going
on?"
"Maybe
nothing." Charlie couldn't convince himself of that.
"Maybe
more than we care to know. Anyway, I said I'd check out what was happening with
his cell. Manny and Kyle just got back from Hartford. Did you know they went to
Hartford?"
"They
ran an errand for the bakery." Charlie pushed the thought of the X-rated
cookie cutter from his mind.
"Well, they're
back."
"Did
they change their minds about coming over to help with the hovercraft?"
Charlie thought that might be good, to get more people into the project. Then
he'd be less likely to end up alone with Eve, which was a responsibility he
seemed unable to handle.
"I
don't think they plan on helping. They said something about frosting cookies
for Myrtle and Rose." Eve held the phone to her ear. Then she rolled her
eyes. "Answering machine."
"Listen,
maybe I should drain the water out while you're on the phone."
"Good
idea." Eve turned back to the phone. "Eunice, if you're there, pick
up. I need to talk to Rick." She tapped her foot on the bathroom tile as
she waited.
Charlie
listened to the water gurgle out of the washing machine. "I think they
probably went to the movies."
Eve covered the mouthpiece.
"You're delusional." Then she spoke into the phone. "Okay, I
guess you're.. .unavailable. But Manny needs to talk to Rick, so call me back
when you get this." She disconnected the phone. "Mark my words.
They're doing it."
Charlie
didn't want to think about it, because thinking about it only emphasized that
Rick could enjoy sex for sex's sake and Charlie couldn't. He picked up the dripping
clutter book. "If we take this stuff out I can run the machine through a
complete cycle and make sure it's fixed. Do you have a big bucket?"
She blew out an impatient breath.
"Let's forget about it."
"You
can't exactly do that. It'll congeal." Leaving a mess wasn't Charlie's
style, especially when he'd helped create it. "Then there's no telling if
your machine will ever work right."
"I
don't really ca—" She must have seen the look of dismay on his face. She
paused and cleared her throat. "Charlie, it was wonderful of you to give
this a shot, but I want you for the hovercraft, not my washing machine."
Hearing her say she wanted
him, even if the rest of the sentence was about mechanical projects and not
sex, drove out all thoughts of appliance disasters. Instead he found himself
concentrating on her mouth and the memory of its moist, velvety interior.
Unless
he got out of this cozy bathroom that had a lock on the door and condoms under
the sink, he was liable to do something incredibly unwise. He closed the lid on
the washer. "Let's go see about the hovercraft."
Chapter
Eight
As they
walked into the kitchen, Eve noticed the pizza boxes sitting on the table and
remembered they hadn't eaten dinner. A hot number like Charlie could make a
girl forget all about food, but now that he wasn't kissing her, she discovered
she was hungry, after all. "Want to take some pizza and Cokes out to the
garage so we can eat while we work?"
"Sure." Charlie walked over and lifted
the lid on both boxes. "Looks like Eunice and Puck made off with the
pepperoni and sausage. I hope it wasn't your favorite." "Nope."
"What is?" He
glanced over at her.
"Veggie, but I like
other kinds, too."
He
looked pleased with himself. "Then veggie it is. But it's not very
warm."
"That's
okay with me." She wouldn't expect it to be warm after all the time she
and Charlie had spent in the bathroom fooling around with the washer and each
other. "But I can nuke some for you, if you want."
"Nah.
Cold is usually how I eat it, because I get involved in some project and forget
until it's too late."
"Me,
too. Besides, cold pizza isn't as messy, so you can work without getting food
everywhere."
"Exactly."
They exchanged a smile of
agreement, and that smile of his had way more impact now that she knew what a
great kisser he was. It didn't matter, though. Charlie could hardly wait to
leave Middlesex, while Eve
on?"
"Maybe
nothing." Charlie couldn't convince himself of that.
"Maybe
more than we care to know. Anyway, I said I'd check out what was happening with
his cell. Manny and Kyle just got back from Hartford. Did you know they went to
Hartford?"
"They
ran an errand for the bakery." Charlie pushed the thought of the X-rated
cookie cutter from his mind.
"Well, they're
back."
"Did
they change their minds about coming over to help with the hovercraft?"
Charlie thought that might be good, to get more people into the project. Then
he'd be less likely to end up alone with Eve, which was a responsibility he
seemed unable to handle.
"I
don't think they plan on helping. They said something about frosting cookies
for Myrtle and Rose." Eve held the phone to her ear. Then she rolled her
eyes. "Answering machine."
"Listen,
maybe I should drain the water out while you're on the phone."
"Good
idea." Eve turned back to the phone. "Eunice, if you're there, pick
up. I need to talk to Rick." She tapped her foot on the bathroom tile as
she waited.
Charlie
listened to the water gurgle out of the washing machine. "I think they
probably went to the movies."
Eve covered the mouthpiece.
"You're delusional." Then she spoke into the phone. "Okay, I
guess you're.. .unavailable. But Manny needs to talk to Rick, so call me back
when you get this." She disconnected the phone. "Mark my words.
They're doing it."
Charlie
didn't want to think about it, because thinking about it only emphasized that
Rick could enjoy sex for sex's sake and Charlie couldn't. He picked up the dripping
clutter book. "If we take this stuff out I can run the machine through a
complete cycle and make sure it's fixed. Do you have a big bucket?"
She blew out an impatient breath.
"Let's forget about it."
"You
can't exactly do that. It'll congeal." Leaving a mess wasn't Charlie's
style, especially when he'd helped create it. "Then there's no telling if
your machine will ever work right."
"I
don't really ca—" She must have seen the look of dismay on his face. She
paused and cleared her throat. "Charlie, it was wonderful of you to give
this a shot, but I want you for the hovercraft, not my washing machine."
Hearing her say she wanted
him, even if the rest of the sentence was about mechanical projects and not
sex, drove out all thoughts of appliance disasters. Instead he found himself
concentrating on her mouth and the memory of its moist, velvety interior.
Unless
he got out of this cozy bathroom that had a lock on the door and condoms under
the sink, he was liable to do something incredibly unwise. He closed the lid on
the washer. "Let's go see about the hovercraft."
Chapter
Eight
As they
walked into the kitchen, Eve noticed the pizza boxes sitting on the table and
remembered they hadn't eaten dinner. A hot number like Charlie could make a
girl forget all about food, but now that he wasn't kissing her, she discovered
she was hungry, after all. "Want to take some pizza and Cokes out to the
garage so we can eat while we work?"
"Sure." Charlie walked over and lifted
the lid on both boxes. "Looks like Eunice and Puck made off with the
pepperoni and sausage. I hope it wasn't your favorite." "Nope."
"What is?" He
glanced over at her.
"Veggie, but I like
other kinds, too."
He
looked pleased with himself. "Then veggie it is. But it's not very
warm."
"That's
okay with me." She wouldn't expect it to be warm after all the time she
and Charlie had spent in the bathroom fooling around with the washer and each
other. "But I can nuke some for you, if you want."
"Nah.
Cold is usually how I eat it, because I get involved in some project and forget
until it's too late."
"Me,
too. Besides, cold pizza isn't as messy, so you can work without getting food
everywhere."
"Exactly."
They exchanged a smile of
agreement, and that smile of his had way more impact now that she knew what a
great kisser he was. It didn't matter, though. Charlie could hardly wait to
leave Middlesex, while Eve
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