Brown Eyes

"This is such a nice place, Clark. All of it. Inside, outside. And it's so much quieter here, too."

"I enjoy it and I hope you will, too," he told her. They called the dogs who came tearing at them as they all went back inside.

"Okay, chocolate, vanilla, or butter pecan?" he asked.

"Someone likes frozen yogurt," Randi said when she saw all three containers out on the counter.

"It's my one weakness," he confessed.

"They all sound so good," she said trying to decide.

"How about a frozen yogurt medley? We'll both have a little of all three. What do you say?"

"I say...sign me up!" Randi told him as he scooped a little of each flavor into their bowls.

They took a seat at the kitchen table and as they nibbled and sampled, they finally had the opportunity to really talk.

"So I just ignored by father's advice and went ahead and got married a couple of weeks after graduation. At 18, I thought I was all grown up and knew everything. Little did I know just how little I really knew."

"We live and learn, right?" Clark offered.

"How about you? I know you're single, but have you ever been close before?" she asked.

"To getting married? No. No way. I've been a confirmed bachelor forever," he told her proudly.

"Oh, I see," she said trying not to let her disappointment show.

He saw her stop smiling and quickly look down at her bowl.

"But things have a way of changing, you know?" he said waiting for her to look at him again.

"They do?" she asked not sure what he meant.

"Well, you realized you rushed into getting married and I find myself realizing I may have waited long enough."

He smiled then said, "Were I to meet the right girl, who knows?"

She finally looked at him again and he asked her, "So...what about you, Randi? Do you think you'll ever want to get married again?"

She stirred her yogurt mixing the flavors together then said, "Um...yeah, I think so. Like you said, I'd have to meet the right guy, but sure, I'd like to be married again someday."

"You won't have any trouble attracting a lot of attention whenever you finally are ready to put yourself back on the market, so to speak. You're really very attractive, you know."

"Me?" she said feeling the redness creeping up her neck again.

"Yes, you," he told her with a smile. "You might intimidate a lot of men who aren't as tall as you are, but for someone like me, you'd be pretty much perfect."

Randi nearly choked as she swallowed a bite of swirled, frozen yogurt.

"You okay?" Clark asked as she coughed and sputtered.

She quickly fanned her hand in front of her mouth several times as she cleared her airway. "I think so," she said finally able to talk.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think I just embarrassed you again," he said kindly with another one of his smiles.

"That seems to be happening a lot, huh?" she said forced to admit the truth.

Again sensing her discomfort, Clark changed topics.

"What you like to do for fun, Randi?" he asked her.

"Fun? What's that?" she said trying not to smile.

"Yeah, you haven't exactly had much of that lately, have you?" he offered. "I have an idea—for fun."

"Just remember I've got one whole cool dollar to my name," she said in a kind of playful warning.

"Have you ever watched hydroplane racing out on Lake Washington?"

"No, I haven't," she told him. "I've seen highlights on the news—back when I had a television. Isn't it dangerous?"

"Like anything involving speed, it can be. The boats are about 30 feet long, weigh up 6,000 pounds, and can hit speeds of up to 200 mph so yes, sometimes things go wrong. But it's also very exciting—and fun. You wanna head out there tomorrow and watch?"

The invitation sent Randi's heart from beating normally to thumping hard and fast in an instant.

"Um, sure. That sounds...that sounds—fun," she said with a nervous smile.

"Great! Then it's a date!" he said as the redness, which Clark pretended not to see, spread out again from her neck to her cheeks.

"I own a boat and we can take it out on the water and watch the race up close. Well, as close as possible, anyway. You can actually see the race better on TV, but there's nothing like the experience of being there and feeling the vibration from the roar of the engines," he told her.

"I'm game to try something new," she assured him. She wanted to tell him she'd try pretty much anything new—with him—so she was glad he hadn't picked something like skydiving.

"Would you like some more frozen yogurt?" Clark asked when Randi's bowl was empty.

"Oh, no thank you. I'm very full and that was really good."

He wanted to invite her to stay a little longer and she was hoping he would, but neither of them spoke so Randi told him she thought it was probably time to take Rex and head back upstairs.

"I could really stand to do some laundry anyway," she said as she got ready to leave. She called Rex who was laying peacefully next to Flame.

"Hmmm. Something tells me these two may be inseparable," Clark said as he watched Rex raise an eyebrow but otherwise not move.

