Page 75 of Twice as Tempting

Chapter 24

Beth Thompson lived in a Tudor-style home in an upscale neighborhood of Rochester, a prosperous community with a thriving downtown district. When Kelly and Damian pulled up to the house, there were already several cars there, and the front porch was decorated with flashing black and orange lights. Damian parked his truck behind Zack’s Range Rover, and they all headed for the door together.

“We don’t have to stay long,” Kelly whispered to Damian as he tugged on his costume.

“I’ll stay as long as you want to, princess,” he said and took her hand.

Beth greeted them at the door in a 1950s style poodle skirt and tight sweater, with her blonde hair pouffed out in a bouffant. She took turns hugging Kelly and Emma and then asked to be introduced to their dates.

“There’s plenty of food and drinks in the kitchen, so help yourself!” she said before flouncing off to greet some other guests.

The foursome made their way to the kitchen, stopping along the way for Kelly and Emma to say hello to some of their friends. There were a lot of people in the house already, but it was hard to tell who was who behind the costumes. The superheroes received a lot of appreciative glances from the men and the women alike, but when one guy, who was dressed like a police officer, paid a little too much attention to Kelly, Damian quickly gathered her to his side.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Damian whispered. “I don’t like the way the men are ogling you in that getup.”

Kelly put her arm around his waist and squeezed. “I only have eyes for Batman,” she said, which seemed to settle him down, at least for the time being.

After they had filled their plates with appetizers and grabbed some beers to drink, the four of them made their way into the sprawling living room, where most of the guests were congregated. They ate and drank in between chatting with Kelly’s and Emma’s friends and their dates, and the time passed quickly.

“See, dressing up wasn’t so bad after all, was it?” Kelly said, directing her question at Damian.

“Ok, I’ll admit it. I kind of don’t mind being Batman.”

After another round of beers, some of the men broke off to play pool and darts in the Thompsons’s finished basement. Damian and Zack joined them after some convincing from Kelly and Emma.

“We’ll be fine,” Emma said, used to Zack’s overprotective nature. “These are our friends. Go on and have fun!”

Damian made an uncharacteristic show of kissing Kelly on the lips before they departed.

“What was that about?” she asked, even though she didn’t mind in the least.

“I wanted all the dudes to see who you’re with, and now they’ll know better than to mess with Batman.”

Kelly giggled. “I’m pretty sure they know who I’m with, since you haven’t left my side all night. Go on, play pool and let me hang out with the ladies.”

After the men left, Emma turned to Kelly and said, “It looks like everything’s going well with you and Damian. I think it’s sweet how attentive he’s being with you tonight.”

“Maybe it’s because we had a little argument yesterday and he’s trying to make up to me.”

“Oh really? Want to talk about it?”

Kelly was about to share when Beth came over, dragging a woman with her who was dressed up as Daisy Duke from the old television show The Dukes of Hazzard. She wore extremely short denim shorts, a red and black checked shirt that was knotted under her breasts, and fire-engine red high heels. Her chestnut brown hair cascaded down her back in soft waves, just like the character from the show.

She makes a perfect Daisy Duke, Kelly thought as she studied the woman’s face.

“Hey, Kelly, Emma. Do you remember Amanda Jennings? She lived in our dorm, a few floors below us. We went to a few parties together, remember?”

Kelly and Emma exchanged a confused glance, because neither of them recognized Amanda.

“That’s ok. My hair was a lot shorter back then, and it may have even been a shade or two lighter,” Amanda said and laughed.

“Now that you say that, you do look kind of familiar,” Emma said.

“It was a long time ago. No worries,” Amanda said. “Anyway, I’m Amanda Russo now, but I’m flying solo tonight. My husband is out of town on business.”

Kelly kept trying to place her as they chatted, but it was to no avail. After a few more minutes of general chitchat, Amanda excused herself to join another group.

Beth stayed behind and leaned in toward Kelly and Emma conspiratorially. “Amanda lucked out in the husband department. Jake is an executive with a plastics company, and they have beaucoup bucks!”