Scorpio Love

by S. Tamanaha

  “I just wanted to congratulate the woman who finally put her hooks into you,” Denise said with faked innocence. “I wanted to congratulate you, too, Jack.” She tried to put her arms around Johnny’s neck, but he took hold of them and pushed her away.

  “Come on, Jack,” she said coaxingly. “It’s New Year’s Eve. You remember our New Year’s Eve in your little studio in Venice. You remember how good I am at making you feel good.”

  “Shut the hell up,” he said angrily, “and don’t flatter yourself. You were a romp in the sack, that’s all, when I was bored and had a couple of hours to spare. There was nothing between us. Now why don’t you slither away and leave us alone?”

  “Well, I guess you couldn’t say anything else with your wife sitting right there. I have to say that your tastes have changed, Jack. What the hell do you see in her anyway? She doesn’t look as though she can go the distance with a stud like you.”

  “She’s more woman than you could ever be,” Johnny replied. “And what she has is a soul and class. You, on the other hand, are a soulless, classless bitch who’s getting old and still trying to sleep your way to your big break because you’ve got no talent.”

  “You bastard.” Denise reached for her glass of wine from the bar. Susan knew that she was about to throw it at Johnny and she reacted instinctively. She reached out and grabbed Denise’s arm, bent it by pressing on a point inside of the elbow, and then released her hold. Denise’s hand holding the wine glass went straight into her own chest.

  Denise screamed. “You little bitch! This is a Versace!”

  “Then you’d better start dousing it with club soda right away,” Susan said calmly. “Red wine stains set pretty quickly.”

  Denise demanded a bottle of club soda from the bartender and stormed off shouting obscenities.

  Johnny almost laughed. “What just happened? What was that?”

  “She was about to ruin your tux,” Susan said.

  “No, I mean what was that move? It was like some Jet Li thing. It was amazing.”

  “Redirecting force. Something I learned a long time ago from someone who taught martial arts.”

  She was answering him, but she wasn’t looking at him. He reached out and lifted her chin. He saw the hurt and sadness in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” he said. “She was just someone that I went out with once or twice when I first moved out here. It wasn’t serious. It wasn’t anything. I told you how it was in the beginning—how I found all that attention exciting, took advantage of it. She came on to me at a party. I knew that all she wanted was to be seen with me and maybe score some work for herself.”

  “I know,” Susan said softly. “You told me about all the women. I guess I just wasn’t prepared to talk to one of them. And I guess that I never thought you’d be attracted to someone like that.”

  “Susan, listen. All I saw before was what showed on the outside. I didn’t care what was on the inside because my heart wasn’t interested in any of them. I was that nerdy kid, remember, just new to the business and flattered by the attention. No one has touched me inside ... touched my heart and my soul ... before you.” He put his arms around her and held her tightly. He could feel her sadness. “I love you,” he said. “Please don’t let someone like her come between us.”

  Just then, the master of ceremonies began announcing the start of the countdown until midnight. The audience started counting the seconds off and then, at midnight, everyone cheered and applauded and began twirling noisemakers and throwing confetti and streamers into the air. It was impossible to talk to her anymore because of the noise. He put a strong hand on the side of her face and bent down to kiss her lovingly.

  “I love you,” he mouthed to her.

  “I love you,” she mouthed back, but the sadness was still in her eyes. He held her tightly.

  She was quiet on the way home, staring out of the car window and lost in thought. Johnny didn’t know what to say. It would have been easier if she was angry; they could have argued and then made up. But all he sensed in her was sadness and it left him uncertain about what to do.

  Once they reached the house, she changed her clothes and took Angel out to the backyard. When she didn’t return in her usual time, he went to look for her. She was seated in the swing, with Angel in her lap, just gazing at the sky. He became afraid that she was drifting away from him. He worried that she was now wishing that she was back in Hawaii, staring up at the sky from her pool—away from L.A. and from him and the hurt that his lifestyle subjected her to. He went to her.

  “Baby, come back inside now. It’s late and it’s cold out here.”

  She glanced at him, as though he had just interrupted her thoughts, and then rose from the swing, still carrying Angel in her arms, and returned to the house. She kissed Angel and put the dog into her little bed and covered her with her blanket. Johnny took her by the hand then and led her over to their bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and put her in front of him, then took hold of both of her hands and began rubbing them in his own.

  “Your hands are freezing again,” he said softly as he tried to warm them.

  She didn’t say anything.

  “Susan, what’s wrong? I don’t care if we have to stay up the rest of the night. We need to get this out and settled.”

  She looked down at her hands that were still enveloped in his. “She talked about how you had sex and where.”

  Johnny’s heart sank. They had reached a place of mutual understanding and trust, but he knew that it must still be difficult for her to have to endure the tabloid rumors and blatant propositions from women and the intrusion into their private life by the paparazzi. She didn’t need to be burdened by his past as well. And the last thing that he wanted was to have her picturing him with another woman, especially that woman.

  “That vindictive bitch,” he said under his breath. He was furious inside. “God, why didn’t you just walk away?”

  “Because that’s what she wanted me to do.” There was that stubbornness again—her refusal to give in even when she was being hurt.

