Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Body (A Page Turners Novel)

by Marts, Jennie

  She sighed as he pulled his hand free from her shirt and moaned with pleasure as his hand ran across her denim-clad thighs to cup the mound between her legs. He rubbed his thumb across her magic button, and she clutched his back tighter.

  Brrriiinnnggg!

  Jake lifted his head, and Sunny tried to catch her breath.

  “Let it ring,” she said and gasped for air.

  He kissed her again as they waited for three more rings and the message to start.

  “Sunny, it’s Edna. I’m just calling to check on you. Your car’s in the driveway, so I know you’re there. You better pick up or I’m coming over.”

  Sunny scrambled from Jake’s arms to get to the cordless phone on the end table. She missed and knocked it to the floor. Sliding from the sofa, she grabbed the phone and depressed the tiny on button. “Hello.”

  “Oh, good, you are home,” Edna said. “Are you all right? You sound a little out of breath.”

  “I’m fine,” Sunny answered. Her top half was hanging off the edge of the sofa, and Jake ran his hand up her leg, sliding his fingers up the back of her shorts. His thumb brushed along the curve of her butt, and Sunny bit down on her lip to keep from moaning.

  “I was just checking on you and wondered when you were heading down to the police station?” Edna asked.

  “Police station?” Sunny asked. Jake’s hand stopped moving and pulled free from her shorts.

  “Yes. Remember Mr. Sleep-on-the-Sofa told the police he would bring you down this morning to file a report against Hank the Tank?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Sunny pushed up to her elbows, and Jake grabbed her arm to pull her back onto the sofa. “We’ll head down there in a little while. Thanks for checking on me, Edna. I’ll call ya this afternoon.” Sunny clicked the off button and set the phone on the table.

  Jake smiled and shrugged.

  A call about her stalker was a definite mood breaker.

  “I’m still planning on driving you down there,” he said. “When do you want to go?”

  “We might as well get it over with. Let me change clothes, and we’ll head over.”

  * * *

  “Anything else you can remember, ma’am?” the officer asked. After waiting twenty minutes, Sunny had been ushered in and placed at a desk strewn with folders, Styrofoam coffee cups, and a takeout bag from a local hamburger joint.

  A young cop named Officer Ryan had taken notes as Sunny replayed the events of the night before. He took her back to when she first met Hank, and they reviewed the date, the phone calls, and the first time he tried to enter her bedroom.

  Jake had sat next to her, his presence alone serving as a source of comfort and strength. Sunny could see his hand clench into a fist against his leg as she gave the officer the details of Hank’s assault.

  “That’s all I can think of,” Sunny said.

  “All right, we’ll be in touch,” the young officer said.

  “I’m gonna try to find McCarthy for a minute before we take off.” Jake stood and scanned the precinct room for the tall, balding man. Spotting him, Jake slipped from the chair and headed across the room.

  “That’s it for now.” Officer Ryan was obviously ready for her to move on. Sunny took her purse from his desk, knocking over one of the Styrofoam cups, the dried brown coffee residue stark against the white of the cup.

  Sunny stood and headed for the exit, and a strong male presence fell in behind her, cupping her elbow with his hand. Assuming it was Jake, she turned with a smile only to find herself looking up into the gorgeous face of Officer Royce, her young flirtee from the first encounter with Hank.

  “Hey, I was hoping to catch you. I saw you sitting at Ryan’s desk. You look really pretty today.” His eyes appraised her, and Sunny was blinded with the bright white of his delicious grin.

  “Oh, thanks.” Sunny tried not to break into girlish giggles. He was just so cute.

  “I heard about what happened last night. Are you doing okay?” he asked with genuine concern.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said.

  “Well, hey, I wanted to give you my card so if you ever get scared or just want to talk, you can call me. I’ll take you out for coffee or something…” He handed her his card, and she read the inscription. ‘Officer S. Royce, Amazing Gorgeous Stud, oh wait, it actually said, Criminal Investigations Division.’

