His voice grew softer. “I know what the man on the street would say, that I hit it lucky when an older woman, a looker like Marguerite, took me on as her lover.” He shook his head. “Maybe for some other guy, but I was already damaged goods. Growler resented me from day one, and the kids at school had all been warned by their parents to steer clear of me.”
Of course, when adolescence hit and he suddenly stood a full head taller than the rest of the seventh grade, the coaches came a-courting. Sports had served as an outlet for his anger and ensured him passing his courses, but didn’t help him much socially. He established casual friendships with a few of the guys on the team, but no decent girl wanted to be seen with him, whether he was on the team or not. And he wasn’t interested in the other kind.
No, he hadn’t hit it lucky with Marguerite Shelton. He wouldn’t wish her on anyone.
“I was no more ready for sex than you were back then, at least not the sort of sex Marguerite introduced me to.” He reached for Laurel’s hand. “I was just sixteen. I didn’t belong in the big time. Oh sure, I’d had some experience with the girls who hung around the tavern, but they were amateurs compared to Marguerite. I should have been stealing kisses in parked cars, trying to get inside my date’s bra, not functioning as Marguerite Shelton’s prize stud. That woman had me so well trained I could have won a gold medal at the Indoor Olympics.”
His mouth tightened to a bitter line. “She had total control over me—I couldn’t escape. I felt dirty—used—but I was addicted. I couldn’t break it off. If Nyquist hadn’t busted us, I might still be swinging myself over her fence three times a week for a fix.”
“I’m so sorry, Jase.” Laurel leaned her head against his shoulder, then stepped to the side, out of his arms. Standing naked in a side window was one thing, but having sex in the window was another. “Let’s go down and have some lunch first. I’m starving.”
“Well, now I know how I rate with you.” He pulled up his slacks and shrugged his shirt on, not bothering to button it. “One step below pizza.”
Laurel drew on a light summer robe, and the two of them grandly descended the elaborately carved staircase, arm in arm.
Since there wasn’t much left over from last night’s dinner, they made themselves peanut butter sandwiches and washed them down with a pitcher of iced tea. Jase was surprised at how bare Laurel’s pantry was. Even for just one person, she should keep up her supplies better. And the kitchen seemed to be in retro mode, the counter occupied by a few bins and a disheartened-looking microwave. He spotted a dishwasher under the counter next to the sink, but its controls seemed strangely askew.
“It’s broken,” Laurel explained airily, following the direction of his glance. “I haven’t had the time to get it fixed.” The heck she was going to let him know how dire her circumstances were.
He rose from the table to drop their paper plates and cups in the trash can. “We’ll have to do last night’s dishes by hand, then.”
Her eyes went wide with shock. “The dishes—I totally forgot about them!” The dining room had been closed for so long that she hadn’t given it a thought. Good grief—the mess might have stayed there until the house sold if Jase had left last night like he’d planned.
She hurried to the dining room to look the situation over, but no good fairy had cleaned up the table overnight. Everything was exactly as they had left it. And even though the drapes were closed and the air conditioner was still chugging away like a trouper, the room was beginning to heat up.
She sighed. If it was this hot at noon, the afternoon would be a real scorcher, maybe up to a hundred ten. Usually she just toughed it out, but today she’d have to turn on all the air conditioners if she wanted Jase to be even moderately comfortable. It would send her electric bill into the stratosphere, but she’d rather have her utilities turned off than let Jase know how broke she was.
He came in behind her and started stacking plates. “You go back to the kitchen and start running the water while I bring everything in. I’ve got plenty of experience in this area. Used to moonlight in a restaurant for my supper.”
She gathered the silver and returned to the kitchen to turn on the hot water. Jase arrived with the plates, cups, and saucers, setting them down next to her, then went back for more. Thirty minutes later, everything was washed, dried, and returned to the china cabinet.
Laurel gave him a coquettish glance. “You’re very handy to have around.”
He grinned at her. “Maybe you should keep me.”
Her heart fluttered. Was he sincere? Or was it as meaningless as saying “I love you” after they’d had sex?
While she tucked away the protective pads in the bottom drawer of the buffet, Jase took the linens to soak. He came back from the laundry room with a light sheen of perspiration on his face.
“Whew. That place is hot!”
“There’s no window.”
“Have you ever considered central air?”
“Mama and Daddy were going to put AC in a couple of years ago, but it didn’t work out.” Let him make whatever he wanted to out of that.
He nodded. “It’d cost a bundle with a house this big. Might as well let the next owner do it.”