Carnie followed Jake's truck to his house. As soon as they were inside, he took her in his powerful arms and started kissing her. He was twice her size, and she barely knew him. Most women would not put themselves in such a vulnerable situation. But Carnie was fearless. She kissed him with enough pa.s.sion to set a deadman on fire. But after a few seconds she pulled away.

"Let's slow it down, Big Boy."

"What? I thought you wanted to have s.e.x?" He knew he could have had her right then if he wanted to. She wouldn't have been able to stop him. But he wasn't that kind of man. He would never force himself on a woman.

"Maybe I do. But first I'd like to get to know you better. Let's sit and talk a while, and have a drink or two."

"Okay. Make yourself at home and I'll grab us some brewskis."

Jake walked into the kitchen while Carnie sat down on the couch.

The living room furniture looked like a page out of a 1975 Sears catalog. But at least it's clean, she thought-except for a thousand dust mites living down deep in the fabric. Yuk.

Jake handed Carnie a Coors Light. "So, what do you want to talk about, Jennifer?"

"How about a little question and answer game. You can ask me any question, and I have to answer it honestly. Then I ask you a question. And we take turns until we both agree to stop."

"Sounds kind of dangerous."

"Yeah. But youget to ask the first question."

"Okay." Jake thought for a few seconds. "You acted sort of funny tonight when I called you 'Jennifer.' Is that really your name?"

"Oh, good one, Jake. The answer is 'no.'"

He waited for her to go on.

"So, what isyour name?" he said.

"Sorry, it's my turn to ask a question," said Carnie.

"Ah, come on."

"You have to wait your turn."

"Okay. Ask me a question," he said.

"What is your favorite position?"

"You mean, for s.e.x?"

"No, for the gearshift in your truck."

"Okay. That would have to be the missionary position," said Jake.

"So predictable."

"Hey, I like what I like. Now, my turn. What's your real name? And remember, you have to be honest."

"My name is Carnie."

"Then why did you tell me your name was Jennifer?"

"Nope. My turn."

"Oh, alright."

"Have you ever killed anybody?" She watched him closely for a reaction.

"What?"

He's stalling, thought Carnie. He haskilled. Good. "Have you ever killed anybody?"

"Of course not. What kind of a question is that?"

"Hey, if you don't ask interesting questions, the game gets boring real fast. Could I get another beer?" she said.

"Sure." Jake took her empty can and headed for the kitchen. Then he stopped, spun around and said, "Ah-ha! That was a question. So it's gonna be myturn when I come back." He walked into the kitchen shouting back to her, "I got you that time, Baby. You ain't so smart after all."

When it came time for their third, fourth and fifth beers, Carnie acted as waitress. Jake never noticed she was not really drinking hers. She kept them coming until he was drunk.

"I don't think you were being truthful earlier when I asked you if you'd ever killed anybody," said Carnie.

He grinned at her. "Aw, come on, Honey, don't you trust me?"

"I'm not sure. But I won't sleep with a man if I think he's lying to me."

"But I'm not lying. Not really."

"Not really? What does that mean?" she said.

Jake lowered his voice and looked around the room and into the kitchen, as though someone else was in the house. "It was an accident."

She glared at him, waiting for details.

"One night I was on my way home. The old man shouldn't have been out walking in the dark. It was after midnight. What was he doing out there anyway?"

"Did you call the police?"

Jake didn't answer.

"So, you were drunk and you ran over a man and you just left him there to die."

"I was scared. I could have gone to prison."

"How do you know you actually killed him? Sometimes people get hit by cars and just walk away," she said.

"It was in the paper the next day."

"You're a murderer, Jake."

"No, no. It was an accident."

"Okay, fine. Let's change the subject. How would you like to make some big-time cash?"

"Oh, Honey, you don't have to pay me," he said, as he began to unbuckle his belt.

"Very funny. How does ten-thousand dollars sound?"

He seemed to sober up a little. "Sounds good. What's this about?"

"Have you ever heard of a clinical trial?"

"Sure. That's where doctors get a bunch of people to try some new kind of medicine, to see if it really works. Hey, I don't want to be no guinea pig. Is that what you want me to do?"

"No. What I need is for you to help me round up some volunteers."

"That doesn't sound too hard."

"The catch is that we'll be forcingthem to partic.i.p.ate."

"Oh, I get it. You want me to do something illegal. Well, no thanks. I don't need the money that bad."

"Jake, I was just kidding. But, man-I really had you going. You thought I was serious. That's funny."

"Well, you sure soundedserious."

"I was just testing you. And you pa.s.sed. So, let's get ready for bed."

"I'm ready," said Jake, although he was so drunk he could barely walk.

They went into his bedroom. By the time Carnie had stripped to her underwear, Jake had already jumped onto the bed, naked.

"Let's take a shower first," she said.

"Together?"

"Yeah."

Jake hopped up and hurried into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and waited for the hot water while watching Carnie. When she slipped the lacey red bra off her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, he said, "Forget the shower. I want you now."

But she held her hand out firmly. "If you touch me, I'm leaving right now."

He stepped back. The shower had begun to steam up the room.

She said, "Let's get in," and pulled down her panties and kicked them aside.

Jake felt tremors of antic.i.p.ation as he pulled back the shower curtain and stepped in. Carnie got in at the back of the tub.

"Turn around and I'll wash your back," she said.

"Yes, Ma'am.

She located the soap dish, picked up the bar of Dial and began to slowly lather his back. His groin began to suck the blood away from his brain and other vital organs. His hands were against the front shower wall for support.

"If you keep that up, I may not be able to hold it," he said.

"Then you'll just have to reload. Okay, now put your arms down at your sides so I can wash them."

He would have honored any request she made.

It was a shame he had rejected her offer. She really liked him. And she would have enjoyed sleeping with him. But she had told him too much. And he might talk.

His hands were at his sides and he was very drunk. He would never see it coming. She would smash his head into the shower tile as hard as she could. He would offer little, if any, resistance. And if the first attempt had only dazed him, she would pound his skull into the edge of the tub until he was gone.

The police wouldn't be thinking murder. They'd see a guy who got drunk and then stupidly tried to take a shower, slipped down, and busted his head open. Too bad. Another drunk kicked the bucket. Case closed.

On the other hand, she really liked the big lug.

"Carnie? Where are you going?"

She quickly toweled off, picked up her underwear, and walked out of the bathroom.

"Carnie? You can't leave me like this. Come back, Honey."

Chapter18.

"Maybe I should have waited until next week to start jogging with you," said Greg.

"Why? You're doing fine. It's only your second day. You'll get used to it," said Cynthia.

"Yeah, but staying up until after midnight packing and then getting up at 5:30 AM is pretty tough. Why don't we skip tomorrow's run?"

"Well, I suppose that would be okay since it's moving day."

"Yeah, it's gonna be a long one."

It was 6:30 AM and Greg didn't know if his 34-year-old body could endure the second half of the jog.

"I don't remember some of these streets from yesterday." said Greg.

"That's because we didn't take this route yesterday."