The Perfect Weapon: Chapter 2013: Part 1 cont'd and concluded
Chapter 2013: Part 1 cont’d and concluded
“So, Jude. I got the slightest little impression, just a hint or a suggestion, that you um like Dave?” Susan teased.
“I like his smile lines,” Judy answered.
“His smile lines?” Susan brushed her bangs aside. “His smile lines? You’re focusing on that when the guy is obviously interested, he’s attracted and damn it - no doubt, reallllly eager after so long in captivity-“
“Susan!” Judy gasped.
“Oh, stop it, Judy. You’re not fooling me anymore.”
“Stop it yourself. This is most inappropriate...” Judy hissed, as she noted the arrival of several colleagues. “And you have guests-“
“In a minute. Weiss will greet them.” Susan nodded as Weiss did just that. “See? I like a reliable man. And I get the feeling that you’re going to be lucky and find a reliable man after that last comment...” Susan stopped to laugh at Judy’s dismayed face and decided to take pity on her. “So...You like his smile lines? Why? Oh, you mean the idea that our face will come to reveal our character, that we get the face we deserve?”
“Yes. The fact that even with years of imprisonment, his wrinkles are smile lines...” Judy shook her head. “If I didn’t know so much about him from reading his files and Jack’s descriptions, those smile lines tell me almost everything I need to know.”
“Okaaay. Must be a generational thing. But...” Susan smiled. “Didn’t you notice? He’s almost as handsome as Jack.”
“Do tell me you’re completely over your crush on him,” Judy implored.
“Of course. But I can appreciate him...like a fine wine or painting, can’t I? You know, like that dayum photo...” Susan winked, then bent toward Judy. “So are you ever going to give that to Irina?”
Judy coughed. “We’ll see. There is that other photograph to consider as well, remember.”
Susan nodded, cognizant of Judy’s worry about the upcoming game plan. “Tonight’s a party, stop worrying. About everything, including my former crush on Jack. Besides, he’s high maintenance. Weiss is...more tractable. Trainable. In fact, tonight I’m going to lead him-“
“Too much information, Susan!” Judy laughed. “I don’t want to hear any more of your dog versus men theories when it comes to poor Weiss. Write a book.”
Susan winked. “Poor Weiss likes it. And how do you think I’m doing my research for that book?”
“You like black, don’t you?” Irina touched her clothing, then the three-diamond necklace around her neck. “Do you remember that dress I wore the night of the necklace? I should...”
“You should take off the damn dress and just wear the necklace and-“
“You know, I don’t think so.” Irina smiled and slid down Jack’s legs before jumping to her feet. Once again, she darted away from him. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a dress she’d purchased specifically to torture him. She held it up in front of the remains of the sunlight pouring through the windows and through the loose weave of the knit dress. “Just imagine if I didn’t wear underwear with this dress - like that night?”
Jack jumped to his feet and glared at her. He pointed at the dress she held, then lunged forward to grab it and toss it aside. ”You’re not wearing anything like that dress. And you are wearing underwear-“
Irina shivered happily. She loved it when he got demanding. “I can do whatever I want-“ She argued, planting her hands on her hips.
Jack slid his hands through the circles created by her arms and hauled her up against him. “No, you can’t...Actually, of course you can. You can do whatever you want. As long as...” He trailed his hands around her waist, circling her, before lifting them to her breasts and pinched her nipples until she arched against him. “As long as you’re prepared for the consequences.”
“Which are?” Irina asked archly, staring down at Jack’s hand, plucking at her needy nipple. “I need to fully understand the potential effects of my actions before I can make a decision, don’t I?” Wait, where was his other hand? Irina looked down, seeing his hand disappear around her waist, before settling on her butt. She pressed back against his large hand, wishing he would move it. Just...move it. Didn’t he remember that she was bare under that dress?
“Consequences? Effects? Let me think. I have to consider the matter carefully, how you might have to be punished for wearing a dress like that in public.” Jack bent his head and nibbled at Irina’s neck, at the spot under her ear that...yesss. She moaned. He dropped his hand to play with the hem of her dress, then brushed his fingertips along her thigh, back and forth, feeling the goosebumps rise under his touch. He waited, then yesss again, she was holding her breath. He slid his hand up higher, pressing a little more firmly as he caressed her leg, the moved his hand up higher as he spoke. ”I might have to slide my hand up the back of your thigh, over your nice little ass and then...”