"Do you mind?" Randi asked.

"Not at all. I'd say they'll be up and down those stair off and on all the time so unless we do put up a gate...."

"And if we do, then they'd probably just start barking," Randi said.

"That's what I was thinking. This way, they can stay together and get some exercise. Dalmatians need a lot of it, you know."

"Oh, do I ever!" Randi said. "Speaking of Dalmatians, can we take them with us tomorrow?"

"Absolutely! Flame and Smoke spent a lot of time with me out on the water so yes, they'll be coming along."

"Okay, well, then I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," she said with a smile. "Any idea what time?"

"It'll start around 3pm so if we leave here at one, we can get the boat out on the water by two and possibly get a decent spot. It gets kind of crowded out there."

"I had no idea it was so popular," she admitted.

"It's really not," Clark said with a big smile. "It's more of an excuse to party than to watch the race."

"Oh," Randi said quietly.

"It's the drinking, isn't it?" he said putting two and two together.

"I'm not a tea toddler, I just don't do the 'partying' thing anymore. It's not only the bad experiences with my husband. Drinking costs money and well, you know the story there. But I will have a beer with you if it's not too cold."

"Cold is a relative term around here, isn't it? It's supposed to be around 60 or so for the high so is that cold to you?" he asked.

"Sixty isn't bad at all for this time of year," she had to admit although she knew she'd probably still be chilly if not cold.

"Exactly. It's almost shorts and tee-shirt weather!" Clark told her.

"Almost," she said. "I'm not quite that brave."

"Dang it!" Clark said.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I was just hoping to get a chance to see you in a bikini, but if sixty is cold then...."

Clark saw the 'flame' in her cheeks and quickly apologized.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly.

Randi wasn't about to admit she'd blushed because she wanted to be able to show off her body a little even though she didn't think it was anywhere near as hot as his and that was also part of the reason for the blushing.

She pointed over her shoulder and up towards the ceiling as she said, "I guess I'll just head back upstairs now. And yet again, thank you. This time for the yogurt and the conversation."

"I enjoyed it, too," he told her. "Oh, I have cable hooked up so the TV upstairs should work. Give me a holler if doesn't, okay?"

"You know I could do that quite literally, right? The hollering?" Randi said with a bright, happy smile.

"Oh, right. Yeah, maybe you could just walk downstairs and let me know then."

"Goodnight, Clark," she said still smiling sweetly.

"Goodnight, Randi," he said back. "Randi? I'm really glad you're here."

"Me, too," she said quietly before disappearing up the stairs.

Randi did do a load of laundry and that pretty much washed all of the underwear, socks, tee-shirts, and jeans she owned. She'd gotten so used to saving money at the laundromat she just tossed everything together in one big load. Fortunately, nothing was new so there was no dye to bleed onto her delicates; delicates badly in need of being replaced. Maybe without paying rent she'd be able to do that sometime this year. Maybe.

Having so few things, her clothes were all washed and her new place was perfectly organized in less than two hours of moving stuff around just the way she wanted. It was only 10pm when she laid down and turned on the TV.

She found a romantic comedy and as much as she enjoyed it, it only reminded her of how long it had been since she'd had any romance in her life. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry as the main characters fell in love, had the standard misunderstanding toward the end, then realized how much they really were in love during the last couple of minutes.

When it ended, she found herself feeling safe, secure, and free of the myriad of worries over which she had obsessed for months. As she turned off the lights and closed her eyes, she thought of him. First was the calendar photo. That smile and those...suspenders. The thick, black hair. And those gorgeous brown eyes. Her hand moved slowly to a place it hadn't visited in a very long time and being oh-so-careful not to make any noise, she saw him coming to her rescue when her tire blew out. He was at the kennel smiling at her while being flirted with by Penny. She saw him again in the firehouse offering her something to eat and then standing up to Mrs. Crowley. She saw his biceps bulging as he moved her bed and dresser out of her apartment. And then she imagined him on the boat pulling off his tee-shirt because he thought it was too warm.

And that's when it happened. Her body released a torrent of pent-up sexual energy that came in one glorious, pleasant wave after another. She bit her lip to ensure she didn't whimper or moan out loud as her body spasmed—tensing then relaxing several times.