  “Thanks,” Sunny said, amazed at her witty verbal skills.

  Even though Officer Cutey had her tongue-tied with his attention, he was still no Jake. No amount of coffee with this young hottie could compare with the passion she had felt for Jake this morning when his lips had touched hers.

  “I appreciate the offer, but–” The little card was snatched from Sunny’s hand as another male presence came up behind her.

  “She won’t be needing this,” Jake said and passed the card back to Officer Royce. “Thanks, though.”

  “Okay, man.” Royce held his hands up in mock surrender. “I didn’t want to step on anybody’s toes. It’s cool.” He nodded, gave Sunny a wink, and one more dazzling grin before ambling off.

  “Geez, I leave you alone for five minutes, and you’ve got half the police squad hitting on you,” Jake said as he opened the door for her.

  Half would imply the police squad was made up of exactly two officers.

  “What? He wasn’t…” she stammered, the verbal skills again coming up with nothing. Give her a roomful of seven-year-olds, and she could have them rolling on the floor in laughter, but two good-looking men talk to her in the same five minutes, and her brain freezes like chocolate in a Dairy Queen Blizzard.

  Oh, wow. She could really go for a Blizzard right now. Her stomach rumbled at the thought, and she looked up to see Jake good-naturedly shaking his head.

  “You’re thinking about food right now, aren’t you?” he asked.

  She blushed. “Well, it is about time for lunch.”

  “All right. Come on.” Jake took her hand as they walked toward his car. “I’ll buy you some lunch.”

  “And a Blizzard?”

  He stopped and raised an eyebrow at her.

  “A girl’s gotta eat,” she said.

  He continued to stare at her.

  “Well, she does.”

  “Yes, I guess she does.” He laughed and then leaned down and kissed her. Right on the mouth. Right on the street in front of God and everybody.

  A warmth spread through her all the way to her toes, and all thoughts of ice cream riddled with frozen chocolate chunks melted from her mind. Sunny knew this man must be special if he could make her forget about a chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard.

  26

  “Hey, Sunny,” Cassie said as she picked up the phone. She cradled the cordless unit against her shoulder as she spread chocolate frosting on the last of the cupcakes.

  “Hey, yourself. How’s family day going?” Sunny asked.

  “Good. Matt’s team won their football game and I’m just finishing the cupcakes. Tyler got his dad to take him on the hike, so I was released from scout badge duty. What’s goin’ on with you?”

  “That’s what I’m calling about, actually. I’ve had a little excitement since I saw you last.”

  “Since yesterday?”

  “Oh, yes. But I hoped to get the whole group together and tell you all at once. Edna and I can pick you up, and we can head to Maggie’s. She said she was working at home this weekend, so she’s probably holed up in her office and would appreciate the break. Can you and Piper get away for an hour or so?”

  “Hold on.” Cassie stuck her finger to her mouth and licked off the silky chocolate frosting as she looked across the kitchen to where Piper sat. She was curled into the chair by the fireplace, her ears plugged with the headphones from her Ipod. Cassie had to smile as she marveled at the changes in the young girl. Tara had convinced her that her natural blonde color was “ultra-fabulous” and had helped her to bleach it back.

  Ever since the Luau party Tara had hosted at the beginning
of the summer, the girls had become fast friends, and Tara could be found seated at Cassie’s dinner table several nights a week. They swapped music and clothes, and Piper could regularly be seen now in a whole rainbow of colors. The dark black eye makeup was gone, and so was the look of sadness that Cassie was afraid would be permanently etched on Piper’s face.

  Cassie came around the center island and tugged on Piper’s foot as it dangled over the side of the chair, tapping along to the music being pumped into Piper’s ear.

  Piper pulled one earphone loose as she looked up at Cassie. “What’s up?” she asked.

  “Sunny’s on the phone. She’s coming to pick us up. Do you wanna go over to Maggie’s with us for a little bit?”

  “Is Drew back?” Piper asked and eagerly leaned forward.

  “No. It’s just the girls.”

