Talk Nerdy to Me (40 page)

"Oh."
Eve started getting very warm. She could almost feel his lips on hers.
"That would be great. I want to get started. And I have some new thoughts
I want to run past you."

"Such as?"

She'd
meant to tell him about the bumper, but somewhere along the way her mind had
jumped the track and was now focused on sex. "Lubrication."

"Mm."
His voice grew deeper. "Very important for any moving ... part."

"Crucial."
She figured they had the whole afternoon. They could still work after they'd
taken the edge off then-sexual urges. "The lubrication needs to be just
right. Too much and there's excess slippage. Too little and the resulting
friction can cause problems."

Charlie
cleared his throat. "I think we need to design a few more experiments for
the purposes of quality control."

"Definitely."
Heat shot through her veins. "We have to work diligently until we get it
right. How soon can you be here?"

"I'm on my way."

Parking
was becoming an issue at Eve's house. Denise's Volvo was sitting next to Eve's
Civic. Behind Eve's car was a white van with
galloping gus, your cheerful appliance repairman
lettered
on the side. Charlie parked his bike beside the van and Rick was forced to put
the Subaru at the curb in front of the house.

Rick had wanted to drive over because his plan was
to
invite Denise out for a cup of coffee. Charlie liked the idea of getting
Denise out of the house, but it wouldn't do much good if Galloping Gus spent
the afternoon working on the washing machine. Charlie knew the guy—he came into
the Rack and Balls once in a while.

Now that Charlie knew who was
working on the washer, he was glad Eve hadn't told Gus who had helped make the
mess. That could ruin Charlie's rep as Mr. Magna Cum Laude, SAT whiz, and
all-around bright guy. He might not like having his mother brag about him to
bakery customers, but he didn't want to become the town joke, either.

After Charlie
climbed off his bike he walked back to have another talk with Rick. "You
need to know a few things," he said. "First of all, Eve doesn't think
her sister is guilty."

"That
makes sense. It's her sister. But you think she might be guilty, right?"

"It's
possible, but if she is, she's not a hardened criminal or anything."

"Hey, I
didn't think she was!" Rick finger-combed his hair. "Not Eunice,
either. I wouldn't be putting the moves on any chick who's dangerous. The
really bad ones would as soon chop your dick off as look at you."

"I wouldn't know about
that." Charlie wondered what sort of crazy world Rick lived in out there
in L.A. that he'd even think of such things. "But the other point I wanted
to make is that if it is Denise, she may give up the whole sabotage deal
because now she's interested in Manny."

"Manny? Manny Flores, my
assistant?"

"Yep. Apparently they met
today at the bakery and sparks were flying. They have a date tonight."

"You
don't say." Rick rubbed his chin. "That puts a different slant on
things. Is Manny interested in her?"

"I
don't know. They're seeing each other tonight. That's all I can tell you. You
could find out from Manny." Aha. This might be a way to sideline Rick's
plan. "Yeah, you should probably call him and get that info before you go
inside to meet Denise, so you won't muscle in on his territory."

"Nah.
I would do that for you, cuz, but Manny's another story. The way I look at it,
I got here first. He can eat my dust."

"Wait
a minute. Rick." Charlie's conscience was pricking him. Being alone with
Eve for the afternoon might not be worth it. The fallout from Rick's seduction
attempt could be nasty, especially if Denise was innocent of any wrongdoing.
"You're not planning to get involved with Denise for real, so I think you
should forget this whole scheme of yours."

"Who says I'm
not?"

"I do! You just spent
last night with somebody else!"

"So?" Rick looked
genuinely perplexed.

Charlie
stared at him, unable to comprehend that kind of thinking. "I guess I'm
more of a small-town guy than I like to think," he said. "Jumping
from one woman to another in less than twelve hours seems ..."

"Awesome,"
Rick said. "You should try it sometime, cuz. And don't think this is
strictly a guy thing, either. Girls are into it, too. That's the beauty of
living in a big city—more choices. I figured Eunice was my only avenue of
expression. I didn't count Eve, because I think something's developing between
you two."

Charlie didn't bother to
deny it.

"And
now I have a second possibility staring me in the face!" Rick grinned.
"I realize I haven't met her yet, but she's Eve sister. She has to be
decent looking, unless she was adopted. Jeez, I didn't think of that. She could
be adopted. She could be a real troll. You've seen her, right? Tell me the
truth, now. Is she really ugly?"

Charlie
grabbed at what seemed to be the only option left to him. "Yes, she's
really ugly."

"She
is not." Rick laughed. "You never could he worth a damn. Come on,
let's go in."

As they approached the
front door, Gus walked out looking as if he'd come from a funeral parlor.
"I couldn't save her," he said.

Charlie panicked.
"Who? Who couldn't you save?"

"The washer. She's
deader than a doornail."

Air
whooshed out of Charlie's lungs. "Damn it, Gus, when you said
she,
I thought—"

"Didn't
mean to scare you, son." Gus clapped him on the shoulder. "But I
think of the machines I repair as my girls." His smile didn't do much to
change his gloomy expression. "When you live alone, you can get a little
strange."

Rick
gave Charlie a nudge in the ribs. "So, Gus, did your wife pass on? I've
been living back in California, so I haven't kept up with ail the news in
Middlesex."

