We were in love and could only think about each other.
Chapter Thirty-Six
But one thing we could not forget was the rapidly approaching date when I had to fly home. The night before, we lay in the bed holding each other. Sex was always possible with us, but this evening it wasn’t important. We preferred gentle handholding, the kissing and hugging that comes between two people after lust decreases and real love increases. Heaven knows, we had ridden that lust escalator fully the last fourteen days. Now was the time for loving.
“PJ, I’m going to miss seeing you every morning.” I turned to him and continued quietly. “I hope you understand why I can’t stay here, why I have to go back.”
He stroked my hair tenderly. “I do understand, but I don’t know how I’m going to feel when you’re not here for me to wake up with. Sweetheart, we will work out something so we can be together. I’ll think of something … promise.”
“I know you will.”
With that thought, we grew silent again and gradually gave in to our need to sleep, my back to his chest, my hips in his lap, and his arms wrapped around me, holding my breasts.
The trip to the airport took two hours because of the drive time traffic as we went through Cincinnati. We spent the time making plans to see each other again.
“Basketball season is almost upon me, so it will be tough getting time away. We take four days off at Thanksgiving, and I have a tournament in Knoxville middle of December, but it’s not going to be easy.”
“I’ll take some time to come to Curtis. I want to see you PJ. We’ll have some other weekends. It’ll work, you’ll see.”
Both of us knew it wouldn’t be enough time together. We just chose to be quiet to the likelihood that a long distance romance had little chance of surviving. But, I refused to admit that was a possibility, so we made plans.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Monday mornings were always busy. The weekend receipts had to be verified and the bank deposit made. This was my job. “Ronnie, got a minute? I’m looking over these receipts and I have a question.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t make the receipts match the cash register revenue last weekend. Particularly this bar bill. Can you help me out?”
“Was this on Friday or Saturday?”
“Looks like Friday.”
“Oh yeah, Mayor Lopez and some of his staff came by. They wanted to borrow the back booth; I think to talk about the upcoming campaign. I figured we could use all the support we could get, so I took care of their drinks. That okay?”
“Good move. If we are going to expand, we do need all the help we can get.”
“Can we talk a minute?”
“Sure sit down. What’s on your mind?”
“You seem very relaxed after the two weeks with PJ. This is the first time I’ve seen you since you came back. How did it go?”
“Ronnie, I had a great time. PJ is for real, and I’m so glad we got together.”
“Was the real man as fantastic as the dream man?”
“Stop it, you dirty old man, you’ll make me blush. I’m not giving away any details. But in a word, absolutely!”
“Good, honey, I’m glad. Wilma and I like the young coach. He seems to be good for you.”
“Yes he is.”
“Oh, one other thing, I saw Shelby the other day. I hope you don’t mind, I talked to him about our proposal.”
“So? How is my reluctant old daddy doing?”
I still couldn’t feel warm and fuzzy about his announcement two weeks ago. Not telling me for so long was just not right. I wondered what else he was keeping from me.
“Charlotte, give him a break. He really is a good man.”
“I know.” I shrugged my shoulders and pouted. “I do know.”
“Well, he will probably be calling you today or tomorrow. After talking about the investor group’s offer, and finally reading our proposal, he’s ready to talk seriously.”
“Ronnie, why did he turn me down to begin with?”
“He told me his investment committee was convinced we were heading into a serious slowdown, or possibly a recession. He didn’t want you to be pressured when the business might slow down.”
“Looking out for me again?”
“Guess so,” Ronnie replied with a wide grin.
“Ronnie, you’re amazing. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing him again. Thanks.”
I stood and hugged the older man, kissed his cheek and said. “I love you.”
“Now I’m going to blush. Shelby really has a heart for you; he’s just not good about showing it … Got to get back to work, big lunch today.”
“I know he’s a good man. Thanks for reminding me.”
I was beginning to soften about Shelby, but I was still mad at him. But I had more to worry about now. I returned to my work, but wasn’t able to concentrate properly; PJ kept creeping into my mind. Finally I gave in to temptation, closed my eyes, and allowed my mind to wander.
The spell was interrupted by the big booming voice of Lloyd from the bar. “Charley, phone call.”
Lloyd startled me, and I was slow to respond but muttered back. “Transfer it back here. Thanks.”
The voice on the line was familiar. “Good morning Charlotte, this is Shelby Loomis.”
“Morning, Shelby.”
“I’ve been giving some more thought to your proposal, and I think we might work something out. Could you come in tomorrow?”
“I would be glad to. Why don’t we make it a breakfast meeting and get something at the Fresh Deli?”
“Sounds good to me, 7:30 okay?”
“I’ll be there.”
Things are beginning to look up. I returned to my work; no more daydreaming. The routine work had a soothing effect on me. This didn’t last long before I was interrupted again by a familiar voice.
“Charley, got a minute to talk?”
The anxious baritone voice of Bobby Wagner brought me back to reality.
“Good morning, Bobby. Sit down and have a cup of coffee. What’s going on?”
“We have to talk. Can we go upstairs?”
