JEALOUSY
by Rosebud
Rita was lost in thought as she sat at her desk reading case notes when Chris' desk phone rang. Reaching over and grabbing his phone, she answered, "Chris Lorenzo's desk."
"Rita?"
"Yes," answered Rita.
"Rita, it's me, Melody Schaffer. You remember me, don't you?"
After a pause, Rita answered, "Of course, I do." Melody Schaffer was a voice from Chris' past. She and Chris had dated off and on over a period of time. Rita remembered Melody as attractive, intelligent and one of the nicest women Chris had dated. After marrying an ad executive, she had moved to Atlanta.
"I'm just calling to touch base with Chris and let him know that I've moved back to Palm Beach."
"Yeah," thought Rita silently as a stab of something that she could only identify as jealousy lodged in her stomach, "I bet she wants to touch base along with a few other things of Chris'." She mentally chastised herself. There was no way Melody could know that she and Chris were involved with each other.
"Rita, are you still there?" asked Melody when she heard only silence.
"Yes, I'm still here. When did you and your husband move back?
"Um, Rita, it's just me now. Danny and I divorced last year. Caught him with the next door neighbor's wife when I came home early from a business trip."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Melody. I didn't know."
"That's okay. Not many people here knew. My company just transferred me back here, and the first person I wanted to contact was Chris. Do you know, is he seeing anyone?"
As Rita's mind raced to think of a suitable reply, Harry walked up behind her, "Rita, I need to talk to you about the paperwork on the O'Rourke case. Soon as you get off the phone. Okay?"
Rita nodded at Harry. "Melody, Cap needs to talk to me. Why don't I take your number and have Chris call?" Just as she bent over to retrieve a pen, Chris sauntered in.
"Oh, wait a minute. Here's Chris." Rita covered the phone's mouthpiece, "Melody Schaffer is on the phone. She's back in town and wants to "touch" base with you." Rita's emphasis on the word touch was not lost on Chris who grinned wickedly at Rita's remark and implied suggestion. But before Chris could respond to Rita's remark, Harry, his patience exhausted, shouted, "Rita, I haven't got all day here!"
Rita handed Chris the phone and walked into Cap's office. Harry sat down at his desk, adjusted his glasses and began reading the paperwork out loud.
Rita strained to listen to Chris' end of the conversation over Harry's booming voice. Gradually she positioned her body so she could see Chris as he talked to Melody.
Chris looked up at Rita from his conversation, unable to let Melody know that he wasn't interested in resuming a relationship with her. And it was obvious that she was nothing if not determined to see him again. It was also becoming quickly apparent to Chris that, for some reason, Rita was irritated about Melody's phone call. Noting that Cap's head was down as he read to Rita, Chris dropped a slow wink at Rita as he blew her a kiss.
The slow burn that had began in her stomach and worked itself up throughout her body eased the moment Chris winked and blew the kiss. Rita realized that Chris had picked up on her reaction and was teasing her. Suddenly, she became aware of the silence in the room and turned back to look at Cap. Cap was looking at her look at Chris.
"Is there a problem, Rita?" asked Harry, frowning.
"No."
"Then what's the deal with you watching Chris on the phone?"
"It's nothing, Cap. I just remembered something I needed to mention to Chris."
"Do you need to interrupt his conversation?"
"No, it can wait."
"Good. Then could you turn around and give me your full attention?"
"Sure, Cap. Sorry."
Harry cleared his throat, peering over his glasses once again at Rita and then at Chris. "Hmm," he thought, "Chris was grinning so the phone call had to be personal. Rita answered the phone so she knew who the caller was. And something about the caller was making Rita miserable. Why did he feel there was a puzzle here, and he was missing a piece to figure it out?" He shook off the feeling and resumed reading the paperwork.
Ten minutes later Rita walked out of Harry's office. Chris had left a note on her desk. "Back in a minute. Got a surprise."
Rita smiled. She loved Chris' surprises - sometimes they were romantic or at other times, playful and fun. At that moment, Chris walked into the office with Melody on his arm. The smile left Rita's face immediately as she realized what the surprise was.
