Maybe This Time (A Second Chance Romance)

by Susan B. James

  ~ ~ ~

  Jen hummed Time after Time from one of her all-time favorite movies, Strictly Ballroom, under her breath. Sometimes Cyndi Lauper hit it right on the head.

  Lance balanced four takeaway pizza cartons. “You don’t think we possibly overstocked?” He used his elbow to press Jeremy’s doorbell.

  “You can never have too much pizza. It’s like having too much chocolate. Besides, it makes great leftovers.”

  “Is there any restaurant within a ten-kilometer radius you don’t have a takeaway menu for?”

  “Some people collect art. I prefer menus. So much more practical.” Jen carried the package from Tre Semmes Bakery and the string bag full of fizzy drinks.

  Jeremy opened the door. Kat hovered at his elbow, eyes red and swollen. “Ah, sustenance. Thanks.” He gave them a grimace, which was probably supposed to be a smile.

  Jen hated to see him looking so harassed when she felt so happy. “Oh come on, Jeremy. She did an experiment. It’s not the end of the world. Come have some pizza, both of you.”

  Jeremy spoke to Lance. “No clues yet. I’m sorry. It’s a right mess. But I’ll fix it.”

  Jen shivered. He was going to send Lance back. She knew it. But . . . “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  Kat gulped. A half giggle. “You’re quoting Star Wars. I wish I’d taken you to a retro cinema instead of messing about with Dad’s program.”

  Jeremy relieved Lance of the pizza boxes. “Let’s eat.”

  Lance sat next to Jen. He served them both a slice of the veggie pizza. She watched him methodically tear the crust off the back of his slice. A bittersweet pang of recognition made her throat ache. He always said the cheesy bits were the only part worth having.

  Jeremy looked from Lance to Jen. “We have a problem. I’ve never used the machine to go back in time because I don’t know how to do it safely yet.”

  Jen choked on her ginger beer.

  Lance pounded her on her back.

  When her eyes cleared, she tried to speak. Coughed, and tried again. “Then how did Kat and I go back to−”

  “I don’t know. Kat must have changed something.” Jeremy took the pepperoni bits Kat had removed from her pizza and arranged them in a pattern. “Neither of us can see where she changed the program.”

  “I guess we’re stuck with him then.” Jen felt a ridiculous thrill of happiness. She didn’t want to give up this Lance. “Won’t it be fun to meet your twin?”

  Jeremy frowned. “No, Jen. It won’t be fun. If they actually meet, something terrible could happen. The most probable being they could create a time paradox in which their moment of meeting would loop eternally. Neither of them would have a future beyond the event.”

  Jen opened the Tre Semmes pastry box. She needed chocolate. Now. “Couldn’t you send the other Lance back instead?”

  Jeremy regarded her as if she were a complete dill. “Keep up, Jen. I don’t know how to send anyone back.”

  All men were idiots. “But you will know how. And right now, you know how to go forward. So why not go forward to a time when you do know how to send him back.”

  Lance and Jeremy looked gobsmacked. Hah!

  “Of, course,” Jeremy said. “We’ll do it in increments. We’ll jump ahead five years and then move forward a month at a time until we reach the right timeline.”

  Kat’s lips set in a way Jen knew from experience. “I’m going with you.”

  Jeremy dropped the piece of pizza he’d been about to bite into. “No. No one’s going but Lance and me. We’ll take care of it.”

  “You’d better take me. Otherwise, I am going to go by myself.”

  They seriously thought they were going to leave her out of it? “No, you won’t, Kat.” Jen pushed her plate away. “I’ll go with you.”

  Jeremy and Lance exchanged glances.

  “She knows how to operate the machine.” Jen smiled angelically. “Wouldn’t it be better to have us under your supervision?”

  Lance locked eyes with Jen. “Better bring them, Jer. There’s no telling what they’d get up to on their own.”

  Jeremy looked from her to Kat. Clearly, he knew he was beaten. “You’d have to stay in the house,” he warned. “You don’t want to run into your other selves on the street.”

  “And how will you not run into yourself, brother dear?”

