Sugar Rush (10 page)

Standing under the
showerhead, Lexi closed her eyes and enjoyed the steady pounding of the hot
water as it pelted her back and ran down her body. Tipping her head back, she
allowed the oncoming water to drench her hair. Stepping partially out of the
steady stream, she opened her eyes and picked up a bar of soap from the small
built-in shelf to her right. Giving her skin a thorough cleaning, she thought
of the upcoming night with Jeff.

Remembering their
scandalous moment in the spa made her tingle and smile. It had happened so
quickly and spontaneously. She wondered if a preordained evening of intimacy
would live up to that memory, or fall flat and strain their relationship.
What
is our relationship?
She asked herself. Contemplating that question, she
stood directly under the showerhead and rinsed her body before reaching for a
bottle of shampoo.

Thirty minutes later, Lexi
was in the bedroom, dressing for her evening with Jeff. Her hair was clean and
dried, as was her body. Instead of denims, she decided to wear a cute, floor-length
cotton dress she had picked up at the thrift shop. Its fabric’s bright print
pattern reminded her of summer and trips to the beach.

Giggling mischievously,
she tossed her bra and panties aside.
No reason for underwear
, she
thought. After rubbing moisturizer cream into her skin, she slipped on the
dress. She liked the way it fit; it felt comfortable.

She normally slept in
the nude and didn’t imagine Jeff would mind if she did so at his house.
Grabbing her robe and a change of clothes for the morning, she stuffed them
into a small plastic grocery bag. In her purse, she put her makeup bag, hairbrush,
and toothbrush.

After saying her
goodbyes to Angie, she slipped on her flip-flops and headed to Jeff’s, carrying
her purse and makeshift overnight bag. It was a short walk. She knocked on the
door but didn’t wait for him to answer. It was unlocked, so she went inside.

“Hello!” Lexi called
out.

“In the kitchen, Lexi!”

When walking through
the dining room en route to the kitchen, Lexi tossed her two bags on the table
and turned to face the breakfast bar. Jeff stood in the kitchen, on the other
side of the counter, facing Lexi. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. On the tile counter
before him was a large tray holding bites-size pieces of food.

“What are you doing?”
Lexi asked. Whatever he was doing, it looked interesting and tasty. Still
standing in the dining room, she leaned against the edge of the counter and
looked at the tray. It held a random array of finger foods. Strawberries, grapes,
chunks of cheese, smoked salmon, neatly rolled deli meats, and hunks of bread
filled the tray.

“I’m making dinner.” 

“I thought you were
going to barbecue, but this looks more interesting.” She reached for a berry,
but he swatted her hand away. Giving him a pout she pulled her hand back, but
then reached out and successfully snatched a berry and quickly popped it in her
mouth.

“Brat.” Jeff chuckled.
“When I got to the store, I changed my mind about a barbeque. Thought I’d do
something a little different.”

“Oh, I love salmon,
almost as much as steak!”

“Keep your hands off
the food or I’ll have to punish you.” Jeff said in mock seriousness.

“Now, that sounds kinda
interesting. But where is the whipped cream for the strawberries?”

“Ah, whipped cream!
Thanks for reminding me. There’s also dipping sauce for the bread.” Jeff walked
to the refrigerator. She noticed he wore plaid pajama bottoms and his feet were
bare. Lexi watched as he removed a small bowl from the refrigerator. It was
filled with oil-based dipping sauce. He set it adjacent to the bread on the
tray. Next, he took a can of whipped cream from the refrigerator and used it to
fill a second bowl. That he placed next to the strawberries.

“Hungry?” he asked
before leaning over the counter to kiss her. She met him half way.

After the kiss, she
said, “Yes, but are you going to swat my hand again?”

“Not your hand. Maybe
your bottom.” Grinning, he arched his brows.

“If I try to take any
more food?”

“No, just for fun.”

“Jeffery Barnett, I
never took you for a bully!” Lexi feigned outrage.

“Hardly.”  Jeff gave
her another quick kiss, then poured two classes of red wine. “Ready for
dinner?”

