The Other C-Word
Page 22
A blush crept through my face and I knew I’d have to stop talking to him right now, because I was liable to drag him into a bathroom stall and have my way with him, probably not the most hygienic idea. “Let’s play pool,” I suggested. “Guys against girls…losers buy drinks.”
“I’m game,” Rick said.
Adam shook his head and looked at Rick. “If we’re playing against Marley and Stevie, we might as well get our money out now, bro.”
“Oh yeah? You girls are that good?” Rick mused, drawing an infinity symbol on my arm.
We were that good. The patrons at Ducksters had invested many hours teaching us the finer points of Billiards. We could pretty much clear the table in a few shots. “Yeah, I’m good with a stick,” I replied flirtatiously.
“I already know that. You’re tempting me, Marley,” he warned.
“Hey, those rules don’t apply anymore. I can tempt all I want now,” I said huskily.
“Well, if you don’t want me to drag you into the bathroom, bend you over the sink and have my way with you, you’ll stop,” he whispered against my ear. I laughed at the irony that we were having the same salacious thoughts.
Rick racked the balls and we all agreed to no slop, calling shots, classic eight ball. Stevie broke and managed to dunk in both a stripe and solid. We picked solids. The game went on and in about three turns, we were beating the boys by a large margin and enjoying every minute of it. Adam banked the cue ball, missing his shot and setting me up perfectly to pocket the eight ball. We’d already cleared the rest of the table. I lined up my stick, but straightened when Rick came behind me.
“Let’s make it more interesting, what do you say?” he asked me.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m about to whip your ass here.” I gestured to the table, which was void of any sold coloured balls, except the eight ball.
He embraced me and whispered in my ear, “Yes, so the bet would be in your favour then.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“You make this shot and I’ll take you sky diving tomorrow.” I hadn’t expected him to say that. I hadn’t brought it up since he told me about his parents’ death, because I knew that was why he didn’t want to jump out of a small plane.
“Rick, you don’t have to do that,” I said tersely.
“Marley, I want to do it with you. I’ve been thinking about it and I want to cross that item off our list.”
It touched me that he’d want to do that. “What if I don’t make the shot?”
“Then you spend the night with me tonight.” I gulped, glad he couldn’t see my face because it was against his chest.
“Come on, Marley, like you said it’s an easy shot. Do you think you’re going to choke now?” It was an easy shot, one I could probably make with my eyes closed. Ironically, Rick didn’t realise he had just bet his fear against mine. I didn’t know if it was the fine tea from Long Island, my naturally cocky attitude or the smell of Rick’s enticing cologne, but I agreed to his bet.
I backed away from him. “Deal,” I agreed, holding out my hand.
He took my outstretched hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulled me in for a kiss. He slanted his mouth against mine, coaxing me to part my lips so he could enter with his tongue. He’d been drinking whisky and I could taste it. I hated whisky normally, but tasting it on his tongue mixed with his natural minty flavour, was intoxicatingly delicious. It was better than…German Chocolate Cake. When he released me, I was breathless and wobbly.
“Are you going to shoot or make out with Rick all night?” Adam asked wryly.
I sighed in annoyance at Adam’s remark, before bending over to make my shot. I slid the pool stick in my hand, back and forth, using the forward motion of the cue the way I’d been taught for such a shot.
It backfired on me when Rick muttered just loud enough so I could hear it, “Hmm…going with a slip stroke…very nice. I hope you remember that technique later.”
Damn, did he have to flirt now? In fairness, it was the name of my shot. It still messed with my mind though, like everything else about tonight. I couldn’t get the taste of Rick’s mouth out of my head or the fact that kissing him tonight was as good as our first kiss. I’d had an epiphany a little while ago that I loved him. The way he looked at me held me captive, whether it was lustful, possessive or adoring. The way he always wanted to take care of me and make sure I was all right was something I’d never experienced. The way I could talk to him, openly—if not completely honestly—was a refreshing and new experience. I knew what I was feeling finally. I loved Richard Ulysses Randy with all my heart and it scared the hell out of me.
