RICHARD RAPOZA
Temptation
by Richard Rapoza
Chapter One
"She Returns"
I couldn't place the sound, at first. My first question was why someone would be firing a cannon so close to my head. I opened my eyes, and then I understood. Someone was knocking, and the shape in the frosted glass of my office door was very familiar.
I peeled my face from the pebble-grained vinyl of my office couch and sat up. I hated waking up on that couch. I was always covered in sweat. And I always had a pebble-grained face.
I took inventory. Budweiser was still chasing Jack Daniels around in my head. Deep-fried zucchini danced a stiff-legged polka with greasy french fries in my gut, and they were both wearing very dependable hiking boots. I made a mental note: Don't go back to Guido’s; the bartender and cook were obviously trying to poison me.
I stood. That was probably a mistake, but under the circumstances, I had no choice. I still had some feeling in my toes, which was a good sign. I knew what I was about to face, so I prepared myself. The knocking continued. I gathered my wits about me, and was shocked at how little I found. I must have left them at Guido's. Now I would have to go back. Damn.
I opened the door, and there she was. She wasn't supposed to come back, but I was glad to see her. She looked good.
"Hi, Rico," she whispered. "Remember me?" How could I forget. My first real love. She had shown up, led me on, and then let me down over and over again through the years, with Swiss precision.
"I hope you're going to ask for directions," I mumbled. "I'm busy." She walked in without being invited. Damn.
"I want you to check on something for me. For us." That was all she said. No "How are you?" or "Do you still want me?" Some things never change.
The office was still dark, and I intended to leave it that way. I knew what she looked like. I was afraid to look at her again. She walked over to the window and opened the blinds. Damn.
"What is it this time?" I asked. I tried to be short with her, sound gruff, but my mouth kept falling open, and I couldn't keep my tone from rising. Not very macho. I made a mental note to get a hormone shot. "Last time it was that Columbia school. You promised that they would show me a way to finally have you. They were a dead end. I don't need that kind of grief anymore." I was starting to whine.
"I made a mistake." She wouldn't look at me, but stared out the window. "I thought they could help us, but…" she tried to explain, but I couldn't focus on what she was saying. I walked toward her, and tripped over her purse. My head hit the desk on the way down. As I passed out, I thought about the first time I really saw her.
I was young then, real young. High school. She had been around longer than that, but I had never paid attention, never thought about how we could be together. Then a friend pointed her out, and mentioned the possibilities. As soon as I noticed her, I couldn't stop thinking about how attractive she was. At the same time, I could never figure out how to get her. She was mysterious, but compelling. A gallon of a woman in a quart-sized dress. As time passed, she stayed at the fringes of my life, always a little out of reach. A lead at a local radio station seemed like a good way to get to know her, but the job never came through. The Columbia lead was very promising, but there were problems there too.
All of that was years ago. College seemed like a good way to forget, but she kept creeping up, just long enough to tell me that she was still around, and then slip away. Then, law school looked like a sure escape, and it was working. But she couldn't leave me alone. She was back, and I couldn't ignore the fact that the old feelings were still there.
I came to just as she finished her explanation. She probably had good reasons for interrupting my life again, but I had missed them all. I wished that I hadn't passed out. It was time to get tough, though. I wasn't a kid anymore.
"I'm not a kid anymore," I said. Damn echo. I made a mental note to get a new writer. I lowered my voice an octave. "I got things to do. I got a life now. I don't need you around." I was lying.
"You're lying," she said. Now we both needed new writers. Damn. She turned to me and sat at my desk. "You have to check out this Apprentice-Mentor Association." Her eyes were soft. Was she sincere this time? Was there really a chance this time?
"There is really a chance this time." I didn't hit her, but I wanted to. "This Get a Mentor deal is different. Now we can work together, and you can check me out while I check you out. If we were made for each other, the way you think, this will show it."
Then she said the magic words: "Hands-on experience." I knew I wouldn't be able to resist.
She stood. She did that a lot better than I did. I rubbed the lump on my head absently, trying to weigh the alternatives, trying not to be a sucker again. She just stood there; this time, she wasn't going to force herself on me. I relaxed. "You don't have to give anything up, Rico. Not now." That was a new promise. "All your other cases can stay open while you investigate the Apprentice-Mentor program. Even if it works out, and we are together, you can keep doing what you're doing now, at least for a little while."
The offer was too good. I had to give her another chance. I gave her my promise to check out the Apprentice-Mentor Association, to take her case one last time. She left silently. No good-byes, no gestures. Some things never change. Still, I knew that I had made the right decision. I left, and went to Guido's for lunch. That was not the right decision. Damn.
Chapter Two
"The Investigation"
(To Be Continued)