Randi's breathing was fast and hard as she came then returned to normal as she lay basking in the afterglow wondering what it might possibly be like were he to actually....

The next thing she remembered was Rex licking her face at 6:30am.

"You gotta go potty, don't you?" she said wishing she could sleep another hour.

She threw the covers off then heard a very quiet, "Rex? Come, boy!"

Her dog turned and ran down the stairs. Randi heard the door open and shut and she just smiled. "Rescued again," she thought as she drifted back to sleep.

It was a little after 10am when Randi finally got up. She hadn't slept later than 7am in so long she couldn't remember and for once, she felt totally rested.

She put on a pot of coffee then washed her face and thought, "Where is Rex?" It was so quiet it concerned her.

She threw on her robe then tiptoed downstairs even though she knew Clark had been awake for several hours. She peeked into his place and neither saw nor heard anything. She walked into the kitchen and looked out the back and there they were. All three of them.

She went out the back door and watched. Clark had Rex sitting, laying down, and standing on command. He'd wanted to bolt when he saw his human, but Clark had said firmly, "Stay!" and Rex didn't move.

Randi was chilly in her robe, but she had to see this up close.

Clark held up a rawhide bone. Rex looked but didn't move. "Stay!" he said before throwing it. He then walked toward the bone, stopped, and made Rex wait for maybe ten seconds before calling out, "Come!" Rex ran straight to him then sat without touching the bone. Finally, Clark said, "Take it!" and Rex happily grabbed it. "Go play!" he said and Rex took off and joined Flame who'd been sniffing the grass.

"Very impressive," Randi said as Clark walked back her way.

"Oh, not really," he said. "You can get most dogs to sit and stay in a few minutes. It's teaching them to heel and everything else that takes time. The good thing is they love obedience training so this is fun for him."

"Now that I have a yard, I'll come out here and play fetch with him, too."

"Oh, speaking of fetch...Rex! Come!"

Rex ran straight to him still holding the bone.

"Drop!" he said. Rex laid the bone down.

"Sit and stay!" This time Clark threw it but stayed put. It hit the ground and ten seconds later he said, "Fetch!"

Rex tore off and grabbed the bone and ran straight back to Clark.

"Drop. Sit. Good boy!" he said followed by a lot of petting.

"Oh, my goodness! You did all that this morning?" she asked.

"We've been at it for over two hours, but yes, he picked that all up this morning. Just use the same commands every time and he'll do exactly what you want."

"You're a man of many talents, Brown Eyes," she told him.

"Jack of all trades, master of none," he told her. "I do pretty well with firefighting, but other than that, I know just enough to be dangerous about a whole lot of things."

His smile was killing her. "Can I interest you in a cup of coffee? It should be ready by now."

"I had one at 6:30, but sure, I could do that," he said. He called for the dogs and they romped over and followed them inside.

Randi told him how this was the first time she'd slept in in forever and said, "I have you to thank for that, too, Clark. I was finally able to fall asleep not worried about money, food, bills...Mrs. Crowley—in a very long time."

Clark laughed. "She's a bitter old woman. I actually feel sorry for her in a way."

Randi made a face and said, "I'm not quite there yet, but give me some time and I might be able to muster up a little sympathy for her."

"Have you had anything to eat yet?" Clark asked.

"Oh, no. I literally woke up two minutes before I walked downstairs and trespassed right through your home."

"Don't be silly. You're welcome anytime, Randi," he told her. "Well, since you need breakfast and I'll be ready for lunch soon, how about letting me take us out to eat?"

"Oh, Clark. No, you don't need to do that. I finally have food in the house and I can make something. I could make something for you, too."

"I'm sure you could," he said, "but I kinda like spending time with you."

He saw her quickly look away then said, "Maybe we could get an early start on the day. We'll get something to eat then come get the dogs and head out to the lake."

"Well, I suppose if you were to twist my arm I could do that," she said with a happy smile. "Just give me some time to shower and get ready, okay?"

"You got it!" he told her.

They finished their coffee and Randi got up and said it was time to start getting ready.

"So we're okay on the dogs having free range up and down, day or night?" Clark asked before she walked away.

"I'm good with that if you are," she answered as she headed to the shower.

"Great. I'll leave Flame up here for now although they'll both probably follow me downstairs."

"And then be right back up here!" she said as she closed the bedroom door.

