The weather turned cooler again. It wasn’t cold enough yet for winter coats, but it was cooler than normal for October in the Washington, D.C. area. Consequently, Molly’s skirts were getting longer and pants returned to her wardrobe. Today she wore a wool pinstriped pantsuit. The wide collar on her white dress shirt spread out over the lapels of the navy suit. Shoe Guy’s silver necklace still hung prominently around her neck.
Molly’s officemate was out on maternity leave. This left Corbin as one of the few people in the office to whom she liked to talk. Hence, she spent a lot of time in his office. As usual, she sat on his desk with her feet on the extra chair.
“I am sooooo bored. Entertain me,” she pleaded.
Corbin shrugged his shoulders. “What do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know. Juggle. . do a magic trick. Tell me a story.”
“What kind of story?”
“Tell me what you and Beckett were up to before he left? I’m sure the statute of limitations has run out on whatever crime it was.” Molly never let up on her suspicions about June 14th and she occasionally tried to trick Corbin into giving up details of what he and Beckett had done. This comment, however, was not a serious attempt.
Corbin didn’t respond.
“Ever hear from Beckett?” she asked.
Corbin shook his head.
“Strange little man.” Molly wrinkled her nose and smirked. “What do you think his wife is like? I’ll bet she’s a retired hooker or a mail-order bride.”
“As far as I know, they’re a normal, happy, loving couple of twenty-some years.”
“If they’re happy and loving after twenty years, then they’re not normal.” Molly began picking at one of her nails. “Heard anything about T’s new boyfriend?”
“Nope.”
“Me neither. She’s not talking to anybody about him.”
“I couldn’t help but notice your feud has died down.”
This time Molly shrugged her shoulders.
“How goes the plan to get rid of Carl?” Carl was the new guy’s real name, though Molly still called him “new guy” to his face and an assortment of nasty names behind his back.
She frowned. “The plan hit a snag.”
“I hear they’re repainting the office,” Corbin said. This was true. They were changing the dingy white walls and beige moldings to off-white walls and dark-beige moldings.
Molly began kicking the extra chair’s seatback with one foot, while holding the chair in place with the other foot.
“How’s it going with Shoe Guy and Clerk Guy?”
Molly frowned. “They’re ok. Shoe Guy drops a lot of coin on me, but he’s kind of dull.” She fingered the necklace he gave her. “Clerk Guy. . Clerk Guy’s days may be numbered.”
“Really, what happened?”
“Nothing. . literally.” Despite her reputation around the office, Molly never made the first move with her boyfriends, but it was understood they would. Clerk Guy didn’t. For a while, this fascinated and perplexed her, and she spent a couple weeks driving everyone in the office crazy trying to figure out why he hadn’t. But as his reticence continued, her fascination turned to frustration, then annoyance.
“At least you’ve still got Shoe Guy.”
“Any problems to report between you and what’s-her-name?”
“No, everything’s fine.”
“You know what the problem is with you men?” Molly asked, suddenly annoyed. She gave the chair a strong kick before pushing it away and sliding off the desk.
“What?”
“You fall in love, and you become so damn boring.” She made for the door, again without returning the chair.
“Maybe we just become better people?” Corbin called after her.
“No, just more boring.”
Corbin and Penny sat on Corbin’s couch. They were kissing. Penny sat next to Corbin, with her legs draped over his lap and her left arm wrapped around his neck. She wore a sleeveless black dress which ended just above her knees. She’d worn this dress so they could go to dinner at an expensive restaurant downtown. They never made it. As they kissed, Corbin’s left hand wrapped around the outside and back of her right thigh, just below the hem of the skirt. He moved his hand along her thigh, but didn’t go further up her skirt than an inch. His right hand teased her back, just above the dress’s zipper, and up to her neck. He could hear her breathing heavily.
Penny’s right hand slipped in and out Corbin’s blue dress shirt where she’d undone a couple of buttons. She’d already removed his red and gold tie. As she ran her fingers across his chest, she leaned her head back, encouraging Corbin to kiss her neck. He accepted the invitation and tenderly kissed a spot she liked just below her ear. As his lips worked their way down to the top of her dress, she playfully ruffled his hair. Soon, his lips returned to hers and his left hand moved up her thigh another inch. She responded by undoing another button on his shirt, a lower button. There weren’t many left.
Penny stared into Corbin’s eyes. He still had that look with the soft sparkly eyes which made her feel so warm and comfortable. As she ran her fingers through his hair, he gave the zipper at the back of her dress a slight tug. She smiled. A moment later, she kicked off her heels. Then she pulled herself off of Corbin and rearranged herself on top of him, with one knee on either side of his legs. She could feel his excitement. He reached for the zipper with his right hand and pushed his left hand all the way up the back of her thigh. She slid her hands behind her back and helped him unzip the dress. Then she leaned over and kissed him, slipping her arms out of her dress as she did. As Corbin’s hands moved to explore this newly exposed area, Penny unbuttoned the last of his shirt buttons, before her hands moved lower.