Seems Like Old Times (24 page)

He kneeled on the bed beside her, holding her wrists.
"You are more beautiful than ever," he said.

"So are you," she replied. "Handsome, that
is."

He grinned at that and she lifted her arms to him. She
reveled in the feel of his smooth, muscular body hot against hers. She ached to
touch him everywhere, but hesitated.

"Don't be shy with me," he said, stroking her
ribs, her waist,
her
hipbone. "Who knows you
better? Who thinks you're more beautiful?"

Hearing those words, if she'd ever had any defenses against
Tony, they were gone now.

His tongue drew circles from her neck to her breasts.
Daggers pierced her and she twisted toward him, pulling him closer. He ran his
hands over the sensitive skin along her hips to her thighs. Her insides
throbbed for him.

Her fingers slowly traced along his chest downward, until
she felt the silky, male part of him, now hard and swollen.

You feel like velvet,
she'd exclaimed years ago in
her innocence.

Only Santos
are
velvet, he'd
answered. Other men are scaly, with stickers.

Yes, she thought.
Maybe so.
She
lifted her mouth to his, beckoning, demanding, pleading. It seemed she had
waited her life for this moment, for this man.

He plundered her mouth as his thigh parted her legs. She
moaned with pleasure at his touch, at the building pressure within her. He
scarcely lost a beat as he put on a condom, his hands, his mouth, seemed
everywhere on her, and each place they found was more sensitive than the last.
He played her body until she thought she might die from the sheer ecstasy of
his caress. As he entered, she opened herself wide, wanting to feel him high,
wanting as much of him as she could hold, wanting every part of him, body and
soul, to be hers.

Their reunion was all fire and energy. Tony had exploded
into her world, broke down her barriers, her defenses, leaving her to deal with
him with honesty and with an overwhelming sense of trust. His lovemaking was
the same--open and honest. Holding him was like holding lightning in her arms.
He was more thrilling, more stirring, more loving, than any man she had ever
known. A lost part of
herself
was found, old memories
captured, new ones created.
Her Tony.

She felt like a fool when her eyes filled with tears, but the
rightness of the moment, more than the ecstasy, and more than the passion,
touched her heart.

He lay on her side, his head propped up, hand to elbow,
the firelight flickering over his features. "How can I let you go
again?" he whispered, brushing a stray lock of soft blonde hair back from
her face.

"I wish I could stay," she admitted.
"But..."

"I know." He stopped her with a kiss. "I
understand."

She didn't go home that night. One night to build a
lifetime of dreams on, he had said, and she didn't want it to end.

At two in the morning, they shared a huge bowl of
strawberry ripple ice cream. At two-thirty they each drank a beer, and by
three, each suffered a horrible stomachache. Soon after, they found a new cure
for stomach troubles. At four, they splashed in a bubble bath, laughing and
loving, and by five, they were sound asleep in each other's arms.

Lee awoke to a room filled with sunshine. She twisted
around to look at the clock on the nightstand--9:30 a.m.--then back at Tony.
His arm around her was warm, tucking her against him as if to be sure she
wouldn't run off during the night. As if she'd want to.

Others probably saw him as merely handsome, but his
features were, to her eye, as close to perfect as any she'd ever seen. The
shadow of his beard showed on his chin and cheeks, and even that added to his
attractiveness.

The arm he had flung over her lay across her midriff, just
below her breasts, his leg crossed her thighs. As her awareness grew of his
body, she could feel changes taking place in hers. She edged closer to him,
part of her not wanting to awaken him, but another,
stronger
part, needed to feel him inside her again. As she moved closer, causing his arm
to ease higher on her body, she could feel her nipples harden.
A hot
moisture formed within her as she neared the juncture
of his legs.

Voices in the distance, growing ever louder, caught her
attention.

"Tony," she whispered. "Tony, wake
up!"

"What?" he mumbled.

The front door opened.
"Dad?"
Ben called.

