Casey bristled at the reminder of that conversation. Then, as if he had just noticed her, the linebacker glanced her way, his eyes widening. "You gotta be Casey Cramer. Heck, I'd recognize you anywhere from your picture in the paper. Wow, this is really cool! Love the new show. You guys are, like, real celebrities."
Embarrassed by the attention, Casey grabbed T-shirts off the table. "Would you fellas like shirts, compliments of K-YAK?"
Many hands stretched forward.
"Sure, thanks," said the linebacker, as he stepped closer to her. "You know you're a lot prettier in person."
Casey grabbed the largest-sized T-shirt she could find and flung it at his face. He grinned and paused to strip off the shirt he was wearing before donning the one she'd just given him. Another Rip in the making, she thought.
"Should I be jealous?" Rip asked, surprising her as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side.
The linebacker finished tugging down the hem of his shirt. "No way. She may be a babe, but you're the man."
"Wouldn't you like to have Casey autograph your shirt? Or maybe you'd rather she modeled hers?" Rip smiled slyly in her direction. "Just wait a minute while I go find a bucket of water."
Casey smacked the hand that lay at her waist.
"Cool, dude," the linebacker said. "Wouldn't the guys back in the dorm just be sick they missed this? Damn, why didn't I bring a camera?"
"Sorry, no more wet T-shirts for me," Casey interrupted, shrugging away Rip's arm. "I'm on the wagon-still trying to dry out."
The other young men laughed and turned to leave. The linebacker was the last to go. "I'm going to tape your picture to my wall locker. It was great meeting you," he said earnestly, before exchanging man-to-man nods with Rip.
Who'd have thought my picture would inspire a young man's fantasies? Casey fanned herself as she watched the young men leave.
"From Saint Casey to Pinup Queen," Rip's voice teased.
Casey put a hand behind her hair and fluffed it up, striking a sultry pose. "If you've got, flaunt it."
Rip clapped as wolf whistles and applause erupted from the laughing crowd. Casey curtsied to the audience feeling flushed, this time from triumph. Her mother would be appalled. But Casey didn't give a damn. She'd never felt sexier or more desirable as a woman.
The sun rose toward noon as the last of the walkers returned to the stadium. Rip took a long sip from his coke before setting it back in the cup holder of his lawn chair. The crowd was thinning, and soon it would be time to pack up and head back to the station.
All things considered, it had been a highly enjoyable day. Rip got jazzed every opportunity he had to mingle with listeners. Many folks had stopped to offer their comments and compliments concerning "Something to Talk About" during the day, and Rip was happy the feedback supported the numbers from the station's market surveys. He could tell Casey had been equally pleased. Right now, however, she looked a little agitated.
Several times in the past five minutes, Rip noticed Casey looking at her watch then glancing through the crowd as if she were searching for someone. He wondered if she had a guy meeting her here. Suddenly, she grew still. Rip looked around to see what held her attention.
Three women approached the K-YAK booth. The first two were curvaceous blondes, dressed in form-fitting miniskirts and halter-tops. The third woman sashayed sexily. She was unusually tall, and despite the heat, wore light blue pants that hugged her ridiculously long legs from hip to knee, before flaring toward her feet. Above, she wore a matching sleeveless vest. Her dark, glossy hair was carefully styled and her makeup flawless, but heavy, for the mid-day heat.
One of the blondes reached their table first. "You're Rip. Cindy and I are so excited to get to meet you and Casey in the flesh. We just love your show." She squealed. "Could I get a selfie with you and Casey? All my friends will be so jealous."
Rip winced at the high pitch of her voice. "Sure, anything for a fan. Right, Casey?" He rose to stand next to the blonde. Casey stood to her other side, and together they smiled as the second blonde brandished her cell phone.
"No wait! I want a picture of Rip kissing me." The blonde turned to Casey. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course not."
Rip thought Casey answered too quickly and knew her feathers must be ruffling again. Over the top of the blonde's head, he sought Casey's gaze. "Anything for a fan, huh?"
She shrugged as if she didn't care and stepped back. Was there tightness around her lips? Was she angry?
