"Hey Jamie!" Max tapped lightly on the door. "About ready?"
I looked at the typed pages piled next to the typewriter and realized I could keep writing. The creative electricity crackled across the fissures in my brain. But my supplies were dwindling, and Max would drive and help, two factors that helped me push away from the table. I hoped I would rediscover that lode of energy when I returned.
"I guess." I stood up and stretched as Max entered. He leaned against the door frame and watched me, a playful grin on his face. He had changed into jeans and a sleeveless shirt to combat the heat. When I noticed him staring at my nipples, I dropped my arms and started toward the stairs. "Let me get my shoes."
"Do you mind if we stop and get something to eat?" Max yelled after me. "I'm starving."
"Sounds good to me! Where do you want to eat?!" When I returned to the living room, Max opened the door for me.
"I'll introduce you to the Buffalo Bar. It's the closest thing to fun in these parts."
"What's that for?" I pointed at a cooler in the back seat of the Jeep.
"It's for cold stuff. Anything frozen would thaw by the time we got home." We didn't talk on the ride because of the wind noise in the open Jeep. My mind continue to write the book, plotting the scenes for my characters. The story was fiction, and only partially based on my experiences. I didn't want an autobiography. My past wasn't a story I wanted to share with the world--not yet.
The Buffalo looked like something out of an old western. The bar, made of beautiful polished oak, ran the length of the room, and the mirrored wall behind reflected everything and everyone. Several round tables sat empty in one corner. Across the dusty dance floor, the pool tables were filled with locals boys in cowboy hats and blue jeans. A buffalo head hung on the wall amidst antique rifles and daguerreotypes of long-since-dead buffalo hunters.
"How quaint," I joked.
"A little piece of buffalo heaven," confirmed Max.
We found a table that had been carved into a 90's version of "Dick ª Mary"
"This is the hot spot, huh?" A framed photo on the wall showed a man standing on a large buffalo he had slain.
"On Saturday nights." Max handed me a menu listing four items, all of which started with buffalo. "Want to try a buffalo burger?"
"I don't think so." I turned the menu over hoping to find more selections, but the last page detailed the story of how the Buffalo Bar began in 1882.
"It's just ground beef," assured Max.
"Maybe the buffalo wings."
The bartender, not busy in the middle of the afternoon, sauntered to the table. With a face as wrinkled as a wadded up cotton shirt, he looked old enough to be the original owner.
"Keeping cool today, Max?" He pulled a pencil from behind his ear and tapped a small tablet.
"As hot as a three dollar pistol," complained Max. "I can't wait for that rain they promised. Ed, this is Jamie, Margarite's niece."
"Really?" There was a sympathetic tinge to his voice as he shook my hand. "Nice to meet you. Your aunt was one great lady."
"Thanks. I always thought so."
"Jamie is spending the summer at the house," Max added.
"Well, I hope we'll see a lot of you then." Ed's smile was genuine, and I knew why Max ate at a restaurant that carried exactly four items on the menu. "I know what he wants," laughed Ed. "Buffalo Burger and a draft. What can I get for you?"
I looked over the menu one last time (took maybe a second) and tried to sound excited. "Buffalo Wings and a draft."
"Is she old enough to drink?" Ed winked at Max.
"Just barely."
"He's certainly seems friendly," I said after Ed had returned to the bar.
"Yeah, he's kind of like everyone's father. Makes sure we don't get into trouble, especially on Saturday night."
An outburst of laughter washed over us, and we looked at the pool tables. A tall, lean man in a sleeveless denim shirt, snake skin boots, and sweat stained Stetson wandered to the bar and mockingly cursed Ed as he slapped money down. "Goddamnit, Ed, you're getting as slow as Main Street on Sunday morning."
"Looks like Riley lost again." Riley was certainly tall, at least six-three with long ropey muscles.
"A friend of yours?"
"I know him."
I hoped for more information, but none came. Riley glanced at our table and nodded. Max returned a quick nod. Riley carried two pitchers of beer to the pool table. He returned to the bar, picked up three beers, and ambled toward our table.
"Looks like we have a new waiter," I said.
Max scooted toward me to make room for the newcomer.
"Hell, I might as well serve the whole place!" He set the beers on the table and pulled up a chair.
"How you doin', Riley?" Max slid a beer to me and took another for himself.
"I was doing better before I lost that game." He barely looked at Max before smiling at me. "Who is this pretty young thing?"
Max cleared his throat and seemed to hesitate. I broke Riley's stare and looked at Max, wondering if he had forgotten my name.
"I'm Jamie." I offered my hand.
"Riley Collins." He took my hand, but instead of shaking it, he held it in both of his. I realized why Max was uncomfortable. Riley possessed the bravery around women that Max could never muster. His eyes wandered to my nipples, and without even pretending to be nonchalant, he let out a slow whistle. "Good Lord, you been hiding the best looking thing since strawberry ice cream."
"Down, rover." Max's sarcastic tone surprised me, and I wondered if he was jealous or protective.
