He looked blankly at her, then smiled. He gulped air again and whistled. “Thank-you. I am from the other side of the world.” He made a giggling noise at some private joke. “And you are from here?”
Terri looked to Mary Ann and back to Paul. He seemed nervous, she thought. A foreigner.
“Here? Yes, I live in town. Up the highway a few miles.” She slipped her wedding ring off under her napkin and put it in her coat pocket. “What are you doing so far from home?”
“I am in travel.” He smiled, licked his lips. A long pale tongue. Terri shivered.
“Travel? Oh, how wonderful. I would love to travel. I haven’t been but a state away in my whole life. What do you do, work for a travel agency?”
He brightened and his voice took on some expression. “I do. I do advance work. I go ahead. I seek new places to take tour. People. Visit. Is this good place?”
Terri shrugged. She didn’t know. “I bet you could take a tour through Olympia. They make great beer there. Then you could sort of slide through Budd. Canada’s just a bit aways up north. It’s supposed to be incredible.”
“People are easygoing, friendly like you?”
This was getting good. He leaned closer. Now if Earl would just walk in…
“Yes, oh, yes. Very friendly. At least the women. Like me.”
“You. You are special? Women?”
Terri puffed. “Well, I think so. Not all women are…” She thought hard. “Not all women are as warm and giving as I am.”
He beamed, clapped his hands together. “Special. Good. Very good.”
She got the feeling they weren’t quite communicating, but he was from a foreign country and she didn’t speak any language but English. And the universal language. Love. An idea was beginning to grow in her. She would just have to take advantage of this situation and seek retribution for Earl’s infidelity. Definitely. The Bible came to mind. An eye for an eye. A screw for a screw.
Terri swallowed the last piece of pie and purred.
“Would you be interested in seeing the accommodations in the motel here? They are quite nice….” She smoothed her sweater.
“This is proposition, yes?”
This guy was blunt. She’d never been picked up by a foreigner before. Maybe they just got right to it.
“Maybe…”
He grabbed their checks and presented Mary Ann with a roll of twenties. Both women’s eyes went wide. Mary Ann took two twenties and handed him back the rest. Terri slipped behind the counter and pulled her friend close.
“Pay dirt!” She whispered.
“What if Earl comes while…”
“You said yourself he won’t show. Look. I need this. I deserve to make myself feel better any ol’ way I want. I’ll see Earl in the morning with a smile on my face and forgiveness in my heart. It will be worth it.”
“Well, good luck. But, I dunno. I heard those little guys have little you-know-whatses. I wanna hear all the details….”
Terri looked smug. “I’m not worried. You should have seen his…”
Paul took her arm and steered her out of the café and into the motel office. She marveled at his ease of movement, his style. If he moved like this out of bed, heavens, she could hardly stand the thrill she felt at the possibilities.
As many times as she’d eaten at the café, Terri had never seen the inside of the motel. Their room was off the highway. Paul opened the door and followed her in. The walls were faded puce cinder block. Over the chenille-covered double bed was a large velveteen tapestry depicting a group of dogs playing poker. That seemed to fascinate Paul. He murmured something about animals and humans while Terri flicked on the TV.
“Damn, it’s scrambled. Got a quarter?”
Paul was sitting on the bed, feeling the texture of the wall. The light from the New Moon Motel sign outside cast a reddish glow over him. He blinked and looked at her.
“What, thank-you?”
“The TV is on cable. If we put money in it, we can watch it.”
“I do not want TV. I come for you Terrisipes.”
“Hm, maybe we could get cozy first. I’m not into quickies.”
“Cozy. Is that good?”
She went to the bed and sat down beside him. She tried to reach into his leather jacket, but he pulled away. His smile faded.
“What, thank-you, is this?”
Terri put her lips to his and let her tongue slide out. His mouth hung agape. He pushed her away and stood.
“Hey, I thought you wanted me? This is too weird. First you’re in a hurry, then you’re cold. Maybe you need to be inspired.”
She stood and slowly peeled off her sweater, then her stretch jeans. Paul seemed mesmerized. She was on to something. She took her boots off slowly, then pulled down her knee socks and flung them over her shoulder. Paul was drooling. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. Her breasts came tumbling out over her stomach. Paul began gasping for air. She pinched the sides of her briefs and drew them down over her hips. She turned so he could see her huge backside and bent over to lower the panties to the floor.
Paul was speechless and paralyzed with passion. He sat on the bed, his erection tenting his leather pantsuit. In fact, there were many lumps beneath the textured gray skin.
