Interlude (13 page)

Lunch went well enough. The Italian
restaurant, Karen's favorite, was nearly empty despite the noon
time rush outside on Chapala Street. He and Karen made her friends
jealous with their lovey-dovey ways as they lunched on pasta
parmigiana and finished with a wonderful tiramisu. Karen had four
friends, and all of them seemed like mantraps to Cal. Her closest
friend, Julie, seemed nice, but her constant digs at her own
husband in comparison to Cal were making him uncomfortable. He
slowly came to realize that his presence here was only for Karen to
show off to her shallow friends. He came to the conclusion that
that was okay with him. He liked being arm candy. All the girls
regarded him with a happy demeanor except the one named Cassie. She
had only cool looks and the occasional eye roll to give him as he
answered their queries.

“So, you just up and left your other family?”
She asked. Everyone stopped to watch Cal's response.

“Well, it wasn't a family, so much as an
unloving wife and her family. Frankly, with the way they treated
me, I was under the impression that I was the one they wanted
gone.” He said, drinking from his glass of ice water afterward.

She countered, “But, if you cheated on your
wife, how can Karen trust you to stay faithful to her?”

“Cas,” Julie hissed under her breath. Cal
looked over to Karen, who was giving him an apologetic look. He set
his glass down and opened up his uncharacteristic honesty on
her.

“I'm glad you mentioned that. These last
weeks with Karen have been very tumultuous. I have seen and done
things that I never would have imagined.” He paused, adding, “I
don't really know how to explain it. I guess, all I can say is that
she makes me happy. So much so, that I'm not sure how I lived
before meeting her. It's as if I didn't know the meaning of the
word until now. I can't even think of why I would want to put that
at risk. Karen didn't steal me from a loving wife, she saved me. I
still feel I owe her for that.” Cal said. He judged from the
silence that he really had said too much. Looking to their quiet
faces, he was expecting annoyance or displeasure, but they all had
lost expressions that seemed to be pondering his words sincerely.
Julie reached over and touched Karen's arm.

“You go girl.” She said with a smile.

After making their goodbyes, Karen and Cal
walked along State Street, looking for decent men's clothes. He
finally spoke up about lunch.

“You just brought me along to show off didn't
you?” Cal finally asked. Karen gave him a look that said yes, and
she was proud of it!

“Maybe. They're all catty little girls
anyway. They're fun to get drinks with occasionally, but Julie is
the only real friend I have.”

“She seems to be having issues with her
hubby. She wouldn't stop about him.” Cal said.

“It's a girl thing. We dish on our boyfriends
and husbands to gain each other’s trust. You see, she gives me her
dark secrets, and later on I have to give her some of mine.” She
finished with a smile.

“Dark secrets?” He asked.

“Yep. Your guy's shortcomings, how they are
in bed, are they nice guys or douches, you know secrets. It's like
currency to us.” She added.

“Do you talk about us?” Cal asked, suddenly
feeling self-conscious.

“Oh yeah, Jules is the first person I told
about our little, ahem, meet up at the hotel!” She said with a
smile. She stopped him on the sidewalk and pointed to a store she
thought he'd like.

“I've never been the attractive boyfriend of
an internationally renowned arms dealer. Why don't you show me what
I need to wear,” He said jokingly. Cal had never been too good at
dressing himself, so the thought of relinquishing control of that
was almost welcome. The gleam in Karen's eye left him wondering if
that was a good thing.

“Excellent! We have the Ukraine trip coming
up, and I want to show you off to Sergei.” She said with
enthusiasm.

“Show me off?” Cal asked.

“Yeah, Sergei likes a well-dressed man. He is
also catty as all get out!” Karen finished with a small laugh. She
added, “I should have told you sooner, Sergei is gay.”

“Like, as in he digs men?” This was new to
Cal. He continued, “Doesn't that hurt his kingpin status?”

“Not really. Gay or straight, he's one of the
most prolific weapons collectors I've ever met. Bullets don't care
what gender you prefer when you shoot them at your enemies.” She
quipped.

