Deadly Dosage (39 page)

“Guess so. You and
Chuck want to come with me and say hi to Sam? He’s over by the trucks.”

“Sure, hang on.”
She leaned into the SUV. “Chuck, come on. Peacock’s here. Come say hi.”

He climbed out of
the SUV mumbling about needing four-wheel drive not Bluetooth and GPS. He put
his arm around Donna’s shoulder. “So where is he?”

Peacock was
Donna’s nickname for Sam. I found it a very appropriate description of him.
Handsome. Strutting. Proud. Showy. Yes, one hundred percent Sam.

     We found him
chatting up a leggy brunette, handing out brochures in an electric blue bikini
top, matching short pleated skirt with the word Chevy emblazoned across her
rear end, and white go-go boots as a finishing touch. His eyes matched the
color of her outfit and his smile told me he was hitting on her with success.
Maybe he considered it harmless flirting, but it was difficult for me to digest
a constant diet of it. Not good for the self-esteem of any woman. Also one of
the main reasons I shied away from his proposal of marriage.

“Hey Sam,” I
yelled loudly, as she passed a brochure to him.

     He turned, startled by my voice.

“Over here,” I
yelled again walking closer, shoving the rest of the pretzel in my mouth.
“Chuck and Donna are here.”

He strolled over.
“Hey, weird, we we’re talking about you guys before. About double dating,” he
said directly to Chuck, with emphasis and a bit of contempt.

To my surprise,
Chuck winced as if struck, and then he responded smoothly, “That’s right. Are
we still getting together next Friday at, um, your place like we planned?”

“Definitely,” Sam
adlibbed. “Forgot to mention it, Sunny. I thought we could entertain Donna and
Chuck at my place. You know, play cards or video games, rent a movie, or
whatever you girls want.”

I eyed Donna. Her
look told me this was news to her too. “Sounds great,” I said locking him into
the impromptu date. “Donna and I can pick up a romantic comedy and we can order
Italian from the restaurant below your apartment.”

“Great. Chuck,
check this out,” he said gesturing for him to follow him to the other side of
the Chevy display.

 “He’s
probably yelling at Chuck,” I said earnestly. “Because he’ll have to switch
date nights with little Miss Blondie.”

“Is that why you
agreed so quickly?”

“Hell yeah. But
I’ll warn you now, if Lloyd wants to do something, I’m cancelling on Sam. I’m
sure he’d cancel on me in a heartbeat.”

 “And you’re still
seeing him
why
?” she asked incredulously.

I shrugged. “He’s
like a cute puppy you picked up at a shelter that starts destroying everything
you own. The best thing would be to return him to the shelter, but he’s cute
and you’ve grown attached to him so you put up with his behavior, even though
it pisses you off each day.”

“Somehow that
makes sense.” She hugged me. “Let’s go find Rover.”

Donna and Chuck
went off on their own thirty minutes after meeting up with us. Having started
at opposite ends of the building, each of us had seen what the other had not.
At five, Sam and I left the auto show. He told me he had a surprise for me. We
were meeting Nino and Spring at Leo’s Bar and Grill for dinner. I was surprised
Spring hadn’t mention it.

Once we were in my
car heading back to Wisconsin, I turned the radio down to talk to him.

 “Sam, why do you
always want to double date? Don’t you like being alone with me?”

He shot me a
perplexed look. “We were alone today.”

“True, but…” How
could I tell him what I was feeling if I couldn’t even put it into words? “You
were alone with your date last night. You go places with Brandi. Can’t we just
go somewhere together?”

“No,” he said
firmly. “With you it’s different. When I’m alone with you, I don’t want to talk
about nebulous bullshit. I want you between my sheets.”

I thought about
all the things Lloyd and I discussed with each other. The topics were endless. Sure,
we enjoyed the bedroom stuff, but it wasn’t the sole reason for being together.
Okay, maybe it was a big reason but not the only reason.

