After dropping the girls off, he went straight back to his place and woke up Dean by kicking the bottom of his feet. “Wake up, numbnuts. I need your help.”
“What could you possibly have to do on a Sunday, assface?”
“I need you to write me up a fake Criminal Law letter.”
“What for?”
“I need a dude to go in and take an AIDS test. You have to make it sound like he has to go or he’ll get arrested for attempted murder.”
“Assault with his dick as a deadly weapon? What are you smoking?”
“It’s not that far-fetched. If he knows he has it and doesn’t do anything about it, he’s essentially going to murder people eventually.”
“Why pick on this guy?”
“I have my reasons.”
“Why don’t you type it?”
“’Cause I’m not taking Criminal Law, you are. I want it worded right.”
“You worried about this guy not buyin’ it?”
“I don’t think he’s all that much for brains. I want it to look good enough, in case the cops get involved.”
“Cops? What the hell are you getting into?”
“The dude needs to go in. I’ll tell you more if I have to. You’re on a need to know basis.”
“Hundred bucks an hour. I’ll try to keep it at an hour.”
Dusty kicked him again. “You asshole. You’d charge your own mother.”
“For legal advice—you betcha.”
“The clock starts now. Go.” Dusty whipped the covers off. “Jesus! You could have slept in your underwear, jerk.”
Once the letter was done, Dusty put his suit on. “Where are you going?” Dean asked.
“To drive you to your place so you can get yours on, too.”
“You dragging my ass to church?”
“Not enough holy water in the world to drown your sins. You’re going with me to drag this dude to the clinic for his test.”
“And we have to do this looking like the Men in Black, why?”
“I want to look official. The guy is going to be a jerk. I need a little back up here.”
“So let me call my brother.”
“Jason? You think he’d help?”
“He loves a good smack down. He’ll meet us there if he’s not on duty.”
“What’s he going to cost me?”
Dean shrugged. “Case of beer.”
“It’s a deal. Call him.”
Dean’s brother was a fireman and built like a brick shit house. It hadn’t occurred to Dusty to ask for someone else but if Dean thought he’d go, Dusty welcomed the extra muscle.
They met Jason an hour and a half later, right down the street from Ronald’s house. Dusty filled him in. As he talked, he sized Jason up. He had a couple inches on both of them and at least fifty extra pounds of solid mass.
“You think this guy will get rough?” Jason asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve seen him in action on a regular basis and he’s a dick. If I go demanding he go in for a test he doesn’t want to take, it will more than likely get ugly.”
Jason punched a fist into his hand. “Good. Wait, though, I can’t have blood spraying if you think he has AIDS.”
“I am honestly not sure if he does. He was just with this hooker a day ago. We seriously need to rule it out.”
“All right. I’ll try to watch the blood drawing punches.”
“That would be smart. Look, Jase, I appreciate the help, but what I’m doing isn’t the most legal thing on the planet. If it gets ugly, there no stopping this douche bag from pressing charges. You sure you want in?”
“Hell, yeah. Besides, what are you two lawyer wannabees gonna do to him? Paper cut him to death?”
Dean gave his brother a shove and in return he was placed in a headlock.
“You ladies ready to go?” Dusty asked.
Jason released Dean and said, “Let’s hit it.”
They drove down the block in Jason’s car. It was a friend’s Buick. He borrowed it, thinking it was ‘under-cover cop’ looking. The three of them exiting the vehicle attracted the attention of a neighbor carrying in groceries. They straightened their shoulders and walked up the steps to the porch.
Ronald answered the door with a beer in his hand. “What do you want? You damn Jehovah Witnesses or what?”
Dusty stepped forward and handed him a letter. He honestly couldn’t remember if he should worry about being recognized or not. He didn’t think he would be, dressed this way, even if Ronald would have remembered him from the sports bar. “You’re required to come with us down to the clinic and get a blood test.”
“Blood test for what? Someone else claiming I’m the father of their kid? I always wrap the thing. That’s crap.” He reached for the letter, crumpled it and threw it behind them.
“It’s an AIDS test, sir. You’ll need to come with us.” Dean said as he picked the paper back up.
“AIDS? Bullshit. No way. I’m telling you. I wrap the thing. I’m not as stupid as you look. I even wrap it with my wife ’cause I can’t trust the skank and I don’t want no more kids.”
Jason stepped forward. “This isn’t a suggestion. A woman you were known to be with tested positive. You’ll need to come with us.”
“Who?”
“A Candy Knowles.”
“I don’t know anyone by that name.”
“She’s a hooker. Probably gave you another name.”
“I don’t need no hooker.”
“We know you were with her outside of your work yesterday.”
“Bitch is lying.”
“We have an eye witness.”
