“Let’s pretend for a moment I have no idea.” She was pushing me into saying something I had only been thinking.
“I was barely married a year when I had an accident. My husband stuck me in here and left me to rot. If you were wondering if I have any lingering anger toward him then the answer is a big fat YES. I want to see the look on his face when he opens the door to see me.” My anger welled up inside me and exploded with an instinctual kick to throw the sheet off of my body.
“Being angry is normal and I wouldn’t try to tell you otherwise. We’re gonna to channel that anger and make it useful to get you on your feet. So let’s get started.” She started with a deep tissue massage to awaken those nerves lying dormant all this time.
I was letting those memories of my husband feed me like a drug. I felt momentary twitches in those muscles starting in my arms and working its way down.
It was an hour of disappointment and a flicker of hope at the same time. She told me not to overdo it and pushing myself too hard might become detrimental to my health.
I knew she was probably right, but it didn’t stop me from fighting through the pain she was inflicting on me. I was exhausted after the hour and my eyelids were heavy.
Dr. Benton did come back with Jambalaya and I devoured it like it was my last meal. Rehabilitation and nourishing my soul took a lot out of me. I finally had to sleep, but it was the last thing I wanted to do.
CHAPTER 4
Travis
The smell of motor oil was nothing compared to the overpowering aroma of her perfume. Harper had her flaming red hair in a ponytail and was playing with a knife going back and forth between her fingers.
She kept looking over at me and licking her lips with this bewitching smile to make me feel like she knew my body better than anybody. I could’ve easily taken her back to my place for a marathon of sex that would’ve left pieces of my furniture broken.
“I’m glad to see you have taken an interest in this. The job is fairly simple, but it requires timing. You will have to find a car, but then again look who I’m talking to.” Owen was the brains behind the outfit, but I knew that Harper would have something strong to say about that.
“I know how to find a vehicle that nobody’s going to miss for quite some time. Are we talking about speed or the ability to blend into the surroundings?” I needed to know the parameters and what to expect in response from the authorities.
“It would be a good idea to cover all of our bases. We don’t want to stand out, but we do want to maneuver through the streets quickly. We have an inside man for this job, but I’m reluctant to mention him by name. I will say he does have the inside track.” The scuba gear sitting on the floor by the door was a dead giveaway this had something do with a boat.
Remarkably, Harper was silent and drinking it all in one word at a time. She was usually more vocal when her brother was coming up with a plan of attack. She was always nitpicking and finding holes to fill in with her arguments.
“I don’t necessarily agree with your choice of hideouts.” The garage was his day job and his sister was a master mechanic.
It was one of the things we had in common. Our love of antique muscle cars had made for some interesting debates which lasted into the sheets.
“I know they have been watching us and it’s half the fun to play this game under their noses. I’ve also taken the precaution of using a device to make sure they don’t hear a thing. They can suspect whatever they want, but it’s what they can prove that matters.” Owen was wearing a wife beater white tee shirt and a pair of jeans giving him the look of a rebel without a cause.
He was constantly flicking his fingers trying to wrestle with going cold Turkey. Having the smoking monkey on his back had always been a reminder of his father’s influence in his life.
“I came in the back way to avoid detection. Just being here is a violation of my parole.” Harper put her hand on my knee and squeezed with a bit of familiarity.
The 65 black Ford Mustang on the lift was his pride and joy. The MAG wheels with white walls had most people doing a double take when he drove down the street. The aftermarket muffler was loud. He always did like to make an entrance.
“Travis, I know you were pinched because of our boss. We cut the ties with him and have decided to depend on nobody but ourselves. We probably wouldn’t even have you except we know what you can do under pressure.” I was a cool cucumber on the surface, but underneath I was sweating bullets at the possibility of getting caught.
“My brother is right. This isn’t the first job we have conducted on our own. The last one was a little tricky without a wheelman. It’s the reason why we reached out to you. I’m sorry to hear about what you’re going through with your mother. It can’t be easy.” I wasn’t looking for her pity or how she was going to use this bit of information to slip her hand down my pants.
“I don’t know how many times I told you working with him was a dead end. I paid my debt to him in full. We parted ways when he came to visit with a 3-inch piece of Plexiglas between us. He wasn’t very happy and told me I would come crawling back. I almost believed him.” Prospects for high paying legitimate jobs weren’t given freely with my record.
She was rubbing my knee and placing her head on my shoulder with the smell of her shampoo making my eyes flutter with anticipation. She had a quiver of subtle tricks at her disposal. The light scratching of her nails on the back of my neck brought about explicit images of us in many different positions.
“We should have listened to you. It’s the three amigos back together again. God help anybody who dares to stand in our way.” He went over the plan and the simplistic nature of it was surprising.
There was nothing complex and my job was to drive which was exactly how I liked it. I was already performing calculations in my head and going over the city landscape to find the best route.
He wasn’t taking any chances and was using a code in case there was a way for the authorities to listen in. Technology had advanced by leaps and bounds while I was away. It was only three years, but I felt out of touch and was playing catch up.
