Ammo and Mary Read online

  “No, Lita, he’s not,” I answered her. She was wary of Dennis. He was a nice guy; he was thirty years old and still lived with his mother. He did everything for her, and even brought her with him on our date. He also liked to eat at Rosa’s, and Lita had plenty of run-ins with the two of them.

  “Good. God help him, but I can’t stand him or his nasty mother. Okay, well, I will let you get back to being girly. You know on Sunday we will want all the details,” she said.

  “I know.” I laughed. It was nice to have people who cared so deeply for me. I knew my parents cared, but they were so far away. They weren’t involved the same way as Rosa, Lita, and their family. I hugged Lita goodbye and locked the door behind her. I went back to the bathroom to get the pink foam curlers for my hair. Yeah, I was going to look like a classic discount department shopper tonight, but my hair was going to be pretty for tomorrow.

  “Hey, Mary. How are you? How was dinner?” Ben asked on our nightly call.

  “I’m good. Dinner was delicious. How are you?” I asked.

  “I’m good. I had a really productive afternoon,” he said. “Are you excited about tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Yes. A little nervous, but I’m really looking forward to this,” I said.

  “Why are you nervous?” he asked. He always asked the questions I didn’t want to answer, but I always did. How else would this work out if I kept things from him?

  “Well, I’ve never met you before. I want you to like me. I want tomorrow to be great,” I tried to explain.

  “So, basically, first-date jitters?” He summed it up perfectly.

  “Yes. Exactly,” I agreed.

  “Good. I have those too.” He laughed.

  We talked for about an hour before we said good night. I was really excited for the next day.

  Chapter 9

  Ammo

  I got up at 6:30 and headed over to Domino’s. I knew he’d said Hack could help him, but it was hard for me to give up my routine. While Domino took his shower and got dressed, I made scrambled eggs, vegetables, bacon, and toast. I left Domino’s on the table. Instead of chairs, it had benches on the sides. The ends were left open so Domino could roll up easily. It could fit sixteen—twenty if you were friends. Twenty-six if you were really good friends. I enjoyed the family feel; it made my meals I took there less lonely.

  “So, you excited today?” he asked as he pulled up to his space.

  “Yup,” I said, sipping my coffee. My leg was bouncing under the table. I still needed to go get showered and dressed. I had to leave by 8 to get to Evanston by 9. Domino was staring at me instead of eating. I looked back at him.

  “Ammo. Just go,” he said.

  I blew out a breath and got up.

  “Everything will be fine. Stop fretting. It’s just like a mission. You have your plan and you will execute it,” Domino said as he started on his eggs.

  I walked to the door. “Yeah. Later.” I walked out, shutting the door behind me. I could hear Domino chuckling as I did.

  I ran up the stairs to my place. As I walked in, I looked around and made sure everything was picked up and put away. On the off chance we came back here, I didn’t want her to think I was a slob. My place was small. It was a living room with a couch and a chair that reclined. I had a coffee table in the middle of it. I had a large flat-screen TV. The kitchen was small, but I had nice appliances since I liked to cook. The bedroom held a king-sized bed, nightstands, a dresser, and a safe for my personal weapons collection. The bathroom had a walk-in shower. It was all very functional; it was all I needed.

  I found nothing out of place. I headed to my closet and pulled out a black T-shirt and a newer pair of jeans. I would top it off with my windbreaker. I hopped in the shower and took care while I shaved. I wanted to look nice for her. I got dressed and looked at the clock. It was 7:40. I decided to leave. Who knew what traffic would be like? I grabbed my windbreaker and headed down to the garage.

  “Have a good day today, Ammo!” Tarzan yelled as he walked into the offices.

  I waved and went into the garage for my car. I had a Toyota Camry. It was black with tinted windows. I found it to be extremely practical in the city and easy to park. Many of the operators had SUVs, but I didn’t prefer them for maneuvering through the traffic and streets of Chicago. Yeah, you could see, but parking was a bitch.

  I made my way up to Evanston. The traffic was not terrible for a Thursday. It was turning into a beautiful fall day.

  I pulled up in front of Mary’s house about fifteen minutes early. I saw a Hispanic woman leaving her house. I figured it must be Rosa. I stepped out of my car and walked up to Mary’s gate as Rosa was approaching it.

  “Hello. Are you Rosa?” I asked, looking down at her. Her dark eyes took me in.

  “Yes. Are you Ben?” she asked, looking up at me though I was not as tall as many of the guys. I was still taller than her five-foot height.

  I stuck my hand out for a handshake. “Yes. It’s good to meet you.” She took my hand and pulled me in for a hug.

  She whispered to me, “If you’re messing with her or hurt her, you will be soup.” She let me go and I stood up to look back at her. I had no doubt she would make me into soup if I did anything to Mary.

  “I will not intentionally hurt her. I’m not messing with her. I’m not playing games. I genuinely like her and want to date her. I’m a man, so I will make a mistake at some point, but not intentionally,” I answered as confidently as I could. I wanted to bring her in to teach a class on intimidation. She was peering into my soul at this point.