“And then?” Irina asked huskily as Jack’s hand pushed her legs apart and she waited, tensing, waiting.
“And then my finger might slide right into your hot little honey pot...” Jack teased, circling her soft wetness with his fingertip. “Right there, isn’t it? So warm and wet, my finger might slide right in. So slick, it would be so easy. No one would know--”
“At the party?” Irina whispered in surprise. She held onto Jack’s arm as she felt her brain begin to overheat at the images he was creating with his words. Good god, it had always been so easy to fall under the spell he could create. She...She would have to do that for him soon. When she could think again. “With other people around?”
Jack smiled and thought, ‘gotcha!’ She’d always liked that little game - the threat of discovery, the pretense of exposure. Danger and safety in one package. He deepened his voice. “Yes, right there. Imagine that...my finger sliding in and out of you, rubbing up against that hard little point while your nipples get tighter and tighter and you couldn’t do anything for fear of making a scene. You’d have to pretend that nothing was happening, but with every stroke you’re getting closer and closer...”
“Would I?”
“Yes, like this...” Jack pushed back from her and began to stroke his own hardness. When her eyes started to glaze over, he gave her a little push in the direction of the closet. “Go on. Show me more clothes. I can occupy myself while you feel compelled to punish me with a fashion show.”
“Judy?” Dave asked as he stumped on his crutches into the living room, now growing more crowded as other guests of Susan’s arrived. He smiled as Judy looked up at him. When in doubt, notice and compliment a woman on her appearance. Surely, that hadn’t changed. “I didn’t mention it before, but you changed? How--”
“Yes. The Bobsey Twins made sure to steal my change of clothes from my office. I...It’s not really appropriate for a party,” Judy confided, then wanted to groan. As if he would care. Men never did. But there was something about him that made her want to tell him- Aha! That was why this man was dangerous. That and the fact that she liked to watch his mouth and --
“You look wonderful,” Dave said appreciatively. The outfit wasn’t fancy, but he could see her shape in it. He could see her. Most importantly, he could see her face which was so expressive he wondered how she restrained herself in a session.
“It’s just jeans, a shirt and sandals.” Judy wrinkled up her nose, surprised at the approval. Dave had to know better than to give a woman an undeserved compliment; the man was just too experienced. Then again, he had been out of circulation for a while, as Susan had reminded her. Hmm. That did have definite possibilities.
“But...” Dave shook his head and looked her up and down. He grinned at what he saw. Painted toenails. Toes. With nail polish. How long had it been since he’d seen a woman’s toes? Her hair - her blonde hair was uncovered, her face was visible, her eyes weren’t hidden behind a grill, and he could see skin. Skin! “You have no idea how wonderful it is to see women after all those years of seeing dark blobs of fabric moving across the sands like walking shrouds of death.”
Judy nodded thoughtfully, then rolled her eyes as Dave’s eyes once again dropped down. She looked down self-consciously, wondering if he could see the white lace of her bra through her white shirt. She glanced up and saw the gleam in his eyes. Yes, he could. “I see.”
Dave colored slightly. “Did I...offend you? I apologize. I didn’t mean to imply...”
“That you like to look at women?” Judy smiled at his honest discomfiture. He was charming. A jerk, but still charming. “Well, I hope so or that kiss you gave me was quite the performance.”
“Did it feel like a performance?” Dave smiled as he looked at Judy’s mouth.
“I don’t know...” Judy teased. “Given how long you’ve been without...female companionship, perhaps you would have been glad to kiss anyone- Hmm. There’s an idea for a lab experiment. Take a male rat out of the community-“
“Wait. You have rats? In a lab?” Dave asked eagerly, his eyes alight with interest.
Judy looked at him in surprise and began to laugh, surprising them both. He was looking at her with as much excitement now as he had after they’d kissed. Wow. Get that man in a lab and who knows what might happen. She could wear a lab coat and he could wear...
Irina licked her lips as Jack leaned back on the bed and spread his legs. Running his hands up his thighs until he reached his hardness, he raised an eyebrow as he wrapped his hand around himse himself. “Are you waiting for fashion inspiration?”
Irina cleared her throat and avoided laughing as she thought of that little accessory item she’d given Susan. “No, actually, I’m looking for my camera...”
