The Perfect Weapon: Chapter 2012: Part 4

[camillecarelli]

Chapter 2012: Part 4

“Where is he?” Judy demanded without preamble as Irina opened the door to the house.

“Who? Jack?“ Irina asked in confusion. “Vaughn? Weiss? Sylvester?” At Judy’s near apoplectic look of impatience, Irina began to laugh and beckoned to Susan behind her. Torture was always enjoyable and worth sharing, even if one didn’t understand why the victim was ready to scream. “Why Judy, don’t tell me you want to see him in his boxers again-“ Irina teased.

“No!” Judy’s eyes narrowed as Susan scurried away. Like a rat leaving a sinking ship. Hmm. “That...Dave. Dr. Caro,” she said with snide emphasis. “Is he here?”

“Yes. He’s on the beach with Jack, decompressing after dealing with Sark, I mean, Julian earlier and he wants to work on his walking-“ Irina blinked as Judy tossed her purse onto the hallway table and stormed toward the doors leading to the back deck. “Are you staying for the party?” She called out.

“So, Jude? Are you coming to the party after all?” Susan called out as the door slammed. She giggled as Judy began to stomp down the stairs so loudly that her footsteps could be heard inside.

Irina turned a suspicious glance on the blonde, who shrugged with a little too much nonchalance before gleefully calling out Sydney’s name. Irina silently slid the door open and walked onto the deck with a smile of anticipation on her face. Apparently Susan and Sydney had arranged for a pre-party show of some kind.

Susan darted into the kitchen and skidded to a stop in front of the island, where Sydney was chopping vegetables. She smiled tentatively. She wouldn’t have been surprised if Sydney had forgotten her role in the game plan given how much she had on her mind. “So, I guess you did call Judy to cancel your appointment on Monday.”

“You bet!” Sydney grinned, happy to forget for a moment what awaited her - or didn’t - at home. She could compartmentalize too, she told herself. “I told her that not only did I not need to keep my appointment on Monday when we’d planned to talk about Vaughn, but given how helpful Dave was in talking about him today, as well as about my parents, perhaps I didn’t need to see her at all any more.”

Susan whistled silently, as she reached for a bowl and began to pour Chex Mix into it. “That’ll do it.”

“Let’s hope. C’mon, let’s watch the results of our game plan,” Sydney suggested as she pointed toward the large window in the kitchen wall that faced the ocean.
Judy stomped down the stairs, pausing mid-way to scan the beach. There! She shielded her eyes with her hand and shook her head. From this distance and with the shadows of another house drifting across them as lightly as time itself seemed to touch them, the two men looked no older than they had when she’d seen them on campus from time to time so long ago. Jack’s hair may have turned silver, but Dave! He was the same. Still handsome and...

But, but still a manipulative, scheming jerk who inserted himself into- Okay, she didn’t need to think about that! Judy resumed her rush down the stairs, her momentum almost causing her to tip over when her heels sank into the sand at the bottom. “Damn it!” she swore and bent over, pulling one shoe off, then the other before throwing them with a bang against one of the poles supporting the deck. “Good!” She exclaimed before turning to face the men who appeared to have stopped to watch her. Great, she’d just made a spectacle of herself. Great!

“Who’s the blonde having a shoe fit?” Dave asked.

Jack turned and squinted. “Oh. Hmm. Unbelievably enough, that’s Judy. Dr. Barnett. What’s she doing here?” This meeting was not how he’d planned it. Who...He looked toward the house and saw Irina on the deck and...Wait. Was that Susan and Sydney with their noses pressed against the kitchen windows? He bit back a laugh. The two girls had beaten them to the punch apparently.

“At last. The famous Judy,” Dave said eagerly. “I can’t wait-“

“Looks like you won’t have to,” Jack noted drily as Judy stomped toward them, the flush in her cheeks growing more apparent with each step.

“YOU!” Judy exclaimed as she came within earshot of the men. Hearing the volume of her voice, she swallowed hard.