I hit the cue ball with the right amount of English—it hit the eight ball just right. The eight ball went into the corner pocket easily then…so did the cue ball. Crap! I scratched my shot and lost the game. I had a momentary mini panic attack when I realised I’d lost the bet too.
Adam and Rick high-fived each other in that excessive, macho, manly way. Stevie threw them a few insults of her own saying we played a better game overall. Oh, Stevie, there’s no reward for playing a better game! I was lost in my own world at that moment.
Open mouth—insert one sparkly, no name, six-inch stiletto.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Rick asked me, clasping my hips.
“Yeah, I just need to sit.”
He led me back to the table and pulled out a chair for me. He bent down and looked at me. “Are you just a little too drunk? Or are you a sore loser? Or is there something else?”
“The first two, I’m fine.”
He searched my gaze, but Adam called him over to play another game. I urged him to go, grateful for an opportunity to figure out what I’d committed to. Rick fetched me a glass of water before joining Adam at the pool table. Stevie went to the jukebox, but I didn’t join her this time. I was glad to be alone, because my mind was a cacophony of troublesome thoughts.
I didn’t notice the shadow fall across me until I heard the familiar voice. “Hi, Marley,” Keith said, taking the seat next to me.
Keith was the number three man in my rotation and at this point, the last man in standing. Although, now that I loved Rick that would probably change too. Keith was also the half in my three and a half. I felt sympathetic towards him because we’d tried so hard, but he just hadn’t been able to stay…hard. It was surprising because he was a hunk of a guy, with dark, brooding eyes and shiny black hair that flowed to his shoulders in a sexy, Rick Springfield kind of way.
“Hi, Keith, I didn’t know you came here.” In fact, I’d never seen someone my own age at Ducksters.
“Yeah, my dad comes here. I was just meeting up with him. I hate this place. It smells like old men and desperation, but tonight, it looks happening. You look good, Marley.” I laughed at his appropriate assessment of Ducksters and smiled at his compliment, although it made me feel uncomfortable.
“Thanks, Keith, so do you. How’s it been going?”
“Pretty awful, since you’ve been on sabbatical. Why haven’t you returned any of my texts or called me? I was desperate enough to go to your house, but I have no idea where you live. Why don’t I know that, Marley?”
I had texted him to say I was on a sexual sabbatical, since I hadn’t known what else to say. Keith had contacted me several times, but it had seemed wrong to return any of his communication. It felt like a betrayal to Rick, so I never had after that initial text.
“Look, Keith, I think I’m done with the rotation thing.” It was true. Rick was leaving and whatever we had would be over soon, but at the same time, I didn’t want to go back to my old ways. I knew I would need a period of deep mourning after Rick left, and it would be difficult to be with another man. Now that I knew I loved him, it only complicated the situation more.
“Marley, I’ve been thinking about you. I went to see a doctor, and I got pills like you suggested. I want us to…go all the way.” Oh crap!
“Um, I guess I’m honoured you want me to be your first, but I’m�
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He placed his finger to my lips and placed his other hand behind my head drawing me closer to him. “Not my first, my everything. I’ve missed you so much. You’re what I’ve always wanted, but I never had the courage to say it because of my problems. I want a real relationship with you.” My head was spinning. It seemed like this night was getting crazier by the minute. I pushed away from Keith, but he held me in place. We weren’t kissing, but it was an intimate position nonetheless.
“I’m sorry, I can’t.” Keith looked disappointed, and he held his finger to my lip again to keep from saying anything else.
“You’re in my seat,” Rick said, peering down at Keith. Rick’s voice was hostile, but it was his eyes that frightened me the most. The green orbs were ignited with a rage I’d never seen before. Rick looked angrier than he had when Stevie’d spilt the beans about Mr Clean’s nephew. Although Rick’s sudden appearance shocked me, it didn’t seem to rattle Keith at all.