  Jeremy got up from the table. “Because I know where I was in April 2006 and it wasn’t London. Come on, let’s go.”

  Chapter 14

  The closet he’d helped Jeremy set up as a time chamber felt a lot more crowded with four of them. Lance remembered joking with Jeremy when they’d run the wires through its walls about time traveling never becoming a team sport. Too small a space. Now Jeremy’s theory was a reality. And he’d assisted in its birth. How could he regret it when it brought Guinevere back to him?

  Lance pulled Jen back against him. “I’m not sure I’m ready to age another five years,” he whispered in her ear.

  Her chuckle sounded shaky. “Who is? Ever?”

  The room shuddered. The door swung open.

  Jeremy’s lab hadn’t changed much. The bank of computers seemed the same. Two larger desks, both with comfortable swivel chairs and large flat-panel monitors, had replaced the single desk. “Bloody hell, Jer. They’re almost the size of your telly.”

  Jeremy seated himself at one of the desks. “It’s amazing what a difference a few inches makes.

  “If that’s a crack at me, it’s unwarranted,” Jen said. “I don’t think I’ve gained an inch.”

  Jen touched her fingers to her toes and winced. “Ouch. I’m tighter in my joints.”

  Jeremy pointed at Lance. “Take the other computer. The first step is to find out where you and Jen are so we don’t bump into you by mistake.”

  Lance didn’t want to know where he was. If there was an email about him and the unknown Aileen, he didn’t want to read it. He sat at the computer. “I’ll start with Jen. She should be easy.”

  “What about me?” Five years had changed Kat’s features from adolescence into young womanhood.

  Jeremy motioned Kat to read over his shoulder. “Your grandmother’s email says she hopes I’m having a lovely time in Los Angeles, and that she saw you off to Paris yesterday, and she can’t wait to meet Daniel.” He turned to Kat. “Who is Daniel, I wonder?”

  Kat’s scarlet cheeks indicated she knew exactly who Daniel was. Lance turned back to the computer. “Interesting. I don’t know what you are doing, Jen, but you’re not in a play.”

  “Odd,” Jeremy said. “My email doesn’t show a single letter from you, Jen. Nothing from you either, Lance.”

  “Maybe I’m on vacation,” Jen offered. “I never wrote anyone then.”

  That isn’t like either one of you.” He looked at Lance. “Normally I get three or four emails a week from you.”

  Lance typed in his email account. It wasn’t there. He tried his work account. Nothing. He must have changed jobs. He brought up his bank account. “Jeremy, take a look at this.” He turned the screen to face Jeremy.

  Jeremy’s face paled. “Jen give me your bank account login.”

  “I don’t use online banking. Why would you want it?”

  “Your email, then.”

  Jen leaned over Jeremy’s keyboard. “I’ll type it in myself. I can do that much with a computer.” She finger-tapped out her email service address. “My username isn’t coming up. I hate computers.”

  Jeremy’s breath hissed out. He speed-tapped a stream of symbols. “We need to go a bit further. I set up a gateway to Los Angeles when I was there last week. No,” he corrected himself. “That was five years ago. In April 2001. I have a much bigger lab in Los Angeles. We need to use it.”

  Somethin
g was very wrong. No use alarming Jen and Kathryn. Lance took a deep breath and smiled. “Sounds good. I’ve always wanted to go to Hollywood.”

  Jen frowned. “Mother said you were in Los Angeles in April of 2006. Won’t we meet up with you?”

  Jeremy’s fingers flew over the keys. “We would if we went to April 2006. I’ll program us forward to December, but first, I have to send Kat home.”

  Kat fisted her hands on her hips. “No. I’m part of this. I want to go with you.”

  Jeremy sighed. “You can’t stay. Kitty-Kat, I know you met someone when we came forward the first time.”

  Kat’s cheeks turned red. “Yes. You told me not to leave the house, but we were out of coffee. Daniel stood next to me in line. I only left the house one time. After that, Daniel came here.” Her eyes were bright with tears. “Dad, you don’t know what it’s like to meet someone and know this is the person you want to be with forever.”