“Who, me?” Dave swallowed hard as well. Good god, she was...a blonde with passion. He clenched his hand around his cane handle as he felt his fingers tremble. “Are you talking to me?” he asked suddenly, conscious of the silence and the air of expectancy this Judy was wearing.

Judy poked her finger in Dave’s direction. Seeing her own action and the look of unholy amusement on Jack's face, she dropped her hand, but snarled, “Drop the DeNiro impression-“

Jack stared from Dave's gobsmacked expreession to Judy's angry flush and grinned. “I think I’ll just leave you mental health professionals to it,” Jack whispered and quickly exited the scene.

“Coward!” Judy and Dave called out in unison. They looked at each other, startled, missing the smug amusement on Jack’s face before he turned back and began a long loping jog back to his where three other pairs of eyes were watching the beach.
“So...umm. Judy - may I call you Judy?” Dave began.

“Why not call me Judy, since you apparently don’t respect my professionalism enough to refer to me as doctor?” Judy snapped.

“Huh?” Dave blinked in confusion. What the hell was she talking about? He felt as though he’d sat down in the middle of a play and didn’t know the plot. “What?”

“'Huh and what?'" Judy mimicked by deepening her voice. "You know, everyone says you’re brilliant, but I’ve yet to see evidence of it.” She smirked.

Dave’s eyes narrowed. “Really? Well, if you’re this genius therapist that Jack thinks you are, why instead of approaching the situation calmly - whatever the hell the situation is-“

“As if you don’t know!” Judy pointed her index finger at him, stopping just short of poking his shoulder. His broad shoulder. Not that she’d noticed.

“I don’t know! What I do know is that it’s in your best interest to start our relationship-“

“We don’t have a relationship!”

“Not yet.” Dave began to smile at the very enjoyable sight of this blonde on the warpath. Hmm. Why had he ever thought he liked calm women? Jack had been right; sparking a woman to irritation was a lot more fun. So... What else could he do to get her going? “Not yet.” He grinned when she began to splutter and spoke quickly. “Okay, but then why did you come stomping over here like you were making next year’s wine-“

“Are you saying-“ Judy took a deep breath and tried to control this unaccountable surge of adrenaline that was making her act in such uncharacteristic ways that...What had Sydney said once about adrenaline? That it was the best drug in the world? Well, she didn’t know about that, but it was...almost, kind of, somewhat enjoyable to just let loose. Especially since that gleam of amusement in Dave’s eyes - which, really, were quite quite blue, not that she was noticing, of course - indicated that he was enjoying himself. “Are you saying that I looked like I was stomping grapes?”

“Well, Lucy...” Dave drawled in a flawless Cuban accent. “And you can call me Desi-“

“I’ll stick with jerk, thank you!”

“You look like you’d prefer to hit me with a stick, actually,” Dave noted. “Care to tell me why?”

“As if you don’t know!” Judy growled. Damn it, he looked as though he might laugh.

Dave licked his lips as he watched Judy’s animated face. God, how he had missed women. Seeing their faces. And this one was so expressive. Perfect. The fact that she had blonde hair was just cream in his coffee. He wouldn’t think about what other creaminess she might... Nope. Stop it, Mr. Happy, he told himself with a quick look downward. “Among my many talents is not mind reading-“

“Oh, I know all about your many talents, Dr. Caro. I’ve read your file-“ Judy looked at her finger pointing at him again and broke off as she recalled how Dave had taken over Jack’s in and out duties. From his supervisor’s evaluations, Dave had excelled at that aspect of his work. She flushed again.

Dave tilted his head and looked at her, seeing the slight pink tinge to her cheeks. “And which duties, Dr. Barnett, are you referring to? Hmm. I wonder.”

“Nothing!” Judy choked and waved her hand dismissively. "You dangled a preposition." She groaned. How stupid.

"You've been spending too much time with Jack." Dave reached out and took her hand in his. “Now...”

“What are you doing?” Judy asked, futilely trying to tug her hand free. The man might use a cane, but his reflexes were still quick and the bulge in his bicep below his tshirt sleeve as he held onto her was... Not that she was looking at any bulges.