“Where are we eating? Outside?”

“No. In bed.”

“Really?” Lexi smiled
at the idea.

“Grab the glasses, and I’ll
take the tray.” Jeff tucked the wine bottle under his arm and grabbed the food.

With a wine glass in
each hand, Lexi followed Jeff to his bedroom. She paused at the doorway,
surprised at the effort he had obviously made when preparing for this evening.
A dozen lit candles sat on the dresser, their wicks flickering. Aside from
candlelight, the room’s only illumination came from the adjoining master bath.

Noticing a hint of
lavender as she walked into the room, she guessed some of the candles were
scented. Jeff put the bottle of wine on a nightstand and set the tray in the
center of the bed. He took the glasses from Lexi.

The bed was turned down,
revealing powder-blue sheets under the
sapphire
-blue satin bedspread. Four plump pillows, each tucked
into a powder-blue pillowcase, were neatly arranged in two stacks at the
headboard.

 After taking the wine
glasses from Lexi and setting them on the nightstand, Jeff sat on the edge of
the mattress and gave it a little pat with his hand, gesturing for Lexi to join
him.

“Clean sheets for my
lady,” he said as she sat next to him.

“Wow, clean sheets,
too. I’m impressed.” Lexi grinned, suddenly feeling shy.

“Don’t worry; I don’t
plan to jump you… at least, not immediately. I thought it would be nice if we
could just relax, talk a little, eat our dinner.” Jeff stretched out on the bed
and leaned against one stack of pillows, watching Lexi.

She stood up and moved
around the mattress, then sat down again and stretched out next to Jeff after
kicking off her flip-flops. They fell to the floor. The tray was between them
as she leaned against the second pile of pillows.

“Are you planning to
feed me grapes, or am I supposed to feed you?”

In response to Lexi’s
playful question, Jeff pulled a grape off its vine and popped it into Lexi’s
mouth. He turned briefly and took one of the glasses of wine from the
nightstand and handed it to her. She sipped the wine after eating the grape.
Jeff reached for the second glass and took a sip.

“So, do you do this for
all your women? I feel like I’m in one of those old Doris Day movies.”

“You watch Doris Day?”

“Mrs. Parks, our
housekeeper, would watch them with me when I was younger. She was a big Doris
Day fan.”

Lexi seemed reluctant
to take any food so Jeff promised, “I won’t swat your hand.”

“Excuse me?”

“Go ahead, eat. Unless
you want me to feed you.”

“This is very sweet of
you,” Lexi took a piece of salmon.

“What can I say? I’m a
sweet guy.”

Lexi chuckled, then
helped herself to some cheese.

“Assuming you didn’t
just watch Doris Day when you were a kid. What was your favorite non-Doris Day movie?”
Jeff asked.

“That’s easy.
L
abyrinth
.”

He laughed. “Damn, that’s my sister’s favorite,
too. I liked it the first ten times I saw it, after that, not so much.”

“That is an awesome
movie. I know all the words to every song.”

“You and my sister
both. When you meet her you two can have a sing along.”

“Meet her?”

“Am I moving too fast?”

“Considering the spa, I
think fast is what we do.”

“Any regrets?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t
be here.”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

Lexi had just picked up
a piece of cheese, and instead of eating it, she impulsively popped it into Jeff’s
mouth. He reached up and snatched her wrist, holding her hand prisoner. After
accepting the offered cheese, he gently nibbled her fingertip before sucking it
into his mouth. His eyes never let hers.

“You have a finger
fetish,” she said when he let go.

“I think you pointed
that out before.” He chuckled. “But I promise, I’ve only been tempted by
yours.”

“I feel special,” she
laughed.

“You are.”

Lexi blushed at his
comment. They continued to nibble on the food, taking turns feeding each other
and sometimes feeding themselves. When they had their fill, Jeff sat the tray
on the floor, then rolled over to look at Lexi. They lay side by side, facing
each other, each resting their head on pillows while propping themselves up on
an elbow.

