Page 17 of Compelling Urges

Cooper took in his friend’s obvious stress level and said, “From the looks of things, she’s pretty out of it right now. My guess is she’ll nap for a while. Let’s all go outside where we won’t wake her up, and you can tell us exactly how you know her and what happened, okay?”

∞∞∞

So, sitting in his favorite outdoor chair, Bodhi launched into a tale of guile and deceit.

“I was working way too hard and too many hours, and something had to give. I was starting to worry that my judgment was compromised by lack of sleep. So, one afternoon, when a couple of people in the office suggested we knock off at a normal time and go to a pub, I agreed to go along. They were good people and needed a break by then as badly as I did, so at around seven that evening, we headed out.”

Cooper snorted and asked, “You all called that an early quitting time?”

Bodhi nodded seriously. “Yeah. So anyway, the pub was crawling with people, and it was loud in there. We were all laughing, drinking our beers, and relaxing at last. I was telling them about what it was like learning to surf, and I noticed this woman a couple of tables over kept looking at me. She was definitely beautiful, but not my type.” Bodhi looked at Ivy and said pointedly, “I prefer curvy little brunettes any day over skinny blondes. I always want to tell them to go eat something.” He gave a rueful smile. “Anyway, you can guess—that was Blair. About three more beers and maybe an hour later, she came over to me and mentioned she was attracted to my American accent. She’s from Arizona I think, but she’d been living in London with her aunt or some shit for a while. I’m still not sure why she stayed in London, because she didn’t seem to be going to school and she didn’t have a job. Maybe Arizona threw her out.” He smiled ruefully at his dumb joke.

“I didn’t want to be impolite, so we talked. It was flattering to have a beautiful woman hanging on every word I said, so when she asked if I’d like to get out of there, I said okay.” He looked at them imploringly. “Please understand that I hadn’t gotten laid in forever, so…” He paused for effect. “She couldn’t take me back to her aunt’s place, so we headed to my flat. It wasn’t very far away.”

Bodhi suddenly stood and said, “I want some water. Anyone else?” When they both nodded, he hurried into the kitchen and back out again with chilled bottles for everyone. He resumed his story.

“We got to my place, and, in retrospect, she probably seemed a little more impressed with it than was necessary. I mean, it’s a nice place, but she looked like she came from money judging from the way she dressed. It shouldn’t have been all that amazing to her.” He sighed. “Anyway, she asked for the ‘powder room’—who calls it that anyway? She took off to ‘freshen up,’ and I headed to my bedroom to get out of my suit. I was so sick of wearing a jacket and tie. You have to remember I hadn’t eaten anything substantial other than a couple handfuls of bar nuts. The pub had pickled eggs too, but—you know… gross.” He made a disgusted face. “Anyway, I’d been drinking for hours by then, so when I sat down on the bed to take off my shoes, the last thing I remember about the night was falling backward onto the bed. When my alarm went off the next morning at 5:30, I was in bed, naked as the day I was born, and Blair was in bed with me—also stark naked and sound asleep. So… it’s possible that something happened between us. I have a vague recollection of some kissing, and that’s it.”

“So, what you’re saying,” Ivy clarified, “is that there was no evidence of a used condom? That would have been a good indication, but the absence of it could be really good or really bad.”

"That’s exactly what I’m saying. And, for the record, I got myself tested a while after this happened and, as I told you,” he looked at Ivy, “I’m clean.” Bodhi guzzled some water, letting them absorb the information for a moment. “Anyway, I got ready for work really quietly, thinking I’d avoid an uncomfortable encounter with her because, as both of you are well aware, I can be a complete chickenshit when it comes to stuff like that. Finally, I woke her up and asked her to get dressed. I let her know I’d called a car for her, and she had fifteen minutes to get her clothes on and head downstairs. I thanked her for the evening and explained that I had to get to the office right away. I figured I’d get something to eat on the way, and I sure as shit didn’t want to have a breakfast date with her.”

“How did she react to your brush-off?” Ivy asked. It sounded like a recipe for disaster to her.