“I understand that,
Sam. But after almost three years together, don’t you want something more than
sex? Don’t you ever want to share anything with me?”

“I suppose. I
don’t know. I don’t think of you in that capacity.”

“In what capacity?
As a person?”

“Ha ha.” He
thought about it before replying. “I guess I think of you as my lover. It’s
better if you don’t know my failures, or hopes or dreams. I keep that stuff to
myself.”

“That’s the stuff
you should be sharing with me if you love me, Sam. Or don’t you love me like
that?”

His fingers
tightened on the steering wheel and he remained quiet. I knew he would shut me
out. For some reason, Sam had a hard time verbalizing his emotions unless he
felt it absolutely necessary.

“Okay, forget that
for now. Without peeking, what am I wearing?”

“I don’t know,
Sunny,” he said with exasperation. “A jacket and jeans.”

“I know what
you’re wearing.”

 “Sorry, I
didn’t realize there would be a pop quiz on the way home,” he replied crisply.

“Okay. Just my
hair then. Without looking.”

He took a deep
breath and exhaled. “Long. Straight. Bangs swept slightly off your forehead.
Satisfied.”

I would be if he
had been right. Though normally straight, my hair was curly, pulled back from
the sides with pearl barrettes.

“Take a look, Sam.
Took me an hour to get my hair in curls like this. Thanks for noticing. You
certainly noticed every other woman there today. Granted I’m not wearing
anything sexy, but I thought you would at least notice the hair.”

He glanced over at
me. “Your hair looks pretty, Sunny, but it doesn’t matter to me how you wear it
or what you wear. You always look sexy to me. When I look at you, I don’t
always notice the detail. I’m usually too mesmerized by your deep green eyes
and you’re perfectly shaped, kissable lips.”

Okay. This is why
I fell for him and why I am finding it so difficult to give him up. The slight,
upward movement of his mouth told me he knew I had taken the bait. Everything
showed on my face. Damn him and his charming, desirable lies! So I changed the
subject before I asked him to take me to Motel 6. “So did you like the new
Silverado?”

“No major changes.
I have another year left on my lease, so I’m in no hurry to change.”

“Oh. I didn’t get
a good look at it. Too busy talking to Donna. May I see your brochure?”

He pulled the
brochure out from behind his visor and handed it to me.

“Thanks.” I paged
through it. “You’re right. Looks the same.” When I flipped the last page, I saw
a short message, which I read out loud. “Call me anytime! Friday night works!
Krista.”

Little hearts
dotted the ‘i’s.’ Her phone number, scrawled in large, Brandi-style numbers,
was below the message.

He flinched and
squirmed in his seat.

I held back my
full fury and curtly replied, “Don’t worry, Sam. Chuck screwed up again.
Consider our date cancelled. I’m sure Lloyd will be happy to see me. Here,” I
said handing him the brochure, “better put this in a safe place so you don’t
lose her number.”

Taking it from me,
he ripped it up and placed the pieces in the console cup holder. “Sunny, I’m sorry.
I just wanted to see if I could get it.”

“Bully for you.
You succeeded. No big surprise, Sam. She was practically drooling on you.”

 “It’s
nothing personal. It’s a male ego thing.”

“I don’t know how
not to take it personally, Sam. Obviously I’ve never been good enough for you.”

“That’s not true.
I’ve received lots of phone numbers over the years and I stayed with you.”

Okay, here’s the
totally whacked part of all this, I’m starting to believe I’m lucky. Out of all
those beautiful women, he continues to choose me. I swear he practices some
form of black magic. Time for a mental head slap!

“So I take it this
has been occurring the whole time we’ve been dating?”

No comment from
the jerk.

“Great. Is your
ego stroked enough for tonight, or are you going to ask out a few waitresses at
Leo’s while we’re there? I just want to be prepared.”

“I promise to keep
my eyes on you. Happy?”

“Not really. I’d
ask you to take me home but I don’t want to disappoint Spring.”

“You shouldn’t be
so insecure, Sunny.”

