Sweet, Sweet Wine

by Jaime Clevenger

  Lisa’s car was an old Toyota sedan with ripped seats and a cracked windshield. The crack was below the centerline and ran all the way across, giving the glass the same appearance as a bifocal lens. Lisa’s radio was tuned to country music. Riley pointed the way through the downtown streets to her apartment building. She wondered if Lisa wasn’t out to her roommate. Or maybe the roommate simply didn’t like strangers spending the night in their apartment.

  Lisa hummed along to the song that was playing. “Do you like country music?”

  “Not really. I’ll put up with about anything, though.”

  “‘Put up with’?” Lisa huffed. She turned the song down a bit and then squinted at Riley. “Okay, this might not work out after all.”

  “Because I don’t like country music?”

  Lisa laughed. “I love country music. Love it. Seriously, this might not work.” She grinned as she turned the volume up again.

  Riley pointed to an empty parking spot. “My place is on the corner. But I don’t know if you even want to bother parking. Maybe you should just drop me off and we’ll go our separate ways.”

  “Maybe you will start to like country.”

  Lisa pulled into the empty spot and hit the brakes. She leaned across the center console and stared at Riley, then turned off the car. The music died quickly. Riley waited for a long moment and then leaned over and kissed her. They walked up to Riley’s apartment hand in hand. Riley had kept the place she’d shared with Blair but had decided against a roommate. Blair had picked the place when she was living there by herself because the rent was cheap. The train tracks were only a hundred yards or so behind the building. When Riley moved in, they talked about moving. But they had both gotten used to the noise of the passing engines and liked to sit out on the back balcony and watch the long freight trains lumber by in the evenings. Riley had thought about moving when Blair left but never got around to doing anything more than looking at rental postings online.

  Riley unlocked the door and scanned the place as Lisa walked in behind her. She’d left a few dirty dishes on the coffee table in the living room and there were books strewn about haphazardly. She’d become a compulsive reader since Blair had left and she’d found a secondhand bookstore three blocks from the hospital. “Sorry. It’s a bit of a mess. I wasn’t planning on having anyone over.” She pulled off her sweatshirt and then caught her sweaty scent. “Mind if I rinse off? There’s beer in the fridge if you want to help yourself.”

  Riley showered quickly and changed clothes. She came out to find Lisa cross-legged on the loveseat with a photo album on her lap. She held up the page she’d stopped on and pointed to a photograph in the center. “Want to explain this one?”

  Riley could have guessed which photo had caught her attention without seeing the page. “I think it’s pretty self-explanatory, don’t you?”

  “Not one bit,” Lisa said, laughing. “Okay, clearly you are on your knees and have your face in someone’s crotch. That much I figured out. But what’s all over your hair? And is someone spanking you with a spatula?”

  “Whipped cream. It was a college graduation party. I don’t remember the spatula at all,” Riley said, coming over to have a closer look at the photo. Lisa pointed to the object in question and Riley agreed that it did seem to be aimed at her backside. “I didn’t actually graduate that year, but it felt like I did after that party.” In the picture, she was on her knees, pretending to eat out her girlfriend, who happened to be fully dressed, when someone reached over and squirted whipped cream on her head. It was her girlfriend, Katie, who had graduated. She’d been with her for a year at the time of the party, but they broke up not long afterward. Katie had gone on to graduate school in Michigan, and they’d lost touch.

  Lisa looked up at her grinning. “So, someone takes a picture of you, looking like this, and you say to yourself, ‘yeah, that one’s going in the book.’”

  Riley reached over Lisa’s shoulder and closed the book. “I like to remember the moment. It was a good night.”

  “I bet. Was she good in bed?”

  Riley nodded.

  “You’re supposed to tell me she was terrible.”

  “Why would I do that? She taught me a lot.” Riley brushed a curl back from Lisa’s face and leaned down to kiss her. Lisa shifted on the seat, making room for Riley to straddle her. “How about you? Have your exes all been terrible in bed?”

  “Not all of them.” Lisa reached for Riley. “But I don’t want to talk about exes.”