“Oh no, you’re not!” Jack chuckled huskily as the heat in her eyes warmed him in ways no one else ever had. “You’re looking for a way to get what you want.”
“Oh, am I? Maybe I want my pictures - the ones you promised I could take someday. Or maybe you are right--”
“Aha! You admit it!” Jack reached for her.
“I admit I know what I want. Which is to torture you a little more!” Irina tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked toward the closet, pausing for one last look back at Jack, who was groaning melodramatically, making her smile and.... Damn him. He was sitting there grinning, knowing she was going to look over her shoulder and see.... Mmm. She licked her lips, then turned away once again. Humph. He really needed to be shown his place. Now, what could she wear that would push him over the edge? Irina mused as she quickly pushed hangers aside in a hurried rush.
Judy took a quick sip of her drink, then a second as she realized that several of Susan’s friends and a few of her colleagues were staring at her with interest. She clenched her hand around her drink. She was going to embarrass herself. No. She had already embarrassed herself, she knew, and sniped, “I suppose you would like lab rats, given that you tend to think of everyone as your little science experiments, don’t you?”
“What?” Dave blinked. What was going on? He peered intently at her, noting the flush on her cheeks, the tight grip of her hand on the glass, the way her eyes were darting around...She was embarrassed and striking out. Hmm. Well, better aggressive than passive, he decided. Aggressive was more fun. In many more ways. “I think of everyone as lab rats?”
“Yes. Aren’t you the most manipulative man alive-“ Judy poked her finger at him, pulling back at the last minute.
Dave shrugged and smiled. If she thought picking a fight with him was going to make him back off, she was sadly mistaken. Or maybe she was simply planning on enjoying the argument. He knew he would if the quick flashing of her eyes in anger was any indication. He squeezed the grips of his crutches to prevent himself from grabbing her. In lieu of that, he’d use his mouth for something else. Annoying the crap out of her. “Do I manipulate? If so, it’s only for their own good, when I know better, which is so often, after all-“
“Oh really!” Judy retorted in a loud voice, drawing unwanted attention. “So says the man who thinks he can intervene in my patient therapy protocols.”
Dave looked down at the woman before him. “Which patient this time?” he asked innocently.
“Sydney!” Judy exclaimed impatiently. Why the hell was he playing dumb? “Why, is there some other patient of mine you’re also...messing with besides her and Sark?”
“Messing with? Is that some new form of therapeutic language I need to learn?” Dave congratulated himself - she was really upset and was breathing heavily, causing her breasts to push against that white shirt and allowing him a better glimpse of the lace of her bra. He sighed. He was so pathetic. But it was so much fun. “What’s another one? Oh wait, I know. When a patient tells you about a traumatic experience, the therapist responds, ‘Wow, that sucks.’”
Judy curled her hand into a fist to keep from grabbing him and...No. To keep herself from hitting him. Yeah, right. She’d like to hit him, right on that butt of his that... Ahem. “Yeah, that works. Along with the phrase, “Are you out of your freaking mind?’”
“You were taking too long,” Dave said, shrugging carelessly as he searched for something else appropriately inflammatory to say. “And it was one of those reachable moments. Should I have ignored it to conform to some endless plan of yours, filed in triplicate with the proper authorities and signed in black ink?”
“It could have backfired and ruined all my hard work---”
“It didn’t. You’re just territorial. Which is really quite unprofessional--” Dave stopped, unable to keep himself from grinning. He saw the moment Judy realized he’d been deliberately playing her and took a step forward, eager to see what she’d do next, almost losing his balance.
“And you’re....You’re still a jerk!” Judy sniffed and turned on her heel and walked away. She forced herself to not look back. He had to figure out that it was his turn to follow.
“What the hell is taking so long to torture me....” Jack stopped in mid-stride and planted both hands on the doorframe to the walk-in closet.
“Why? Wasn’t it worth the wait?” Irina purred as she turned slowly, enjoying the intense focus he was directing on her. He made her feel more, want more, need more with just one look than anyone else in her life. Had she run, she wondered sometimes, because she was afraid of that need and the power within? She smoothed her hands down the exposed skin of her torso and hips, then slid her fingertips inside the lace edge of the thigh-high stockings, shifting her weight on her black high heels.
“Huh?” Jack blinked as he took in the sight of his wife standing before him, nude except for stockings and high heels. Damn, was there going to be a test on them? He blinked again as she snapped the elastic tops against her thighs.
