Lost and Found (16 page)

“I met someone,”
Duncan
said quietly, turning his head to give Kevin a troubled glance. Should I be telling him this?
Duncan
thought. I’m gonna feel stupid if it goes nowhere. But he had to tell someone.

“Fuck, are you kidding me?” Kevin smiled and clapped
Duncan
on his wide back. The enthusiastic gesture would have tumbled a lesser man off his stool, but
Duncan
was used to Kevin’s habit of pounding people to show his pleasure. The six-foot-five blond giant just didn’t know his own strength. “Tessa,” Kevin called to the barmaid, “Can we get a couple of Tequila shots here. We’ve got some celebrating to do.”
 

Tessa slinked over and reached high on a shelf for a bottle of Jose, exposing several inches of tan midriff and a dark curling vine tattoo in the small of her back. Kevin eyed the view appreciatively. Tessa was gorgeous, young, and fun—just his type. She turned back around, gave him a knowing smile, and slapped three shot glasses down on the bar with a bang. She short-poured the tequila into them, her gaze never leaving Kevin’s. “Do you wusses want lemon and salt, or what?” She asked, holding her glass out to them.
 

“I’ll pass,”
Duncan
said, pushing his shot away. “I’ve got some work to do later.”

“C’mon man. We have to drink to your new lady.” Kevin nudged the glass back toward
Duncan
, and gave Tessa a wink. He knew
Duncan
would give in. The man just couldn’t resist tequila.

“Alright. But just one,” Duncan said, grabbing his glass. The two men clinked their shots against Tessa’s, downed the fiery liquid, and slammed their glasses back down on the bar with exclamations of disgust. Tessa set hers down behind the counter and looked over to the other end of the bar where an older man in a three-piece suit was waving at her impatiently. She rolled her eyes at Kevin and Duncan and slowly wandered over to take the other patron’s drink order.

“Okay, now tell me about her,” Kevin said seriously, watching Tessa’s firm butt undulate as she walked away. “When did this all happen anyway? We talked a few days ago and you never said a word.”

“It happened yesterday.”
Duncan
said, reaching for a bowl of peanuts. This sounded ludicrous even to him.
 

“Yesterday? You’re losing sleep over some chiquita you met yesterday?” Kevin shook his head in disbelief and reached for the bowl. “I thought you were immune to women or something, at least since Kerry left.”

“Yeah. Me too. But apparently not. I can’t seem to think about anything else. I was a useless tit at work today. What the fuck am I going to do?”
Duncan
covered his face with his hands, and rubbed his forehead like he had a killer migraine. He didn’t, but it released some of the tension at least.

“Man, I’ve been waiting for this to happen, but I have to tell you. I thought you’d be happier about it. What’s the deal?” Kevin watched his friend carefully in the mirror behind the bar. He couldn’t remember ever seeing
Duncan
like this.

“Well, there are two problems. One. I have to find my little sister who’s still M.I.A.”

“How’s that going anyway?” Kevin asked.

Duncan
continued like Kevin hadn’t said anything. “And Two.”
Duncan
lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper. “She’s a virgin.”

“Oh Man. A virgin? Are you sure?” Kevin’s voice rang out loud enough to attract the attention of Tessa and the older man at the end of the bar. They stared and
Duncan
groaned. Kevin lowered his voice to a stage whisper. “What I mean is, maybe she’s lying. How old is she anyway?”

“She’s twenty-six, but I don’t think she’s lying. Why would she?”
Duncan
looked genuinely confused.
 

“I don’t know. Maybe she thinks that’ll make you more likely to stick around for a while or something. Some weird chick logic.” Kevin raised his eyes heavenward, as if asking for guidance. “But twenty-six? And still a virgin? C’mon. What’s wrong with her?” Kevin demanded, taking a huge swig from his mug, and pouring himself another tequila from the bottle Tessa had left. He filled
Duncan
’s shot glass and smiled to himself as the darker man brought it to his lips.

“Absolutely nothing,”
Duncan
said. “At least nothing I’ve seen. She’s really sweet, smart, and funny. Kind of awkward and shy. But sexy as all hell. I mean, so sexy I literally can’t keep my paws off her when she’s around.”
 

“You know all this after one day?” Kevin said doubtfully.

“Yeah. I do.”
Duncan
’s tone was certain as he pealed the label off his
Corona
.

“Does she know about Kerry?” Kevin didn’t want to broach the subject of
Duncan
’s ex because it was so painful for his friend, but he had to know how serious things were between him and this mystery woman.

“No, not yet. I’m really not sure how to bring that up. I just want to get this business with Theresa taken care of, and then I can concentrate on Jessie.”

“Jessie? That’s this paragon’s name.”

“Yeah, Jessica Martin. She has a twin sister who’s a stripper.”
Duncan
smiled at the irony.

“Really?” Kevin looked intrigued.

“Really. At the Kitty Kat Club. She thinks Theresa might be working there. I’m going there tonight to see if it’s her.”

“So, this whole mess might be settled tonight?”

“Yeah. Maybe. I hope so.”
Duncan
hesitated and then forged ahead. “Kev, can I ask you something?”
Duncan
ducked his head, mortified.

“Shoot,” Kevin said, incredulously watching his friend blush.
Duncan
was quick to anger, but the last time Kevin had seen him blush had been in grade six, when Kevin had snuck up behind him and pulled his sweat pants down in the middle of a pep rally.

Duncan
cleared his throat and said very quietly. “Have you ever been with a virgin?”
 

Horrified, Kevin’s voice rose again. “God no. I mean where would you even find one today? Junior high school? Not into that, my friend.” Kevin’s handsome face was distorted with distaste, like he’d just bit into a rotten piece of sushi.

