Twice the Temptation

What Denise hadn’t wanted to think about was if she had had a boyfriend would Rhett have proposed the same game plan. Then she’d recalled him saying, “I need someone who will stand in as my date and hostess, provided your boyfriend doesn’t object,” and she’d answered her own question. It would not have made a difference.

“Please give me a few minutes, and I’ll take you around to see the facility.”

Walking on stiff legs, Denise went into the private bathroom and shut the door. The image staring back at her in the mirror over the sink was one she didn’t recognize.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispered. If Rhett hadn’t ended the kiss when he did, she probably would’ve asked for more—and more translated into her begging him to make love to her.

When she and Rhett shared a bed for the first time it had been her first time. Denise knew she’d shocked him, because she hadn’t told him she was a virgin. What she hadn’t wanted was for him to feel guilty and continue to see her out of a perverse sense of obligation.

However, he did continue to date her. It was another month before they made love again, and she’d experienced her first orgasm. Making love with Rhett was always good. Makeup sex was even better. It was the memories of their lovemaking, the plans they’d made for a life beyond college, that had lingered with her after she’d graduated and returned to Philadelphia.

It had taken more than a year for her to acknowledge what she’d had with Rhett was over and she had to move on with her life. She’d gotten back into the dating scene when she and several teachers at the school where she’d taught met regularly at a downtown Philly club on Friday nights. Denise had refused to date any of the male teachers with whom she worked, but she had met a software analyst at one of the weekly social mixers. They’d played telephone tag for several weeks before connecting.

Denise had liked Kevin enough to go out with him for three months. They’d slept together once. Days later she had been filled with guilt because she’d compared Kevin to Rhett, and the former fell far short of satisfying her. Kevin had seemed to get the picture without her having to connect the dots, and they had mutually agreed to stop seeing each other.

“Denise, are you all right in there?” asked Rhett outside the closed door.

“I’m good. Just give me a few more minutes.”

When did you become such an astute liar? Denise mused, as she splashed cold water on her face. She patted her face with a soft towel, then opened the chest over the sink and took out a small jar with powder that matched her skin tone. She shook out a minute amount on a brush and applied the powder to her face. Within seconds her face had a rich, healthy glow. A coat of mascara to her lashes and lip gloss rounded out her mini-makeover. Denise ran her fingers through her hair, fluffing up the curls before she washed her hands.

It’s amazing what a new do, a new outfit and a little makeup can do to lift a woman’s spirit. Denise smiled in spite of the situation in which she’d found herself. “Thank you, Mom,” she whispered.

Paulette Eaton’s manifesto had served her well on many occasions. She didn’t have a new do or outfit, but a little color on her face had done the trick. When she emerged from the bathroom she was emotionally ready to deal with the likes of Rhett Fennell.

Her eyes were smiling and her step light as she reached for a lanyard with her picture ID, then led him out of her office. “This area of the center is called the administrative section. Whenever we have staff meetings, or something when we invite the parents and siblings of the children enrolled here, we hold them out here.”

“It looks like a park,” Rhett said.

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