to bed shortly thereafter.
Lying there, I told myself over and over that I had done the right thing at the club. I had done what I needed to do to keep myself strong and capable. After all, Seth had said he loved my "whirlwind." Sex was the means of keeping it strong. I had done the right thing. And I had done the right thing with Doug too. Everything I'd done today had been for the best.
And yet...if that was true, then why did I feel so terrible about it all?
CHAPTER 9
"Nice glow," Bastien told me when he answered the door the following afternoon.
"Yeah. Tell me about it."
I traipsed into his house wearing the Tabitha body, and pulled up a stool at his kitchen counter. He handed me a Mountain Dew from the refrigerator.
"Why so glum? Couldn't have been all that bad."
"It was okay. In that sleazy, backroom sort of way. Seth came over afterward and couldn't stop telling me how pretty I was."
"Of course he did." Bastien was sporting a glow of his own today. "How could he help it? He's a weak mortal, just like they all are."
I ignored the jibe and took down half the can in one gulp. "On the topic of 'weak mortals,' how'd your football game go?"
"Ridiculously boring. Bill must have fantastic speech writers because his conversation is on the same level as that cupboard's over there. But, on the bright side, I did talk to Dana several times, and I think I repaired the damage you did."
"Ye gods, will you get over this? I didn't do anything. You have no one to blame for that but yourself."
"Hey, I didn't fall down the stairs. Anyway, I took your advice and played sympathetic brother. She really seemed to go for it. Except..."
"Except what?"
He frowned, blue eyes perplexed. "She seems to like me well enough. She asks about my job, she asks about you. But something's weird. I just don't feel like..."
"Like she's going to throw herself at you any time soon? Huh. I never would have guessed."
His expression hardened, doubts banished. "It's just a matter of time, that's all. Like that convent in Brussels. Remember how well that turned out?"
I grinned. "Just a matter of time. Sure. So what are your plans today?"
"Nothing. I'll probably go out later, but now I'm just sort of hanging around. Mitch is supposed to be at work, after all."
"Well, let's sneak you out and go see a movie or something."
Frankly, I was eager to do something semi-fun. I had finally made it to my day off, and it hadn't come a moment too soon. The only thing that bothered me was not knowing what had happened at the bookstore when - or rather if - Doug came in this morning. If Warren or Paige had been around, they might have banned him for a while. But I certainly didn't have that power, and I hated to lose the coverage anyway. I'd finally resorted to calling Janice, telling her to ring my cell immediately if there were any repeat problems. I hadn't heard anything so far.
Bastien allowed himself grudging interest in a movie. "Anything good playing?"
The doorbell rang before we could check.
"Geez, Bas. It's like Grand Central Station whenever I'm here."
"Probably a Jehovah's Witness," he decided, checking out the door invisibly. "Huh. It's Jody. Wonder what she wants."
I supposed Dana visiting would have been more serendipitous, but I found Jody's presence a relief. "Well, let her go. You're supposed to be at work."
He nudged me. "You answer."
"Me?"
"Sure. Make up some reason to be here. She's chummy with Dana. You can do some reconnaissance."
"Oh, for goodness - "
The doorbell rang again, and Bastien looked at me pleadingly. I had a good opinion of Jody, but I didn't like him mixing me up in his affairs. Grumbling, I went to the door. Maybe she was just dropping off more baked goods or something, I thought. Her face burst into a grin upon seeing me.
"I was hoping it was you! I thought I recognized the Passat."
I smiled back at her. "Good memory. Did you need Mitch? He's at work."
"No, not really. I just saw the car and wanted to say hi. Are you hanging out here?"
"Uh, yeah. It's my day off, and I promised him I'd...do some yard work."
Bastien, hovering invisibly nearby, got a kick out of that.
"It's a great day for it," she agreed. I supposed it was, in that crisply sunny sort of way that sometimes shows up in