by P X Duke
–That’s what I was afraid of.
Kelly went to dress I cleaned up and started the dishes.
–I know you’re not going to be here long, but there’s no sense sleeping at my place and keeping a room at the motel. If you want, you can bring your things here.
Oh good. She didn’t use the words move in.
–I don’t want to cramp your style. Are you sure about this? I could be some serial sex maniac on the prowl for someone just like you, you know.
Kelly laughed.
–In that case, baby, you got lucky. You found me.
She gave her dress just enough of a flip to give me a show of her never-ending legs and then she was out the door.
I think I’m going to like it here.
I ran through the shower, got dressed and wandered out into the living room to survey what was left of the damage Buddy did yesterday. I jammed a sheet of plywood up against the broken sliding door for a temporary fix, but it needed work. Just in case, I wandered around looking for a stash of tools. I didn’t think I’d find any but I was surprised when I tripped over a saw and some tools in a cupboard in the front porch. Before long I had the plywood fitted in the frame, cut to measure and screw-nailed in place. I patted myself on the back and put the tools back in the cupboard.
I heard the door open.
–Hi, baby. Back all ready?
–Yeah, I only had a couple of rooms to do. I checked you out of the motel. We’ll take the car and get your stuff later.
She looked around.
–Oh, you fixed the window.
–I found some tools, so I went to work. Am I going to get paid?
Kelly looked at me and smiled.
–No, baby, you’re gonna get laid.
–What’s the difference?
She was laughing now.
–I guess that’s why I have the job and you’re the broke-ass biker from down Mexico way.
I smacked her ass.
–Ouch! Watch it, fella.
–I am watching it. Since the first time I saw it. Very closely. In fact, I’ve been getting some ideas about it while I have been watching it.
–Speaking of getting paid, Harry gave me this.
Kelly handed me the refund she got when she checked me out.
–You’re changing the subject again.
–There’s no parcel for you yet.
I was looking at her, not saying anything.
–What?
–You look pretty in that dress, baby.
–What a nice thing to say. Thank you.
–How about we take a walk so I can show you off?
–Give me a minute and we’ll go.
To my way of thinking, when a woman puts on a little lip gloss it can go a long way to making her look like a million bucks, but in Kelly’s case I’d say it was two million.
–I don’t know what you did, but I want to mess you up a little first. Come here.
I cupped her ass and squeezed it beneath her dress.
–I know exactly the kind of mess you want to make, and no, you can’t. We’re going for that walk. I feel good in this dress and I want to show it off. We’re walking to the fingers.
–The fingers?
–Not those fingers. You’ll see.
Kelly took my hand and we walked down the street towards the sea.
–Back in the ‘60s this was the place to be. Every one of those fingers built out into the sea had rows of RVs and trailers on them. The ones to the north had mobile homes.
–This must have been party central back in the drug-addled ‘60s.
–It lasted into the mid-‘70s. They had powerboat races, fish derbies, that kind of stuff going on. Then a couple of hurricanes went through. That and the agricultural runoff raised the level of the sea and mostly swept the place clean. Look around and you can see what didn’t get blown away or flooded out. Leftover resort towns are scattered up and down both sides of the sea, trying to cling to the past.
–On my way north I rode through what’s left of a couple of the towns to have a look. It’s kind of sad. So much went into building all of it–the people, the homes, the businesses–and then in just a couple of years it was all gone. What a shame.
–Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a ghost town, and I guess I am. Then someone like you shows up and I forget it all. I’m glad you’re here, Frank. I’m glad you’re with me.
I put my arm around her and we started walking home. Every once in a while I gave her backside a little squeeze. She never flinched. I like that.
–What do you say we keep on walking to the motel and pick up the bike? You can give me a hand pushing her.
–Just because you’re a good lay doesn’t mean I’m going to be your slave.
–No, let’s just say it’s my reward. Come on, you’ve got work to do–and not the kind you did the other night.
Kelly poked me in the ribs and ran down the street ahead of me.
–We’ll find out how much energy you have when we’re done.
–I’m counting on it.
I walked into the motel. Harry was sitting behind the front desk.
–I’m here to pick up my bag.
–I figured you’d be in today. Did Kelly give you the refund?
–You bet. Thanks for letting me back out of the deal we had. I didn’t know I’d end up finding a place to stay.
Harry laughed.
–I’ll bet you didn’t. Watch out for that one, Frank. She’s a sly little thing.
–How so?
–I’ll let you figure that out for yourself.
I grabbed my bag and walked out to the bike and threw it in the trunk. I lifted the heavy dresser off the side-stand and turned it around in the parking lot.
–What do you want me to do?
–I tried giving you some direction the other night, but you went off on your own.
–Well no wonder. I was overwhelmed.
–No kissing up until we’re home. Now just get behind and push.
–Isn’t that what I told you to do?
–Smarty pants.
–I’m not wearing pants.
–Jesus, woman, don’t tell me that now.