  “Oh,” she sighed and her shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I guess I’ll come.”

  “Count us in,” Cassie said into the mouthpiece of the phone.

  “Okay, see you in ten.”

  * * *

  “Hey, Maggie,” Sunny called thirty minutes later, as the group walked into Maggie’s office at the front of her house. The front door had been ajar, and they heard music playing, so after they knocked, Edna, Cassie, Piper and Sunny traipsed in.

  “Aaahhh!” Maggie shrieked. “What are you guys doing here?”

  Sunny looked at the computer screen Maggie had been frantically tapping away at, expecting to see boring word documents full of legal jargon, like heretofore and whereas. But instead of the black and white lines of wording, her screen glowed with the bright blues, greens, and purples of a magical world filled with elves and dwarves and two-

  handled weapons.

  “I think the question is, what are you doing here?” Sunny asked with a grin as she stepped closer to the computer.

  Maggie’s hands fluttered across the desk, and she reached for the mouse to close the screen. Her hair was disheveled on one side of her head, and Sunny didn’t think she’d ever seen her so flustered.

  Before Maggie closed the screen, Sunny spied the beautiful blonde-haired character of Kynsya, and her huge white tiger, Chaos, prowled the screen behind her.

  “Maggie, you’re Kynsya!” Sunny gasped. “You’re the magical hunter who helped me.”

  Maggie put her head in her hands in a gesture of defeat.

  “Wait. Who’s Kynsya?” Cassie looked from Maggie to Sunny and back again. “What’s going on?”

  “And what the hell is a magical hunter?” Edna asked.

  “It’s a character in World of Warcraft,” Sunny explained. “Remember my date with Jeremy?”

  “The cute Clark Kent dark-hair and glasses guy?” Cassie asked at the same time that Edna nodded and said, “Mabel’s grandson.”

  “Right, on both accounts,” Sunny said. “Well, remember our date was a whole group of people playing an online video game together?”

  “The game where you sucked and got everyone killed?” Piper asked.

  “That’s the one,” Sunny answered. “And I would have sucked worse if I wouldn’t have had this other player come in and help me all the time. She was like my guardian angel in the game. Her name was Kynsya, and she was a magical human hunter. I thought she was just a really nice person who could tell I was a beginner. Or in my fantasies, I thought Jake may have signed on and was protecting me in the game. But all along, it was really Maggie.”

  Maggie looked at Sunny, dumbfounded. “You really thought Jake would go create a character in some obscure game just to protect you from a pretend dragon? You are such a nerd.”

  “Me? You are the one who actually did that, so you are the nerd. But how did you know I would be playing that game, and how could you be good enough to help me out?”

  “All right! All right!” Maggie threw up her hands and stared at the group in defiance. “I know when I’m busted. So, I’m actually a closet video gamer. The boys used to play this game, and one day I sat down at their computer and got sucked into this world of dragons and magic and elves. So I secretly set up my own accounts and created my character, and I play at night when the boys have gone to bed.”

  “Cool,” Piper said and gained a small grin from Maggie.

  “Why is it such a secret?” Edna asked.

  “Because I am a grown woman who has a successful career. I am a partner in a prestigious law firm, and I waste tons of hours in a fantasy land playing a video game,” Maggie cried. “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “Oh, Maggie.” Sunny put her arm around her friend’s shoulder and patted her arm. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Plenty of women play that game, and I think it’s great you found a fun outlet to escape into. We all need that sometimes.”

  “Heck, yeah,” Edna said. “I escape into Springfield every afternoon when I watch Guiding Light on the boob-tube. If I had a way to get in there and hang out with the Spaulding’s and the Bauer’s, I sure would. Well, maybe not Alan, he’s kind of a crabby old guy, but I sure wouldn’t mind hangin’ out with those Lewis boys.”

  “Ewww,” Piper said. She wrinkled her nose in an ‘old people talking about sex’ kind of disgust.

  “So, I’m still confused,” Cassie said. “How did you get into the game Sunny was playing on her date? Is everybody who plays that game all in it together?”

