Chapter 22

With the debris of Tanya’s love life burning all around them, the last thing Sabrina intended to do was gush about her day with Jackson, but she had no choice when she returned with the two bottles of wine and Tanya walked out of the bathroom with her damp swimsuit swinging from her hand.

“So what’s this?” Tanya asked hopefully, following Sabrina over to the kitchen counter where she pulled the two bottles out of the bag.

“My swimsuit.” Sabrina looked around in surprise. “I beat the pizza?”

“Yes. I thought you were never going to wear this one.”

Sabrina shrugged. “I changed my mind. Which should we open first?” she asked, turning the bottles label side out.

“I don’t care. The one on the left.” Tanya returned to the suit. “The funny thing is, this wasn’t the outfit we went shopping for, is it?”

Sabrina went rummaging in a drawer for her corkscrew. “I wore the dress on the cruise, but I changed into the bathing suit to go out on Jackson’s brother’s boat.”

“Small party?”

“Just us.”

Tanya smiled at her proudly. “Lunch must have gone well.”

“We had a very nice time.” Sabrina pulled the cork. “Get a couple of glasses, will you?”

Tanya took down the stemware and Sabrina poured. She slid a glass into Tanya’s empty hand and pulled her swimsuit out of the other, carrying it back to the bathroom to hang in the shower again.

Tanya gave Sabrina a long pleading look when she got back. “Oh, come on. You never hold out on me.”

“Well, with all that’s happening to you right now, I wasn’t sure I should talk about it.”

“But I want to hear all about it. At least someone’s life isn’t complete crap.”

They each took a chair at the little table, and Sabrina leaned back and sighed. “It was awesome.”

“He kissed you again, didn’t he?”

“That man has amazing lips.”

Tanya grinned. “Go on.”

Sabrina blushed, but before she could elaborate there was a knock on the door.

Tanya popped up, grabbing her wallet. “Since you bought the wine, I’ve got this. Hold that thought,” she said, pointing her finger sternly.

They didn’t bother with plates, opting to eat right from the box on the table.

“Okay, so you made out,” Tanya said, popping a pepperoni into her mouth.

“Well, not on the cruise, but we did have one of those heavy, expectant moments.”

“I love those.”

“He was closing in, and just when he was about to kiss me a couple of his reporters rushed over and broke it up to talk about some fight at a Hooters.”

“That sucks.”

“Yep. Killed the moment. Anyway, Jackson wanted to go back to the station, so he brought me with him and showed me around. I got to sit in the anchor chair in the studio,” she said excitedly.

“Fun!”

“I know. Anyway, there’s a different staff working the news on the weekends, and the woman in charge didn’t exactly like Jackson showing up, so he just checked in and then we left. We still wanted to hang out together, but we were sort of short on ideas. Then I said I wished we were on a boat, any boat, and he said his brother has one, so we borrowed it and that’s where I was the rest of the day.”

“And that’s where he finally kissed you.”

Sabrina nodded but kept her eyes down while she picked toppings individually off her pizza.

“No!” Tanya gasped, her whole face lighting up.

“What?” Sabrina asked innocently but couldn’t pull it off once she blushed.

“You didn’t!”

“We did.”

“And?”

Sabrina grinned, giggled, looked away, and hid her face behind her hand in embarrassment.

“Don’t you dare clam up now. How the hell was it?”

Sabrina held up her index finger and picked up her glass of wine, draining it. She got up for the bottle and brought it back, refilling both glasses. When she sat down again, she sighed, a deep, drawn-out sigh that said so much.

“Weren’t you afraid of getting caught?”

Sabrina could feel the heat on her face as she shook her head. “We were swimming at the time. Let me put it this way—Jackson really liked my bathing suit.” Sabrina started laughing and had to dab her eyes. “He got a serious woody when he was putting sunscreen on my back, and he didn’t know what to do about it, so he just threw himself overboard.”

Tanya burst out laughing. “No way.”

“I’m totally serious. So I’m asking him ‘what the hell?’ and he’s all annoyed and says ‘think about it,’ or something like that, and then I did the gutsiest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I jumped into the water and sort of jumped him.”

“You?”

“Me.”

“Wow. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Neither did I.”

“So?”

“Oh, my god, the best orgasms I’ve ever had.”

“Plural?”

“Tres.” She nodded, holding up three fingers.

“I’m lucky to get one.” Tanya frowned. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“How’s his neckline?”

“What?”

“Does he have his fucking foreskin or not?”

Sabrina broke out laughing. “I have no idea.”

“What? How can you not know?”

“I didn’t exactly get a good look at him.”

“Well, did it feel any different?”

“In what way?”

“In your hand, in you, I don’t know,” she said, exasperated.

“He was just right.”

“You’re no help at all.”

