Chapter 16: Stranger in the Crowd

Tabitha, Renée and I strolled through the thinning crowd to the food court. It was obvious that many of the patrons had congregated there, so finding a table that Renée wanted seemed impossible. I recalled her desire to play footsies and prayed that she had given up the thought before my embarrassment became something of legend. Tabitha was no help as she spotted a group of kids leaving a u-shaped booth. I felt like a dog on a leash as they dragged me over before anyone else could claim it.

The booth had pretty good coverage on three sides. Potted plants lined the walls behind the long seat and gave the feeling of more privacy than you actually had. The lack of a table cloth didn't help my trepidation as Renée positioned herself directly across from me. I had tried to take up the seat in the middle so any covert actions might be thwarted, but Tabitha followed me in on the same side and nuzzled close to me. Renée made it clear that she wouldn't be so easily forestalled by pushing her way in on the same side. I gave in and moved on around. Almost instantly I felt Renée's bare foot caressing my shins. I just chuckled and gave in to the inevitability of it.

Tabitha turned out to be a bit of a cling-on. She continued holding my hand as if she would be lost to the sea of people if I let her go. I knew that the other women in my little harem were sated until later, but Tabitha was looking to be more into the whole we-did-it-so-now-we're-together thing heavily. I held up my hand and kissed hers. "You know I'm not going to try and run away?"

She smiled at me. "I know. I'm waiting for Tom to show up. When he finds the store locked up, he'll search the entire mall for me."

"How do you know that?"

Renée joined in. "Because he's done it before."

"Renée and I had lunch a couple weeks ago and Tom hadn't shown up. So I locked the store since I was the only one there and came here to eat."

"It was pretty funny. He sputtered and groaned about leaving the shop closed for too long. We hadn't been gone more than ten minutes," Renée finished.

There was a feeling of déjà vu again. Mike had showed up at Charlie's Café looking for Erin. She had used me to dodge him, but that had only led to more of what Renée had said to be true later. This seemed to be a reversal of sorts. Tabitha and I had already done the dirty. Now we were waiting for the guy to show up so we could send him packing. I just shook my head. Following the whim of my decisions was getting me pretty far in the sex department, but to what end? I still felt possessive of the women I had had sex with, and in turn they all felt that they belonged to me. I didn't like it, not in the sense of possessor and possession, but for the time being there seemed to be no choice in the matter.

Renée's foot brought me back to the reality of it as it inched its way to my thigh. Her touch felt good in many ways, most of them sensual. There was also the feel of Tabitha's hand in mine. Though I had mentally complained about her holding onto me, I wasn't trying to let her go either. I looked around to see what spectators we might have for the show and noticed the food everyone else was eating. My body reminded me of the need for nourishment with a hearty grumble. Both of the girls looked at me with smirks.

I began to mumble an apology, but Renée stopped me. "Don't be sorry. You need food, just like we do."

I started to scoot out of the booth and once again Renée stopped me. "Where are you going?"

"To get food. You just said that you were hungry too." It seemed pretty obvious to me what needed to happen.

"Stay put, we'll get it," Renée retorted. Both of them slipped out and walked off toward the vendors.

I had known Tabitha for maybe twenty minutes, and Renée for two days. So why did it bother me that they were so willing to get food for me? It was too much. I had to get my mind off it.

Looking around and watching groups of people eat and talk, I realized the crowd wasn't as thick as it had been when we first arrived at the mall. I would have thought that the Texas heat would drive people inside seeking cooler air. Then I remembered that it was Saturday. Maybe there were some local events going on that I wasn't privy to? Maybe that mall just didn't retain its customers like a couple of others I'd been to? Any number of explanations would have sufficed.

Waiting for the girls to return, I began noticing looks from passersby. A couple of times a small group would even stop to ask if they could have the booth. I had to turn them down and explained that I was saving it for my friends. The girls gawked as the guys asked. The ever-present attention that had me wound up earlier returned. I wasn't hidden away in a dressing room and Renée wasn't with me to deflect the more ambitious lookers. Ringing my hands and playing with the base of my ring finger as if there was a wedding band, I tried to calm myself. It worked on some, but not all. Some women would see it as a challenge to get a guy that was already attached. I tried not to pay any attention to anyone else and make myself as invisible as possible.

Something caught my eye though. I realized admirers weren't the only ones looking my way, someone else was as well. I spotted him looking at me, but when a group passed between us, he disappeared. It felt like something right out of a thriller type movie. Maybe it was Tom. Perhaps he'd already been to the store and seen the tape. I'd be hard pressed to deny that it was me on his monitor. He could have been looking for security with intent to have me and or Tabitha arrested. He couldn't be that stupid. Any legal action might force him to turn over the tapes he already had of himself with Tabitha and he'd be burned right along with us.

I got a fuzzy feeling along my spine. It almost felt like a feather being used to trace the middle of my back. Shrugging my shoulders and looking behind me to make sure it wasn't Renée pulling a prank, I spotted her and Tabitha stepping up to the Chick-Fil-A counter. That thought was doused quickly. As my eyes passed over the crowd, I spotted the same guy looking at me again. This time, he was a lot closer. With all of the people moving about, I couldn't get a good look and once again he disappeared.

I wondered if I should get up and join the girls as they ordered. But just as quickly as I came up with the idea, the mystery man appeared next to my table.

Pulling back from the suddenness of his appearance, I anticipated having to escape quickly. I didn't know what he wanted but I wasn't going to just sit there and let him have it. I tried to get up but couldn't move. Anger and fear flooded me quickly, but instead of fighting my own body I focused those energies on the person standing before me. It had dawned on me that it could have been Tom, and if it was I didn't want a confrontation.

Whoever he was, he spoke calmly. "I am not Tom, and I am not here to confront you."

Settling down, I looked at him more directly. I couldn't tell if he was younger or older than me. His features were non-descript and the harder I tried to focus on some detail, the more difficult it became.

"Please, don't worry about who I am or what I look like," He said evenly. "I'm of no importance and you will probably never see me again."

"Then what do you want?" I didn't know what else to ask.

"Only to deliver a message," He said without expression.

I relaxed a bit. He was a messenger. You don't kill the messenger; it's too difficult to find good ones. "What's the message?"

"First, I would like to comment that she has made an excellent choice. Focusing your anger and frustration on a useful task is an ability not everyone can master. You have already shown the aptitude of a good protector."

I understood the compliment on how I resolved my reactions to his appearance, but I didn't understand what he meant by me being a good protector. Then again, I did. I'd protected Erin from Mike and I was willing to protect Tabitha from Tom, but he was trying to insinuate more. Besides, who was the 'she' that had made the choice?