The Crazy One Read online

  "Tim Fontaine the TV announcer?"

  "Yeah, we've worked together a few times. He's pretty close to retiring. But we don't have to go if you don't want to."

  He still wasn't looking at me, so I put my hand over his. When his brown eyes finally looked at me, I wished he hadn't taken my comment about being a gentleman so seriously. Even though he always came across as a nice guy on TV, I'd assumed it was an act. But he really was an everyday, insecure, regular person. A person who hadn't even tried to kiss me yet.

  "I'll go wherever you want to go," I replied.

  Joel turned his hand over to grab mine. I thought that would be the moment he tried to kiss me. Instead, he pulled me up to stand. We started to walk on the path again, this time hand in hand. The warmth of our palms together sent shots of electricity up my arm. I turned my head away from him so he couldn't see my giant smile.

  "Do you have a cocktail dress?"

  "Something sexy?" I tilted my head toward him and fluttered my lashes.

  "Yes, please."

  "I have a little black number."

  "Perfect."

  Before long we were back at the Plaza. Joel went only as far as the gold and marble lobby. He promised to pick me up later in a car, not to make me walk again. I thanked him for lunch and accepted another innocent kiss on the cheek. The suspense of our potential first kiss was driving me mad.

  Luckily, I had planned for a fancy dinner, and had packed my little black dress and a string of pearls. The diamond stud earrings I was wearing had been a gift from Beau. I didn't think much of wearing them on a date, as he probably hadn't thought much of sending them to my apartment days after an explosive argument. And I was almost a hundred percent sure he hadn't picked them out. He had people for that.

  Later, I paced the giant lobby waiting for Joel to arrive. He was surprised to see me there when he came through the glass door. Maybe it was because of all the waiting I'd put him through before. I knew my face couldn't hide my anticipation this time.

  "I had to get out of that room," I explained. "It seemed a lot bigger when I got here."

  "I know the feeling. Next time I'll get you the Park Suite." He ushered me out the door and into the waiting car.

  The quick drive to Tim Fontaine's didn't give us much time for conversation. The driver opened my door and helped me onto the sidewalk. Joel followed. When we got into the elevator he turned to me. He looked incredibly handsome in his jacket and tie–more like the guy I was used to seeing on TV. It was easy for me to forget his TV persona when we were sitting in the park or eating in a deli like two regular folks. Now he had transformed into the star everyone loved.

  "I haven't told you yet how amazing you look," he said.

  My mom had told me I had a bad habit of covering my mouth when I smiled–like I was doing now. I was sure I was blushing.

  "Don't cover your smile." Joel took my hand gently from in front of my face and held it. "You have the most beautiful smile."

  His other hand cupped my cheek. He was finally going to kiss me. I was finally going to know where this all was headed. As he leaned toward me, we were startled by a well-dressed couple who had to be in their seventies. The old man cleared his throat. Joel quickly stepped back without making contact.

  "Going up to Fontaine's?" the man asked when the elevator doors opened.

  "Yes." Joel forced a polite smile. He let the couple go first. Then he put a hand on the small of my back and ushered me into the elevator.

  "I've known Tim for forty years. I produced those cigarette ads he did way back."

  The old woman patted his arm as if to hush him up. She smiled politely at us both. She seemed to know what was up.

  ◆◆◆

  Lucy strolled through the hallway of the casino from her room to the elevator. Her red heels thudded on the geometric pattern of the carpet. In the elevator she caught a reflection of herself wearing her black dress. The corset she wore underneath was doing a pretty good job of holding everything in. She let out a heavy sigh. Even dressed up and made up, she was still plain old Lucy.

  She arrived at the casino's bar and grille and requested a table for one.

  "Would you rather eat at the bar?"

  "No," she snapped. She didn't mean to. She didn't like feeling judged for eating alone.

  The hostess led her to a table in the corner where she removed the extra silverware and water glass. She was seated between a middle-aged couple with nothing to say to each other and a family with two small children. She did her best not to let them distract her from her daydream. When the server came she ordered a bottle of wine and was again given a look of judgment.

