I was trying not to be pissed off but it was hard.

“I don’t belong to you.”

“I know that and you know that but men like Coxy don’t know that. He acquires things, even humans, especially women. His men don’t work for him because they respect and trust him, they do it because he pays them a lot.”

Okay, that made sense.

My h*ps were against his h*ps and his hands were going up my back, pulling the rest of my body into contact with his.

I ignored it.

“Have you dissuaded him from this war?”

“Not likely.”

“What happens now?”

“I deal with it. You hear from him, see him, you tell me.”

I could do that, that sounded easy.

Lee’s hands made it to my shoulders and my entire torso was pressed against his.

“What time is it?” I asked.

Lee’s head came down and his lips were on my neck.

“Quarter to two,” he said against my skin.

“Ohmigod!” I shouted and tried to pull away but Lee’s arms tightened and brought me back. “I have to take a shower, we have to get to Dad’s. I’m supposed to be making the hamburger patties.”

“Your father can make the hamburgers. We’re gonna be late.”

I stared at him in horror. “Late? We can’t be late! Dad loves you, Lee, but he’s not exactly jumping for joy that we’re together. We can’t be late the first time we go home for a barbeque!”

Lee’s face changed and his eyes became warm.

“Are we together?”

Oh crap.

I started thinking fast.

“We’re not, not together.”

“I’m not entirely certain what to do with that.”

I explained, “We’re not exactly together and were not, not together. We’re in together-limbo. We’re test-driving together to see if we want to buy it.”

“We go to your Dad’s late, I could convince you to buy it.”

I was pretty certain he was right so, in self-defense, I put my hands against his chest and pushed.

He didn’t budge.

I changed tactics.

“How are you so sure you want to buy it?”

“I’m sure.”

“How are you sure?”

“Trust me, I’m sure.”

“How?”

“I have an idea, why don’t we shower together?” he suggested.

“That isn’t telling me how.”

“No, but it would be showing you.”

“So ‘how’ is a showing thing, not a telling thing?”

“’How’ is show and tell, I just feel in the mood to show.”

Grr.

On to Plan C.

“When you show me the how, do you want me to have my mind on hamburger patties?”

He smiled his killer smile.

“Your mind wouldn’t be on hamburger patties.”

I was pretty certain he was right about that too.

This took me to Plan D.

“Lee, give me a break. It’s my Dad and I promised him I’d be there early to help.”

He watched me for a second then he relented, sort of.

“Okay, but you have to give me something to go on.”

I was starting to get panicked and a little desperate.

“Something, what something?”

Lee’s arms dropped away.

“You pick.”

I was running late. Dad was going to be hacked off. Terry Wilcox had thrown down the gauntlet to Lee over me. There was still the whole Rosie Fiasco going on, someone had the diamonds and yet everyone was still looking for them. And lastly, Lee and I were in together-limbo and until we had three sane seconds, that was where we were going to stay. I didn’t have a lot of time to do anything creative.

So I kissed him.

Or, at least, I started out kissing him, my mouth open under his, my arms around his neck, my tongue sliding against his.

When it ended, he was definitely kissing me. One arm around my back, the other hand twisted in my hair, his tongue sliding against mine.

“Christ, you’re good at that,” he said when he lifted his head.

I blinked.

“I am?”

His eyes were hot on me when I looked into them.

“Yeah, you are and I like it that you have to ask.”

At his answer, I pressed deeper into him but his hands were at my waist, pushing me away.

“If you don’t get in the shower now, the family will do without macaroni salad and brownies.”

I pushed against his hands. “Maybe we can be a little late.”

His hands tensed but he kept me away.

“I’m not talkin’ late, I’m talkin’ no show.”

I stared at him.

“Indy, get in the shower.”

I got in the shower.

* * * * *

I was sitting in my Dad’s backyard with Kitty Sue.

It was my backyard too, since I grew up there but I’d been away from home long enough for Dad to have reclaimed it. That was, he had enough time with me out of the house and not worrying him every second of the day that he was able to make the yard look nice, rather than just something he mowed every two weeks in the summer.

Dad’s house was in Bonnie Brae, about eight blocks from Kitty Sue and Malcolm’s. When I was really young, it seemed it took forever to get to Ally. As I grew older, that distance lessened until one or the other of us walked it several times a day.

“How’s it going?” Kitty Sue asked, her eyes on me and her mind on Lee and me.

Lee and I had made it to Dad’s fifteen minutes before everyone else was due. This was fifteen minutes after I promised Dad I’d be there. Dad blamed Lee even though I told him it was my fault for falling asleep in the sun.

I’d caught a second to talk to Lee when Dad put the hamburgers on the grill.

“Don’t take it personally, he never liked any of the guys I brought home.”

Even though this was true, it was not what Lee wanted to hear. After I said it, his eyes cut to me and I realized my mistake at bringing up the subject of the other guys I brought home.

Then, trying to smooth things over for myself, I made matters worse.

“Even if I’d chosen Hank, Dad would find something to be crotchety about. That’s his job, he’s a dad.”

When Lee had cut his eyes to me, he hadn’t moved his body. After I said my last, he turned full-body to me and cut me off from view of everyone else.

“Was Hank a choice?” he asked.

Uh-oh.

“I’m just saying,” I responded.

“You’re just saying… what? Exactly.”