s smile faded. “However, the one thing that was perfectly clear was that something happened involving you and Ghost.”

  Putting down the toast, Ali looked at her. “Yeah.”

  When she didn’t say anything further, Lori again raised her eyebrows in silent query.

  Taking a deep breath, Ali pushed the plate of toast away and cupped her hands around the hot mug of tea. “Things have gotten a little…weird…between me and Ghost.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah.” Chewing on her bottom lip, Ali didn’t quite know where to start or even how much to say. It just didn’t seem right to blurt out, ‘Oh, by the way, Ghost and I had mad monkey sex on the bonnet of my car the other night.’ Nu-uh.

  “Are you two arguing about something? Because you’ve had arguments before but it’s never involved the police.”

  “There was no need for the police,” Ali replied sharply.

  “So why was Adam here?”

  Ali sighed. “Chris turned up, Ghost went all caveman, and Chris was worried and phoned the cops. It was nothing, end of story.”

  “Wow.” Lori scratched Minx’s back gently, making the old cat arch and purr.

  Silence fell between them. Thinking she’d gotten out of it pretty easily, Ali drained the mug of tea and stood up.

  Lori quickly looked up at her. “What else happened?”

  “Huh?”

  “You said things are weird between you and Ghost. You two are great friends. What happened? Why are things weird?”

  Crap. “I don’t know.”

  Lori’s expression was pure scepticism.

  “Look.” Ali rubbed the back of her neck. “We’ve said a few words, a few things happened…it’s nothing serious.” Right. Geez. “I’m sure we’ll work things out.” Probably not in this lifetime. Hoping her sister’s curiosity was satisfied, Ali tossed the leftover toast in the bin and washed the few dishes before placing them on the draining rack.

  No sooner had she started for the door than Lori asked quietly, “That’s not everything, is it?”

  Stopping near the doorway, Ali looked back over her shoulder. “Of course it is.”

  “No, it’s not.” Lori’s gaze was steady. “You and Ghost go back a long way. We all go back a long way. Something major happened between you two, something that’s making you jumpy and unhappy.” Before Ali could argue, she held up one hand. “I’m not a fool, Ali. I can see how distracted you are. Heck, the way you’ve been acting to avoid him is a big tell.”

  “I’m not-”

  “I know you
, sis, so don’t pull that crap with me. If you don’t want to tell me, fine, but don’t try to make me believe it’s all okay. Okay?” Lori’s face was set.

  No, her little sister wasn’t a fool. They were close, sharing a lot of things but not everything, and right now Ali wasn’t ready to share. “Later, Lori. Not right now.”

  “No worries.” Lori nodded but worry was evident in her eyes. “I’m here if you want to talk.”

  “Thanks.” She glanced up at the kitchen clock. “I have to get ready for work.”

  “Sure.”

  Not long after, dressed for work, Ali walked past the kitchen and saw Lori still sitting in the chair, Minx on her lap, the Milo still at her elbow. Lori’s head was resting on one hand, her eyes shut, her breathing already becoming deeper.

  Affection washed through her, and she moved into the kitchen and across to the table, shaking her sister’s shoulder gently. When Lori’s eyes opened, Ali said softly, “You better shower and go to bed, sleepyhead. If you fall asleep here you’ll wake up with a crick in your neck.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Blinking, Lori shifted, picking Minx up to cradle her in her arms as she stood. Pushing a stray strand of hair back from her plait, she started across the room, Ali following.

  As the sisters parted in the hallway, Ali heading for the door and Lori for the bathroom, Lori said, “I’m always here, you know.”

  Ali flashed her a smile. “Yeah, I know.”

  Nodding, Lori smiled back and disappeared into the bathroom.

  Outside the sun was shining, the warmth of the coming day already permeating the air. With her jacket slung over one shoulder and her handbag over the other, Ali jumped down off the veranda and headed for the garage. Slowing down, she checked Ghost’s place but all seemed quiet.

  Relieved, she opened the garage and got her car out. Driving to work she had the radio on enjoying the music when she saw someone jogging along the footpath. There was no need to guess who it was, his blonde hair was clear to see even from a distance.

  As she neared she couldn’t help but study Ghost. His back to her didn’t detract from him. Instead, she had a great view of his buttocks in those short shorts, the muscles flexing in the strong thighs as he pounded the pavement in a rhythmic stride. His singlet emphasized the broadness of his shoulders, his biceps and triceps bunching and stretching as he swung his arms, lifting one arm to wave to someone passing by on their pushbike who obviously greeted him. His blonde hair was pulled back in the customary ponytail, the ends down past his shoulders to bounce against his broad back.

  As she neared, Ghost looked over his shoulder at her, his expression growing grim, and she had no doubt that his eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. Oh yeah, he was still out of sorts.

  Well big deal, so was she.

  Keeping her gaze forward she passed him, but no way could she help glancing back at him in the rear-view mirror. Oh yeah, the man was muscle in lithe motion as he continued to stride it out. He was one luscious hunk, trim, muscular, and mouth-wateringly handsome. Odd that she’d never noticed that until recent events.

  Regardless, why was he so intent on trying to be with her? What could she possibly have that would even be remotely attractive to him, apart from big boobs, perhaps? She knew he was a boob man, had known it for a long time, but her boobs certainly weren’t perky and they were a hell of a lot more than a nice handful.

  Coming upon a woman walking her dog, she felt herself grow morose. Now this was the kind of woman to whom most men were attracted. Her hips didn’t bulge, her boobs were perky, and her legs were long and sleek. She was trim, taut and terrific, and yes, beautiful, a more perfect match for a man like Ghost. There was no way she could measure up to this unknown woman. Ali was short, round and while not ugly, she wasn’t going to win any beauty contests. She didn’t jog, much preferring to walk and literally stop and smell the roses – hey, her neighbours had some awesome roses – and to prove everything, she attracted losers.