Jeff reached out and
ran a hand along the side of her hip. He took hold of her dress’ skirt and
gently inched it upward, revealing first her feminine calf, then her knee and
finally her lower thigh. Lexi silently watched as he tugged on her hem. At one
point she lifted slightly to free the fabric. It slid higher.

Jeff moved his hand
from the dress to her bare thigh, lightly massaging the area. Lexi reached out
to make her own exploration, running her fingertips over his features, down his
neck and along his bare chest.

When Jeff slipped his
hand under the hem of her dress, he discovered she wasn’t wearing panties.
Smiling, he massaged her bottom and pulled her closer to him. Lexi rolled atop
Jeff and the two began to kiss as his hands moved freely over the bare skin of
her buttock.

Lexi loved the way he
kissed. She loved the way his hard body felt against hers. She loved the way he
massaged her bottom. She wanted to remove the dress and feel his nude skin
against hers.

“Lexi, wait,” Jeff
pushed her back slightly, trying to catch his breath. One reason for the
intimate setting, he wanted an opportunity to talk to her before… before this.
He needed to explain to her about her grandfather so they could move forward
without any secrets. He thought if he took extra effort—with the candles and
food—she would be more receptive to what he had to say and not push him away.

“I can’t wait,” Lexi
declared in a hoarse whisper. She showed him what she meant when, in the next
moment, she reached between them and slipped her hand in the fly of his pajama
bottoms. Jeff groaned as the hand wrapped around the already hard shaft.

Unable to think, Jeff
forgot about what he needed to say and gave Lexi what she wanted.  With a
sudden movement, he rolled over, positioning Lexi under him with her legs open
and the hem of her dress around her hips. It took minimal effort for Jeff to
find his way inside her warmth, guided by the shapely legs wrapped around his
waist.

* * *

Jeff woke before Lexi
on Saturday morning. Sometime during the night, she had removed her dress. His
pajama bottoms came off the second time they made love, but he put them on
again when he took the food tray to the kitchen.

He still hadn’t brought
up the subject of her grandfather. Nor did he find the right time after she
woke up. He spent Saturday helping her prepare for the Sunday swap meet, promising
himself he would tell her later. He just didn’t know when later would come.

It was still dark when
they drove into the parking lot of the London Bridge Shopping Center on Sunday
morning. Other vendors were already setting up their booths. Each parking space
on the paved lot was numbered, designating merchant spaces. From Monday through
Saturday and during the warmer months, the spaces were used for parking. On
Sundays from September through May, the area became a bustling swap meet. It
would be an hour before customers would be arriving, but the area already hummed
with activity.

Storefronts,
restaurants and lodge buildings lined the perimeter of the parking lot. To the
south beyond the commercial buildings was a view of the London Bridge and to
the west a view of Lake Havasu.

Jeff parked next to the
space Lexi had rented and unloaded the vehicle, before moving it outside the
vendor area. It was a little chilly, and Lexi was grateful she’d returned home
that morning and changed into denims and a blouse and had grabbed a jacket.
Instead of wearing flip-flops, she wore a pair of socks and jogging shoes. She
had spent the last two nights with Jeff.

Before moving the car,
Jeff and Lexi erected the EZ-UP and folding table. While Jeff moved the car, Lexi
arranged her space, putting up the banners she’d made and setting out the
pamphlets and business cards she’d printed at Staples. From the EZ-UP, she hung
mini-posters with photographs of hot fudge sundaes. She’d purchased the images online
from stock sites, as she hadn’t had time to take her own photographs.

Neatly, she placed the
glass jars on the table, setting them in rows. Under the table she stored the
ice chest with the fudge samples. By the time Jeff returned, she had finished
arranging the table and was already sitting in one of the two folding chairs
they’d brought along.

“You’re quick,” Jeff
told her. “It looks good.”

“Thanks. I’m excited!” Lexi
grinned, then noticed Jeff was carrying a sack.

“What’s that?”

“I brought us some
coffee and picked up a couple of breakfast burritos when I went to park the
car.”