“I’m the insecure
one?” I could hardly believe my ears. “I’m not the one reassuring my ego
constantly by collecting phone numbers. You might want to see a shrink about
that.”

“Funny, Bummer.”

      “Don’t call
me that,” I said, my irritation growing with each minute.

     “Okay. Settle down.” He pulled into
Leo’s Bar and Grill and parked in one of the rear spaces near a lamppost. He
looked at me before turning off the engine. “Are you going to try to enjoy the
rest of the evening?”

     I gave him a smirk. “Would I spoil this lovely
evening together,” I replied sardonically.

     “Don’t be like that.” He put his arm around my
shoulder and kissed me softly. “Hey, you know I’m not perfect, Sunny. Nobody
is. But I did say I love you. That’s all that should matter. Right?”

He
made out with me until my anger subsided. “Ready to go in?”

“Give me a sec.” I pulled my
lipstick from my handbag, reapplied it, and dropped it back into my handbag
with a smack of my lips. “We can go now.”

     We exited the car and he surprised me by talking
my hand in his as we walked up to the restaurant.

The dinner with Spring and Nino was enjoyable. Sam’s
behavior changed around them and he was more attentive to me than normal.

     When we were into our final cocktail for the
evening, I made a toast. “To Nino and Spring, congratulations on your upcoming
wedding. I can’t wait to eat some wedding cake!”

     “Sam, you are you coming with Sunny?” Nino asked      hopefully.

     “I don’t know,” he said gazing into my eyes, “she
hasn’t asked me. It’s up to her.”

     “Well, how about it, Sunny?” Nino jeered. “Ask
the poor man? He’s your boyfriend, isn’t he?”

     Spring eyed Nino and then me. She knew I was
leaning toward asking Lloyd. I hadn’t made up my mind yet. I guess the choice
was out of my hands now.

     Shit. Why did I bring up the wedding? I knew I
was stuck. So I spit out the question everyone was waiting to hear. “Sam, would
you like to go with me to their wedding?” I asked, politely.

     Satisfaction spread across his handsome face and
he stated simply, “No.”

     “No?” the rest of us replied in unison.

     “No,” he repeated. “However, if Sunny agrees to
marry me that weekend in Vegas, then the answer is yes.”

     “Sam you dog,” Nino said with a wide grin,
slapping Sam on the back. “How about it, Sunny? A double wedding.”

     I shot Spring a helpless look and I saw her nudge
Nino. “Wow, Sam. You made Sunny a bit flustered.”

     I took a deep breath that did nothing to soothe
my erratic breathing. “I’ll have to think about that, Sam, before I give you an
answer.”

     “Don’t make me wait long, sweetheart,” he said
with a smile.

     I swallowed. “No, I promise I won’t. Spring, do
you want to join me. We’ll be right back.”

     “Be back in a minute,” she said and kissed Nino’s
cheek.

     I gave Sam a small peck on the cheek as well,
before we left.

     In the restroom, I slumped against the wall.
“Great. Just great. Now what am I supposed to do Spring? I planned on asking
Lloyd first and if he turned me down, I was going to go with Sam.”

     “Don’t panic, Sunny. Lloyd doesn’t know Sam asked
you. Ask him. If he says yes, go with him. If he says no, well—”

     “I can marry Sam? Shit. A few months ago, I would
have. Maybe. Now I’m so confused I feel nauseous. If only Sam were more like
Lloyd. Two guys and I bet I go to your wedding stag.”

     “You worry too much. You have another week before
you need to decide. Take your time. There’s nothing wrong if you come by
yourself, Sunny. You won’t be the only single person there, right?”

     “No, I guess not. How should I handle Sam?”

     “Be flattered, Sunny. He didn’t threaten you, he
proposed.” She smiled and stroked my hair. “But I understand. You’d feel
differently if Lloyd had said it.”

     I tilted my head. “What makes you say that? I
barely know him.”

     “Love can happen in the blink of an eye Sunny, if
your heart is open to accept it.”