The Present... Monday Evening...

The chili I'd dumped from several cans was simmering in a large pot I'd just bought today. The cans were thrown away. It wasn't homemade but I could honestly tell Danny it was home-cooked since I was cooking it on my stove. With a handful of chili powder tossed in it was just like homemade anyway. I liked my chili with Chili Cheese corn chips. But I had regular crackers for the unsophisticated palates.

Sandra had called me earlier today wanting to know if I wanted to do anything. We hadn't seen each other in a couple of weeks. I told her I had company but if she wanted, we could go grocery shopping together and later I'd make her a home-cooked meal. She'd accepted with a laugh at the thought of me actually cooking. She said she'd have to see it to believe it.

We were dancing around my kitchen lip-syncing to Meat Loaf's Paradise By The Dashboard Light when the pounding on my door began. I knew it was either a neighbor come to complain about the volume of the music...

"Dammit, Olivia! Why am I locked out of my apartment?!"

...or it was Danny.

I opened the door and skipped out of the way as Danny stormed through. Waving the sheet of paper I'd taped to his door, he demanded, "What's going on, Olivia? I come home, my locks been changed and there's a note saying to see you. Why did you lock me out of my apartment?"

"So you wouldn't walk in before the varnish dried, of course," I answered as if everyone should know that.

"Varnish? What varnish?"

"The varnish they applied after sanding and buffing your floors, of course."

Danny took a deep breath and, "Why did someone sand, buff and varnish my floors?"

"Because I hired them, of course. And you're welcome, by the way. Your floors look so much better," I said as I moved back to the stove to stir the chili and made introductions, "Danny, this is Sandra. Sandra, this is Danny."

"Uh, hello, Sandra."

"Soooo, this is Danny," Sandra purred. Moving towards Danny, she rubbed a hand over Danny's overalls-covered arm and continued, "Nice muscles! Viv, you never told me he was so delicious."

A cat stalking a mouse couldn't have cornered its prey faster than Sandra cornered Danny against a counter with her hands on the counter at his sides. Danny was leaning backwards as Sandra leaned over him so close her small boobs rubbed against his overalls. Sandra took a deep breath and, "Mmm, he even smells good. He smells like a man who's worked in the sun all day."

Sandra rubbed her cheek against Danny's chest and took a deeper breath. "He doesn't smell anything like those men I meet who bathe in cologne and sit all day behind a desk, pushing papers while their asses get bigger. I bet Danny's ass cheeks are tight as..."

"Hey!" Danny gave a little hop and then his hand appeared holding Sandra's wrist well away from his body. "Stop grabbing my butt."

I took pity on Danny. Deciding he'd suffered enough for unjustly yelling at me, I pulled Sandra off him. "Leave my nerd alone, Sandra. Go torture your own nerd."

"I don't have a nerd," Sandra pouted. "Why can't we share your nerd?"

"I guess that would be up to Danny..." I started, when Danny interrupted me to settle the matter.

"I'm nobody's nerd!"

Danny had taken advantage of Sandra being pulled away to escape from the counter and now had his back to open space. Looking from me to Sandra and then back to me, "I take it she's not a friend from high school."

"No," I laughed. "She works for Marla, too."

Sandra wrapped her arms around my waist and molded herself to my side, "You might say we're very close friends. I taught Tall'n'Blonde here how women can have fun without a man."

Danny looked uncomfortable.

"Oh, my God! He's blushing! I love a man who blushes," Sandra declared, on the hunt again. I pulled her back again.

Fixing me with his eyes, Danny said, "Jeez, you by yourself is bad enough. Both of you together... The two of you should be locked up!"

Sandra perked up at that and began advancing on Danny again, "Oh? Are you into that, Danny? Do you like locking girls up? I have handcuffs at my place. Many handcuffs…"

I pulled Sandra back again, "I told you to leave my nerd alone."

Danny looked at us. We looked back. Shaking his head, he turned and walked quickly to the door and then stopped. Turning to face me, he threw his hands into the air, "I've got nowhere to go! All of my things are locked up."

"Oh, your things aren't all locked up. Most of your clothes, books and stuff is locked in the basement but I have some of your clothes on my bed. Enough changes to last until we can move your new furniture in with the rest of your things."

Danny stood motionless for a five-count. "I'm afraid to ask," Danny muttered, then, "Olivia? Where's my old furniture?"

"Since everything had to be removed for the floors to be done, I had your old furniture taken to the dump, of course. We'll go shopping tomorrow after work for your new furniture."

"Hey! Can I come," Sandra asked. "I'd like to look for a new lamp."

"Sure."

"I didn't need new furniture."

"Yes, you did," I replied. "I could never feel at ease on a couch with cooties."

Danny slumped in defeat and massaged his temples. "I need a shower. May I use your bathroom?"

"Of course."

Sandra started forward again, "I can help you, Danny. I'll wash your back if you'll wash mine."

"Leave me alone!" I think we'd pushed Danny to the limit of his ingrained politeness.

"I'll take my own shower. Alone." Danny said in a more rational tone. He walked quickly away before Sandra could follow. "And I'm locking the door," were his last words before closing the door to my bedroom."

Sandra jumped up to sit on the counter next to the sink. "Wow. I gotta start hanging out at libraries if he's a nerd. Is he really smart, too?"