“We meet at the same place we always do. There’s no reason to jog your memory. If we have to then maybe this isn’t a good fit.” Owen was the storm center and he was known to be wildly unpredictable.
It was refreshing to see him speaking with a clear head and not under the influence of some very powerful narcotic. They had accounted for every variable they could think of. The timing was crucial.
“I could be convinced to go back to your place for a refresher course. I’ve never had a problem taking matters into my own hands.” She had spread her legs and had turned her body. I could see the flimsy material of her black mesh underwear.
“I’m going to have to take a raincheck. I have an obligation to my mother to stop by. I know the one thing you understand more than anything is family comes first.” I was using her connection to her brother to wiggle free from her grasp before she got her hooks into me.
“I would never try to come between you and your mother. A bond like that is something I wish I had with my mother.” I could see the faraway look and how she was most likely thinking about how she only had her brother to have her back.
“I would tell you to wait up for me, but I might be pretty late.” I was closing the door on any possibility of her sleeping with me.
I was still wearing the brand of the tattoo of a pair of lips on my left cheek. I wasn’t able to sit down for a week until it healed. She was always coming up with these ridiculous ideas. I couldn’t count how many times she made me party to one of her harebrained schemes.
“Don’t be surprised to find me naked in your bed when you come home. I may not have a key anymore, but I do know how to break and enter with the best of them.” I cringed to imagine what she might do to make up for lost time. It wouldn’t take much for her to dust off the old skills.
“Everything you have done has surprised me. The one thing I can always count
on is for you to have me on my toes.” I had some research to do, but the source I went to for my information was always there for a price.
“It’s been a few years, but I’m told it’s like riding a bicycle. I don’t know who you have been with and it’s none of my business. I’m going to treat this like I’m the first woman you have been with since getting out.” I was dangerously close to the slippery slope of being with a destructive influence in my life.
“I haven’t been in the mood for company.” The smile on her face was hard to disguise and confessing my abstinence was a stupid thing to do.
“You know how I hate the both of you being together. The only thing I request is that you don’t tell me about it. It’s bad enough I have to know but I don’t have to hear all the explicit details.” Harper was vocal and had no problem laying out the facts of our physical encounters.
“I can’t speak for Harper, but I thought it was in bad taste to tell you anything. It would’ve been perfectly fine by me to keep some of those secrets to myself.” Experimenting with her sexual appetite had become a daily occurrence.
“It’s not often I find a suitable playmate willing to stretch themselves creatively in the bedroom. You have always been able to exceed my expectations. I will even bring the chest.” I remembered the chest and the implements inside.
The leather strap was her favorite and she was the one to introduce me to the combination of pain and pleasure. It was an acquired taste, but she had this way of talking me into anything.
“I don’t need this distraction. Do whatever you want. The both of you are consenting adults. It’s not like anything I could say would make a difference.” He pressed a button and the squealing of the machine brought down his car to the concrete floor.
I tried to make a discreet exit, but Harper wasn’t about to let me go easily. She took a firm hold on the waistband of my pants. She pulled me into the sharp points of her nipples pressing into my chest.
“I will be waiting for you in your bed surrounded by my toys. You can take that as a promise or threat. It doesn’t matter to me.” Her fingernails were scratching my underwear and I swallowed hard before extracting myself from the situation.
“I know this isn’t going to mean anything to you, but I don’t want you to be there. I have a lot on my mind to even consider any kind of relationship, physical or otherwise.” I was using my mother as an excuse.
The only thing she could possibly understand was anything to do with family. It was my last ditch effort to keep myself from chafing in places that didn’t need that kind of friction.
“I’m not going to make any promises. You know how I get when I get something in my head. When you walked in here there was a rush of memories from our times together. I know you felt the same thing.” She slapped my ass with enough force to make me jump out of my skin.
I went out the back way and turned to see her biting her index finger. I remembered her red hair fanned over my pillow and the inability to move after she was done with me. She was part of my past and I wanted to keep her there with a metaphorical restraining order.
I jumped on the bus a couple blocks away and got off at the hospital. I looked in on my mother and found she was sleeping peacefully to the sound of raindrops coming from the machine by her bed. I smiled knowing the saleswoman who had sold it to me wasn’t just trying to make a sale.
The sun was down when I went into Aurora’s room. I sat down with my mind on overload. I opened up my laptop and powered it up. I send a message to Olivia at a private security agency. It would cost me a private dinner, but she would come through with names and addresses of those families away for at least a week.
“Are you going to say hello?” I was startled by Aurora sitting up and talking for the first time. She looked even more beautiful with a smile on her face than she did sleeping.
CHAPTER 5
Aurora
He was stunned into silence and it was exactly the reaction I was looking for. It wasn’t right for me to play with his emotions, but it was fun. It was the first time I found myself laughing, but it was at his expense.
“How… when… what the hell…” His whole body was shaking and his eyes were wide as saucers.
