Bones by the Wood (9 page)

“A time or two.”

“You should drop by sometime.  Everyone’s there on Friday’s.”  And by ‘everyone’ he particularly meant himself.

“No, thanks.  I know how it works, and I’m not interested.”

Oh she did, did she? And she wasn’t, was she?  “And how do you think it works?”

“A girl doesn’t just walk in on her own to have a drink.  I don’t fancy havin’ my ass pinched ‘til it’s blue.”

Now that set off a whole other set of intriguing images in Dizzy’s mind.  “Who’d you go with last time?”

“Annelle Beaumont?” He nodded to convey that he knew who she was talking about.  “She’s a friend of mine.  A friend-friend.  Not a boss-friend.”

There was that boldness again instead of the blushing.  Dizzy thought he got it.  She wasn’t bothered that he might think she was a stripper; she wanted him to know she wasn’t casual pussy like the other girls that Annelle brought with her.  Well, he’d already figured that out.

“I’ll make sure those gorillas don’t bother you, darlin’.”  Of course they wouldn’t; he had every intention of paying her whatever attention was needed to get between her thighs.

“I’ll think about it.”  Dizzy recognized that as chick-speak for ‘no’, but he decided to play to the dumb male.

“You do that, darlin’.  It’d be a memorable night.”  He made his tone deliberately suggestive, but she wasn’t backing down. 

He wondered where the responsive woman from the other night had gone and figured that she was feeling brave with the counter between them, or that maybe physical proximity would neutralize her bravado.  Either way, he wanted a drink, and he needed to sort out his hard-on before he injured himself.  He took the bottle and the cigarettes with a wink and headed casually out to his bike.  Only when he was in his house with the first glass of whiskey poured did Dizzy remember held forgotten to pick up any food at all.

Thea woke with a gasp, shooting straight up
in her bed like some vampire in a cheesy horror flick.  In her dream, she hadn’t just pulled the remnants of her underwear out of her jeans and stuffed them in her pocket, and Dizzy hadn’t just sauntered off to pick his whiskey. Oh no.  In her dream her hand had stayed in her jeans, stroking and teasing until she was drenched as he watched, until, at the point that she’d almost come, he’d vaulted over the counter and shoved her over it before yanking her jeans off her hips, ruined thong and all, and fucked her until she screamed.

Thea held her breath and listened intently.  She could hear the buzz of the refrigerator and the ticking of the wall clock from the next room, but there were no other sounds of life or movement.  She had come in her dream, but in reality, in the here and now, she was teetering right on the edge, desperate to tip over. 

She reached over and slid open the top drawer of the cabinet next to the bed and fished around until she found her little bullet vibrator.  About the same length and thickness as her index finger and shiny silver plastic, it was just the tool for the job.  She twisted the base, breathing a sigh of relief at the sharp buzz that indicated that the battery wasn’t about to die, and slipped it beneath the waistband of the thin cotton pajama pants that she slept in.  She had to be quick, she couldn’t risk taking the time to linger, and she needed the release. 

The buzzing plastic was almost too much sensation for her already sensitized clit.  As she moved the vibe in small, tight circles, her pussy clenched on thin air as her hips canted spasmodically, as if her body were begging for real and actual sex.  She came hard and fast to images dancing over her closed lids of a tall, blonde biker who had been haunting her subconscious for more than just this past night.  Her orgasm, when it hit, was a little like an explosion, pulsing out from the center of her body. It took her breath away.

She lay back and let the electricity tingle through her blood, around her limbs and then recede.  Having thoroughly relived the first half of her encounter with Dizzy the previous night, she took a moment to think about the second half, the part where he’d mentioned her visiting the clubhouse.  A small voice of suspicion, one that might have proved more useful had it appeared earlier, had reminded her of a portion of a conversation with Annelle.  Thea decided on the spot that Dizzy did not need to know that she’d had anything to do with any member of the Rabid Dogs MC. 

