"Peggy…!" Carol choked out for lack of knowing what else to say. "Please… you can't just run off like this… I'm in a fog! I… I can't just pick up and move like that… today! What is it? My God, you've got to tell me…!"
Instead, the ravishing brunette kissed her fully on the lips, hugged her tight, then swung away to jerk open the door. "Good-bye, Carol darling… and please… don't hate me…"
"Peggy…!" Carol called after her as the other quickly walked to her own door where two heavy valises sat, picked them up and hurried toward the entrance of the building without looking back again!
Slowly, Carol closed her door, locking it. God, she wasn't about to chase after her! Her brain swam. Excerpts of the older girl's words raced pelt-mell through it, some of them making sense, others making none at all! She went to the front window in time to see a taxi-door close, and the vehicle suddenly speeding off! An unpleasant emptiness filled her lower stomach. What was it Peg had been too frightened to tell her… and what was it that could make her leave Ed White this morning, when last night it had been he needs me… I love him…?
A clammy chill shivered frighteningly upward along Carol's spine. She looked toward the building down the street where Mark Cannon lived. Somehow, there was reassurance in knowing she had a friend there… for outside of Sultan, she didn't have another in the world at that very moment!
Extremely upset, Carol backed away from the window and walked to the small kitchenette, the powerful German shepherd's ever closeness rallying her. Thank God for him! She would be lost, utterly and totally lost! Mark would understand that. Yes, more than anyone, he would appreciate her feelings! She set the coffee-pot onto the burner to re-heat, then reached up into cupboard to find what was left of the brandy she'd bought months back. She had to think… to try and decipher some meaning from Peggy's alarming statements, as well as calm herself enough to do it, and spiked coffee sounded like the remedy.
Carol lighted a rare cigarette and finished her first coffee royale, blending a second as for the fourth time she went back over the extent of their short conversation to the best of her ability. She had arrived, at some very definite conclusions. Either Peg had found Ed in bed with another one of his teenagers, or he had threatened her to the point where she didn't dare stay in the apartment with him any longer! Whichever the actual reason, it hardly mattered. The poor girl was a hundred-percent better off away from the likes of him… even though she, herself, was going to miss Peg very, very much. Oh, not from the sexual point. Last night had been one of those unbelievable single episodes that might happen in any person's life, but it was over and done with, and she wasn't about to ever let it happen again!
And Peg… the darling… saying… don't hate me… please forgive me for everything… I couldn't help myself… please, don't hate me… and then kissing her the way she had. She blamed herself for the whole affair… the beautiful angel. In all truth, she wasn't anymore to blame than this blonde vixen who had wanted it all to happen as much as Peg had… and it had been an experience Carol would never forget, thanks in part to her animal-lover beside her…!
Her spirits bolstered by the brandied coffees and the brilliant sunshine pouring through the window, Carol began to enjoy lighter feelings, no less sorrowed by Peggy's abrupt departure from the scene, but more and more stimulated by the thought of handsome Mark Cannon coming to dinner. Outside of Jonny, she couldn't remember when a man had so appealed to her… and Jonny was long gone, almost forgotten. Could something come of it…? Why not…? It could if they both wanted it to… and more and more, for her part, Carol was thinking that she did…
CHAPTER SIX
At six-thirty, Carol finished making her canapes. After considerable thought, she had splurged and bought two beautiful steaks, foregoing the meatloaf bit as definitely not being up to the occasion. She had fractured her budget, but somehow she'd balance it out, or maybe her alimony check might be early this month… if it came at all. Anyway, she wasn't going to think about that. They were going to have baked potatoes and tossed salad, and just to be on the safe side, she had bought a bottle of good red wine. Moreover, she'd decided to dress her best for him, choosing her black, mini taffeta affair which was backless, consequently leaving her without a brassiere. It was really the nicest thing she had left.
She wished he could see her. She looked damned alluring, if she did say so herself. The tiny ebony cameo she wore at the hollow of her throat on a matching black ribbon did remarkable things for the deep valley between her soft, white breasts, but he couldn't know that either. Carol knew that she'd gone all out for him, wearing very little actually — just sheer black bikini panties, a frilly half-slip and the short black dress itself. It was too warm for pantyhose, besides, her legs were tanned enough to give the impression of them… but of course, that too he wouldn't see. All the same, half of any battle was in the knowing you had done your own part… or should she call it "conquest"? Yes… that was exactly the way it was shaping up, whether she was ready to admit to it or not!
The excited blonde girl couldn't resist haunting the front window to see if he was coming yet. A half-dozen times she went to her bedroom to add finishing touches to her long golden hair and the little makeup she wore. And it was during one of those trips that the buzzer sounded, Sultan whimpering with wagging tail rather than offering his usual deep-throated growl…!
"Before we sit down would you like to familiarize yourself with the surroundings, Mark?" Carol asked, surprised that she could even think straight with the giddiness she immediately felt at the sight of him. God, he was such a strikingly handsome man, the slacks and sport jacket he wore fitting his tall athletic frame to perfection. Even Queenie looked as if she might have been curried for the occasion.
"Why… yes, I'd like that, thanks," Mark answered, pleased at her thoughtfulness. Few people realized the feelings of a blind person walking into strange settings. He held out the bottle of wine, the sound of her voice as provocative as he remembered. "The wine," he said with a smile.
"So, you did remember," she said, admiring the absolutely perfect knot of his tie and the neat cut of his starched white collar.
"Of course. Didn't you think I would?" he continued to smile.
"Oh… men are sometimes forgetful," Carol said with a soft lilt to her voice. She took the bottle from him. "But you don't appear to me to be the type. Now, supposing we unleash Queenie so that she and Sultan can get to know one another and I show you around… and it won't take long, I assure you."
Mark laughed, bending down to remove his guide dog's harness, "It's probably a great deal like mine. Most of these older apartments in this area are pretty much alike."
Carol watched the two animals move across the room with tails wagging and ears erect. She took Mark's hand, the strong warmth of it sending a little tingling impulse through her as it dominantly closed around her small one with a pleasing pressure. "There are only the three rooms and bath," she explained, leading him slowly and pointing out the position of objects and their arrangement. "Every room needs painting, and the furniture is early shabby-atrocious."
The feel and size of her soft, smooth hand inside his own excitedly transmitted much to Mark. Already, his mind's eye was forming a clearer picture of her, the delicate fragrance of her closeness adding sharply to it. Christ, she had to be lovely… and that made it all the more confusing! What was a young vivacious girl like her doing wasting time with him…?