Richfield & Rivers Mystery Series 2 - Stellium in Scorpio by Andrews, Austin

herself climax, so why am I
surprised that she can keep her emotional distance? Just take a different
approach, the voice in my head commanded.
    "So
'permanent' is our problem?" I asked casually.
    "It's
just bad timing, that's all. Astrologically, I'm emotionally reserved right
now. My Saturn has been opposition my Venus for weeks..."
    "But
that aspect," I said, noting she was pleased I'd learned the word aspect,
"is short lived, right? You did say when you met me that I was destined
for you. So I'm hanging my hat on that. However, my immediate problem is that
I've been put on planetary pause, or asteroid avoidance, or whatever, and it's
wearing on my nervous system. So how about we just have some amazingly...
impermanent. ..sex? Would that be all right?" I kissed her gently.
    The
middle-aged woman in tennis togs sitting directly across from us cocked her
eyebrow at me and gave me an appreciative smile. She was apparently picking up on
our conversation. I grinned shyly at her in return, lowered my voice to a
whisper, and tried to pull myself together.
    "Okay."
Callie reached over and slid her hand playfully between my legs.
    I
rocked back reflexively. "You're an exhibitionist."
    "You
told me when we first met that you hated routine. Don't want you to get
bored," Callie said.
    The
woman wearing tennis clothes walked past our table on her way out and hesitated
a moment to say, "You two continue to have a nice day," and she gave
us a radiant smile.
    "Thank
you." Callie smiled up at her.
    The
woman's husband let out a large belch and hoisted his belt buckle to adjust his
pants. "Men." She shook her head and laughed, obviously hooked on
them and unable to understand her own attraction for them. "We marry them
wanting all their masculine strength and testosterone, and then we want them to
be as playful and close as women can be, like asking an elephant to perform a
ballet. Even if we could train them to do it, it would look unnatural."
The woman grinned again as her husband shouted for her to come on.
    ∗ ∗ ∗ ∗
    We
left the cafe and headed for our car. I stepped off the curb to open the
driver's side door, still laughing over the straight woman's catching Callie in
the act of groping me. I didn't see the car that came out of nowhere heading
for me. Callie screamed at the top of her lungs. My mind slammed a thousand
thoughts across my brain in a nanosecond. Leaving my physical body unattended,
it moved fearlessly to a four-beat musical choreography, an orchestrated dance
of danger, my head keeping count like a metronome: Arms overhead, three-four, dissolve to pirouette, three-four, away from oncoming car,
four-one, spin, spin, turn, face to the car, three-four, back to the
car, three-four, side mirror grabs my jacket and I'm up, spin and down, three-four. Land on my feet, dip back, bounce off my hip, two-three-four, Callie's
incredible strength hauls me out of the street, three and four and cut! Take
two. Cue the effects: screech of tires, grinding of gears, car backs up at high
speed, snap zoom to wide shot, car comes back for the kill! Callie's viselike
grip on my shirt collar, and I'm off my feet, up and backward through the air
and I land on the cafe patio. Standing ovation from the gathering crowd. Callie
dials 911. Cut. Wrap! My mind snaps back from outer space, slamming into my
body, the pain of reentry making my head feel like it took a bullet. Callie was
kneeling on the ground beside me, cupping my head in her hands and whispering,
"You're all right, Teague. Everything's okay."
    How
does she know that? I wondered.
    The
police arrived. No one had gotten the license plate number, so there wasn't
much else to do but ask the usual questions. "Any reason someone would
want to kill you? How do you know it wasn't an accident? How long will you be
in Las Vegas?"
    "He
was a mid-thirties, muscular guy, like a wrestler with no hair," I
offered.
    "Got
it down." The cop took notes. "We'll be on the lookout for the car,
and