The Men of CLE-FD updated (7 page)

He sat on the blanket crossing his legs as he lay back using his elbows to support his upper body weight.  The sky was glowing with billions of stars as Regan had pointed out earlier.  They ended up on the grassy knoll overlooking the cliffs of Lake Erie after the coffee shop closed kicking them out.

Regan sucked in a breath. “It is beautiful here.  Do you come here often with your dates?”

“Nah.  I come here alone to clear my head sometimes.”

She fingered strands of hair from her face.  The fragile hairdo had served its purpose and was flopping strands at a time to settle around her face.  “I see why.  If it’s this peaceful during the day, I would never leave.”

Orlando sat up taking a coffee cup from the cardboard tray.
That’s right drink a steaming hot cup of coffee while you’re already sweating to death…moron
. He ignored the voice and asked. “Was Lincoln mad you left?”

“She practically jumped out of her shoes when I told her I was leaving with you.”

He blew his breath over the hot liquid cooling it down. “That’s strange given she doesn’t know me that well.  We’ve only met a couple of times.”

Regan mimicked him blowing on her coffee.  “She trusts Anthony’s judgment.  Anyhow, should I be afraid I am alone in the dark with you?”

“You should always be leery of strangers,” he said drinking the coffee and staring blankly ahead.  He had no idea why he brought her to his spot.  This was where he came to meditate on what was going on in his life or to unwind after a hard shift ended.

Regan removed the last of the hairpins to let her hair fall short of her shoulders. “You’re not scaring me, Orlando.  If I didn’t feel comfortable with you, I would have stayed at the club and let Sherman put me in a coma.”

He looked at her.  Her hair that was pinned tightly to the crown of her head earlier had fallen and now framed her oval face.  Soft brown eyes, a perfect straight nose and full lips curled in a confident smile, took his breath away.  Flawless brown skin smoothed over slender shoulders and muscular, but feminine arms.  She was as pretty as he remembered minus the blood and bruises. 
Stop looking at her like that; you’re not looking for a relationship. Who’s talking about a relationship?  Looking never hurt anyone.
 

He stopped arguing with himself and answered, “I’ve never had to revive a person in a coma so it’s good you left.”

“I feel badly I left my sister to suffer in his company, but she is resourceful and will figure how to get away from him.”  She joined him in looking at the stars.   “How good are you at naming constellations?”

She had moved the cup holder sitting between them and scooted closer.  He got a better whiff of her perfume; it smelled expensive and sweet.  His eyes traveled down the front of her dress to rest on the view of her cleavage.  She was holding well in that department too.  Regan’s bare leg touched his thigh and he felt a rush of blood travel to his manhood.  His jeans were relax-fit and if she made another move, he wouldn’t be able to hide what she was doing to his libido.

He cleared his throat dragging his eyes from her breasts and to the stars above.  “I can name the big and little dippers other than that, you have to get the science guy to gaze stars with you.”

“I’m not interested in him,” she said using a finger to trace his lower lip.

In a swift move that caught him off balance, Regan jumped on his lap attaching her lips to his.  Her soft tongue entered his mouth, probing with aggressiveness.  His arms braced against the hard ground to support his weight.  It was also a way to keep his hands off her luscious firm body.  The way she grinded her body against him caused him to bloom into a full erection—a painful erection.

He fought the urge to have his way with her.  It didn’t feel right to him.  The move was too assertive for a woman like her.  She would not have to throw herself at a man.  Her personality and beauty would make a man bow at her feet.

Her lips slid across his, nipping him with her teeth.  Her hands traveled his body.  This wasn’t right.  He couldn’t take advantage of her when it was obvious something else going on in her head.

Orlando moved his head away breaking their contact.  “Whoa, Regan—what is going on?”

“Come on, Lieutenant, you’re not new at this.  Don’t you find me attractive?”

 She attempted to resume the foreplay. He had to hold her by the shoulders to get her to listen to him.  “I find you very attractive but I’m not about to jump your bones like a dog in heat.  At least let me buy you dinner first.”

She stopped and rolled over on the blanket standing to her feet quickly. “What am I doing?  I feel like an idiot attacking you,” she said closing her arms around her body.

