by Dez Burke
“I told you!” Nice replied, hurrying toward Al across the parking lot.
He stopped and waited for her to meet him. As she approached he held out the purse. The tiny green sequined bag looked ridiculous in his massive hand. “You left this on the bar.” His voice still had the same husky timbre but his eyes were hidden in shadow. God help me, she thought, I can’t walk away from those eyes again.
“Thank you,” she said softly taking it from his hand. “Can’t believe I left this,” she laughed nervously.
He nodded and smiled weakly. “Have a good night, Ann. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I didn’t mean-”
“No!” Realizing her voice sounded much harsher than she intended she repeated, softer, “No, it wasn’t you. I just,” she paused thinking for a moment. “I just can’t do this. Whatever this is, I just can’t. I’m sorry. I’m drunk. Good luck with whatever it is you’re here for and thanks for bringing my purse out to me.”
He nodded. She moved to walk away when he reached for her, his hands clasping her arm gently. She turned and found herself stepping into his arms, back into his warmth and scent. His grip was loose on her as he bent and quickly kissed her cheek, the stubble of his chin rubbing against her skin, sending tingles through her body, flooding her with desire.
“Thank you for talking to me,” he whispered to her.
She nodded, her tongue felt too big for her own mouth and there were no words. She knew she should move away but there was something about him, something keeping her still. Something that felt safe in him. He stepped back.
She shivered and looked back at Peggy for a moment. His hand was still resting on her arm, his fingertips burning.
Peggy grinned and gave her the thumbs up. She turned back to Al and threw her middle finger up at the laughing girl behind her. “You’re leaving tomorrow right?”
He nodded. “You don’t have to go home with me. I mean, if you want to of course, but you seemed…” she stopped him, pressing her lips against his half opened mouth. His left hand caressed the side of her face before dropping to her lower back and pulling her closer.
The kiss was feverish. The press of his body was urgent against her. His chest was a wall against her breasts, the hand on her steady, and still. The questioning from earlier was gone, it was clear what he wanted, what his need was. Nice responded in kind letting her fingers find their way into his hair, surprised at its softness.
He ended the kiss, letting it taper off into soft pecks. His forehead leaned against hers, his breathing deep. His hand left her back and went back to her face. His thumb traced her bottom lip. She licked the tip of it as it passed and felt him shudder against her. His mouth was covered in lipstick stains.
A car honked twice behind them. She turned just in time to see Peggy driving off. “Figures…” she mumbled to herself.
Al shot her a questioning look. Nice shrugged. “She didn’t want to give me time to change my mind.”
He pushed her back gently with both hands. “Ann,” he said, as if the name was foreign. “We don’t have to do this. We don’t have to do anything. I can take you straight home.”
Nice smiled up at him. His expression was earnest. “I know, but I want to.”
He nodded and walked her to his car. She laughed.
“What?” he asked, opening the door for her.
“An Audi? Really? You’ve got a bum leg and drive an Audi? Compensating much?” As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them.
He laughed back. “It’s a rental. I’m only in town one night so I figured, why not have a little fun?”
She slid into the leather seat and he closed the door behind her. That’s right, this is just a little fun, she thought to herself. Why not have some fun for a change, Nice?
He slid into the driver’s side seemingly having no trouble with the leg or the cane. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” Nice stumbled out. “I’m a little nervous. I never do this kind of thing.”
He ran his finger tips over her thigh. “It’s alright. I never do this either.”
A blast of warm air hit her when he started the car which quickly cooled as the A/C kicked on. The drive to the hotel didn’t take long. They didn’t speak. For all the money he spent renting the car, she noticed he sure was frugal about the room. It was a rundown motel, an off brand Day’s Inn.
Almost reading her mind he said, “Yeah I didn’t much care where I slept. Just so long as it was clean. I wasn’t expecting company.”
He parked the car and got out. Before he could walk around the car, Nice opened her own door and slid out, pulling her dress down to cover herself. She shut the door behind herself and he took her hand and led her to his room.
The room itself was clean, if bare. Just a bed, small desk, and TV. The bathroom was off to the side providing the only light in the small space. The A/C was blasting, making it chilly. She took her heels off, dropping down about three inches. The door clicked closed and she felt his body against her. His arms wrapped around her belly, while he traced the curve of her neck with his lips.
Her sex tingled and flooded as his mouth met her ear. “We don’t have to do this,” he whispered. “Tell me what you want.”
He pressed against her back, his own desire readily apparent against her body. He licked the cusp of her ear. She moaned softly as his fingers slid over her breast, finding her nipple, teasing it with tiny strokes.
She hadn’t been touched like this in months and her body responded by flooding with desire. She arched her back against him. He groaned as she pressed her ass against his body. “Touch me,” she said, in a small voice, almost half in a whisper. “Just touch me.”
He pushed the dress down with one hand and unclasped her bra with the other, letting the garments fall silently to the carpet. She gasped as the sudden cold hit her nipples and then again as the cold air was quickly replaced with the teasing touch of his fingers. He stroked her breasts, drawing the nipples into points.
