The Price of Candy Read Free

asked herself. Why not make out with him a few
times? Wait until he starts to cool off then shoot him. An
interesting interlude, but she decided going directly for the gold
was more important.
    Her murder scheme all started back on the
night they returned from their first date. They had nestled in her
living room talking and drinking until she felt sufficiently
buzzed. Then she was ready. She started unbuttoning her blouse
while leading him to the bedroom.
    It was nice to be wanted, but he was overly
excited. For more than an hour, he had sat on the couch watching
her bare legs moving around carefree under her short denim skirt.
At last in the bedroom, he popped before she could get her shoes
off. Her jaw dropped. With her shoulders hunched and palms turned
up, she gave him the classic what-the-hell-was-that look. She was
pissed. What did she expect, almost thirty years old and still
living with his mother? She hurried him out of the house that night
and demanded he never call her again. Never! Got it, Toby?
Never!
    The next day he phoned.
    “I think I’ll be okay next time,” he pleaded.
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot. So, I’m kind of used to you
now.”
    “I’m glad you’ve been practicing, but no
thanks.” Even considering her lousy sex life, one must have
standards. No point in giving him a second chance, she thought.
With his evident level of experience, he probably didn’t know
what-went-where. Men can have their virgins, women prefer someone
who knows what they’re doing.
    He showed up uninvited at her door anyway.
There’s no pest like a horny pest. Fortunately for her she decided
to let him in. He babbled about some money, big money. She wasn’t
buying any male bullshit to get her back in bed. While sitting
there wondering how to get him out of the house, he reached in his
pocket and came out with some bills to show her. It didn’t look
like much...at first.
    “Fan them out for me, Toby.”
    Just ten bills but all hundreds. Where’d he
get the money? He wasn’t certain he should tell her. He did say he
had a lot more. Flashing that money was his first mistake.
    She couldn’t hide the grin. “Do you have more
down in your pants? Maybe I should look.”
    For some reason, she believed him when he
announced he had more at home and that presented a problem. With a
couple hundred she could say, let’s go out and blow it. On the way
back, she’d invent a headache and brush him off. Even a thousand
wouldn’t be much of a challenge for her. If he did have serious
money, she needed a plan. Like a get-all-of-it plan.
    She fixed him a drink and sat him down in the
living room. “Toby, we need to talk.” Meaning: shut up Toby, here’s
what you’re going to do.
    “You’re mad at me because of last night,
aren’t you Abby? I want you to have this thousand. It’s okay—I’ve
got more.”
    “More, Toby?” she asked as casually as
possible.
    “Don’t know if I should talk about it.” He
squirmed. “We going in your bedroom later?”
    “You’re not suggesting I’d screw for money,
are you?”
    “Not unless you wanted to.”
    “What?”
    “No, what I meant was...the thousand’s
yours...whatever.”
    “Well, I should think so.” She had no idea
why she should think so. “I’d love to go to bed with you, but I’m
too tired. Anyway, my daughter Jamie is home tonight. She’s in her
bedroom now. So keep your voice down.” In truth, her daughter was
down the block sleeping over with a friend.
    “I could come over tomorrow night and show
you some more of the money, but it’s like...I’m all ready tonight,
you know?”
    “I’m eager as well, Toby. Let’s do this. Go
home now and think hard about me. And I’ll think hard about you at
the same time. That would be the proper way to handle your problem.
Then bring the money over tomorrow night.”
    She spent most of the thousand easily the
following day. That night she opened the door to an eager and
slicked up Toby. He appeared so