working for peanuts for two years, then following him to Naples, Florida for a nine to midnight shift for another two long years.
That’s when he got his break, a call back from Ted Reed at WORR in Miami.
Ted heard his reel and wanted him for the afternoon drive shift. Jonny was elated. He was twenty-seven and he had made it. Fast forward four years and Jonny had established himself as a name in the market and now Ted needed Jonny more than Jonny needed Ted. Jonny was the anchor of the station. Or so he thought.
Jill married him fresh out of college when his future was unknown. She was a beautiful blonde who really loved him and he really loved her. He still did. But over the years they had fallen into a pattern. He worked, she worked and the spark was gone. She stopped her rigid workout plan once she got a job and her taut body grew soft. A few extra pounds here and there...Jonny noticed every one, every inch of extra flesh around her hips and thighs. He’d casually rub her leg, secretly measuring the width of her thigh with his hand. He missed her tight legs. He missed a lot of things. Jill used to be a bit awe struck by him. They met in college when he was on the air. She liked the idea of dating “the popular disc jockey.” But years pulled away the mystique. She’d seen him at the highs of his career and the lows. She knew him better than anyone else. He wasn’t Jonny Rock, he was Jonathan Roeker and always would be.
“Jonny, dinner’s almost done, could you take out the trash before we eat so it’s done?”
“Sure,” Jonny said, annoyed. Couldn’t he just have five minutes to himself when he came home? He grabbed the trash and took it out to the chute. Don’t be argumentative, he said to himself, don’t give her a reason to suspect anything. He had learned from his mistakes. Jill discovered an indiscretion once, a year ago with another intern...Cindy. Cindy with the full lips. Their relationship never progressed to the degree of his relationship now with Heather. They only fooled around a little. Jill had found Cindy’s lipstick on his collar. It was such an obvious, cliché way to be caught, it was almost laughable. Jonny told Jill that Cindy was just overly affectionate. Jill didn’t really buy it, but she also didn’t want to accept the alternative, that he might be cheating on her.
“It better just be one sided,” she had said, “and you better put an end to it.”
“Yeah, babe, of course. You know how kids are today.” He flashed his don’t you love me smile.
She believed him and everything went back to being copacetic. That is until Heather came along. Slender, perky breasts and long legs. Then there was her mane of soft red hair. Damn! He could feel himself getting excited just thinking about her. “Shake it off,” he muttered to himself, trying to gain control before going back into the apartment. Heather was dangerous...he was starting to have feelings for her.
He couldn’t let that happen.
The apartment door opened and he saw Jill peer down the hall.
“Jonny,” she called out, “did you get lost? Dinner’s on the table!”
“I’m coming.”
Jonny really needed to cool things off with Heather before he totally lost control.
Chapter 6
Larry Carter listened to Dana Drew.
He listened to Dana Drew every day, taping every show.
Religiously.
He was in love with Dana Drew. She was his perfect type. Smart, witty and beautiful. Not like his old girlfriend, The Bitch, the one who discarded him so easily. The only thing he missed about The Bitch was her height. She was a bit shorter than him, which was rare.
Larry was only five foot five.
Dana Drew had beautiful black hair. He loved the way it looked, so shiny when she combed it, so black that it seemed iridescent. It looked awesome with her full pouty lips. He dreamed of those lips and what she could do with them.
Larry had studied her face a million times. He knew every contour, every curve.
He’d go to see her at remotes so he could get pictures of her. He always hung back, not ready for Dana to see him in person, so all of his pictures of her were from a distance. It was okay, but not good enough.
He studied the best shot he got of her, the one close-up of her face he had enlarged