by Ashlyn Chase
He leaned back and laughed. "Well, I appreciate your candor."
"Have you ever been in love?"
His expression turned somber. "I thought I was in love once," he said softly.
"Oh, what happened? If you don't mind me asking."
"No, I don't mind. Baseball can take a lot of time away from relationships. Things were shaky anyway and it affected my game. And then I was traded to Boston. She didn't want to leave Minnesota and I didn't have a choice." He took a deep breath and continued.
"I already played the field and that wasn't very satisfying. I guess I'm trying out relationships. Friendships are nice too. I have nothing against going that way if you're not ready to get involved with anyone—especially the first person you met after moving to the city."
She grinned. "I like friendships too, but I have nothing against relationships, either. We could always begin as friends and see where it leads."
"That sounds okay to me. Friends are nice— but…" He heaved a sigh and muttered, "Oh hell," then pulled her into his embrace and lowered his lips to hers. They shared a long, deep kiss. Merry felt her body weaken. Her temperature rose as their tongues sought each other and explored. A deep longing built in Merry's gut and she craved his touch. She slid her hands over his broad, warm back and he caressed hers in kind.
He lowered her to a supine position and never removed his lips from hers. For several minutes, Jason continued his drugging kiss and Merry lost all track of time. Their kissing and caressing may have gone on for an hour or more for all she knew. His tongue occasionally left her mouth and suction fused them together, then she found her tongue chasing his. Her insides liquefied as she realized they were lying next to each other. Anything could happen from there. Anything…
"Jason!" His aunt's voice invaded her dreamlike state.
He sat up. His body leaving hers abruptly chilled and surprised her.
What the… Merry lifted herself to a sitting position. Sure enough, his aunt hovered in the doorway with a key card in her hand.
"I didn't expect you two to be here. Um…" She smiled and her pale skin took on a rosy blush. At last she added, "Well, I thought you'd be downstairs."
"No, we had dinner up here. Is there something you wanted?"
She cleared her throat. "Um, yes. I was going to leave you a note about the women in apartment 3B. There's a terrible racket going on down there. All kinds of hooting and hollering. Even screaming. I want you to talk to them."
He stood slowly and put both hands in his pockets. "Why don't you talk to them, if it's bothering you? I can't even hear them."
Dottie jammed her hands on her hips. "I already did. They obviously don't care if they're disturbing me."
"How about Uncle Ralph? Is he upset by it?"
She rolled her eyes. "Your uncle isn't upset in the least. In fact he thinks it sounds like they're having sex and he seems to be enjoying it."
Jason chuckled. "I'll see if they can keep it down— when they're finished."
"Please do." His aunt spun on her heel and left, slamming the door behind her.
Jason sighed, then looked down at Merry and smiled. "I'm sorry about that."
"Don't worry. It was probably a good thing we were interrupted or who knows what…" She flushed as she realized what she had just revealed about herself, then checked her watch. "Oh, look. It's getting late. We should probably call it a night."
Jason looked disappointed, then said, "Okay. I'll walk you to your front door. Do you mind stopping one flight down? It might be a little less embarrassing for me to talk to Gwyneth and Morgaine if you're there."
"If they're really having sex, do you honestly think anything will make it less embarrassing?"
He winced. "I doubt it, but will you come anyway? As a friend supporting a friend?"
She shot him a teasing grin. "Sure, I wouldn't miss it."
"Oh, so you're that kind of friend, are you?"
"Don't tell me you can't take a little innocent teasing?" She elbowed him in the ribs.
"Of course I can, as long as you can take it as well as dish it out."
"Bring it on, pal."
***
Before Jason walked her to the elevator, Merry had offered to talk to the noisemakers in 3B for him. She really did want a relationship based on friendship and it seemed like a small thing she could do for him. So she kissed him good night at his door and took the elevator alone.
Now she stood at the door to 3B, listening to obvious moans of passion, wondering what to say. "Hey… I'm glad you two have such a great sex life, and I hate to put a damper on it, but…" No. Too direct. Maybe, "Hi, it's just little ol' me, dropping off a message…" At last, she decided to try letting them in on something she'd overheard the big, bad manager say. Okay—so she took the cowardly way out and stretched the truth a bit, but that seemed like the only option she could handle. So she knocked.
A long silence followed. She wondered whether to knock again or forget it when, a moment later, the door opened. Gwyneth, the younger one, greeted her with a cheery smile. "Howdy, Merry. What brings you all the way up here?" She wore a long, bohemian-looking, embroidered black skirt and a black crushed-velvet top. Her long red hair looked pretty yet unsophisticated pulled back on the sides with the rest of it hanging in curling tendrils around her shoulders and down her back.
