All She Wants...: Oh, Naughty Night! / Nice & Naughty / Under Wraps

Lulu was all business when she pitched, whipping the rubber ball straight at him. It bounced twice before rolling fast and hard, directly toward the plate, where he met it with the broad side of his right foot. The ball flew up and over the entire field, down into a group of kids playing tag. No way would anybody get it back up here before he rounded all the bases.

As he jogged around the field, he caught Lulu’s eye and grinned at her dour expression. “Guess I shoulda warned you,” he called, laughter in his voice. “I’m not so bad at sports anymore.”

“Does that mean I can actually be on your softball team in the spring and not worry we’ll lose one-hundred to nothing?” she asked, her tone sugar-sweet, though her eyes were hard.

Her zinger just amused him even more, and his laughter rang out, simple and joyful. He laughed at her, and at the bright, sunny morning. He thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being back in a place where he could appreciate a beautiful day like this without a pervading sense of fear or uncertainty.

Maybe someday he’d stop feeling the need to head off to one hotspot or another. At times like this, he could actually envision it. Hell, if he had the right person to make him want to stay, he might never get the urge to leave again.

The thought killed his laughter. He might already have found—and lost—the woman of his dreams on Halloween night. Well, maybe not of his dreams, but she was definitely the woman of his fantasies.

Most of them.

Yeah. Most of them. He wasn’t about to admit to anyone—including himself—that Lulu had appeared in some pretty vivid mental pictures on a couple of occasions this week. She and the mysterious redhead both haunted him. That was crazy, since one was an old enemy and he didn’t know the name of the other. Nor did he have any idea why she’d run out on him.

Thinking back on their evening, he forced himself to remember the number of times she’d tried to dance away, or put up barriers between them. She’d been on guard, making it clear she was only willing to go so far.

Maybe he’d pushed too hard and scared her off. Maybe she’d been afraid she’d come across too strong. Maybe she had a deathly fear of waffles. Whatever it was, something had made her change her mind. He simply wasn’t going to rest until he knew who she was and why she’d left.

After the game, everyone headed for a nearby bar for midafternoon libations. Chaz walked with Tonia, while Lulu fell into step beside Darrell, a guy on Lulu’s team. Chaz tensed, remembering Darrell was often called a pig by some of the women because he was such a player.

Lulu probably didn’t know that, however, being so new to the area. Whatever the guy was saying to her had to be hilarious because she laughed like she was sitting in the front row of a Def Comedy Jam. Chaz kept his eyes on the back of her head, noting the jaunty bounce of her ponytail, a frown tugging at his mouth.

“What’s wrong?” asked Tonia.

“Nothing,” he insisted, not wanting to admit yet that the sight of Lulu so enjoying another guy’s company bugged him.

His goal had been to drive Lulu crazy, not himself. But now, watching her looking up at Darrell, with a big smile on that beautiful mouth, all he could remember was that moment last weekend when he’d stood outside her door, brushed her hair off her face and wondered what it would be like to kiss her.

“How was your first week back?”

“Not bad,” he replied, finally tearing his attention off his distracting neighbor. “I completed the first draft of part one of a series and sent it to editing. The powers-that-be seem to like it and are expecting a wide distribution.”

He’d written several short articles while overseas, all of them distributed by the Associated Press and picked up by news outlets all over the world. But he’d also been asked to do an in-depth series with a narrower focus. They were to be longer pieces—five-thousand words—that could end up featured in one of the big print outlets. He sure wouldn’t mind a Time magazine spot at this point in his career.

“How about you?”

Tonia frowned. “I’m still working on an exposé of that scam charity organization.”

“What was that about again?” he asked, not remembering the details, which she’d mentioned to him the last time they’d talked, before his trip.

“It’s one of those give-microloans-to-African-mothers things.” Tonia sneered. “Another group of bleeding heart do-gooders trying to change the world, twenty-five dollars at a time.”

“Those groups make a big difference in some parts of the world.”

She rolled her eyes and waved a hand, obviously unwilling to even consider that she might be wrong. “Give me a break. I’m sure there’s something dirty going on there, I just know it. But it’s taking me a while to find it.”

Chaz came to a sudden stop, turning to look at her. He suddenly remembered his conversation with his mystery woman, who’d talked about having a job just like that one. There couldn’t be that many of those types of NGOs in Washington, could there?

He might have found a solid clue in tracking her down.

“I’m interested in hearing more,” he said, meaning it. “Sit with me at the bar and tell me everything you’ve uncovered, okay?”

Tonia licked her lips as she slid her arm in his and they resumed walking. Something about her expression sent a warning through his brain. God, he hoped she didn’t think he was just making excuses to be with her, in hopes of reviving their fling.

Because his mystery witch suddenly seemed more within reach than ever. Which put a spring in his step and an anticipatory smile on his face.

When they got to the bar, the group spread out, taking up several tables. Everyone ordered beers and sandwiches, chatting loudly and making plans for the spring season. As promised, he sat with Tonia, feeling her out for information on the NGO she was researching, which was called Hands Across The Waters. He took mental notes, determined to research the group as soon as he got home. They might have a staff directory on their website, might even have pictures. He could feel himself edging closer and closer to solving the mystery.

But even as she filled him in, he kept glancing at a table by the door, where Lulu sat with Darrell, and a new arrival. Schaefer, who didn’t play kickball, or do much of anything except pluck the strings of a guitar, had joined in. Apparently he was friends with one of the other players, who’d invited him to come over.

Lulu looked as pleased as punch to be sitting between the two men, both of whom were chatting her up. Honestly, Chaz had never seen Schaefer so animated. Or Darrell appearing so innocent.

“So, this Lulu chick,” Tonia said with a frown, “I take it you know her?”

He tore his attention off the trio at the other table. “What?”

“Come on, you haven’t taken your eyes off her since the two of you got to the game.”

“We go back a ways. Grew up together.”

“Ah. So you feel brotherly, huh? Because you looked like you wanted to go over there and rip Darrell’s arm off when he put it around her.”

“He’s so sleazy,” Chaz said, his jaw tightening. And the very idea that he felt brotherly toward Lulu was just ridiculous.

“I don’t know, I always thought he was pretty hot, and that he’d straighten up for the right woman.” Tonia toyed with the condensation on her glass. “Maybe he thinks she’s the one?”

That thought just made Chaz’s annoyance increase. He couldn’t help grumbling, “That booth’s plenty big, he did not need to put his arm around her and pull her closer to make room for Schaefer.” He took another gulp of his beer. “And is there any reason Schaefer couldn’t have sat across from her, rather than next to her?”

“There’s another guy sitting across from her.”

“What sense does that make, three on one side of the table, one on the other?”

His companion sighed deeply. “How long ago did you two break up?”

He almost spit out his mouthful of beer. “Lulu and I have never been a couple.”

She didn’t appear convinced. “Uh-huh. Sure.”

“No, seriously. She is the last woman in the world I’d even think about getting involved with.”

“Right.”

“She was the bane of my childhood. Our parents are best friends—they went through hell when my sister and Lulu’s brother made the mistake of getting involved and then breaking up. I’d never put any of us through that again.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” said Tonia, lifting her own drink. Before she sipped it, she added, “But remember that old adage about the guy who protested too much? Well, look in the mirror, dude. ’Cause that’s you.”

He wasn’t quite ready to admit that her reporter instincts were spot on. But before he could even open his mouth, he got a glimpse under the other table and saw Darrell drop a hand onto Lulu’s thigh and squeeze it. He was up out of his seat, a growl on his lips, before his brain even engaged.