  He kissed her hands. “Baby, I can’t change the stupid things that I did in the past, but I love you. Now and forever. Please don’t let all that stuff come between us.”

  “I know that you love me,” she said softly. “I just ...”

  “What? Tell me,” he urged.

  “Are you satisfied with the way that we make love, Johnny? The things that she talked about ... we never do those things. Is that what you really want?”

  He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Is that what you’ve been worrying about?” he asked in relief. He pulled her to him and held her tightly. “Susan, no one has ever made me feel more satisfied than you—physically and in every other way,” he said quietly but firmly.

  “Then why ...”

  “Because when we make love, I want to be able to hold you in my arms. Whatever position we’re in, I want to see your face and know that I’m giving you pleasure. I want to be able to look into your eyes and feel you touch my soul. I don’t need to be experimenting.”

  “She said that you get turned on when the woman is really aggressive. Do you? Because I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t think I can be that way, Johnny. Not the way she said anyway.”

  “Baby, listen to me,” Johnny said firmly. “She was talking trash and it’s not true. I don’t get turned on by really aggressive women. I know that it sounds medieval, but I like being the one who’s deciding when and where and how. And you always give me that.”

  “What about Cleopatra? You got really excited about that. And that was the first time that I was ... aggressive.”

  Johnny laughed and wrapped his arms around her even more tightly. He loved her so much. “Baby, that wasn’t aggressive. That was seductive and beautiful. And it wasn’t just the costume and all that turned me on. It was that you went to so much trouble on your own birthday to give that to me.”

  “Really, Johnny?”
<
br />   “Really,” he assured her and smiled. “It was a wonderful surprise and, if I recall correctly, I still got to decide how. And anyway, if I had to choose between Cleopatra and what you gave me on my birthday, I’d choose my birthday present every time.”

  “You’d tell me, though, wouldn’t you? If it was ever getting routine for you—if you wanted something more.”

  “Susan, when we make love, do you know what I feel? I feel you giving yourself completely to me. I know that if I wanted you to, you’d do just about anything I asked. But all that stuff, it’s for people trying to put excitement into their sex lives and the reason their sex isn’t exciting is because they haven’t found what we’ve found—that touching of souls. So it’s never going to feel routine for me.”

  He pulled her away from him gently then and kissed her. “What about you? Do you want me to try different things?”

  She shook her head. “I love the way that you make love to me. And I feel the same way—about being able to hold you and have your arms around me and I want to be able to look into your eyes because I can feel you touch my soul too. I could never get bored with that.”

  He smiled and cupped her face in his strong hands. “I want you to promise me something, all right? That you’re going to forget about Denise and all that garbage that she said tonight. I don’t want images in your head. I know how you are. And I don’t want you wondering about anything. I love you. My life started when I met you. Nothing else matters. And what we have together—our life, our sex life, everything—is just how I want it to be. So promise me, please.”

  She nodded.

  “No, say it to me,” Johnny said.

  “I promise.”

  He stood up then and pulled back the quilt and blankets. “Come under here,” he said. “Let me warm you up. I can feel how cold you are.”

  She went beneath the covers and he held her wrapped in his arms while he warmed her hands in his and put her icy feet between his calves.

  “You amaze me, you know that?” he asked quietly.

  “Because I can’t get used to the cold?”

  He laughed. “No, because you’re this very strong, talented, capable woman, yet you’re not aggressive and controlling like a lot of successful women. I remember a woman director saying once that a woman had to be that way to do a man’s job in a man’s world. That a woman had to make sure that people knew what she was capable of in order to get the recognition that she deserved. But here you are. You’re an attorney and when you took down that guy, Tungsten, you didn’t have to behave like that. You’re capable of doing so much and yet you don’t have that need to let people know. If you can do something, if you’ve accomplished something, it’s good enough that you know it. When it comes to us, you always put me first, you don’t mind being in the background, and when we make love, you surrender all control to me. And tonight, after all the things that she tried to do to hurt you and the things that she said to you, your biggest worry is still about me and what I want.”

  “I love you,” she said, as though that explained it all.

  Once again, he was overwhelmed by the love that he felt for her. He lifted her chin and looked into her beautiful dark eyes. “Don’t ever change, understand? Tonight, you were wondering if you could be something that you’re not. Don’t do that. I love you exactly the way that you are.”

  She put her arms around him and held him tightly. She was so happy and relieved that he loved her as she was and that he didn’t want her to change in any way because, frankly, she knew that she couldn’t. Long ago in her past, she had tried to make herself fit into someone else’s image of her and had ended up miserable and resentful.

  He caressed her hair and kissed her neck and her shoulder gently. “I know it’s late, but tomorrow ... today ... is a free day. Do you want to celebrate the New Year our special way?”

  She nodded. “Yes, Johnny,” she whispered, “our special way.”

  He kissed her lovingly, passionately, as he undressed her and then removed his own clothes. He caressed her body, kissed and touched her secret spots, and felt her, once again, surrendering to him completely.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  One Friday afternoon, a couple of weeks after New Year’s Day, Johnny telephoned Susan from the studio.