  “Good answer. You take care of her. She’s a special person. Above all else, she’s my friend. Have a good day today,” she said as she smiled and walked away.

  I chuckled. I liked Rosa so far. Hopefully I would stay on her good side. I let the gate close behind me and walked up to Mary’s door. I rang the bell and waited. The curtain fluttered and then the door opened. She stood just behind the door. Her blonde hair was curled and rested softly on her shoulders. Her brown eyes sparkled. She wore a green-colored shirt and a brown leather jacket. She looked beautiful.

  “Hello, Ben.” Her voice was soft, and her smile touched her eyes.

  I cleared my throat. “Hello, Mary.” I tried not to stare at her, but I couldn’t help myself. She looked even better than I remembered.

  She stepped back. “Come in. I’m almost ready.”

  I stepped into her house. It felt like a family home. Something my apartment above the garage was missing. She shut the door and went back to the kitchen. I followed her.

  “Was the drive over bad?” she asked while she put some things into the backpack she had on the counter.

  “No. It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful fall day,” I said. I looked around her kitchen and then my eyes landed on her. I watched her. I loved the way her hair moved. She looked up and smiled at me.

  “Wonderful. Are you ready?” she asked. She grabbed her keys off her counter. She slung a bag over her shoulder.

  “Yeah.” I followed her to the door. She let me out and then stepped onto her porch and locked her door. Her keys went into a pocket in her jacket.

  I held out my arm for her to take. She did. The warm weight of her hand gently grasping my forearm instantly made me feel alive. I led her down to my car. I opened the car door and let her climb in the passenger seat. I closed the door and went to my side. I slid in the seat and pushed the start button. “You ready?” I asked, looking over to her. Her smile lit up the space and I smiled too.

  “Yeah. I’m really excited about this.” She smiled.

  “Me too. So where are we going?” I asked.

  “Lincoln Park Zoo. I have a parking pass. Let me get it for you so you can get the address.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been to this zoo before,” I said as I merged with traffic.

  “Really? You said you grew up in the area?” she asked.

  “Yep. South-side Irish. Morgan Park.”

&nbs
p; “And they didn’t take you to Lincoln Park Zoo for field trips?” she asked in disbelief.

  “No, I don’t think so. I know we went to Brookfield Zoo,” I said. I did remember the ape house there.

  “Oh, that would make sense. Morgan Park is not exactly close to Lincoln Park. Well, let me tell you some of the history of the zoo. The zoo was founded in 1868. It’s the second oldest and one of the few free zoos in America. The cat house is from 1912 and retains many of architectural details from the time. One of the oldest buildings is where we are having lunch. It was built in 1879,” she stated.

  “That’s amazing. How do you know all of this?” I was very impressed with her knowledge.

  “I love the history of our city. Lincoln Park Zoo has a lot of it. I enjoy sharing tidbits that I learn. Wait until we go to the Field Museum. I have lots of tidbits about that one.” She giggled.

  It was music to my ears. I chuckled. She was already planning another date. That had to be a good sign. “Good to know.” I was smiling.

  “Oh, here’s that pass.” She dug in her bag and pulled out a card. “This is from a client. We can get free parking for the day in the zoo parking lot.” She handed it to me. I placed it in the cup holder.

  “That was very nice. Do you often get tips like that?” I was surprised at the gift.

  “Oh yes! Most of my clients love me. Not only do they pay well, but they also give generously. The client who gave me the card buys me a zoo membership every year. She knows I enjoy going so she gets me this.” She smiled at me.

  I found a parking spot quickly. Then went around to Mary’s side, opening her door to give her a hand out. We walked to the entrance of the zoo.

  “You ready to see some animals?” she asked me.

  “Yup. I will enjoy seeing them with you.” I smiled.

  Chapter 10

  Mary

  He was so handsome. He was all muscle. His thick hair was almost black. He kept it medium length and parted on the side. It was perfect for me to run my fingers through. He had dark blue eyes with a lighter blue star-shaped pattern in his iris. They never stopped watching me or what was going on around us. And he was constantly touching me. His hand on the small of my back here, standing right next to me there. He held my hand almost the whole time.

  We walked the north end of the zoo to see the birds, the penguins, and the polar bear, and then went through the small mammal and reptile house. Then we headed out to the otters and bears. The zoo was not very crowded. It was late enough in the year that there were no school field trips. We decided we were ready for lunch and I took us to the seal pool.

  “It’s an amphitheater with a pool in the center,” Ben described.

  “There is also an underground area. But we can sit here and enjoy our lunch and watch the seals play,” I said, taking us to the stone seating area. It had many semicircular rows of stone benches. It was a place where you could sit and listen to the animal handlers explain about the seals and how they came to the zoo.

  We sat down and I opened the bag. It had a few bottles of water, sandwiches, and some fruit. I handed him a bottle of water and a sandwich. I took mine and opened the wrapper.

