Tempter Read Online Free PDF

It rang once. Twice. Three times...
    “Hello?”
    “Hi, Jerry?”
    “Hey, Charlie! Haven’t heard from you for a long time. How’s it goin’, girl?”
    “Okay, I guess.” She realized she was forcing a smile although there was no one there to see it.
    “Really?” He didn’t sound too convinced.
    She took a deep breath, determined to keep the tears from her voice. It almost worked. “No, not really.” She turned her sob into a tight, bitter laugh.
    Jerry sighed, and she could easily imagine him on the other end of the line, shaking his head. “You wanna talk about it?”
    “Yeah, but not over the phone.”
    “I won’t be free until eight-thirty. You want to meet for a drink around nine?”
    “That sounds good. It’ll give me time to get my shit together. I look a fright. Where do you want to meet up?”
    “How about the Gris-Gris Club? You know where that is?”
    “Sure I do. That sounds great.”
    “See you there.”
    She could already feel her spirits starting to lift as she hung up. Good old Jerry. She could always count on him being there for her, no matter what.

Chapter Four
    Jerry stopped on the way back from the men's room to order another round of zombies, paying for the concoctions with a twenty. While he waited for his change, he watched Charlie from the corner of his eye as she sniffled and tore a damp cocktail napkin into confetti. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. But how did he ever get roped into being her father confessor? Sometimes being a nice guy really sucked.
    Jerry Sloan had known Charlotte Calder for two years. They first met while she was auditing his figure-drawing class at the Center for Continuing Education at the University of New Orleans. Jerry was in his late thirties and far from setting the art world on its ear. He was good draftsman, but that only went so far these days. Teaching art to retired bank clerks and bored housewives was stultifying, but it paid the rent. But at least it had brought Charlie into his life.
    Charlie was the prototypical yuppie, dressed in the latest fashions straight out of Vogue , and her conversation often revealed the fact she’d majored in business, not the liberal arts. Still, he enjoyed introducing her to the masters, seeing the familiar canvases anew through her eyes. And as well as being a stunning beauty, she also possessed an inquisitive mind, something that had rarely been noticed—or appreciated-- by her previous admirers.
    For propriety’s sake, he had waited until she finished the course before asking her out on a date, and she agreed. They spent that first evening talking over coffee and beignets at the Café du Monde, where Degas once spent a sweltering Louisiana summer, dreaming of ballerinas. When the sun came up, they were still talking, and she bid him farewell with a chaste peck on the cheek. He knew then things would not turn out as he’d hoped.
    Their second date was stimulating, but Charlie had insisted on paying her way. When she started to talk about her boyfriend, an alcoholic ex-jock named Ken, and his inability to make a commitment, Jerry thought he saw his chance. He told her she deserved better than Ken, but couldn’t summon the balls to nominate himself for the job. Although Charlie was the first woman he had been seriously interested in since his divorce, the thought of being rejected by her was enough to paralyze him.
    Over the next three weeks they met regularly at various bars and restaurants within easy walking distance of Jerry’s apartment in the Faubourg Marigny, and talked--mostly about Charlie’s problems with Ken. Then one evening he received a phone call from Charlie. She sounded both excited and pleased with herself.
    “I did it! You were right, Jerry! I took you advice and did it.”
    “Did what?”
    “Dumped Ken. I told him I never wanted to see him again.”
    “Good for you! This calls for a celebration!” Jerry showered, put on his good suit, and splashed himself with the