When the Bus Stopped

Chapter 18

Daniello jumped easily out of his pick up truck. A straw hat pulled down over his brown curls and old worn denims that revealed sun kissed knee caps, they tantalized Lucy with every step he took.

Lucy decided his latest disguise was like a sex shop costume for the scarecrow off 'The Wizard of Oz'... everything the man touched turned sexual.

That small amount of flesh revealed through the scuffed knees of his jeans, was more taunting to her than any display's of skin she'd witnessed at one of the countless nudist camps her parents had parked their families house truck at over the years. Although, Lucy reflected, if she'd seen detective Daniello at a nudist camp she was sure every eyeball in camp would've been superglued to his body. She flushed thinking about it.

She felt more than a little rattled with her continual flushing and stuttering whenever he was around. She wasn't even sure why her body was determined to react in this way to him. Firstly he wasn't her type at all. Constantly babbling on about money and profits and staring at her as if she'd grown an extra head every time that she said something absolutely normal. That sort of attitude wouldn't usually cut it for her.

He might have been cute, but that was where the attraction ended. She had met cheese grater's with closer views and beliefs to her, than his.

"Hi Lucy." Daniello's long athletic legs quickly covered the ground between them. "I got my number for you – in case you get anyone trying to break in." He passed her a piece of paper with his cute childlike writing scribbled across it.

"Oh, thanks!" Their knuckles brushed together as they exchanged the piece of paper. Her heart slammed against her ribs. The flush on her cheeks became a deeper hue of scarlet. She could see the confusion on Daniello's face swiftly replaced with knowledge.

"Lucy?"

"I just..." I want you to kiss me again.

It was almost as if Daniello had spent the day studying mind reading. His eye lids lowered and his head was came down toward her lips, brushing them softly with his, causing her stomach to flip like an Olympic gold medallist. He pulled back.

"What the?" His eyes were trained on something over her shoulder. "Wait here," Daniello whispered.

"Why?" Lucy's knees started to sag out from under her. Weakly she sought out the portable deck chair and plopped down. What on earth was this man up to?

"It is my line of work... I get a few strange hangers on," he threw over his shoulder as he started to creep around the bus to have a closer look.

"Really? There is a hanger on out there?"

"He looks like a sex offender. I saw him prowling around here earlier." With that he was gone, leaving Lucy seated and wondering what on earth was happening to all of her hormones lately. One minute she detested the guy and thought of him as a bully and the next minute she was sagging at the knees and trying to lock lips with him.

"Ouch!" Lucy heard her brother complain. "What is wrong with you? Why have you got me by the arm?"

"Are you ok?" Lucy called out weakly.

"Don't worry!" Daniello called out. "I've got the pervert."

"Pervert? What?" Suddenly finding the energy to jump from the chair Lucy found her brother being frog marched with an arm up his back toward Daniello's pick up truck. The murderous expression on Daniello's face almost paralysed Lucy's tongue. "Daniello? Why are you manhandling my brother?"

Daniello skidded to a stop. "Your brother? What? Him?"

"Yes. Him."

"Oh." Daniello dropped Krishna's arm in confusion.