“I’m concerned that you might hit me with that hand. My body’s suffered enough, wouldn’t you say?” Dave asked, testing to see if she would look at him. Yes! She did, her eyes gliding over him, making him glad he was a man and...uh-oh, now was the time his body decided to show that all of the parts were finally in working order?

“I wouldn’t-“ Judy protested, then looked down distracted as Dave’s large hand seemed to engulf hers. He was a big man, wasn’t he? Still not the size he’d been thirty years ago, but he still made her feel small. Especially that... She flicked her eyes back up to his face and saw the hint of rose in his cheeks and the chagrin in his eyes. She felt her mouth want to smile as her eyes met his blue gaze that overwhelmed her own embarrassment at her perusal of his body. And...yes, he seemed more amused at himself than at her expense. Unusual in a man. And intriguing, but- “I wouldn’t hurt you - not really-“ she stuttered.

“Are you sure? You looked very...irritated about what my files said about-“ Well, actually she looked interested, but he knew when to push and when to pull back. Pushing and pulling at a woman was a delicate operation, then again, sometimes not. It all depended upon the woman. You had to pay attention. Yup, his files probably said that about him too.

“It was nothing-“

“Really? Just a slip?” Dave smiled. He would refrain from asking about what she was wearing under that skirt. For the moment. “Freud would say-“
“Freud has been largely discredited, except as the founder of the therapeutic method,” Judy told him primly in her lightest professional tone.

Dave tilted his head as he examined her. She wanted to slide into something more comfortable and more’s the pity it wasn’t lingerie, but her professional mask. Even better, she probably thought, to instruct him. Well, he could play that game. For a while. “Really? Do tell, please.”

Judy nodded. “In part due to the growing numbers of women in the field and the feminist reexamination of tenets about women created by men, to say nothing of...” Judy trailed off as she watched Dave’s eyes change and his gaze become intent and professional as he absorbed her words. Then he seemed to shake his head and he smiled again.

Dave nodded. Freud in the end was tripped up by his failure to ascertain what women wanted. As if any man would ever know. The fun was in the attempt. “You know, I’d love to spend time with someone who could help me get back to speed on the trends in therapeutic techniques and philosophy over the last twenty years.”

“Oh, well...” Judy belatedly realized that Dave had been holding her hand for quite a while and she snatched it back. “You’re good, but not that good. I’m angry with you!”

“And once again, I’ll ask why.” Since my attempt at distraction didn't work, Dave decided, feeling a surge of excitement at the challenge Judy presented.

“Because I was the doctor of record for Julian Sark and without so much as a courtesy call-“

“I called-“

“Humph! Like I believe that. I know you, David Caro - you think you know best.” Judy nodded smugly as Dave’s eyes registered the truth in her statement. “Direct hit, wasn’t it? You think you know best, whether it’s with Julian or Sydney and without a single call to their therapist, you run hell bent for leather-“

“I’m really not into leather-“ Dave interjected, trying to stem the straight-flying arrows she was shooting his way. Thought he knew best, indeed. Geez! Thanks a bunch, Jack.

Judy blinked at the interjection. “You’re not?”

“But I could be, if-“

Judy waved her hands. “No, no! Don’t change the subject and try to evade the issue-“

“Which is not leather, apparently.”

Judy ground her teeth together. “I wish I had a pencil. I really wish I had a pencil.”
“Did you really throw a pencil at Jack?” Dave asked eagerly.

“It was either that or shove it in his eye.”

Dave shrugged. “I know the feeling. So, don’t worry about just showing me how unprofessional you can feel while you’re in the midst of a tear down of my professionalism.”

Judy’s jaws snapped together. Then she planted one hand on a hip and used the other hand to point at him. “Don’t try that technique of the best defense is a good offense-“

“It worked for a minute,” Dave felt compelled to point out, even if it wasn’t in his best interests to do so. This woman seemed to bring out the competitive side of him.

“And stop interrupting me!” Judy crossed her arms over her waist and looked speculatively at Dave. “I know you are a master manipulator and I allowed myself to forget that for a moment, but back on point. I was the therapist of record, which you knew, and yet you not only visited Sark last weekend - which I could understand - but today you unilaterally made the decision to return the major memory of his life without so much as...a voice mail message to me!”