The only decent things Randi had to wear were a little black dress, one pair of black pants, a blue skirt, and a tan-colored, long-sleeved sweater. She didn't want to tell Clark she found 60 degrees to be chilly, but that was the truth. Like most women, she was chilly or cold most of the year, but the unbelievably beautiful scenery made up for it.

She put on a clean pair of jeans, an old camisole, and the sweater, then blow dried her hair and put on some mascara, the only makeup she had or could afford. She looked at the pair of gold earrings in her jewelry box and thought, "Why not?" before putting them on, too.

She reached for her coat then decided against it hoping they wouldn't be outside for longer than it took to walk in and out of Clark's truck.

"Yoo-hoo!" she said as she came downstairs.

"Well, hello to you, too!" he said when he saw her. He was clearly checking her out but not in any crude way. "Wow! You clean up right nice, Missy."

Thankfully, she didn't blush for once. She smiled, thanked him, then said, "You, too."

He was wearing a short-sleeved, light-blue shirt with navy-colored shorts and a pair of brownish Topsiders without socks. 'Yummy' was the word that came to mind when Randi saw him, his gorgeous body showing through loud and clear.

"You ready?" he asked.

Clark took her to iHOP on East Madison, a place Randi learned was one of his favorites.

"I could eat breakfast three times a day," he told her as he ordered a stack of pancakes with scrambled eggs.

Randi also had scrambled eggs with toast and orange juice.

As they ate, the topic of her marriage and pending divorce came up.

"Todd, my husband, is one of those guys who's always looking to strike it rich quick, you know? He hates feeling 'trapped' and he's always on the go, looking for the next gimmick or game to make a fast buck. We never had much money, but at some point he managed to just absolutely bury us in debt. I had no idea how bad until he came home one night beat to hell."

"Literally beaten?" Clark asked.

"Oh, yes. Quite literally. He started off telling me he fell but he was black and blue from head to toe. So then he says he had a few drinks and got into a fight at a bar. I believed that because he was always out drinking and/or gambling. Well, I believed it until the next day when these two big, burly guys showed up with this small guy. They were asking for Todd—and their money. I found out he owed the little guy nearly ten grand and they'd extracted 'pound of flesh' to send a message."

"Jesus. Talk about scary," Clark said.

"Tell me about. I was standing their shaking when Todd finally came to the door. The little guy says, 'Oh, there you are. I was thinkin' my friends here might have to um...have some fun with the misses.' Todd tried telling them to leave me out of it and one of the big guys hit him. Doubled him over right next to me."

"I hope that's when you left him," Clark said genuinely concerned and upset.

"It took me a few days to get up the courage, but yes, I did get out. I mean, I had no money, no nothing. Just Rex and my clothes and that old car and my job at the pet center. A friend told me about subsidized housing and food stamps which led me to Mrs. Crowley and the rest is history."

Clark reached out an put his hand on hers and said, "I'm really sorry you had to go through that, Randi."

"He was such a good guy, you know? I mean, before the drinking and the gambling. But Todd's a dreamer not a doer. The thought of a regular, 9-5 job scares him like nothing else."

"I don't know the man so I won't comment. All I will say is you deserve better."

He smiled at her while his hand still rested on hers before saying, "I think you're a pretty amazing and special woman, Randi."

Her body released a surge of endorphins or adrenaline or something very strong and very pleasant as she drank in his words.

"Than you, Clark. That's the kind of thing I dreamed of hearing my husband say to me for as long as I can remember."

He saw her eyes glistening with tears so he squeezed her hand gently then said, "You know you're safe now, right?"

Randi reached for a napkin with her free hand and dabbed her eyes.

"Yes. I do," she said mustering up a smile. "I owe you so much, Clark. I...."

"You don't owe me anything," he told her quietly. "I really do like you—a lot."

Randi's tears were dry and her heart was pounding as she squeezed back and said just as quietly, "I really like you too, Clark."

He smiled happily at her and said, "So, you ready to go get our two best buddies and head out to the lake?"

She smiled back and said, "Yes. Yes, I am. I'm...very ready."

The flashing sign at the bank said it was 55 degrees out and it was just after noon. Sixty very well might be the warmest it would get, but Randi wasn't about to give in and wear her coat. She knew how silly that was yet she wanted Clark to think she was as tough as she was independent no matter how ridiculous that might be.