“I didn’t think so, but do you know anything about it? I mean, is it really painful?” This keeps getting worse and worse,
Duncan
thought. But he just couldn’t help asking. Kevin was something of a ladies man, and if anyone knew a way to make this easier, it would be him. He couldn’t bear to hurt Jessie, but if he didn’t have her soon, he was going to lose his mind completely.

Kevin paused, unsure how to respond. This was the weirdest conversation he’d ever had with anyone. “Well, I don’t exactly know, but I think if you take your time beforehand, it’s supposed to be easier. Lots of foreplay. That’s the key. Of course, that’s the key with most women, virgin or not.”

“That’s kind of what I thought, but I wanted to make sure.”
Duncan
nodded and turned around in his stool until he was facing away from the bar with his back against the ledge. He prodded
Hannibal
with his foot and watched the poodle roll over for a belly rub.

“Listen, Dunc, I’m sure this girl is everything you say, but is it possible that maybe you’re letting your little head do the thinking for your big head?” Kevin pointed down at his lap and smiled as
Duncan
shook his head.
 

Kevin angled his chin to where Tessa was bent over picking up a towel directly in front of them. The view of her remarkable bottom was impressive. “I mean; there’s lots of gorgeous women out there. Ones who aren’t so complicated as this experience-challenged one you’re talking about. Could you maybe be confusing wanting to get into her panties with something more? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Three years, almost four.”
Duncan
said shortly.

“Well, Jesus Christ.” Kevin stared at his friend in shock. “That’s just not healthy. You mean, not even a one-night stand?”
Duncan
shook his head again. “You’ve always been closed-mouth about that shit. I thought you must have been getting it somewhere. No wonder you’re all crazy for this girl. I’d have lost my mind after three months, not to mention the hairy palms.”

Duncan
chuckled and held up both hands for Kevin’s inspection. “That’s a myth, buddy. Trust me, I’d know.”
Duncan
stared out the huge picture windows looking onto the water. Could he actually be confusing lust with deeper feelings? Maybe his friend was right. Maybe he was being influenced by his need to possess her. But then why was he waiting to have sex with her? She was certainly willing. She’d made that very clear. She wanted him and he wanted her. It was that simple. He could have run out to the corner store for protection and made love to her all last night if sex was all he wanted. But he hadn’t. Hadn’t even considered it after she’d told him her secret. Well, he’d thought about it, but not seriously.

Just the thought of the vulnerability in her eyes when she’d talked about the librarian creep who had dumped her because she was a virgin made him want to protect her from men forever. More than that, he wanted her for himself. Not just her body, but her.
 

But was all this intense emotion just a reaction to being celibate too long? He honestly didn’t know for sure, but he suspected there was a lot more going on here than just an award-winning case of blue balls.

“No, not even a one-night stand. How could I after what happened with Kerry?”
Duncan
looked at Kevin reproachfully.

“That was in high school. Birth control has come a long, long way since then, my friend.” Kevin hesitated, wary of saying anything to make
Duncan
want to kick his ass. “Besides,” he said quietly. “The chances of a twenty-six-year-old woman being naïve and unlucky enough to get pregnant from one time is just about nil. That only seems to happen to girls who are trying to snag themselves a millionaire.”

“What are you saying?”
Duncan
asked, his voice suddenly tight with warning.

Kevin ignored
Duncan
's tense tone and forged on. “I’m saying the same thing you must have been thinking for the past ten years.” Kevin said, unwilling to back down this one time. “Kerry faked a pregnancy to get you to propose, and then left when things didn’t go according to her plan.”
 

“Kev,”
Duncan
said, his eyes flinty with resentment. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I don’t? Listen, we’ve never talked about this before, but let me tell you.” He lowered his voice to his version of a whisper and leaned in toward
Duncan
. “I had Kerry lots of times in high school. She always knew the score, and she never expected a proposal from me or any of the other guys she was with. Only you.”

“She loved me.”

“She loved your money. She loved the lifestyle she thought she would be getting if she got you good and trapped. And then, when she found out you were serious about being a cop instead, she took your money and ran. She was a gold-digger, Dunc. It’s time you realized that and got on with your life. You didn’t ruin her, she ruined you.”

Duncan
looked away from his friend, trying to ignore the truth blazing in Kevin’s topaz eyes. It was one thing to suspect that your wife never loved you, it was quite another to have your best friend confirm it for you. He thought about arguing with Kevin, maybe throwing a few punches, but he couldn’t summon the effort. For the first time in a long time, his dismal relationship with Kerry didn’t have the power to arouse that desperate feeling of failure in him. It all seemed very long ago and hardly important in the face of finding his sister and getting to know Jessie.

“Man, I’ve gotta go,”
Duncan
said, pushing away from the bar and patting his thigh to get
Hannibal
’s attention.

Kevin, who’d been waiting for an explosion, watched
Duncan
get up and put some cash on the bar. “Alright. Hope I didn’t get too out of line there,” he said awkwardly.

“You did. But what else is new?”
Duncan
said, punching Kevin in the shoulder to let him know it was okay.
 

“I’m probably tempting fate here, but have you heard from Kerry lately?”

“Nah, but my lawyer told me she sold the house in Kitsilano about six months ago. He said she was still in
Europe
and didn’t negotiate at all. Probably needed the cash right away.”

“Sounds like Kerry.”

“Hey, whatever she needs, right? She is my wife, at least until I can get her to sign the papers.”

Kevin shook his head in disgust. “Hey, did you want me to come along tonight for back-up?” He asked eagerly.