There was something about Bobby’s look that warned me to stay downstairs where there was staff around. Not that I was afraid of him, but his ruffled hair and rumpled clothes warned me to be cautious. “Let’s just stay here; my work is all spread out. What’s wrong?”
Bobby hung his head and took a deep breath. He lifted his head resolutely and blurted out. “Debbie and I are breaking up.”
After absorbing the initial shock, I looked into Bobby’s blank face, and knew he needed me to be strong in my response. “No you are not, I won’t allow it. You’re perfect for each other.”
“I know, but …”
“But what, you idiot?” I was a little frustrated. I was falling in love and my two best friends were falling out of love. That isn’t the way it’s supposed to be.
Bobby hung his head again, and slowly raised his eyes to meet mine. With an unsteady, but determined voice, he said. “I’m still in love with you, Charley. I can’t get you out of my mind. I dream about you, and I think about you all day long. Debbie knows something is wrong, but she doesn’t know what.”
“You’re in love with me? I don’t believe it. After all these years, you tell me you’re in love with me? I just don’t buy it! I damn sure am not going to be the one to break up my friends.”
“Charley, you were my first love and I’ve always loved you, even when you broke up with me.”
“Wait a minute. You broke up with me, Bobby Wagner. You didn’t come home when you had that leave, remember? You spend two weeks with some woman in Virginia Beach. I got the message and moved on. It was the right thing. You need to move on as well, Bobby.”
“But, remember the good times we had? That first date at the Ringgold drive-in. I was so scared Charley. What about our first attempt to lose our virginity at the pavilion at Old Hickory Lake. I didn’t know what I was doing tha
t first time. And the talks we had were always terrific. I haven’t felt like that in years. We were good with each other and happy. And I want that happiness back again.”
“Bobby, those were good times. But we were just teenagers. We were not in love, what we felt was lust, pure and simple. Love is more than sex. Love is what you and Debbie have. You truly care for each other. You guys fit together. If the sex is there, good; but if it isn’t as exciting as it once was, that doesn’t mean that love isn’t there.”
“What am I going to do, Charley?”
“You are going to fall in lust with Debbie again. Court her again. Convince her all over that you need her and want her. Have more date nights. Strip naked and love yourselves into next week!”
I laughed at the sudden vision that popped into my mind, and soon Bobby began to smile and become the Bobby Wagner I have known since the eighth grade.
“She and I did do some wild things, I remember …”
“Hold it lover boy. Tell her, not me, okay? Tell you what. I’ll start an open dinner tab for you two through Christmas. My Christmas present will be tearing up that tab, if you two are still together. Otherwise, you’ll owe me big time. Now go pick up Debbie and go for a picnic on Old Hickory Lake.”
“Thanks Charley, you know I love you?”
“Sure and I love you. Now get out of here.”
Damn I’ve gone from no loves to two loves in less than a month! I bet Terry will come in next. Try as I might, I still couldn’t get the thought out of my head. Love is more than sex. Reluctantly, I started questioning PJ and my relationship.
Was it just plain old lust? It certainly started with lust, but have we come any further toward love?
When the phone rang again, I wanted to unplug it so I could have some peace and quiet. Of course, I didn’t. “Hello, this is Charlotte speaking.”
“Charley, it’s Mary Lou; Coach McCoy’s assistant.”
“Morning, Mary Lou. I recognize your voice. Is everything okay?”
“Charley, when are you coming back to see Coach?”
“We haven’t talked about when; haven’t actually talked to PJ. Why? Do I need to come back?”
“Nothing really wrong that I can see. PJ was glowing this morning when he came in. You’ve brought some real pep back into him.”
“Good. He’s been good for me as well.”
“But Charley, there is something.”
“Tell me Mary Lou.”
“I’ve heard a rumor going around campus that Coach has a girlfriend.”
“That’s not bad; I guess I’m his girlfriend, aren’t I?”
“Yes, but this rumor isn’t about you. Rumor has it that Coach is dating a senior co-ed on campus. No one has been identified yet, but the rumors are out there.”
“Mary Lou, you know PJ better than most people. Is there any truth to the rumor? Be honest with me, please.”
“Charley, so far as I know, and I know most of what’s going on with Coach, his only girlfriend is you. Before you, he hadn’t dated anyone more than twice and even those dates were few and far between.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“What do you think I should do, Mary Lou?”
“When you do talk to him, don’t let on that you know anything. Knowing him, he’ll be the last person to even hear the rumors. If the rumors persist or get worse, I’ll call you. Coach’s birthday is in two weeks Saturday. There’s a basketball game on that Friday. Why don’t you surprise him?”
“Thanks Mary Lou, you’re a great friend. I’ll see you that Friday. Don’t tell him I’m coming. I’ll first find a flight into Dayton, get a rental and drive down … might be quicker. Let me know if anything develops on that rumor. See you later. Bye”
What have I gotten into?
