9:41 (8 page)

“Yeah, let's go see that, it supposed to be pretty good”, said Tommy.

“Naw, whadd-a-ya-kiddin, it's a real lemon. The guy kisses the broad goodbye and sails away, big deal, what do I need to go to the movies to see that. I'll save my money and stay here”, said Pete.

Eddie turned to Joe and said, “you seen that pitcha, didn't you Joey? How was it, any good?”

“I caught that flic last week with my agent and I thought it was poor. The acting was unconvincing and the story had a lot of loose ends. On the whole I didn't think it was very good”, said Joe in a serious, knowing way. All of this, however, was said in a measured copied way. Not only was the enunciation copied, so was the criticism. What did Joe know about acting or stories, any more than he had six months ago, before he was a singing rage; but now he was accepted as an expert on all things theater, and everyone was impressed by his erudite comments. Joe had been impressed too, when he heard the same words he just mouthed, coming from Sonny Jones, the comic, whom he'd met at his agent's office. Sonny, in turn, may have heard them from someone else.

Tommy, still defending his own opinion maintained that his brother had seen the picture and it was pretty good. Tommy was sitting at the adjacent right side of Joe, at which point Joe swung his head slowly toward the right, tilting it slightly downward, his eyes closed. His head turned past Tommy's position and stopped, a distressed smirk was on his mouth. This was intended to completely dismiss Tommy's idea as ridiculous. Joe opened his eyes, looked at Tommy from the left corner of his eyes and with an uplifted eyebrow and slightly nodding head, said, “Are you trying to tell me now, what a good picture is? I saw it. But you guys go, you'll probably like it”.

Tommy was cast down. He looked sheepishly to Joe and said, “I don't want to argue with you, Joe, but my brother liked it. Maybe I'm wrong. Well, what else is there to see, hunh?”

It was forgotten; Joe was right as he turned smugly back toward the center of the group. Wasn't he in on the know?

The darkened road that stretched before the speeding Jaguar was now lit by the lights indicating the guards' gate at the entrance to the private beach. Joe slowed down and flashed a membership card. The guard waved him to enter.

“This is a fancy private place, but a friend of my agent's gave me his pass. Pretty cool, hanh?”

“Yes, I've never been here before. What's it called?”, asked Lyn.

“Point Sands”.

Lyn sat contentedly viewing the darkened bungalows they passed on their way to the beach. She was still engrossed in the wonderful feeling that overcame her because she was with Joe. She had always liked Joe. He had always been a friend to her, and she to him, even when all others had held him with contempt because he made no money, but only sang; she always cherished his friendship.

Lyn was not an exceptionally beautiful girl, as a matter of fact, the guys in the neighborhood would be moved to call her a nothing, as would Joe, but tonight he felt like going to the beach, and no one else was about, so he asked Lyn. Besides, she probably would go down easier than the other girls because she was a nothing. How could she resist me, he thought to himself. He wasn't in the mood to have to work his points. He wanted someone, not an argument, … and Lyn, well, Lyn would do just fine. He pulled the sun visor down, and fixed his hair with the aid of the mirror attached to the underside.

“Watch the car, Joe”, screamed Lyn.

“Relax baby”, he said as he jerked the car back into its proper lane, “nothing to worry about. I've got everything under control”. He pushed the mirror back up and slid his arm over Lyn's shoulder, pulling her gently yet firmly closer to himself. She slid next to him eagerly. She was thinking how wonderful it would be if Joe's interest in her were sincere. She thought she loved him; at any rate, she liked him an awful lot.

The car crunched to a stop on the graveled driveway. Joe turned off the engine, cut the lights, and turned to Lyn.

“Shall we get going?”, he asked.

“Mmmhmmm”.

They got out and made their way down the beach, over the sand still warm from the heat of the day. The moon in the sky was full, throwing a silvered effect over the small drifting clouds near it. A thin V of light cut its way to the shore over the rippling water.

How romantic
, thought Lyn.

Too much friggin' light
, thought Joe,
somebody's liable to come along and see us
.