  Who left her on the side of the road.

  She bet no one would leave the beauty she’d just passed on the side of the road. Hell no, the men would be rolling out a red carpet all the way to her door.

  Mood falling, Ali kept driving, turning into the motel staff car park minutes later. Good thing she’d given up on men, because right now they were her least favourite species on the planet.

  After snakes, of course. But not by far.

  Pulling into a parking bay, she locked the car and walked through the staff entrance to the reception area. After stashing her bag away, she sat down at the reception desk and pulled up the days bookings on the computer. She’d just cast her eyes down the listings to see who had arrived and who had left when Vic walked into the reception area from the restaurant.

  “Hi, Ali.” He wiped his hand through his well-oiled hair.

  When would the man ever stop oiling himself up? Anymore and his hair would slide right off his head. “Hey, Vic.”

  “So” He leaned against the reception desk and peered over the top at Ali.

  In answer, she raised both eyebrows at him.

  “So,” he repeated. “Rough night last night?”

  “Huh?”

  “Cop cars arrived at your house, there was screaming and yelling, Ghost was put into handcuffs and taken to gaol. Quite a night, so I hear.” Gaze avid, he leaned closer, dropping his voice. “You were cautioned after you threatened to knee Adam in the – you know – family jewels.”

  Goddamn gossips! “Nothing like that happened, Vic.” Coolly, she glanced back at the computer screen.

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Thought I had a prowler and called Adam. Turned out it was a false alarm.”

  “But Ghost was there, right?”

  “Yeah, he’d come over the back fence as usual for a visit and I’d mistaken him for a prowler.” Ali glanced back up at Vic’s disappointed expression. “Anything else I can help you with?”

  His sudden leer was as oily as his hair. “Yeah. How long has Ghost been jumping your back fence for night visits?”

  Glaring, she retorted, “He’s one of my best friends, Vic, so get your mind out of the gutter.”

  “If that’s how you treat your best friends-”

  “Don’t go there, Vic.” She stabbed one finger in his direction. “Or your wife might find out about your little sojourns around the neighbourhood.”

  Immediately he reared back in indignation. “Hey, I visit my mother regularly.”

  “Yeah, but what if gossip started over innocent visits and turned them into trawling the neighbourhoods for wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am visits while using your ‘Mum visiting’ as an excuse?”

  “That never happens!”

  “And the big fiasco at my house didn’t, either.”

  Vic glared back at her for several seconds before calming down. “Yeah, I see where you’re coming from. Okay, sorry. Truce?”

  She managed a smile. “Truce.”

  “Bloody gossips, huh?”

  “You got it.”

  Walking around the reception desk, he entered the manager’s office, sat down and commenced work. Thank goodness.

  Minutes later the reception door opened and Ali looked up from the accounts she was working on to smile in greeting. “Good morning. What can I – oh, for God’s sake!”

  Chris rushed up to the desk, another bunch of flowers in his hand and a concerned expression on his face. “Alissa, I am so glad you’re all right.”

  “I’m fine. Now please go.” Out of the corner of her eye she could see Vic leaning back in the chair as far as it would go so he could see past his office door, his gaze riveted on the scene. “Now.”

  “Not until you let me apologise, Alissa. I know you didn’t want the police called last night, but when Sinclair started to manhandle you and-”

  “He didn’t manhandle me!” Sweet baby Jesus, save her. “Now, please go away.”

&
nbsp; “Fine.” Placing the flowers on the desk, he held up his hands. “But at least let me apologise for the other night. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable about your weight, I-”

  This could not be happening. Grabbing the flowers, she stood up. “If you don’t leave now I’ll shove these flowers so far down your throat that you’ll be farting fragrance for a year!”

  Now at the doorway, Vic’s fascinated gaze ping-ponged between them. At the doorway to the restaurant, Cheryl, one of the waitresses, stood with her mouth open.

  This had to end – now.

  Cheeks flaming, Ali stormed around the desk, grabbed a handful of Chris’s mechanic’s overall and pushed him through the door. Once outside she slapped the flowers back at him. “I don’t want to see you again. Ever. Understand?”

  “Let me explain.” He tried to hand the flowers back, his expression one of serious concern. “My sister was overweight and hugely unhappy, and I helped her lose weight and get a good job. I helped her friend do the same. I can help you, Alissa, if you’ll let me.”

  “Let you?” She could practically feel the steam coming from her ears. If she hadn’t noticed a car turning into the entrance to the motel, she’d have let loose a volley of swear words at the dunce before her. Instead, she ground out from between clenched teeth, “Get this through your thick head once and for all, Chris. I like my job, I’m happy with myself even if I don’t fit society’s perception of the ideal woman, and if you ever – ever – turn up at my place of work again and humiliate me like this, I will not be responsible for what I do or say. Understood?”

  “I really think you haven’t given this much thought-”

  There was only one thing for it. Lifting up the bunch of flowers, she smacked him smartly across the cheek with it, watching in satisfaction as petals exploded in a shower of colour.

  Okay, maybe she had slapped him a little harder than she’d thought, but…whatever.

  While Chris just stood there gaping at her, she unzipped his overalls and proceeded to smartly stuff the cluster of stems and now bedraggled flowers down the front before turning around and walking back into the motel.

  Cheryl and Vic jumped back just as she slammed the glass door open, Cheryl taking one look at her face and turning tail to scamper back into the restaurant, no doubt with the days entertainment ringing in her head to unfurl from her mouth to the other staff members as soon as she could get to them.