“I did call-“

“No, you didn’t, because I certainly would have remembered getting a phone call saying, ‘By the way, Dr. Barnett, I’ve decided to possibly change one of your patient’s lives for ever. Thought you might like to know. Gotta go, on my way to In N Out now!’”

Judy felt the heat from her face slide down into her chest. In and Out indeed. No, she couldn't have said McDonald's! Nope. Honestly. She needed...something. Susan kept telling her she needed to date and if this humiliating moment wasn't proof enough, but speaking of which...Could Susan really have failed to give her messages? She turned to look back at the house, but the setting sun glinting on the windows prevented her from seeing anyone other than Jack and Irina, those busybodies, on the deck.

Dave licked his lips. A burger would be good. He was still always hungry these days. And he had a feeling he’d need to sublimate another hunger quite soon. “Okay, but-“

“But nothing! You had no right and you know it-“

“You’re correct, but I did call. Every time I called Susan told me you were busy,” Dave informed her. “And that she’d give you the message and you’d call me back. But you never did-“

“That’s impossible. Susan would have given me the message. And in any case, you know better. Just because you haven’t had a consult with a fellow therapist in twenty years, doesn’t mean that you don’t know you should, that you should have wanted to obtain my insight and my approval.”
Dave nodded and held his hand palm up. “I apologize. You’re correct. I thought I did know best. A besetting sin of mine. I believe that it worked out just the way it should have, but I should have at least done you the courtesy of reining in my impatience for five minutes. I...find myself with a new sin these days, impatience. I used to be very patient, but now... Sydney’s teased me about it several times."

"I called you several times myself!"

"You did?" Dave glanced at the house. Sydney had teased him about his impatience and both warned him to call Dr. Barnett and then... Sydney...Hmm. He'd have a little talk with the Princess. Right now, he had other issues. He looked down at Judy and said softly, "In any case, I do apologize. And I promise I won't make that mistake again.”

“Oh.” Judy swallowed and nodded. She hadn’t expected him to capitulate so easily. She had been hoping, not that she’d admit it, for more of an argument.

“But for the record, I did call, I just thought you were so busy-“

“You could have tried harder!” Judy accused, then felt her skin heat as she heard her own words. Harder? Good god. She felt her mind fly to someplace as warm as the look in his blue eyes.

“Oh, you want har...” Dave broke off. Was it okay to make an innuendo like that these days or not? Lord knew, it was getting harder by the minute. And harder still not to grab her and... But no. He shook his head. He wasn’t like that, like Jack and Irina, with their volatile passion. He’d always been the calm one, wanting a calm relationship. He’d seen the instant attraction between Jack and Laura with his own eyes, which had deepened into love. It hadn’t been love at first sight. No, that was ridiculous. Just as this feeling... It was just lust, of course. The dry spell he’d been forced into was as long as the Dead Sea was deep as...He wouldn’t think about deepness and the scent of the sea or...

“What?” Judy demanded. Then to his fascination, she bit her lip and looked down. “I’m sorry. You must think I’m...”

“A bitch?” Dave supplied. At her flash of fury combined with chagrin, he automatically took a step backward and nearly fell down, saved only by Judy’s quick grab. He smiled in what he hoped was an ingratiating manner but she still removed her hands immediately. “I didn’t mean that as an insult.”

“Really?” Judy looked at him in what she hoped as a cool manner. “And please, do educate me on the moments in life when it wouldn’t be an insult to be called a bitch.”

Dave smiled slowly. Judy stared at him, not realizing for a moment that the corners of her own mouth had begun to turn up in response to the unaffected, open, and very male appreciation in his face. Still as handsome as she vaguely remembered, more handsome, actually, with the addition of the lines of character around his eyes and unbelievably enough, the smile lines around his mouth. How in that horror of a life he had inadvertently led had he found enough reasons to smile that he would have those faint marks on either side of his mouth, which was really quite... She turned her head to look out at the ocean, wondering if it was possible to look even more like a fool than she’d already done if she threw herself into the cool water. Instead, she turned and began to walk back toward the house.