“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Travis was still stunned, “they told me about a visitor who comes by every day to see me. Imagine my surprise when I learned it wasn’t my husband.” I didn’t want him to know I had heard his conversations.
“I don’t know what to say.” He was at a loss for words and I probably would’ve been the same way in his shoes.
“You could start by introducing yourself.”
“I’m… Travis Parker…”
“Hello Travis, I know I don’t know you and it would probably be a good idea for us to be on a first name basis. After all, you have combed my hair and played jazz music for me. Do you always go to this much trouble for a complete stranger?” I had no idea why I wasn’t telling him the truth. It seemed important to leave him with a shred of dignity.
“This is amazing and seeing you like this is the highlight of my day. I should have known something was happening when David mentioned there was an anomaly with your condition. I mean… Dr. Benton.” He was sitting there in stunned awe not able to fully comprehend how this could be.
“I have no idea who you are, but you have apparently been rather intimate with me. Do you care to explain yourself?” I already knew the answers, but it was interesting to put him in the hot seat and see how he was going to respond.
“My mother hasn’t got long and has been here for about a year. One day I was popping by to see my mother and I saw you. I remember you from high school, though I don’t think you would remember me. I can assure you I haven’t done anything untoward. It wouldn’t be in my nature to take advantage of you in your condition.” I was listening intently and was quite surprised to find him openly admitting to what was happening to his mother.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. You must be beside yourself with worry. I wasn’t accusing you of anything. It was exactly the opposite. I want to thank you for your compassion.” I was giving him praise for standing in for the family who had better things to do than to come to visit me.
I had my arms over the sheets and I struggled to get into a sitting position. It wasn’t easy and he tried to help, but I put the brakes on with my hand outstretched. I didn’t want him to treat me like an invalid.
“It was my pleasure. If I was being completely honest, you were responsible for helping me get things off of my chest. It was good to give my worries a voice.” He was crowing on about how I helped him and not the other way around.
“It makes me feel good I was there for you in spirit.” I hadn’t even told the staff about how I could hear everything going on around me.
“You gave me a chance to unburden myself and I don’t know how to repay you. I did take advantage of your silence. It was nice to say what was on my mind without any kind of interruption.” I didn’t want to mention how I was worried about the path he was about to embark on.
“I hope I wasn’t a bother.” He was a little perplexed and shrugged his shoulders in a noncommittal way, “I have heard of people in your condition being able to hear voices. Is this something you experienced?” It was the perfect place for me to expose my misdirection about being in the dark.
“I’m sure on some level I did know you were here, but I can’t say for sure. I do feel like we know each other in a spiritual way. The one thing I’m perfectly clear on is that you mean no harm.” I could tell he wanted to talk, but I had ruined it by waking up prematurely.
I was kicking myself for not waiting until he finished telling me what was going on in his life. He was fidgeting with his watch like he was either waiting for something or late for an appointment of some sort.
“This is a major improvement from the last time I saw you. It’s amazing what 24-hours can do. I have so many questions and I have no idea where to begin.”
“We
ll, let’s go back to the point you said you know me from high school.” For the life of me, I still couldn’t remember him now that I saw his face.
“That was long time ago. I actually asked you out when I was sixteen so that would be grade 11? Give or take, I don’t remember exactly now. You probably don’t remember because you had so many guys chasing you.”
“What happened?” I felt bad not remembering a thing still.
“I had the biggest crush on you, and asked you to go to the semi-formal dance with me. Little did I know you were already taken. You were with Andy at the time. When I asked you to the dance, you were about to say something, and then Andy interrupted. That was it. We never spoke again.”
Now that he described it, I did remember Andy being rough with a thin and short guy shoving him against the lockers, and told him that I was with him. Travis probably glossed over that detail, and now that I remembered what happened, I felt awful.
“I kind of remember now, you were much thinner and shorter back then. I am so sorry, Andy was an ass for bullying you. I wish I did something or say something.”
“That was ages ago. Don’t feel sorry for me. Look, what Andy wasn’t right, but because of that I started to lift weight and then I grew like half a foot a year later. Everything worked out, now I’m 220 lbs of muscle at 6’2. No one dare to bully me anymore.” Travis laughed light-heartedly. It was amazing the transformation he had gone through during puberty. He had these adorable dimples when he laughed.
“So we didn’t speak again?”
“Nope.”
“Why not? I am guessing a guy like you would be persistent.”
“I am a persistent guy but I have eyes. We were, and still are from two very different worlds. I was from a poor family, as in we got grocery with food stamps. And you are from the upper class. Why would a rich girl like you care for a poor guy like me? A guy like Andy made sense, he was from a good family, he could provide a good life for you. You both were prom king and queen. It made sense that you were together. Why would I, the skinny short guy, want to take all that away from you? I liked you enough to know you deserve more than me.” Travis was looking out the window as he explained.
Kiss Me _A Modern Sleeping Beauty Retold Page 3