by Pepper Pace
Robin hid a grin and tried to play along and keep a straight face. “He enjoyed it very much. Thank you.” Jason was listening but he kept his eyes glued to his burger. However, it was evident that two bright red spots were developing on his cheeks.
“Jason, are we still on for this afternoon?” Amberly called across the table.
“Yep.” He took a bite of his sandwich. Robin had heard her mention their club meeting yesterday and that she would be bringing him home. She gave him a curious look and when he finished chewing he explained.
“They have meetings once a week for about an hour. We eat and talk and sometimes go out. They only last an hour. I can just hang around here and then Amberly will drop me off at my place. I’ll be home well before seven.” Robin nodded.
“Seven?” Amberly asked with a frown. “What happens at seven?”
“That’s when Robin comes back.” Amberly tilted her head in confusion.
“Robin’s my nighttime aid.”
Amberly gave him a surprised look. “Oh…Well what if we don’t get back by seven?”
He gave her a confused look. “We always get back before seven.”
Patty popped her knuckles and they sounded like twigs breaking. Robin actually jumped. “Actually that works out great. Then Robin and I can go shopping before the party Friday. I want to buy something…special.” Link, who was busy talking to two very sexy girls stopped in mid-sentence to look at Patty. Robin saw that his lip twitched.
Patty ignored him completely and turned her attention to Robin. “You game?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Patty poked Jason who was still talking to Amberly. “So if I get your girl home a little after seven that won’t be a problem?”
His eyes flitted to Robin’s. “I mean…if she wants to come over later that will be fine. I’ll just eat with Amberly.”
Robin felt her mouth pull into a grimace but she stopped it before it became obvious…or at least she hoped she did. “That’s cool,” she lied. Patty pulled out a cell phone and the two exchanged phone numbers.
Amberly hid her own smile of pleasure. She was a teeny bit jealous that Robin was going shopping with Patty but she would prefer the time with Jason. She intended to explain things to him tonight and she knew that she had to do it now, before his feelings for his Aid began to develop too strongly. Amberly was counting on the fact that their friendship meant more to him than this new assistant that hadn’t even been in his life a month yet.
She scooped back her fine, dark hair behind her ears and leaned in to tell him about this stupid movie that she’d seen. She knew he’d get a kick out of it. She knew Jason and Jason knew her…it was a link that the new girl just didn’t have with him yet; and if it was at all up to Amberly, she never would.
“Oh my god, Top, I saw one of the craziest freaking things that I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“What?”
“There was a video on bedbugs on the Sundance channel and it stared…get this, Isabella Rossellini.”
“What?”
Amberly was giggling. “I could not stop laughing at how bizarre it was! It was like…some educational video.”
Jason chewed his burger and considered her. “An educational video about bedbugs…starring Isabella Rossellini?”
“Yes! The title was Green Porno.”
“You’re freaking making this up-”
“No, I’m not. I mean…I guess it actually was educational. I did learn stuff.”
“Taught by Isabella Rossellini?”
“Yeah, but it is pretty much stuff that you wouldn’t want to know about bedbugs and their mating habits. Like…they have sharp knife-like penises, and they stab the females with them and basically rape them. And if they’re male…well they die a horrible death. The more you know-”
“Wait! Are you saying the males die a horrible death upon raping the females?” Jason asked curiously.
“No. The males can stab another male and kill him.”
“With his dick?” Amberly nodded. “You do realize that I intend to look this all up on the internet, right?”
“Death by penis?” Link interjected.
Jason gave him a wide-eyed look. “You want to be a bedbug now, don’t you Link?!”
Link shook his head. “A knife-like penis? Hell no. That’s fucked up even for me.”
“Not as fucked up as a praying mantis.” Patty added.
“Yeah,” some random guy spoke. “They basically rip off the other’s head and eats it.”
“Right.” Patty smiled. “And the body can still have sex.”
Robin watched their interaction quietly. The topic was disgusting and she wondered how they knew all of this stuff about bug’s sex life.
Jason had a thoughtful look on his face. “A praying mantis that wants to fuck another headless praying mantis needs psycho therapy.”
Link responded matter-of-factly. “Well sadly I don’t think there are very many praying mantises that are psychologists.”
The mating rituals of bugs lead to discussions about sex in general which really got crude. Robin was very pleased that Jason did not add one piece of information to the subject.