Hamming it up for their gathering audience, Rip bent the blonde over his arm. "Of course, before we kiss, shouldn't we be introduced?"
"My name's Bunny. Now, can I have the kiss?"
"As you wish." Bending to the smiling woman, he bussed her lips. The phone clicked. Of course, he had to kiss Cindy next. This time they posed as tango dancers.
Last, it was the leggy brunette's turn in front of the camera. Rip was a little disconcerted to find they stood nearly eye-to-eye. For the crowd, he joked, "You're a tall drink of water. What's your name, sweetheart?"
"Rachel," she said in a low, throaty voice.
"Well, come here Rachel and lay one on me," Rip said, with his arms held wide.
"As you wish," Rachel responded with a coy smile copying Rip's earlier words.
Stepping closer, Rachel wrapped her arms around him, then abruptly forced him backward into a deep dip, catching him by surprise with a disarming show of strength. She kissed him full on the lips with a loud smack. He heard the clicks of several cameras and cell phones and the roar of laughter.
When Rip was set back on his feet, he shouted, "Wow! What a woman."
"Hey, aren't you Rachel from La Cage?" a woman in the crowd called out.
Cold dread washed over him, and Rip felt the smile on his face grow stiff. La Cage only employed drag queens. "Come on, Rachel, tell 'em it's not true."
"Sorry, Rip." Rachel's voice dropped an octave, as "she" raised her hand to her hair, and lifted off the brown-haired wig. He grinned widely, as he said, "I was supposed to deliver a message from a co-worker." He winked and pointed a finger at Rip. "Gotcha!"
There was a collective gasp, and then the crowd burst into laughter.
"Damn!" Rip reached for his coke, took a long swallow, gargled and spat. The crowd laughed even harder, when he leaned over the edge of the booth and grabbed a napkin, scrubbing lipstick from his mouth.
Finally, he glared at the one responsible.
Casey was bent, hugging her arms to her body as she shook with the force of her laughter. Tears streamed down her face. She pointed at him, and gasped, "Oh, Rip...you should have seen your face... It was priceless!" She gasped again and giggled.
The sight of her helpless laughter cooled his anger in a moment, and he grinned, nodding his head in acknowledgement of her coup. God she was beautiful when she laughed. The woman needed to laugh much more often. "All right Casey, this round is yours. But beware the repercussions. The kid gloves come off."
10
"Our topics this morning are sacrifice and compromise. How much are you willing to give to maintain your relationship? Who gives up the most? And is there such a thing as 'fair' in love?" Casey glanced at her co-host.
Rip's hair spiked at the crown as if he'd finger-combed it in the car on his way to work and missed a spot. The dark shadow of his morning stubble, and the way he nursed the steaming cup of coffee between his hands, told Casey the show was all hers for a while. She smiled.
"We'll be opening the lines for your calls in a few minutes, but in the meantime, why don't we check the pulse of the single male on this subject?" Casey looked across the desk to her co-host who was in mid-yawn. "Rip, you don't strike me as the kind of guy who's accustomed to giving in."
Rip glowered at her through narrowed eyes and rolled his shoulders and neck producing audible cracks, before leaning toward the mic. "Casey, I suppose you're going to go down that worn-out trail where you'll say a man expects the women in his life to pander to his ego."
He was making this too easy. "Notice folks, he said women in the plural."
"Now, don't go putting words in my mouth. I was talking about Mom and girlfriend-in the singular."
"Sure you were," she said with false sweetness. "Since you mentioned it, has anyone pandered to your ego lately?"
"You know darn well mine took a blast from your broomstick this weekend," Rip replied grumpily.
Not willing to pass up a chance to gloat, Casey countered, "Most of our listeners won't know what we're talking about Rip. Would you care to describe what happened at the Fun Run yesterday?"
"Hell no," he said flatly. "I'd much rather talk about our date at the Piki Tiki."
"Ah, so now we're back to the morning's topic."
"Just how did you make that connection?" he asked, managing to sound annoyed and amused at the same time.