“Sorry about that.”

Tanya picked up her phone. “What’s his number? I gotta ask or I won’t get any sleep tonight.”

“The hell you will.”

Tanya pouted and tossed her phone aside. Then her mouth turned up in a slow smile. “Well, I’m glad you got laid, anyway. You seem a lot more…relaxed.”

“Oh, I’m relaxed. I can’t remember ever being this relaxed. It was so bad right after—you know—that I actually needed Jackson’s help to get back in the boat or I would have drowned. I was limp.”

“You bitch—I’m so jealous.”

When they went to bed later that night, Sabrina turned and grinned at her friend’s head on the next pillow. “You know, they always warn about the pitfalls of working together, sleeping together.”

Tanya snorted. “Just go to sleep and keep your limber love machine on your side of the bed.”

An hour later she inadvertently woke Sabrina by pulling the covers back to slide a sofa pillow between them.

Sabrina blinked at her groggily. “What are you doing?”

“I’m fixing this sinkhole in the middle of the mattress before I disappear into it. How the hell can you stand it?”

“I’m used to it.”

“That’s really sad, Sabrina.”

****

Tanya was wallowing in her own misery in the kitchen when Sabrina emerged from the bedroom. She gave Tanya a long hug, then shuffled blearily over to the coffeepot.

“Hey, you already made coffee?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Thanks.” Sabrina picked up the open box of Pop Tarts on the counter and her face fell. “You ate all my Pop Tarts? This was a full box.”

“They’re way too sweet anyway.”

“But they’re mine.”

“I’ll buy you a new box.”

“Don’t worry about it. What time did you wake up, anyway?”

“I don’t know, sometime after three. You need cable television.”

“I don’t want cable. Where’s the leftover pizza?”

“I polished that off around five.”

Sabrina let the fridge door close. “So I take it you’re not interested in going out for breakfast.”

“Nope, I’m good.”

“Well, I need a Sporto Muffin or something. Should I bring you back some juice?”

“I’d like juice. Maybe I’ll ride along.”

In the car Tanya admitted she was having a tough time beating back the image of Brian sweating over someone else in their bed.

“That’s exactly what he was doing, too,” she said confidently. “So you know what I’m going to do?”

“No, what?”

“I’m going back over there and I’m taking the damn sheets. They’re mine. I picked them out. I’m not having some crusty slut fouling my sheets.”

Sabrina’s eyes shot over. “You know what I think?”

“What?” Tanya asked testily.

“I think you should make this a clean break. Let the prick have the sheets. All they’re going to do is remind you of him anyway.”

“True. Maybe I should give him an itemized bill of what he owes me for all the stuff I bought that I’m leaving behind instead.”

“I like that idea, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Tanya said, giving it some thought. “I’m pretty persuasive.”

Sabrina knew right then Tanya was going to get a little cash off the jerk after all, and he’d probably be glad to pay it, too.

****

Jackson called just after eleven, and Sabrina’s entire mood floated up in a cloud of pleasure.

“So?” he asked.

“So?” she repeated, not knowing what he was asking.

“Any chance we can see each other today?”

“Oh, let me check.” Sabrina covered the phone and called to Tanya, who was moping in a bubble bath. “Would you mind if I met up with Jackson for a while?”

“Go. I’m thinking of taking a nap later anyway,” Tanya called back.

Sabrina uncovered the mouthpiece. “I’m free. Where and when?”

“I was thinking of taking a walk around old Lewiston. It would give us a chance to talk. How does that sound?”

At the word talk Sabrina’s mood took a sudden nosedive. She could almost hear the wind whistling in her ears. Talk. It sounded so ominous, like he was going to say, “Well, I really enjoyed boffing you yesterday, but you realize you’re not good enough for me, right? I mean look at you, so ordinary, so average, so dead end. Don’t get your hopes up and expect a relationship, because I’m not about to settle, okay?”

“Sabrina, are you still there?” Jackson asked.

“Hmm?” She shook off her defeatist thoughts. Tanya’s recent heave-ho was making her uncharacteristically paranoid.

“Lewiston—are you up for it?”

“Sure,” she said, slogging her way back to chirpy.

“Great. Do you want to meet up there, or should I come get you?”

Chirpy turned out to be pretty wimpy. Fatalism was so assertive Sabrina didn’t even feel Chirpy turn tail and run. All she knew was that she didn’t want to endure an uncomfortable ride back after Jackson tore her heart out of her chest. No way. “I’ll meet you.”

“Let’s make it noon in front of Julio’s. Bring your appetite.”

“Okay. I’ll see you there.”

Tanya walked out of the bathroom tying her robe closed. “What’s with the long face? I thought you’d be jazzed to see him again.”

“He wants to talk.”

