"It"s just that I admire the human form...particularly when it"s so d.a.m.n perfect."
Rebecca frowned at him.
"A little over the top?"
"Yeah."
"That bra won"t work. Hang on." He scurried into his office and came back with a bra in hand. "Here"s what you need."
"You"ve got a selection of bras in your office?"
"I like bras." He grinned and shrugged.
Rebecca reluctantly unhooked her bra and took it off.
"Oh, my. You always had perky b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Probably from all that weight lifting and basketball."
"Stop it!" She covered herself with her hands, and turned her back to him. "All those times in high school when I let you watch me get dressed-I thought you were gay."
"Why? Because everybody else thought so? I told you I wasn"t. And you said you believed me."
"I did. Sort of." She spun around. "Well, if you weren"t gay...if you"re not gay, then why didn"t you ever make a move on me? Was I not pretty enough?"
"Not pretty enough?"
"I had zits all over my face. And because I was a tall basketball player who liked to get physical on the court, some of the kids thought I was gay too."
"I knew you weren"t."
"Then why didn"t you ever try to kiss me?"
"Because...I wanted to be the strong one in the relationship. And that was never going to happen with you."
"So, I never even turned you on?"
He smiled. "Oh, I didn"t say that." He gave her body the once over with smiling eyes.
"Quit looking at me that way."
"Okay. I"ll try to restrain myself."
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
"No."
"Ever been married?"
"No." He hesitated. "Okay, I know how that looks. But I"ve been busy. How about you?"
"Have I ever been married? No. I"ve had a few boyfriends. In fact, I moved here to Dallas to be closer to a guy I was dating. I really thought we had something. But it didn"t work out. I always seem to scare them off."
"I"m sorry, Becca."
"It"s no big deal."
"Now...the ponytail has got to go. You wear it up most of the time, don"t you?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Let it down. n.o.body will recognize you." He went into his office and came back with a brush and a wig. He handed her the brush. "Here you go."
Rebecca took the brush. "Is that for you?"
"Yep. This is all I need." He positioned the wig on his head.
"So, you"re going to be the one with the ponytail. You look like Paul Revere."
"I was going for hippie. Alright, we"ll grab you a pair of shoes on the way out. They"re on the first floor. You still wear a 10B, right?"
"I can"t believe you remembered."
"Are you kidding? How many times did you throw your smelly basketball shoes at me?"
Rebecca laughed.
"Okay. Let"s go to Cafe Nue and do some investigating."
"You like to go there because of the s.e.xy young waitresses."
He grinned. "Sure. As well as the food. It"s exquisite. I love their chateaubriand with pommes de terre truffee and the Cabernet Sauvignon."
"I"d rather have a burger with fries and a diet c.o.ke."
"They have that too."
As they went down the staircase, Gabby said, "I love the name of the place. Cafe Nue. It"s French, you know. It means-"
"-I know what it means. Nude Cafe."
CHAPTER 5 - Monday, 11:25 p.m.
As they walked up to the entrance, Rebecca pointed to the sign on the door: By Reservation Only.
Gabby waved it off. "Don"t worry. I"ll handle it."
They walked into the foyer and stepped to the end of the line.
The maitre d" towered over the podium as almighty judge of the mere peasants below hoping to gain entrance. Rebecca couldn"t tell whether he was male or female. Male, she finally decided. And he was either standing on a platform or he was seven feet tall.
He raised his long arm, extending his index finger toward the exit. The couple at the front of the line turned around and cursed their way back out to the street.
Rebecca whispered to Gabby, "This guy"s got an att.i.tude. There"s no way he"s going to let us in."
Three men moved forward to await their verdict.
"Name?"
"Johnson," said one of the men. "Bill Johnson."
The maitre d" searched his list. "Yes, Mr. Johnson. For three." He offered a fake smile of approval. "You may enter."
A beautiful young woman led them inside.
Gabby leaned over to Rebecca. "This is not the regular guy."
The couple in front of them were rejected out of hand-apparently due to their lack of respect. Or perhaps he didn"t care for the color of their eyes.
Gabby stepped forward.
"Name?" The man was scary-tall up close.
"Gabby."
"Hmm. I don"t see-"
"-it"s Gabby with double B"s."
The giant stared down at Gabby. "I don"t think so, Honey. You"re a Double A at best."
Rebecca glanced at Gabby"s chest.
"Sorry," he said, looking down his nose. "There"s no Gabby here."
Gabby leaned in and whispered, "Perhaps it"s under G"Blee."
"G"Blee? You"re Gabby G"Blee? The hot, new designer?"
Gabby smiled and put a finger to his lips-as though he wanted to stay under the radar of the paparazzi. "Yes. That"s me."
The maitre d" bent down and whispered, "Oh, Darling, I absolutely adore your work."
"Thanks."
He reached over and placed his hand on Gabby"s shoulder. "I would give my right arm to have one of your originals. Any chance I could get you to design an evening gown for me? Something low-cut?"
"Come and see me. We"ll talk."
"Wonderful. Oh, that would be scrumptious."
"What about my...reservation?"
"Oh, of course." He returned to his standing position.
"For two."
"Yes. Please enjoy yourselves. See you soon." He winked at Gabby, and nodded to the lovely young hostess waiting by the entrance. "Table twenty-one."
They followed the woman through the door into a long, dark hallway. The black walls faded to beige, curved outward, and were gone. One moment they were walking through the hallway. The next, they were several feet into the cafe. What a weird sensation, thought Rebecca. When she looked back, she understood. They had walked out between two enormous, but beautifully sculpted, b.u.t.t cheeks.
Rebecca hadn"t seen so many bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s since her high school locker room days. And she knew the waitresses wouldn"t be completely nude. But when she saw how tiny the thongs were, she wondered how the place could be legal.
The cafe was larger than Rebecca had expected. More of a hall than a room. The bar, which was located at the back, in the center, was oval-shaped, topped with white marble. There was a pool at the center of the bar which was fed by a fountain. The gentle flow of water into the pool provided a soothing drone.
Nice touch, thought Rebecca. But not at all Big Bill Smotherburn"s style. Then she realized the bar resembled a toilet seat. And the stream of water flowed from a large pipe hanging out over the pool which looked very much like a p.e.n.i.s.
The hostess led them to their table and they sat down. "Please feel free to adjust the table lights to your liking. They"re touch sensitive." She flicked the nipple of one of the hanging b.o.o.b lights and it got brighter. "Your waitress will be with you shortly." She walked away.
Gabby smiled at Rebecca. "I told you I could get us in."
"Do you really enjoy looking at these women?"
"Well, I don"t hate it."
"You"re a regular horndog of a man, aren"t you?"
Their waitress appeared from nowhere. "Hi. My name is Cotton Candy. May I take your order?"
Gabby said, "Two Diet c.o.ke"s. With lemon. Two steak burgers. Well done."
"Yes, Sir. I"ll have you order right out. Thank you." The waitress walked away.
"You still take lemon with your Diet c.o.ke."
"I figured you did too. Was I wrong?"
"No." Rebecca smiled. "What are the steak burgers like?"
"They"re just fancy hamburgers made with Angus Beef."
"I"ll bet they"re expensive?"