Continued...
He disappeared in the crowd of people.
Shaking with shame and humiliation, Sula wiped off his kisses with her fist.
Collecting her coat and bag from coat check, she slammed the elevator door
shut. Too many people had witnessed her rejection. Thank all above it was Halloween,
and no one would recognize her ever again.
Sula snuck to her bedroom without her
family seeing her disheveled state. She hid her costume, washed her face and
hair, and the next day, disappeared into her regular baggy clothing. Sula
tucked the memory of the sexy Captain America deep into her brain where
her family’s prying wouldn’t find it. Embarrassment made her cringe whenever
she thought of her abandoned behavior at Halloween.
The weeks flew by in their usual blur. One
day she woke still twisting with dreams of a finely sculpted mouth, smooth
teeth, and a blue, red, and white costume lying in a wrinkled heap next to her
bed. She put her feet on the cold, worn linoleum floor of her childhood bedroom.
Looking out her window, she stared at the huge piles of rock, gravel, and
decorative cement flagstones of her family’s landscape and farm supply business.
For once she didn’t find them oppressive
and desiccating. Instead, they were sturdy and powerful and patient.
A flood of strength filled her, replacing
her usual fear with calm and clarity. This morning, her angry father voice
calling up the stairs didn’t make her cringe. She touched the window’s smooth
glass as a plan to escape her family’s dominance crystallized in her head.
During quiet hours alone in the business
office, she searched for an apartment. She reworked her resume and emailed it
out. Useful items for an independent bachelor girl lurked under her narrow bed.
Finally, she drilled a hole in the
shield, painted it silver, and put it on her charm bracelet where no one would
notice it. The passion the errant Captain awakened now kept her keen and alert,
ready for her life to begin. She bided her time through Thanksgiving and
Christmas.
Everything fell into place two days
before New Year’s Eve. Tomorrow night, she could move into the apartment she
wanted. A big shot law office wanted her as their office manager after the New
Year. She could watch the ball drop in her own place.
During the night, she packed up the
little used Honda she bought and hid the few boxes with blankets. When she came
down in the morning, ready for anything, her mother told her the business’s inventory
computer system crashed with the fury of an asteroid hitting the earth.
Knowing it was her last day made her nod
calmly. The promise of sweet freedom made anything bearable.
Nothing Sula did could revive the
computer, though. Her father, sneering at her failure, demanded she call in a
consultant. Flipping through the Yellow Pages, a perverse imp of mischief made
her choose an ad with a shield on it.
The consultant came in, practically
vibrating with energy and life. He bore a decided resemblance to a young Paul
Newman. Sula felt a strange pull in her lower self, the first in many months. He
introduced himself as Peter, shaking hands with the members of her family,
charming her craggy father, her crumbled mother, and even her brothers, filled
with their small cruelties. When he shook her hand, he glanced at her bracelet.
“Hmm. And you are?”
“Sula,” she responded, distracted by her
trembling thighs.
“Sula,” he said. “A pretty name.” Her
eyes widened at the uncharacteristic flirting and at the memory of Halloween.
He was the right height, the right breadth. A thin flame ran under her skin and
hardened her nipples.
“Well, show me the damage.” He picked up his
briefcase.
Sula gestured for him to follow her to
the ‘computer room’. The rest of the family left them alone together without a chaperone,
unsuspecting of her churning desire. She opened the door to the computer’s room
and escorted him inside.
Peter took off his jacket and rolled up
his sleeves. He sat at the console and asked, “So tell me again what happened?”
As Sula bent over, she caught a whiff of his subtle, lemon tinged cologne.
He shook his head. “I’m amazed you kept
this thing going as long as you did. You must be a miracle worker.” Even though
the praise pleased her, she was no longer the sort to roll on her belly for
approval.
“Well, we’re all hoping you are an even
bigger magician,” she replied. “How did you get into this kind of consulting?”
“I liked feeling like Captain America, like I
could ride into town and save the day.”
“Oh!” Sula dropped her pencil in shock.
She bent down but Peter beat her to it. When she took it, he pulled her closer.
“Sula,” he breathed, looking at her
mouth. “I went back to the party, looking for you, but you had left. How have
you been?’
Her heart pounded so hard she gulped for
breath. “Fine, thank you. And you?”
“I’ve thought of you. I wish I hadn’t
had to run off like Cinderella that night.”
She straightened, pleasure at his words
making her blood run hot. “Did your ride turn into a pumpkin?”
“Something like that.” He straightened his
tie. “So, ah, what are you doing for New Year’s Eve?”
“I’m moving into my own apartment.” She
inhaled and let go of years of exhortations that only hussies asked a man out. Maybe
only hussies got what they wanted. “Would you like to help me christen the
place?”
The End.
Mmm, Captain America helping me christen a new living space. Yummy!
