front. He opened the car door for her, told the driver to wait for him, and escorted her up the stairs to the entry.
She wanted to invite him up, but knew her mother would embarrass her by asking a thousand questions. They'd get no privacy, even for an innocent conversation. "My mother is home."
"I know." He cupped her face in his hands. His eyes were so brown, with little gold flecks, like yellow stars.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
She felt his moustache before his lips touched hers, but soon the world faded out and there was no one and nothing but Ace and her. His teeth worried her lower lip until she gasped, and his tongue found hers as they deepened their embrace. He kissed her like that, demanding and coaxing all at once, for several minutes, then eased away.
Her breasts felt cold as her body parted from his. She couldn't think of anything to say; her brain was mush.
"G'night, li'l girl."
He took the keys from her hand and unlocked the door, nudging her in and handing her keys back to her.
"I'll pick you up at 6:30. Wear somethin' pretty."
"Mmm-hmm. G'night Ace."
She turned and oozed up the interior stairs like so much trembling jelly.
Chapter 2
"I don't like it."
"Mama, it's a date. I've been on dates before."
"I'm feeling awful today, Gabby. Why do you have to go?" Anita Appleby fussed with the throw over her lap as she sat in her cushy recliner. The chair dominated the room, but no more so than Anita's grumpy personality.
"I told Ace I'd go, Mama. And Mrs. Riley from down the hall is going to come check on you a few times. You like her."
Anita sniffed. "Yeah, she's okay. Is he going to come upstairs and meet me before he drags you away?"
Maybe agreeing to it would help her mother cope with being left alone two evenings in a row. "Is it important to you?"
"Yeah. I want you to be safe. You don't know this guy well."
If her mother knew what she'd experienced with Ace already, she'd try to forbid Gabby from ever seeing him again. And there was the age issue. Ace and her mother were the same age, since her mother had had her at only eighteen. Anita was not going to like that one bit.
"I know him well enough for a date, Mama. There might not be time for an introduction."
"Make time, Gabby."
Gabby made a non-committal sound and went back to the bathroom to finish brushing her hair. Her mother persisted, hollering through the apartment. "Where's he taking you?"
"Hoboken. To Fanciful."
"I read a review of that place in the Times. It's damned expensive. Is he trying to buy some pussy?"
"Mama!"
"Well, let's be honest, Gabby. You don't have more than that to offer."
That stung. Couldn't she offer conversation, a sense of humor, something pretty to look at? But maybe her mother was right. Maybe she should call and cancel before her fantasies were destroyed utterly.
She answered more defensively than she intended. "That's not what he's after. I know a creep when I meet one."
The woman was stubbornly persistent. "Why don't you let me make my own judgment?"
Gabby ground her teeth together. "Alright! I'll invite him up."
Anita relented a little. "I don't want my baby to get mixed up with the wrong sort of man, like I did."
"I know, Mama. Ace is nothing like my father. But I have to warn you, he's older than me."
Anita dismissed the warning. "Older is okay. It means he's getting established in his career. If he can afford Fanciful, he must be doing alright for himself."
Gabby remembered Ace's ranch and the fact that he was in New Jersey to investigate an investment and came to the same conclusion. She was not about to be bought like a streetlamp whore, though. "I doubt we'll get into Fanciful, Mama."
"Come help me up so I can fix my face and hair. Every step is agony for me these days."
Putting down her hairbrush, Gabby hurried over to her mother, like always. She reminded herself that her mother had made many sacrifices for her when Gabby was small and no father was around. But from the time she was
She wanted to invite him up, but knew her mother would embarrass her by asking a thousand questions. They'd get no privacy, even for an innocent conversation. "My mother is home."
"I know." He cupped her face in his hands. His eyes were so brown, with little gold flecks, like yellow stars.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be."
She felt his moustache before his lips touched hers, but soon the world faded out and there was no one and nothing but Ace and her. His teeth worried her lower lip until she gasped, and his tongue found hers as they deepened their embrace. He kissed her like that, demanding and coaxing all at once, for several minutes, then eased away.
Her breasts felt cold as her body parted from his. She couldn't think of anything to say; her brain was mush.
"G'night, li'l girl."
He took the keys from her hand and unlocked the door, nudging her in and handing her keys back to her.
"I'll pick you up at 6:30. Wear somethin' pretty."
"Mmm-hmm. G'night Ace."
She turned and oozed up the interior stairs like so much trembling jelly.
Chapter 2
"I don't like it."
"Mama, it's a date. I've been on dates before."
"I'm feeling awful today, Gabby. Why do you have to go?" Anita Appleby fussed with the throw over her lap as she sat in her cushy recliner. The chair dominated the room, but no more so than Anita's grumpy personality.
"I told Ace I'd go, Mama. And Mrs. Riley from down the hall is going to come check on you a few times. You like her."
Anita sniffed. "Yeah, she's okay. Is he going to come upstairs and meet me before he drags you away?"
Maybe agreeing to it would help her mother cope with being left alone two evenings in a row. "Is it important to you?"
"Yeah. I want you to be safe. You don't know this guy well."
If her mother knew what she'd experienced with Ace already, she'd try to forbid Gabby from ever seeing him again. And there was the age issue. Ace and her mother were the same age, since her mother had had her at only eighteen. Anita was not going to like that one bit.
"I know him well enough for a date, Mama. There might not be time for an introduction."
"Make time, Gabby."
Gabby made a non-committal sound and went back to the bathroom to finish brushing her hair. Her mother persisted, hollering through the apartment. "Where's he taking you?"
"Hoboken. To Fanciful."
"I read a review of that place in the Times. It's damned expensive. Is he trying to buy some pussy?"
"Mama!"
"Well, let's be honest, Gabby. You don't have more than that to offer."
That stung. Couldn't she offer conversation, a sense of humor, something pretty to look at? But maybe her mother was right. Maybe she should call and cancel before her fantasies were destroyed utterly.
She answered more defensively than she intended. "That's not what he's after. I know a creep when I meet one."
The woman was stubbornly persistent. "Why don't you let me make my own judgment?"
Gabby ground her teeth together. "Alright! I'll invite him up."
Anita relented a little. "I don't want my baby to get mixed up with the wrong sort of man, like I did."
"I know, Mama. Ace is nothing like my father. But I have to warn you, he's older than me."
Anita dismissed the warning. "Older is okay. It means he's getting established in his career. If he can afford Fanciful, he must be doing alright for himself."
Gabby remembered Ace's ranch and the fact that he was in New Jersey to investigate an investment and came to the same conclusion. She was not about to be bought like a streetlamp whore, though. "I doubt we'll get into Fanciful, Mama."
"Come help me up so I can fix my face and hair. Every step is agony for me these days."
Putting down her hairbrush, Gabby hurried over to her mother, like always. She reminded herself that her mother had made many sacrifices for her when Gabby was small and no father was around. But from the time she was
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