“Well, do you like this outfit?” Irina turned in a circle before facing her husband again. Yes, he did like this outfit, she knew as her eyes dropped down his body. His nude body. Why the hell was he six feet away? How to solve this problem?
Jack smiled slowly, dropped his hands and leaned against the door frame. “Can’t you tell?” he asked in a deep voice as he lifted his hardness in one hand in her direction.
“I think you need to inspect this possible choice from a closer vantage point.” Irina beckoned him closer with a crooked finger.
“Do I?” Jack moved forward. He could have no more resisted the allure of the nearly-nude woman before him than any man in the history of time had ever been able to withstand the call of the woman he wanted.
“So tell me...would this work for the party or should I wear a stiletto heel?” Irina extended her leg and pointed her toe in Jack’s direction.
“Excuse me?” Jack licked his lips as he imagined slowly pulling that stocking off her long legs with his teeth. Or maybe not. Maybe he’d leave them on. He did like those heels; he’d always liked it when she wore heels.
“For the party? This outfit. It’s perfect in its simplicity, isn’t it?” Irina smiled as innocently as she could manage up at Jack. Seeing the bemused desire on his face, she exulted in her choice. A perfect weapon, indeed. “Skin and black and lace. Oh and high heels, too. Your favorite combination, isn’t it? So, why not wear it to the party?”
“I don’t think so,” Jack growled, the way he knew she wanted him to. He turned away, hiding his smile at her confusion.
Slam
He slammed the closet door and grabbed Irina by the waist.
“Oh, does this look only work in parking garages?” Irina taunted, then gasped as Jack lifted her up and pushed her against the closet door.
“Vaughn, do me a favor?” Weiss asked as he walked up next to Vaughn, staring out at the setting sun to the west.
“Yeah, what?”
“Wipe that damn hang dog look off of your face and either have a good time at the party or leave. I understand, after all, that you have some packing to do.”
“How did you-“ Vaughn rolled his eyes. “Why do I ask?”
“Why bother wasting time asking that question when you should be asking yourself how to fix this mess.”
“I could use some sympathy from a friend, you know.”
“Hmm. I suppose you could...” Weiss mused as he watched Dave and Judy watch each other. “But I think you could benefit more from some advice. Or rather an observation. You never had to chase Sydney, you never had to pursue her. You never had to work at having her in your life. She just dropped in, this crazy red wig girl needing a dentist and then...there she was.”
Weiss nodded. Had Sydney made it too easy? Was that what Irina or Susan or even Judy would advise? Hell, had they advised it? Was that why Sydney was making herself scarce tonight? And Vaughn looked like he'd lost something important? Ha. Good plan. He bit back a grin. If Vaughn got his head out of his ass, he might find himself chasing his tail with the game Sydney might put into play. She was Irina and Jack’s daughter after all. He smiled tauntingly at Vaughn, “You’ve had it too easy, I think.”
“Not yet!” Irina protested, pushing back against Jack’s shoulders.
“Did you say no?!” Jack growled, even as he stepped back slightly. “Because if so, there’s a lovely English word I could use, you know how descriptive English slang is-“
“Oh...shove it!” Irina laughed, pleased that she had remembered that favorite phrase of Susan’s.
Jack pushed his hardness into her lower abdomen, sliding down to the juncture of her legs. “Honey, shoving it is what I’ve been trying to do now for the last-“
Irina smiled and pushed back until Jack put her down on her feet. “You have to pass the test first.”
“Test! The time, honey, the time...” Jack protested, even as a smile spread across his face. They were late even for their own pattern for the party.
“True. So in the interests of saving time, assume the position.” Irina pointed at the floor. Jack immediately sat down on the floor and held his hand out to her.
“That was easy...” Irina smiled as she planted one foot on either side of Jack’s hips and stared down at him. He wasn’t listening to a word she was saying, she knew, given the avid hunger in his eyes as he stared slowly and intently from the black high heels on her feet and up the black stockings encasing her legs. Maybe she’d forget about the test for now.
“You know I can’t resist you,” Jack gasped as Irina lowered herself on top of him. He caressed the silk-clad length of her legs, pulling her thighs tight against his hips.
