Hot Cooking Spanker Wanted (24 page)

No
woman ever made me feel like she did.

Our
bags were already in the car that the hotel had lent us. We stepped
out into the snow and my arm went around her once again.

This
must be a blizzard. I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. I
got her in the car with our managers. They had been bickering. They
pretended not to but Katherine noticed too because she looked at me
for an explanation. I just shrugged.

The
driver slowly brought us to the airport. He was discussing the
weather with Katherine.

“
He
says the airport is canceling most of its flights,” she told us.

“
But
we have appointments tomorrow in Munich we have to be there.”

“
We
will be in the news even if we aren't there. They will say that the
storm was so bad that we were stuck in Berlin,” Katherine answered.

I
was proud of her. She was finally learning to take care of herself.

Her
manager went at her again, with responsibilities and obligations.
Katherine cracked just like I thought she would. I was shaking my
head at her.

The
driver dropped us off at the airport and we went in just to find out
that our flight was canceled. Her agent wanted us to rent a car and
drive through the night. She asked where the car rentals were. My
manager pulled me to the side.

“
Her
manager told me that the reason for the break up was because you
cheated on her. She was so upset that she lost the baby. Was
Katherine pregnant?”

“
Yes,
but I didn't cheat on her.”

“
She
told her agent that she saw it herself.”

“
I
have no idea what she is talking about?” Could I have a look alike?
I stormed after Katherine, but she was talking to the guy at the
rental agency. He didn't want to rent us a car but because Katherine
had a German driver's license he let us. Katherine didn't look all
that happy. She had hardly slept last night and now she had to drive
tired in a snowstorm.

How
could she think that I had cheated on her? Had she just said that so
her manager would leave her alone? Still I didn't want anything like
that to spread.

He
sent us out to the cars. The wind was blowing tiny hard ice crystals
into my face. I couldn't believe that anyone would want to drive in
this stuff. We piled our luggage in the trunk.

Katherine
was asking all kinds of questions. She took off her coat and laid it
over her suitcase in the trunk. She got in and started adjusting
mirrors and then she pulled out.

“
We
aren't going to get there on time if we drive so we are just going to
drive south until we find an airport that is open.” I watched her
in the mirror as much as I could. She was so nervous and
concentrated. She went slow and steady. The snow was crunching under
the tires. The car slipped and glided a little. She turned on the
radio and listened to the news and music.

Everyone
was very quiet and I know I was scared. She drove in complete
silence. I had a feeling like she had everything under control but we
weren't the only ones out here. Lots of other cars were out, some she
passed and some passed us. Katherine shook her head at them.

The
wipers were going constantly and she sometimes had to turn on the air
conditioner to unfog the inside of the car. I wouldn't have known to
do that. I was starting to doze off. My agent was already asleep. Her
agent was cuddling in under her coat which she had removed and was
now using as a blanket.

I
couldn't believe the audacity of that woman. She herself didn't do
anything. She profited by telling my Katherine what she should do,
instead of doing great things herself. She fell asleep too.

Katherine
drove on. I was fighting to stay awake and I had gotten a good nights
sleep. I drifted off to sleep again and again but I woke shortly
after that. Katherine didn't look tired. She was humming along with
the radio softly.

“
You
really rocked that song this evening.”

“
Thank
you. I'll think of something so I can pay you back in kind.” She
sounded wide awake. Like she was planning my demise.

I
couldn't do it anymore. I laid my head to the side and fell asleep.

It
was bright out when I woke up. Katherine was singing softly and the
car was still moving. I looked at my watch. We had left Berlin
shortly after one in the morning and my watch said that it was just a
little after eight.

Katherine
was pulling through, like she always did. Her agent was babbling at
her and she was explaining what she all expected Katherine to do.

“
I
expect her to go to bed and sleep. Thank you for safely getting us
this far, Katherine.” I hoped that her agent would also think to
thank her. She didn't, she went on like I hadn't said anything.

Katherine
glanced at me in the rear view mirror for a second. She had looked a
little scared of me again and sad too. She was just pretending to be
doing well. The truth was that she had been better off with me.

I
would do what I could to get her back.

Three
hours later she parked in front of a hotel. She could hardly stand as
she got out of the car. Her agent went in without a second glance at
her. A bellboy was getting out our luggage. I told her to sit down in
the lobby, that I would check her in. She yawned and sat down.

I
told my manager to cancel all of my appointments for today. Hers
should be canceled too. I looked over at Katherine. I checked us into
a room together. Her agent had already gone up to freshen up. I
collected Katherine and up we went. She leaned against the side of
the wall in the elevator. I helped her to our room. I wondered what
would happen when she realized that we were sharing.

I
helped the bellboy with our bags and gave him a tip. He wanted to
explain the room but she was just tired and she knew how to use a
bed.

My
mind drifted off for a second. I refocused. Getting her back was the
most important thing to me.

“
Thanks,
Ryan.” She stood leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. I
bet she would have fallen if she would have had to stand on her own
two feet.

“
Oh,
by the way all of your appointments for today have been canceled
because of the weather. Just go to bed and sleep. Do you need help
with anything?”

“
Nope,
I'm fine.”

