A Trashy Affair (22 page)

Chapter Twenty

The denial of her unemployment claim came on Monday. Knowing weeks would pass before she got a hearing, Jane filed her appeal immediately. If nothing else, the bad news threw her into a frenzy of list making. Search for jobs on the internet, check. Update resume, check. Call people to ask them for a good reference, check, check, check. Exercise, check. Removing the dust, she used that treadmill to stave off any hint of depression. When her gym membership ended on the thirty-first, she did not plan to renew. Every penny counted now.

She could not, absolutely could not, stay here living off Merlin and retain any pride at all. In return for his kindness, she used some of her excess energy to fix up his
garçonniere
just a bit to make it more Merlin
.
Since inactivity drove her crazy, she channeled that positively to make his space more of a home.

Because she’d already paid for the plane ticket long before Thanksgiving, she planned to go to Montana for Christmas. Her parents knew she’d been fired, and the pressure would be on to have her move in with them and look for work in the northwest. She should kiss Louisiana goodbye after the way she’d been treated, but her heart was here, and that heart inexplicably beat hard for Merlin Tauzin.

When Merlin returned on Sunday after dark, she expected him to go immediately upstairs and lock himself in for the night. After he’d seen what she did to his manly territory, he might reconsider, charge down those stairs and give her another “What the fuck!” verbally only. Why should she dress up for a dressing down? Jane took a bath and got comfortable in her pale green robe, nightie, and her pink bunny slippers. She jumped when he knocked on her front door upon arrival instead of going to his room.

“Just wanted you to know I’m back in case you heard noises upstairs.”

He did look toothsome with his black stubble and his slightly wrinkled flight uniform, the sky blue shirt ramping up those blue eyes even more. Totally aware she did not look her best, she went for it anyhow. “Want to come in for a while? Did you have dinner?”

“I ate before I headed home, but sure, I can visit.”

Not the answer she anticipated. He took a seat on her scarred leather sofa and squinted at the show on the television. “What’s playing?”

Jane sat next to him and picked up her cup of herbal tea, her evening drink of choice lately. “PBS,
Masterpiece Theatre.
”

“You do know the Sinners are playing a night game right now?”

“Didn’t think of it, but feel free to turn the channel. Are you sure you wouldn’t like a snack?”

With the remote in hand, Merlin flicked through the channels until he found the game. “Ahead by seven. Good. What kind of snacks do you have?”

“I have some of the pizza from last weekend that I haven’t picked the jalapenos off yet.”

“That’s still here? Sounds great. I used to live on those all week, then go out for Chinese every Friday, fried chicken Saturday, and dinner at the Villa on Sunday. Heat it up for me, honey bunny. No, no, go for the field goal!”

“Nice to have you back, Merlin.”

“Right.” His eyes stayed on the game.

She heated the pizza and added lots of red pepper flakes to get his attention. Upon delivery, he did take notice. “Ai-yi-yi, that’s got some kick.” He gave her a sly glance away from the television. “I like it when you take it up a notch, pumpkin.”

Alarmed, she said, “Pumpkin? Am I putting on weight from lying around the house? I’ve been using the treadmill to stay in shape.”

“From here your shape looks good to me, Jane, but if you want to be sure, you can open that robe and let me form a more personal opinion.”

“Oh, eat your pizza.”

He did, but warned, “Halftime coming up, and you know what I can accomplish in a halftime. Damn! I knew they wouldn’t make that two-point conversion. But still, ahead at the half. Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Up to my place and the king-sized bed.”

“It’s late. I’m not dressed!”

“Like that matters.”

Merlin threw her over a shoulder and started for the outside stairs. Jane put up a token protest by beating on his back with her fists and kicking her heels. But really, wasn’t seduction better than falling to their death from that staircase? He opened his door and stopped dead. She slid down the front of his chest.

“What’s this?”

