The Set Piece (15 page)

“Oh my God. This is really good.” She cleared a place on the coffee table for them both.

“I like to cook,” Amy said shyly. “When I have a reason to.”

“Count me reason number one.” Casey took another large bite. She tweaked the camera set-up and connected it to her iPhone showing Amy the picture as it recorded.

“I think we’re ready. Now we just need to go downstairs and set the camera up in the den.”

Easier said than done. Tammy had returned and was doing something loud and noisy in the kitchen. They huddled in the hallway their faces almost touching.

“We can’t both go in there,” Casey whispered. “I’m hardly ever in the house when I work here. I stay in my office as much as I can. Tammy sees me as competition for Diego’s attention.”

“Yeah—me too.”

Casey stifled a laugh. “If she only knew.” Her hand brushed against Amy’s forearm. Amy pressed into the touch. It had only been a couple of hours since their bathroom kiss and Amy already missed the contact. She reluctantly pulled away.

“You go to the office. I’ll set it up. I’ve already told Tammy a stupid lie about making a photo collage for Diego.” She took the small recording device from Casey. “You can see the whole room through your phone, right?”

“I can. And I can also text you if we need to change something.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Amy watched Casey sneak out a side door. Only when she was completely across the flagstones, did Amy move into the den. Even though she had never touched an Xbox, she had watched Simon play all the time when they lived together. She placed the recorder camera in the TV cabinet among the rest of Diego’s boy toys. A clatter of pots and pans from the kitchen caused her to work quickly. She stepped back, looked into the camera and gave it a thumbs up mouthing an okay to Casey

Her phone beeped almost immediately with a text.
A little to the left.

Amy made the adjustment and waited.
Perfect.

She blew a kiss into the camera and wandered into the kitchen just to make sure that Tammy didn’t suspect anything. Tammy was measuring out careful amounts of flour and sugar into the mixing bowl. She turned when Amy entered and for once was not wearing her habitual scowl.

“The game’s over,” she said, happily. “Diego scored the only goal. The Atoms are at the top of their division.”

“Isn’t that great?” Amy said, a little ashamed that she had completely lost track of the kickoff time. “So you’re baking him a cake?”

“A sugar-free carrot cake. His favorite.”

“He’ll love it.” Amy turned to go and her phone pinged with a new text.
What are you doing?

Her thumbs moved over the screen.
Taming the beast.
“That’s Diego.” Amy looked up from her phone lying easily. “He’s says hi.”

“He does?” Tammy looked at Amy wistfully.

“Yes, he’s asks about you all the time. I should’ve told you. He’d be lost without you, you know.”

It was that easy. Tammy melted into a pool of devotion. Her face suddenly looked ten years younger as she gave Amy her first genuine smile.

“Oh, I almost forgot. These came for you earlier.” She picked up two tickets on the counter and handed them to Amy. “Who are the Plastic Zippers?”

“My friend’s band. They’re playing tomorrow. Diego and I are going.”

“Don’t keep him out too late; he’s in training, you know.”

“Yes, Tammy.”

Amy sat on her couch reading. She and Casey had a rendezvous and she kept glancing over at the soccer ball clock on the wall for what seemed like the umpteenth time. Only three minutes had passed since she had last looked. Casey had texted at four o’clock to say that she would ditch her car, then get a ride back to the house. That was three hours ago. Where is she ditching her car? Two cities over? There had been enough time for Amy to take a shower, fluff her hair at least a dozen times, and read almost all of a thin paperback.

Finally, there came a noise at the door. Amy leaped up sending the book flying. When she opened the door Dulce pranced inside and headed straight for the sofa. She pawed the cushions and then plopped down with a happy groan.

“An adorable girl, but not the one I was waiting for.” Amy went to swing the door shut only to see Casey standing further down the hall, trying to suppress a smile. She held a pizza box and a six-pack of beer.

“You think I’m adorable?”

“You’ve got to stop eavesdropping in hallways.” She tried to sound severe, but her goofy smile gave her away.

“But this is something I actually want to hear.”