“Liar. You did in Panama...” Irina lifted her hips up, sighing as Jack’s hands wrapped around the tops of her thighs, trying to push her back down. “I should punish you for that, you realize...ah!” Irina let out a small scream as Jack arched his hips and pushed up inside her.
“I wasn’t resisting you. I was resisting a stranger I didn’t know.” Jack thrust up into her, groaning as she met every movement with a reaction and then an action of her own that in unison turned her center into a molten heat that fired him from within.
“But you know me, you want me, don’t you?” Irina whispered, as she moved her body against his, watching his face, feeling tension in his biceps as she squeezed them, the shift of his thigh muscles under her buttocks as he raised his knees and sent her tumbling onto his chest. “You would chase me, wouldn’t you? You’d bring me home even if you had to chase me--” Irina lowered her mouth to his and began nibbling on his lower lip, teasing him, trying not to scream as his fingers found just the right spot there and yes...there, sending her pulse racing away, running out of control, only to find its way back to the hard beat under his fingers on wet hidden warmth and on the soft fullness of her breast as his thumb lay against her heart.
“To the ends of the earth...” Jack gasped as she sank her teeth into his lower lip. His tongue darted out to lick the small hurt before her tongue took over, licking and kissing. He slid one hand into her hair, to hold her in place, on him, as he lost and found himself, as always in her kiss. “Forever, I would chase you...” He broke off as he felt the shivers begin inside her and spread into him, making him arch under her and pull her down to him, needing her kiss again to anchor him as he lost contact with everything but what sparked to life between them.
“Follow me....” Irina gasped as her body began to clench and as her soft, wet warmth began to pull him deeper into her, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her down against him and opened his mouth, pulling her deeper into him.
“What’s going on?” Susan whispered, as they watched Dave watch Judy and Judy watch Dave in the large expanse of the glass wall, giving occasional, furtive glances over her shoulder as she talked to a colleague.
“The chase game, what else?” Sydney sighed enviously. “They know how to play it, don’t they?”
“Dave’s good. An almost as handsome as your father!” Susan winked at Sydney. “Speaking of which, do you think your parents are ever actually going to make it to this party at their house?”
“Jack...” Irina said, laughing softly as she put a hand on his shirt-covered chest and pushed back. “Don’t kiss me now. You’ll rub off my lipstick.”
“That’s half the point. You know I prefer you without lipstick.” As his head lowered, Jack said, “You can reapply it later. And later still, I’ll kiss it off again.”
“That’s half the point of applying it,” Irina admitted, winding her arms around Jack’s neck.
“Soooo, Judy,” a female colleague began with a nod in Dave’s direction. “That POW who’s the friend of your patients? He’s returned from the dead quite nicely. I wouldn’t have minded giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation-“
“He’s taken,” Judy snapped.
“I see!” The woman laughed. “But he’s...free right now. Unless you’re planning on -“
“I’m going to let him catch me,” Judy admitted. “Soon. I think.”
Dave glanced up as Jack walked up next to him and did a doubletake, almost choking on his drink. “You really need to wipe that look off your face.”
“I have no idea as to what you are referring-“
“What, you were unconscious when your wife ravaged you in your closet?” Dave laughed as Jack’s eyes blinked. “Ha. Direct hit.”
“Very funny. I suppose you’re the little tugboat in Battleship?”
“Lame, Jackie, lame. Just goes to prove that men can’t think and-“
“Shove it.”
Dave lifted his glass to his lips and nodded at Judy. “Yeah, well...I need to talk to you.”
“The boys have a copy of the manual--”
“Shut up. I need...advice. What does she want?”
Jack shrugged. “What do you think she wants?”
“I don’t know! That’s why I’m asking.”
“Ask Irina. She’s a woman.” Jack smiled and held out his hand as his wife approached. He pulled her against him, sliding his hand under her shirt, drawing little circles on her waist that she ignored. She’d wear the chain when it fit into her game plan and not before.
“Irina, you’re a woman. Or so Jack says. What does she want?”
Irina sighed. “It’s the chase game, you dolt.”
“Well, I know that!” Dave protested. “But these days...how far can you push-“
“It’s just like I told you thirty years ago, you moron!” Jack huffed. “I told you to chase after her, call her-“
“I did and she wasn’t interested.” Dave smiled as Judy looked over her shoulder again. She seemed interested now. Maybe he had improved with age or something.
“Maybe if you’d tried a little harder...”