–I was hoping we’d get home faster if you knew.
–Bitch.
–You love it.
–Yeah, I do–especially when you’re the bitch with no pants.
Once we got the bagger moving on smooth ground it rolled effortlessly down the street and up to Kelly’s front patio. I put the kickstand down and leaned it on its side.
–Thank you, baby. You did good. Come closer and you’ll get your reward.
She did, and I kissed her. I ran my hands under her dress to check. Yup. Naked as a jaybird.
–Happy now?
–No, but I will be when I get you back in the house.
–I think we both will considering I’m not as tender and achy as I was a day ago.
–I like waking up to the smell of you in my bed.
Oh-oh.
–You do, do you? Is that your way of telling me I need a shower?
–No. After that workout we both need a shower. And just so you know, I invited Tammi for dinner tonight. Is that all right?
–Of course it is. She’s good company.
It looked like I’d be talking to Tammi sooner rather than later. I wanted to find out more about Kelly after Harry’s comment. I knew if I hadn’t broken down, I wouldn’t be here. That, and running into Kelly at the motel was chance too. Neither of us could have figured on running into the other.
It was nice to be back in civilization after spending the winter running up and down the Baja. I had been welcomed into her bed pretty quick, I’ll admit. And maybe she was being a little too sweet, but the hair on the back of my neck wasn’t even close to standing up. There weren’t many prospects around here for a woman on the prowl to get herself a little strange. Hell, once the cue-tips were gone there wasn’t a damn thing.
I answered the knock on t
he door.
–C’mon in. Kelly is cooking. When she’s not being a bedroom whore she’s busy being a kitchen princess.
Tammi burst out laughing.
–I heard that! If you want to eat dinner, you’d better start kissing butt.
–I was doing some of that a little earlier, remember? You were begging for it then too.
Tammi smacked her ass on the way by.
–How about it, sailor? I hear you’ve got stamina for two.
–You’ll have to get me drunk first.
–What are we drinking, Kelly?
–And I don’t drink.
–Too bad.
–Kelly, she’s making passes at me!
–Don’t feel special. She does that to everyone. If she caught you she wouldn’t know what to do.
–Instead, Tammi, you can start telling me all you know about the little kitchen princess.
She laughed again.
–She showed up here one day, looking for a job. She was over at Slab City before that. The rumor mill said she was shacked up with a guy from L.A. Apparently he screwed off with all of her money and her car after a drug deal went sour. He probably had people looking for him because of that, so he got out of Dodge. You’ll have to ask Kelly for anything more than that, because that’s all I know.
–Did Kelly mention that I had a visit from Buddy?
–Buddy? That’s a good one. He was here? No, she never told me that.
–That’s his work on the sliding door. Or rather, it’s my repair job. He tried to get in here the other morning when I was asleep in the bedroom.
–How far did he get?
–Only onto his hands and knees on the living room floor. He ended up on his belly when I cold-cocked him with Kelly’s bat. Fortunately I found it behind the bedroom door.
–Well, at least now he knows you’re here. He won’t come back.
–I haven’t told you the best part yet.
–What’s that?
–The little kitchen princess kicked the shit out of Buddy when he was down.
–No way! Kelly, was that your ex from Slab City?
–Yeah. I can’t seem to get rid of the son of a bitch, but I hope he got the idea when he introduced himself to Frank the other morning.
–Why the fuck are you calling him Buddy?
–Because that’s the name I gave him.
–You’re nuts.
–Yeah. Don’t tell Kelly my secrets, okay.
Tammi reached around and squeezed my ass.
–Don’t be telling her mine either.
–C’mon you two. No more groping. Sit your asses down and dig in.
–See what I mean? Kitchen princess.
–You won’t be seeing the bedroom whore again if you’re not careful.
–Be nice, Frank. I think she might mean it.
–Nah. I’ll sweet talk her just like I did the other night.
–As I recall, you weren’t doing much talking.
–Yeah, baby, and when you were trying to talk you weren’t making any sense.
–Oh Kelly, tell me more. Please.
–Later, tater–when he’s asleep.
–In that case, you two, when dinner is done I’m not going to sit at the table and listen to you spread rumors about me. I’ll be hiding out in the bedroom.
After dinner I made my excuses. I figured I’d give the two of them time to catch up–whatever they needed to catch up with.
–All right, chicas, I’m out of here. I’m gonna check on the bike and then hit the sack. The two of you are too much for me.
–Good night, Frank. We’ll be in later to tuck you in.
–He wishes.
–Don’t pick on me, you two, or I’ll be forced to put you over my knee and spank the both of you.
–Yeah, he wishes all right.
I went out for a look at the bike. I could hear them laughing and giggling. I wondered how long Kelly would put up with a freeloader fresh out of Mexico.
Kelly woke me up when she came to bed.
–I think Tammi has a crush on you.
–Well stop telling her about what we’ve been doing. And it’s not a crush when all she wants to do is get laid. What if she shows up here when you’re at work? Would you like me to take care of her too?