“I’m not used to being idle. Those rag rugs didn’t go with your recliner. I bought the new ones on sale. Found a great deal on the black lacquer computer desk on Craig’s List. The wife said it showed dust too much and the husband delivered it. They threw in the desk chair, too. The electrician traded out the lights for me and gave me a good deal on the replacements. You needed something more contemporary than the lanterns. I installed the stainless steel bars between the beams for you to hang up your clothes and the red storage boxes are only from Wal-Mart, but you can use them for your underwear and T-shirts. They fit really neatly under the slanted roof and make a good use of space. Oh, and I got the little refrigerator and microwave cheap from a college student who graduated this month. I put up some shelves for canned goods and snacks, too. No charge for my work, but you might count it toward my rent. All the bills are on the desk. I know you are good for the expenses.”

“Yeah, I forgot for a while that I am good for some things.”

Merlin walked around and took in the changes to his space: the modern, geometric-patterned rugs in black, red, and gray, the sleek, stainless steel lighting fixtures that resembled inverted pie plates, the glossy desk, the red storage units. He took a closer look at the last, bending low to avoid a bump to the head and opened a drawer. His extra underwear lay neatly folded alongside some brand new boxer briefs deep blue in color.

Still standing by the door in case he made a move to boot her down the stairs, Jane continued to babble, defending and explaining all her choices. “I used the size off your old ones which are in such poor condition no wonder you rarely wear any. The blue doesn’t nearly match your eyes though. You needed new athletic socks, too. Well, you left all your clothes smashed together in that grungy duffel bag so I put them away. I washed the bag, and you can use it to haul your dirty laundry downstairs to my washer and dryer. I mean your washer and dryer.”

She paused long enough for him to get a few words out. “Our washer and dryer. Tell me I don’t have red and black matching towels.”

“The ones you had in that box were practically rags, and no, a nice shade of gray and very fluffy. I put the beige ones from here in my bathroom where they blend.”

“Red pillows and a shiny black spread on my bed?”

“You had no bedspread at all. Old army blankets do not count. The pillows are accent pieces. The new sheets are pale gray.” She stopped talking and tried to read his expression. Bemused? The word did not really fit Merlin Tauzin. “You don’t like it?”

“Actually, I’ve never had a place this nice and don’t know what to say. I think it will grow on me. Thanks, Jane.” He seemed to struggle with the simple words, swallowing, and dropping his glance to stare at the new rug underfoot.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have done this, but I was going stir crazy, and I wanted you to have a special space. After I leave, you’ll move downstairs, but you could keep the attic as your man cave.” Man cave, now that phrase fit Merlin perfectly.

His head came up again as he mouthed a strong denial. “Yeah, but you aren’t leaving—unless you really want to go. I cannot save the whole world.” He said those words as if repeating by rote something his shrink told him. “But, I can save you and this little piece of earth you stand on, Jane. Then, you can get on with saving the universe in your own way. Believe me. Believe in me.”

She moved from the doorway to where he stood by the huge bed. Jane cupped his face and ran her thumbs across the stubble on his jaw, a gesture becoming all too familiar to her.

“I’ve lost faith in myself, not you. Lately, I’ve bungled everything, the garbage contract, the recycling program, my job. But, I do believe in Merlin Tauzin. Let me stay up here with you.”

He did not give her a direct answer. His kiss stung from the hot peppers on the pizza. The heat coursed through her body all the way to her toes, making a significant stop to set a fire between her legs. Parting her robe, he made short work getting rid of her thin nightie and paring her down to nothing but the bunny slippers. He weighed her breasts in his hands.

“Yep, I think you are putting on weight. They seem a little bigger than the last time I had the pleasure.”

As always, he used a sexist remark to hide his feelings, but Jane did have that much figured out about Merlin Tauzin. “Are not! You’d better go downstairs and lock up because I plan to be here all night long.”

He did not make her leave.

Chapter Twenty-One

Merlin watched Jane make his breakfast. The sight gave him nearly as much pleasure as a full night’s sleep, not counting the hard-on at three a.m., and Jane lying right beside him. He made it quick and enjoyable for her, too, he believed. Being Jane and having to assert herself, she declined to cook him three fried eggs over easy, bacon, and biscuits even though he indicated the kind from the can were okay when he left an envelope full of grocery money and a list of foods he liked before leaving last week. Instead, they would share an omelet chock full of fresh vegetables he helped chop: green pepper, onions, mushrooms, some sautéed spinach, and little bits of broccoli. He told her to keep that last item on her side of the pan. At least, she bought eggs and not some substitute.