“Oh, it was plen-ty hard-“ Dave wiggled his eyebrows. “And I’d like to try it a little harder-“
“Not with your dick!” Jack smiled into his drink as Irina began to choke on hers.
Sydney covered her mouth with her hand to hide her shocked giggles as she came up behind her father. She would have never imagined laughing tonight, but honestly. She looked at her mother and they both rolled their eyes at the men.
Dave leaned toward Jack. “I’ve been out of the game too long. Jack...”
“Come here,” Jack said and motioned with a tilt of his head and the two men took a few steps away. “It doesn’t change much, you know.”
“I know but...this...she is important. I think.”
“You think?” Jack smirked. “I didn’t know men could think when their-“
“Shut up, asshole. She’s...smart. And snotty. And...She’s a blonde with her own lab rats!”
“Well, then. All requirements have been met. Let’s send out the invitations.” Jack slapped Dave on the shoulder, then had to grab him to keep him from falling over.
Sydney looked from Dave and Jack to Vaughn and Weiss. “Men...” she sighed. “You know both sets are talking about women?”
“They’re talking about sex,” Irina corrected her. “Luckily for me, your father’s one of the few men who does it as well as he talks about it-“
“Stop it!”
“Or rather, it’s best when he talks and does it at the same time-“ Irina broke off as she saw Vaughn shake his head at Weiss and head for the door. Damn it.
“Ohmigod!” Sydney growled, then gasped as Dave approached Judy with a determined look on his face. “Here we go.”
“You know...” Dave touched Judy’s shoulder. “I still cannot believe that it’s you, after all these years.”
“Did you really remember me?” Judy asked, feeling Dave’s gentle touch like a brand on her bare skin.
“Yes. I never forgot. Your anger, your passion that day...” Dave shook his head. “Did you know that was the same day Irina met Jack. Same room, same test.”
“You’re kidding!” Judy exclaimed, then blushed as she felt eyes turn her way. She put her hand on her chest, feeling the erratic, rapid beating of her heart. No man had ever made her pulse race out of control like this man did. Then or now. He surprised her. Then, she had felt mortified at being taken in by the conceit of the test, by...Well, maybe by the fact that she’d spent more time looking at the handsome, smiling graduate student and his friend and then had had to rush through the actual test.
“Judy...” Dave prompted when she stood there quietly, staring at him. He licked his lips as her gaze dropped to his mouth. Holy shit, she was feeling what he was feeling. No wonder she had run so long ago. He slid his hand down to her hand and held onto it. Don’t leave, don’t leave...
“I need to go,” Judy blurted out, turning toward the door.
“Let me walk you out,” Dave said firmly. “Don’t argue, please.”
“Vaughn...” Irina’s soft voice stopped him in the doorway. He turned slowly. Irina nodded and spoke quietly, willing him to hear, for once, just this one time, the truth in her words. “I just want you to listen to me for a moment. I want you to know this.”
“Judy.” Dave took Judy’s hand as they stood next to her car. “As much fun as I’ve had tonight and hope you’ve had...” He paused and waited for confirmation.
Judy gave a small smile. “I might have.”
Dave grinned. He liked the fact that she was going to challenge him.
“Go ahead,” Vaughn agreed. “Why not? Everyone else has given me advice.”
Irina lifted one shoulder dismissively. “I have no interest in giving you advice. I want to tell you a story-“
Vaughn snorted. “I’m a little old for bed time stories-“
“Really? You don’t act that way.” Irina paused while Vaughn glared at her. “Moreover, given that you’ll be sleeping alone tonight, you might prefer this story to the thoughts of regret and loss that will be running through your head.”
“As if you know-“
“Yes, I do know. Shut up and listen.” Irina glared at Vaughn, until he snapped his mouth closed. “I want to tell you about a day I made a decision that affected the rest of my life, the rest of the lives of the people I love.”
“The day you made the decision to leave?”
“No. The day I left, twenty years ago. That day...” Irina rubbed the door jamb and touched the latch on the door, before continuing. “I stopped. I stopped at the back door. Looking at the latch. I stopped.”
“You stopped because....” Vaughn prompted as Irina seemed to retreat into herself.
