One & Two
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“ Ninety pounds of cougar are tougher than a hundred and eighty pounds of Saint Bernard , it so happens .” Tanya laughed , “ You ’ re no saint and too old for me to be called a cougar .” He grinned , “ You are older than me .” “ No . Six months doesn ’ t count ,” she said , as their waiter appeared and took drink orders .
“ How was school today ?” he asked . “ I volunteered your services for the Halloween party this year .” Eddie rolled his eyes . “ Oh boy ! Do I get to mind the “ duck pond ” or the “ bobbing for apples ” booth ?” “ Actually , they hinted at doing a haunted house ". Tanya knew that the mere mention of haunted house , Eddie was in . " My junior high kids don ’ t get to have the crap scared out of them like the high school kids , who can drive , are allowed .” “ Now that sounds like fun ,” he said , as their drinks arrived . Tanya could see the thoughts brewing behind his baby blues . He sipped from the tall , frosty glass . The frothy beer left a white mustache , which he quickly licked away .
“ Have they started planning yet ?” Eddie asked , excitement began to creep into his voice . “ No . It was just something they tossed around , but had no idea where to begin .” The waiter returned to explain the specials of the day and take their order . Eddie was soon lost in thought . Eddie was one of those people who seemed to need noise and activity to feel alive . Motion and discord became an aura that he immersed himself fully . Tanya enjoyed the silence .
The food arrived and Eddie dove into his steak . After devouring his dinner , he pushed the plate away , sat back and watched Tanya eat . She placed the last morsel of the petite filet mignon in her mouth , dabbed her lips with the white , linen napkin and placed her knife and fork on the empty plate . “ I have some vacation time ,” he said , thoughtfully .
“ I don ’ t think I heard you correctly . Did you just offer to burn some of your precious vacation time to help with our Halloween party ?” surprise filled her voice . “ I have some ideas .” “ No , Eddie . They won ’ t let you take the kids for a joy ride .” Tanya teased . “ Ouch ! Waiter , please kindly remove the steak knife from my back .” Eddie laughed and fell over dramatically on the booth seat . “ Are you done ?” “ Eating or acting ?” “ Both ,” she said .
Eddie gestured for the check . The waiter placed the black folder on the table . Eddie glanced at the bill and tossed some cash inside . “ Come on . Let ’ s go make out in the parking lot ,” he smiled . That statement would have been cute if she did not know him so well . The last time she said , “ Yeah , sure .” What started out as playful necking almost got them arrested in the parking lot . If the weather had not turned cold and the windows been so fogged , the cop who asked them to take it to a motel , probably would have hauled their butts to jail . Eddie still knew how to push all the right buttons , because that incident happened just after last Christmas .
They left the table . “ We are going to have to wait until we get home ,” she said . Eddie turned to look into her eyes and see if she was serious . “ All right ! Sounds like a yes to me .” he said , noticing the sparkle in her eyes . “ Only because you make me so damned hot ,” she whispered . “ Can you say that a little louder ? I want everyone in this place to be jealous ,” he said , as they headed for the door . “ Okay , but only because you make me so damn horny !” she announced as he held the door for her . The startled look on his face was worth the embarrassment she felt as they ran laughing toward the parked truck .