After Jason’s last class he followed Robin to her car. Amberly and the other’s were still in class so the two had about half an hour to kill.
“I put your crutches in my trunk if you want to take a walk to the commons.” She offered.
He made a face. “Nah, but if you want to sit in my lap I’ll take you for a ride.”
She laughed. “No, I’m not going to sit on your lap in public.”
“No one will care. Come on Robin.” He pleaded. She relented because she loved going for a ride in his chair. She settled onto his lap and he wheeled them down the walkway. She got comfortable in his arms, her hands resting in her lap.
“Can you get a key made while you’re out shopping?” He asked.
“Yeah, I can. You really don’t mind me having a key to your place?”
“You’re my aid…and more importantly my girlfriend. I want you to have a key.” He reached into his pocket and handed her his set of keys. She removed the house key from the ring.
“How are you going to get into your apartment without this?”
“Amberly has a key, you know, in case I have an emergency and she has to get in.”
Robin didn’t have a response to that.
“How are you feeling today?” He asked. She wasn’t sure if he meant her stomach, about last night, or just her general anxiousness. When she thought about it in those terms she felt very screwed up.
“I’m good.”
“I didn’t hurt you last night did I?” She looked at him.
“No. I just…”
“What?” He asked quickly.
“Nothing, I just wonder how long before…well you know…”
He frowned, a look of confusion on his face. “Before what?”
She leaned towards his ear and whispered. “Before it will go in all of the way without hurting.”
“Oh. We’ll just have to keep practicing.” He tried not to smile, but then his expression turned serious. “Just promise me that you’ll tell me if I hurt you, no holding back, okay?”
“Okay.” She cleared her throat and changed the subject in case people could overhear what they were talking about. “So this club; what do you do there?”
“We just talk and get to know each other. Try to help each other out with issues. Sometimes we go out. Just like any other club.” She placed her arm behind his body and leaned her head against his chest and took in the sights of the fall leaves.
“This is nice.” He said while wheeling them along.
“Mhm.” She sighed.
“I could…cancel.” Robin lifted her head and looked at him.
“No, Jason. We have all of the time in the world to be with each other.”
“I know.” He agreed. But it was like he couldn’t get enough of her. Before she arrived in the morning he was chec
king the clock to see how much longer before she was due to arrive. And each evening he wanted to hold her and fall asleep knowing that she was right next to him.
It was the real reason that he had agreed to go to the club meeting this evening. He thought that maybe he wasn’t giving her enough space. After all, she was with him almost every waking minute during the week now that she was his night time aid. He just didn’t want to crowd her. He wondered if it was normal to want to see someone all of the time? After all she had a life, too, didn’t she? Maybe she wanted some space, maybe that’s the real reason she went home yesterday. He would need to really try to be conscious of it.
Patty sent her a text and Robin met her back at the entrance of the building. Jason wouldn’t let her off his lap until he had received a goodbye kiss. She tried to give him a quick peck goodbye, but he gripped her lower lip with his and it virtually froze her in her spot. Something strange happened to her; the world disappeared and she had tunnel vision that centered around Jason and his lips and his tongue. Her body tensed; almost like a cat that was preparing to spring. Her breath caught and she suddenly returned his kiss passionately, aggressively, taking him by surprise.
“Damn…” She heard Patty speak, as if from a distance. Robin pulled back then, feeling light headed. Jason’s eyes were half closed and he looked as if someone had knocked him silly. Robin climbed from his lap, fighting to catch her breath. She stumbled and righted herself, still not able to take her eyes from him. Jason’s lips were still parted. He was punch drunk from that kiss.
Patty was staring back and forth from one to the other of them. There was a look of awe on her face. “Okay, you know what, Robin, are you going to be okay to drive after that kiss?” She was only half-way kidding. That had been a kiss that you saw only in the movies!
Jason blinked and cracked a smile. He wheeled past them and into the building so that he wouldn’t have to watch Robin and Patty drive off without him. He almost wheeled right into Amberly who was standing just inside of the door.
“Oh, hey,” he said. “I didn’t see you.” He didn’t notice that her smile seemed a little too quick, almost forced.
“Ready to go?” She asked brightly.
“I am.” The two headed to the elevators, as the club was held in one of the lower level rooms. “How is that video coming along; for Love’s End?”