  Riley unbuttoned Lisa’s shirt and unsnapped her bra. She brushed a fingertip across Lisa’s collarbone and started massaging Lisa’s shoulders and neck, watching Lisa’s face relax as her hands worked on the muscles.

  “I could get used to this,” Lisa murmured.

  Riley finished with Lisa’s shoulders and ran the back of her hand over Lisa’s chest. She let her hand rest between Lisa’s legs and leaned forward to kiss her. Lisa’s eyes were closed, and as Riley unbuckled her belt, a smile briefly crossed her lips. She took off the belt and the pants. Lisa leaned back against the chair pillows and moaned softly when Riley traced a line from her belly button downward with her tongue. Riley paused as the sun set and the room suddenly darkened. Lisa’s eyes were still closed and a half smile played on her lips. Riley watched her, for a moment, and then asked, “Will you be pissed if I don’t move to Denver?”

  Without opening her eyes, Lisa said, “Well, you don’t like country music, so whatever.” She ran her hand through Riley’s hair, then grabbed behind her neck and pulled her close. “I think you should forget about Denver for the moment.”

  Riley slipped out of her T-shirt and jeans. She ran her hand up the length of Lisa’s leg. Lisa clasped Riley’s hand before she reached her upper thigh. “Are you telling me to stop?” Riley asked softly.

  Lisa shook her head. She caressed Riley’s fingers, then placed Riley’s hand on her upper thigh. “I was thinking about Denver…”

  “I thought we were forgetting about Denver.”

  Lisa nodded. “I know. But what if you move there and hate it? There’s a lot of country music in Colorado.”

  Riley shrugged. It wasn’t about the music and they both knew it.

  “Maybe we should just have fun and forget about what comes next.”

  “Probably,” Riley agreed. “But I do have an old cowboy hat and a pair of boots somewhere around here. I used to lease a horse at a barn outside of town. Think I’d fit in if I wore the hat?” Riley teased.

  Lisa shifted off the chair and pushed Riley onto her back. The carpet was rough against Riley’s bare skin, and she started to sit up but paused when she saw the smile playing at the edge of Lisa’s lips. Lisa’s look made her willing to yield, at least for the moment.

  “I’d like to see you in a cowboy hat. Nothing else, just the hat.” Lisa climbed on top of her. She pressed her hand on Riley’s chest, pinning her down. The hair between her legs brushed against Riley’s skin as she shifted position, her free hand stroking from Riley’s breast down to her hip. She moved lower and slid her tongue between Riley’s legs.

  Every muscle in Riley’s body quivered at Lisa’s touch. She was used to initiating sex with Blair and nearly always taking the lead. Blair seemed to be more comfortable on the pillows than on top and neither of them had tried to reverse the roles they’d fallen into early on. But this wasn’t Blair, she reminded herself as Lisa’s hands and tongue moved deftly over her body. She reached for Lisa, wanting to feel more of her, but Lisa grinned and pinned her down again.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll let you have a turn. But right now I want you on your back.”

  * * *

  The phone rang, jostling Riley from a sound sleep. She climbed out of bed and found the phone, answering it on the last ring. It was Jeanette. As soon as Riley heard the woman’s voice, she looked over at Lisa, stretched across her bed buck naked. Lisa had spent the weekend at Riley’s house. It was Monday morning and the clock claimed it was already half
past seven.

  “I want you to come out to Denver,” Jeanette was saying.

  “I’d like that,” Riley said. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and cleared her throat.

  “I’m sure you have a full schedule, but I’m hoping that Sheryl can spare you for a day or two at the end of the week?”

  “As in this Thursday or Friday? Yeah, I think I can make that work.”

  Lisa rolled over and rubbed her face. She squinted at Riley and mouthed, “Is that my mom?”

  Riley clapped her hand over the phone and said, “Yeah, do you want to say hi?” She grinned at Lisa and then answered Jeanette’s next question. When the details were settled, she hung up the phone and tossed it onto the bed. “Looks like I’m going to check out Denver.”