“Judy?”

“Yes?” Judy turned back. His voice had been low and so deep that it almost blended into the sound of the waves hitting the beach, but she had heard it somehow.

Dave took a step toward her, leaning on his cane. He shook his head and smiled again without realizing it. She was gorgeous and full of passion and a blonde and... “One truth I’ve learned is that life is short.”

“I suppose it is,” Judy agreed as she looked at a man who had only grown more attractive over the years; the faint lines on his face added character and testified to a hard and even detestable life lived as well as possible, requiring deep wells of strength and faith. She felt her annoyance soften. Not that she wasn’t softening anyway, but...No. So the man was attractive and made her remember what it was like to be a woman, but still.

“And I’ve also learned that sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness after than permission before, so..” Dave’s free hand snaked out so quickly Judy barely had time to gasp before his hand clasped her waist and pulled her close. He bent his head, pressed his lips to her open mouth, and wondered what she would do next. Would she kill him or kiss him?

She bit him. After a long, endless moment of breathlessness before she licked her lower lip, then his, before his tongue met hers, and their lips melded into a long slow slide into something unexpected but somehow inevitable, she bit his lower lip. Dave pulled back and opened his eyes in surprise. “Was that a get-away-from-me, you asshole, kind of bite or a wow-do-it-again-“

Judy rolled her eyes. “Do you never shut up?” She smoothed her hand over the crumpled soft cotton of his tshirt, crumpled by her hand and...oh what had she done? She felt a blush rise to her face, then forgot about it as her eyes met the bright blue of Dave’s eyes.

“Make me,” Dave challenged. “Or else I’ll keep talking. Starting with how hot and wet and warm your mouth was when your lips opened and your tongue-Mmm...“ Dave moaned as Judy grabbed the front of his tshirt and pulled his head down to hers.

He stumbled slightly and Judy held him up, their mouths never parting as they adjusted their stances until they fit together perfectly.

“What do you know?” Jack mused, as he dropped the binoculars to look back at Irina, who grabbed them from him. “Dave took a page from the Laura play book and made the first move-“

“Mom made the first move?” Sydney asked as she closed the deck door behind Susan. She leaned down to whisper to her, “I always enjoy hearing this story.”

“Of course. She couldn’t resist me,” Jack teased. His eyes flickered to a point behind Sydney and Irina and then back down to his daughter.

“I swear...” Irina put her hands on her hips. Then she nodded and turned to her daughter with a smile. “Of course, the real story is that he was so...shy that I had to make the first move. If I hadn’t, you’d still be just a gleam in his eyes, Sydney. You understand, you’ve seen how shy he can be--”

“I was not-“ Jack protested. “I was being-“

“A good boy.” Irina paused.

Jack snorted. “Yeah, a good boy wrote that manual-“ He snapped his mouth closed. What an idiot to bring that up. He’d pay for that later...oh, maybe he wasn’t an idiot. “Ahem. You were saying, honey?”

“You were a good boy...” Irina growled. “Just like your mother raised you act with a nice girl. Sweet, respectful-“

“Yeah, right. That’s why you were shaking after we kissed. After, of course, you did this...” Jack put his hand up to his mouth and exclaimed in a loud, high-pitched voice. “Oh!” He winked at his daughter, “Which is another way of saying, ‘Oh, do it again. Please!’”

Suddenly Judy pulled back, her lips parted as she gasped for breath. Then she clamped her mouth shut, hoping that if she stopped breathing she just might die. What the hell had she just done in public...To...his...mouth? To his very talented mouth. To his very hungry mouth that had created an appetite she hadn’t known existed until his lips had touched hers. She licked her lower lip. Should she...