  Jeremy flinched. “I do, actually. Sweetheart, trust me on this. ‘Future you’ already exists in this time. If you stay here, you could destroy the love between the ‘future you’ and Daniel. I have to send you home.”

  “Do it.” Kat turned abruptly, grabbed the card sticking out of the machine, and walked to the door without looking back.

  Jeremy turned her around and hugged her. “Kat. When you go home−”

  “I know. I won’t tell anyone. I won’t try to find Daniel. Hurry up and fix this, please.” The door closed behind Kat. Blue light flashed through the cracks.

  Jen looked from one face to another. “Something is wrong, isn’t it? More wrong than Lance coming forward.”

  Jeremy cleared his throat. “Possibly. The thing is. Lance and I can’t find any evidence either of you exist.”

  Chapter 15

  Ice prickled Jen’s spine. Jeremy knew how much she hated ghost stories. He was scaring her on purpose. “Of course we exist. We’re right here, aren’t we?” She stalked over to Jeremy and pinched him.

  “Ouch! I can see you are here. We’re all here, but Kat and I are here twice. Our future selves coexist with us in this time period.” Jeremy looked from Jen to Lance. “I can’t find you. Either of you.”

  Lance put an arm around Jen. “So Los Angeles? Through the machine?”

  Lance’s arm was a solid block of comfort. Jeremy had to be wrong. Because Lance felt real and so did she. Jen pinched herself. Definitely real.

  “Come on.” Jeremy typed a stream of symbols into the computer. The machine spat out a card. He inserted the card into the slot and motioned to them to enter.

  Jen closed her eyes, blocking out the wash of blue light.

  The door opened into a box-like corridor. A series of doors lined the unfinished plywood walls. There was a larger door at the far end. A faint smell of sawdust scented the air.

  They followed Jeremy, their footsteps echoing on the bare cement floor.

  He unlocked the door and ushered them into a room which made his lab in London look like a cozy shed. A huge worktable held computer bits and wires and green plastic card thingies. A second worktable was set up like a command station with a swivel chair, three huge monitors and keyboards, and a black metal box like the one in his home lab. The computer cases lining the floor to ceiling shelves looked taller and slimmer.

  Jen babbled to cover her nervousness. “Your computers sound like an alien swarm of bees. I feel like I’ve stepped into a sci-fi film. Exactly how far in the future did we go?”

  Jeremy keyed in a password and the monitors lit up. “December 9, 2006. Los Angeles. 2:59 PM. Weather shows high of eighty-five, low of fifty-eight. No rain in sight. So far. So good. Follow me.”

  He unlocked a second door. Once outside the lab, the heat went up at least fifteen degrees. This corridor resembled the ones she’d seen on studio sound stages. The walls didn’t reach up to the echoing metal ceiling.

  Jen could feel perspiration beading on her upper lip. “This place could use some insulation.”

  “I’m working on it.” Jeremy unlocked a plain, wooden door, and turned on a switch. Air conditioning hummed.

  An apartment. Jen stared at the single chair, a small shelf of large books on subjects she never wanted to read about, and the twin bed in the corner. “Obviously, you weren’t expecting guests.”

  A flat screen TV sat on a tall chest. Through an archway, she saw a kitchenette with a café table, a microwave, and a full-sized white fridge. The other door must lead to a bathroom.

  Jeremy pulled out a drawer and removed a slim, rectangular case and a white cord. He plugged one of the cords into the rectangle and the other into a wall. The rectangle lit up.

  Lance reached out his hand for the device. “What on earth?”

  “New kind of mobile phone. It’s not out yet. The inventor gave me a prototype. I couldn’t take it back to 2001 with me. I think it will take the world by storm.”

  Jen frowned. “Don’t get started on new inventions. Concentrate on the problem at hand. How long do you think it’s going to take you to solve it?”

  Jeremy exhaled. “I have no idea. We may be here a while. First things first. Let’s get you both some proper identification. Lance’s 1988 driver’s license won’t work. The world’s become very security conscious.”