  “What if you move out there and hate it?”

  “Then I hate it.”

  “But you’ll blame me.”

  Riley picked up the dildo that was lying in the middle of the bed. She went to the sink to rinse it off and then put it back in her underwear drawer. The sheets needed to be changed, but she wasn’t going to have time get laundry done anytime soon. “I don’t even have the job yet. And, for the record, it is really weird to be looking at you, naked in my bed, while I’m setting up an in-person interview with your mom. Can we agree not to tell her about anything that’s happened between us until after she decides whether or not she wants to offer me the job?”

  “Fine. But if she asks if you’re good with your hands, I’m going to tell her the truth.”

  “Which is?” Riley climbed on top of Lisa. She smelled of sex and the scent made her want her all over again.

  “Your massages make the top of my list,” Lisa replied.

  “How long is that list?”

  “Not saying. And I’m pretty sure I’d never say anything about sex to my mom, but I’d love to see her expression if I did.” Lisa grinned. “It might sway her opinion of you.”

  “One way or the other.”

  Riley was late for her first patient. She rarely had to come up with an excuse for the nine o’clock appointment and doubted that the patient really believed the line about traffic delays. By lunchtime, she’d caught up and had enough time to meet with Sheryl to discuss their end of the week schedule. Jeanette had, however, already called Sheryl to let her know and the schedule had been tweaked accordingly. She was doubled up on Tuesday and Wednesday to fit everyone in, but Sheryl was excited enough about the Denver job to inspire Riley as well.

  By the time she left the hospital, it was dusk. Riley walked home, planning out dinner and thinking about Denver. She admitted that the move would be less about the job and more about the girl. And she barely knew Lisa. The job would have to be worth the move, not the sex. Every hour that had passed without Lisa made her realize this fact all the more. She considered the standing offer at the practice in Seattle. It was only ten minutes from her folks’ place and she had friends in the neighborhood. Her mom would say she was crazy for not taking the job, and she’d probably be right.

  Riley unlocked the door to her apartment and dropped her wallet and keys on the front table. She went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, then the freezer. She took out a bag of grapes and sat down at her computer. She pulled up the website for Jeanette’s practice. Jeanette’s face smiled back at her. The resemblance to her daughter was easily noted. They had the same curls and the same smile. Jeanette’s face had more wrinkles. After scrolling through the website for a few minutes, she clicked over to her email. She knew she wasn’t going to take the Seattle job. It was the easy decision, too easy. Her cell rang and she recognized Lisa’s number.

  “What’d you forget?”

  “How did you know I was calling to say I forgot something?” Lisa asked.

  “It’s too soon to call and say you want to come over without it seeming like you’re going to be clingy.”

  “In that case, I’ll admit it. I can’t make it even one night without you,” Lisa laughed. “And maybe I left my keys.”

  Riley stood up and walked around the apartment, scanning for a set of keys. “Wait, how’d you get home?”

  “I walked. It’s a long walk, by the way. You live in the boonies. Fortunately, my roomie was home so I wasn’t locked out. Didn’t you notice my car was still parked outside your place?”

  “Nope. Maybe it got towed.” Riley picked up the keys. They were on the nightstand.

  “Don’t joke. I’ve had a few too many parking tickets, and I think I’m about one away from a tow. I hate street sweepers. I swear it’s just a crock to make money on traffic tickets. The streets are still dirty.”

  “I found them. I’ll be over in a half hour.”

  Lisa was out on the sidewalk when Riley walked up to her building. Riley tossed the keys to Lisa. “I wouldn’t have minded if you’d just asked me to come over tonight.”

  “I swear I didn’t leave them on purpose.”

  “A likely story,” Riley said, clasping Lisa’s hand. She kissed Lisa on the cheek. “Do you want to invite me up anyway?”

  Lisa shook her head. “Let’s go out.”

  “Roommate home?”

  “Maybe. It’s just awkward. Do you like Thai food? It’s the closest place and the food’s cheap and not bad either.”