They reached the shore, and Joe spread the blanket so they could sit on it.

Square broad
, Joe thought angrily, as Lyn slid her skirt down, revealing the bathing suit she was wearing underneath. Joe started to take his clothes off.
Makes me wear a bathing suit
, he thought.
Oh well, it just takes more time this way
.

“Well, let's get to the water”, Joe said as he sprinted away. Lyn followed as quickly as she could.

The surging little slick of water on the beach gave evidence of the coldness of the water. Joe was immersed to his calves in the billowy foam of a wave. “Come on in baby, the water's really fine”.

“It's cold, Joe”.

“Come on chicken, it's just right”, he said as he took her hand in his and ran headlong into the surging surf. The cold water ran over their bodies and they glided through a wave.

“Phagh, phagh”, Joe blew the water streaming from his head out of his mouth. “Man this is really cool, in more ways than one, isn't it, baby?” said Joe.

“It's beautiful. I thought it would be much colder than this. I guess it's just the getting in that takes time”.

“Yeah, you're right”, said Joe with a snickering smile on his face. Lyn got his meaning and also smiled, but in a more reserved and a little embarrassed way.

Joe was right there, all right. Always right at the head of the class when it came to smart sayings or allusions to sex.

A huge wave came stealing in over the darkened water, and broke over the heads of the couple. They were both swept up into the swirling, pounding tiderace; they were thrown down, and over, and carried along with the water toward the shore. The wave spent itself and as they slowed down, Joe felt his legs bump against something. He stopped flowing. His head came out of the water, and he found himself sprawled across a gasping Lyn. “Ha, ha, ha, what a wave”, he called out cheerily, although actually frightened.

“Huh, huh”, said Lyn, trying to catch her breath. “I thought I was going to drown”.

“Come on baby, that little wave didn't scare you did it?” He slipped his arm around her waist and bent toward her for a kiss. She moved not, and as he came closer her arms slipped around him, and they allowed themselves to settle on the moist, runny sand. It was a long kiss, a long passionate kiss, wherein Joe's every effort and movement was calculated to arouse.

“Oh, Joe, I've wanted to be kissed by you for so long”, she said when they parted.

“Well, you finally got your big break, eh baby, how was it?”

“Oh, stop kidding around, Joe”.

“I'm not kidding baby. I'm as serious as I've ever been in my life”, he said as he leaned toward her for another kiss with his whole body. He held her tightly, his body pressed against hers. “Baby, you're driving me crazy”, whispered Joe. “I've never had anybody who could kiss like this”. He pressed himself on top of her and kissed her again.
Pretty smooth talking, Joey boy
, he thought to himself.

Joe, Joe, if only you meant it
, thought Lyn. “Joe, let's go up to the blanket. It's getting cold here on the sand”.

“Baby, … I'll keep you warm”.

“I know, Joe, you're keeping me a little too warm already”.

“Ok, let's go up to the blanket”, he said,
you rotten little bitch, just when I started to get somewhere
, he thought to himself.

Lyn got a towel from the blanket and started to dry herself.

“Here, let me help you baby”, said Joe. He took the towel and started rubbing her back. The towel began to rove over places that couldn't be dried, not through the bathing suit anyway.

“Why not take your suit off so I can dry you all over, baby?”

“No, Joe, I don't want anything like that tonight. Please don't start”.

“Why? What's the matter with it baby? It's the most natural thing in the world”.

“We're not married Joe, that's what's wrong with it”.

“But, baby, you don't have to be married to enjoy life”. As he said this he was trying to kiss her neck and shoulders.

Lyn sat up so that she could talk without arousing interruptions. She wanted Joe, sure she did, but not like this. “It's just not right, Joe. It's got to mean something, we're not animals, and besides, just to help you understand it, I don't want to take a chance on having a baby”.

“Don't worry about a baby, baby. Ol' Joe'll take care of everything. You know I'm not a square”.

“No, Joe, that's all. I think we'd better go”.

“Not just yet baby, the night is still so young. It's only one-thirty. What's the hurry?”

“No, hurry, Joe, I just want to go home”.