Amberly thought about the fact that it was Robin’s voice that had made the song so haunting and soulful…and then she quickly dismissed it. He had cut and screwed her voice so much that she probably really sounded like a hog crying for its slop! Still it was a good song and she wanted to make a good video for it. She just wasn’t sure what she could do to compliment its soulfulness.
“It’s coming along.”
“No rush.”
“You should do it Friday. It’s a great song.”
Jason looked at her. “I could.” He agreed. He had Robin’s part already in the computer’s memory. He could transfer it to Link’s studio. “And no one’s heard it yet but us. Maybe I will.” They got to the classroom and Jason was suddenly bombarded by calls of ‘Top! Where have you been?’ He felt himself relax and for a moment he felt bad about putting his friends from the club on the back burner. But soon he was thinking about Robin and that last kiss that they had shared and he wished that she was back in his lap and that his hands were around her full hips.
Patty had not stopped talking about that PDA! Robin had never thought that she would be a girl that could get caught up in a lip lock with a guy out in public. Her mother would be appalled! Mama never liked seeing young people pawing and kissing all over each other. Secretly, whenever Robin would see people kissing and holding hands she always wished that she was that girl.
She grinned to herself. Now she was that girl! She turned to Patty. “Oh come on! I’ve seen you and Link kissing. You guys can steam the windows of a jetliner!”
Patty grinned proudly. “Link is a good kisser.”
“It takes two to kiss…well usually…unless things are really weird. Where are we going, by the way?”
“The mall; Florence. Up for a trip to Kentucky?”
Robin shrugged. “Yep.” Kentucky was as close as any other neighborhood in Cincinnati. From downtown Cincinnati she could be in Lawrenceburg Indiana where the gambling went on, or Kentucky in mere minutes. Everything was very close. She hopped on the expressway and they drove to the mall while Patty tried to hedge around the subject of the condoms. Finally she just flat out asked.
“Magnums???”
“Wh-a-?” Robin blushed.
“Oh my god, when I saw them in the bag I just bust out laughing and I said, ‘Peter, these can not be for you!’”
Robin covered her mouth. “You didn’t say that to his face, did you?”
“Yes.” Patty’s eyes twinkled. “But he knows he has a big one, maybe not magnum size but he has the most perfect dick.”
“Link’s name is Peter?”
“Yes. We like using our real names when we’re alone.”
“How is that working out for you? You know, coming out and saying that you’re in love.”
Patty took a while to answer. She had a thoughtful look on her face. “Honestly…” Her expression had taken on a strange cast.
Robin glanced at her as she drove. Was she about to cry? “You okay, Patty?”
“Yeah.” She said gruffly. “It’s just that he hasn’t told anyone else how he feels about me. He still flirts with other girls. I mean, I’m not saying that he’s out doing them or anything. But…it still feels weird if he doesn’t even tell anyone that he’s with me--then I wonder, well fuck it all; are we really together or not? Are we just fucking or do we have a thing?!”
“Do you want to be his girlfriend; a couple, a romance, holding hands and out in the public kind of relationship?” Robin asked simply. Because her idea is that she had an obligation to make her wants known.
“Meh.” Was Patty’s response. Robin had never heard that one before. It sounded almost dismissive. They were pulling into a parking space at Florence Mall before Patty spoke again.
“Yes. I want that whole sappy, stupid love thing.”
Robin smiled at her. “You should tell him what you want.” The two young women stepped out of the car and Robin locked it.
“See,” Patty said. “I’m of an opinion that I shouldn’t HAVE to tell him. HE is supposed to tell me and then I’m supposed to agree or disagree.”
Robin thought about how she and Jason had began. She had kissed Jason first, but it was he that had said he loved her. She still didn’t understand how and why but he would explain that tonight. She looked at Patty as they stepped into the mall. The bigger girl had just come to a dead stop for no reason at all.
Patty stood inside of the mall entrance. She looked around with her hands on her waist. She was dressed in combat boots, jeans and a black t-shirt showcasing a rock band that Robin didn’t know. Beneath the t-shirt was a long sleeved thermal shirt, her tattooed flesh peeking out from beneath the sleeves and the collar. Her short nails were painted black and her hair was stiffly gelled; a portion was dyed a vibrant fuchsia while the rest was blond. The fuchsia coloring covered her long bangs that concealed surprisingly warm brown eyes. It was her thing. Robin had never seen her without those bangs concealing at least one of her eyes. The rest of her hair was cut into a bob and Patty’s makeup was just harsh, black eyeliner.