  “Sold.” Riley wanted to ask if she was out to the roommate but held her tongue. If Lisa wanted to tell her why they weren’t going up to her place, she would have already, Riley decided. They walked one block south, and Lisa pointed out the restaurant sign.

  “It’s possible that they know me by name.”

  Riley walked home after they’d finished dinner. Lisa had wanted to drive her, but Riley said she wanted the walk. She guessed by Lisa’s reaction to this that it was clear to her that Riley wanted some space. The more she considered the interview with Jeanette Derringer, the more she realized that she needed to make a decision on moving to Denver because of the job, not because of someone she’d just met. The more time she spent with Lisa, though, the harder it was to consider a job in Seattle. She’d laughed more in the weekend they’d spent together than she could remember in the past year. They’d planned more trips for the year than either would have time to take in the next ten years. She felt as if she’d woken up in a room flooded with light and blamed Lisa entirely. Moving to Seattle would be like reaching for the light switch. She didn’t want to go back.

  There were several bars between Lisa’s house and hers, but on a Monday night there was little noise coming from any of them. The liquor stores were busy enough, though, and she made her way past two separate fights before being followed. The guy picked up her trail outside the entrance of one liquor store and kept not more than ten feet behind her, asking for change all the while, until he finally gave up when they reached the next liquor store.

  From there, she kept to the main streets with stoplights. The side streets held too many shadows. Even between the stoplights, streetlights made halos on the ground and she kept her pace quick through the dark places. The sky was cloudy and the moon was hidden away. When she finally reached the Capitol grounds, she was too tense to take the shortcut through the rose garden. She made it home and snapped the lock into place, every nerve on edge. A train rumbled past and she realized she’d left the balcony door open. She closed it, then turned on every light in the place and walked around with an empty beer bottle in her hand, scanning even the closet and under the bed with a paranoid, raised-hair feeling that she couldn’t shake.

  Her phone rang and she felt a shiver race up her spine. It was Blair. She answered the phone and then went to the fridge to get a fresh beer, turning off the unneeded lights as she went.

  “Is it too late?” Blair asked.

  Riley relaxed as soon as she heard Blair’s voice. “No, I’m awake looking for a boogeyman.”

  “Why?”

  It was a reasonable question. Riley had lived in a city for most of her life and was rarely afraid of being out alone. But something felt off about th
e night. “I left the balcony door open when I went out tonight. Stupid, huh? Anyway, I’m looking in the closets and under the bed. No one’s here but me.” She paused, realizing that she’d told Blair enough for her to guess that she’d been out on a date. She rarely left the house after work otherwise. “What’s up?”

  Blair was silent for a long moment. “I was wondering how you were doing. That’s all. So you were out tonight? On a Monday?”

  “Yeah.” Her forced upbeat tone was poor concealment. Riley sat down on the loveseat and popped off the beer cap. “It’s good to hear your voice. What are you up to?”

  “Nothing really. I just finished reading the book you loaned me a year ago. I wanted to call to tell you it was really good and that I kind of hated it.”

  “Which one?”

  “Bittersweet. It was really fucking sad. I didn’t really get the sweet part of the bitter. But I couldn’t stop reading it.”

  “I loaned you that book a year ago and you decide to read it now? Haven’t I loaned you like a dozen books by now? I think I even warned you about that one.”

  “You did. That’s why I picked it. You told me it didn’t have a happy ending.” Blair sniffed and then drew a breath in sharply, trying to hide the fact that she was crying. After a while, she said, “So are you going to tell me what you were out doing tonight?”

  “I wasn’t going to, no.”

  “Okay, I’ll start. Who is the person that you were out with tonight?” She paused and then said, “I know you, Riley. You don’t do anything after work on a Monday night unless there is a good reason. How do you know her?”

  “Can we not do this?”

  “I just want to know.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Is she the reason we broke up?”

  “No.”

  “Yeah. Whatever. I’m in Texas. How am I supposed to know what’s really been going on with your dating life? All I know is, you don’t go out with someone you just met on a Monday night. That isn’t you. You aren’t spontaneous.”