Dave stared at her, licking his own lips to capture the last taste of her, feeling the heat from her body mixing with the heat from his own. He tugged at the neck of his tshirt as he felt dampness break out on his body. All over. Ahem. Why had Jack said she was cool? Was it that old hang-up of his about blondes? Because from the second he’d laid eyes on her, he’d known she was anything but cool. He knew she was or could be calm, but that was clearly a facade. If you looked into those blue eyes of hers or better yet, touched that dark pink mouth of hers, you would realize she was about as cold as melted butter. Yes, indeed, hot melted butter that you poured all over...what ever was going to pop, which would certainly be him if she kept looking at him like that. He moved forward and stopped from the pain in his knee. He cursed it and then thanked it. The fact that his knee was throbbing was keeping him from paying attention to a throb in another part of his body and from just tumbling her to the ground.

She didn’t know that any man had ever focused on her that intently. Now that he was silent, she became nervous and her eyes shifted away. Oh no! She froze as her eyes scanned their surroundings and she remembered that they were on the beach. Ohmigod, they were in public. People had seen....She lost her train of thought once again as Dave’s face moved closer and his gaze dropped to her mouth. She didn’t need a PhD to know what his body language was telling her. Any woman know what that look meant. Judy began to feebly protest, “We’re in...”

“In for a penny, in for a pound.” Dave fastened his lips back onto Judy’s while his hand slid around her waist and then unable to stop himself, began to move downward.

“One day, Jonathan Donahue Bristow, I will kill you...” Irina growled, grabbing at Jack’s waist with her hand. before sliding it down to squeeze his butt.

“I live in hope.” Jack smiled before he bent his head and gave his wife a soft kiss and pull her hand away. "The kids, honey."

Sydney turned to Susan and sighed happily. “I do love it when they tease each other.”

Inside the house, behind the wall of glass, Weiss turned to Vaughn. “See? Just like any couple, really. Can’t you try and focus on that?”

“Any couple? Not all couples are as...volatile as those two.” Vaughn shrugged and looked away, only to see Dave and Judy on the beach.

“Yeah, of course not. Only the couples who know how to have fun,” Weiss laughed as he too watched the drama unfolding below them. Dave had apparently just made a tactical error in the game.

Judy spluttered and raised her hand to shove Dave’s hand away from her rear end. “I beg your pardon!”

“I’m sorry. I forgot-“

“Uh-huh.” Judy crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a pointed and disbelieving stare. “You forgot we were in...public?!” She huffed and added in a hissy accusatory tone, “And that we’d just met?”

“Apparently you’d forgotten that too, given the way you were kissing me,” Dave retorted. When Judy’s face turned a red that began to match the colors of the sun setting to the west, Dave groaned. He had been out of the game for far too long. Judging by the pleasure ache in his groin that was just short of pain, his body would agree with that. And the need to apologize and regroup if he wanted this woman. And he did. Wow, did he. Smiling in self-deprecation, he touched Judy’s arm. “I’m sorry. I possibly may have been overeager.”

“Possibly?” Judy snapped, her hand raising to touch the smile lines outside of his mouth. Which was really quite...Oh he was speaking. Too bad he didn’t just shut up and use that mouth for more productive activities. Surprised at her own thoughts and seeing Dave’s quizzical glance at her upraised hand, she dropped it and cleared her throat. “Excuse me, you were saying?”

“You’re beautiful and I really enjoyed arguing with you and it’s been a while...” Dave groaned as he saw the surprise on her face at his babbling and realized what he’d just admitted. Great. Making yourself look pathetic probably wasn’t the right move. He looked down at his feet and muttered, “Okay, you probably don’t need or want to know that.” Then he looked back up, shrugged, and smiled, “Unless needy works for you?”

Judy gaped at him as the meaning of his words penetrated her brain that felt as glazed as her eyes no doubt looked after that kiss that had threatened to sweep her off her feet and over to him. Or under him, or on top of him. Some preposition. Whatever. She wasn't a damn English teacher, after all. Just a therapist who...Oh forget it, she was a woman. “What did you say about wanting?” She asked absently.

At Dave’s sharp intake of breath, Judy looked up, met his startled eyes, and realized what she’d just said. She swore softly, knowing she was angry at herself for such a public display, such a rapid loss of control. She knew that, but still projected her anger at him. Because really, it was his fault. If he wasn’t so...Dave-like, she would have never kissed him back. Because surely she hadn’t pulled his face down to hers. Just as she surely had not bitten him. Dear god. She felt like a fool. She raised her hand to push him away, then dropped it, knowing the problem was not in his aggressiveness but in her own.