–The way she’s been talking, I don’t think it would take much.
–You didn’t say no, baby.
–That’s because I’m not going to leave you with anything left in you to take care of her with.
–So then, you’re going to cut my balls off?
–No, that’s not exactly what I had in mind. Here, let me show you.
–Kelly, get up. You need to be at work.
I shook her awake.
–I’m up, I’m up.
–No, I’m up. You’re still flat on your backside.
She reached for me.
–Oh, you are up. What a nice surprise first thing in the morning. Let me see if I can help you with that.
She settled in between my legs and finished me.
–What a way to start the day, Frank.
–With a pervert?
– Yes! Now let me up. I have to get to work.
–You’re humming again, baby.
–I know. Let me up. I have to wash and brush. Stay in bed. You deserve it.
When Kelly left I didn’t waste any time getting out of bed. No way was I going to be surprised again. To kill some time I started putting my things in the bedroom closet. Nosy bastard that I am I couldn’t resist taking a look at what she had in there.
Sun dresses–some I haven’t seen yet. A couple of housecoats. Jackets. Blouses. Some nightgowns. I’ll probably never see her in one of those. Some boxes on the floor. I looked through a couple of them–shoes mostly.
What the fuck? I jumped up and banged my head on the shelf. What the fuck is this?
A scorpion?
Now the hair on the back of my neck was standing up.
A fucking scorpion. What would…
Coke.
And not just any coke. Colombian. Arellano Felix. Baja. Tijuana. Mexicali is 70 miles down the road. Those guys run down the Baja and across to Sinaloa. Holy fuck! I’m shacked up with a woman holding cartel drugs.
That’s why her legs had parted so easily. And that’s why she was so happy to have me between them. She wanted a watch dog around the place in case the boyfriend came back for the goods. Any dog would have done, but I just happened to be the dog that showed up and made it obvious that I was sniffing.
Does that broad have any idea what the fuck she has in her closet? No fucking wonder her boyfriend was trying to get into the place. He had a huge monkey on his back, one that would kill him without blinking an eye if the cartel didn’t get their drugs back.
Tammi’s place was just across the street. I walked over and banged on her door.
–Come on in. I just made some coffee. You want?
–That’d be great. Thanks.
She sat down at the other end of the sofa facing me and brought her knees up, sitting cross-ankled. The only trouble was, she was wearing a t-shirt and panties. I guess I couldn’t really fault her for that. It was her house I was in.
–Jesus, woman, do you have to do that to me? You’re one good-looking woman with a great little body. If I didn’t have one across the street, we both know where I’d be.
–That’s all I needed to hear.
Tammi swung her knees over the edge of the sofa.
–Better?
–No. But it’ll have to do.
–Men–never satisfied. What are you doing here, Frank, since you’re obviously being well taken care of across the street?
–I’m swearing you to secrecy. Promise me you won’t say a word to anyone about what I’m going to tell you.
–Have you killed someone?
–No.
–Then go ahead.
–I was putting my things in the bedroom closet. When I was done I got a little nosy so I lo
oked through some of Kelly’s things. You know what men are like.
–What did you find? A dildo bigger than your dick?
–What the hell has that woman been telling you about me?
–Telling me? She’s been bragging about you since she climbed off of you that first night, and I’m not talking about your sweet disposition. And you know what else?
–You’re going to tell me anyway, aren’t you?
–I’ve been putting myself to sleep daydreaming about you ever since.
She was blushing.
–What did you come over here for again?
I smiled at her. I knew she wasn’t going to be happy about what I had to say.
–It’s Kelly. She’s got Colombian coke in her closet. It looks like about five keys.
–Are you fucking serious? Jesus Christ. In her closet? Do you think it’s her ex’s drugs?
–Yeah, it looks to me like Buddy was left holding the empty bag. I’m thinking the only reason I’m here is because she needs someone in the place to make it look occupied when she’s at work.
–She couldn’t have known she’d meet you.
–No, that was accidental. I blew my clutch when I pulled out of the casino that first night. I needed a place to stay and the flatbed driver told me about the motel.
–You were at the casino first before getting here? How the hell did I miss you?
I laughed.
–When I saw the flatbed parked in the lot I waited outside for the driver to crawl out of whatever rock he was under. I needed the tow to a motel, and the one here was the one he told me about.
–He was right. It’s the only one.
–Shit. What the hell am I going to do about Kelly? I’m going to be in that bed and some Mexican is going to put a bullet into the back of both our heads when we’re sleeping. Or awake. It won’t matter.
–I’ll take you in here if you want, Frank. I don’t need a man to protect any drugs. Have you heard anything about your parts yet?
–No. When I called a friend he said he’d ship them direct to the motel. And I couldn’t just move in here. You and Kelly would be at it tooth and nail. I don’t want that for either of you.
–You’re too sweet.
She stood up.
–Now get out of here before my neighbor gets home and sees you walking across the street.