As Cal tried on, what seemed like, hundreds
of different shirts and pants, Karen took every opportunity to
sneak into the dressing room to feel him up. The quiet, boutique
shop wasn't very busy, so the clerk turned a blind eye to their
teenage hijinks. Her only rebuttal came when she yelled back to
them, “If you stain it, you buy it.”

As Cal struggled with arm loads of bags,
Karen rooted in her purse for her card. Cal whipped his wallet out
before she could manage and placed his debit card on the counter.
She gave him a wary look.

“I would have gotten this.” She whispered,
her eyes betraying a confused look. Cal touched her arm in
reassurance.

“I know, but you shouldn't have to pay my
way.” Cal said. Had he upset her? He didn't want to be some kind of
gigolo, but he knew that she would never consider that an issue
anyway.

Trying to appease her he said, “Tell you
what, you can get the next one okay?”

“Fine,” She said with playful
exasperation.

As she and Cal walked down State Street, he
marveled at the beautiful, sunny weather. He was used to living in
California's wine country. It was either too hot, or too cold. For
some reason, grapes loved it. However, Cal always hated the hot
summers and cold winters as compared to the mild coastal towns.

“At least it's not foggy today. We have one
more store to hit before we go home.” Karen said, her voice holding
a certain tension she tried to mask.

“Okay.” He said.

“Remember our deal.” She said, pointing her
index finger at Cal.

He seized the opportunity and grabbed it. He
then slowly kissed the tip of her finger as she watched with quiet
awe. She could feel his soft lips pressing against her fingernail
as he softly said, “Okay.”

Cal offered to drive, it was the least he
could do. She punched in an address on the navigation screen, as
Cal pulled away from the curb.

“No peeking! This is a surprise!” She hissed
at him with a smile as she finished entering the address. He
struggled to stay on the road as his attention fell into her deep
green eyes.

As they drove, Cal took directions from the
navigation's voice cues. A right here, a left there, When they
reached their destination, Cal looked over to see a looming Land
Rover dealership. With the realization slowly setting in, he turned
to look at Karen. She tried to hide her glee, but she just ended up
looking like the cat who ate the canary.

“Joke's on you Missy, I already have a
sensible car.” He chided.

She gave him a meek smile, saying, “You used
to.”

“What do you mean used to?'' He asked
suspiciously.

“Well, you said it was making a weird noise.”
She said meekly, adding, “So, when Soren brought it down for you, I
had him drive it into the house of those thugs who beat you up....,
um, and then light it on fire.” She finished with a coquettish
shrug.

Cal's mouth fell open. He didn't know how to
process this. He was already dealing with an epic amount of
insecurity due to her wealth and power. Now, he finds out she used
his car as some sort of instrument of revenge? He sat there
silently, looking out at the road through his sunglasses. The
engine idled quietly as Karen broke the silence.

“Please don't be mad.” She said, her bottom
lip pushed out in an exaggerated pout. “Damn she's cute! How does
she do this to me?” Cal thought to himself.

Cal paused a little longer, finally saying,
“I'm more confused than mad. I don't want you to think that I'm
into you for your money. I have my own you know. I could buy
anything on that lot with cash, today!” He finished. His voice
raised more than he liked. Ugh, even in his own head he sounded
like a complete tool!

“I know baby. However, it doesn't matter
because you promised I get the next one.” She said in her best “I
won!” voice.

Cal exhaled, defeated, “Alright, let’s go see
about a car.”

As Cal pulled away in his white Range Rover
Evoque, he couldn’t help but feel an odd mix of happy and dirty all
over. This isn't how Western society is supposed to work. He was
supposed to be the gallant, masculine knight who rescued and
supported the maiden. Instead, it was her who was doing all the
rescuing and spoiling. As she pulled up alongside him in the
parking lot, Cal rolled down his window.

“Hey, I have to go to the grocery store. I'll
meet you back at you place.” He said over the din of passing
traffic.

“Oh, Okay. Are you sure you don't want take
out or something?” She yelled back.

“I'm sure. I want to repay you for the car
you just insisted on buying me.” He said, to her over his
sunglasses.