Orlando let her walk away putting space between them.  When she reached the edge of the cliff, he went to her. “You are not an idiot.  I am maybe, but not you.”

“I’m sorry, Orlando.  This is not who I am.”  She sat on a rock burying her face in her hands.

“He knelt in front of her. “So tell me who you are, Regan.”

She curled her fingers into her palm to create a pedestal for her chin to rest. “I’m a thirty-two year old divorcee whose world has crumbled and I don’t know where to start to rebuild it.  I convinced myself to be free and wild and throw caution to the wind for my birthday, but I’m not the type of person that would do that.  I have to have structure in my life.”

He didn’t want to laugh in her time of pity, but he couldn’t help himself. “Ah, so you’re pretending to be a sex-starved maniac? That is funny.”

“This is not funny! Anyway, you don’t understand because you’re a man.  Men will close their eyes and do anything that breathes as long as it is female and willing.”

“Well damn,” he said sitting back on his legs.  “To you I guess all men are nothing but dogs.  Not all of are that way and I think I just proved that you.”

Regan rubbed her arms and bashfully looked at Orlando.  “That was a mistake to say that about all men.  You are being a perfect gentleman.”

“Regan, I understand being lonely, but this game you’re playing is dangerous.  What if I had taken the bait?  Would you feel any different about yourself if we’d had sex five minutes after meeting each other?  Somehow, I don’t think you would’ve felt good about yourself if you’d done that.  I could tell you were forcing it.”

“Please don’t lecture me.  I’m embarrassed enough as it is.”

“I’m not trying to lecture or embarrass you but warn you about the dangerous men in this world who prey on lonely women.  Hell, we have plenty of them in the city of Cleveland.  You gotta be careful.”

“I know it was stupid.  This is my first birthday without my husband and I guess I was trying to cover the pain.  Even though I hate his guts, I miss him for some reason today.”

“Let me assure you, it gets easier as time passes.”

“You’re divorced?” She asked.

“Yeah.  That’s how I know what you’re going through.”

“God, I don’t know how to start over with meeting someone and then dating and doing what I just tried to do to you.  This was not part of the plan when I got married.  It was supposed to last forever.”

Orlando stood up stretching.  It was late and he was tired after working a full shift. “Well life goes on after divorce.  There is nothing saying you won’t meet another man and get married again.  Just be careful about the men you choose to date.”

“Orlando, may I ask you a question?”

“Go for it.”

“Are you bitter?”

He narrowed his brow knowing she could fully see his expression under the bright moonlight.  “Why would you ask me that?  Do I act like a bitter person?”

“Well, you seem a little stand-offish.  Inside the club before we danced you made the first move, but now that we are alone I feel as though I am doing all the work to get to know you.”

He ran his hand over his short-cut hair.  “I’m not bitter.  My divorce was nasty and it did harden me a bit, but I’m not bitter at all.  Honestly, I didn’t think I was being elusive about myself either; I guess I’m not that exciting of a person.”

“Okay,” she said walking to the blanket and putting on her shoes.

“Wait, did I say something wrong?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t meddle in anyone’s business but my own.  If you don’t want to talk about yourself, I understand.”

He heard his voice grow loud in the quiet night air.  “Hey, you asked me a question and I answered it.  I’m a nice guy with a few issues I’m working on, albeit slowly but I’m working on them.  Regan, really, I’m not trying to be a jerk.”

“I gotcha,” she said folding the blanket in half.  “I cast no stones since it is clear I have major problems of my own.”

Orlando was losing control and he didn’t like losing control or his cool. “Wait. Why don’t we start over?  I might come off a little rough around the edges, but that’s me.  I’m blunt.  I say what is on my mind and don’t lie to spare anyone’s feelings.”

Regan shook her head. “Was that the cause of your divorce?”

“So you are assuming my divorce was my fault?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You implied it.”  He closed his eyes taking in a deep breath. “Forget it.  I’ll take you home if you are ready.  I worked a full shift today and I’m a little tired.  Maybe that’s why I seem cranky to you.”

“Fine, you can take me home,” she said storming to the car.

