Sex in a Sidecar by Phyllis Smallman

myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. Still holding me in his arms he stepped back and punched the down button. My tears dampened his collar.
    The Calusa Indians thought the panthers were magical. Clay was my panther, my magic. Like the Florida Panther, he was elusive, impossible to trap and mysterious. And like the panther, silent and deadly, he could rip the heart out of you and melt away without a sound. Lean and as sleek as any prowling cat, his black eyes mesmerized me, his skin of polished bronze made me ache to touch him. He was strictly top of the social register but his permanent tan and hawk nose said somewhere in his past was a Calusa ancestor who didn’t come over on any Mayflower .
    A half-hour after I clamped onto him we were in a no-tell motel. Actually we were on the floor making a hurricane of our own. When we finally made it from the floor to the bed, I started telling him about being trapped on the island with a murderer. All of the panic returned and I trembled in his arms. “You’re safe,” he whispered into my neck.
    Ashamed of my fear but still in its grip, I whispered, “I was so scared. And what if the guy that killed Gina comes after me?”
    â€œYou don’t know for sure that it wasn’t an accident.”
    â€œIt was no accident and what if he comes for me?”
    â€œWhy would he do that?”
    I shrugged against him. “Maybe he thinks I know who he is.”
    â€œIf there was a murderer, he probably didn’t even know you were there. It’s over,” Clay said. His tone of voice said the conversation was over as well. His hands were already exploring the length of me.
    â€œIt’s not over for me. I’m still scared. What if the murderer is someone I know, someone who comes into the Sunset?”
    â€œMore likely it was someone stranded out there and trying to steal her car.”
    I looked up at him. “You mean a coincidence — someone needed a car to get off the island and killed her to get hers?”
    His frown said he got how stupid his idea was but I had to turn the knife a little more; I so seldom win an argument I like to let everyone know I’m winning. “And if he just wanted a lift, why kill her? Even Bernice would have given him a ride off the island, would’ve given her the chance to make someone’s life miserable for a time.”
    â€œLeave it. You’re only getting yourself worked up. Forget about it.”
    â€œHow can I do that? You didn’t see her lying there so don’t tell me to forget about it.”
    His hands stopped making their interesting circles. “I was the last person to see Gina alive so I’m involved whether I want to be or not.”
    He rolled onto his back and said, “If you’d come to Cedar Key, none of this would have happened.” He threw back the covers and got out of bed.
    Even the sight of his tight little butt couldn’t distract me from my anger. “How can you blame me for getting stuck out there? Okay, I forgot my keys, but other than that, none of this is my fault.”
    He jerked the zipper down on his carry-all and took out a toilet kit. “You hung in there at the Sunset ’til the very last second.” He stalked to the bathroom. “What in hell were you thinking about?” The door shut.
    I was thinking he would come like a white knight and rescue me but what I hollered at the door as I jumped out of bed was, “Myrna was supposed to hit the panhandle. Remember? Cedar Key was a stupid place to be and you stayed there until the last minute.”
    He opened the door and said, “I had to make sure a couple hundred thousand dollars’ worth of material was safe. You were just pouring drinks.” The door closed.
    â€œMyrna wasn’t supposed to come ashore anywhere near Jac. Besides, why didn’t you meet me in Orlando like I wanted?”
    There was no answer.