Something Wild(2)

Martin had suggested Ryan study some of the premiere software  applications the company had created over the past few years, the ones  they used to showcase their wares to potential clients. Only Ryan's  computer hadn't arrived from Martin's wholesale supplier yet, leaving  Ryan to work from his own personal laptop, so Martin had offered up his  computer for viewing the programs while he was away. He'd also asked  Ryan to keep a check on his e-mail; if anything came in that sounded  urgent, Ryan could make sure someone dealt with it.

Forcing his gaze from the bright, sunny downtown streets, he spun the  chair toward the desk where Penny the Sandwich Girl, as he thought of  her, had left his lunch. Reaching toward the brown bag that bore the  same Two Sisters logo on it as the baseball cap she always wore, he  noticed something extra today-a company card stapled to the top of the  bag.

His mouth fell open as he read it.

She wanted him to meet her? Tonight? And she wanted him to be ready for anything?

He was a sharp guy and it generally took a lot to baffle him, but at  this, he literally reached up to scratch his head. Then he read the note  again. And ripped into the bag.                       
       
           



       

Unwrapping the sandwich, he flipped through it as one might a stack of  papers to confirm that he had the right sandwich and she had the right  guy. Sure enough, ham and Swiss on rye with mayo. This was too weird.

After a moment's contemplation, however, Ryan could only conclude that  this was her slightly offbeat way of asking him on a date. It was an  unusual approach, to say the least, but maybe she was just too nervous  to ask in person. Come to think of it, she'd seemed pretty nervous when  he'd passed her in the hallway a few minutes ago, and now he knew why.  She'd just dropped an invitation sandwich on his desk. He'd also noticed  she was sort of chummy with Grace, who must've told Penny he was  working in Martin's office today.

Leaning back in the large chair, Ryan couldn't help feeling just a  little arrogant. Less than a week in a new city and a cute girl had  already asked him out. And she was cute. He'd noticed the delicate face  and big blue eyes underneath that baseball cap, not to mention the  pretty swath of long sandy-blond hair cascading through the hat's back  opening. She generally wore a loose T-shirt and shorts, so he hadn't  exactly gotten a look at her shape, but he knew she had nice legs.  Appearance aside, she was friendly, too, always ready with an easy  smile, and he'd heard her giggling good-naturedly with Grace more than  once as they'd stood chatting in the lobby.

Granted, he and Penny had never actually shared a one-on-one  conversation other than the awkward enjoy-your-lunch exchange just a  minute ago, but suddenly that "enjoy your lunch" had taken on new  meaning. Maybe her friendly smiles were more than friendly. Maybe her  easy hellos were attempts at flirtation, only he'd had his head buried  too deeply in his new job to notice.

And if any other girl had tossed a line like, "Be ready for anything" at  him, Ryan might've backed off. He'd just moved here from Chicago to get  a new start, and part of that meant settling down, walking the straight  and narrow, and avoiding anything that might get him into trouble. But  Penny the Sandwich Girl seemed  …  harmless. Too cute to be wild. And the  way Ryan saw it, that made her the perfect girl for him. New city, new  job, and now a nice, down-to-earth girl to date.

So sure he'd meet her tonight. Ten o'clock. Corner of Fourth and Walnut.  While he might not be ready for anything, he would go prepared for a  nice, fun, uncomplicated evening with a nice, fun, uncomplicated girl.

* * *

As the lunch rush waned and the restaurant began to empty, Penny called  Patti over to the long, mahogany bar where she was removing half-filled  glasses and dirty plates to a tub bound for the dishwasher.

"Whatcha need?" Patti approached the bar clutching a damp rag in her fist.

Penny widened her eyes as if to say pleeeeease. "An afternoon off. This  afternoon, in fact. Do you mind if I leave after we get the lunch mess  under control?"

Patti tilted her head in response, her long, light-brown hair falling over one shoulder. "What for?"

"Well, you know Martin's going out of town tomorrow, right? So I want to  plan a  …  special evening with him before he goes. Before I make my  decision."

Patti's mouth dropped open. "Pen, you can't seriously be thinking of marrying him. I mean, are you? Really?"

Penny pursed her lips in irritation. "Yes, I am. Really." Most of the  time, Penny accepted her older sister's well-meaning wisdom, but at the  moment, she felt uncharacteristically bold. "What of it?"

Patti blinked. "Touchy."

"Well, you would be, too, if I said something like that to you."

"I'm sorry," Patti said. "But I'm worried about this decision of yours.  You haven't known the guy long enough to be marrying him."

"I've known him for two years!"

"He's been a customer for two years. That's not the same as knowing him."

"Even so, we get along great, we like the same things, we respect each  other's ambitions, and he's a really nice person. So what if I haven't  been dating him forever? If something works, it works. Right?"

Patti narrowed her gaze on Penny. "Don't take this the wrong way," she  said softly, "but don't you think Martin is just a little  …  boring?"

Penny sighed, for more reasons than she could easily name. When it came  right down to it, wasn't she really pretty boring herself? Oh, she was  fairly witty on her good days and she got along well with people, but it  wasn't as if she was the life of every party. In fact, Patti's  accusation seemed as good an argument as any in favor of marrying  Martin.

And she also guessed it hurt a little to have her sister cast aspersions  on a man she liked and cared for. She felt the need to defend him, both  for his sake and hers. "Maybe he's not so boring."                       
       
           



       

"Oh?" Patti lifted her eyebrows.

"Ask me tomorrow," Penny said with a coy grin.

"Ah." Patti nodded knowingly. "You haven't slept with him yet."

Penny chose not to answer, but suspected the warmth climbing her cheeks replied for her.

"Well then, by all means, take the rest of the day off. There are enough  servers on the clock to keep things under control, and if the guy's  leaving tomorrow, I certainly don't want to prevent the big event from  taking place."

"Thanks," Penny said quietly, although she couldn't help feeling the  unspoken part of Patti's words, as well-I don't want to prevent you from  finding out he's boring in bed, too.

On every other level-family, friends, the successful business they'd  built together-she and Patti always saw eye to eye and treated each  other like equals. But when it came to guys, romance, love, Penny always  felt as if she were behind in the game, as if Patti knew more than her.  She didn't understand why, since they'd both had their fair share of  serious relationships, and they both remained relatively confident,  content, single women. But maybe Patti had always been just a little  more adventurous, a little more knowledgeable about sex, a little more  …   everything.

Well, Penny hoped her sister was wrong about Martin. She hoped by the  time the sun rose tomorrow morning, she'd be able to announce that he  was indeed not boring, and that they were fabulously, wildly compatible  in bed. Take that, Patti.

And it really would happen, too; she could just feel it. Everything was  going to go her way. After all, Patti would probably drop over in a dead  faint if she knew some of the stuff-the fantasies-that had played  through Penny's mind lately. She hardly knew where they were coming  from, but if someone as straitlaced as Penny had a secret side, then  surely Martin did, too. Now, to find it.

As Penny made the phone call to secure a limousine, then grabbed up her  purse to set out shopping, she put more of tonight's plan in place in  her head. She'd figured if she was going to go through with this  seduction business, she might as well go all the way. So she'd sifted  through her growing sexual desires and picked out an easily realized  fantasy, one of several that'd always been a loosely formed thought, yet  which had gathered into something more solid in her mind over the past  days.

Stepping out into the hot summer sun that beat down on the city  sidewalk, she glanced at the large digital clock jutting from the corner  of the building. It was almost two. T minus eight hours and her fantasy  would begin, and Martin would get the thrill of his life.