“Then she’s lying. Fuck off.” He tried to slam the door, but Jason stopped it with his hand. He shoved it open, took Ronald by the collar, threw him hard against the wall, then held him there firmly by his neck.
“You can get your coat or I’ll cuff you and drag your ass in the car. Capiche?”
Ronald didn’t put up any more of a fight so Jason let him go. “Let me see that paper.”
Dean handed it to him. He breezed through it, clearly not understanding the legal jargon Dean had used. “You’re saying I can be accused of murder if someone claims I had sex with them and they turn up with this AIDS?”
“Only if you test positive. If you come with us and take the test and if it’s negative, you’re in the clear. If you’re as careful as you say you are, then it shouldn’t be an issue.”
“I’m telling you—I’m safe.”
Dusty asked, “Was this the first time with this hooker?”
“Yes, it was. I didn’t even know she was a hooker. I don’t need to pay no hookers. I told you that.”
“She said you owed her money.”
“She’s a liar.”
Dusty glanced at Dean with a look of frustration. The guy was a real piece of work if nothing else. “That’s neither here nor there. You need to come with us. Now.”
“Am I under arrest?”
“You will be if you don’t come willingly.”
“How long will it take?”
“You got a date?” Jason asked, looking at the beer. There was no answer from him.
Dusty stepped in, took Ronald’s coat off a hook and handed it to him. “Let’s go.”
Ronald pulled the coat on, then his boots. After a sideways glance, he bolted across the porch and jumped down the small flight of steps. Jason took off after him and caught him a few houses away, tackling him in a snow bank. “Nice try, shithead.” He walked Ronald back to the car with one arm wrenched behind his back. Dean held the door while Jason stuffed him in the car, then climbed in after him. Dusty drove while Dean took the passenger seat rather than the other side of Ronald. His brother’s shoulders were wide and he took up more than his share of the back seat. He didn’t want to sit that close to the creep.
The women at the clinic stopped what they were doing as they watched the fashion in which their next walk-in was brought in. They didn’t ask questions as he was escorted into the chair to have his blood drawn. Dusty spoke to the woman at the counter, whom he recognized from the other appointments.
“This is with the others. You’re to call Norma Andrews with the rush results.”
She leaned in and whispered. “I’m not supposed to do that without the client’s consent.”
“But you’ll make an exception for my mother and the hundreds of thousands she donates to your little clinic here.”
The woman straightened back up. “I suppose I can make this exception.”
“Thank you.”
Ronald was out in fifteen minutes, then they were on their way back to his place. No one spoke as they drove. Dusty let Jason take the lead. He figured silence was part of the intimidation process. He stopped at Ronald’s driveway and waited for him to get out.
“That’s it?” he asked.
“That’s it. The clinic will be in touch with you about the results. We suspect you’ll be more careful from now on.”
“I already told you I was. This was a bullshit waste of my time.”
“I strongly advise you to watch where you stick it from here on out.”
Ronald slammed the door shut.
Dusty started to pull away but Ronald smacked the side of the car twice. Dusty hit the brakes and rolled down his window. “You need something?”
“You the same people that took my wife?”
“No. But I’m aware of the situation.”
“Can I talk with her?”
“It’s her decision to call you, when and if she’s ready.”
“Thanks for nothing, pricks!”
Dusty squealed away from the curb.
“Well. That wasn’t as fun as I hoped,” Jason said once they’d reached Dusty’s car.
“Thanks for the muscle, anyway,” Dusty said as he handed him a fifty. “I think just having you there was enough of a deterrent to make him behave.”
He pushed the money back at Dusty. “Buy me a drink sometime. We’ll call it even.”
“You got it.”
After he pulled away Dean said, “Can I go finish my nap now?”
“Sure.”
“Where’s my hundred?”
“You’re really going to charge me?”
“I know you got money from your mom. Don’t give me shit.”
Dusty peeled away another fifty and handed it to him. “Thanks.”
“Just get my ass home, sweetheart. I don’t know how you don’t have a hangover today after last night.”
“I guess it’s just the adrenalin of what I needed to do.”
“That was the dude Court was seeing, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. She didn’t want you to know. She’s pretty shook up.”
“Hell. We’re safe. Besides, the guy was an ass, but I think he was scared enough of Jason not to lie. I don’t think he was with that hooker before. That puts her in the clear. You going to tell her?”
“No. The girls don’t need to know we were any more involved in this. When her results come back negative, which should be tomorrow, everything will be back to normal.”
As he drove home, Dusty hoped beyond hope that this did the trick. Maybe now that the scare was out in the open, Ronald never returned to that hooker again, never slipped up, and there was no chance he’d infect Courtney even if she and Dean didn’t work out.
