Oh, he said hot. That means he’s thinking of sex and me.“Thank you.”
“And with a dress like that, someone should be taking you to dinner.”
“That would be lovely.”
“Great. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Perfect.”
* * *
As they were seatedat their table, Reed watched Christie move in the little polka dotted dress. She was like visual candy. Reed could imagine what her nipples might look like beneath the strapless dress, beneath the strapless bra. Before he slid everything down. He’d imagined doing that. Thoughts of her in that little polka dot dress, and then her losing that dress, had become his new favorite fantasy.
The waiter took their drink order, and then returned with a bottle of red wine. He offered Reed a taste. Reed okayed it, and then the waiter poured them each a glass and left.
Christie took a sip of wine, and then began to speak. “So,” she began. “There’ve been break-ins in my area recently. I’m looking into getting a dog. Well, a puppy really. And I realize that in the meantime, I need to buy a gun for my protection at home. But I’ve no idea what to get. I don’t feel comfortable with the big guns. I’d get a small handgun, but that won’t do any good against a man with a big automatic gun like the theater shooter. I wouldn’t know what to do against someone like him.”
Reed watched and listened intently, waiting until she’d finished speaking. “Let’s talk about that. Why do you think the shooter wasn’t able to do more damage?”
“Because you stopped him.”
“That’s part of the reason. He had the bigger gun. I had the handgun. Why did I win?”
“You’re a SEAL.”
He liked the way she said that, so instinctively, because it made him feel like Superman. “Right. And one thing SEALs do constantly is train. I know my guns like I know my own hand.”
“You won with a handgun because you were trained.”
“Right. Training is key to winning.” Reed nodded. “The other thing is, these idiots who want to shoot up a theater, or any other public place full of civilians, think full automatic will cause more damage, so they don’t bother aiming, and they end up causing less damage than if they’d used a pistol more carefully. Big gun doesn’t always mean big win.”
She frowned. “But they have more bullets.”
“Having more bullets and rapid fire does not mean accuracy.” He tilted his head. “You like vintage things. Think back to the 1920s. You’ve seen movies with the tommy guns, right? Thompson submachine guns?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “I have. I love the 1920s dresses, but those guns are scary.”
“Those are some of the most inaccurate guns ever made. They were heavy and pulled up when you shot them. The shots would spray.” He moved his arm in an arc up and over. “Like this. So if you’re aiming at a guy you might hit him, but if you didn’t hit him at first, already the gun would be moving, and you’d be fighting to control its aim. Not an easy gun to shoot. Modern guns are more accurate, but the same principals apply.”
“So, I’d need to go to the range and train.”
“Absolutely. I’d be happy to train you.”
“Okay, so maybe I can try some of the other handguns and find one that is easier to use.” She glanced down at her small hands. “I might need one of those tiny guns like women used to hide in their dresses.”
His large hand closed over hers. “We’ll find you one that fits your hand but isn’t too small to be effective.”
“Okay.” She smiled. He continued to hold her hand, and then gave it a squeeze before letting go.
The momenther front door closed behind them, Christie caught her breath.
Her nipples were hard beneath the dress as his words ran through her mind on a repeat loop. Would he like what he saw? Or would he make a comment like, “Nips as big as quarters… It’s unnatural in a woman. Why can’t you have little bitty nips?”
But this had nothing to do with her ex. He wasnottaking up space in her head tonight. She pushed old words aside to focus only on Reed. This was just nervousness due to the idea of Reed seeing her naked for the first time.
Still, she hoped for a more favorable reaction from Reed.
Reed leaned forward and brushed her lips softly.