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Mary Lou called me again with information about the rumor. It had gained a wider audience. She now identified the girlfriend as suspected … a co-ed on campus. My initial reaction was to be angry with PJ. Or maybe at myself for thinking I had some exclusive right to him. Our last meeting was pretty intense, and I had every reason to believe he wanted me as much as I wanted him. But, he could be a fraud, or even a sexual predator like Wilma suggested. I had been pretty aggressive with him.
Oh Hell, Stop it! Don’t create trouble, I think too much. Just go there and see what happens.
I continued driving the red mustang which I had rented at Dayton International. Middletown was about thirty minutes away. I pulled slowly into the campus entrance, and getting my bearings, I rounded the commons and took the next left to the athletic complex. The offices were on the front of the modern glass and brick building. There were several groups of students sitting on the step, talking, studying and flirting. I must have lost my touch; none of the guys gave me so much as a glance. Oh well, I have all I can handle now.
The door opened to a short lobby leading to a long cross aisle. The basketball complex was to the right as I remember. Except for the stunning blond resolutely marching ahead of me, there were few students in the hallway. It soon became apparent she was also heading for the basketball offices.
PJ’s secret girlfriend? Blond, pretty and sexy … could be the one.
Continuing down the hall, I came to the door the blond had entered, and it was indeed the Curtis University Basketball, Phillip McCoy, Head Coach Office. The loud voices from inside caused me to hesitate rather than barge in.
I heard the familiar voice of Mary Lou, PJ’s administrative assistant. The high pitched female voice was probably Blondie’s voice. I felt like a fool, so obviously eavesdropping. An argument, or at least a forceful demand, was in progress.
“I have to see him!” came through pretty loud and clear. A pause ensued, followed by another outburst to disturb the tranquil hallway. Finally I heard PJ’s raised voice.
“What is going on out here? I’ve got work to do.”
There was a long pause before PJ said. “OK come in. You come in as well Mary Lou.”
When I heard the door to PJ’s office close, I eased open the hall door and timidly peeked in to see if anyone was left. No one was there to stop me, so I gently closed the office door and tiptoed just outside PJ’s door. Unfortunately, I could pick up only a few words of conversation.
“… I am pregnant …”
“… Hell … tell me. Mary Lou did …? Why the Hell …”
“… Girlfriend? Date? … I am not… I’ll kill …”
And suddenly the room became silent, or I couldn’t hear what was going on inside. I heard PJ however, in a firm voice say. “Go back to class, now.” A chair squeaked and then I heard footsteps.
I hastily moved away from the door and retreated across the room to the front door, but I stayed inside. PJ’s door opened and Blondie, pretty, blond and very sexy came out.
She saw me and turned back to the inside of the room and cooed, “see you tonight, PJ,” and punctuated that message with a sexy air kiss. With a self-satisfied, almost malicious grin, she hurried past me and out the door.
I saw PJ inside his office, turn to Mary Lou and ask. “What did she say?”
I knew it was a great opportunity to increase PJ’s tension a little, so he heard back a different voice than he had expected. “She said. ‘PJ, I’ll see you tonight.’ Then she blew you a kiss.”
PJ’s head snapped around and he burst out of his office. When he saw me standing there with my feet planted squarely apart, and my hands clenched on my hips, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. I was laughing on the inside but frowning on the outside.
“Charley, what …?” he stammered.
“Am I doing here?” I completed his sentence. “I thought I was surprising you for your birthday, but it looks instead like I’m interrupting a bit of a love-fest. Anything I need to know PJ? Like anything at all?”
This was not my most loving voice.
“Sweetheart, you don’t understand. It’s not what it seems.�
��
“I only know what I saw, and it looked like a sexy young co-ed coming out of your office, with a pretty provocative goodbye. ‘I’ll see you tonight?’ Maybe I’d better go back home and leave you to your college girlfriend.”
“Please Charley, come in and listen to me,” PJ pleaded. “Mary Lou … help me here, please.”
I didn’t move.
“Was that Rachel Thomas, your girlfriend, who is pregnant?”
“Yes that was Rachel and she is not my girlfriend. Wait a minute, how did you know who she was? And who said anything about her being pregnant?”
PJ stepped back, his eyes squinting. He turned his head slightly, a small pain frown had accented his face, as he turned first to Mary Lou and then back to me.
“What’s going on here?”
“Having a bad day PJ?”
“Damn right I am. Now what is going on? What are you doing here Charley?”
He looked like a little boy who just hit his thumb with a hammer; the pain on his face was too much. I threw my arms around his neck and planted a big wet kiss on his surprised lips.
“Mary Lou told me all about the rumor and everything. She told me about Rachel, the whole thing.”
“She did?”
He turned around to his longtime assistant, and saw her broad grin and raised eyebrows. He looked back at me.
“I had you going there for a while didn’t I?” I said.
“You knew all along?”
“I did,” I replied. “Hope you’re not mad at me.”
With a noticeable sigh of relief, PJ flopped down into a nearby chair. “Don’t do that to me again, please Charley. My heart can’t stand it! I’m so glad you’re here. I really need you now.”
As the tension drained from the room, Mary Lou’s experienced voice took over. “Let’s go in your office Coach. I think all three of us need to talk.”
Charley Page 18