“She was polite and friendly. Didn’t seem at the time to be fazed by it, though she did try to kiss me goodbye. I wasn’t having it, and that perturbed her. I mostly just wanted to get away from her.” He shivered a little in the warm summer air. “She gave off the weirdest vibe that morning. In retrospect, it was probably insanity, but I just thought she might be hung-over and sleepy. Then too, there was the smell of her perfume. I hadn’t noticed it the night before with all of the people crowded in the pub, but it was so strong and intense, and I had to stop myself from gagging like three times. Maybe she sprayed more on when she crawled into my bed… I don’t know.”

Ivy nodded understandingly. That perfumewasgross. Then a thought struck her. “Why didn’t she tell you she was pregnant before this? It seems pretty convenient, don’t you think?” Before Bodhi could answer, she continued, “And when exactly did you meet her? Could they really determine the sex of the baby at this point? This sounds pretty fishy to me. Sorry, Bodhi. Go on with your story.”

“I was pretty tired at work that day, so I cut out way earlier than usual. I actually left at five o’clock and headed home because I needed a solid meal and a good night’s sleep so badly. But when I got home, it was to find that Blair not only hadn’t left—she’d moved in.”

Cooper and Ivy’s jaws dropped. “Okay, so she really is nuts,” Cooper muttered. “What did you do?”

“I called the building manager and gave him hell for allowing her back in, then I called the police who said they were not going to come and move her out and not to call them unless she actually broke in or became violent. They suggested that I needed to be more discriminating with my overnight guests in the future.” He gave a sour look and continued, “Finally, I tried a different tactic and asked Blair politely to go out to have some dinner with me. She seemed happy about that but once we got to the restaurant, I ditched her and beat it back to my place. I dumped all of her shit out in the hall and told the super to come and get it and take it to the lobby. That seemed to work, and I thought I’d seen the last of her.”

“I’m guessing you were incorrect,” observed Cooper.

“You would be right.”

Movement at the back window caught Ivy’s attention and she tapped Bodhi’s foot lightly with hers. He followed her gaze and muttered, “Aw, fuck.”

Blair stood staring out at them. She composed her angry look into one of placid acceptance and wandered out toward them with a bottle of water in her hand. She gracefully lowered herself into the fourth chair and cracked open the top. Fixing Cooper with an annoyed stare, she asked, “Why didn’t you bring me any water when I told you I was so parched?” Turning to Bodhi, she observed, “You really ought to keep company with a better sort of people, darling. These two have been unspeakably rude.”

Ignoring her insult, Cooper turned to Ivy and asked, “How would you like to join me over at my parents’ place? They’ve been trying to get us over there forever. I think Bodhi and Blair need some time to sort things out, and this is a prime opportunity.”

He raised his eyebrows at Ivy who popped up out of her chair and answered, “Great idea. I’ll just go run and change quickly.” She gave Bodhi a look that said she was mildly sorry and left the patio.

Bodhi immediately looked panicked.Left alone with Blair? Now what? Then he gave Blair a long, skeptical look. “How come you don’t look pregnant, Blair?”

Her entire countenance went rigid, but she answered in a flowery soft voice, “Silly man. It takes time to show. Lots of women don’t even have a pooch until around four months, so of course I’m not showing yet.” She gave him a saccharine smile.

After no one spoke to Blair for a few minutes, she started breathing heavily and clutched her tummy with a dramatic sigh. Putting her other hand over her mouth, she groaned through her fingers, “Pardon me, darling. I’m going to be sick again.” She rose and sauntered back into the house while the two men watched her retreat in silence.

Chapter 15

Ivy took a quick, fortifying shower and rushed out of the en suite master bathroom, planning to get dressed and out of the house in a hurry. Nearly jumping out of her skin, she shrieked, “What the hell are you doing in here?”

Blair sat on the foot of the bed staring at Ivy’s naked body with a scornful, assessing expression. “Really, dear. I think you’ve been eating too many tacos lately.”

“Get the fuck out of my bedroom!” Ivy scooted into the closet and grabbed for something to put on. She yanked on underwear and then a skirt and top in record time. Exiting the closet, she realized Blair hadn’t moved a muscle.

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