“Yes, I stopped. Of course I stopped because my instincts, my body, my damn feet were telling me to turn around. But my head - my ever-so-logical mind told me that I remembered that Sydney’s Piggy had fallen to the floor and that I should go back and pick it up. It might get dusty. It was out of place. It belonged on her bed, in her room. In its place.” She stopped and waited.
“Jack and Sydney have mentioned that Laura - you...” Vaughn swallowed as he made the necessary amendment to his words, to his naming of the woman in front of him. “That you were somewhat compulsive about cleanliness and order. So....is what you’re saying that you used that tendency to mask...”
“We all wear masks, don’t we? So I stopped to think about Piggy and a mess, a totally inconsequential mess in light of what chaos and disorder I was about to unleash. I focused on something inappropriate to mask the reality. I know now that in thinking about putting Sydney’s stuffed animal back, I was really thinking of myself and where I belonged. Jack and Judy helped me to understand that. Now. But then I told myself I had a duty, that Jack would understand the game, that he would find someone else or I’d find him later - because later is always infinitely available, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not. If Jack hadn’t been willing to give you a second chance-“ Vaughn broke off as he realized the trap into which he had just walked.
“True. Second chances are rare in this or any life, aren’t they?” Irina asked quickly. “I told myself that life would go on and...everything would be alright and if it wasn’t...” Irina shrugged. “Well, what was my alternative?”
“To tell the truth. Walk away from your past. Walk back into your house, into your home.”
“Hmm. But that required more courage and imagination than I possessed. I heard that door slam and walked away from my future, from a life worth living. I slammed that door on possibilities. I was a coward.”
Slam
Irina nodded and closed the door in Vaughn’s face.
Dave looked at Judy's slim hand held within his much larger one. A triumph, he felt, that she wasn't pulling away yet. “Jack used to joke that ‘that blonde’ as he called her, was the one who got away. I...I never forgot that blonde.”
“Who was me.”
“Yes. I suppose Jack thinks it’s one of those damn-“
“Circles of his?” Judy laughed softly.
“Yes. Exactly. I bet he thinks the fact that ‘that blonde’ ended up being his therapist and hence coming back into our lives is one of those karmic circles of his.” Dave looked down at Judy. “Whether or not it’s karma, I do know that it’s a second chance. And now that I’m older and wiser, I also know that if you have a brain you don’t ignore a second chance.”
Judy was the first to look away. The intensity in Dave’s face was both flattering and discomfiting. She was unsure if any man had ever looked at her with the mix of need and assurance. She was sure, however, that the combination was nearly irresistible and she.... She looked up, smiling slightly as she said lightly, “If you have a brain? So, are you the Scarecrow, then?”
Dave nodded. Judy hadn't let go of his hand but she was backing off. He should give her space. A little, anyway. Let’s see...return to a comfort zone. “Oh, you mean in Irina’s little obsession with the Wizard of Oz?” He shrugged. “I thought you believed that I believed I was the man behind the curtain manipulating people? While, of course, Irina was spending her life trying not only to find her way back home, but to ascertain what home actually was?”
Judy nodded eagerly. “Yes. Exactly.”
Dave looked back over his shoulder at the house, stopping for a moment as he saw Irina and Vaughn at the doorway as he said loudly, “Well, at least Irina’s proven smarter than I thought she was, even if it took her twenty years to figure out where home was. She’s lucky that Jack and Sydney gave her a second chance.”
Realizing that Dave had executed a flawless tripleplay of his own, needling both Vaughn and Irina while drawing her back into the circle he’d wanted to explore earlier, Judy had to smile. The man was good. She’d want him on her team, not playing against her, she knew as she decided to redirect herself into her own doubleplay. “I wanted to speak to you about this game plan. I’m...concerned about the impact on Jack.”
Dave stood up straight and released her hand, recognizing her honest anxiety. “I see. I am somewhat concerned myself.”
“You saw him, you know what he went through last time. I am not convinced that Jack should relive it.”
“I agree.” Dave’s lips tightened. Although he didn’t think it was a bad idea for Irina to see the results, he was less concerned about the positive results than negative ones at the moment. “I don’t want to have to sucker punch him again. Moreover, I’m not sure I’m strong enough to do so right now.”
“But on the other hand, I do see...” Judy sighed. “That there might be some value to Jack showing himself that he can handle it. However, I’m afraid that if he slips for even a moment, he’ll only feel like a failure again.”