After dropping off Dean, Dusty called Katie and again apologized for having to drop her back off at the dorm. “I’m on my way home. Can I come get you?”
“Of course. If it’s too much driving for you, I can get Court’s car.”
“I’m fine. Half an hour?”
“I’ll be waiting. Hey, heard from your mom yet?”
“Uh…no. She said something was off and the results wouldn’t be in until tomorrow.”
“Damn. I’ll let Court know. Thanks for trying.”
“Tell her I’ll call if anything changes.”
“Thanks, Dusty. See you in a bit.”
A half hour later, when Katie got in the car, Dusty leaned over and hugged her tight. He kissed her possessively for several minutes before putting the car in gear.
“Gee. You really did miss me last night.”
“You have no idea.”
“Can I ask what you had to do this afternoon? You’re awfully dressed up.”
Dusty put the car back in park. “I never could lie to you.”
“Never? In the couple days we’ve been together you’ve had opportunity to lie already?”
His head dropped back to the headrest. “I so want to tell you everything…again.”
“Is this about Courtney?”
“Some of it.”
“You did get the results back.”
“We did on the girl, but I know Court is okay.”
“How? Our results couldn’t have come back yet.”
“We saw the guy today and took him in.”
“We who?”
“Can we do this back at my place?”
“Why? You afraid I won’t want to go with you once you say whatever it is you’re having a hard time spitting out?”
“You shouldn’t get pissed. Freaked out maybe, but not pissed. I’m dying to get out of this monkey suit.”
“You’re scaring me, Dusty.”
He took her hand. “I’m sorry. There’s no need to be worried. Really. Can we go? I promise everything is okay.”
“Every ounce of me wants to trust you.”
“Then do. I swear everything is okay now.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I promise.”
“All right. I don’t know what it is with you, but I trust you.”
He gave her another quick kiss then pulled away from the curb.
Once they arrived at his place, he changed into sweats pants. He walked out into the living room and was about to pull a shirt on when Katie said, “Stop.” She walked over and ran her hands over his chest then kissed the center of it. “Okay. I’m done.”
He grinned. “I told you—you love my chest.”
“When?”
“Uh… maybe in my dreams last night.” He pulled his shirt on, then took her hand. “Come keep me company while I cook.” He dragged her along to the kitchen, then picked her up and placed her on the counter. They shared a long kiss before he broke away. “How about dessert first?”
“How about you finish telling me what you started to say in the car first?”
He stared at her for a second then said. “All right. Let me get water started.”
“What are you making me?”
“Incredibly horny?” When she only crossed her arms, he responded, “Lasagna.”
“Ooooh. Nice. You may cook as you explain.”
“You’re all heart.” He picked up a large pot and filled it with water, then turned on the burner.
“You know, if you add salt, it’ll boil faster.”
“You going to do this?”
“Sorry.” She waved her hand as if shooing him away. “Carry on.”
He opened the cabinet above the stove and pulled out the salt. “You want hamburger or a five cheese?”
“Go crazy.”
“Good call.” He took out a frying pan then removed a package of meat from the refrigerator. “I bought this yesterday. Don’t worry.”
“You forget about food in your fridge a lot?”
He shrugged. “It happens.” He had already forgotten this wasn’t the Katie that found the Chinese food weeks old in his fridge. Taking a peek back in there, he saw the containers she probably found a couple weeks from now and chuckled. “What’s so funny?”
“I see something I should probably toss out.”
“Do it before you forget.”
“I will later.” He had no intention of it. Dropping the burger in the pan, he took a spatula to it while he resumed his story. “I went to take Ronald into the clinic after I dropped you off.”
“That’s your big secret? You could have told me that. Did he give you trouble?”
“A little. We took Dean’s brother for muscle, though.”
“Dean’s brother? You told Dean?”
“I didn’t want to, but he figured it out. It was easy enough after hearing the dude’s name. I needed him to help with a letter I drafted to the jerk and yeah, I wanted someone else along. I didn’t know how crazy this guy was going to get. Dean didn’t even say anything until it was over. He wanted to help.”
“Court’s gonna be pissed.”
“He’s fine with it. I really think the dude was telling the truth about the hooker. He was only with her that day. Courtney is in the clear. Besides, you’re the one that told her when you shouldn’t have.” Dusty heard her hop off the counter. When he turned around, she was walking into the living room. “Shit!” He turned down the heat on the meat and went after her. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to start a fight. I just wish she wasn’t told and upset about it in the first place.”
“Well, I couldn’t lie to her.”
“It’s okay.” Dusty pulled her to his chest. “I don’t want us fighting over this. I’m trying to take care of everything and maybe I’m not doing it so well. I know what she means to you. That’s all this is about, babe.”