  "Can't a woman enjoy wine with her dinner?"

  "Yes, ma'am," he said apologetically.

  When the server left the table, Lucy smiled across at the empty chair where the ghost of Joel sat. Her heart thudded excitedly in her chest as she thought about what a beautiful moment they could be sharing together. If only real Joel could see the beauty of it too.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The cocktail party in the sprawling apartment was interesting to say the least. There were people of all ages and from all different fields of entertainment. Some of them were people I recognized, but most of them worked behind the scenes. Almost everyone knew who Joel was. Those who hadn’t yet met him introduced themselves.

  Joel kept one hand on my waist while the other hand gripped a glass of wine. Every time my drink was empty, it would be magically replaced with another. I had to remember to slow down or I'd be in real trouble.

  There was a brief time when Joel and I became separated from each other. I wandered around the buzzing apartment, trying not to nervously sip my wine down to the bottom of the glass, lest it be instantly replaced. Finally I spotted Joel outside on the balcony talking to an attractive female whom I recognized as one of the models from a popular game show. My heart skipped and jealousy knotted my stomach. I was never good with competition. My first instinct was always to shrink away and cut my losses. This time I had plenty of wine in me, so I pushed myself through the balcony doors and smiled sweetly at them both.

  "Lucy!" Joel was overly excited to see me. With his back to the model, he made a face like he needed to be rescued. Then he put his arm around my waist and introduced me to Heidi. She practically ignored me and attempted to continue the conversation I'd interrupted as if I wasn't even there.

  "Anyway," she said, "everyone wants to hear it." After touching Joel's arm pointedly, she went back inside the apartment, carried on legs that looked like long, satin stilts. Her leaving did nothing to quell my jealousy, as now I was jealous that I didn't have her amazingly unrealistic body. It was the same issue I'd had the whole time I'd been dating Beau: Why would he bother with a plain Nebraska girl like me when he was constantly surrounded by incredibly beautiful women?

  "What does everyone want to hear?" I asked Joel.

  "That song I did for the disaster relief album last year." He said it the way I would say I'd made throw pillows for my couch.

  "You're a singer, too?"

  He squeezed my waist and laughed. I loved his laugh. I loved the way his eyes crinkled, telling me this laugh was genuine.

  "I dabble."

  Joel's hand slid from my waist and down my arm so he was now holding my hand. I gripped his hand tightly. This made him smile and shake his head as if to question my intent.

  "I'm afraid you'll slip away again," I said in response to his unspoken question.

  He pulled me quickly to him and put both arms around me. The city noises seemed to fade away. Looking down and deeply into my eyes he said, "I won't."

  "Promise?" I gazed back at him, completely dazzled by his charm.

  "I can promise I won't leave you alone again tonight."

  He touched my bare shoulder which sent a current of excitement through my body. An involuntary sigh escaped my lips. Joel smiled.

  "I think about you," he said softly. "I can't keep my mind on much else. I h
ardly sleep."

  He kissed my forehead. Then he kissed my cheek. Then his lips found my lips, and our first kiss on that balcony in the middle of Manhattan was electric. I became dizzy and feared I might fall right over the railing if it weren't for his strong arms around me.

  His kiss left me flustered. When we rejoined the party, my cheeks were still flushed. As soon as we walked back through the door, we were met by Tim Fontaine himself.

  "Heidi tells me you're going to grace us with a song." His voice was booming–always the announcer. He clapped Joel on the back and led him to the grand piano.

  "I don't think so, Tim." Joel was only halfheartedly protesting. He looked at me to back him up, but I shrugged. I wanted to hear him sing, too.

  After a little more coercion, Joel sat down on the piano bench. He rested his hands gently on the keys. My eyes were drawn to those hands. I instantly wished they were touching me so softly. When his fingers began to move I almost felt them moving up and down my bare skin.

