Risky Investment Part 9

Chris looked over at Matt and smiled. "Well, I feel pretty lucky to have him, too!"

The three stood waiting for the luggage to come down the ramp. Matt grabbed both bags and led them out to the loading area. Charles was just arriving with the rental car, a Mercedes. He popped the trunk and Matt lifted the baggage into the compartment.

"You want to follow us over to the hotel? We can grab some lunch and then I'm afraid these old bones need a nap," Charles said as he opened the door for Marie, who slid into the pa.s.senger seat.

"Oh yes, my tummy's rumbling! Can you imagine that they only gave us a sweet roll on the plane?" Marie complained.

Matt agreed to follow them to the hotel, then put his arm around Chris and led her toward their parking area.

"G.o.d, I don't think I can eat again!" Chris remarked.

"Sorry, I guess I didn't think things through very well," Matt answered.

"Oh well, now that I've caught my man, I don't need to worry about my girlish figure!" Chris said, trying to lighten the mood. It worked: Matt smiled.

Matt followed the rental car to the hotel, where the valet parked both cars. The three wandered around the lobby while Charles checked in.

"Just send our bags up to the room, we're going to grab a bite to eat," Charles instructed the desk clerk.

The two couples were seated on the patio, overlooking the ocean. Marie, with her hand settled on her chin, stared out over the water. "I know why you can't bear to leave here, Matthew, it's just so beautiful!" Then, turning, she asked, "Have you lived here all your life, Chris?"

"Actually, I've lived many places. Before my parents died, my dad was in the military, so we moved around a lot," Chris answered.

"A military brat, huh?" Charles chuckled. "We have a lot in common, young lady. I too was the product of the military system."

"That's what Matt has told me." Chris reached for her gla.s.s of water, took a sip, and continued, "What made you decide not to follow in your father's footsteps, into the army, that is?"

Matt smiled. Chris had led his dad into a conversation that could take up the rest of the afternoon. Which it did, through their lunch, through dessert, through what seemed like the tenth cup of coffee they had had today.

At a break in the conversation, Charles looked at his watch. "Well, I think it's time for that nap. Are we going to the club for dinner?"

"You bet, I already made reservations!" Matt replied.

"Lynn's coming too, I hope. It's been ages since we've seen her!" Marie said.

"Sure, I know she'd love to join us," Matt answered as the two couples separated in the lobby. "Meet you there at seven o'clock?"

"See you then, honey. Good-bye, Chris!" Marie called back.

"I didn't know Lynn was joining us tonight," Chris said as they waited for the valet to bring around their car.

"Yeah, she doesn't either," Matt replied.

Matt and Chris arrived back at the house after stopping by Chris's apartment. When they walked in, Lynn was flipping through the television channels.

"Hey, we thought you'd be pa.s.sed out by now!" Matt joked.

Lynn looked exasperated. "I'm exhausted, I have a splitting headache, and I can't seem to go to sleep!" She paused. "But enough about me, how'd it go?"

"It actually went pretty good, thanks to Chris. She started dad talking about why he didn't go into the military," Matt answered.

Chris bowed and smiled. "His parents are really nice people. Frankly, I don't know what you were so nervous about."

"By the way, Lynn, my parents requested your presence at dinner tonight," Matt said, then bit his lip, afraid of her answer.

"Matt! I would, I really would, but, were you listening about, what, one minute ago when I said aeI'm exhausted, I have a splitting headache, and I can't seem to go to sleep'? Plus, I have to play a hill night in"*she looked at her watch*"six hours?"

"Seven hours, it's Friday night. Come on Lynn, please?" he whined.

"Hey, I bet you're just really tight, let me give you a ma.s.sage!" Chris offered.

"A ma.s.sage?" Lynn remarked. Just what I need, your hands all over my body, like that would make me relax, she thought.

"I bet I can help you go to sleep. You know, a big part of physical therapy is ma.s.saging. I have great hands!" Chris pleaded.

"You have great hands?" Lynn smiled, looked at Matt, and winked.

"You could at least try it." Matt ignored the suggestive wink.

Against her better judgment, Lynn agreed.

