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“Who the hell knows?” Reggie grumbled in resignation. “You know Layla…she does whatever the hell she wants. And honestly, I don’t give two shits about references at this point, that cabin’s been empty for too long now as it is. The chick looks pretty harmless, so I was down with the decision to hand those keys over, no questions asked.”
“So, did Juliet pay up front? How much green did she put down?” P.J. stomped out the butt of his cigarette, then reached into the cooler and grabbed himself a beer.
“Yeah, first, last and a security, that’s a pretty good chunk of cash, so I don’t think she plans on skipping out any time soon, if that’s what you’re wondering. Whyareyou wondering by the way? You interested in your new little neighbor? Got to say, Juliet doesn’t seem your type, man.”
“I don’t have a type.”
“I’d say the strippers over at theWolves Denmight disagree.” Reggie rasped out a chuckle.
P.J. growled into the phone.
“Seriously man, I honestly don’t know much.” Reggie continued. “I only know the basics…name is Juliet Jones, and she’s from Boston, Mass. That’s according to the half assed job she did filling out the lease agreement, but no doubt she could have lied on that. Not sure why she would, but who knows.”
“So, nothing on references, previous residence?”
“Like I said.”
“What’s she doing here? She working?”
“Don’t know.”
“Really? So, you ain’t shittin’ me when you say you got nothing. How is that even possible?” P.J. scrubbed a hard hand through his hair. “Tele-gram, tele-phone, tell-a-Layla.” P.J. and Reggie had recited that old joke too many times to count. “Your woman is always down with knowing all there is to know and likes to share.”
Now, even as P.J. was talking to Reggie and enjoying a beer out on the deck, he kept an eye on Juliet’s house. P.J. sat up in his chair in wide alert when he saw Juliet’s silhouette pass in front of the curtains to her bedroom. Then she stopped in front of the slider and opened the door. For a few moments, Juliet stood still under the star studded sky. With arms heavily laden with an unyielding contraption…a telescope… Layla set the long cylinder up on its frame then tilted it towards the stars. Juliet leaned in, put her eye to the lens and looked through it to view the constellations. She was wearing a soft flannel shirt whose neckline formed a deep v. It was short and covered the top of Juliet’s thighs. Her legs were toned and bare. When the wind breezed up in a sudden spin of fury, the gust lifted and twisted the hem of the short shirt up and around Juliet’s waist, P.J. was gratified to see that his little neighbor apparently liked expensive, lacy panties.
Juliet let out a gasp of shock and surprise when the cool air tickled her. Then she laughed out loud as she played against the wind. Juliet giggled as she pulled and tugged down on her shirt in an effort to cover herself up. Once mission was accomplished, Juliet took one last look at the stars, and inhaled one long, deep, cleansing breath of the crisp night air, before she fled the magic of the starry night and disappeared back into the cabin.
P.J. groaned out a growl of disappointment to see the moment end. Because watching Juliet dancing carefree under a star lit sky, half naked with the wind teasing her clothing and making her giggle? That had been like a gift. It was as if destiny and nature had conspired to give him the most naturally erotic and beautiful spectacle that he had ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
And it certainly had an effect on P.J. His crotch had tightened, his mouth had gone dry, his thoughts had turned impure. An almost impossible urge surged through his body. P.J. was filled with the barely contained need to course through the land that separated Juliet and him. He wanted to fly over the stream, scale the walls to that balcony, crash through the glass door, strip her down, tie her up and claim her as his own.
“You still there, man?” Reggie’s voice cut through the fog of P.J.’s yearning.
“Yeah, I’m still here.” P.J. shot back, but in truth he had completely forgotten that Reggie was still on the phone. He forced himself to refocus. “I’m just wondering what’s up with Layla, and why is it that she picked this particular time to go radio silent.”
“Serious when I tell you, I don’t know. But you’re right. Layla has for sure dummied up on this one. If she knows anything more about Juliet, then she ain’t saying.”
“You tell Layla that it was me who was asking?”
“Yeah, I told her.” Reggie said. “I have your back, man. I made it clear to Layla how I felt about her holding back on getting all the pertinent information on a tenant. I also told her that it was only fair that you should know who the hell it is that you’re sharing a property line with.”
“And?”
“Layla gave me the look. Then she clammed up like a prize oyster and muttered something about Girl Code.”
The next day at work P.J. asked Vivian Welch about Girl Code.
“Girl Code?” Vivian repeated as she snapped her gum and pulled an earbud out of her left ear. Viv was always late for work, full of adolescent angst, and a real pain in the ass. But she was a whizz at cleaning, and stocking shelves was apparentlyher thing.
“It’s like the Holy Grail of do’s and don’ts when it comes to you and your girls. No one messes with the big G.C. It’s like the ten commandments. Except they’re not written down anywhere. They’re like… unspoken. There’s lots of them, but the big three are the Don’t Evers. Don’t Ever leave your girl drunk in a bar, Don’t Ever go after your girl’s ex. And Don’t Ever go blabbing something she told you in confidence. That right there is Girl Code.”
P.J. took a moment to consider Layla’s invocation of Girl Code. He decided to go with the third rule of the Big Three; never blab about something told in confidence. He would love to find out just whatthe said in confidencething was. Something was seriously up with Juliet Jones. P.J. could smell trouble a mile away and this woman was knee deep in it. P.J. decided it might be interesting to find out exactly what the problem was.
It was a couple of weeks before P.J. saw Juliet again. When she spied him at the register she poised uncertainly at the entrance of the market.
“Morning.”
P.J. gave Juliet a dismissive nod, then went back to waiting on Judy Nelson who had three kids in diapers and was currently pregnant with twins. P.J. sold Judy diapers at cost. And P.J. also bought Judy’s husband, Finn, a drink every Saturday night at the Watering Hole. He was a good guy, Finn, one and done and then he’d go on home to his wife and kids.
