by Pepper Pace
After church and their weekly dinner, Robin drove to the hospital to visit Belinda. She figured Jason would be there but she just wanted to see her friend and make sure that she was still doing well. When she got to the hospital Peter and Amberly were there but Jason wasn’t. She kissed Peter, ignored Amberly and then went to sit by Belinda’s bedside. She was groggy and half asleep but Peter assured her that she was still making improvements.
“Where’s Jason?” She asked while trying to sit up. She stopped suddenly and sucked in a pained breath. Peter moved to adjust her bed with the remote and Robin adjusted her pillows until she looked more comfortable.
“Jason is at home I guess.”
She saw her glance at Peter and Robin felt bad that she was worried about their relationship even as she healed from an illness that had nearly killed her.
“Peter, can you and Amberly go get something to eat so I can talk to Robin. I know you haven’t had lunch yet.”
“Sure babe.” Peter said.
“Okay.” Amberly gave Robin a curious look but didn’t say anything to her as she left.
Belinda waited until the door was closed before speaking again. “You two are fighting?”
Robin made a face. “Why are you worrying about Jason and me? You need to get better-”
“Because I know how bad it hurts to be mad at someone you love.”
Robin looked away.
“What’s it about? That stuff that happened Friday? We were all shitfaced. He didn’t mean any of it. Jason’s like you; he’s no drinker. Even a drinker like me doesn’t really know how to hold our liquor. But he didn’t mean any harm.”
“It hurt my feelings.” She made a dismissive sound. “But hurt feelings I can get over.”
“Okay…?”
“But I’m having a tougher time getting over the fact that he got into that pool naked with Amberly.”
“He told you about that?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m of an opinion that some things should just die away quietly with no comment. That night in the pool was one of those things.”
“And you still think that there are no feelings between Jason and Amberly?”
Belinda didn’t answer, she just shrugged before finally speaking. “But he’s in love with you. That other stuff was just the alcohol. I don’t even think he knew what he was doing, we were all so fucked up.”
“But you do know where I’m coming from, don’t you? Even though you want us to be okay, don’t just pretend that you don’t get why I feel this way.” She felt close to tears because she wanted her feelings validated and not to just hear someone say, ‘just get over it’ “No woman wants to know that her man is naked in a pool with another naked woman…especially if that woman announced that she was head over heels in love with him!” Robin stared at the ceiling in anguish.
Belinda’s lips turned downward. “Every stupid move has a huge consequence.” Robin looked at her suddenly feeling bad that she had unleashed her own pity party on her sick friend. “They couldn’t save my ovum. The fever was too bad; too high.”
Robin closed her eyes sadly. “I’m so sorry-”
“Every stupid move has its consequence. So listen to me hard, just listen. Ask yourself what you really really want—even if you can’t say it out loud.” Tears filled Belinda’s eyes and her voice cracked. “And then you make it happen. You make it happen!”
Robin brushed away Belinda’s tears with her thumbs, but she nodded in agreement.
***
Jason had dragged in the Christmas tree and had put it up early Sunday morning. The wreath was roughed up but he hung it on the door and straightened the ribbon and then located some pine cones that had been knocked loose.
He played Christmas music and made dinner and when his mother came over he had still held out hope that Robin and her mother would show up as well. When they were a no-show, he had to explain that Robin and he were having an argument and his mother had nodded sadly and didn’t try to get into his business about what had happened. She just informed him that she hoped for the best.
He wasn’t the best cook, but dinner was salad and a chicken casserole that he made with white rice, chicken breasts and cream of mushroom soup. The rice was hard in places but his mother didn’t complain. They talked about the song with Akita Tom being finished, they talked about the fact that he’d been fitted for his braces, they talked about Robin going on vacation for Christmas and how the two of them would spend it, and they talked about her holiday fundraiser at The Findlay Market. And then she left and Jason stared at his phone wondering if he should call Robin despite her demands or whether he should wait until he saw her in the morning.
The next morning Jason got up and the first thing he did was to plug in the Christmas tree. He wanted it to be the first thing Robin saw when she came over. He had respected her wishes and hadn’t called her but it had cost him a sleepless night of tossing and turning. He put on Motown Christmas music and started the coffee so that they could have time to hash it out. Then he started the process of preparing for school.