Amy pulled her into the room and shut the door. “Did Tammy see you?”

“No. I waited until she and Tom disappeared to their apartment.”

“Is that what took you so long?” Amy asked.

“Well, I didn’t want to come back empty-handed, but mostly I had to wait for my brother to get off work to drive me back over here.” She moved to the kitchenette. Amy realized that she had taken some time with her appearance. Gone were the black T-shirt and the soccer shorts. Instead, she was wearing a cute button-up tank top that showed off the muscles in her arms. Her cotton shorts were high-cut, highlighting legs that went on forever.

“We’re going to have to heat this up.” She offered up the pizza box.

Amy was quick to get it into the oven and then onto plates. They chatted easily while they ate.

“I love artichoke hearts.” Amy crunched on the last slice. “Where did you get this?” Dulce sat at their feet, hoping for crumbs.

“In Tarzana. There’s this place—”

“No wait. Don’t tell me. It’s better for my waistline not to know.”

Casey laughed and threw up her hands. “Okay. But if you change your mind. I’ll take you there.”

“Like on a date?”

“Yes. If you want to.”

“I do.”

After they cleaned up, Casey turned on her cell phone, and they crowded over the phone to look at a full frame of the den. The recorder had a fish-eye lens which elongated the whole room from the mantel all the way to the bar on the other side.

“This is really good,” Casey said, as she pointed to both doorways. “We can track him from the moment he walks in to the moment he walks out and everything in between.”

Their heads touched as they both crammed in to stare at the tiny screen. “I had a lot of fun today,” Amy said, softly.

“I did too.” Casey laughed from deep in her throat. Amy shivered. She had never heard a laugh so sexy. “And that’s something. Because I was still so mad at you and that stupid stunt you pulled yesterday with the SD card.” Casey bonked her playfully with her hip. “Hey, how long would you have sat rooted on that sofa, anyway?”

“As long as it took. But I was scraping the bottom of my patience with that soccer catalogue.”

“Well, it worked. I was furious.”

“How did you think I felt when you told me that you only worked for Diego?”

Casey laughed. “The joke’s on me. Little did I know that you worked for him, too. But I’m glad to know that I got to you.”

“Then and now.” Amy bit her bottom lip nervously.

Casey responded at once. She touched Amy’s forehead with her own. “Good. I’m glad I get to you.”

Amy froze, unsure how to navigate what came next. Casey, full of ideas, nuzzled her neck. Her gentle breath played against Amy’s skin as she traced a line to her chin with soft little kisses. A sweet tingling filled Amy’s belly, and she finally relaxed.
I could spend the rest of my life doing this.

Casey nibbled delicately at her lips, coaxing them open. With the tip of her tongue, she teased Amy’s lips open and slid inside. Their tongues met.
God, she tastes good.
Their kiss deepened. Casey’s hand slid under her shirt and trailed upward until her fingers grazed the side of Amy’s breast. Amy groaned as Casey’s fingers fluttered.

And then something else fluttered. On her thigh. No, it was more of a vibration.

“Your phone.” Amy pulled back.

“What?”

“Your phone. It’s vibrating.”

Casey grabbed her phone to throw it off the couch. “It can’t be anything important.” But as she turned the screen towards her she froze. “Oh my God! It’s working.”

She flashed the phone at Amy. The downstairs den showed on the screen. Someone was moving over by the bar.

“Is that Rob?” Amy sat up straighter.

“No.” Casey moved the camera into a close-up. “It’s Tammy.”

Tammy moved around the bar touching the pictures, rearranging them, until the one of Diego coming out of the pool in his tight, tiny Speedo was front and center.

“What’s she doing? You don’t think she’s in on this, too?”

Tammy ran her fingers lovingly over the photo of Diego, then raised it to her lips.

“Oh, man,” Casey said. A look of horrified amusement covered her face. “She’s into something else entirely.”

“We shouldn’t watch.” Amy reached for the phone and turned it face down on the coffee table. There was something very sad about Tammy standing in a darkened room kissing the picture of the man she worked for.