Dave stared at her and rubbed his temple. “What...That looks familiar...” He stopped as embarrassment followed guilt across Judy’s face in succeeding, ever darker flushes of red.

Judy groaned. Her response to him never changed. Too much. Too scary. Her reaction shouldn’t either, she decided, and once again, as she had thirty years ago, she turned to flee.

No way, Dave told himself. He wasn’t letting her get away even if he couldn’t chase after her. There were other ways to catch a woman, after all. “Dr. Barnett!” he called out.

Judy heaved a deep breath, turned, and asked truculently, “What?” She knew she was projecting her own anger at him, but...oh who cared? Did she have to be well-adjusted and self-aware all the time?

“I hate to admit this, but it would be almost impossible for me to walk back by myself. Jack’s abandoned me to your...tender mercies, it would seem.”

“Would it?” Judy turned around and lifted her hand to shield her gaze from the sun. Jack was sipping a glass of wine, apparently. She was going to pour it over his head. She sighed and turned back. Holding out her elbow, she waited for him to take it.

“Thank you.” Dave looked over at her. She turned her head so that her hair hid her face. Clever attempt, Dave decided. But the hiding revealed what he needed to know anyway as he slid his hand through her arm and leaned on her a little more than strictly necessary.

“He could probably make it back on his own.” Irina nodded in Dave’s direction.

“Probably. But he’s no fool.”

“So...” Irina took a sip from Jack’s glass of wine.

“So....” Jack stared at the wet drops on Irina’s lower lip and licked his own. “Did you suggest to Dave that he talk to Sydney?”

“Who, me?” Irina whispered, looking over the rim of her wine glass as she took another sip. When was he going to kiss her? “Did you?”

“Who, me?” Jack smiled at his wife. She smiled back. They clinked their glasses together. “I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship.”

“For which you can thank us!” Susan exclaimed as she kept her eyes on the couple on the beach. "We did it!"

“What did you two do?” Irina asked, swinging to look at the two younger women.

“Quick, let’s get inside!” Sydney exclaimed as Dave and Judy grew closer.

“How do you get up these steps?” Judy asked, pointing upward.

Dave rolled his eyes. “By embarrassing myself, forgetting my pride--"

"Oh, you must mean your usual pattern of behavior?" Judy couldn't resist asking. She was having trouble resisting any impulse when it came to Dave. How weird and yet...freeing.
Dave chuckled. "Yeah and sitting on my butt and going up step by step, backwards.”

“That must take forever,” Judy noted in a tone of voice that made Jack and Susan, listening from inside the partially-open door, wince and shake their heads and look at each other with grins. Dave was in trouble. Judy might not have a pencil handy, but the woman was nothing if not resourceful.

“I’ve had nothing but time until recently.” Dave looked down at Judy as she automatically slowed her gait to match his halting steps. Her face was...pleasant. Calm. Controlled. How unlike the woman he’d met and argued with and kissed moments ago. What did that mean? Should he be worried or--

“And stubbornness.” Judy glared at him. Yes, he was stubborn. If he’d admitted thirty years ago how manipulative and upsetting that stupid test of his was, they might have... Well, water under the bridge or...sand under the deck, as it were.

“That too. I also have...” Dave pointed toward a sling seat attached by a pulley to side of the deck.

“Oh, how clever. I didn’t even notice that before.” Hmm. How could she use that? Judy mused. He deserved some punishment for putting them on public display with that kiss, which had been far too passionate for the beach. Hell, it had been almost too much for the bedroom. Or her experience in the bedroom. Maybe she needed new experiences in the bedroom - but that sounded like something Susan would say. Not her. No, not her. She’d always preferred calmness and Dave...He was not a sea of tranquility. He was...A jerk. She had to remember that. A jerk who knew how to kiss as hungrily as if it had been years since...Oh, it was. She licked her lips as she imagined the depth of hunger he might have and...Stop it.