I pulled my hand away from Riley and grabbed my beer. He was cute, but he made me nervous for some reason, the way a snake does. You don't care how thick the glass is or how docile the snake, you keep your hands back anyway. "My family owns the property Max tends. Margarite was my aunt."
"No kidding? So are you living there?"
"For the summer," interjected Max.
Riley turned and leaned close, as if he was going to tell Max a secret. "I saw Tammy here the other day. She asked about you." Max didn't say a word. A twitch marred the corner of his jaw. "I guess she's moved back in with her folks."
Max looked at me and I gave him an encouraging smile.
"Hey, I'm sorry," said Riley. "Am I chompin' on size ten roach stompers? Are you two sweet on each other?"
"No, that's OK," I assured him. "We're good friends. Max knows I've had a crush on him since I was 16, and he doesn't want to hurt my feelings.
Max chuckled but turned somber when Riley scooted his chair next to mine. He laid his hand on my bare thigh, which sent a shock through my system.
"Do you suppose you could have a crush on me?" He looked like a happy Doberman, cute if you forgot how long the teeth were.
"You leave that girl alone." Ed slid our food on the table. "She's too nice for you, Riley."
"Let the girl speak for herself," laughed Riley, scooting away from me.
A moment had arrived, one of those moments I was never prepared for. Always in the male/female ritual palaver there arises a time when the gambit has been offered. One half of the twosome extends the envelope a bit. They're an adventurer who has climbed to the next plateau. Smiling, they reach down extending a hand. The person below has the option of climbing to that new level or remaining pat and watching the other scramble down to more familiar turf. Jamie recognized the offer. As the three men waited, she debated her options. She could accept Riley's crude overture and shift the entire environment, or she could decline as she had so often done in the past. The familiar was safe, the higher plateau dangerous. A week earlier, she would have had no choice. Fear would have chained her to her present perch. But after Max, she felt surer, braver. Perhaps the time had come to climb to the next platform and face the terrors there.
"Do you fight over all the women in this town?" I pulled my plate in front of me, keeping the conversation light but enjoining the banter.
"Just the pretty ones." Riley winked. Ed shook his head and walked away. Max, digging into his Buffalo Burger, ignored the question altogether. At some instinctual level, they all understood perfectly.
"What do you do around here, Riley, besides play pool?"
"My family raises cattle west of town." He looked proud as he leaned back in the chair and sipped beer. "Five hundred and fourteen head this year."
"Wow." I couldn't imagine raising one cow.
"Jamie doesn't eat beef." Riley looked at Max in disbelief and Max shrugged his shoulders.
"Why not?" Riley asked.
"The whole ecological thing. Besides red meat's not good for your heart."
"Neither are French fries." Riley plucked one off my plate and popped it into his mouth. "You'd be surprised at our ecology. We don't cut down rain forest."
"All I know is what I read."
"You need someone to show you first hand." Riley scooted his chair a little closer. "I'll pick you up and give you a tour of the ranch, show you how nature friendly we are."
I had fielded all kinds of pickup lines in my time, but this one beat the others hands down. A rancher wanted to show a vegetarian how he raised cattle? That was like Satan giving the Pope a tour of Hades. I tried to wipe the smirk off my face.
"That's not necessary, Riley."
"I insist. Besides, how else are you ever going to develop that big crush on me?" His blond hair gave his blue eyes the innocence of a teddy bear, but I suspected something darker lurked below that sedate surface.
"You have a point."
"How about tomorrow?" I looked at Max to see how he felt, but he bit into his sandwich and ignored my glance. We had agreed that we were going to be friends...nothing more.
"Maybe for a couple of hours. I'm writing a novel, and I'm kind of on a roll."
"I'll pick you up at ten." Riley seemed pleased. He picked up his beer and leaned toward Max. "I bet Tammy will be here tomorrow night." Max didn't respond, and Riley looked at me. "She was crazy about him for some unknown reason."
"Max tells me this place hops on Saturday night."
"It's the only thing that does."
"Maybe I'll make him bring me."
"If he don't, I will."
"I'll remember that."
Riley returned his chair to the neighboring table, and Max automatically readjusted his chair closer to mine.
"I'll see you in the morning." Riley casually touched my shoulder.
"I'll be ready." Max seemed to be avoiding eye contact. I waited until Riley returned to the pool table before I spoke.
"You OK?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"You were awfully quiet."
"Who could get a word in with him around?"
"Max, be straight with me. Are you the least bit jealous about me going to look at this guy's cows?"
"Not really..." He fidgeted with his beer mug and avoided my eyes.
"That didn't sound convincing."
"Look, can we talk about this later? I need time to think." Max finished his beer and pushed his plate to the side. Something had upset him. I hoped it was Tammy being back in town and not jealousy about me.
"Sure. Anytime."
Max paid for lunch while I wandered out to the Jeep. The air felt like an oven. The glare off the buildings and sidewalks almost blinded me. We spoke little in the grocery store or on the drive home. I sensed something building inside Max, the way you sometimes sense a storm over the horizon. Waiting was difficult, but neither nature nor Max could be hurried. He had carried the last bag into the kitchen before he offered an explanation.
