“Like spending the weekend in Snowshoe and telling me about your fantasies.”
“Exactly,” she agreed. “And speaking of which… I thought of something else this afternoon.”
“Oh?”
“Mmm hmm. I had to go to the bookstore today, so I passed that little newsstand place. I noticed the top rack, where they sell the girlie magazines.
Well, I was thinking… What if we buy a couple of them? We can look at the pictures and read the letters.”
“Sounds like fun. What were you thinking? Playboy? Penthouse? Not Hustler, I hope.”
She immediately scrunched her nose. “Uh-uh. But definitely the first two.
And… um… Penthouse Variations?”
“Sure, if they have it. Hold on… If you were just there, why didn’t you buy them?”
“I can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“They’re girlie magazines,” she said, as if that explained everything.
“So?”
“No. Absolutely not. This is your job. You’re the man.”
“I don’t recall in the Man Handbook where it says it’s my job to buy girlie magazines.”
“It is. It says so on page two,” she said with total conviction. “Right after it says it’s your job to do whatever your wife or girlfriend asks.”
“Oh, really?”
“Mmm hmm. It’s in the Handbook.”
“Right,” I agreed with a skeptical grin.
“I’ll make you a deal,” she offered. “If you buy the magazines, I’ll look at
them with you.”
“You want to look at them anyway!”
“I know, but… I can’t buy them. I just can’t. I know you don’t like bargaining for sex, so lemme see if I can come up with something to offer in exchange. Gimme a minute.” She thought about it and then brightened. “I know! I can show you my sketchbook. The one with all the other guys.”
“I knew which one you were talking about,” I said dryly.
“Maybe we can take it to Snowshoe with us. I’ll tell you about my first time—giving head, I mean—and my ‘group secret.’ I’m sure it isn’t as exciting as yours— Ooh, maybe it is. Mr. Big certainly thinks so.”
“He does,” I agreed. “And… we can’t wait till later.”
She feigned innocence. “For what?”
“A blowjob. Don’t get me wrong,” I added, “we’re still going to have our not-date, but—”
“We need a pre-date now?”
“Afraid so.”
She smiled and kissed me. Then she sighed. “Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you.”
“You were a bad girl.”
“And you’re my reward.”
Chapter 18
Trip and I checked on the boarding house renovation later in the week. The foreman gave us his usual Scooby-Doo villain glare, but his crew was on schedule. He and Trip reviewed the materials deliveries and plans for February, while I poked around the house itself.
The guys on the crew all knew I had a right to be there, but they looked surprised when I asked a couple of questions. They told me the answers and then seemed even more shocked when my follow-up questions weren’t utterly moronic.
“Guys, listen,” I said, “I know your boss doesn’t like me and my buddy, and that’s fine. We’re looking over his shoulder. But we know what we’re doing. And from what I can tell, y’all do good work and don’t cut corners.”
“You sound like you’ve done this before,” one said.
“The past two summers.” I showed them my palms. “I don’t have the calluses anymore, ’cause I’m in school right now, but I’ve swung a hammer and run wires and dug out septic tanks. I’m not a pro—not even close—but I’m not some know-it-all architect wannabe who’s here to tell you how to do your job.”
“Then why are you here?” another asked.
“To make sure the owner’s getting her money’s worth. Her first contractor really screwed her over.” I told them how much, and they looked properly surprised. “So my buddy and I check in regularly,” I continued. “It’s kind of a waste of time, though. Every week, we go back and tell the owner you’re doing a great job.”
They puffed out their chests, and rightly so.
I shrugged. “But we have to keep checking. And occasionally I’ll ask a not-so-stupid question. But that’s pretty much it. I try to stay out of your way the rest of the time. So I guess it’s up to you if you want to keep treating me like the enemy. I’m not. I’m just a guy like you, trying to do a job the best I can.”
They considered that and eventually nodded.
“Yeah,” the first one said, “we know how it is.”
“You’re all right, kid,” another added.
“Thanks.” I looked at my watch. “Almost quitting time, and I know you probably have a couple of beers stashed in your coolers, so I won’t keep you.”
Several of them exchanged grins.
“Maybe he has done this before.”
I nodded emphatically and went to find Trip.
“Let’s talk,” I said to him as we walked home.
“Oh? Something serious?”
“Sort of. About this summer. I know we mentioned doing camp renovations for Susan, but I guess I want to make sure we’re on the same page. You and me, I mean.”
“Makes sense.” He gave me a sideways look. “Any specific reason?”
“I’m sure Wren’s told you about Christy and me and the West Virginia trip.”
“She… might’ve mentioned something.” He cracked a grin. “So it’s getting serious with you two? For real serious? Swinger serious?”
“Could be. Too soon to know for sure. We haven’t even gone all the way, so…”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you…,” he said. “I didn’t want to seem nosy, but since you brought it up… How’s that work? You not having sex, I mean.
Without going into detail.”
“What do I like more than sex?”
“That’s what I figured,” he said. “And Wren said Christy’s really into that. Like, really into it.”
“She is.”
“But… that’s enough?”
“For now.”
He nodded. “So you’re really serious. Like Wren and me.”
“Yep. Seems like.”
“That was fast.”
“What? The answer or getting serious?”
“Getting serious. You’ve only been together a couple of months.”
“Yeah, but we’ve been friends a couple of years. And think about it…
Christy and I probably spent more quality time together than Gina and I ever did. And I know we spent more than Kendall and I ever did. So…” I shrugged. “It wasn’t that fast.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Still, congratulations. I know it’s probably a bit early to start planning your bachelor party—”
“Way too early.”
“—but still. Wren was convinced all along. I had my doubts, but…” He shrugged. Then he chuckled. “Never thought I’d see the day when you’d settle down with just one woman.”
“A lot’s changed since you first met me.”
“No kidding. With me too,” he admitted. “Anyway, what did you wanna talk about? Business-wise, I mean.”
“Money, actually.”
“Hey, that’s my dead horse!” he laughed.
I followed him up the stairs and into the house. The girls weren’t home yet, so we didn’t need to worry about being overheard.
“What about it, though?”
“Well, I still have plenty in savings, but Christy wants to go to West Virginia again. It isn’t cheap. The plane, fuel, room, meals, lift tickets. It all adds up.”
“How much did last weekend cost?”
I told him.
He gave a low whistle. “That isn’t going to break the bank, but like you said, not cheap either.”
“Right. I don’t wanna eat into my savings and not have enough to buy houses this summer if we decide not to do Susan’s job.”