“You’re awesome.”

Jeff sat in the empty
chair next to Lexi and handed her a cup of coffee and a burrito. Together, they
enjoyed their breakfast while watching the hubbub of activity going on around
them. Some vendors had elaborate set-ups and took considerable time arranging
their displays. Lexi silently congratulated herself for the relatively easy and
quick set-up.

The sun was just
starting to rise when the first wave of customers arrived, but none seemed
particularly interested in a free hot fudge sample. It wasn’t until around
10:30 a.m. that Lexi handed out her first one.

“So how do you put this
on ice cream? It’s pretty thick. But it’s good,” one woman said as she spooned
out the last of the fudge from the small plastic cup.

“It gets thicker when
it cools, but right out of the microwave it’s very hot so you need to wait
about five minutes before pouring it over your ice cream.” Lexi explained. She
stood behind the table talking to the woman, as several other silent potential
customers tasted their samples. Jeff sat in a chair behind the table,
listening.

The lady who asked the
question picked up one of the jars and looked at it. “So you make it with
this?”

“Yes,” Lexi continued.
“You add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of drinking water to a cup
like this.” Lexi held up the 8-ounce Pyrex measuring cup for the people to see.
You microwave it for 40 seconds and then stir in two tablespoons of the mix and
microwave for 42 seconds.”

More people were
walking to the table, lured over by the “free hot fudge sample” signs. Jeff got
up from the chair and started handing out samples as Lexi answered questions.

“That’s it?” the lady
asked.

Meanwhile, the other
people were commenting on the excellent flavor of the fudge and making jokes
about wanting more samples.

“Yes, but it’s best to
wait at least five minutes before pouring it on your ice cream,” Lexi
explained.

“But what if I want
more than one serving?” someone asked. “Seems like a hassle to make it one at a
time”

“You can make more than
one serving at a time, but you need to make sure you have a large enough
microwave cooking bowl, or it can boil over. You would have to adjust your
cooking time,” Lexi explained.

“How do I do that?” another
asked.

“Here,” Lexi handed the
person a brochure she’d prepared for such a question.

“While Walt’s Hot Fudge
on Demand is designed to make single servings of hot fudge, easily in your
microwave,” Lexi explained to a growing crowd, “I’ve listed suggested times and
sizes of cooking containers for multiple servings. But remember, unlike
conventional ovens, microwave ovens don’t always cook exactly the same way. So,
when you first make the fudge, I suggest starting with the single serving. If
you want it to be a little thicker, you might have to cook it a few seconds
longer.

“The material of your
cooking container—such as a ceramic coffee cup versus a glass measuring cup—and
the size of the container—such as an 8-ounce glass measuring cup versus
16-ounce cup—can also effect the cooking times. On this chart, I’ve listed the
recommended cooking times, depending on container size and material.”

“Sounds complicated,” said
the woman asking the original question. Then she asked, “How much does it
cost?”

“Twenty dollars for a
jar.”

In spite of the fact
the woman seemed concerned over the inexact nature of cooking times, she handed
Lexi a twenty-dollar bill and took a jar. The jars sold quickly, much faster
than Lexi had expected, and shortly before noon, all twenty-four jars were
gone, as were all the samples.

“I don’t believe it!” Lexi
exclaimed after she had handed out the last sample and was finally alone with
Jeff.

“I think you have a
hit.”

“It’s off to a great
start, but it’ll really depend on next Sunday, and if I get any feedback from
this week’s customers. I won’t know until then if they liked the mix or not.”

“It was a good touch
having your Facebook page link on the label and asking them to log in and let
you know how they liked the fudge.”

“Well, that will depend
on if they leave good reviews or bad!”

“Lucky for you, it’s
possible to delete comments from your Facebook page,” Jeff teased.

“Are you all out of
samples?” a woman asked. Lexi turned around and faced the man and woman now standing
on the other side of the table. The jars were gone, but there were still some
brochures and business cards.

