Chapter 9
“I’ll walk you back.” Nick’s arm
casually rested on Jeanie’s shoulders. To be safe, they’d walked Lindsay to the
bungalow.
“I’ll be okay…hell, son, I’m a
TEXUN,” she laid her best redneck drawl on him, then giggled.
“AGH!” he groaned and laughed.
“Come on, Tex.” She slipped her arm around his waist and they started to her
room.
A light, misty fog had crept in
and now coddled and clung to the island. Visibility was still fairly good, but
there was enough haze to blur and bend light waves casting hollow ghostly
shadows over the quiet grounds. They both jumped as a small lizard darted from
the bushes lining the winding path.
“Who’s going to walk YOU back?”
Jeanie laughed.
Nick stifled a laugh, trying to be
quiet. The fog seemed to echo the slightest noise cutting into the still of the
night. He stopped and wrapped his arms around her. “Maybe I shouldn’t go back…”
She was stunned. She was also
ashamed, because she almost wanted him to stay. Instead of answering him, she
resumed walking. They remained silent the rest of the way.
The awkwardness was palpable as
she looked for her key. She was fumbling and nervous and Nick felt terrible. He
cared too much for her to make her feel like this. Finally, he took her small
bag from her and found her key card.
When the lock released, he pushed
open the door, but remained in the hall. She entered and turned to him. Dipping
her chin a tiny bit, she shyly whispered, “Are you coming in?”
“Do you want me to?”
“I don’t know. I think I’m
scared…” Nick could hardly hear her. He had to watch her closely to try and
read her lips.
Touching her cheek with his
knuckle ever so lightly, in his best John Wayne imitation, he growled, “Well,
pardner, you’re a TEXUN, you aint sposed to be scared.”
“That’s terrible,” she laughed.
Nick followed her in. “I’ll be right back. Help yourself to the mini-bar…there
should still be some ice. I’ll just be a minute.” She disappeared into the
bathroom.
Nick got a soda and then out of
habit turned on the television. After a minute, he turned it back off and
turned on music instead. On the table were her laptop, sheet music and a tape
recorder. He was sitting at the table, reading one of her songs when she
returned. She was wearing drawstring black silk pajama bottoms and a tiny silk
tee tank. “Whoa…” he choked and sputtered, spewing soda everywhere.
“Are you okay?” Jeanie, in her
best mommy fashion, quickly raised his arms over his head and began popping him
on the back. Nick started laughing.
“I’m fine,” he laughed. “Is that
what you do to Madi when she chokes?”
Without thinking she replied, “No,
it’s what I do to Kevin.” As soon as she’d said it, she felt terrible. “I’m
sorry, Nick. I’m just not used to this.”
He reigned in her hands as she
nervously flailed them about, partly because he was afraid she might
accidentally hit him, but mostly because he wanted to hold her hands. “It’s
okay. Hope it’s okay, I was looking at your stuff while you were changing. I
really like the lyrics to “Broken Promises.” Who’s gonna cover it?”
“Nobody, probably. It’s something
I’ve worked on for a little bit. Mike finished the music last week.” She
wouldn’t tell Nick that “Broken Promises” was the song born the night she and
Kevin broke up. “Do you want to hear it with the music?” She rewound the tape and
played it for him. “That’s Mike singing…demo stuff you know…”
“It’s good, but wait…try this…” He
sang a few bars. It was definitely better Nick’s way. “You should let us do
this one.”
There was no way she would ever
let that happen, but wasn’t about to tell Nick why. “We’ll see…”
He started to protest, but she
silenced him by holding up one finger. “No work tonight, okay?”
Nick pulled her finger to his lips
and kissed it, then slipped her finger into his mouth. For a minute, he thought
she was going to faint. Her knees seemed to almost buckle. She swallowed hard
and kept her eyes closed as he continued to suck and tongue her finger. He
finally whispered, “You taste good…”
Everything in her mind was
screaming to stop. Everything in her heart was screaming for him to make love
to her. Instead, she remained silent. Nick slipped his hands over her breasts
and to her waist. His hands were so large and her waist so tiny, that he could
almost encircle her waist with his fingers. He bent down and buried his face
into the soft sweetness of her neck, her hair tumbling and tickling his face,
teasing and driving him to the brink of restraint.
Finally, she managed a weak
protest. “I don’t know, Nick…”
With one hand, he released the
loose ties of her pajama bottoms and they slid easily off her slender hips, a
pool of black silk around her ankles. She was not wearing panties and now stood
naked from the waist down in front of him.
His placed his hand on her abdomen
and she trembled. As he parted her wetness and slipped his fingers easily into
her, he replied, “I think you do, Jeanie. I think you do…”
There's no
turning back
After what you've done to me
Don't say you're sorry
Just walk away
I'm gonna finally set you free
Broken promises and lies
Were all you ever gave to me