  Half of the guests gathered around when he began to play. His voice, deep and pure, crooned through the party air and silenced everyone within earshot. I began to wonder why music wasn't his chosen career.

  "Let go of the past," he sang. "Someone is here for you."

  Then he turned his head to look at me. His hands hit the keys and he smiled. My heart skipped a beat. It could have been the wine. It could have been the magical city. I knew right then I might actually fall in love with this man.

  "What you may need," he sang only to me, "is right here in front of your eyes."

  I might have imagined he was singing to me. Maybe I put more meaning into it than he had intended. It was a song he sang long before he knew me. What if I was putting more meaning on it? What was wrong with making a moment mine, even if only in my own mind?

  When he finished, everyone applauded. Some shook his hand. Another famous musician took over the piano and shared his talent with the party as well, not to be outdone by a TV host.

  Joel was finally freed from the spotlight. He found me and once again replaced his hand onto the waist of my little black dress. He leaned in and pressed his lips to my ear. His warm breath tickled my neck and sent shivers down my spine.

  "I'm sorry," he whispered.

  "For what?"

  Quickly, he shook Tim Fontaine's hand, thanked him for both of us, and hurried me out the door. When we were on the elevator, he finally spoke.

  "I'm sorry they made me sing."

  "I wanted to hear you sing."

  "It seems cheesy, though." He ruffled his hair with his hand, making him look slightly less formal and much more endearing. "I mean, we just had a moment on the balcony, and then I'm all..." He finished his sentence with a few waves of his hand. I laughed and caught his arm in midair. This time I was the one to initiate the kiss. That kiss lasted until the elevator doors opened at the bottom floor and Joel whisked me away to the waiting black sedan.

  We rode in giddy silence for a few moments. His hand gripped mine like he was afraid to let go.

  "Would you like to see my apartment?" he asked.

  I turned to him and raised one eyebrow.

  "I don't mean it like that." He lowered his voice and wagged his head in a mockingly sleazy manner. "Do you want to come up to my place?" he oozed sarcastically.

  This made me laugh. I put one hand on his cheek and leaned in to kiss him again.

  "Okay," he said after. "Maybe I did mean it like that."

  ◆◆◆

  Lucy left cash for her check and laid her napkin on the table. She walked toward the door. Two middle-aged, bearded men sat at the end of the bar. One of them turned on his stool as she passed. He reached out and grabbed her bare arm.

  "Hey," he slurred. "How much?"

  She jerked her arm from his grasp.

  "Get real." She strode confidently away from him, but stepped wrong on her heel and twisted her ankle. Painfully, she attempted to walk with poise until she was out of sight of the bar. Then she removed her shoes and took the elevator barefoot.

  She managed to retrieve and fill her ice bucket. Once back in her room, she tied the ice bag closed and set it on her aching ankle. Her phone chimed.

  "Oh, Joel," she complained aloud while reaching for the phone. "For real?"

  She checked the display. Joel had posted a link to an interview he'd done the week before. The camera zoomed in on his face as he talked.

  "But I assume you have someone to do those things for you," the interviewer was saying.

  "I have an assistant, yes." Joel grinned sheepishly, as if he were uncomfortable admitting it.

  "Well, that's nothing to be ashamed about."

  "I'm not," Joel defended. "Tracy is a huge asset. She takes care of things I don't have time for. But it's just business. She's not a personal attendant. I can dress myself."

  "So, you don't have an entourage?"

  "God, no."

  He and the interviewer laughed together. Lucy smiled and nodded as if Joel had been talking directly to her in a private conversation. As he spoke she could imagine his lips pressed on hers. He wetted his lips and she could swear she tasted that glistening saliva in her own mouth. Her hand went toward the screen to wipe the hair from his eyes.

  When the video ended she stood up from the bed. She removed her black dress and the restrictive corset which fell to the floor with a thud. After she was fully undressed she climbed under the heavy bedding again and propped herself up on the pillows.