Tanya dropped to the couch and rubbed her temples. “Men really piss me off, you know that?” She looked up with a sad smile. “Too bad we finished off the wine last night.”

“Don’t be surprised if I come back with a three-layer cake and plastic forks.”

“Bring ice cream, too. If we’re going to throw ourselves a proper pity party, ice cream is key.”

“Damn right.”

****

Jackson was already outside Julio’s when Sabrina got there at five minutes to noon. He smiled at the sight of her and said, “I hope you like Mexican, because I made us lunch reservations.”

“I love it.” Damn, he didn’t even make a move to kiss her on the cheek. That wasn’t good.

“Excellent.”

Jackson escorted her inside, and in no time they were seated and her nose was deep in the drink menu. When the waiter stopped by their table, Sabrina gave him a sweet smile and said, “A margarita, el grande.” She held her hand high above the tablecloth and wiggled it.

“You, sir?”

Jackson grinned at her for a beat, then looked up. “Make it two, and can we get some lime for the water?” As soon as the waiter left, Jackson leaned closer and said, “I thought you said you don’t drink much?”

“I’m making up for it this weekend.”

His smile disappeared. “Anything I can do?”

She shook her head and covered a yawn. “I’m sorry, I picked up a roommate last night, and now I’m a little sleep deprived.”

“You could have begged off today and caught up on sleep. I would have understood.”

Translation: I didn’t really need to see you. Well, screw that. If he was going to kick her to the curb, she wanted to know as soon as possible. “I couldn’t. She’s napping in my bed right now.”

He smiled. “Well, let’s order first, and then you can tell me all about it. How does that sound?”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Not at all.”

When the waiter came back, Sabrina ordered Fiesta Chicken and Jackson went with Steak Fajitas.

“Okay, let it out,” he said.

Sabrina sighed. “You know my friend Tanya, right?” He nodded. “Well, she’s been with this guy Brian for over three years, living together almost that long, and they’ve been talking about getting married for a while but he never actually popped the question. On Friday morning he told her not to make plans for dinner because he wanted to take her out.”

“I see,” said Jackson slowly.

“So naturally she assumed he was ready to make it official, but then he goes and tells her he’s been seeing someone else on the side and he wants to live with her instead.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. She was a mess when she got to my apartment last night. We ended up polishing off two bottles of wine and totally trashing the creep. I couldn’t even tell you what time we finally went to bed.”

“That’s rough.”

She took a sip of her margarita and wiped the salt off her lip. Then she groaned and decided to just bite the bullet. “So what did you want to talk about?”

“I’ve got a lot going on at work right now…”

She nodded. Here comes the brush-off.

“And you being impartial, I was hoping you might let me bounce some things off of you. Would you mind?”

She frowned. “Say again?”

“I’m looking for an outside opinion.”

“Oh!” She laughed and shook her head at herself. “I’m playing catch up because I expected…never mind. Shoot.”

“Simon Yeager offered me his job on Friday afternoon.”

Sabrina stared at him. “Seriously?”

Jackson nodded and squeezed a slice of lime into his water. He tossed in the rind next and lifted the glass, swirling it all together as the ice cubes clinked musically. He took a drink before continuing. “I love being the news director, even with the drawbacks—the hours, for a start. The job challenges me, so I don’t really mind. And I like all the people I work with. We’ve gelled, even the new kids.”

“On the other hand,” she said, rolling her hand to prompt him along.

“I’d be running the entire station, in charge of programming and budgets. I could make the bold changes I’ve been dreaming about the last couple of years.”

“Hmm.”

“Well, what do you think?”

She poked her straw up and down in her glass as she formulated her thoughts. “You mentioned being challenged by the news department. Are you afraid the general manager position won’t stimulate you enough?”

He smiled. “If it didn’t, that would be entirely my fault. No, I don’t think that. In its own way, I can see how interesting it could be going to work every day.”

“How much time do you have to decide?”

“They’d like my answer tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest.”

Sabrina blinked at him. “How could you be so cool and calm yesterday with all this hanging over you?”

He shrugged. “It’s what I do. I work best under pressure.”

She shuddered. “I hate pressure. I love it when everything works in a nice and orderly fashion, exactly like it’s supposed to.”

“Now, see, that would bore the hell out of me.”

Sabrina laughed and sat back because their food had arrived.

They talked more while they ate, discussing his choices, and when they finally stood to leave, Sabrina thought he was leaning toward taking the new position. At least she thought he should.

He nodded down the sidewalk, and they set off at a comfortable pace, looking in windows, smiling at the sights together.

He glanced over. “Think we could talk about us now?”

Sabrina stopped right in front of a couple pushing a stroller. They had to break around her and Jackson. She was so anxious she thought she could taste the essence of Fiesta Chicken threatening to come back up.