“Maybe it’s the kiss of a mother?” Casey shrugged, but her face didn’t look very hopeful.

“Maybe.” Amy pushed the phone further away. “Everyone deserves to have a few secrets, right.” She reached out for Casey. She ached to be back in her embrace. Casey resisted.

“It might be time for me to go.”

Amy’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “Why?”

“I don’t think…I’m not entirely sure this is a good idea.”

“What?” Hurt and confusion flooded Amy. Hadn’t she just risked everything breaking the contract with Knight by telling Casey the truth? And now she was backing off? “You don’t like this? Like us?” There could only be one reason. Casey had taken a taste and that was enough. Maybe it was all about conquest for her. She was an athlete after all.

Casey snorted. “No, that’s the problem. I like it too much.”

“How’s that a problem?” Amy reached for her again. Casey intertwined their fingers, once again stalling the embrace.

“Amy. I think we should take this slowly. I mean I could stay. I want to stay, believe me I do. It’s all I’ve been thinking about since I saw you in that dressing room in those skin tight Adidas.” Amy blushed, and Casey raised her hand to her cheek. “But I want more than tonight, and I don’t want to ruin that by moving too fast now.”

Amy met her gaze. Her eyes were the blue of a mountain lake. She could look into those eyes forever, studying the changing moods of this woman. “So we won’t move too fast tonight, and then you won’t have to go,” she said.

“You think it’s that simple?”

“I do. Besides you don’t have your car. I’d have to give you a ride home or you’d have to wait for your brother. In any case, you absolutely have to be here in the morning when Rob gets here. You need to work the camera.” Amy held her breath. Had she just invited Casey to stay the night? “You can sleep on the couch,” she quickly added.

“I don’t want to rush you into anything you’re not ready for.”

“I think I’m ready for you to sleep on the couch.”

Casey hesitated. Amy scooted away to give her space and grabbed the TV remote. “I should find the game. Diego likes to talk about it when he gets home.” She pulled Dulce into her lap as a clear barrier between them.

Casey bit her lip and looked down at her hands. “Try BeIN Sports. The Mexican feed. They sometimes have replays of the games. I don’t know what channel it is on Diego’s network. Just scroll up the menu.”

“Thanks.” It was decided then. Taking things slow now translated into watching soccer with the woman she was infatuated with. Well, it could mean worse things.

“Want a beer?” Casey asked.

“Sure.”

Casey brought in two beers from the kitchenette.

Meanwhile, Amy found the station and the game. Mexican Spanish came buzzing out of the TV’s tiny speakers. It was the middle of the first half, the score zero-zero, and Diego was in fine form. He floated around the field receiving passes, setting up shots, and generally playing one step ahead of the men around him.

“He’s looking good lately. You’re good for him.”

“It’s not just me. He thinks the envelopes have stopped coming.”

“Really? And whose idea was that?” Casey sounded surprised.

“Horowitz’s or Knight’s. I don’t know which. Whoever was pulling the puppet strings that day.”

“That seems like a big risk. Not to tell him the truth.”

“You’re telling me.” Amy’s voice rang with passion. “I think about how easy it is to get trapped in a lie all the time now.”

“And sometimes they’re even the lies you tell yourself.” Casey ran a finger across the faded scar on her own knee.

“GOOOAAALLL!” The shout came from the TV.

“Damn. We missed it.” Amy scooted Dulce off her lap. The TV flashed to a close-up of Diego, jumping up and down, in the middle of an Atoms’ group hug. “Son of a biscuit. That’s the only goal of the game. Tammy said so.”

“They’ll show it again.” The TV, as if obeying Casey’s command, cut to Diego. His shot blistered across the penalty box. The goalkeeper dived into its path, but the ball bounced out of reach and elegantly into the opposite corner of the goal.

“Wow.” Casey sank back into the cushions and slid her hand up Amy’s leg. “You know he makes it look so easy, but he had to thread a needle to get that in. Not that I have to tell you that. I’ve seen you on the field. Did you play in college?”