  “Did you make these or Rosa?” he asked as he took his first bite.

  I started laughing. “You already figured out you don’t want things I make?”

  He blushed. “Well, you did say Rosa makes just about everything for you.” He took another bite.

  “Yes, Rosa packed our lunches. I didn’t have anything in the fridge aside from yogurt and milk. So, I called her, and she took care of it,” I said. The sandwich was delicious. It was turkey with avocado, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and bacon.

  “This is a great sandwich.” He was almost done with his. I handed him a paper towel and the container of fruit. “Oh nice. She gave us strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.” He took a handful and popped a few in his mouth. I finished my sandwich and looked for the container. Ben had other plans. He held a strawberry up to my lips. I looked in his eyes as I took a bite of the juicy fruit from his fingers. He groaned.

  I chewed and swallowed the fruit. Ben was still looking at me. “That was perfect.” I smiled at him.

  “Yeah.” He cleared his throat.

  “You about ready to go?” I started to put things back into the bag. I looked at him when he answered.

  He blushed. “I need a moment.”

  “Oh okay,” I said, giggling a little. I turned my attention to the seal pool. I let him cool off a little. I was really enjoying this date with him. Soon he took my hand and led the way towards the zebras. Next were the monkeys and apes, “I saved my favorite for last.”

  “The cats? I have noticed we have not seen them yet.”

  “I save them for last. I love cats and like to spend the most time with them,” I said we came up to the snow leopard. She was up in a tree having a snooze. “I think they are so graceful and majestic.”

  “They really are beautiful,” he said. He had my hand in his. He brought it to his lips and gave the back of my hand a kiss. “So are you.”

  I smiled. He made me feel so special. We walked around the cat house seeing the lions and tigers. “So that was the zoo. What did you think?” I asked him as we headed towards his car.

  “I enjoyed it very much. I have not spent a lot of time just enjoying things, so this was really nice. The best part though was spending the time with you,” he said as we reached his car.

  “I really enjoyed that too. It’s been a long time since I smiled this much,” I said.

  He held me against his car door. He was looking down at me, his hands gently rubbing my arms. My hands ended up against his chest. I could feel his muscles under his shirt. He brought one of his hands up to my cheek and brushed a curl back over my shoulder. I felt he was looking for permission. I went up on my toes and our lips met.

  I opened my mouth and his tongue slid against mine. I felt his fingers get tangled in my hair as he angled my head to kiss me deeper. My hands clutched at him. He ended the kiss with small kisses on my lips. I was putty in his hands. I was sure I had melted right there.

  “Wow,” he said a little breathlessly. I bit my lip and he groaned. I wanted nothing more than to keep kissing him. But it was not the best place to keep this up. “Would you like to go back to my place?” he asked.

  “Yes.” He pulled me to him for a hug and opened the door for me. He made sure I was in before shutting the door. He walked around the car and got in. I pulled out my phone and sent a text off to Rosa. I wanted to tell her I was fine and would not need dinner. Granted, we hadn’t talked about dinner, but I could always go out if I needed to.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah just letting Rosa know I’m okay,” I answered.

  “Did you tell her you didn’t need dinner?” He was getting very good at reading my mind.

  “Yeah I did. I thought you would either feed me or I would go out later.” I smiled.

  “I think I could handle feeding you.” He laughed. He got us heading towards his house and he took my hand as he drove. I loved that he liked touching me. It felt so good. About a half hour later, he pulled into an alley and clicked open a garage. He pulled in next to a wheelchair-equipped van. He shut off the car, helped me out, and led me to a parking area. “Welcome to Forces Security.”

  Chapter 11

  Ammo

  “This is where I live and work. I have the apartment above the garage. This is where our clients park. The door on the left is to Domino’s house, hence the ramp. The door on the right is the office. The place was a huge old mansion that Domino rebuilt for his business,” I explained as we walked to the office side.

  A car pulled up as we stepped on the stairs. A woman got out. She looked at Mary and me and smiled.

  “Hey, Ammo. How are you?” she asked as she walked up to us.

  “Hiya, Charlotte. I’m good. Charlotte, this is Mary. Mary, this is Charlotte. Eve’s best friend,” I said introdu
cing them.

  “Oh my. It’s very good to meet you. How is Eve?” she asked as she shook Charlotte’s hand.

  “Eve is great. She and Dean have taken over my basement while they get their house ready. They just had their wedding and are quite happy. Well, I am going to go talk with Lance. I’ll see you all later. Oh, and, Ammo, I got him in the morning. Eve and Dean are with my girls.” She went back to her car and grabbed a bag. She walked over to where a man was sitting on the porch in a wheelchair.

  “Hiya, Domino. This is Mary. Mary, this is my boss and friend, Domino,” I said as we walked over.

  He shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mary. I hope you both have had a nice day. Please make yourself at home. Please don’t think us rude, but we have lots to discuss. See you later.” He rolled after Charlotte as she walked into his house.