He exhaled tapping his fist against his forehead.
Women! No wonder I’m staying the hell away from ‘em.
 

*****

The next morning Regan got up before Lincoln and Anthony.  She assumed Anthony spent the night since Lincoln had placed blankets, a pillow, and her nightgown on the sofa.  She only did that when Anthony stayed the night. Otherwise, they shared the bedroom that had two twin-size beds.

Going into the spare bathroom, she looked at her reflection in the mirror.  Her skin was pale after a restless night’s sleep.  She’d spent the night journaling where she’d gone wrong with Orlando.  Attacking him was a major mistake and one she wished she could erase from her memory.  He could have easily had sex with her or tossed her off the cliff, but he did neither.  Instead, he took the time to explain why he didn’t take advantage of her.

She touched her lips closing her eyes.  The softness of his lips felt wonderful.  The portion of him that pressed hard under her dress as she sat on his lap felt enormous and turned on her just thinking about it.  Her hormones were raging. A part of her wanted him to take advantage of her, but the other part of her was glad he hadn’t.  She had to make amends with him but would need a few days before attempting to do so.  There was no way she could look him in the eye after her behavior.

She turned on the water in the sink to scrub her face and brush her teeth.  She would need a long run this morning to clear her mind.  Too bad, she didn’t run, but a trip to the gym for a spinning class Lincoln arranged for her would do the trick. She would peddle until Orlando Torres was out of her system.

Turning on the shower, water spurted, trickled, and finally, flowed from the drippy showerhead.  Regan hurried under the warm water lathering her body before the water pressure was completely gone.  She watched the suds swirl and gurgle down the drain wishing the shame she was feeling would rinse away as easily. She’d made a fool of herself something she swore she would never do.  She appeared desperate and horny when his signals were clear he wasn’t interested in her.

Anger with herself replaced her embarrassment.  Regan shut off the water and finished drying off leaving the tiny bathroom in a mess.  Tying her hair in a ponytail, she stormed into the laundry room to dig through the pile of clean clothes for her workout gear and something to wear afterwards.  Stripping off the towel, she put on a white sports bra and white spandex pants and took a pair of socks from the laundry basket.  She stuffed a set of clothes in her gym bag to change into after her workout.

Sitting at the kitchen table, she put on her socks and her tennis shoes.  She knocked over the chair holding Anthony’s duffel bag as she got up to get a bottle of water from the fridge. Lincoln’s studio apartment was small and not big enough for three adults.  Granted, Anthony wasn’t there every day, but he had the habit of staying over when he wasn’t at the firehouse.  Plus he kept personal belongings there, making space tighter.

Dammit! I have to get my own place and soon if I plan to stay in Cleveland
. She slammed the door to the fridge closed and stomped out the door.  Her attitude was in need of adjusting, but she was mad as hell and wanted to keep that anger until she got to the gym.

Regan unlocked the door to the Audi A4 Premium plus Sedan, getting inside.  The soft purr of the expensive car was classic.  As part of her divorce settlement, the judge allowed her to keep the personal items Mark had given her over the years plus a hefty monetary settlement in exchange for monthly alimony.  She also received a share of the sale of their apartment in Manhattan.  Moneywise, on paper, she appeared rich and set for life, when in reality she was only thirty-two. By the time she hit her senior years, that money would be gone.  Besides needing a place to stay, she needed a job.

Her cell phone rang.  Using the sync device in the car, she hit the button to see who was calling.  It was Mark.  She contemplated letting the call go to voicemail.  She wasn’t in the mood to talk to him.  Her thumb brushed across the answer button. “What do you want, Mark?” She asked dryly.

“
Good morning to you too sunshine.”
 

“I haven’t heard from you in months and our chats are no longer peppered with sweet pleasantries.  So what do you want?”

“
All right, I will get to the point.  I will be in Cleveland next week.  My aunt Winnie passed away.”
 

“I’m so sorry, Mark,” her voice softened.  “She was a sweet woman.”

“
She always liked you, Regan.”
 

“Give the family my condolences.”

“
You can do that yourself.  I want you to be with me for the services.  I’ll be arriving next Wednesday.”
 

“I will not do that, Mark.  Where is Naomi?”