Her fingers fumbled against his pants, finding his belt and undoing it behind her back. He dropped one hand from her breast to between her legs. His fingers ran over the soaked cotton of her panties. She shivered as his fingers traced the line of her slit through the thin fabric.
“Keep going,” he whispered.
He caressed her slowly, his arms caging her, keeping her upright. Her legs felt weak as her fingers found their way past the buckle and belt of his pants until there was only him filling her hand. He leaned back against the wall, sill holding her as she stroked him, feeling him harden in her hand. She released him to tug at his shirt. He pulled it off himself exposing his bare chest thickly strung with muscle. Standing on her tip toes she reached up and kissed him.
He locked her in his arms, drawing her closer, her bare breast pressing against his. His light chest hairs tickled her. She met his hunger with her own, drawing his mouth down to hers, letting her tongue dance with his. She pulled back from the kiss, half dazed and full of want. She kissed his neck, bit at the soft skin there making him gasp then moved down making a trail with her lips until she was on her knees in front of him.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that, you really don-,” he sucked in air as she took his cock into her mouth. She moved slowly, focusing on the head. He was thick and heavy in her mouth. He was dripping and he tasted like salt against her tongue.
She could feel his fingers against her hair. She moved down taking more, sucking slowly against him. Gasping, she could feel him fighting not to thrust his hips against her. With a sigh he pulled himself out of her mouth.
“Hey, that isn’t necessary-.” He hauled her up to her feet and pressed his mouth against her. “I want something else.” His voice was husky and deep. “Take off your panties. Now.”
She smiled and walked over to the bed, letting the underwear slowly drop to the floor exposing her large ass. Behind her she could hear him kicking and pulling off his pants.
She turned and sat on the bed. In the half sha
dow of the room she could see him, naked. There were scars all along his left side but his eyes trapped her attention. They flicked over her as he moved towards the bed in an awkward gait.
He sat down next to her, his weight lifting her slightly. One hand grasped her face and turned her to meet his mouth. The other slid between her legs finding her heat and wetness. He pushed her thighs apart, stroking her clit. Nice shuddered and moaned against his mouth.
He pushed her back on the bed and slid his fingers into her. He moved his fingers slowly in and out of her, letting his thumb run over her clit. Waves of pleasure were building inside of her body.
“You’re so wet,” he murmured pulling his hand away. She whimpered, and he smiled and moved his slick fingers over her swollen clit. Her hands tightened on his arms. “Tell me what you want,” he whispered, his fingers teasing her pussy.
“Oh God! I want you inside me,” she half begged, half shouted.
He nodded, pushing her back on to the bed. He let his left leg hang straight off the edge of the bed, using his right to hold his weight, “Are you on the pill? Or something?”
She shook her head slowly. He held up a finger and reached for the bag next to the bed. Digging around for a few moments he pulled out a condom and ripped the wrapper open with his teeth. Rolling the condom on, he bent towards her. The tip of his cock shivered at her opening. He rubbed against her and she moaned.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he slid into her. He moved slowly, letting her body adjust to him. She gripped his back, panting as he teased his cock into the tight space of her, willing her body to open to him. He kissed her lips, keeping his body close to her as her hands pushed against him, willing him further, deeper. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. She felt the pleasure building up in her, demanding to be pushed over the edge.
He pulled her up suddenly, his arms around her, her legs straddling his thighs and pushed her down onto him, burying his cock inside of her, filling her with him. She rocked against him, nonsense spilling from her lips to the sound of his moans and gasps. Her hips moved faster until finally she felt a break within herself. A shuddering wave of pleasure washed over body as he released deep inside of her warm wetness. He pulled her face up from his shoulder and kissed her gently before laying down beside her.
She rolled over onto her side, facing away from him. She was pleasantly sleepy. He settled into the bed next to her breathing softly. As he wrapped his arms around her, his heat beating back the sudden chill in the room, the reality of the situation came back.
This wasn’t permanent. It was only for one night. He stroked her hand. “Stay,” he whispered. “For the night. This can be over in the morning, but everything is so perfect right now.”
She nodded feeling the lie inside of herself. Because it wasn’t perfect. Not for her. This was a stolen moment and soon her reality would come back. He pulled the blanket over their bodies and curled himself back around her body.
Nice listened to his breathing change and deepen. When she was sure he was asleep she slipped out of his embrace. The sudden cold made her shiver. She gathered her clothes up and dressed quickly. Slipping out the door quietly, she waited until she had turned the corner to put back on her heels.
She pulled her cell out of the tiny clutch and called a cab.
Chapter Two
Nice slept fitfully, with intense green eyes haunting her dreams. Finally giving up, she decided to go do some housekeeping at the bar.
She showered, washing the remnants of the past nights adventures and his scent off of her skin. She scrubbed what makeup remained on her face off and instantly felt lighter. She thought about washing her hair, but then decided that would be too much trouble. She was only going to clean up the bar.