He knew the toast would be brown bread and the milk skimmed, but she had purchased some dark roast coffee and orange juice. She would hear no complaints from him. Anything Jane prepared beat cold pizza or leftover oriental noodles, his usual fare. He could gorge on bacon offshore if he wanted. She’d greased the pan with a tad of butter. So what if the stuff in the little container on the table held some kind of heart healthy spread? He hadn’t felt this good in well over a year.

“Get that toast and put in some more bread, would you?” Jane asked him as she sprinkled some shredded two-percent cheese on the omelet and carefully folded it over in the pan. Vegetables tumbled out of its fat center.

He did her bidding. “See, I can be trained.”

“Now, if we can break you of three a.m. booty calls.” She cut the omelet with her spatula and slid three-quarters of it onto a plate for him. “
Bon appetit
.”

“You didn’t seem angry at the time.” Merlin winkled out a piece of stray broccoli from the eggs and put it on her plate.

“I wasn’t. You do know how to get to the point, or points, pretty quickly, I’ll give you that. And you could learn to like broccoli.”

“Nope.” He dug into the rest of the omelet.

“Any plans for the day?”

She left herself wide open for innuendo, but he passed on that. He had other things to handle besides Jane, even if she did look as delicious as his breakfast in her sunny yellow top, same color as the tablecloth. The two would blend if he took her on the tabletop, but he needed to put that thought aside. Merlin paged through the Sunday paper still on the table from yesterday.

“I have people to see. The
Clarion
never printed your letter about recycling, did they? I might stop by their office on my way to the dry cleaners.”

Her eyes, green as troubled waters, searched his. “Please don’t make a scene or hit anyone. The letter doesn’t matter anymore. I’m canceling my subscription at the end of the month.”

“Great sex and a good breakfast make me mellow. I probably won’t kill anyone before noon.”

She did not take his comment lightly. “I know, but be careful of what you say and do.”

“No need to worry. Today, I plan to do a little magic. That’s all.”

****

After breakfast, Merlin drove straight to the real estate office of Bernard Freeman. Considerably more plush than Daisy Derouen’s one-room establishment always cluttered with pictures of houses for sale and homes sold, Freeman’s space resembled an attorney’s office with brochures advertising Cane View fanned on a mahogany coffee table beside a leather binder showcasing other properties he represented. Merlin sank into a comfortable chair in the waiting area.

Bernie’s receptionist/secretary, a shapely, blue-eyed young woman probably right out of community college and eager to use her newly minted schooling, made a show of asking his name and purpose before checking to see if her boss was in and available to Mr. Merlin Tauzin. She nodded several times as she took her orders over a fancy headset. The inner sanctum where the councilman resided had large glass windows with vertical blinds on the outside behind the young woman. They were tightly closed as if part of her duties included keeping them that way at all costs. The secretary offered coffee or water.

“No, thanks.” He and Bernie played the making-the-other-guy-twiddle-their-thumbs game for a while longer. The receptionist fiddled with a stack of papers, dropped them on the floor. When he moved to help her gather them, she said, “Stay where you are! I mean, don’t bother getting up.” He guessed his presence or his reputation made her nervous.

Finally, the Realtor and politician opened his door and welcomed his guest with an outstretched hand and a jovial smile. The two men were of the same height and build with Bernie gone a trifle soft in the middle. Neither attempted to out macho the other on the handshake. In fact, they disconnected after a brief touch. Entering the office, Freeman immediately put the desk fit for a Middle Eastern dictator between himself and Merlin and played with the buttons on his phone in a slightly nervous manner.

“Sit down and tell me how much you are enjoying that new townhouse. You have a friend or relative looking to buy at Cane View?”

“Nope. I need to sell my place back to you, preferably this week before I go offshore again.” Merlin remained standing.

The cordiality vanished. “I gave you a special price on that place, anything for one of our brave war veterans. Now you want me to buy it back. I’d say you are on your own if you can’t pay your mortgage.”