"I wanted to tell you something kind of important. I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"Oh, no. Not at all. Come on in!"
Merry stepped through the door and Morgaine rounded
the corner. "What a nice surprise. How are you feeling, Merry?" Morgaine seemed to be in her thirties with the same bohemian style, but her hair hung loose and straight. A shiny eagle feather tucked behind her ear gave her the atypical appearance of a gothic Native American.
"I'm feeling much better, thanks. It was just sort of unnerving, especially since I'd only moved in the day before. What an introduction to city life!"
"Yeah, you must have felt like you were caught with your pants down." She gasped. "Lordy, I shouldn't let my mouth overload my tail. What I meant was, you musta thought about turnin' around and movin' right out, huh?" Gwyneth's fair complexion turned bright red.
"I admit it occurred to me. But I've waited too long for this to just turn tail and run. It doesn't happen a lot around here, does it?"
"No, and good for you," Morgaine said. "Your attack was the first on our block as far as I know."
"Lucky me."
Gwyneth added, "Now as far as people movin' in and right out, that happens, but only in apartment 3A across the hall."
"Hmm… Maybe it's haunted or something?"
Gwyneth looked to Morgaine, who nodded.
"Would you like to sit down, Merry? We can get you a beer or something…"
"Oh, no, thanks. I have to go back to my apartment and get some sleep. I just wanted to sort of warn you that Dottie's on the warpath about some loud noises coming from your apartment."
The women's eyes widened. "Noise? What kind of noise?" Gwyneth asked.
"She said 'hooting and hollering.' Oh, and 'screaming,' I believe."
The women looked at each other, and Gwyneth flinched.
"And she was telling you this because…?" Morgaine asked.
"Oh, no. She was talking to Jason. She wanted him to talk to you about it, but he was embarrassed. He's a really nice guy and I didn't want to see him squirm, so I said I'd tell you. It's no big deal. I mean, I think it's great that you two are so into each other and have such gratifying sex."
Morgaine straightened and stared. Gwyneth slapped a hand over her mouth. At last the uncomfortable silence shattered when the two women burst out laughing.
Merry cocked her head, confused about what she had said that amused them so much. Eventually the pair settled down and Morgaine spoke.
"We're not lesbians, Merry. We're phone-sex actresses. Sometimes the guys want us to pretend we're getting off too, so they can feel all pumped up about how virile
they are."
"Virtually virile, she means," Gwyneth drawled.
"Oh! So that's how you make your living?" Well, that was unexpected.
"That among other things. It's not like we can really keep it down much. It's what pays the rent. I don't suppose Dottie would care, even if she knew that."
Merry shrugged one shoulder. "Probably not. But maybe there's some kind of soundproofing Jason could look into."
"Some what?" Gwyneth asked.
"Soundproofing—between your two apartments."
Merry glanced around and noticed a lack of carpeting. "In the meantime, maybe you could put down some rugs as a noise dampener?"
Gwyneth nodded. "We could try it."
"Anything to keep the wicked witch of 2B happy, right?" Merry winked conspiratorially.
The women raised their eyebrows, then burst out laughing again.
Now what did I say?
Chapter 3
JASON HANDED A BEER TO HIS UNCLE, TOOK A SEAT ON his low side chair, and stretched out his legs. "How's it going?"
"With me? You know. Same old, same old. I thought I'd see if your life was more interesting."
Jason chuckled. "Well, tonight I got to know one of my tenants better… a lot better."
Ralph leaned forward. "Tell me all about it."
"Merry, the nurse who recently moved in, came for dinner. Jeez, I almost came in my pants while we were making out on the couch."
Ralph laughed. "Glad to hear it. But in a way, that's why I decided to pay you a visit. We need to talk."
"Talk? About my love life?"
Ralph rested his elbows on his knees. "I know this is something you'd probably rather hear from your father, but I'm here and he isn't, so I'm taking it upon myself to have the talk with you."
Jason's eyes rounded. "You mean the birds and the bees? Uncle Ralph, I'm twenty-seven years old. I've known about sex since I was eleven."
Ralph chuckled but quickly turned serious. "Not that talk. The one specifically connected to our family genetics."
"Oh, yeah. I suppose that's a talk we could have."
"Ever since you were a little boy, girls have followed you around and been fairly forward with you. Your dad asked me to keep an eye on you here and make sure no one got too close—for your own good."
Jason reared back. "What the… So am I never supposed to have the love and trust of a good woman? Just because you two think you know what's good for me?"
"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying you need to be careful. This girl seems like a real sweetheart. The kind of girl you could fall in love with."
"Yeah, and?"
