Page 36 of Kent's Watch
“That’s right,” Kora said as she shook her head, and explained it to the others what had happened to her in the past, and how Seth had saved her. By the time they’d told each other their tales, Sparrow and Stone had returned and taken their seats. Rita didn’t see Gunny, but she saw Jake back at his seat in the bar.
“He’s gone, I had the officer on duty take him home. We probably should have given him a sobriety test and taken him to the station, but frankly, I didn’t want to have to do the paperwork. He got off with a warning this time.” She looked directly at Rita as she said her next part. “Be careful, he was spouting off a bunch of shit about how you were going to pay for having him beat up. You too, Palmer, he was fit to be tied.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Kent said as he laid his hand over the back of the chair and began rubbing his finger on Rita’s shoulder. After that, there seemed to be a slight heaviness to the atmosphere, and it wasn’t long before everyone began to make noise about going home. It took a few minutes, and by the time the band came back on stage for their last set, the departing couples were walking out the door.
In the parking lot, they all said their goodbyes and the women talked about doing a girls’ night out soon. For the first time ever, Rita felt good about her night out. She normally worked six, sometimes, seven days a week and never went out. Julie used to literally drag her to Mattie’s Diner for a meal every couple of months. With these women, she somehow felt like she could form lasting friendships with them. On a happy sigh, she allowed Kent to help her into his truck. Neither of them said a word until they pulled into her driveway. Instead of getting out after turning the truck off, Kent looked over at her with a smile.
“You look happy.”
“I am,” she laughed. “I haven’t had this much fun in years. What’s great about it is that I’m not upset about what Vickers did.”
“Really?” Kent asked in shocked surprise.
“Kent, I’m not going to let five minutes of rudeness from some asswipe ruin hours of fun I had with you.”
Kent smiled as he leaned in, raised his hand to the back of her neck, and slowly brought her in for a kiss. They didn’t come up for air for a very long time. They put their foreheads together, and breathed deeply.
“As much as I want to take you inside and make love to you all night long, I’m going to have to decline at this time.”
“Oh?” Rita asked in shock, not knowing how to answer that. She scowled at him as she backed away. “As much as I’m starting to like you, I don’t think we know each other enough to do that.”
“I know, it’s just that I only have one condom with me, and I don’t trust it.”
“Why the hell not?” She cocked her head to the side and asked in confusion. She hadn’t realized she’d snapped at him until he cocked his head at the side and stared at her.
“It’s over five years old.”
“Are you saying you haven’t had sex in over five years?” She scowled at him. “I don’t believe you.”
He only shrugged at her and gave her a sheepish grin. Rita couldn’t help it, she burst out laughing. As she waved her hand in front of her face she shook her head at the same time. “I’m not laughing at you. If we’re going to continue with whatever tonight was, then I want to be honest with you.”
“Okay,” Kent said, a little apprehensive as to what she was going to say.
“Remember that package you had delivered to me?”
“Yes.” Kent thought he knew where this conversation was going so he grinned and raised his brows at her.
“Let’s just say the photos you sent me were an inspiration to use what was in the package.”
“Damn,” Kent said as he moved in his seat to adjust his erection. “Do you need any more pictures for inspiration?”
“Nope, I got what I need.” She smirked at him. “However,” she drawled the word out. “I wouldn’t be opposed to getting to see you up close and personal when the time comes.” She held up her hand to stop what he would say. “Afterwe get to know each other better.” She sighed in relief when he nodded his agreement to her last statement.
They sat there looking at each other before Kent sighed heavily, then got out of his side of the truck. It took a few moments to adjust himself before he could walk properly. He went to the other side of his truck and helped her from her seat. With his hand on her lower back, he escorted her to her front door. He didn’t leave her hanging. After she unlocked the door, he turned her, lifted her chin, and planted a kiss on her. When they broke apart, he kissed the center of her forehead, and stepped back.
“I better stop, or I won’t leave.”
“Okay,” Rita said with a sigh. She entered the house and turned to look at him.
“I won’t leave until I hear the lock engage.”
“Okay.” She slowly closed the door, looking him in the eye as she did. As soon as it was closed, she looked out the side window as she engaged the lock. He nodded to her, gave a small salute before he turned on his heel and left. Rita watched until she couldn’t see his truck any longer, then turned and leaned her back against the door. She looked down as Zeke placed his nose on her hand.
“Hey, baby,” she crooned to the dog, and went about getting him ready for bed. She was surprised to see that it was after one in the morning. She hadn’t had so much fun in a long time.After letting Zeke out and making sure he had plenty of water, she waited for him to return, then made her way up to her bed. She took a quick shower before climbing between the sheets, she lay there and thought about reaching for her toy, but decided against it. She didn’t know how Kent would relieve his own sexual tension, but she wanted hers to build for when they could get together. She made a mental note to make sure to pick up a box of condoms for her house the next time she was in town. Her last thought before falling asleep was to make sure she was away from Fool’s Gold when she did so. She didn’t need her friends and neighbors knowing her business and speculating on who she was having sex with. No one needed to know but her and Kent.
Across town,Kent pulled into his parking spot at the apartment complex and put his head on the steering wheel. He had wished he’d thought of putting some new condoms in his wallet before his date with Rita. Not that he expected her to put out on their first date, but not having a reliable form of protection made him look bad. He made a mental note to purchase some the next time he was in town. With a scowl, he lifted his hip, withdrew his wallet, and pulled out the worthless condom. He turned on the light and studied it, shaking his head when he realized the expiration date had occurred almost seven years prior. Oh, he’d had sex in the past seven years, but hadn’t used all of his condoms. When he’d been in the military, he’d hooked up with random women who knew the score. The women that wanted bragging rights that they nailed so many servicemen. He was good with that, back then, he didn’t want a serious relationship. It wasn’t until he met Rita that he began to think that maybeit was time to think about settling down. Rita was the perfect person to settle down with, at least to his way of thinking.
After exiting and locking his truck, he made his way to his apartment. As soon as he entered, he grinned when Tator sat up and began to whine at him. Grabbing his leash, he let the pup out, and took him down for a walk. With it being such a nice night, they stayed outside for almost an hour before going back in. Since he was home for the night, he left Tator out of his crate and made for the bedroom. After a quick shower, he climbed into bed and thought back to how it had felt to have Rita in his arms on the dance floor, in the front of his truck, and at her front door. On a heavy sigh, he made a mental note to make sure he picked up enough condoms to have in his wallet, truck, and night stand for his next date with Rita. He had never thought about having kids, and he didn’t know if he wanted them now, but it would be better to have a conversation about that subject with Rita before they slept together. The last thing he heard before falling into a deep sleep was Tator coming into his room and settling into the dog bed in the corner. They both let out a gigantic sigh before they succumbed to slumber. Kent dreamt of what it would be like to have sex with Rita. When he woke, he immediately hopped into the shower and turned it on cold. He didn’t want to take himself to task, he wanted to save it for when he was with Rita the next time.
