It was nine-thirty before Larry's cell phone rang. He had the new bed set up in his bedroom, along with crisp new sheets and a copper colored comforter that brought out the wood grains in the oak frame.
"Professor Grosso," he answered out of habit.
"Hey, Larry," came her sweet, melodic voice.
He smiled. He loved that voice. "Hey, Crystal."
"How're you doing?"
"Better now."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Dinner's over," she told him.
Great. "Where are you?"
"I'm in my car."
"On your way here, I hope?"
"I'm on Springford, crossing the overpass."
"Where's Rufus?"
"He's with me."
"Good."
There was a thread of laughter in her tone. "You missed Rufus?"
"If he's here, we know he's fed and walked." They also knew Crystal didn't have to leave early. In fact, Crystal didn't have to leave at all.
Her voice was husky over the phone link. "You read my mind."
"Oh, I hope so."
"Be there in ten minutes."
He didn't want her to sign off. There was no reason they couldn't keep talking. "How was dinner?"
She gave a sigh.
"What?"
"My parents dropped a bombshell."
"Yeah?"
"They're selling the business."
"Softco?"
"That's the same question I asked. But, yes, they're selling Softco. They're moving to Florida."
Something twisted in Larry's chest. "You going with them?"
"No. I'm not going with them. I'm twenty-eight years old."
Damn. There it was. And it was worse than he'd thought. "You're only twenty-eight?"
"That's plenty old enough to leave my parents."
He paused. "Crystal?"
"Yes?"
"I'm fifty."
There was silence at her end, just the rumble of the motor and hum of the tires.
"I guess it's about time we stopped dancing around that," he offered.
She still said nothing.
"You have a problem with it?" he asked.
"I'm still driving toward you. Why? You got a problem with it?"
"Yeah," he rumbled, voice sarcastic. "I've got a big problem with being the luckiest guy on the planet."
"I'm turning onto Alder. The light's green. I'll be there in two minutes."
Larry's heartbeat deepened in anticipation. "Is Rufus going to need anything right away?"
"Not a thing."
"I bought a new bed," he told her. "Moved the old one into the guest room. Spent the whole day redecorating."
"For me?"
"For you."
"I'm one minute away."
"I'm taking off my jacket."
"I'm passing number three-fifty," she told him.
"Can you see my car?" he asked. "Under the streetlight?"
"I see it. Three houses. Two."
Larry headed for the door and opened it. "I can see your headlights."
"I'm turning in."
"Watch out for the hedge." He heard a scraping sound.
"Wasn't crazy about that paint anyway," she told him.
He chuckled low. "Didn't sound too bad."
Her headlights died, and she shut off the engine.
Then she was opening the door. The interior glow backlit her hair. Her face was dark, but he could picture it in his mind. She was wearing a green tank top and a short, denim skirt.
She turned to open the back door.
"You're gorgeous," he breathed into the phone.
"So are you," she responded.
"You haven't seen me yet."
"But I remember."
"So do I," he rumbled. "So, do I."
Rufus leapt out of the car, sniffing his way across the bark mulch garden.
Larry called his name, closing the phone as Crystal strode toward him.
Rufus shot through the doorway, with Crystal right behind.
Larry closed and latched the door, pulling her into his arms and backing her into the entryway wall.
"I missed you," he breathed, framing her face with his palms.
She smiled, and he leaned in for a kiss.
Her lips were warm and sweet, malleable beneath his pressure. She snaked her arms around him and tipped her head sideways.
One of his arms went around his waist, then he smoothed her eyebrow, stroked the slope of her nose, her soft cheek, her chin, and he ran the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. "Twenty-eight, eh?"
"Get over it."
He scooped her into his arms. "I intend to try very, very hard to do just that."
She laughed as he swept her up the stairs to his waiting bedroom.
|