“Alright Toots! See you back at the house.”
She said with a delicate wave. Cal smiled to himself. Punching
letters into the unfamiliar navigation menu, he found directions to
the nearest mom and pop grocery. As he made the short jaunt to the
store, he thought through his act of culinary revenge. What foods
did she like? Any dislikes? As he wandered around the isles of the
little store, he recalled his best recipes. He had one in college
that he used to get the chef/teaching job. He had refined it over
the years, but he could unleash it in all its glory tonight! As he
checked out, he made a mental note to come back to the wonderful
little shop. He figured that would be often, as Karen didn't seem
to be much of a cook.

He plotted his meal out in his head as he
ascended the driveway to the house. The courses, the entrees, the
dessert! Of all the shortcomings that his former family claimed he
had, they never argued about his cooking. He had that in the bag.
As he unloaded the goods, Karen padded over to him in the kitchen
in her bare feet.

“So, what has my little Emeril brought home
today?” She asked, placing her hands on his hips as she looked over
his shoulder.

“Oh, you'll see. I have some recipes that I
think you'll like. I don't want to spoil the surprise though. Can
you go check you mail or something? Cal asked, already busying
himself in her awesome kitchen.

“I guess.” She pouted, adding, “Will you be
long?”

“Not really. But, I can't start until you
leave!” He snapped her bottom with the hand towel as she walked
out.

He readied all his ingredients and got
cooking. He was glad to be in his element in the unfamiliar
surroundings, as he sautéed and chopped in the silence. He was
startled as music began to fill the room. Something from the
ninety’s that he couldn't put his finger on. Karen yelled down from
upstairs.

“I thought you could use some music to cook
to.” She said, adding, “It smells great by the way.”

“Thanks. No peeking!” He yelled back.

He finished up, managing to wash all the
dishes as he went. Feeling very proud of his little ambush, he
called her downstairs. She smiled as he lit he last candle.

“It looks wonderful already.” She said.

“Thanks. I found the candleholders in you
cabinets. I hope it's okay that I used them.” He said.

“Oh yes! I've actually never used them. The
decorator bought them from some store on Rodeo Drive.” She said
with a dismissive wave.

Cal paled at that realization. He had dropped
them twice already! Gesturing her to sit down, he placed a napkin
in her lap and scooted her chair forward. Pulling some dishes from
the kitchen, he began spooning out his first assault. His weapon of
choice; a penne pasta with white sauce, and crushed macadamia nuts.
This he then sided with pan seared red snapper and steamed
asparagus. While Karen slowly tasted the pasta, he carefully popped
open a bottle of 1998 Dom Perignon. She gasped when she saw him do
it.

“That's a two hundred dollar bottle of
Champagne!”

“It's cool babe. How's the pasta?” He asked
with a smug grin.

“It's really good. Where did you get the
recipe?” She swooned.

“It's a weapon of my own design. He said,
adding, “Here, try the bruschutto.”

Karen sampled the delicious creation. Cal
acted as her tour guide, steering her through all the different
courses and appetizers. She moaned and swooned as he wowed her
again and again with his cooking. He loved how she responded to his
culinary acumen. He knew his cupcakes would seal her fate! With an
evil smile, he set one solitary cupcake down in front of her. She
gave him a puzzled look.

“After that cavalcade of exotic, wonderful
food, you finish with a single cupcake?” she asked
incredulously.

“One might think it to be a wolf in sheep's
clothing.” Cal teased, as she slowly peeled off the paper liner.
Her lips touched the creamy, white frosting as she bit down. Her
eyes were on Cal's the whole time. She slowly chewed, only now
becoming aware of all the subtle complexities of this little treat!
All at once, she was taken over by the tastes, the salty, creamy,
rich frosting. The dark cake inside apparently created from a
recipe Cal found in his great grandmother's cookbook. She could
feel her pelvic muscles slowly tightening as all of the sensations
took hold of her. The cupcake was so dense that it seemed to be
made from chocolate mousse. Her eyes fluttered uncontrollably as
she finished her cupcake and sat there with her hands grasping the
dark wood of the dining room table.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” She said
quietly. She looked up to Cal with a startled realization. He knew
what he was doing! He knew that he could craft a simple, plain
dessert into something that would cause her to moisten her panties.
He regarded her with cool confidence as she recovered from her
little inward release.