"Five
years ago last month," Gus said. "I try to keep busy, but I still
miss her. Good thing I have the repair business or I'd go nuts. Well, see you
two boys later." Carrying his toolbox, Gus trudged over to his van.

"See?"
Rick said. "Exhibit A. A repairman who is also extremely single."

Charlie
watched Gus stow his gear in the back of the van. "I'm not sure I'd want
either my mom or your mom to end up with Gus, if that's what you're leading up
to. He would depress the hell out of them."

"You
don't know that. I'm thinking he used to be cheerful. Look, it says right on
his van 'Your Cheerful Appliance Repairman.' That lettering looks more than
five years old. I'll bet when Gus was getting some, he was a regular Mr.
Sunshine."

Charlie sighed. "No he
wasn't. He's looked that way as long as I've known him."

"Well,
okay, then. But he could still fix the machinery at the bakery. That's all I'm
saying." Rick punched Eve's doorbell. "Was that the washing machine
you were working on last night?"

"Yeah. I ran into some
glitches."

"Glitches?
You?" Rick shook his head. "You must be losing your touch,
dude."

"I have a few things
on my mind."

Eve came to the door
wearing a bright yellow sweat suit.

"And there's one of
them," Rick said under his breath.

Charlie
had to agree. He broke out in a grin the minute he saw her standing there.
"Hey, Eve."

"Hey,
Charlie." As she let them in, she smiled back, but when her gaze drifted
to Rick, her pleasant expression vanished. "I don't want you causing
problems for my sister," she said as she closed the door behind them.
"Denise is—"

"Eve,
I wondered what you wanted me to do with all of this." Denise appeared
from the back of the house, her arms full of Eve's hobby supplies. "Oh,
hi, Charlie."

Charlie
could see that Denise had been trying to create some order out of the chaos in
Eve's house. He wished that he trusted her more with Eve's stuff. Because he
didn't, it made him uneasy that she was poking through Eve's possessions.

Nevertheless, he had no
absolute proof that Denise was untrustworthy, and he needed to be polite.
"Hi, Denise. I'd like you to meet my cousin Rick Bannister."

"Ah,
Rick.
I've
heard so much about you."

Charlie
shot a glance at Eve, who merely shrugged and looked innocent.

"All good, I
hope," Rick said.

"Let's say it was all
interesting."

"I'd
rather be interesting than boring." Rick took off his jacket and hung it
on one of the pegs beside the front door. "You look like you could use
some help with that." Before Denise could reply, he'd scooped everything
out of her arms. "Where does it go?"

'That's
the point." Denise looked at Eve. "I don't know what you want me to
do with everything, but we have to put it somewhere so we can get the washer
out."

Eve blinked. "We're
taking the washer out?"

"I
called a scrap metal place. They'll be out to pick it up first thing in the
morning."

"Oh."
Eve gazed at the pile Rick was now holding. "I'll get some garbage bags.
We can give it all to the Salvation Army. I have some things under my bed that
can go, too."

"Great."
Denise started toward the kitchen. "I'll call for a pickup ASAP."

"Not
necessary," Rick said. "Or at least we used to have a drop-off place
by the post office. Charlie, is it still there?"

"It's
still there." Charlie was impressed. When Rick needed to be weird to match
up with Eunice, he showed his twisted side. But for organized Denise, he was
ready with practical suggestions. No wonder Rick had such success with women.
He could be whatever they needed.

"Then
once we have this together," Rick said, "Denise and I can load it
into the Subaru and take it down there." He smiled at Denise. "Sound
good?"

Denise
gave him an assessing look. "I'll also need some help getting the washing
machine out to the driveway."

"I'm your guy."

"Rick
and I can handle that," Charlie said. The death of the washer was partly
his fault. The least he could do was help get the carcass outside.

"Nope."
Rick shook his head. "Denise and I can take care of it. You and Eve have
things to do in the garage. All we need is a few garbage bags, and we'll be all
set."

"I'll get them,"
Eve said.

By
the time Charlie had taken off his jacket and chaps, Eve was back with a box of
black trash bags.

She
handed them to Denise. "I've shoved a bunch of other hobby projects under
my bed. You can get rid of all of them. From now on, I'm focusing on my
inventions."

Denise nodded. "Okay.
Rick, come with me."

Charlie
watched them go down the hall and into Eve's bedroom. "What did you tell
your sister about Rick?"

"That
he was the kind of guy who prided himself on being able to get any woman he met
into bed in a matter of hours." Eve turned to him. "The more I
thought about it, the more I was convinced that his whole double-agent deal is
an excuse to try and seduce two women in one day."

Charlie nodded.
"Probably."

'That
said, if he tells you anything you think I should know, please pass it
on."

"I
will." He looked into her eyes and saw a gleam of determination that
hadn't been there before. "Sounds like you're not going to let anyone or
anything stand in the way of completing this project."

"That's
right." She hooked a finger into the open collar of his shirt. "And I
want my chief consultant on the job." Backing toward the kitchen, she
pulled him forward with just a feather touch.

He wasn't about to resist.
"I'm at your disposal."

Her glance started at the
top of his head and traveled slowly down to his feet, lingering ever so subtly
at his crotch. "All of you?" "Every last molecule."