"Come on, you can lie down on the bed," Chris suggested. She started down the hall. Lynn followed her reluctantly and lay facedown on the bed.

"Okay, just relax," Chris said softly as she began rubbing Lynn's back. "You know, this isn't going to work," she said as she got up and closed the door. "You need to take your shirt off. I can't do it through this material."

Lynn cringed. First she wants to rub all over my body, now she wants to do it with my clothes off. She added, I feel another cold shower coming on. Nevertheless, Lynn pulled her top off to reveal her bare skin. She was glad that she had already taken a shower.

Chris watched as Lynn pulled off her top and felt that sharp twinge again. Ignoring the feeling, she placed her hands on Lynn's bare back. She began softly pushing her thumbs into Lynn's back muscles. Lynn let out a moan, which made her smile. Chris felt like she was getting warm as she slowly let her fingers ma.s.sage the firm muscles. Climbing off the bed, she turned on the fan in the corner of the room and positioned herself to begin again. Chris watched as small goose b.u.mps rose from Lynn's tanned skin. The fan might be cooling Lynn, but it was doing nothing to relieve the heat Chris was feeling.

Lynn felt Chris's fingers against her bare skin, pushing, ma.s.saging, kneading her skin, Chris's fingers were on her back, but she felt them through every inch of her body. She had been glad when Chris turned on the fan, but now the cool air a.s.sisted in Chris's touch, sending even stronger sensations through her. She was trying to remain calm. Pretend its someone eke, pretend it's a mail-, she tried to convince herself. Little did she know that all the heat in the room was radiating not only from her body but from Chris's body, too.

Chris didn't know how much longer she could stand it. She was feeling hot, weak, and lightheaded. She could feel herself pulsating below. She tried to recover from the feeling by ma.s.saging up and down Lynn's arms, but then found herself kneading the skin on the tan legs. She felt possessed, like someone else had taken over her hands. She ma.s.saged farther and farther up the long legs, onto Lynn's b.u.t.tocks. She had to stop. She had to stop now. The feeling was so unprofessional. She had done a lot of ma.s.sages, but none made her feel like this. She pulled her hands away and watched as Lynn's back raised and lowered with her steady breathing. Great, she's asleep, and I'm*could it be*turned on? d.a.m.n! She tiptoed into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Looking in the mirror, she searched the image to see if it was still the same reflection that had always stared back at her. She ran her hands over her face, down her neck, and over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She still looked the same, so what had changed?

Lynn felt the heat of Chris's hands as they roamed over her body. This didn't feel like an ordinary ma.s.sage; it seemed that Chris was putting much more into it. She probably just didn't want to go out to dinner alone with Matt and his parents tonight. Lynn tried to disguise her heavy breathing as Chris made her way up her legs and kneaded her b.u.t.tocks. It did feel good, but also bad* oh, so bad. Lynn ended up drifting off to sleep, repeating to herself* she's straight, she's straight, she's straight.

Lynn opened her eyes and slowly sat up. She did feel much better. Getting up, she pulled on her shirt as she wandered down the hall. Matt was relaxing on the couch watching some sci-fi movie.

"Where's Chris?" she asked, still rubbing her eyes.

"Right after you went to sleep, she went out for a run. I haven't seen her since," Matt answered.

Lynn looked at the clock; it was five-thirty. "Wasn't that like, two hours ago? And you haven't worried about her?" she accused as she headed over to the sliding gla.s.s door leading out onto the deck.

"She's a big girl," Matt replied, not moving a muscle.

Lynn slid open the door and stuck her head outside. There was Chris, sitting on the steps of the deck.

"Never mind, she's right here!" she called to Matt as she stepped out onto the wood. Crouching down, she reached out her hand to brush the hair away from Chris's face. "Hey, you okay?"

Chris looked down, then out to the waves crashing against the sh.o.r.e. "Sure, it was just so nice and peaceful out here." She looked at Lynn. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Lynn answered, then added sarcastically, "Now I guess I have to go with you guys."

"Sorry." Chris chuckled at the hint of sarcasm. "What time is it?"

"Five-thirty. You need to start getting ready?" Lynn asked.

