LUISA: We do. Why?
ME: Wishing I could come see you, but not lookin’ to get shot, babe.
LUISA: I know how to turn it off. Will you come?
ME: It’s probably insanity. I don’t want to get you into trouble.
LUISA: Please come. Park your bike on the north access road and walk in. I’ll meet you at the pool house. It’s unlocked.
ME: Pool house, huh? Fancy. You sure about this, babe?
LUISA: Yes. How soon can you be here?
ME: Give me fifteen minutes.
LUISA: I’ll be waiting for you.
I grin and shove the phone in my pocket, then grind my cigarette under my boot.
Bagger strolls outside just as I’m throwing my leg over the seat of my bike.
“Where’re you goin’, brother?”
“For a ride.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Not this time. Goin’ to get laid.”
“Oh,” he replies with a chuckle. “Have fun.”
“Plan to. See ya.”
“Treat her with respect, young man,” he teases in the voice of a woman and shakes his finger at me. “Pa and me will leave the light on for you.”
I flip him off and pull out.
Fifteen minutes later, I coast to a stop on the dirt road on the far side of the pecan groves. Leaving my bike, I head up the path between the trees toward the back of the house.
I can see the blue glow of the pool lights as I get closer and spot the dark, shadowy structure that must be the pool house.
I pause on the side, scanning the house and area, but see no one. Moving around the corner, I find the sliding glass door unlocked, and I slip inside.
The place is much larger than I expected, and the floor to ceiling curtains are drawn closed across the expanse of glass that faces the pool.
“Luisa,” I whisper.
A shadow moves near what looks to be a sofa. A second later, her arms wrap around my waist. She’s wearing a gauzy white nightgown that flows to her ankles.
“You came,” she whispers, her head against my chest.
I stroke her hair and press a kiss to the crown of her head. “Said I would, didn’t I?”
Gathering her face in my palms, I tip her head , and my mouth finds hers. It’s like we’ve been parted for much longer than the three days it’s actually been since I took her virginity.
I hope she’s had time for the soreness to go away, because I want to show her tonight how pleasurable sex can be without the pain she experienced last time.
I kiss her until kissing isn’t enough. Breaking off, I glance around the place and see the shadowy shape of a bar top across the back wall with several bar stools. Shrugging out of my cut, I hang it over the back of one of them.