“We’re talking in private. Leave us alone,” Keith ordered, waving Rick away. Oh Crap! Not smart.
Rick grabbed a handful of Keith’s shirt and managed to pull him straight out of the seat as if he were a rag doll. “Now you’re talking to me.”
“Rick, stop it! Keith is an old friend. We were just talking.” I managed to wedge myself between the two men. Rick must have absorbed what I was saying because he let go of Keith, although his eyes were still blazing.
Keith, on the other hand, seemed emboldened by Rick’s antagonism. “You must be Mr Sabbatical. I was just asking Marley when she’d be done with you and come back to me. I really miss the way she sucks my cock.”
I felt the room go dark and someone pushed me out of the way. I blinked my eyes open just in time to see Rick clock Keith across the jaw. This time he didn’t have to use an uppercut. Keith sprawled out on the floor, and we were once again the centre of attention at Ducksters.
Ten minutes later, we were all out in the street again. Stevie and Adam were kicked out too, since they’d come in with us. Adam had managed to pull Rick off Keith before he’d broken something permanently.
“I can’t believe we got kicked out of yet another bar,” Stevie whined.
“I’m sorry,” Rick apologised to Stevie and Adam only. He didn’t acknowledge me. He was still pissed off.
Stevie just laughed. I knew she was inebriated now as this would not be her normal reaction. “It’s freaking awesome, I got kicked out of not one, but two bars at my bachelorette party! This has to qualify me for some die-hard party-girl status.” She slurred her words and made it a point of holding her fingers up, so we would know the difference between one and two.
We all laughed, some more than others. “We’re going back to the limo,” Adam said, leading Stevie away.
“Why?” I asked them. I immediately wanted to take back the question when they both started giggling.
“We’re going to have sex in the back. It’s a bucket list thing,” Adam explained proudly. I grimaced, wishing I’d never asked.
“There are two limos, you guys! We have dibs on the Hummer, but you can have the other one,” Stevie chimed in, once again, holding her fingers up, so we could grasp the concept of two.
Even though there was a great tension between us, the thought of fucking Rick in the back of a limo sounded enticing. The thought of being intimate with him while my sister and Adam were rocking the vehicle next to us, was not. In addition, Rick was fuming right now so I didn’t think the idea would hold any appeal for him. “No thanks,” I replied, watching Rick walk in the opposite direction.
I ran over to catch up with Rick, which was no easy feat in my high heels. “Rick, stop!”
He turned with his green eyes blaring into me. “Marley, what the fuck was that? You call me your sabbatical?”
I took his hands. “You don’t have a right to be angry about that.”
“Is that all I am to you?”
I stared at him, dumbfounded and irritated at the same time. “No, of course not, but what else was I supposed to say when this started? There’s a guy I’m going to exclusively fuck for the next three months, so I’ll be out of commission until then? Sabbatical seemed simpler to me.”
He laughed sarcastically. “Marley, you can say whatever you want, because you’re right, for once you’re being simple. That’s what this is for you anyway, right? A break from the usual? Are you going to go back to that asshole after the way he just spoke about you?” Rick wasn’t shouting, but his voice was so clipped and cold that I almost wished he was. He shook his head in disbelief when I didn’t answer. “I’m going to walk you to that empty limo and go home.”
He took my arm and started walking towards the limos. “Rick, let go of my arm. I’m not going back to Keith.” A part of me knew that if I told Rick that Keith was the half in my three and a half, it would make him feel better but despite how mad I was at Keith, I couldn’t betray his trust. It was Keith’s deepest secret, and I had only told Rick because he’d never met Keith before.