"No, you can go ahead, it only takes me about half an hour," she replied, again looking out at the water. "I'm enjoying myself out here."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lynn prodded. "Did Matt do something?"

"No. Honest. I'll come inside in a few minutes," Chris answered and watched as Lynn stood, slid the gla.s.s door to one side, and then closed it behind her. How could she tell her that Matt wasn't the one that she was bothered with? How could she tell her that she was having feelings that she didn't understand? Chris let out a deep sigh and watched as the seagulls pranced around the sand. How easy their lives must be. Finally, she stood, brushed the sand off of her clothes, and went inside to prepare for the evening ahead.

The three drove up to the club, Matt and Chris in one vehicle, Lynn in another. The valets took their keys. Matt and Lynn looked at each other and chuckled as they were walking through the very ornate club doors. It always amused them the way the valets reacted about having to park their cars. The valets were used to the BMWs and Mercedes, and almost acted insulted when the two drove up in their beat-up old vehicles.

Before they had left, the three had discussed separating upon arrival. The women would pretend to use the facilities as Matt went on to the table. This way, Matt could have the little discussion with his parents about downplaying the wedding plans.

Matt stopped at the entrance to the restaurant, trying to locate the table where his parents were seated. Marie stood and waved politely. Matt walked through the maze and approached their table.

"Where's Chris and Lynn?" Marie asked, looking over Matt's shoulder for their whereabouts.

"They needed to use the restroom, and I thought this would be a good time for us to discuss something." Matt pulled out a chair, sat, and began as his parents listened attentively. "Please don't mention setting a wedding date to Chris. We've discussed it and she'd like to wait to set a date until after she's through with school."

"When will that be?" Charles asked.

"Well, it's complicated. There's her bachelor's degree and then some postgraduate work that has to be completed. I'm really not too sure. The important part is that there will be a wedding. It's just that it might be a little down the road." Matt tried not to sound nervous.

"Yes, that is the important thing, but*" Marie started.

"Mom, that is the important thing. She's got a lot on her mind right now, a lot of stress with school and all. Just please don't mention anything about the wedding date, or the wedding plans, for that matter," Matt pleaded.

"Well, we hadn't said anything about the wedding since we hadn't seen an engagement ring*" Marie started again.

Matt interrupted, "Just another stress that I didn't want to put her through right now. I'm just so happy that she said that she'd marry me, the ring will come later, when she decides she's ready."

"Well, I agree with her," Charles stated. "She's a smart girl and there's plenty of time for the other things after her career falls into place. If I'd had waited a little longer before your mother and I got married*"

Now Marie interrupted. "If we had waited any longer, I would have married someone else, Charles."

That announcement brought a round of silence at the table. Marie finally broke the stillness, "We'll do whatever you want, Matty, frankly, I'm just glad to see that you found someone." Marie looked over Matt's shoulder. "And here she is now!"

The seated family rose from their chairs, the parents making their way to Chris and then Lynn.

"h.e.l.lo again," Marie said to Chris as they hugged. Turning to Lynn, she remarked, "Lynn, so glad to see you again!" then hugged her.

Charles reviewed Lynn. "Lynn, you're more beautiful than the last time I saw you. Looks like life is treating you well."

Lynn smiled. "I have no complaints," she said, then paused as if she was rethinking her comment. "Well, not many anyway!"

The five of them laughed and sat down, Matt taking Chris's cue to pull her chair out for her. The waiter arrived at the table with a bottle in an ice bucket "I hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of ordering champagne," Charles said, motioning for the waiter to open the bottle and pour five gla.s.ses.

"So, Lynn, what do you think of our Matty's girl?" Charles asked while the waiter poured champagne all around. It was obviously a rhetorical question, as he cleared his throat, raised his gla.s.s, and announced to the table, "Here's to Matt and Chris! And to Lynn, may you find someone as special someday!"

Lynn smiled and made eye contact with Chris. "I should be so lucky," she said directly to her and then clinked her gla.s.s against all the others. Chris, caught off guard by the sincerity of the look in Lynn's eyes, clinked her gla.s.s a little too hard, spilling the liquid onto the linen tablecloth. Recovering quickly, she laughed. "I just can't seem to hold my liquor!"