"Sam, you remember Melody," Chris began hesitantly, sensing Rita's displeasure. "She asked me out to lunch. I told her you and I had planned on eating lunch together, but that she was welcome to come along. Is that all right?"
Rita gathered her wits together and answered, "Of course. It's nice to see you again, Melody."
Harry walked out of his office, "Well, well, Lorenzo, I see you got a beautiful woman on your arm. How are you doing, Melody? I haven't seen you in some time. Chris, I wondered how long it would take you to start dating after Gillian."
If looks could have killed, Harry would have been gravely injured from the quick glance Rita shot him. Harry, grinning at Melody, missed the look, but not before Melody caught it. Melody glanced quickly at Chris to see him wide-eyed, a silent message obviously passing from him to Rita.
Melody saw Rita acknowledge Chris' silent message. She pulled Chris closer as she said, "It's nice to see you again, Captain Lipschitz. Chris, how about Chinese for lunch? That okay with you, Rita? Harry, would you like to go?" Again she noticed a silent communication between Chris and Rita.
Harry smiled, "Thanks, but I better not. Chinese makes my sinuses act up. All that MSG, you know?" Melody smiled, remembering Harry's many illnesses that seem to mysteriously plague him. "Besides," he continued, "Frannie is picking me up and taking me to the Health Food store. Time to restock the shelves at home. And on that note, I better scoot. Nice seeing you again, Melody. Chris, bring her around more often. She brightens the place up." With that he hurried out.
Rita's insides churned. "Brighten up the place," she thought. "What do I do? Turn the lights off." She mentally chided herself again, knowing she was being unreasonable.
Chris glanced at Rita and chuckled as if reading Rita's thoughts.
Melody looked at Chris, startled by his amusement. "What's funny, Chris? Did I miss something?"
"No, no," Chris said quickly. "Come on you two, times a'wasting." With that, he grabbed Rita with his free hand, and all three headed out to lunch.
As soon as they ordered their meal, Melody excused herself to go to the ladies' room. Chris leaned over and whispered, "Rita, don't be mad at me. She asked me out to lunch. When I tried to get out of it, she just kept insisting. I didn't know what to do!"
Rita answered, "I'm not mad, Chris. Well, maybe at myself. I can't believe my reaction when I heard her voice."
Chris grinned and then whispered softly, "Means you love me, Rita. And right now I wish we were parked at somewhere quiet at the beach kissing instead of dancing around Melody's questions. So, should we tell her or not?"
"No,
at least not now. Maybe she'll give up. Besides, I've got a gun.
I guess I could just shoot her if she becomes too big a
nuisance."
Chris laughed. Melody walked back to the table and sat down next
to
Chris. "Rita, are you dating anyone?"
Rita looked up at Chris. Again, Melody saw an unspoken conversation between them.
"Well," she began slowly, "you might say I'm stringing a guy along."
Chris coughed into his napkin. Melody looked at her puzzled, "Do I know him?" At that moment, a beeper went off. All three checked their beeper. Melody looked up, "It's mine. I told the movers to call me if they had a problem. I better go call." She got up and headed towards the payphones.
Chris grabbed Rita's hand. "Stringing me along, are you?"
"I couldn't think of anything else to say!"
Melody walked back over. "Guys, I better go. The movers ran into a problem. Chris, my condo is about 4 blocks from your apartment. It's 650 DelRio. Stop by some time. Okay?"
"Okay, as soon as I can."
The waiter came with their meals. Melody asked the waiter, "Can I have mine to go? I've been called away."
"Certainly."
"Make it take-out for all of us," said Chris. "Rita and I have an appointment that we forgot about."
Rita looked at him, puzzled, "What app . . ?"
"You know," interrupted Chris, "the one concerning the beach."
Twenty minutes later, Chris and Rita sat quietly after having eaten their meal. Chris pulled Rita over to him and began slowly kissing her. Rita whispered softly, "Oh, Chris," as she welcomed his mouth on hers. She opened her mouth running her tongue across his bottom lip. Chris' hold on her tightened as his tongue met hers. They became oblivious to their surroundings. One of them moaned, breaking the silence and bringing them back to their senses.