Ralph looked him in the eye. "And that makes you vulnerable."
"I know all about the changes love and sex bring to the picture for those like us."
"She's vulnerable too. This is her home now. If things don't work out, living here might be uncomfortable, but it could be even worse for you if things progress."
Jason folded his arms and frowned. "How's that?"
"If she learns the family secret. You need to be very careful not to show her that side of yourself."
"Even if things don't move forward romantically with Merry, and it looks like they just might, she's already becoming a good friend. She said she'd go to the bachelor auction I was pressured into and bid on me. I really need that to happen. I get into trouble when I'm stressed out."
Ralph slapped his knee. "That's exactly what I'm talking about."
"Don't worry. I wouldn't dare tell her my deep dark secret yet. She might freak and I definitely don't want that to happen. But she seems open-minded. Maybe, if we get close first, she'll understand."
"I doubt it. Your mother was one in a million. Your father was extremely lucky. To expect to find a woman like that is like expecting lightning to strike twice in the same spot."
"So, you're saying that if I get close to a woman, any woman, I should never share my unique condition?" This little chat was annoying Jason more and more by the minute.
"Yes. Look, as much as I hate to put it this way, you're just a half-breed. You might not experience the same control over your instincts—especially if you let a woman into your life. That's the time we're tested the most. You're not as strong as the rest of us."
Jason shook his head. He knew the instincts his uncle referred to and he experienced the same feelings as much as any other full-blooded family member. But his uncle was right. He didn't have the solid control over his condition that was needed—especially during biological changes. Adolescence had been a double nightmare.
"So, you never told Aunt Dottie?"
Ralph burst out laughing.
Jason waited until his uncle settled down. "You're wrong about Merry. She wants to take stress off. She did me a big favor by speaking to some noisy tenants for me… or, more accurately, for Aunt Dottie who had already talked to them. I guess the noise continued. Now Dottie wants to use me as the muscle, and I really don't want to be cast in that role." Jason hung his head. "I thought being a landlord would be easy. What was I thinking?"
Ralph took a long swig of his beer. "I'll talk to Dottie. Meanwhile, be extra careful with Merry. Enjoy her friendship, but leave it at that."
"I'm not sure I can."
"Well then, test her first. See how she handles stress herself. You know the fight or flight instinct?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"Your father and I had another brother, remember? Until he revealed his secret and his girl ran off. You know what happened after that. Maybe if he'd known that's how she handled bad news…"
Jason paused, mulling it over, then said, "I guess a test might be a good idea. I was thinking I might offer to visit the patients at Merry's hospital and sign autographs. The bonus was supposed to be spending more time with her. But seeing her in action might be a good idea too. So far, everything about her is positive, but there has to be a downside. No one's perfect."
"Exactly."
"So, you want me to test her?" Jason asked. "How?"
"Her job sounds stressful and stress can bring out the worst in anybody. Just watch carefully. See how she handles whatever comes her way."
Jason secretly hoped to see her stay and "fight," not run from stressful situations. At that moment, a knock on his door meant the most imperfect person in the building had returned.
Ralph jumped up. "Don't tell her I'm here. I'll be in your bathroom. I have to go anyway."
Jason said, "We can continue this later," and waited until his uncle was hidden before he answered the door. "Aunt Dottie… Two visits in one night? Don't tell me they're still at it."
"No." She breezed past him, uninvited. "I came to say thank you for speaking to them. And what a good
idea… romancing the new girl."
"Good idea? What do you mean?"
"I mean that she won't sue you if you're her lover."
"Jeez, Dottie, is that all you can think about? I don't think she's going to sue me—and we're not lovers yet."
"By the looks of things, you would have been if I hadn't interrupted. Oh, I'm sorry about that, by the way."
"Apology accepted. Maybe you can leave messages on my voice mail or tape notes to my door from now on."
She frowned. "Are you saying you don't want me in your apartment?"
Jason tucked his hands into his pockets and shifted his weight, rocking from his heels to the balls of his feet and back. "Look, it's not that. I appreciate it if I'm away and need this rainforest watered…" He pointed to the massive palms and ficus trees by the windows. "But if I'm home, I should be able to take care of the apartment myself and there are other ways to reach me."
"In other words, you don't want me in here. I suppose you don't want me straightening up the place, either."
"Yeah, I was going to talk to you about that too. I can hire a housekeeper. You already have a place to clean. Plus you do the hallways—"
"Well, it isn't any bother. You should save your money for a rainy d
ay. You can't play baseball forever."
"I know, Aunt Dottie, I know. I'm already taking steps to insure some income in my retirement."
"Like what?"
"Well, there's the investment in this building."