He was never more excited when he heard her key in the lock. For a few agonizing minutes, he didn’t know whether or not she would show. But here she was. He wheeled from the back of the apartment where he had brushed every single knot from his damp hair and had even shaved.
Robin was staring at the tree. “It’s crooked.”
“Yeah. I couldn’t get it straight. I thought if I turned it, it wouldn’t look so bad...”
Robin had a pine cone in her hand. “I found this in the bushes.”
“Yeah…” He wheeled to her and took it from her hand. “I couldn’t find them all.” The teapot was going off and Robin hurried into the kitchen to turn off the fire and to prepare the coffee. Jason followed her. Why was saying that you’re sorry so hard to do, even when you knew you were wrong and you were truly sorry?
“Robin, I just wanted to tell you that I know I acted badly and that I wish that you would forgive me. If you do, I promise never ever to do anything like that again. And I won’t drink…or get drunk or let another woman sit in my lap, or…you know, be naked around others.”
She turned to him and just stared at him. Her expression was completely unreadable. “I trusted you…not to do certain things. Just automatically trusted that you would be a certain way.” She struggled for the right words. “But now…I don’t automatically trust that.”
He looked crushed. “I know I messed up, but please don’t say that you don’t trust me.”
“I trust you, but I don’t have…faith that you will do the right things anymore.” She poured the coffee and heard Jason’s cracked response.
His face was broken as he rubbed the tears from his eyes. “Please don’t say that, Robin. That hurts me more then you can ever imagine. I didn’t mean to take away the trust!” She walked to him, sinking to her knees in front of his chair, Robin placed her head into his lap and held onto his legs while his body folded over hers and he held her in return.
“What I want more than anything is for us to be together.” She whispered.
“Me, too, Sweetheart. Me too.”
***
School was very difficult with Belinda not being there during lunch. The friend’s were very quiet, not joining the usual rowdy exchange that occurred at their table. Amberly shot Robin and Jason curious looks which were ignored. Robin didn’t say anything to her; not hi, not bye.
Peter stared blankly at nothing.
“Are you going to stare at it or eat it?” Robin finally asked him, referring to his bowl of chili.
He looked up at her. “I was in my own little world.” He spooned food into his mouth without seeming to taste it. Robin felt so sorry for him. Peter seemed so lost right now.
“I still haven’t heard the song you did with Akita Tom,” He looked up curiously.
“Really?” Then he glared at Jason playfully. “Slacker. Why is it that I’m always the one to school your girl?”
Jason grinned and shrugged. “We should take her to the studio so that she can hear it in surround.”
Peter got excited. “Yeah! I’ll meet you guys there after school.” He turned to Amberly who had been listening. “You coming?” The smaller woman looked away.
“Nah, I got an exam that I have to study for.”
Robin noted that Jason looked at anything but Amberly. Robin hated this part. She wished that this part would be over.
After classes she and Jason met Peter in the lobby of the studio. Since the recording was completed Jay, the technician wasn’t around and neither was Mr. Edelson. They let themselves in. A cleaning crew had repaired the damage of the party. Robin looked around wondering if popular musicians had their own personal housekeeping.
The trio moved into the control room and Jason and Peter moved comfortably into position powering up the equipment. Jason turned the lights down low giving the area a lounge effect and Robin bounced on her toes in excitement. Jason watched her with a shit-eating grin on his face, and then he played the song.
It was very mellow, she didn’t hear hiphop or R&B, jazz maybe. A horn was the focal point but she couldn’t identify what type of horn…maybe a flute? Damn it was so good! She bobbed her head and tapped her feet feeling the music flow through her. It was so mellow! She wanted to spin and dance and float around the room…she just didn’t want anyone watching her while she did it and both of them were staring at her in delight at her reaction to the music.
Suddenly there was a break in the music, the horns came in softly and the music got funky. Robin lost it, she clapped her hands and exclaimed that it was awesome and the guys beamed proudly at their creation. Robin couldn’t help it, she began to move to the beat of the infectious music, not even caring that they were staring at her.
Jason stared at Robin, mesmerized by her, in awe of her, in love with her. How could he have made-out with Amberly in that pool when there was nothing about Amberly that could match this feeling that he had for Robin?
Robin got tired long before the song ran out. It was an hour long!
“I never heard of an hour long song before.” Robin exclaimed while settling onto Jason’s lap to rest after her extensive dancing session.