“On the other hand, there is no shame in being unable to handle it. Aren’t we all entitled to fall down a time or two?”
Judy nodded. “Absolutely. We’re also entitled to having the people who profess to love us holding us up, catching us when we fall.” She looked from Dave to Irina, slamming the door on Vaughn.
“It’s a test.” Dave looked at Judy speculatively. What test was she going to pull out of her therapist’s bag of tricks? He knew which object he’d pull out of his hat - the one he’d hidden so carefully long ago in files deep within the Archives. Had she found it, this woman Jack had once called indefatigably persistent?
“Of course. As I said to Irina the very first night, she will be tested many times as she travels her path-“
“Her own version of the yellow brick road.”
“Yes. The path she has chosen is life-changing, life-defining and-“
“Those kinds of paths are not smooth, even, and seamless.” Dave nodded and looked down at his leg, then back up. “We are fooled sometimes, seduced by the paths that seem easy - believing that they must be the right way. That the right way must be the easy way. When nothing could be further from the truth.”
Judy sighed in relief. Talking to him was as seductive as kissing him. He...got it. She pressed herself back against the car and away from the temptation he was, as excitement replaced relief. She smiled then hid it as he looked at her carefully. “Must you always interrupt me?”
“Did I?” Dave shook his head. He had seen that smile she had tried to hide. “I’m sorry. My mother would have slapped me upside the head for doing that. I guess I must need to be retrained.” He winked.
“Have you been talking to Susan about her theories about men and dogs?”
Dave smiled. “I’ve heard about it from Weiss. He apparently finds it...intriguing, let’s say.”
“Ugh. TMI, as Sydney would say.” Judy wrinkled her nose.
Dave surprised himself by touching her nose with his fingertip, smoothing out the wrinkles as she gaped at him in surprise. “Oh, I’m sorry again. I just...Well, I keep interrupting you because...Did you ever just feel...excited because you were talking with someone and you felt-“
“I should go,” Judy blurted out. If she stayed any longer, she was going to pull a stunt like Irina told her she’d pulled in that parking garage and drag Dave into the back seat of her car. She grabbed for the handle of her car door and wrenched it open.
Dave touched her arm, sliding his hand around the bare skin of her forearm before snatching it away as if it burned. He brushed his fingertips against the swing of her blonde hair and whispered, ”I’m not going to do anything you don’t want. But also know this - I’ll do anything you do want.” Dave paused. “Think about that.”
Judy’s lips parted. He probably had more ways to do what she wanted than she even knew about wanting. And now she’d be thinking about that fact all night long. Damn him. He was good. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the faint hint of oh-so-male smugness in his eyes. You could not allow a man like this to think he had the upper hand. She slid into her car seat and slammed the door. Rolling down the window, she looked up at him. “That’s...intriguing, Dave. Very. Or it would be if...”
“If...””
“If I weren’t somewhat worried that the first time would last all of thirty seconds. Given what you’ve said about the time span since you last gave a woman what she wanted. So, you might want to make a reacquaintance with your hand, because no woman wants premature ejaculation on hers.”
Dave began to choke. Judy began to drive off. “Judy!” he called out. He was not going to lose this woman again. “Call me!”
Vaughn walked up next to Dave and looked at Judy’s car speeding down the road. “Did you just lose-“
"That was a follow-me move in the game. It wasn't a slamming of the door of possibilities. Dave rolled his eyes. “So, I haven't lost at all. The question is, have you? I notice...” Dave gestured back at the house, noting how Vaughn’s gaze lingered on it. “That Sydney is not peeking out watching you leave. Don’t think that she’s going to be available twenty years later the way Jack was for Irina - she’s not damaged the way Jack was.”
Vaughn’s head snapped back to Dave. Dave, who while obviously caring for Irina was also critical at times. A loving critic, but nonetheless clear-sighted, he had to admit. “Was that a criticism of Irina? Let me ask you this - do you think she’s going to spend the rest of her life trying to make up for what she did-“
“What do you think Jack wants from her?”
Vaughn’s forehead wrinkled as he thought deeply for a long moment while Dave waited quietly. “He doesn’t want her to owe him anything other than her...love, fidelity, constancy, presence,” he finally surmised.
“Very good. Why don’t you ask Sydney what she wants?” Dave asked gently.
“I could...try that,” Vaughn admitted slowly.
TBC at Chapter 2013: Part 2