Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [75]
“This is unbelievable,” Amanda said shrilly, her voice drawing the attention of everyone else standing nearby. Mitch saw them follow her gaze to the bus and heard the whispers of all those who’d just paid him tribute.
“They can’t simply put your face up on the side of a bus. You get a lawyer, Mitch,” Amanda continued, her voice getting louder by the second. “You need to sue those people. This is an outrage!”
Mitch watched her squawk, her feathers completely ruffled. He saw the disapproving frowns on other faces around him.
“Yes, it certainly is all wrong,” Mitch said, nodding thoughtfully as he stared at the bus.
Not looking at anyone, he grabbed a black marker from the valet stand. He walked the dozen steps to the side of the bus, reached up and quickly drew a small black mustache on his own face on the photograph. Stepping back to survey his work, he nodded at a job well done as the bus ground its gears and pulled away from the stop.
Mitch glanced over his shoulder, grinning at Amanda’s openmouthed stare. “I knew I would have looked better if I’d had time to grow a mustache!”
Mitch laughed out loud at the shocked expressions on the faces of the crowd he’d just spent the evening with. Amanda looked as though she’d swallowed a quart of sour milk. Her father frowned forbiddingly. Mitch felt better than he had in ages.
Whistling, he tossed the pen to the young valet as he walked down the street toward his car.
“HELLO, BALTIMORE, and welcome to another evening of Night Whispers.”
Kelsey glanced at her notes as she spoke into the microphone.
“Tonight I want to explore relationships. We’ve all had them, some more successfully than others,” she said with a slight laugh.
“Let’s not focus on the sweet romance that builds gradually, with emotions leading to physical expression. After all, this is Night Whispers you’re listening to. Think about those other types. You know what I mean—when it starts with raw, physical attraction, builds into desire and fantasy, and finally reaches sensuous, body-rocking lovemaking.”
She paused, closed her eyes to let her listeners imagine what she was talking about, then continued.
“No question, the beginning of that type of relationship can involve ultimate pleasure. The anticipation of finally being with someone who makes you hot enough to melt like ice cream on a sizzling summer day is worth the possibility of it going no further than one heated night of passion.”
Kelsey forced herself to get her mind off a stormy October night when she and Mitch had exploded together and changed everything.
“But what happens if there is a next day? A next month, year or decade? When the hot, steamy sex is done, and you’re left looking at this person who’s consumed your thoughts for a very long time. How do you segue into a real, meaningful relationship? Do you even want to?
“Call me. Let’s talk about it. This is Lady Love and you’re listening to Night Whispers on WAJO.”
Kelsey scooted back in her chair and sorted through some discs during a set of commercials. Glancing at the clock, she wondered how Mitch’s banquet was going, and wished she’d called in sick and shown up. She would have greatly enjoyed seeing the look on his face if he’d looked up from his speech and seen her standing dressed as his wench under a spotlight!
When Brian cued her, she leaned back toward the microphone. “Welcome back to Night Whispers. Tonight we’re talking about relationships. Let’s skip forward a little, past that initial sensual cloud lovers wrap themselves in. When passion leads to love, how do you make it work? Maybe the person you’re passionately involved with isn’t right for you, or thinks you’re not right for him. How do you move past the obstacles and work on creating something that might actually last?”
The show sped by quickly. Most callers understood exactly