Minutes later the waiter returned to their table with a tray full of appetizers. "Oh, I ordered some of those fabulous little quiches!" said Marie excitedly as she took the dish from the waiter and proceeded to pa.s.s them around.

"Those look delicious!" Chris said, taking an appetizer from the plate.

Lynn looked worriedly at Matt, who was unresponsive. Lynn leaned over and whispered into Matt's ear, "Those have crab in them!"

Matt looked at Lynn, totally clueless. Lynn leaned over and whispered again, "Chris is allergic to sh.e.l.lfish!"

Matt caught Chris's hand, just as Chris was about to take a bite of the appetizer. "Honey, I believe that contains crab in the mixture." Then looking at his parents, he explained, "She's allergic to sh.e.l.lfish, swells up like a balloon. Wouldn't want to spend your first night in town at the hospital, would we?" he joked.

Chris put the appetizer down immediately and gave a relieved look at Lynn. I'm glad she remembered, she thought. She was obviously paying more attention to details about Chris's life than Matt was. Matt was just nervous, she tried to convince herself.

The group ordered and ate leisurely, enjoying the atmosphere and the music, although somewhat corny. A full orchestra playing "Love Shack" was not Lynn's idea of music. A new song began.

"Oh, I love this song," Chris remarked. "It reminds me of my parents."

Lynn looked at Matt, whose mind was obviously somewhere else. Lynn did what she had to do*she elbowed him in the side. Matt flinched and was brought back to earth, then looked at Lynn curiously. Lynn mouthed the word "dance" and nodded to Chris. Matt took his cue.

"Honey, may I have this dance?" Matt asked Chris. Chris accepted and they made their way onto the dance floor.

"Shall we follow his lead, Marie?" Charles stood and held out his hand to his wife. Marie stood and they floated away.

Lynn sat there watching, enjoying the way that Chris was obviously trying to get Matt to lighten up. Finally, Matt broke into a smile. Then she almost fell over in her seat as Chris kissed Matt lightly on the lips. Lynn knew that it was going to happen, should happen, to look natural to his parents, but she was clearly unprepared. She gulped down the rest of her drink and tried to fix on something else. It was no use, her eyes, like magnets, kept centering on the "happy couple."

"Excuse me, are you alone? Would you like to dance?" asked a man, probably in his thirties, with slicked-back hair. Could this night get any worse, she asked herself. Just then, like a knight in shining armor, she heard Charles's voice.

"I'm sorry, young man, this enchanting young lady owes the rest of this dance to me."

Lynn smiled as she took Charles's hand and mouthed "thank you" to Marie who was seating herself. Marie smiled back and waved. Lynn and Charles finished the song out on the dance floor.

Chris tried to make Matt smile. She told the dirtiest joke she knew. That did it. Mart's face cracked into a smile and he let out a laugh. "That's what 1 like to see!" she said and reached up to kiss him lightly on the lips. Matt looked at her as if confused.

Chris answered his look. "Keep smiling, I'm just doing what your parents would expect, trying to look natural, you know, like two people in love?"

His smile returned. "What would I do without you?" Matt noticed that Chris was looking away, toward Lynn, and at the man who had seated himself next to her. They watched as Mart's father swooped in to save the day. Then, returning to their dance, they smiled at each other, both glad to see that Lynn had been rescued.

Chris's eyes wandered back over to the other couple. She watched as Charles guided Lynn around the dance floor. Chris had been surprised at Lynn's attire that evening. The black slacks made Lynn appear even slimmer than usual. The cobalt-colored sweater that hung just off her tan shoulders and scooped down her back made Chris break out in a sweat. Charles's hand was placed gently on Lynn's bare back. Chris remembered the soft skin under her fingertips and felt a tingle run through her body.

"Hey, Earth to Chris. Where are you?" Matt woke her from her daydream.

Not able to tell him the truth, she chose a vague response. "Nowhere really." She was saved from further questions as the music stopped and Matt led her back to the table.

"Thanks, Charles," Lynn said as Charles pulled out her chair. "I am forever in your debt."