It was about 10:15 when Paige left Pernell's house; and because it was so dark, she gratefully accepted his offer to walk her home. When they turned the last corner, she was surprised to see Marie standing on her front stoop with Robert. It looked serious in that he had one hand on her shoulder while doing most of the talking.
Paige stopped Pernell and said, "Hold on a second, there's my friend Marie."
"Who's that with her?"
"One of her boyfriends, Robert."
She could hear Pernell chuckle, "One? How many does she have?"
"Two."
"Seriously? Two? Well...at least she doesn't have five!"
Paige smiled, She knew he was joking, and just to be funny she considered telling him about Charlie and his harem; but biting her tongue she said, "Robert would like it to be serious, but she doesn't." And in a sing-song kind of way, Paige added, "You know...Girls just wanna have fun!"
Pernell chuckled again. "I get that! Tonight was BIG-TIME fun!"
She took his hand and squeezed it, "You photographers, you know just how to make a fun-loving girl feel good!" Pernell laughed this time and Paige added, "C'mon, we could stand here all night if they keep talking."
When they got to the front walk, Paige was able to make out what Marie was saying, "I'm sorry, but I like things the way they are."
Robert replied, "But don't you have a long-range plan?"
Just as Marie said, "No," she saw her BFF and Pernell approaching. She put her hand on Rob's arm, "Hi Paige!"
The redhead paused halfway down the walkway, "Hi you guys! Are we interrupting something?"
"It's okay," Marie turned and looked at Pernell, "Who's this?"
"This is my client, photographer, and friend Pernell Cannon."
He extended his hand to Marie and she took it, then he shook hands with Rob. "Nice to meet you both! I've heard a lot about you, Marie!"
Before the brunette could respond, Paige spoke up, "I was over at Pernell's looking at the Ava Green album. God, was it ever good; wait til you see those pictures!"
"Who's Ava Green?" asked Rob.
"Another one of my clients. She and her husband did some...Oh, how do you say it? Glamour shots?" Pernell was smirking behind his hand.
"Okay, well, I do have to be going," Rob continued, "Marie, can finish our discussion tomorrow?"
To her credit, Marie laid a nice kiss on him, "THAT will tell you how much I'm looking forward to it! And by-the-way, Rob, Paige and I are also looking forward to our next 'double-date!'"
Robert's eyes went wide and he looked at Paige, "Oh my God! We are?"
The redhead grinned mischievously at him, "Yes, we are!"
Pernell said, "I do have to be going also; so Paige, can you make it home from here?"
"No problem; thank you, Pernell!"
Paige and Marie stood shoulder-to-shoulder and watched them leave. When Rob's car pulled away from the curb, Paige said, "So Sweetie...I'm guessing you told Robert about Joe, right?"
"Yes, it did NOT go well."
"I kinda guessed that too!"
"Men! As we've said so many times before; it's a good thing they have a dick!" When her friend giggled, she added, "You're out pretty late; I'm thinking you didn't go over there just to look at a photo album, right?'
"I was coming over to see you, and Pernell distracted me!"
Marie burst out laughing! "Yes, and you're so easily distracted! Was it fun?"
"Lots!" and she took a minute to explain where Chad and Sylvie were.
"Oh my God, do I want to meet this Sylvie?"
"Maybe, she's nice...and lots of fun too. I'm bummed out though."
"About what?"
"I had this picture of you, me, and Chad going to the McCullers' house warming Sunday night."
"Oh, that's right! Yes, I see...it WOULD be much better if the first time you went to a swing party, you went with your husband."
Paige shrugged, "Would you go if I didn't?
"The thought of going alone never occurred to me. Probably not."
"We can play it by ear I suppose."
"I can't, you have the built-in babysitter; I don't. But let's see what happens. So, got any plans tomorrow? I need to do some grocery shopping; maybe you, me, and the three little ones could go together?"
Shaking her head Paige said, "I have to work tomorrow morning. I'm showing Allie a couple of houses I found for her."
"That's great! So you found another house with four closets in the bedroom, huh?"
Paige slapped her playfully on the arm, "You are such a smart-ass sometimes!"
"It's a gift!"
"No, it took me over an hour to find a couple places that will fit her budget, and tomorrow was the only day we both had. Oh, by-the-way, Charlie and Joy will be coming along for the tour."
"They are?" The wheels turned quickly in Marie's head, "Hey, I wanted to meet this guy Charlie; maybe I could tag along too! Whatta ya' think?"
Paige stared at her. "This is business first; you understand that, don't you?"
"Of course!"
"I don't want you yanking his pants down in the first five minutes to check out his cock!"
Marie laughed, "I wouldn't do that! I'd wait at least fifteen minutes!"
The redhead smirked, "Yeah, that's YOUR idea of 'all business!'"
"The problem is Michelle, let's go inside and ask Kayla if she can make it tomorrow morning."
"Hey, tell you what, just bring Michelle over to my house around 9:30. My mother won't mind."
"You sure? Cuz that would be awesome; we'll be there!"
Paige opened the front door, "I'm gonna say hello to Kayla and then head home."
The next day she got up early and spent the better part of two hours getting the house ship-shape so her mother wouldn't feel put-upon when Michelle showed up. At 8:45 she started getting herself ready. The foreclosure house was empty, but the duplex owners would be home; five people would be touring and she wanted to make it clear who the real estate agent was.
Just as she was checking her watch at 9:30, Marie knocked on the door. When Paige opened it, her friend didn't even say hello; she simply said, "See? I'm punctual, all business this morning!"
"I see that; you even dressed appropriately!" Marie looked really good! She had clearly spent time getting herself ready, Her hair and make-up were perfect and her slacks and blouse were well-thought out. "If I gave you a name tag, you could pass for an agent yourself!"
"That's the idea, there's no way I want you to lose a sale because of me!"