She touched his shoulder. "Tony! It's Ben, wake
up!"

He opened his eyes, heavy with sleep, looked at her,
then
heard Ben's footsteps running up the stairs.

"Dad, are you awake?" Ben was closer.

"Holy
sh
!"
Tony leaped from the bed and twisted the lock on
his bedroom door just a second before Ben ran into the door, hitting against it
with a thud when it didn't open for him.

"Dad, what the hell's going on around here?"

"Watch your language, Benjamin!" Tony called as
he grabbed a pair of jeans from his closet and struggled to get them on fast.

Lee sat up, clutching the sheet to her neck.

"Why's your door locked? Open up, Dad! What're you
doing?"

"I'll be right out."

Grabbing a shirt, he leaned over the bed, kissed Lee hard
then unlocked the door and slipped out of it, blocking the room from Ben's
view.

"Hey, there, Benito, good to see
you.
How was it at Grandpa's last night?"

"Fine.
How come
your
door’s locked?"

"Is Grandpa down stairs?"

"Yep."

Lee breathed again when she heard their footsteps on the stairs.
A fine fix, she thought. He didn't want Ben to know she was there--that made
sense--but how could she leave without being noticed? Would Ben believe she was
an extremely early morning visitor? She got out of bed and picked her underwear
up off the floor.

"I guess I
shoulda
phoned
first, Tony." She heard Vic’s gruff tones. She tiptoed closer to the door
and quietly opened it a crack. "I thought you had more sense!"

"Look, Pa, I need you to spare a little more time
this morning, okay? Ben needs a new batting glove, and if you could take him
for just a half
hour "

"Oh, please, Grandpa!" Ben said.

"Yeah, yeah.
Go wait in the
car, Ben." Lee heard the boy's running footsteps,
then
the front door opened and slammed shut. "What the hell’s
goin
’ on here?" Vic demanded.

"It's all right, Pa!"

"Yeah?
When's she
goin
’ back to her fancy job? When's she gonna get tired of
you this time?"

Tired of him? Was that how Vic thought she felt about
Tony?

"Keep your voice down, she's not that way," Tony
said.

"Like hell, she’s not!"

The tension between the two permeated the house. Lee
scarcely breathed. "Here," Tony
said,
his
voice gentle. "Take this money and get Ben whatever he wants."

"She's leaving, isn't she?"

"Tomorrow.
I’m all right,
Pa. Don’t worry."

Lee's fingers pressed against her mouth.

"I’ll be back in an hour, son." Vic's gruff
voice had also turned surprisingly soft. This time, perhaps for the first time,
Lee heard beyond Vic’s words. She heard his concern for Tony, his love. She
felt her eyes sting.

After the front door opened then shut, she closed the
bedroom door and hurried into the bathroom. She took a quick shower then
dressed, the whole time struggling against tears, not even knowing why they
wanted to fall, except that she felt so damned bad. Her hands shook so much she
could barely manage the zipper, but eventually she was dressed. Another few
seconds were lost in agonizing indecision,
then
she
took a few deep breaths, gathered her dignity and composure, and went in search
of Tony.

In the kitchen, coffee was brewing, and he was putting
mugs and cream on the table for them. She stood in the doorway, watching him.
He was everything she'd remembered all these years --and more.

He turned quickly, as if sensing her presence, then
straightened, the creamer still in his hand. "I'm sorry about the way
things were around here this morning. I should have realized Ben would show
up."

She feigned indifference. "No need for apology.
Neither one of us was particularly thoughtful last night."

He put the creamer down, and was in front of her in two
steps, her hands in his. "Look, I don't feel bad about last night, and I
wouldn't hide the fact that you were here except that kids his age don't
realize what it means, and they can go around blurting things out to others. I
wouldn't want anything said that could embarrass you, or hurt you."

What did it mean to you, Tony?
She nodded, forcing
her mind back to Ben. "I didn't realize..."