Rita glanced at her watch. "Chris," she kissed him again, and said languidly against his mouth, "we're late. It's 10 past already."
Chris looked at her, drowsy eyed with passion, "I know, I know, but I hate to go back to work. We've had so little time for ourselves lately what with our workload being so heavy. Since we're both off duty this weekend, let's spend it alone, no visitors, no interruptions. Just the two of us."
"Sounds wonderful," she whispered, "unless you want to invite Melody."
Chris groaned, "Rita, are you really jealous of Melody?"
"Yes, no, maybe. She is gorgeous."
"But not as gorgeous as you."
"That was definitely the right thing to say, Christopher, but . . ."
"No buts, Sammy. I love you, only you, forever you." He kissed her again and slowly stroked her trying to allay any fears she may have. "I swear. You are my sunshine. I never felt this way about anyone. I know I've dated lots of girls over the years. But I love you, sweet Rita. You don't doubt me, do you?"
No, but if Melody shows up again, you better hide my gun." They both laughed, tension eased, and he started the car.
When they reached the office, Cap was waiting for them. "Where have you two been?"
"Sorry, Cap," said Chris hastily, "but our lunch took a little longer than expected."
Harry sniffed. "Sure. I know you, Lorenzo. Couldn't leave a beautiful woman."
"Nope, Cap, the beautiful woman didn't want to leave me. Chris grinned. He knew Harry thought he was talking about Melody when it was Rita.
Rita smiled at Chris, understanding his compliment. Harry turned and looked at Rita, "What are you grinning at? You two get to work!"
A few minutes before quitting time, Rita left work early, having promised Chris to cook him dinner at his apartment.
Chris drove up to his apartment, eager to be with Rita. As he got out, he saw Melody jogging up the sidewalk to him. "Oh, no," he groaned to himself.
"Chris, I was hoping I would run into you on my jog. I wanted to apologize for running out at lunch. The movers misplaced my front door key and couldn't get in."
"That's okay, Melody."
"Can I come in? I could use a drink of water."
"Well, actually, Melody, it's kind of a bad time."
"Chris, is there something going on that I should know?"
"It's just that . . ."
At that moment, Rita, dressed in a black halter top and short shorts, an outfit that made Chris almost drool, opened the front door. "Chris, you're here. I've got dinner almost ready." Whatever else she had to say faded when she saw Melody.
"Rita!" Melody began in surprise, "Nice seeing you again. Do you live nearby?"
"I live about a mile away. I promised to cook Chris dinner this evening. He'd starve to death is someone didn't cook for him occasionally."
"Nice save, Rita," she thought to herself.
Chris, thinking the same thing, said, "Melody needs a drink of water."
"Come on in." Rita walked to the kitchen, took a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with ice. "Melody, how about a soft drink?"
"Sure, diet anything will be fine." Melody noted the ease with which Rita moved about Chris' kitchen. Bells began going off in her head. "Say, could I borrow the bathroom?"
"That way," pointed Chris as he went to stand by Rita.
She turned and walked to the bathroom. Chris took the opportunity to snuggle against Rita.
Melody stood behind the closed bathroom door. Something was going on. "Could Rita and Chris have a thing going on?" Turning suddenly, she bumped into the laundry basket. She grabbed at it, but not before some of the clothes fell out. Seeing some Victoria's Secret underwear and some sexy feminine nightclothes, she realized that, unless Chris had taken to wearing women's undergarments, and that was highly unlikely, Rita was living here. Feeling slightly guilty for snooping, she returned the items to the basket. As she washed her hands, she came to a decision.
When Melody opened the door, Chris jumped back from Rita. Rita giggled softly, thinking how foolish the situation was becoming. Melody stood looking at them noting Rita's flushed face, and Chris, well, he seemed happier than she had ever seen him. She walked over to the kitchen bar and sat down. "So, how long have you two been a couple?"
They both looked stunned. "Melody . . ." began Chris.