“So he’s out, do you have the rest of the line-up planned? Are you getting ready for your next rotation, baby? Are you making a list? Are you making a spreadsheet? Do you rate them?” The words were cruel, harsh and provoking. I slapped Rick. He touched his face from the sting. I touched it too because what I did had been impulsive, but he pulled my hand away.
“What the hell do you want from me, Marley? I’ve tried to follow all your stupid terms, but I’m done now. I’m done with the fucked-up game we’re playing. Go back to whatever happy fuck ‘em and forget ‘em existence you had. I’m sorry I forced my way into your life. I should have left you alone to begin with, like you wanted.”
My insides tightened and I felt like I might faint. He must have sensed it to because he gripped my waist, steadying me. He probably thought it was because I’d been drinking, but it wasn’t. The fear of losing him pierced straight through my heart, crushing it.
My voice came out quietly, but hysteria lingered behind it. “Rick, please escort me home in a cab. I don’t feel well, and I know you’re too much of a gentleman to leave me out here on the street.”
He sighed, but leaned me against the brick exterior of a shop then walked to the corner to hail us a cab. We sat silently the whole way to my house at opposite ends of the cab, both looking out our respective windows. When the cab pulled up to my house, Rick directed the driver, “Wait until she’s inside, then we can go.” When he turned to me, his face was expressionless. “Or do you need help to make it to the door?” His voice was cold and distant.
“Aren’t you coming inside with me?” I asked him tentatively. I winced when he laughed.
“I don’t think so.”
I moved closer to him, aware the cab driver was watching us. “Rick, you won the bet tonight.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on holding you to it.”
“Rick, please come inside with me. I need to tell you some things.”
He looked at me closely as if he was trying to assess me. I knew it was probably because he’d never heard my voice sound so pleading. I tried to hold back the tears, but they managed to work their way down my cheeks anyway. “Please.”
Rick handed the cab driver some money and told him to leave. My sigh of relief was so profound that I should have been embarrassed, but I wasn’t. He lent me his arm to walk me into the empty house. It was a gallant gesture, but he only did it because he was a gentleman. Everyone was still at the club, dancing their butts off. I knew Stevie had texted Billie and Dillon and told them to keep my mom occupied, and make up a story why the rest of us weren’t there.
Rick strode over to the bookshelf in the far corner of the room, studying our family photographs. I approached him and took his hand. He didn’t squeeze my hand or even look at me, but he didn’t push me away either.
“Rick, I know you’re pissed off, but you can’t hold it against me that I couldn’t define what we had when we came to our agreement. You couldn’t either.”
I was silent, unsure how to answer his question, which only aggravated him more.
When he spoke, his voice was curt and crisp, “Marley, I’ve really enjoyed our time together, but I think it’s best if we move on. Being with you is exasperating as hell for me. It feels like you’re a brick wall that I have to chip away at, piece by piece. I can’t keep doing it. As much as I love being with you, I’m tired of feeling rejected and isolated.”
My voice came out a whimper, “You’re breaking up with me?”
He smiled, soft and sad. “No, baby, I’m ending our verbal contract. I’m ending your sabbatical.”
He kissed my forehead and turned to leave, but I didn’t let go of his hand.
“Come to my bedroom,” I said, trying to lead him, but he didn’t budge.
“Marley, I’m not interested in fucking you right now. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but it’s true.”
“Rick I need to show you something.”
He studied me guardedly, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
“I’m trying to plough through the brick wall myself,” I said pleadingly.
He came closer to me, moving me against the wall in the living room. I thought he might kiss me, but he stopped just shy of my lips. “I want answers. No passes this time.”
“What answers, Rick?”
He grabbed my wrist, holding it up to my face. “Why the hell are your wrists always red? Are you into some sort of S&M bullshit? Are you cheating on me? Why won’t you spend the night with me? Why do you have so many crazy rules?”
I moved my wrist out of his grasp. His words hurt me, especially the accusation. “How can I be cheating on you when I spend all my time with you? I can’t believe you’d make that assumption.”