He smiled. "You don't know much about nine year olds,
I guess."

"I'm afraid not."

He put his hands on her shoulders. "I was glad for
last night."

She met his eyes.
"Me, too."

His fingers tightened just a moment and she thought he was
going to take her in his arms once more, but the moment passed, and he let go
of her, his expression carefully placid. "Coffee's ready."

She squeezed her eyes shut. She knew what he was doing and
why. She had to do the same.
Control.
Lee Reynolds was
a master at it. She needed that mastery today more than ever.

"I could use some," she said, hoping her attempt
at lightness sounded less feeble to his ear than it did to hers.

As he turned to get the pot, she stared at his broad back,
unaware that he was gazing at her reflection off the glass cabinet. She looked incongruous,
yet more desirable than any woman had a right to as, wearing a designer dress,
her hair loose against her shoulders, sleepy-eyed, and with lips still puffy
from his kisses, she sat at an oak table, surrounded by hanging pots, glass
covered shelves of dishes and countertops filled with kitchen appliances.

He placed their coffee on the table and sat across from
her. Over and over he’d told himself that what he felt for her was nothing but
horniness--a purely masculine reaction to a hell of a beautiful woman who had
once been in love with him. But he’d learned last night that it was more than
that.

He wished he could tell her what was on his mind, but he
didn’t have that right.

"What do you think about me calling you when you’re
back there in the Big Apple, Lisa?"

"I...I honestly don’t know." She knew he’d
turned her life upside down, but that was nothing she should admit. "I
think it would be best if you didn’t."

His eyes were solemn. He held up his coffee cup, his face,
his body intense. "Here’s to no regrets."

She
clinked
her cup to his.
"No regrets."

The room became somber with their parting. They drank
their coffee quickly,
then
left the house.

Tony was holding the Jeep's door open for her when a car
turned onto his driveway. The driver, a thin man with straight, straw colored
hair, got out of the car and walked quickly toward him.

"Mr. Santos?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Anthony Santos?"

Tony put his hands on his hips. "That's right."

The man stood right in front of him now, then reached into
the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I
have a summons for you."

He thrust the paper into Tony's hands, then turned and ran
back to his car, jumped in and sped away.

Stunned, Tony looked from the man to the envelope. He
ripped it open and scanned the document inside. A black scowl darkened his face
as he read.

"What is it?" Lee asked.

A tirade of expletives, both Spanish and English, erupted
from him. He waded up the paper, threw it on the ground,
then
strode back and forth.

"What's wrong, Tony?"

"My
ex wife
!
That bitch, that selfish, rotten bitch!" He kicked a tire, and slammed his
fists against the roof of the 4x4. His hands still clenched as he struggled to
control his temper.

Lee bit her bottom lip, not sure if she should interfere.
"What does she want?"

"Ben."

She gasped. "What?"

He ran his hands through his hair then leaned heavily
against the roof of his car. After a movement, he lifted a furious gaze to her.
"Remember I told you she married a doctor in Los Angeles--a real big shot,
lots of money,
lots
of friends? And they can't have
kids?"

"I remember."

"So now she wants 'her' son back. She gave up all
rights to him when she walked out. He was a just a baby and she left him. Now,
she's changed her mind."

Lee felt her stomach tighten.
"Oh,
Tony, no!"
Tony couldn't lose Ben, he simply could not. "She
just wants to have him visit, right? She wouldn't try to take him from
you."

"Wouldn't she? She's his mother. She's got a
beautiful home, a rich husband. All I've got is a small ranch that barely shows
a profit. It's coming down to a court fight."

"A custody battle, after all these years?"

Tony gave a bitter laugh. "Belated
maternalism
, I guess. But I can just see her standing in front
of a judge, crying for her little boy. What mere father could compete against
that?"

Lee's heart sank. She had seen many cases in courts take
bizarre turns. Logic and fair play often had nothing to do with the outcome.
"What terms is she requesting?"