Suzy Kent staggered home at 6am on a Sunday morning from 'Hey, Wow!" magazine's annual awards ceremony. Stepping out of the taxi, she smoothed her black velvet dress and wearily walked up the stairs....bed was calling. She was disappointed that she didn't win the "New Writer of the Year" award but, frankly, relations between her, her editor and her publisher were strained at the moment. But the free food and drink plus the company and special guest stars; Welsh singing sensation Tom Power and top singer-dancer Nancy Fontana were headline guests.
Suzy trudged up the steps to her home and put the key into the lock of her front door...within seconds she stumbled into her bedroom and crashed out on her bed.
In the nick of time, she was washed, dressed and made up just as he was arriving. At first she didn't quite recognise him.
"Do you like it?" he said, as a way of greeting.
"Like it?" she replied, desperately trying to work out what he was referring to.
"I grew it a little, like you suggested" he continued. Then the penny dropped...his hair, Neil had let his hair grow a bit.
"I really like it" said Suzy, impressed. The new hairstyle suited him. "Come on inside...I'll get some coffee on, fresh brewed. Would you like some?"
"I'd love some" said Neil. Suzy went to gently pat him on the arm as a way of greeting but Neil recoiled, as he was often wont to do. Suzy looked a little upset at this, but Neil blushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, nervous reaction" he said as a way of apology.
"I don't bite" said Suzy, with a coquettish smile. She put the coffee in the machine and they went to sit on the couch together.
"I do like your hair, Neil" she said.
"Thank you and...erm....you look really nice as well. I remember that dress from our trip to the Casbah Gallery. Nice" he said, drumming his fingers on his knees. He could smell Suzy's perfume; it intoxicated him and he found himself shuffling closer to her, quite instinctively. Suzy, taking the cue, shuffled towards him as well until they were touching, side by side.
"Well, this is nice" said Suzy, looking into Neil's eyes.
"Very" he replied. He shifted slightly to make himself more comfortable but his right hand accidentally touched Suzy's thigh. He withdrew it almost immediately. Suzy took his hand and placed it back on her leg.
"I like it" she said, softly. Neil began to stroke her silky soft leg and liked the sensation...Suzy was smiling as well. They gazed into each other's eyes with Neil's heart beating 10 to the dozen but, conversely, he was feeling bolder now.
"Does that feel nice?" he asked her, as he gently stroked her leg.
"Hmmmm" said Suzy, shutting her eyes and enjoying his touch. "More" she added.
Neil duly obliged and found himself feeling less nervous. "I'm wondering..." he said, "are you wearing stockings or pantyhose?"
"That's for me to know..." she said, gazing longingly at him as her faced inched closer to his "...and you to find out"
At that moment, the coffee maker went PING! Neil was suddenly distracted and the sexual tension dissipated for the moment.
"I tell you what" he said "I'll make the coffee" and with that he stood up and went into the kitchen. Suzy smiled wryly and silently cursed the coffee machine's complete lack of romance but she too stood up and followed Neil into the kitchen.
"Forget about that" she said, grabbing him by the hand "What do you want right now? I bet you it's not coffee"
"No..." he said "I really want...I really want....to...do....THIS!"
The kiss was everything both of them wanted. They completely forgot about the coffee, went back to the couch and made out. When they did pause for air, Neil was feeling bold and asked her "shall we make this official? Boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"I thought you'd never ask" she replied, putting her arms around his neck and kissing him some more. The next couple of hours went like a blur and Suzy was thinking that at this rate they might reconvene in the bedroom but a buzzer alarm on Neil's wristwatch went off.
"Darn" he said. "I've got work in an hour"
"Take a day off!" said Suzy, clenching him around the waist.
"I can't...but I'm so, so glad we've had this time together. We'll do this again...and again...and it'll be brilliant!" He gave her one last, big kiss that lasted all the way from the living room to the front door as they shuffled towards it without breaking contact.
After saying their goodbyes, Suzy shut the door and almost fell faint. "Wow!" she said. Finally, she had breached the romantic defences of Neil! "That guy has the most AMAZING hands!" she said, fanning herself in all the excitement.
But there was no time to take it all in; there was another knock on the door. Maybe it was Neil, changing his mind and wanting to stay with her? Alas, no, but it was a nice thing nonetheless...the visitor was Summer Holiday.
"Oh my gosh, Summer, come in quickly....I've got amazing news!" she said, excitedly.
"What is it? Did I see Neil walking down the road? Are you and he?"
"YES! He and I are an item...it's official. And, well, it got a bit steamy in here just now!"
"It's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for!" said Summer. "Barbara says that about Jeremy"
The two girls gossiped for a bit but then Suzy had an idea she wanted to put past Summer. "Neil's got a work shift now and I've got free time...how would you like to go out for some drinks and a girly catch up whilst helping me with my story?" she said.
"OK, who are we trying to track down now?" said Summer, knowing what "helping with a story" meant.
"Malcolm Landgraab...I want to find out where he is; we're not going to confront him but I do want to observe him with his school friends...he's up to something, I'm sure"
"I know where we're going" said Summer. "The Bowl-O-Rama"
"That was one uncomfortable cab ride" said Summer, practically hunched over when they arrived at the Bowl-O-Rama.
"Tell me about it" replied Suzy. "Let's take our places in our usual spot and we can spot Malcolm approaching"
The girls went to the upstairs bar area, took their seats at the bar and ordered drinks and snacks. Popcorn was on offer and Suzy grabbed a bowl.
"Right...what we're looking for is Malcolm dealing with other high schoolers in illegal substances...narcotics, mainly" said Suzy.
"WHAT?" Replied Summer. "We're doing the Vice Squad's job for them?"
"Just a little investigative journalism." said Suzy. "I'll turn over whatever I find to the police, don't worry, and we won't be confronting him. I just want to see what he does and get some pictures" she said, pulling out a small camera from her handbag.
The girls spent half their time looking out the window, trying to spot Malcolm Landgraab, but he hadn't shown by the time of their second glasses of wine. A well dressed man in a suit sat next to Summer.
"Now let me guess your name" he began. "It's melodic...like a song upon the night air. The syllables trip off the tongue effortlessly and it conjures up images of symphonies and sonnets"
"It's Summer, actually" she replied.
"Summer...well that's just perfect" he said, smiling. "My name is J.J."
"Which stands for?"
"Just Jealous of the man who has stolen your heart" said J.J.
Summer chuckled. "Nice try, J.J....really, I hadn't heard that one before"
"Well, fortune favours the bold as they say" he said, raising a glass in cheers at hers.
"J.J....if you were ten years younger, maybe. Plus I don't think your wife would appreciate our conversation" she said, noticing his wedding ring.
"Ah the giveaway" said J.J., wistfully. "Well, may I buy you and your friend a purely platonic drink?"
"We wouldn't turn down such generosity" said Summer and her and Suzy enjoyed a third glass of wine.
It was getting near dark and Malcolm hadn't shown up yet. Summer got to her feet but felt a bit tipsy. "Whoa, this stuff really goes to your head!" she said. "I need to get home...are you going to be OK if I go?"
"Sure" said Suzy. "I don't think he's coming...most of the teens here are already heading home."
"Tell you what...you go one way, I'll go the other and we'll do one last loop of the place to see if he's hanging around the back or something"
"Agreed. I'll check the front, you check the back...and either of us see him, just signal" said Suzy.
The girls split up and Summer realised just how many hidden niches there were around this part of Newcrest. If Malcolm Landgraab wanted to conduct an illegal drug trade, he could easily do it out of sight around here. After a 10 minute search, neither girl had spotted him...he had got away, this time.
