Be My Baby Tonight Read Online Free Page A

Suzanna watched, Tim’s smile faded, and he
began tearing up a soggy napkin, avoiding her eyes. “What?”
    “Nothing. He doesn’t really scare me. I just
said that.”
    “Uh-huh,” Suzanna said, then reluctantly
looked at her watch. Damn, it took a few seconds for her eyes to
focus on the watch face. Standing up was going to be a real trick
if she didn’t watch herself.
    It was dark in the bar, but when her mind
finally sorted out the big hand from the little, hand, she was
pretty sure it was nearly one in the morning. Did hotel bars close
at two? “Well, Tim, guess it’s time to go.”
    “Go?” Tim took her hand as she began to rise,
held it, so that she quickly sat back down. Good thing, because she
was feeling pretty shaky.
    “It’s late, Tim, and you said you have to
catch a morning plane? So do I, and I have to return my rental car
first.”
    “But you didn’t tell me anything about you.
All this time, and all we’ve talked about is high school, my trip
to the All-Star game again this year, and Jack. What about you,
Suze? What’ve you been up to?”
    “I told you, Tim. I work for a software
company. We sell the software; the company we sell it to thinks
they can work it. They can’t, they screw it up, and then they call
me in to fix it. I travel, a lot, and... Well, it suits me.”
    “Traveling’s okay,” Tim said, “for a while.
Used to be I loved it, but now these long road trips, especially to
the coast, can be a real drag.” He tipped his head to one side,
looked at her. “The coast. That’s where you went, right? How come
you never wrote?”
    “Well... I... I guess I was too busy?” She
didn’t remind him that he hadn’t written to her, either. Even
though she’d written the address of her dorm in a birthday card
she’d sent to both he and Jack. There had been a giraffe on the
front of the card, she remembered. A two-headed giraffe.
    That was what she always did with Tim. Kept
it light, kept it funny. Hid everything else. Otherwise, the little
she had might become nothing.
    “Busy. Tell me about it,” he said, leaning
forward.
    She blinked, startled by his question. Tell
him about the giraffe? No, that couldn’t be what he’d meant. Man,
she’d better get out of here, pop a couple of Tylenol, and hope she
made it to the bed before she passed out.
    “Come on, Suze. Tell me what it was like to
go to college in sunny California. Did you wear flowers in your
hair?”
    “Wrong decade, Tim,” Suzanna said, laughing.
But then he asked her again, and he looked so cute when he begged;
so she told him about what it had been like in California... right
after he got them both another beer.
    She never knew she liked beer so much. She
hadn’t had any since college. She never had more than a glass of
wine, ever since she’d turned twenty-one and the thrill of sneaking
an illegal sip was gone.
    But this was fun. She felt sort of soft, and
liquidy, or something. And she wasn’t nervous anymore.
    That was nice.
    * * *
    “Last call, folks.”
    Tim checked his watch. “Wow, almost two.” He
smiled at Suzanna, who was looking sort of sleepy. Sort of fuzzy
around the edges. Really cute.
    She smiled back at him, her chin cupped in
her hand. “Somebody whistle for my pumpkin,” she said, turning to
the purse sitting on the extra chair, pulling it onto the top of
the table so she could rummage in it for her room key.
    “Don’t you mean your coach, Cinderella?” he
asked, taking her wallet from her so that he could find the key
card to her room.
    “Nope, my pumpkin. It’s already after
midnight. Ah, thanks, Tim,” she said, holding out her hand for the
card.
    He moved his own hand slightly, and she
hesitated before she could follow, her movements slow, a little
clumsy.
    “How many beers did I feed you?” he asked,
holding on to the key card as he helped her to her feet. His own
head felt a little scrambled. He reached into his pocket, threw
four twenties on the table. “Man, how many