  She turned on the large TV, then dialed up the in-room entertainment and accepted the charges for a spicy program. The one-on-one sex made her parts tighten and tingle. She imagined herself and Joel in place of the two bodies on the screen. Her hand played expertly until she was moaning Joel's name in ecstasy. When her orgasm subsided, she lay in the plush bed relishing in her self-gratification. She imagined Joel there next to her, and the endorphins her body had released told her she and Joel were now bound together by this beautiful act.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I awoke the next morning with Joel's arm draped over me. The sun was pouring in through the bedroom's giant picture window. My black dress was crumpled in a pile on the floor. I sighed when I thought of the dreadful walk of shame I'd no doubt be taking through the lobby of the Plaza on my way back to my room.

  I tried to reach for my dress without waking Joel. He stirred immediately and raised his shaggy head from the pillow to smile at me. The dress was going to have to stay on the floor for a while longer.

  Fortunately, there was to be no walk of shame. Joel got up and cooked us a simple breakfast while I sat on a stool wearing his cotton t-shirt. When the doorbell buzzed, Joel didn't even budge. I stared toward the front of the apartment wondering for a split second why he was ignoring his visitor. Then a young woman let herself in and wheeled my suitcase into the living room.

  "This is my assistant Tracy," Joel told me, waving the spatula in her direction. "You'll be seeing a lot of her."

  Tracy smiled and waved. She fiddled with her smartphone and chatted with Joel about his schedule for the week. Then she bid us both goodbye and left the apartment.

  Joel set a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon on the counter in front of me and sat down on a stool. He ate right away as if nothing had happened. I stared at his profile, waiting for an explanation.

  "What's with the suitcase?"

  "I had Tracy get your stuff for you. I figured you'd want some clothes to wear." He looked down at my naked legs. "Right?"

  "Yes," I stammered. "I just..." I didn't know what to say. Was this arrogance or thoughtfulness? Should I be offended that a stranger packed up my room and moved it to his apartment? Should I be mortified that my date felt it necessary to save me from an embarrassing morning-after walk through one of the most famous hotels in the world? Maybe I should, but I was glad to have a change of clothes and, most importantly, my toothbrush.

  "Sorry," Joel said between bites. "Was that over the line?"

&nbs
p; I shook my head. The eggs were good. The bacon was crispy. It was a comfortable moment, and I didn't want to spoil it. But I couldn't help wondering if Joel's assistant was used to fetching things for his dates in the morning.

  "When will I see a lot of her?"

  "Hmm?" Joel was pouring us both coffee now.

  "You said I'd be seeing a lot of Tracy. When?"

  "You know, around."

  "My plane leaves at three." It was now Sunday. I wanted to stay. Did he want me to stay? I had work in the morning, and Tracy had reminded him of his busy schedule.

  "I know. I hope you're not leaving forever. I had a good time yesterday. I want to see you again." He grinned. "And again."

  I smiled back and said, "And if I didn't have a good time? If I didn't enjoy hanging on your arm and letting you dazzle me with your musical charm?"

  Joel snaked an arm around me and pulled me off the stool. He slid his hand under the t-shirt and into the waistband of my panties.

  "And if you didn't enjoy being ravaged last night," he pointed to the couch, "over there," then to the bedroom, "and in there?"

  I motioned toward the entryway. "And over there a little bit. On the way in."

  He tried to kiss me, but I wiggled away. He was going to have to wait for me to find my toothbrush and other miscellanies.

  "I'm going to use your shower."

  "I'll join you."

  "I can probably handle the shower on my own."

  "It's a very complicated shower." He gave me a sly grin and then chased me into the bathroom.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Omaha - 2015

  It was Monday. Lucy arrived at the mall with a spring in her step. She was still reeling from the weekend's events. Her temperature rose whenever she thought of Joel. There was a hollow void in her heart which she believed could only be filled by him. Her fantasies had become so vivid she felt it inevitable they become reality.

  Joni noticed her euphoric demeanor when Lucy entered the store with two fancy coffees from down the hall.