A Kiss and a Cuddle by Sophie Sloane Read Free Book Online Page B

London and had devoted his life to being in the London Police
Service.  He was a ‘bloke’s bloke’, who enjoyed drinking a pint and watching
football, or soccer, to Americans.  Rex got to choose the two bodyguards to
take him to Denver, and he said that these two men were his favorites.
    All
three men were wearing light denim jeans and t-shirts.  Once again, Rex wore a
baseball cap to cover his notoriously messy quiff. 
    He
smiled as he walked towards me, and when we met, he gave me a peck on each
cheek to say hello, which caught me off guard.  He must have been able to tell,
as he quickly explained “Oh, it’s a London thing.”
    “It’s
okay,” I blushed furiously and tried to change the subject.  “Look at you, all
dressed up like an American again.  Are you trying to become one of us?”
    “I
think I’d make a rather exquisite American, don’t you?” he asked, and then put
on the most brass southern drawl I have ever heard. “Howdy, darling!  Let’s go
get a hotdog and go to the shootin’ range, huh?”
    “Never,
under any circumstances, do that again in public,” I laughed.  “I do kind of
like this sporty look you are going for though,” I said, eyeing up his ensemble.
    “Well,
sometimes I want to be seen, and sometimes I don’t want to be seen.  Besides,
the media only really follow me at night.  They know I behave myself during the
day,” he grinned.  “Today, I want to blend in.  I want to be a normal person
walking about Denver.”
    “I’m
not so sure how normal we will look with your bodyguards walking with us,” I
said.  I had never been on a double date quite like this before.  I didn’t know
if I should include them in our conversations or act like they didn’t exist.
    “Oh,
them?  They’ll just walk behind us.  You won’t even notice them, my little
dumpling” he assured me.  “Right, lads?” he shouted back towards the men.
    “You
what?” Clive shouted back.
    “I
said, we won’t even notice you.  Right, lads?”
    “Course
not.  You two carry on.  We will trail behind, keeping shtum, mate,” Clive
replied as he touched his nose and winked.
    “Is
the word ‘shtum’ another London thing?” I asked.  “I’m not sure I like the
sounds of ‘shtum’…”
    “Yes,
doll, it is the British way of saying they will keep quiet,” Rex replied.
    “Oh,
good.” I said.  “Well, let’s get started on our adventure, then shall we?”
    “We
shall!  I might just wee myself with excitement,” Rex exclaimed, and we started
to walk down Sixteenth Street.
    The
streets were quite busy for a mid-week afternoon in October.  Surprisingly,
nobody recognized Rex.  It seemed like more people were staring at me than they
were at him.  Did I have food on my face?   I looked down to make sure
there wasn’t any toilet paper stuck to the bottom of my boots.  
    Sixteenth
Street was vulgar and glamorous at the same time, with panhandlers begging and
pigeons pecking, and potted flowers blooming and posh professionals strolling. 
The street was full of people sipping cool drinks on patios, sign holders swinging
their boards in the middle of the street, and buskers singing at the top of
their lungs.  I pointed out the free mall-ride bus that went down Sixteenth Street. 
    “So
that is what that incessant ringing sound is!” Rex said, after watching the bus
drivers ring their bell twice at every street corner. 
    “Those
bells tell the pedestrians to watch out.  Do you know how many pedestrians have
been whacked by the buses’ mirrors?”  I asked.  I made sure not to tell him
that I was almost one of the oblivious pedestrian victims on a few late night
occasions.
    “My
goodness.  The vicious buses of Sixteenth Street, hmm?  I will gladly walk on
the outside then, peaches,” he said, and took the position closest to the road
to protect me.
    “Why,
thank you.  Such a gentleman.”
    “They
don’t make them like this anymore, my dear.”
    “At
least