I
snorted. I didn't want to but it came out before I could hold it
back. She had tears in her eyes but she was pretending that she
didn't. “I didn't mean that. I meant that after what you all
accomplished that you have to be beat.”

Her
eyes widened at the double meaning of the last word.

“
I
know I would be dead tired if I would have had to drive all night
when I was already so tired. Thank you for getting us all here
safely. I feel guilty for sleeping while you had to stay awake.” I
think that came out right.

“
Well,
your welcome.” She yawned again and grabbed her bag. “I'm just
going to take a warm shower.”

“
Sure,
I'll let myself out.”

She
nodded and went in and locked the door. I heard the water going on a
second later. She must be desperate to get to bed. I moved my bags
into their place so they were hid away. The plan was that we would be
staying here three days. I unpacked as much as I felt I would need.

I
stood off to the side. She came out still yawning. She went right to
the bed and pulled the covers back and crawled in. I waited a few
minutes and when I was sure that she was sleeping I went into the
bathroom and got ready for my nap too.

I
stared at her sleeping there before I got into bed with her. It was
kind of cold and the sound of the wind outside made me feel even
colder. I inched in closer to her. I missed sleeping with her but
when we had slept together we had both been naked so we could get at
each other easier. That was when things were still okay.

I
drifted off faster to sleep that I thought possible.

I
stretched and reached out to Katherine, like it was the most natural
thing in the world.

She
rolled into my arms and stretched too. Her eyes flew open and she
tried to roll away from me.

I
held her tight so she couldn't. “No, Katherine we are going to talk
about this, now.”

“
Let
go of me.” She was hitting at me but she wasn't hurting me at all.

“
Calm
down, Darling. I just want to talk.”

“
Right
and if you don't like what you hear, you will hurt me.”

“
I'm
not going to hurt you, darling.”

“
Lies,
that's all lies. All you ever do is lie to me.”

“
When
did I lie? Tell me when I lied?” I was holding her tight, not
letting her go. She was kicking at me and fussing around a lot.

“
It
would be faster if I listed the times you told the truth.”

“
Tell
me what I did wrong.”

“
Everything.”
She stopped kicking and looked me in the eyes. She was out for blood.
That had really hurt because she seemed to believe just that.

“
But
I love you so much. I took care of you in every way a man can take
care of a woman.”

“
Stop
it! Let me go! Get out of my room.”

I
let her go and she ran to the door. She wanted out badly. I blocked
the way. “This is our room, Darling. Because of the snowstorm we
had to share. Look out the window.”

She
went to the window and looked out. It was blinding white out there.

“
All
of our appointments have been canceled. We have time to talk.”

She
turned on me and her hair flew around her. “I don't want to talk to
you. I'll see to it that I find someplace else to stay. I'll call
some friends.” She headed for the phone.

I
blocked her. “No, this is something we need to talk about. This is
a chance for us to speak about everything that happened and clear the
air. At the very least I want to be friends with you.”

“
Friends,
us? No. I'm leaving.” She tried for the phone again.

“
No,
Katherine. We are going to talk about this now.”

“
Cause
you said so,” she said in a smart ass way.

“
Damn
right, darling.” I stared her down.

She
turned away from me and went into the bathroom. She gave the door a
good slam. The door locked.

I
went to it and knocked. I had doctored it so it wouldn't actually
lock. I heard the shower go on and wondered what she was up to. There
wasn't a window in there or a phone. No means of escape.

Okay,
that sounded bad, even to me. Now I sounded like a kidnapper to
myself too.

I
waited and waited. Then I wondered if she had a cell phone in there.
I knew she wasn't a fan of those but people change. She had,
dramatically.

The
door opened and she came out with her hair wrapped in a towel and
wearing the same pajamas as before. She was playing with the door and
looking at the lock. “What did you do with the door?”

“
I
was afraid that you would childishly lock yourself in and not come
back out.”

Katherine
mumbled something under her breath. She gave up on the door and went
to her luggage. She fished out a warm sweater. Then she went over to
the heater. She did something with it and it started to get warmer.
She sat down next to it and yawned.

“
Do
you want to sleep some more, darling?”

“
No,
I don't trust you.”

“
Have
I ever given you reason not to trust me?”

“
Yep.”
She looked away from me.

“
Katherine,
could it be that someone came to you and told you something about
me?”

“
Nope.”

“
Do
you really think that I cheated on you? Do you think I would be that
foolish as to do that to you? I wouldn't. I would never do anything
to risk what we have.” I sat down on the bed across from her and
tried to make her understand.

She
didn't answer. She sat there very still and sad looking.

“
Why
did you tell your agent that I had cheated on you?”

“
Because
it's the truth.”

“
No
it isn't. You can't believe a lie like that.”

“
It
isn't a lie.”

“
Yes
it is. Who told you something like that?”

She
didn't answer at all and I was so desperate to hear what she had to
say. “I'm hungry.”

I
stood and went to the phone. “What do you want to have, darling.”

“
Could
I have a menu? Oh, and I'm not your darling.”

I
decided to ignore that last part. “I don't see a menu but I could
call for one,” I suggested and looked over at her.

She
nodded. I read how to use the phone quick. I called down to the front
desk and asked for the menus, one in English and one in German. I
slipped into regular clothes, as I waited. I figured that she would
fuss when the guy came.