“I don’t understand your obsession with this. You hardly know me yet you’re dead set on Courtney’s health and love life.”
“Everything fell into place funny. That’s all. It was by chance I saw them together, then I met you and her, then I found out about him. Finding the girl in the alley was a freaky coincidence. You were with me there. It can’t be explained away by anything but chance or fate for all of us.”
“You said your mom called with the results from that girl.”
“Yes. I didn’t want to upset you two. She was positive.”
Katie gasped. “But we need to tell Court!”
“No. Let’s wait on her results. I know she’s fine.”
“How do you know that?”
“I believe this was the first time he was with this girl. Court will be in the clear.”
“I don’t know, Dusty.”
“They both swear up and down they are safe partners. I give her that much credit. Let the test come back then we’ll tell her. Maybe the scare will be a good one and she’ll really be extra careful from now on.”
Katie leaned into him. “I need a hug.”
“You got it.”
Dusty and Katie returned to the kitchen, assembling the lasagna when everything was cooked and ready. They play fought over how much cheese to use. Katie always added more after Dusty stopped with each layer.
“You’re a fiend,” he said with a laugh.
“I’ve never met a cheese I didn’t like.”
He knew the answer, but he asked anyway. “Brie?”
“I love Brie.”
“I’ll have to buy a wheel of it and some champagne for our next date.”
“Don’t forget the strawberries.”
“Ooh…you are a pro at this.”
She hopped back up on the counter and curled her finger at him, calling him over. He got as close as he could to her and pulled her closer to him so their hips met.
“Dessert time?” he asked. She only nodded a yes. “You want me to throw the lasagna in first?” She shook her head no.
Dusty hated the fluffy rugs his mother bought him for his kitchen—until now. What started off on the counter ended up on the floor with the struggle of removing Katie’s jeans. Again the hunger and anticipation took over their lovemaking. It never ceased to amaze Dusty how he could never get enough of Katie. With the wanting so great, it was over too quickly for both of them. Dusty picked Katie up and carried her to the bedroom.
“Sorry. I have no control when it comes to you,” he said.
“I do believe I started this one.”
He kissed both cheeks then her lips. “I love how you’ve never held back what you wanted.”
She rested her head on her hand. “You always talk like we’ve been together for so much longer than we have. I think I like that.”
“It doesn’t scare you that I’m rushing things?”
“It did a little. Does, I guess, but there is just something about you. I can’t put my finger on it, though.”
“How about a whole hand?” He took her hand and placed it low on his stomach. She slid it down further. “Ready again?”
“I’m always ready for you.”
“You younger men and your stamina.”
He laughed. “If you ask my mom, it’s an Andrews’ thing. She always teased that Gramps would be having sex on his hospital deathbed.”
“He one of those Hugh Hefner-young woman on his arms types?”
“Nope. He and my grandmother have been married for sixty-three years.”
“Wow. Horny and loyal. Two of my favorite qualities in a man.”
“You’re not his type.”
Katie laughed then reached around to his behind and pulled Dusty closer to her. “Maybe not. But I’m glad I’m yours.”
After a much slower round two, the satisfied couple returned to the kitchen to get their creation into the oven. Dusty turned to Katie. “Well, now we have an hour wait and we’ve already done all the fun stuff there is to do in the house.”
“Why don’t we put in a movie?”
“Sounds good. Go pick one. I’ll get a fire going.”
As they cuddled by the TV, Dusty again felt at peace. He was certain everything was going to be okay and this was his last night here. It was hard for him to concentrate on the movie—not that he needed to since it was one they watched over two dozen times together. His thoughts kept going to what would happen when he made it back to his present day. Would he get the flood of memories and a nosebleed like Katie? Would she remember this now as their life? He gave her a squeeze, again feeling the electricity of love he felt when they were close. Never would he have imagined his life this insane or that he would be so happy. He fell asleep as content as he ever had and hoped to wake up in his normal time.
Katie shook Dusty awake. He bolted upright, afraid of where he would be. He was grateful to smell lasagna and see his small table set for two.
“Sorry I fell asleep, baby.”
“That’s okay. I almost did, too, until I heard the timer go off.”
“How about we call it an early night?”
“That’s what I thought, but I do want to go home again.”
“You sure? I have time in the morning to get you back if you have an early class.”
“I really think I should be with Court. I know you have to understand. She wanted breathing room today, but I’d really like to be there for her tonight. Okay?”
“Of course.” He motioned to the table. “Let’s see what you did to my arteries with all that cheese.” Not that he was worried. Dusty was smiling inside. He’d be gone tonight and just as with the kegger and no hangover, he was sure to be gone tomorrow and have no consequences from eating a double helping of over-cheesed lasagna.