Copyright @ calibeachgirl
All rights reserved, 2012
Thank you for reading. A special thanks to Bill, Michael, Lewis, Cassandra and Elliot for editing, reading and commenting to make this tale that much better.
Chapter 26: A minor inconvenience
Three weeks after Solvang...
Diego Gonzalez casually strolled down the hallway, a bag of chips in one hand and a soda in the other, slowly twisting his head to watch the three cheerleaders sway by. Although he had only three minutes left to get to class, he was in no hurry to get to the other end of the building. He upended the bag of chips, caught several in his mouth and started to chew them. He turned around for one last look at the girls.
He had taken a more circuitous route, avoiding the football players that had lay in wait to take away his food. Of course, Diego knew there'd never be a teacher in sight to help him. For that matter, he was sure the teachers didn't like him very much, either.
He finally arrived at his geometry class and took his seat near the back. Borrowing a piece of paper from the girl in the next desk over, he patted his pocket for a pen and finding none, also borrowed one from her. He set about drawing his version of a KISS poster.
In the front of the room, the woman put down her blue marker, turned and looked directly at him. "Mr. Gonzalez, will you kindly pay attention!"
Diego hated Mrs. Smith, the harbinger of low grades his entire year. "So what," he said under his breath, "who cares about an obtuse angle, anyway? God, I hate this class."
"All right, turn to page 148 and we'll go over obtuse angles once again for the benefit of Mr. Gonzalez who seems a little obtuse himself this morning."
A loud collective groan rose from the rest of the students, for they had gone over everything at least twice, every time Diego refused to pay attention. Several football players were convinced that another meeting after school might be just the thing that Diego needed to study harder. They needed to finish the course to keep their grades up and be eligible to play.
Diego nervously looked at his classmates, all of whom had turned and were now watching his every move. He was a victim of 'no child left behind.' He already had two study halls in his schedule and they wouldn't let him take another. He preferred summer school with girls wearing shorter skirts and tighter blouses. Besides, he thought, they always had cigarettes and were willing to share.
"Sorry, Mrs. Smith..." his voice dropped off as he realized no one cared for his insincere apologies. One football player was already catching his eye, one fist hitting his palm, his stare drilling a hole in Diego's head. Diego put his head into the book, trying to block out the view of the larger boy watching him. He watched the clock... only three more minutes until the end of class. If only he could survive 'til the bell rang.
The evening heat hung heavily over the neighborhood even though it was less than a mile from the beach. Diego watched as the pretty woman in the next house finally came home. He spent most of the afternoon waiting for her, hoping that she would once again forget to close the bedroom blinds. Too shy to speak to her, never-the-less he had fallen in love with the wife of Sergeant William Smith, USMC, currently on patrol in Afghanistan. The fact that she was married only seemed a minor inconvenience to Diego as each night he watched what he could through the windows. A minor inconvenience, he reasoned, since it didn't seem to stop her from dating two different men instead of dutifully waiting for her husband to return from the war. And, he reasoned, if she was able to date two men, what was one more? All he had to do was convince her he was worthy of her attentions.
Of course, the fact that he was only fifteen never entered his mind as a major inconvenience. He'd find a way to convince her, it was just a matter of time, just a minor inconvenience. His mouth dried. Wiping his moist hands on his pants, he started out of his room and went into the kitchen to get a drink of water.
Not satisfied with watching from his own bedroom window, Diego had found that he could stand outside her bedroom window and see everything that transpired inside much better. This night, he had brought his cell phone along, determined to gather enough memories to satisfy himself on the rare nights that she stayed at home alone.
She had brought home a new date this time. Diego waited a few minutes before leaving by his back door and then quietly skulking around the fence and up the driveway. Finding his place among the shrubbery outside her bedroom window, he brought his camera up to the glass and prepared to enjoy himself for as long as the private show should last and capture the action for future enjoyment. What he saw, though, caused him to drop the phone into the soft dirt next to the house and run down the street as fast as he could, screaming like the young fool that he was.
..........
Frank opened the refrigerator and peered in. "Oh, well," he said to himself, "time for a pizza... or maybe I'll just take her out to eat. Going out to eat... I'll just say I want to treat her." He heard the key unlocking the door and went into the living room to greet his wife who, to his surprise, was moving much slower than her usual quick pace.
"All I need is a stiff drink," Caitlyn said, raising her arm and groaning. "Damn, my shoulder feels like it's been used for target practice."
"Let's see." Frank led her to the bathroom, turned her toward the mirror over the sink and slid her loose-fitting green sweater over her shoulder so that both the line of her throat and the swell of her breast were visible.
A dark purple bruise had appeared beneath her collarbone but she suddenly lost interest in it. Her attention was on their reflection in the mirror and to the way his gaze slid over her body like a warm summer breeze. Gone was the easy-going, lighthearted man she loved. In his place was a hard-edged man, a dangerous man set on revenge. It was a good thing the molester was already dead. Garrett had seen to that. She wouldn't have given his life a chance, either in jail or out.
The sight of Caitlyn with her oversized sweater down one shoulder... he brushed one finger over her collarbone, lifting her hair away. "If something happened to you, I would have killed him," he said, all interest in going out to eat gone.
"He's already dead. Garrett shot him. Is it bad?"
As he pulled the sweater lower in the back, he tried to control his anger. "Yes."
"No bullet holes, though... right?" She tried to relieve his fears, her voice soft, husky. Her skin was hot and he could feel the desire between them like steam in a sauna.
"No, no bullet holes." The urge to bury himself in her warm and willing body was evident, his erection pushing against her. He met her eyes in their mirrored reflection and found a loving temptation that overcame his fear and anger.
Waves of desire flowed through her body and she swayed lightly, her hardened nipples brushing against the palms of his hands. He brought his mouth to hers, tracing the outline of her lips with the tip of his tongue until she moaned.
"Let me kiss it and make it all better," he said.
Though Caitlyn responded slowly, Frank held her closer, coaxing her mouth open so he could deepen the kiss, awakening and intensifying her desire. Her thoughts fragmented into wisps and floated away like a meteor breaking up high in the sky. She could no longer think of anything but him and what he was doing.
His hands slipped under her T-shirt and she heard him draw in a shaky breath that blended with her own moan when he cupped her naked breasts. She couldn't blame it on anything except the love that had grown each day for him and when he pulled her sweater and T-shirt over her head and off, she reached for his, needing to feel her breasts against his naked chest and the smooth skin of his back under her hands.
"Sweetheart," he said as she moaned once again.
He frantically pulled off the rest of his clothes and then pulled her close again, kissing her mouth, her throat, pausing at her breasts just long enough to taste first one and then the other, driving her wild. Her full lips parted to let him come in and ravish her tongue. He was already aroused. She could feel his erection pressing hard against her and she snuggled closer, feeling her own need grow and then explode within her.
His fingers disappeared between her thighs as his mouth left hers to kiss his way to her ear. He knew she was more than ready for him and he wanted to take forever but he knew that was impossible and then he was inside her, wrapped in her moist warmth and she moved with him in perfect rhythm as they showed each other the way to make love.
.........
"Well, this is interesting," said Garrett. "We might have a witness to the festivities, so to speak. Seems the boy next door was doing some investigating of his own with his cell phone and once our techs go over the video, we might have a photo of our killer."
"That would be a big break," said Caitlyn, "if it's true. It might be THE break we've been waiting for. It's about time. I guess we better call Barbara and Frank." She pulled out her cell phone and made the call, hoping that maybe, just maybe, once and for all, they had caught a break.
