Rooftops and Invitations 3

The next morning, Saturday

"Wake up, Babe." Carlos knelt beside the bed and buried his face in the crook of Stephanie's neck, nipping at the sensitive skin there.

A spark of desire flickered in her belly, and she ran her hands up and down the smooth bare skin of his torso, slippery with sweat. He must have already gone running. "Whuh time's it?" she mumbled against the soft silk of his hair.

"Seven thirty. Do you want to get up and have breakfast with me before I have to leave for work?"

"Mmm, yeah," Stephanie said, hauling him into the narrow bed on top of her and using his momentum to roll him over and past her until his back rammed against the wall. "I'll have you for breakfast."

She scooted away from him, tugging until he was on his back in the center of the bed and used both hands on his running shorts, sliding them down until he could kick them off. She swung her leg over and rose to her knees, straddling him.

"Ouch." The back of her head banged against the top bunk. When she tried to duck back down, out popped a squeak of pain. "Omigod, my hair is caught."

She reached up, trying to pull loose, but her curls were tangled in the springs that held the upper mattress, and her attempts to free herself only made it worse.

Carlos sat up and slipped out from beneath her, surveying her imprisoned naked body. "You know, Babe, I could really take advantage of you in that position." He dipped his head down between her legs, tongue flicking, making her moan.

She gripped the springs on each side of her head, back arched, as he licked his way up her body. After capturing her mouth in a lingering liplock, he applied himself to her predicament. His quick, clever fingers soon had her free, and he guided her back down so she was reclined on the lower bunk.

As she reached to pull him down on top of her, she banged her elbow against the wall, exclaiming, "Ouch!"

"I think we're going to need a bigger bed, Babe." And then his mouth came down on hers and nothing else mattered.

An hour later they were sitting across from each other at the dining table in the corner of the room eating Cheerios with low fat milk, both smiling.

"What are your hours today?" Carlos asked, his melted chocolate eyes watching Stephanie tear open another sugar packet and sprinkle it over her cereal. Lester and Julio had left a hoard of supplies—sugar, Sweet 'n' Low, little cups of half and half, two-cracker packs of saltines, half-empty bottles of ketchup and other staples filched from the restaurant.

"Noon to nine, well, as soon after nine as I can get rid of everyone. They're closing an hour earlier now that the season's over. They shut down completely in the middle of October and Uncle Tommy goes to Florida for the winter."

"I'll pick you up at nine. Maybe you should pack some things so you can stay here tonight, too."

Happiness filled Stephanie's chest to the brim, all the pain and anger of yesterday a fast-fading memory. "Okay."

oOo

"See you tonight, Babe." Carlos used an arm around her neck to pull her tight to him, giving her a quick, hard kiss.

"Later, Batman." Stephanie stood on the porch and watched his luscious ass as he walked south toward Fourth Street, black backpack containing his beach supplies hanging from one shoulder. As he rounded the corner and was lost from sight Stephanie sighed and trudged up the stairs, using her key to let herself into the apartment.

"Whoozzere?" Mary Lou's muffled voice came from the pullout, where she and Lenny were spooned beneath a lightweight blanket.

"Just me," Stephanie answered, headed for the bathroom.

Mary Lou's head popped up. "Where were you? I didn't hear you leave."

"Carlos got back around midnight. I was with him." Stephanie shut herself into the bathroom to defer further grilling.

But when she emerged a few minutes later, up and waiting for her was not only Mary Lou, but Tina as well, both sitting cross-legged on the unmade sofabed, still in pajamas.

"Right here, right now," Mary Lou ordered, pointing to the foot of the bed.

Stephanie edged toward the bedroom door. "I was just going to—"

Mary Lou interrupted, "No excuses. Come tell us everything."

Tina chimed in, "Yeah, we want to know how the guys are."

"And," Mary Lou added, "what's up with you and Carlos."

Stephanie glanced into the kitchen. "Where's Lenny?"

"I sent him out for doughnuts," Mary Lou said. "Extra Boston crèmes. But we're not sharing unless you tell us everything."

The thought of doughnuts making her mouth water, Stephanie gave in and took a seat on the bed, crossing her legs, too, so that the three girls formed a triangle. "Well, Carlos got back about midnight last night. He dropped off the guys at Fort Jackson Thursday morning, but they wouldn't let him in at all. He just dropped them off at the gate and they were taken away. So he doesn't really know anything about how they're doing."

"Jeez," said Tina, "I hope they're okay."

"They were both so psyched to go," Mary Lou told her, "that I'm sure everything is fine." She aimed a piercing look at Stephanie. "So were you just coming home? Did you spend the night with Carlos?"

Stephanie wished she didn't blush so easily. After all, Mary Lou slept with Lenny almost every night, and it didn't embarrass her to talk about it. But then again, they were engaged, getting married in less than two months. While she and Carlos, well, weren't.

"Steph?" Tina's prompt pulled Stephanie away from her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah." Her face was hot. "He came straight here, and he took me to his place for the night."

"Is he staying in Point Pleasant?" Mary Lou cocked her head. "What about school?"

"He's still going to work on the beach Saturdays and Sundays for September, and he'll go to school during the week."

"So I guess you'll be seeing him every weekend, at least for the next few weeks."

"I guess so."

oOo

At eight thirty that evening Carlos walked into Crabster's and joined Lenny in the back booth. "Hey, Lenny, how's it going?"

"I'm tired," Lenny said. "I got called out in the middle of the night by my doctor because his toilet was plugged up. But I took care of it in no time. I just threw in two aspirins and told him to call me in the morning." Lenny's laughter rang out loud and long.

Carlos grinned. "How's the house? Did you get the painting done?"

He listened to Lenny talk about his handyman efforts as Stephanie and Mary Lou bustled around bringing them soup, salads, a basket of rolls.

Twenty minutes later Tina came out from the kitchen. "Here, guys." She set a full platter of broiled flounder and French fries down in front of them along with an extra plate. "The kitchen made a mistake on an order, so it's all yours." She winked at them.

"I'll take some fish," Carlos said to Lenny. "You can have the fries."

"You can have all the fish," Lenny said, dipping three fries in ketchup and stuffing them all in his mouth at once, muffling his voice. "Don' like it."

As Lenny dug into the piece of pie Mary Lou brought him, he looked at Carlos. "Hey, how about coming to our place tonight? I just got the Ironman DVD, but got voted down last night in favor of 27 Dresses." He shuddered. "I need some guy power."

"Sure," Carlos said. "I'm up for Ironman."

TBC