"Look... Jamie..." He stared at his hands, and I waited patiently for him to find the right words.
"The news about Tammy kind of floored me. I thought I had put her behind me."
"I understand."
"Even though you and I are just friends, I still feel like you're my friend. I mean, I've enjoyed what we've been doing, and having you here, and..." He stopped, and his hands tumbled over each other like newborn pups. After a long sigh, he continued.
"It's hard for me to talk to women. Riley just waltzes up and invites you to look at his cows like he's taking you to Sunday church. I'm not jealous because I'm in love with you. It's not like that. I just don't want to lose what we have. Does that make sense?"
"Perfect sense." I stepped closer and hugged him. "I feel the same way about you and Tammy."
"Really?"
"I want you to find her on Saturday and see if you can rekindle that old flame. But I also don't want to lose my co-experimenter."
Max leaned against the counter and laughed. "More like the co-guinea pigs."
"I think we can help each other."
"How?"
"You help me get more comfortable with the idea of sex, and I help you learn to be more aggressive with women."
"You won't even let me use my hands."
"In time, Max. For right now, you and I need a safe environment with someone we can trust. You need something extra, confidence."
"I'm listening," said Max, encouraging me to continue.
"Women like men who appear confident. I'm betting Riley is as scared of me as you are scared of Tammy. But he handles that fear by acting overconfident, almost to a point of intimidation. That can backfire, but the trick is to act as confident than the woman you're with."
"I can't pretend to be something I'm not."
"How do you know you're not confident?"
"I don't know." Max shrugged his shoulders as though he hadn't thought about it.
"You asked me to go caving the other day, and the only reason I went was because you seemed to know everything about it."
"Really?"
"If you had been the least bit wishy-washy, I never would have gone."
"Now, think of something you would enjoy doing and ask me to join you. Something that you're not certain I will agree to."
Max thought a minute while I shoved the rest of the groceries into the cabinets. As I folded the last bag, I found him grinning.
"You've thought of something."
"Yes!"
"So ask me."
"Let's go skinny dipping!"
"What?" I laughed out loud.
"We'll run down to the lake, strip off our clothes, and jump in the water."
"Max, that's not the kind of suggestion I was considering."
"Jamie." He took my hand and pulled me toward the back door. "You wanted confidence. Now let's go." Before I knew it, I was being pulled out into the back yard. I was laughing so hard, tears streamed down my face.
"Max! Are you crazy?!"
"If I'm listening to your advice, I must be." At the end of the dock, he let go of my hand. I stared in disbelief as he stripped off his shirt and kicked off his shoes.
"Come on, it's fun!" He unsnapped his jeans and slid them off with his shorts until he stood naked on the end of the dock. He leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the cheek before turning.
"Last one in is a rotten egg!"
The splash wet my legs as he dove into the deep water. I realized that I had created a monster and would have to swim to reward his aggressiveness. When he bobbed to the surface and treaded water, I smiled and began a mock striptease. I kicked both shoes on the grass and unbuttoned my cutoffs, my butt turned to Max. Wiggling, I pulled the shorts down slowly. He hooted and whistled. When the shorts hit the dock, I stepped out and kicked them away.
Pretending to be modest was not difficult. I kept my back to Max as I slipped off the T-shirt. In one swift movement, I turned and dove into the lake. The water was colder than I had expected and I came up screaming.
"It's freezing!" I yelled.
"Feels great, doesn't it?"
I swam to the ladder and hung on while my body adjusted to the temperature. "Actually, it does feel refreshing."
Max swam over, put an arm around my waist, and grabbed onto the ladder. "Thanks Jamie." He kissed my cheek.
"For what?"
"I know you dove in for me."
"Well, I hope you've learned your lesson!" We both laughed, and then quieted as we heard the car pull into the drive.
"Oh shit!" I whispered. "And we didn't even bring any towels." I peeked over the dock. "Who is it?"
"Oh God! It's Tammy." Max ducked below the dock and regarded me with horror. I felt like it was my fault that we were in the water naked. Who would ever think we went skinny dipping as a lesson in confidence. If Tammy had any brains, she would never believe the truth.
"Look," I whispered. "I'll stay here and hide. You get her into your place. I'll slip out after you're in there."
"I can't greet her naked!"
"What happened to that confidence? Trust me, she'll be impressed!"
"Either that or she'll never speak to me again."
"Max?" Tammy called from the driveway. It was only a matter of time before she explored the lake.
"If she finds us here, she'll definitely never speak to you."
"Damn," cursed Max. He climbed the ladder and grabbed his clothes.
"Don't act embarrassed!" I whispered. "Act natural."
He jogged toward the house but slowed as she came around the corner. She giggled and he laughed, their words indiscernible as she followed him into his cabin. I waited a few minutes before sneaking up the ladder and grabbing my clothes. I ran like a spooked deer to the house and quietly slipped in the back door. I took the stairs two at a time and plunged into the shower.
©Copyright 1996 - 1998 Angela Preston. These stories may not be reprinted in any form without written permission.