"Look, maybe I'm not reading this right, but I think I am. You two always seemed to be in sync with one another, even years ago. Today, there were a couple of times when the two of you seemed to communicate without a word. The only people I've ever seen do that are people who've been together a long time and in love. So, I'd like to know if I'm intruding."
Chris took a deep breath. "No, Melody, you're not wrong. Rita and I are a couple. Have been for a while, but we've kept it to ourselves because of the department's policy on partners. Neither Rita and I want to work with others, so we've resorted to this. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier today."
"Chris, that's okay, you never really got a chance to tell me. I was too busy coming on to you. Rita, if you ever decided to let him go, call me. I want to be there to grab him. I would almost say that I made a mistake years ago when I broke up with him, but I have a feeling you two were meant to be together all along."
Rita looked at her, suddenly feeling sorry for her. "I won't be letting him go. We both realize we were meant to be together. But I would like to stay friends. Okay?"
Melody brightened up. "I'd like that. We could go shopping and gossip about Chris' particular talents."
Chris reddened as Rita and Melody giggled. "Rita!" he spluttered.
Rita wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek, enjoying the fact that she could show her feelings for Chris to another person. "Honestly, Chris, do you think we would discuss such a thing?"
"Yes," he said.
"You're right," she said giggling again with Melody joining in.
He finally broke into a smug smile, "Hey it couldn't be anything but complimentary."
Melody looked at the two of them, "What's going to happen if someone at work finds out about you two?"
"We would be separated at work, most likely," answered Chris.
"I won't tell anyone. I promise."
"I know you won't. You've always been one of the nices people I've ever known," added Chris.
"Thank you. Now, I'll make my exit as gracefully as I can. Chris, walk me to the door?"
"Sure."
Chris opened the door and stepped outside with Melody. She kissed him on the cheek. "Chris, be good to her."
"I will. I love her almost more than I can bear at times."
"Good. I just wish Danny had been more like you. Maybe I wouldn't be here now."
"I'm sorry about your marriage."
"Are you and Rita discussing marriage?"
"Not yet. I havent' gotten the nerve up. But it's definitely in my plans."
"Great. See you later." She turned and began jogging back to her apartment. Chris stood and watched until she was out of sight. He walked back inside.
Rita was stirring a pot on the stove. "Is she okay?" asked Rita.
Chris walked up behind her, "She's fine. Smells good."
"Thanks, it's a family recipe."
"Not the sauce. You. Hey, I like this outfit!"
"Humph. You're just trying to get back in my good graces. Are there going to be more women coming out of the woodwork trying to win back your affections?" Rita asked teasingly.
"Wouldn't do any good. You've got all my affections, my heart, and my car."
"I think I'll pass on the car. Now, let's eat."
Later, standing next to Rita, drying as she washed dishes, Chris suddenly asked, "Sam, this jealousy thing today, I don't understand. You don't think I would cheat on you, do you?"
Rita finished the last dish and handed it to him. She sighed, "You didn't do anything to cause me to be jealous. It's just . . . I don't know, I just seem to be pretty emotional at times lately for some reason. It won't happen again. And no, I don't think you'd cheat on me."
Chris wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, whispering in her ear "Sammy, sweet Sammy, once we made love together, I knew, I just knew that I would never want another woman. Please believe me. You're the one, the only one."
With that he kissed her, teasing her mouth open. Then, he gently picked her up and carried her up the stairs. Laying her back on the pillows, he slipped his shoes off and joined her on the bed. Rita slipped her hands under his shirt causing him to moan. He responded by running his hands under her halter top. Finding no restrictions, he moaned again, untying her top and then stripping her and himself. Pulling her to him, he whispered frantically, "Only you, Rita, only you."
Then he buried himself in her. Rita heard his frantic whisper. She placed a hand on either side of his face and stared into his eyes. They gazed into each other's eyes as they slowly climbed higher together until they fell into calmness. Again Chris whispered, "Only you."
Rita stroked his face as she answered emotionally, "I know." They whispered quietly in each other's arms until sleep came, their emotional bond strenghthened by the realization that another hurdle had been met and surmounted.
THE END
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