Page 7 of Lawton

Make that a hundred and one.

"Her house is so big," Brittney continued, "my mom swears she can totally get lost in it."

I'd heard it before. I didn't care then. I didn't care now. "Is that supposed to be a good thing?"

Brittney gave me a long, steamy look. "Isn't it?" She leaned close and ran a finger along my jaw. "I mean, biggerisbetter, right?"

I stiffened, and not in the way she wanted. I knew exactly what she meant. I didn't want to hear it. But that never stopped Brittney. She stood on her toes to purr into my ear. "If you need a co-star for yournextvideo, hey, sign me up."

I pulled back. "There's not gonna be a next video."

And there wouldn’t be. The first one had been bad enough.

Here, a girl I thought was my friend had tricked me into having sex on camera. Even now, people acted like it was the best thing that could've happened to a guy like me. A lucky break. One more step toward fame and fortune.

Yeah, right.

That kind of fame, I didn't want. And as far as money, I had all I needed, thanks to ventures that didn't require me to show my ass or other parts.

I used to fight for a living. I used to be poor. I used to be a lot of things. Now, I was just the guy who wanted to be left alone.

I glanced at my watch. "Next time, call first, alright?"

Brittney frowned. "We did call. You didn't answer."

Well, therewasthat.

Again, Amber peered around me to look into the house. "So, are you gonna give us a tour or what?"

"Sorry," I said. "I'm working."

"But you're not at work," Amber said. "You're here." She pointed to the marble floor at my feet. "See?"

I looked down. "See what?"

"Where you're standing," she said. "It's not your office, silly."

"I meant my home office."

My main office was downtown. But the girl with the terrier wasn't downtown. So I'd been ditching the commute to work here, where I could watch the front sidewalk and, if I was lucky, catch her when she walked by.

The setup couldn't have been better if I'd planned it. From my study, I had a front-row seat to the route she took at least twice a day. There was only one problem. The time of day varied, which made it hard to predict.

In my doorway, Amber was still talking. She turned to Brittney and said, "What now? Should we let him work?"

"Screw that," Brittney said, giving me another steamy look. "Who wants to work when you can play?"

Suddenly, I felt myself smile, but not because of Brittney. Through the open doorway, I'd just caught movement on the sidewalk – not in front of my house, but on a nearby side street.

It was her.

This time, she wasn't alone. She was with another girl. The friend looked exactly like the type you'd expect in this neighborhood – the kind who went to private schools and didn't think about the cost.

I looked to the blondes blocking my path. "I've gotta go."

Brittney frowned. "But we just got here." She gave me a pleading look. "And you haven't even let us inside."

Again, I glanced toward the sidewalk. If the forecasters were right, it would be raining buckets for the next five days. If I didn't catch her now, I'd be waiting almost a week.