“Sure baby, sure, I only want to please you. I hope you don't get angry, or the wrong impression about me. It's just that you drive me crazy”.

“It's okay. Just let's go home. You go ahead up to the car, I'm going behind this dune to change”.

“Okay, I'll change on the way up to the car”.

Lyn went behind the dune and Joe started up toward the car.

Of all the rotten breaks
, he thought as he walked.
I got to get stuck with a goody goody. I thought she'd outgrow that shit. Balls
.

Joe finished changing as Lyn came up to the car.

“All set?”, asked Joe.

“Yeah, let's go”, said Lyn.

The car churned up the gravel as they sped away from the beach. They both sat in the speeding car without speaking, each to his or her own thoughts. Lyn on the one hand was mixed up. She was crazy about Joe, but she couldn't give herself to him, not just like that. He didn't love her, perhaps he didn't even like her. No, she just couldn't do it. Joe on the other hand was annoyed, affronted, indignant.
Man, I've had better chicks than this for laughs, and she gives me a hard time. So, she's a square
.

The car pulled up in front of Lyn's house with a slight chirp of the wheels stopping.

“Well baby”, he said. “I won't be around for a few days, but I'll give you a ring when I get back. I'm looking around in the city for a nice pad”.

“A what?”

“A pad, you know, an apartment. Maybe I'll give you a ring Thursday, okay?”

“Sure, Joe, sure”.

He leaned over and kissed her, not quite as lustily as before. The wind had been taken from his sail. As he drove away, Joe was furious, and yet there was that challenging element present that made him realize that he would call on Thursday. He was going to have this chick, she wasn't going to put him down.
See you Thursday, you poor duck
, he thought as he drove off.

Thursday arrived and Lyn was in her room, preparing to go down to eat dinner, when the phone rang.
Could it be Joe?
She was hoping fervently that it was, when her mother's voice announced that the phone call was for her. She raced to the phone and picked it up.

Joe's voice filtered through the earpiece. “Hi baby, how's my favorite girl?”

“If that means me”, and she hoped it did, “I'm fine. How are you?”

“Cool as ever baby, cool as ever”.

“I didn't think you'd call again after the other night”, she said. “I thought you were very annoyed because you couldn't get you way”.

“Baby, as a matter of fact, I'm very pleased that that happened. I'm really embarrassed about the way I acted, but I respect you so much more because of what you did”.
What shit
, thought Joe to himself. “How about going for a drive and a drink with me tonight?”

“Okay, Joe, I'd be very happy to go with you”.

“Pick you up at eight-thirty, okay?”

“Fine”.

“See you later”.

The click of the hanging up of the other end of the line echoed in her ear. She was thinking how wonderful all this was. Joe was now getting to like her a bit. She ran up the stairs and then, just before she got to her room, yelled down to her mother, “I'm not going to eat Mom, I have to get dressed to go out”. Then she plunged fully into the task of prettying herself to meet Joe.

The glow of the red and blue lights cast an eerie, even satanic effect on the piano player, as Lyn and Joe sat over drinks in the little spot he took her to that night. He was reserved and yet attentive. His man-of-the-world wise cracking was always with him, but tonight it took on the quality of cuteness, of personality. His mind, however, was active. He had in the forefront of his thoughts, the one, all-consuming thought of making Lyn. It wasn't Lyn so much as it was the fact that he couldn't make her the first time. This to the little man who was becoming a big man, was a fell blow. He was probably too scared to take on the responsibilities of faster women at the moment, so little Lyn had to bear the brunt of his assault. They danced a few dances, and Joe kept up his easy pace of meaningless chatter, meaningless to everyone except the woman who loved him. They started for home around eleven-thirty.

“I wish we could stay out longer, but I have a recording date in the morning. I'll call you tomorrow though, okay?”, said Joe.

Lyn was completely thrilled. “Oh yes, Joey, yes. You probably realize this already Joe, but I'm crazy about you. When you called this evening I thought my heart would beat its way right out of my chest”.

“Baby, don't talk like that. You make me want to forget I have a session in the morning”.