  “Oh no, there are thousands of people who play and several separate worlds. You have to get invited into a raid,” Maggie paused as she watched their eyes glaze over in confusion. “It’s complicated to explain, but I was over at Sunny’s the night of that date, and I met Jeremy. Remember how Sunny spent twenty minutes in the yard with Jake watching her dog puke up her panties?”

  They all nodded, and Sunny cringed at the memory, not only out of embarrassment, but at the loss of a pair of eighteen dollar lace panties to her dog’s digestive tract.

  “Well, while they were outside, Jeremy and I got to talking, and he told me what you were doing that night. How he was taking you to play World of Warcraft. I don’t know what came over me, but I found myself telling him how I was a closet Warcrafter myself. We got to talking about the game and our characters, and realized we had been playing together on and off for the last year. He told me where you would be playing that night and invited me to join the raid. But I made him swear not to tell Sunny it was me.”

  “Well, he kept his word because he never said anything about you to me,” Sunny assured her.

  Suddenly, the sound of the back sliding door being opened had the group all turn toward the kitchen.

  Their eyes widened in collective surprise as the sound of a male voice called out, “The steaks are ready, babe.”

  Shocked, they looked from the office door to Maggie, then like horses released from the gate, they all sprang into action pushing each other out of the way to see who belonged to this male voice and why he was calling their friend, ‘babe’?

  They barreled into the kitchen as one unit to see the back side of a dark-haired man wearing khaki shorts and a black polo shirt reach into Maggie’s cabinet for some plates. A platter holding three thick juicy steaks sat on the counter in front of him, and Sunny wasn’t sure if they began salivating at the delicious scent of grilled meat or at the view of said backside.

  The man turned, and his eyes widened in shock at the sight of five women gawking at him from the other side of the kitchen island.

  “You must be the Pleasant Valley Page Turners,” he said, grinning. His eyes sparkled behind his glasses, and his hair poked up from a cowlick above his right eyebrow. “Hi, Sunny,” he said.

  “Hey, Jeremy,” Sunny said, a smile breaking out on her face as she leaned her hip against the kitchen counter.

  “Jeremy?” Edna asked. “Mabel’s grandson?”

  “I’m really glad to finally meet you all. I’ve heard so much about you,” he said.

  “Well, we haven’t heard anything about you.” Edna folded her arms across her bony chest. “So, somebody better star
t talking.” She looked at Maggie with one eyebrow raised.

  “We’ve already established this is Jeremy,” Maggie said, and had the nerve to act pissed at them. “What else do you want to know?”

  They stood silent for a moment and looked from Maggie’s sullen frown to Jeremy’s open-faced grin, and then Cassie stepped forward, her hand outstretched.

  “Hi, Jeremy.” She reached across the island to shake his hand. “I’m Cassie. I’m so glad to meet you. And this is my niece, Piper.” She gestured toward the younger girl.

  “Hi.” Piper gave a little wave.

  He came around the island and extended a hand to Edna. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Allen. My grandmother speaks very highly of you.”

  “Well, don’t believe a thing that old bat tells you,” Edna said as she shook Jeremy’s hand.

  “She said you were a good friend to her, but she didn’t tell me how lovely you were,” he said, pouring on the charm.

  “See what I mean? She’s always leaving out the good stuff.”

  Sunny turned and watched Maggie as this interchange took place. She saw a look of amusement and pride on her face as Jeremy worked to charm Cassie and Edna. Maggie’s face then reddened as Jeremy moved to stand beside her and wrap his long arm around her waist.

  “I didn’t know they were coming,” she whispered to him, though they could all hear her plainly.

  “I think it’s great,” Jeremy said, addressing them all as a group. “I want to meet your friends.” He reached down and tilted Maggie’s chin up so he could look into her eyes. “I plan on being in your life for a long time.”

  Sunny swallowed around the lump in her throat and looked at Cassie, whose eyes brimmed with tears. What a bunch of saps we are.