Mike Jastrzebski - Key Lime Blues

“I think she made the whole thing up to mislead me,” I said. “There was no reason not to believe her-the story seemed plausible. He’s my only lead right now. Destiny may have lied about him having the diamonds, but she seems to trust him. I suspect she’ll go back to him for advice.”

When I looked her way, Tanya had a quizzical look on her face. “What?” I asked.

“Are you going to tell me you weren’t even tempted?”

“To take the cut she offered me on the diamonds?”

She slapped my arm. “You know what I mean.”

“Destiny is quite the package,” I admitted. “She’s sexy. She’s vivacious. She’s intelligent. But she’s also crazy. To be honest, she scares the hell out of me. I can visualize it like it was playing on a movie screen. First she’d play with me. Next there would be hours of wild sex. Then, once I fell asleep, she’d knock me on the head, or plunge a knife into my chest, or maybe she’d decide she wanted my balls for a souvenir. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize Destiny’s capable of doing any of those things.”

“I think you’re exaggerating.”

“Look what she did to me when I wouldn’t have sex with her.”

Tanya ignored my comment and began chewing on her lip. “Would you have been as quick to throw me out of your bed? If it had been me?”

“No.” I didn’t hesitate to answer her.

“In that case,” she said, “Why don’t you roll over and make room for me?”

I did what she asked. She jumped out of the bed, switched off the light, and I listened to the rustle of her clothing as she undressed. By the time she climbed back onto the mattress and slid her naked body up next to my back, my heart was racing.

Just a short time earlier I was fighting to keep my eyes open. Now, as I started to roll toward her, sleep was the last thing on my mind. Unfortunately, whatever I had in mind didn’t coincide with Tanya’s plans.

“Let’s get some sleep,” she said. “You must be tired after the terrible ordeal of having not one, but two naked women climb into bed with you. And it was busy at the bar tonight. I can hardly move right now. I’m sure a good night’s sleep will reinvigorate both of us.”

I reigned in my disappointment, wiggled a little closer to her, and closed my eyes. Tanya was right. I was exhausted beyond belief. Still, as she drifted off to sleep, I laid awake, listening to her breathing. I couldn’t help but be aroused the heat of her body and the pressure of her breasts against my back. Damn, I thought when I closed my eyes; I better not wake up in the morning and discover this had all been a dream.

The musical tone of my cell phone drew me from a sound sleep. I disengaged myself from Tanya, whose arms were wrapped around my waist, and climbed out of bed.

Tanya mumbled something I couldn’t hear, and pulled my pillow over her head. By the time I got to the phone it stopped ringing, but before I could turn away it started up again.

I looked at my watch and saw it was nine-thirty, way past the time I usually got up. I had a good reason to ignore this call and climb back into bed.

I looked over at the bed, felt a tingle when I saw Tanya’s bare leg sticking out from beneath the sheets, and with great reluctance I opened the phone.

“Guess who just paid me a visit, Darling.” Frankie sounded annoyed and I regretted picking up the phone. The question must have been rhetorical, because he didn’t give me a chance to respond.

“Destiny stopped by. You know what she told me?”

“I don’t have a clue,” I said. “But I’m sure it’s a lie, no matter what she said.”

“She said you told her you were going to keep the diamonds, and that I could fuck myself. You cannot imagine how unhappy those words made me, Darling. So I’m giving you one last chance. I’m staying at the Reach, and you’ve got until noon to get my diamonds to me. After noon, it’s hunting season. If I’ve got to send Willie after you, you’re a dead man.”

“You can’t believe her,” I said. “I’ve never even touched the damn things.”

“She’s standing right here next to me as I speak,” he said. “I don’t think she’s got the guts to tell me this kind of a lie. I’m telling you I want my diamonds back, and I want them today. And by the way, Bob was right, your name does suck,” he added, and hung up the phone.

“Who was it?” Tanya pulled the pillow from her head when I climbed back into bed. Her eyes were sleepy looking, and a strand of hair hung down over her forehead.

I reached out, brushed the errant hair back, and she took my hand and spread it open. She touched my palm to her lips and closed my fingers around her kiss.

“Ah, it was Frankie,” I said.

“So what did he want?” She pulled me closer to her and kissed me on the neck.

“Ah…”

“You don’t seem too concerned about it.”

She touched her lips to mine, a gentle kiss that took my breath away, and I knew she was right. I didn’t give a damn about Frankie or Destiny or the diamonds.

I threw back the sheets, returned her kiss, and wrapped my arms around her. Tanya was the complete opposite of Destiny. She was slender, with small firm breasts, well-developed stomach muscles, and runner’s legs. I engulfed her in my arms, and we made love like we were afraid we’d never get another chance. We followed the wild passion with slow soothing touches and soft sex that went on and on.

It was pretty obvious I wasn’t going to meet Frankie’s deadline. Since I didn’t have a clue where the diamonds were, I couldn’t see how it made a difference. What the hell, I thought. If I’m gonna die anyway, I might as well go out with a smile on my face.

It was after noon when I rolled over and opened my eyes for the second time. Tanya was no longer lying beside me and my clothes were folded and piled on the chair in the corner. A note lay on top, and I smiled when I read it. Had a fantastic morning. I ran your clothes through the washer and dryer-they were getting a little ripe. There’s cereal in the cupboard above the sink. If you prefer, there are eggs and bacon in the fridge. I’ve got an errand to run but I should be back by one-thirty. And I think you’re right about Gail, if she lied to this Frankie guy, she is capable of anything. If you go anywhere before I get back please be careful. Tanya

I smiled and enjoyed the warm, content feeling that swept over me when I thought about her. I couldn’t help but wonder if Tanya was as surprised by what had happened between us as I was. The last thing I had expected after being roughed up and banged around by Bob and Willie was a romantic interlude. At least there was no doubt in my mind it was romantic. I’d been interested in Tanya since I’d gone to work for her, but I couldn’t be sure she wasn’t responding to the excitement of the moment. Still, I got the feeling we were both on the same wavelength about our relationship.

The last relationship I’d had was my brief fling with Brenda when I arrived in Key West. The relationship ended when her boyfriend arrived. I had to admit, I felt a surge of excitement when I ran into her and she told me her boyfriend was gone, but after this morning, Tanya had all my attention. I didn’t have the energy to handle two women at the same time. I never had been the kind of guy who could lie to a woman about my feelings.

I did a little jig and headed to the bathroom. While I shaved, I turned the shower on hot and let the room get steamy before climbing into the tub. Tanya or her father had installed an expensive, adjustable showerhead. I turned it to pulsate and directed the stream of scalding water toward my many bruises. I stood under the shower for a full ten minutes letting the heat wash away my aches. When the water started to cool I shut it off and stood there for several more minutes until the steam dissipated around me before getting dressed and heading for the kitchen.