  “And how do we do that?” Lance asked.

  The phone emitted several dings.

  “Look it up on the Internet, of course.”

  “What’s wrong with the driver’s license I have? Oh.” She’d left her purse in Jeremy’s lab. No ID. No credit card. No lipstick. Now she felt like a ghost. She smiled sweetly at her brother. “And then it’s time for your worst nightmare, Jeremy. You’re going to have to take me shopping.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Los Angeles didn’t look to have changed much since she’d filmed The Way Out, back in 1997. Jeremy drove them to the Beverly Center. For once she didn’t dawdle. Armed with Jeremy’s credit card, she chose two outfits, a pair of strappy sandals, a lightweight jacket, a Betsey Hall purse at Dolce and Gabbana, and a trendy pair of half-rim glasses so she could read the price tags. She zipped on to Sephora, Victoria’s Secret, and the Gucci luggage store.

  She met Jeremy and Lance at the food court. They were deep in serious discussion over plates of Chinese food. A shopping bag from Macy’s and a larger bag from an electronics store sat on the chairs across from them. She removed the bags, and piled them on the floor with her own.

  Lance pushed a plate toward her. “I got you Kung Pao chicken and noodles.”

  Jeremy’s eyes widened when he saw the number of bags she had. “Do I have any money left?”

  “I hope so, because I’m not giving back the card. I’ll need some cash, too.” She held out her hand.

  Jeremy removed a wad of American money from his wallet. “You’re an expensive wench.”

  She could feel the worry emanating from him, but he obviously wanted to keep it light. Well, she could do that. “Too right, I am.” She tore the paper off the chopsticks and dipped into the chicken, forcing the bite past the knot of fear in her throat. “We can’t stay at your place, obviously. I vote for my favorite hotel. If you hurry up with the solution, you may still be solvent when we leave.”

  ~ ~ ~

  The Bel Air Hotel was still an oasis of tranquility in the midst of Beverly Hills’ glitz. The bellboy led them through an arched door along a fern-shaded pathway. The sounds of water and birdsong slowed Jen’s pulse. He unlocked the carved panel door and bowed them inside. She let his patter about the restaurant and the pool wash over her, and surveyed the room.

  Dutch blue walls. A blue and white patterned area rug lay across the teakwood floor. Sheer curtains covered the huge picture window looking out on the tree-shaded patio. A flat screen TV hung above the cherry wood desk. Two upholstered armchairs flanke
d a round, cherry wood table. Sanctuary. She tipped the bellboy with one of the bills Jeremy had given her, and sent him off with a smile of thanks.

  “Very spiffy,” Lance observed. But he wasn’t looking at the room.

  The king-size bed loomed large. Suddenly Jen felt exhausted. “It must be age. All I want to do is climb in that bed and fall asleep.”

  Lance sighed. “I was afraid of that. I heard when you get old your sexual drive leaves.”

  “You don’t think it has anything to do with the fact we traveled five years into the future and my brother says we don’t exist anymore?”

  “If we don’t count that stop in 2001, it’s been eighteen years for me.”

  The poor dear looked discouraged. “But I do count it,” Jen cooed. “In 2001 we were both in great working condition.”

  Lance kneaded the tight muscles in her neck. “Five years is a long time. Who knows what’s happened to our equipment since then?” His fingers massaged her spine, sending delicious warmth into her nether regions.

  It was only right to return the favor. When she turned to face him, their bodies joined like magnets. Her hands stroked down his spine in slow circles. The bulge pressing against her pulsed signals to her growing desire. She stood on tiptoe to put his arousal where she wanted it to be. His arms lifted her. Oh, yes. Right there.

  His kiss sent the hunger swirling up to her brain. Her breath came faster.

  “Now,” she panted. “Right now.”

  He rolled her onto the bed. She had no idea how they undressed. Every iota of concentration was on his warm, firm, member rubbing against her.

  His tip probed her opening. She shattered.

  He entered her in the throes of her orgasm and took her higher. The delicious, unbearably wonderful feel of their pulsing rhythm set her over the edge again. He followed her.