Note: No
silent readers, please! The next and
final part, the dinner, is in the works. Your feedback will help it take shape.
Disclaimer: I don't own
any of these characters, etc. etc.
Time frame: Directly following Part 8.
Dangerous Games 9: Girl Talk
"I'm
not going to argue," Max said, wanting only to shower and get the feeling of
Joe's eyes off her skin. "I'll see you
in an hour."
Logan
thought of Max, the package, the dinner, and Bling's advice.
"I'll
be waiting."
//And
counting the minutes.//
Max
hung up the phone and grabbed her bike. When she arrived at her blessedly empty apartment, she tossed her biking
clothes in a heap and jumped into a cold shower.
//Another
advantage of Logan's place, actual hot water. Remind me to shower there next time. Next time….stop it. Get
moving. Shower, change, and get to
Logan's before dinner gets cold. Leave Kendra a note, I'm not feeling up to one
of her little girl talks.//
Max
turned off the taps and grabbed two of their precious supply of towels. She was using one on her hair as she walked
out, smack into Kendra. "And where were you all night, last night?"
"Nowhere,"
Max replied. "I mean, I was helping out Logan and we had dinner, and then I
fell asleep over there."
//Damn,
why can't I talk about him without getting all self conscious?//
Kendra
narrowed her eyes. "Dinner. What, exactly, did you have for this dinner?"
Max
looked at the floor. "Pasta Tricolore."
Kendra
continued to stare her down. "Look me
in the eyes when you say that."
Max
couldn't.
Kendra
screeched and pulled Max into a hug. "I
told you that Pasta Tricolore would turn him into your sex slave."
//So
my little Max finally got Mr. Rich-But-Clueless into the sack. Wonder if he's
got any friends.//
Max
pulled away. "Look, no questions. I'm late, and anyway I'm not going to turn
into one of those gushing, mushy, spill-all romantic types."
Kendra
nodded smugly. "That good, huh?"
Max
was starting to look desperate. "Kendra,
I love you and all but do we have to get graphic here?"
"I
just want to make sure it's all working out between the two of you," Kendra
replied.
"Everything worked fine," Max said, reddening. Kendra watched her for a second.
//Look
at her trying to act all experienced and sophisticated.//
"Well, I'm very happy for you," Kendra said. "So, pills or shots?"
"What?"
"Pills
or shots?" Kendra repeated. "You said
everything worked fine. He's what,
eight months into rehab? Injury at T-
10 , T- 12? Even if it's an incomplete lesion he's going to need a little pharmaceutical
assistance, at least for a while longer. Mostly black-market nowadays, but with his income he should have enough
options to keep things interesting."
Max just looked at her for a moment, then gathered
her scattered thoughts. "Kendra, I should
probably be afraid to ask, but how do you know all this?"
"I
temped for a Japanese doctor," Kendra replied, "a medical conference on SCI's."
"Let
me guess. And dated one of his test
patients?"
"I
wouldn't say dated, exactly." Kendra grinned. But the experience was…educational. When
things are less predictable men are forced to tap into their creative
side. I think they teach it to them in rehab."
//Wonder
if he's still in Seattle.//
Kendra
went into a detailed discussion of her personal experiences in that area. Max silently thanked her Manticore ability
to absorb the information while the rest of her mind wandered.
//I
never realized I was capable of being embarrassed by the subject, given the
givens. I'm part alley cat, after all.//
The
problem was that she wasn't really all that experienced. A few random mistakes while she was in heat,
and a boyfriend or two—Darren being a notable example of the shortcomings of
that category. Nothing to inspire the
absurd tenderness she felt thinking of the night before.
//You're
getting soft, Max. And a bit of
attachment is one thing but softness is weak. Lust, that's all it is. Good
old-fashioned unemotional lust.//
Kendra
followed Max into the bedroom, still talking, as Max threw on whatever clothes
she grabbed first.
//So
why so much…residual lust…for him when I couldn't wait to get the rest of them
out of my bed, heat or not? Maybe
because he spent more time thinking about me, and less time thinking about the
effects of this genetically engineered body on himself.//
An
unfamiliar bond. For the first time since
Manticore, she'd felt like an "us." Dangerous territory. Her mind
backed away.
//Stick
with lust, Max.//
Kendra
was finally winding down, so Max grabbed the package she'd gotten from Joe and
handed it to her. "Logan insisted he
needed this tonight. If I open it, he'll
kill me."
Kendra
shook the box. It rattled. "Pills,
then. Viagra. Good stuff. I wonder if
he'd be willing to share—"
Max
grabbed the box. "He might be, but I'm
not."
Kendra
laughed. "Last week it was 'He's not my
boyfriend' and this week it's 'don't touch the sex toys.'"
"He's
still not my boyfriend."
"I
can work with that. To be blunt, I'd
gotten the impression that your feelings were somewhat involved. But I'm the last one to criticize."
"I
didn't say my feelings weren't involved, exactly. I'm just not sure what those feelings are…" Max stopped and shook
her head. "And that's all you're going
to get out of me. I don't do girl
talk."
Kendra
laughed again. "Sure you don't. I'll get it out of you eventually. But for
the moment, don't you need to change if you're going to get over there?"
//As
long as she's going to be nowhere near any of mine, maybe I can convince her to
work with what God gave her. //
Max
looked down at herself. "I'm already
changed."
Kendra
sighed. "Max, I love you dearly, but it
wouldn't kill you to put on something other than a pair of jeans and a black
leather jacket once in a while.
"Logan
doesn't care about things like that," Max retorted. "He's not into fuss and besides, he's used to me this way."
Kendra
sighed again. "Max, he's a man. He might not care about things like that,
but it doesn't mean he won't notice. To
your advantage."
Max
gave up. "Kendra, if I change into
something that's not jeans and a black leather jacket, which I might add are
perfectly fine, will you leave me alone and let me get out of here?"
"Absolutely."
Kendra dragged Max across the living room and began rummaging in her
closet. "I have just the thing. Tony bought these for me and they don't fit
but," she emerged carrying a pair of dark red leather pants, "they should be
just your size."
Max
eyed them doubtfully for a moment, then smiled. "He is a man, after all."
Kendra
tossed them to her. "There's a matching
top around here somewhere, with feathers and-"
Max
cut her off. "I can manage the rest."
"Fine. But Max?" Max looked at her quizzically.
"Ditch
the sports bra and break out the good underwear for once."
Max
took the pants and retreated into her bedroom.
//This
is ridiculous. Probably. We're talking about Logan here…who is a man and
Kendra's got a point. Oh, what the
hell.//
Max
emerged from the bedroom a few minutes later, wearing the tight pants and an
even tighter black top, cut a good deal lower than her normal attire. Kendra was waiting. Max ran the brush through her hair one last
time. "I'm not telling you what I have
on underneath, so don't ask. Can I leave now?"
Kendra
turned her around and nodded her approval. "He won't be able to keep his hands off you. And that's the point, isn't it?"
Max
grabbed her jacket from the counter. "Whatever. Thanks for the educational lecture and all,
but my sex life is my business."
Kendra
smirked. "Sure. But if I've taught you anything tonight, just
remember one thing, Max."
:"And
what's that, Oh Wise One?"
"It
gets better with practice."