  “Hi. What are you doing?” he asked.

  “I was working on a report. Why?”

  “A couple of the guys want to go for drinks after work,” he said. Once in a while in the past, he had gone for drinks with some of the crew members who worked on his series. He didn’t particularly enjoy it. He just went along to maintain a feeling of camaraderie on the set and always left early.

  “Okay,” she said. “Just be careful when you’re driving home.”

  “No, I want you to come with us this time,” Johnny said, surprising her.

  She hesitated. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea ... bringing me along on a boys’ night out.”

  “It’s not a boys’ night out. I don’t do that kind of thing. They just want to have a few beers and play some darts and I want you to come with me.”

  “Why? You never asked me before.”

  “Because whenever I go out with the guys, I feel bad about you being at home. I spend enough time with them at the studio and not enough time with you as it is.”

  “It’s okay, Johnny. You don’t have to feel that way,” she assured him.

  “No, you’re coming with me. I’ll pick you up around seven. You don’t have to dress up or anything. Okay?”

  “All right,” she gave in reluctantly.

  She took care of Angel early and was waiting for Johnny outside when he drove up.

  “Johnny, are you sure about this?” she asked as she climbed into his car. “I don’t want those guys feeling as though I’m intruding. Who’s going anyway?”

  “Just Billy and Max. Not sure if you ever met them. Anyway, I already told them that I’m bringing you with me. They don’t mind.”

  Susan could sense that there was another reason behind this invitation but she didn’t say anything. They drove to a local bar and grill located not far from the studio. It was a typical bar with dart boards and pool tables and offered, after 8:30 p.m., karaoke to its patrons. Max and Billy were already seated at a table drinking. Johnny introduced Susan to them as they sat down. Max, a camera operator, had reddish-brown hair that was in need of a haircut and a couple of days of stubble that made him appear older than either Johnny or Billy. Billy, a boom operator, was the exact opposite of Max in appearance. He was clean shaven with dark hair that was cut short and neatly styled. Both men were dressed alike, however, in jeans and long-sleeved tee-shirts.

  “What can I get for you?” the waitress asked as Johnny and Susan sat down.

  Johnny ordered a beer and she ordered a Coke.

  “A Coke?” Billy asked. “Don’t you want something stronger? Or are you the designated driver tonight?”

  She smiled. “I don’t drink actually. My parents used to own a bar and I know it’s strange but none of us drink.”

  “At all?” Billy asked surprised.

  She nodded. “I know, Johnny was surprised to find that out too. We all had to learn how to mix drinks though. My thing was specialty shots, like Lemon Drops and Chocolate Cake—”

  “Chocolate cake?” Max asked. “That’s a new one on me.”

  “Me too,” Billy said.

  “You’ve never tasted a Chocolate Cake?” she asked. They shook their heads and she looked at Johnny.

  “Don’t look at me,” he said. “You know me. Beer or wine is about all I drink when I drink.”

  “I’ll be back,” she said then and stood up and went to the bar to talk to the bartender. She returned with three filled shot glasses and six lemon wedges dipped in sugar.

  “Okay, you take the shot—or half a shot—and then immediately bite into and suck on the lemon and sugar,” she instructed.

  Billy and Max followed her instructions and she smiled
when she saw the surprised look on their faces.

  “Damn! It does taste like a chocolate cake!” Billy exclaimed. “Try it Jack,” he urged, noticing that Johnny hadn’t touched his shot.

  “You don’t have to drink the whole thing to get the effect,” she said, knowing that Johnny didn’t care to drink hard liquor. “Just take a small sip and suck on the lemon.”

  He did and grinned. “Okay, that’s too weird. What’s in it?”

  “Fill a shot glass half and half with Frangelico and Absolut Vodka. Or some people use a little more vodka—that’s it. But the lemon and sugar is what makes it work.”

  Johnny gave the rest of his shot to Billy and Max and they grinned again at the surprise taste.

  “It’s a big hit with the ladies by the way,” Susan said, smiling. She had broken the ice. They were more comfortable with her now.

  She turned to Johnny. “I’m going to order us some food, okay? I missed lunch and I’m kind of starving right now.” She looked at Billy and Max. “You guys order something too so we’re not eating by ourselves. Whatever you want. It’ll be my treat.”

  “Wait. Doesn’t that mean that Jack’s treating?” Billy grinned.

  “That’ll be the day,” Max piped in.

  “She has her own money morons,” Johnny said. “This isn’t the middle ages. And it’s not like I’ve never paid for a round.”

  She smiled. “I actually got paid today so I was going to treat Johnny to dinner anyway. So go ahead and order something.”

  They ordered Buffalo wings and burgers and fries and Billy and Max asked her questions about Hawaii while they ate since neither of them had ever visited her State. Johnny told them about the Polynesian Cultural Center where they had spent the day and about trying poke for the first time.

  “Her friends are just diving right into the stuff. I took one piece and barely got it down,” he said.

  “Wait a minute,” Susan said. “It didn’t seem as though you hated it that much.”

  He smiled. “I was trying to impress you.”

  “Well, you’re in the right profession then because you fooled me completely,” she said and they all laughed.