“I’m sorry, we’re out.
But we’ll be back next Sunday,” Lexi told her. There was something familiar
about the couple, but Lexi couldn’t figure out what it was. She guessed they
were in their mid-fifties, and by the way they were dressed, it looked as if
they were on their way to the golf course.

“I’m sorry to hear
that.  We overheard some people talking about it on another aisle and we were
hoping there was some left.” The woman sounded disappointed.

“We’ll be back next Sunday.”

“Unfortunately, we’re
leaving for a few weeks. Will you be here in March?”

“I hope so.”

“Lexi Beaumont, you
sold them all?” Angie seemed to appear out of nowhere, camera in hand.

“Hi, Angie. Yeah, we
did.”

“That’s awesome and
all, but I came down to take some photos of your display!”

“We told you to come
with us this morning,” Jeff teased.

“Yeah, right. I don’t
think so. It was still dark when you guys left!” Angie laughed.

As the three friends chatted
about the successful day, the couple asking for the sample did not leave.
Instead, they seemed frozen on the spot, staring at Lexi. They continue to stare
until Lexi and her friends noticed.

“Lexi Beaumont, Walt
and Susan’s daughter?” the woman asking about the fudge blurted out.

Surprised to hear her
parent’s name she took a closer look at the couple. “Oh my god! Joe and Carolyn
Manning!” she cried out.

Carolyn Manning didn’t
wait for Lexi to come to her. She flew around the table and hugged the young
woman. Lexi never imagined she would break into tears at such a reunion, but it
was a difficult thing not to do when Carolyn Manning was sobbing and hugging,
while her husband stood quietly with tears running down his face.

Angie and Jeff watched
silently. Both recognized the couple’s names. Finally, Carolyn pulled herself
together, as did Lexi.  They stood facing each other, each wiping away the
tears and smiling.

“I don’t know why I
didn’t recognize you immediately,” Carolyn said. “You look just like your
mother.”

“But she has Walt’s
green eyes. I swear I see him in her eyes,” Joe commented.

“I can’t believe this. How
long has it been?” Lexi asked excitedly, no longer crying.

“Eleven years,” Carolyn
said.

“What are you doing in
Havasu?” Lexi asked.

“We moved here last
year, after Joe retired. There was no way we were going to stay in New York.
Neither of us are fond of harsh winters. ”

“New York? I didn’t
know you were living there.”

Joe and Carolyn
exchanged glances.

“Yes, we moved shortly
after you went to live with your grandfather. By the way, how is he?”

“I really don’t know,
but I assume he’s fine. I moved out after the first of the year, and you might
say we’re estranged.”

“I’m sorry to hear
that, but it doesn’t surprise me, considering his relationship with Walt,” Joe
said.

“Which is one reason I
always wondered why he appointed Grandfather as my guardian.”

“But Lexi, your parents
didn’t appoint your grandfather guardian. They appointed us,” Carolyn said.

Lexi stood in the
London Bridge Shopping Center parking lot, surrounded by vendor booths and
noisy shoppers, but no longer heard anything beyond her own thoughts.
Transported back in time, she was once again that young girl sitting before the
judge, telling him she wanted to live with her grandfather.

“Then it was my fault?”
Lexi blurted out.

“What do you mean?” Carolyn
asked with a frown.

“Did I go to live with
that man because I was a stupid little girl who chose her grandfather? Who
asked to live with a man I didn’t know? Is that what happened?”

“What are you talking
about? You went with your grandfather because he took us to court over your
custody. I remember the judge talking to you, but that really had nothing to do
with it. Your grandfather is a very powerful man, and we didn’t have the
resources to fight him. During that same time, Joe was transferred to New York,
and we simply did not have the financial resources to stay in California and
fight him, and our attorney told us it was a hopeless case.”

“But why didn’t you
stay in touch?” Lexi impulsively blurted, immediately regretting her question.

“Because your
grandfather wouldn’t allow it. He took out a restraining order against us, and
we weren’t permitted to contact you. They said it was in your best interests,
that you would adjust better if we didn’t interfere,” Joe explained.