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Part Five - Records
Luis looked at Sheridan as she cleared the table. After what happened in Paris, he thought they couldn’t get any
closer. But they had grown closer. To think, Sheridan was the one from all those years ago. The first girl who
convinced him that true love might just be possible. He had known all along that what he felt with Beth was not
even close to what he felt when he caught Sheridan that day.
Sheridan could hardly look at him without beaming. She asked, "So what was the deal with pulling Hettie’s
pigtails? That really made her mad." Luis explained, "I know. It was Antonio. The first time I did it
as a dare. He told me he would give me a dollar. Then, it just bothered her so much. We all thought it was funny."
Sheridan added, "I can’t believe it was you. Does anyone still call you Felix?" Luis replied, "No.
No one ever did except Hettie, and when she moved away that was the end of it. Not long after she left, Mr. Breyer
moved away, and things were different." Sheridan remembered. She kissed him gently. Luis kissed her back.
Neither of them had intended for things to go any further. When they were reunited in Paris, they agreed to take
things very slowly, but tonight seemed like the right time.
Luis kept kissing her face, moving from her forehead to her cheeks, then down her neck. He returned to her lips
and kissed her intensely. She grabbed his hand and led him to the bedroom. Luis was trembling. Sheridan’s eyes
were so full of desire.
"Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded as she took of her shirt. Luis wanted to be with her so much. She
walked over and began unbuttoning his shirt. She kissed his bare chest. Luis was no longer trembling. He picked
her up and took her to the bed. They continued undressing each other until they were both completely naked.
Luis began making love to her, whispering into her ear, "I love you so much, Sheridan." Sheridan moaned,
"I love you too." They made love all night long and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Sheridan awoke with a chill. They were entwined in each other’s arms, but they had knocked the covers to the floor.
Luis awoke, "Are you cold?" he asked. He pulled the covers up over them and they began kissing again.
"You’re gonna be the death of me Sheridan. Do you know that? What are you doing? Going for some kind of record?"
Sheridan giggled, "OK. Get some sleep." Luis grabbed her, "Hey, I didn’t say I wasn’t enjoying it.
Come here." They kept kissing and made love one more time.
For days after that night, Sheridan and Luis barely left each other’s side. They could hardly look at each other
without blushing. Sheridan was making dinner when Luis returned from work. He let himself in with the key she gave
him. He snuck up on her in the kitchen and watched her as she rinsed the vegetables.
She was singing to the music coming from the CD player. Luis came up behind her and kissed her neck. She teased,
"Felix, you’d better get out of here. Luis will be back any minute." Luis laughed, "What he doesn’t
know won’t hurt him." Sheridan turned around and continued kissing him.
Things were getting steamy in the kitchen. Sheridan stopped, "We have to eat, Luis, or we’re going to waste
away into nothingness." Luis helped to set the table as Sheridan finished making dinner. They sat down at
the table and talked about their day. Luis told her his good news. The mayor was going to give him a special commendation
for saving one of Harmony’s most respected residents. And Luis had made detective. It was all coming together.
Sheridan toasted Luis, which really embarrassed him. He asked her about her day and she explained that she had
talked to Hettie. Luis asked, "Did you tell her about us? Was she shocked?" Sheridan answered, "I
told her. And no, she wasn’t shocked. She said she knew all along that we would end up together. Isn’t that crazy?"
Luis replied, "If only she had let us in on it. Think how much time we would have saved." Sheridan laughed,
"She wants us both at the wedding next month. Can you get the weekend off to take me to Savannah?" Luis
said, "Of course. I’m not letting you go to any wedding alone. There will be all those single guys around.
And anyway, I happen to love weddings."
Sheridan grinned, thinking that one day soon they might be taking a trip down the isle. Luis continued, "All
that free grub and liquor." She kicked him under the table. Luis concluded, "And the dancing…" Sheridan
thought about dancing with Luis and smiled.
Sheridan and Luis had been searching through town records trying to find some connection to the events of that
night. Maybe it had all be a terrible dream. Sheridan paused when she came upon one newspaper clipping. Her face
went pale. Luis asked, "What is it? Do you know those men?" Sheridan was holding a picture of a group
of men standing outside of Crane Industries. The headline read, ‘Crane Industries files for tax shelter’.
Sheridan recognized her father, but she also noticed another man standing in the background. He looked like a weasel.
The paper identified him as Nelson Lowry. The name meant nothing to her. She explained to Luis that this man looked
familiar, but she didn’t know why. Maybe he had worked for her father. Luis took down the name and promised to
run a background check on him. Something about this man made Sheridan shiver.
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