"Straight A's down the line," I answered as I held a spoon out for her to taste. "My advice? Pull back the aggressiveness. You'll scare him away."

"Okay, Mom. I'll behave," Sandra mock pouted. Then she pointed at the pot, "Your 'homemade chili' needs more chili powder."

Actually, the chili turned out pretty well. Neither Danny nor Sandra had ever tried Chili Cheese corn chips in their chili. Both declared the combination superior to just crackers.

After eating, Sandra asked if I'd picked out a movie. "We get together sometimes for a movie night," I explained to Danny.

"Yea," Sandra chimed in. "Movie night. But on nights when Tall'n'Blonde isn't on-the-rag we find more fun things to do." Sandra leaned over to give me a quick kiss, then, "God! He's blushing again. I want my own nerd!"

"Eww! God, I can't stand that phrase, 'on-the-rag'!" To change the subject, I said, "We should let Danny choose the movie." Sandra shrugged assent and we looked at Danny.

Danny thought and then grinned. "Have either of you watched The Fellowship Of The Ring? The extended edition?"

We both shook our heads. "Isn't that some kind'a monsters and magic movie," Sandra asked.

"It's a lot more than that," Danny answered, still grinning. "You did say I could choose."

I found the movie on Pay-Per-View and pressed pause, "That damned movie is almost four hours long?!"

Danny just grinned.

"This is the last time we let him pick the movie," Sandra whispered. I nodded then sighed in defeat. I could always fall asleep while watching. Right now, though, between menstrual bloat and too much chili, my jeans made breathing difficult. I changed into my long house robe. I leaned against Danny and Sandra leaned against me. We shifted to get comfortable and I started the movie...

"Wow, I want to be a hobbit. They know how to throw a party."

"Look at the size of that cake!"

"So Bilbo found the ring and gave it to Frodo? But the ring has a mind of its own and wants to return to Sauron who made it?"

"Don't put the ring on, Frodo!"

"So Saruman turns out to be a bad guy?"

"Who is that Strider guy?" "Who cares? He's gorgeous!"

Some questions Danny answered, but in answer to any questions about what might come later in the movie, he'd just grin and keep quiet. Sandra salivated over Liv Tyler, of course, and...

"No way! Gandalf didn't just die, did he?" Danny just grinned.

"I say we gang up and beat the answers out'a Danny," Sandra told me.

Then...

"Wait... That's the end of the movie? But what about Merry and Pippin?"

"What happens to Frodo and Sam?"

"I guess you'll just have to watch the second movie, The Twin Towers, to find out," Danny grinned.

"There's another movie? Is it four hours long, too?"

"Almost," Danny grinned. He was having far too much fun at my expense.

He'd bamboozled both of us and he knew it. I had to know what happened next and Danny wasn't going to give up any answers. I'd have to watch the movie. I looked at Sandra and asked, "Are you doing anyone tomorrow night after looking at furniture?"

Sandra agreed to watch and I walked her to the door to lock up after she left. Sandra had other plans I found out as she suddenly pressed me against a wall. A hand on my neck pulled my lips to hers. I certainly wasn't going to complain as our kiss deepened into a wet tongue-fest. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an embarrassed Danny turn away. But not so far that he couldn't watch us out of the corner of his eyes.

"You're cruel, Sandra," I whispered.

"Bullshit," Sandra whispered back. "Danny's loving every moment of watching us."

Sandra kept our kiss going. Then her hand moved inside the opening of my robe. Her hand was out of sight inside my robe, but the movements of her hand could easily be followed on the surface of my robe. There was no way Danny could miss that Sandra was playing with my boob. When by deft movements Sandra 'accidentally' loosened my robe, my naked boob was in full view as was the small hand cupping and squeezing it.

Deciding to call it enough, for now, I ended our kiss but not the fondling. In a voice I was sure Danny could hear, "I wish I wasn't on my period."

"Me, too," Sandra replied with just enough volume. "The things I would do to you in bed tonight."

Sandra let go of my boob and I pulled my robe closed. "Another night," I sighed as a promise.

"Another night," Sandra agreed. Then, in a louder voice, "Danny, when you get tired of this one, my apartment isn't that far away. Drop by anytime. Viv has my address and I'll give your name to my doorman."

"Oh, ahh... Okay. Thank you?"

At the door, Sandra whispered, "He's so sweet I could just eat him up with a spoon."

A change of tampons and soon I was in my new favorite sleep position. Pressed against Danny's side with my head on his shoulder and an arm and a leg draped over his body, I told him, "Sandra really likes you."

"I think she probably likes a lot of men."

I shook my head slightly on his shoulder. "You don't understand. Sandra is like me. She doesn't invite clients to her apartment. She's lived there for two years and I'd bet that you're the first man she's ever invited to visit."

"Oh. Ahh... Okay," was Danny's snappy comeback.

I traced a fingertip through the sparse hair on Danny's chest. "Danny, we're not really engaged and I don't think there's any way I can claim that we're in an exclusive relationship. So, if you would like to be with Sandra, or any girl you might meet..."

"Oh. Ahh… Okay."

Wow, Danny needed to work on his snappy comebacks.

"Danny?"

"Hmm?"

"Is Gandalf really dead?"

Even in the semi-darkness of my room, I could see his grin.

"Bastard! I should've let Sandra beat you up," I grumped and thumped my fist on his chest.