“We’re leaving it up to Tom to edit it down.” Peter explained.
“I think it can be two songs.” Jason added. “The beginning is totally different then the end.”
“Two songs would be two fees, right?”
“Right.” Peter said grinning broadly. He checked his watch. “I need to go to the hospital before visiting hours end. Jason. Remember what we talked about.”
“I remember. I’m going to ask her now.”
“Ask who? Me?”
“Yeah. Wait.” He indicated that he wanted Peter to leave before he said more. Robin watched them both excitedly. Peter wheeled to her and kissed her cheek.
“See you tomorrow. I’ll tell Belinda hi for you.”
“Okay. Bye Peter.”
When he was gone Robin gave Jason a curious look. “What?”
“You asked me what I wanted for Christmas?”
She scowled. “Ewww! Here in the studio?!”
“No! Not that…I mean…I want that too.” He took a breath. “I want you to record some songs for me so that I can play them. I want you to do Poetry man and some others.” He gestured to the glass enclosed recording studio. “No one here but you and me. This place costs a shitload of money each day so we probably won’t have use of it beyond today. How about it babe?”
Excitement coursed through her body as she looked at the microphone in the other room. “Well where is the music going to come from?”
“Well I can feed music in through your headphones. “But my idea is that you would sing acapella.”
“Oh my god! You’ll hear every mistake I make if I do that!”
“If…you make any mistake, that’s what this equipment is here for. But I don’t think you will. You never do when you sing for me.”
She looked at the microphone again and then nodded.
Jason wheeled her to the entrance of the studio. “You’ll love how it sounds in there! The acoustics are fucking perfect! Peter sang some stuff to give to Belinda for Christmas; professional grade, of course. She’s going to love it.”
“She doesn’t know?”
“Nope.”
“Cool.” Robin shut the door and watched as Jason wheeled into position.
“Say something, babe.” She jumped, his voice had come through speakers that she didn’t even see.
“Testing…” Her voice boomed out but he was right, the acoustics were awesome. She laughed and it reverberated back at her. Robin covered her mouth and tried again. “Testing one, two, three.”
“Good babe. What do you want to sing first?”
“Well we can start with things that I don’t need music for.” She sang Poetry Man, tunes by Ledisi and India Arie before Jason put in his special request music. He surprised her by requesting tunes that weren’t traditionally sang by women, like a few Beatles songs and then there were groups that she had never heard of like Little Dragon and Laura Izibor. When it was all done she had cut 15 tracks. She’d only had to repeat 4 of them.
He powered down and she looked at him expectantly. “Where is it?”
“Well I have to polish it and-”
“Oh, I thought you said it would be flawless as I sang it.” She joked as she left the small room to join him.
“Well it is. But I’m going to make it studio perfect .” He pulled her into his lap. “But I’ll have it finished before you go on vacation next week.” They kissed.
“Okay.” She placed her arms around his neck and his hands moved beneath her blouse and went directly to the clasp of her bra. He had it undone with one hand within a matter of seconds.
“Jason!”
He ignored her outcry as he pushed up her blouse to expose her beautiful brown breast. His mouth closed over her nipple. He glanced at her before momentarily releasing it. “Three days without you is too long.” And then his mouth was tugging on her nipple again.
Robin arched her back in silent agreement, offering her breast to him. Her hand plastered to his chest and as his tongue flicked her, she gripped the fabric of his shirt and pulled at it frantically. Jason quickly leaned back and pulled it off over his head. Robin took the opportunity to step down to the floor and wiggle out of her tights and jeans skirt. Jason paused, eyes glued on her and then quickly undid his pants. He’d only had an opportunity to pull them down over his rump before Robin moved back until she was against the control panel, naked as the day she was born. She checked behind her to make sure she wouldn’t mess up anything and then she leaned back, spreading her legs slightly.
Jason’s breath strained as he quickly wheeled to her. Robin placed one leg on his hand rest and then braced herself and placed the other leg on the opposite one. Jason quickly locked the wheels and gripped her legs, bracing her so that she could slide down onto his lap, straddling his chair.
He quickly smeared the precum over his cock and poised it at her spread sex. She was glistening and wet already and as he stared at her pussy Jason thought that he had never seen anything as sexy in his life. Gripping himself, he eased into her opening, watching her little pink hole swallow his massive cock.