“Jack did it with Sydney’s friend’s father -“

“Reuben Calfo?” Judy nodded. “The mother is Pam, whom Irina likes and is considering trying to make a friend. Which is a good idea, in my opinion. If you care about my opinion that is.” She sniffed.

Dave grinned. “I like snotty women, in case you’re wondering.”

Judy looked pointedly away. “I wasn’t.”

“Okay.” Dave looked at her appraisingly as he thought about her recitation. She did know the details; that attention was one factor in her stunning success with Jack. He needed to tell her how much he admired her work. Later. “Yes. Reuben helped Jack rig it up for me. I sit in it and someone turns the wheel until I reach the top or bottom.”

Judy smiled. “How brilliant. Well, go ahead.” She pointed to the chair. “You want to get inside for the party, don’t you?” She waited while he seated himself and handed her his four-footed cane.

“You’ll call Jack to do it?” Dave asked, surprised by her sudden acquiescence. Maybe she had recovered from her obvious embarrassment at kissing in public and was trying to make up for her irritation.

“I can do it.” Judy dashed up the steps, set down the cane, and began winding the winch. Four pullies to lessen the need for sheer strength, so she should be able to do it. Ha. She rolled it until Dave dangled ten feet off the ground, then stopped.

“Um....Judy? Dr. Barnett?” Dave looked up. “What are you doing? Why did you stop? Or are you performing liftus interruptus -- I’ll have to make note of your preferences --”

“It should be obvious, you...jerk!” Judy yelled at him. “You know, Dave. You were a jerk in college and I don’t really think you’ve changed.”

“WHAT? You knew me in college?” Dave yelled back in disbelief. Is that why she’d looked almost familiar there for a moment when she’d---

“Yes. I took one of your STUPID tests and-“ She broke off as she heard twin gasps and looked inside to see what seemed like a mob of faces staring at her with Irina and Jack wearing shock and recognition. Oh, what the hell. In for a penny, in for a pound as Dave had said. "That damn stupid test of yours with word jumbles. Remember that, you JERK?!"

“Oh my god! You were the blonde girl who almost smacked me, aren’t you? Holy shit!” Dave yelled excitedly. “I never forgot - Oh my god!” He leaned back so far to look at her face that he almost fell off of the sling chair and grabbed for it in a panic. He groaned as he heard Judy’s soft trill of laughter followed by the sound of the door closing. Then he grinned. “She’s waited thirty years to do this and I’ve waited thirty years to-“

“You’re not even going to get close, you...ego maniac!” Judy yelled before actually going into the house this time. Jack had mentioned once that Dave had a tendency to talk to himself and waiting on the deck had paid off. Jack was right - there was no substitute for background research. Now...what had those files on Dave said?

”Where’s Dave?” Jack asked as Judy slammed the deck door with a loud bang. He looked onto the deck and saw no one. “Did you-“

“I left him dangling.” Judy sniffed and tilted her nose up. She then spoiled her attempt at pretension by looking into Irina’s surprised face and giggling. “That felt good.”

“In my experience men feel better and are more useful when they’re not dangling,” Irina quipped. At the look of shock on Sydney and Susan’s faces, the two older women began laughing together. Irina pulled Judy away to convince her to stay for the party, urging her to stay to torture Dave some more.

Jack looked out the window and seeing nothing, went onto the deck, immediately hearing Dave’s laughter coming from below. He leaned over the railing, his wine glass held loosely in his hand, and called out. “Hey, Dave.”

“Yeah?” Dave looked out at the ocean and swung his good leg back and forth. “Hey, this makes a pretty good swing.” Hmm. There were some real possibilities in this sling he’d have to investigate after this house belonged to him. Hmm, hmm. It would have to be dark, of course, given Judy’s shyness in public, but...maybe at dawn? No, there were joggers at that hour. Well, night would be fine. He could compromise. If he ever got out of the damn swing, that is. “Hey, Jack, are you -“

“This is pathetic.” Jack grinned. "Do you know why?"

“I know. Don’t say it--” Dave groaned.

“Prepositions and men should never dangle.”

TBC at Chapter 2013: Part 1