Climbing out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around herself and took in her reflection. Bags sat under her eyes like bruises. Her normally caramel colored skin looked pale. Too much to drink the night before and not enough sleep were not an attractive combination. She turned away from her reflection. It wasn’t as if it mattered. She didn’t need to give the bar patrons something else to ogle at. By ten they would be too drunk to notice that she was less than a beauty queen anyway.
She pulled the shower cap off and started brushing the tangled mess of what was left of her curls out while she ran through a tally of what was left to do in the bar. Floors, tables, the bar needed waxed. The kitchen could probably do with a good scrub, lord knows that Bill isn’t doing it, she thought to herself as her brush grabbed a particularly nasty tangle. She yanked at it impatiently, pulling the whole knot out by the roots.
And suddenly the scent of him filled her nostrils as if it had been trapped in the one bit of hair. She closed her eyes and let herself fall back into that moment. His hands on her skin. Shivering, she imagined his hands finding their way up her dress. Thinking of his kiss, the way his mouth felt against hers, questioning, seeking.
She shook the thought away. She didn’t have time for daydreams. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and left the bathroom. It was still early, but she could tell that it was going to be a hot day. She sighed, toweling off the remaining drops of water.
She pulled on her usual work clothes. A pair of cut off jeans and a tank top. After a moment of thought, she slipped on a slightly stained white undershirt instead. With all the work to do in the bar, she didn’t want to mess up something nice. When she stepped out of the bathroom, the green clutch caught her eye. She walked back to her dresser and picked up the bag. It was almost the exact color of his eyes. They had been so bright and intense when he looked at her.
Shaking her head, she shoved the purse in a drawer. She had too much on her plate to waste time fantasizing about Al from last night. She shoved her stuff into her pockets and slipped out of her bedroom door. Tiptoeing down the hall of the small apartment she bypassed the living room. Her father’s deep snores echoed in the tiny space. She shook her head, grabbed her sneakers and went out the front door, locking it gently behind her. Nothing angered her father more than being woken up from his alcoholic haze.
Outside the humid air was already heating up. Thank goodness the bar was only a few blocks away from the apartment. It didn’t take long before the short walk was over and she was on the front steps of the Speakeasy Bar.
The bar was an absolute dive. She knew that. Everyone knew that.
The damn place had been forced on her after her father had gotten too messed up to run it by himself. Unlocking the door, she let herself in. The air was dusty in the weak morning sunlight. Turning on the lights in the bar she looked around. All of the booths had ripped seats with stuffing falling out. She would have to cover the new rips with tape before they opened. She wondered if she should let the bank just take the place. Shaking her head for even considering such a thought, she got to work.
A long while later, the entry way bell rang alerting Nice that someone had entered the bar.
Shit! I forgot to lock the damn door!
“We’re closed!” she yelled out. She’d been cleaning for hours and had started sweating. She wiped her brow with her forearm and came out from the back of the kitchen.
“I’m sorry but we’re not -” she stopped mid sentence.
He’d combed his hair back from his forehead and his green eyes were clear and wide with shock. Where as she was standing in trashy stained up clothes, he was wearing a pair of slacks and button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up above the elbows. He leaned on the cane with one hand while the other held a gift wrapped box.
“I’m looking for Nice,” he said softly, not pronouncing it like everyone else in the Basket Carry pronounced it, like “have a nice day” but like the city in Southern France. The sound of her real name sent a hot shiver through her body.
Her eyes flicked to the picture on the wall next to the bar. The photo of her brother in the army with his unit. There standing next to him in the photograph was the man who stood before her now.
“A
lden. Your name is Alden,” she said.
He nodded and swallowed hard. “Bernice? You look different-”
“Than I did last night? Yeah well, you clearly had a different objective then,” she said. Heat rushed to her face. Last night had obviously been some sort of set up. He’d known who she was all along and played her like a fool.
He lifted the hand with the cane using two fingers to signal peace. “Different from your picture.” He sat the box down gently on the nearby table. Pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, he took a folded picture out and handed it to her.
Nice took it from his offering fingers. The picture was from her high school graduation. Nearly eight years before. She handed the picture back to him and he shook his head. “It’s yours. I should’ve… never had it in the first place.”
She refolded the picture and pushed it into her pocket. “I’ve grown up a bit since then. What are you here for? Putting flowers on a grave?”
He pushed his hair back with his free hand. “Can I sit down?”
Nice crossed her arms, wary of his presence. “Sam’s been dead for three years. What are you doing here? Just swung by to fuck his baby sister?”
He let out a breath. “I couldn’t come sooner. Could we please sit?”
She sighed and motioned to the table. “What were you doing at the club? How did you even know I was going to be there?”
He looked up at her frowning slightly. “Nice, please, sit down with me.”
Her face was an immovable mask as she sat, but she could feel her heart pounding against her chest.
He was really here.
His green eyes were locked on to hers as she slid into the chair across from him. She looked at the box he had set on the table just to break his steady gaze.
“So,” she said, fighting the shake in her voice. “What were you doing there? Did you like, I don’t know, follow me to the bar?”