Not that it really mattered at all.  She would not be going to the clubhouse, on Friday or any other day.  She would not be acting on any whims to find out whether his attitude of authority and experience translated in bed.  He was just a man.  A panty-meltingly sexy one, but still a man, and she could do without the hassle.  But if he was going to keep giving her that sexy little grin she might take him for a test drive.  Just one.  She almost smacked herself in the head for her own foolishness.  Who the fuck was she kidding?  Like she’d get to call the shots on that.  No, it would be better to keep clear altogether.

Thea turned her head on the pillow and looked at the clock on the cabinet next to the bed.  The cabinet didn’t match any of the other furniture in the room.  It had all been collected from yard sales and thrift stores and was an interior designer’s nightmare.  It was time for her to be getting up, a little past time, thanks to that dream.  She would have to rush and shake Josh a little harder than usual.  She was supposed to have another two years before he turned into a teenager, but he’d started early practice on the sleeping-in trait.

She needed a shower; maybe a cold one would restore some sense, but she couldn’t face that.  She’d settle for lukewarm.  She sat up and planted her feet on the floor with a groan.  Every cell in her body was reluctant to leave the warm comfort of her bed.  She hadn’t been in it long, but having a young child and working night shifts had combined to ensure that she could operate on only a few hours of sleep each night, or more accurately, each morning.  She showered quickly and dressed in her usual jeans, t-shirt and Converse, but she pulled a hoodie out of a drawer and slung it over the arm of the sofa; she’d need it to ward off the autumnal chill when they left the building.

Breakfast was cereal and coffee, substantially more coffee than cereal, eaten with her hip propped against the counter.  She needed to give Josh something more substantial to sustain him until he claimed his free lunch at school.  Thea checked the cupboards; maybe she’d just have to give him something more, there wasn’t really anything more substantial in the kitchen.  She tipped a bigger serving of the budget brand cornflakes into a bowl and put two slices of bread into the toaster in readiness.

Even when she had finished, there was still no sign of movement from Josh’s room.  With a quick sigh of frustration she opened his door, not being at all careful about how much noise she made.  He was still asleep.  For once, his head was on the pillow and he was under the comforter, or at least half of him was.  He was a lively sleeper, and it wasn’t unusual to find him on top of the covers, at the wrong end of the bed, or even hanging out half on the floor while still in deep slumber.

She glanced around and saw that his handheld games console had been placed neatly on the corner of the chest of drawers.  If it was there, then it was unlikely that he’d been playing it until the early hours.  When that had been the case she usually found it on the floor by the bed, where it had slipped from his unconscious hand.  When that happened on a school night, she hid it before he woke up and refused to tell him where it was for a while.  She’d had to do some serious overtime to afford it as his tenth birthday present, but he was getting his money’s worth out of it.  He’d had to agree to forgo any major Christmas presents, too, and surprisingly, he hadn’t complained come Christmas morning.  They’d also agreed that she would only buy him games for it, one, on birthdays or at Christmas.  If he wanted one in between times he’d have to find a way to earn the money himself.  He did small odd jobs for the neighbors sometimes, and carefully saved any money he was given in return.

Thea took a moment to appreciate how young and peaceful he looked while asleep.  It wouldn’t be long before puberty started to hit and he’d change beyond all recognition, but for now, especially while asleep, he was still her little baby boy. 

Reminding herself that they were now in danger of being late for school, she shook his shoulder.  “Get up bud, come on.”

“Mmmhhhfff.”  Josh rolled and buried his face into the pillow.

Thea shook him again more vigorously.  “Come on, bud.  You’re gonna be late.”

“Pfffmmmmnnnfff.”

The coffee must have taken effect because she was almost finding his futile attempts to ignore her amusing rather than irritating. “Joshua Colby, you get up this instant or I will tip cold water over you where you lie.”

She hadn’t had to follow through with that threat yet, but she would if she needed to.  A cup maybe, not a bucket.  After all, she’d be the one doing the cleaning up.

“Mmmnnfff.  Alright.  Alright.  I’m awake.”  His response was muffled by the pillow. 

“Up.  Now.  Get washed and dressed.  I’ll make you some breakfast.  I’ll be back in here in fifteen minutes.  If you’re not out of this bed, then you can go to school in your jamas.”

“Alright.  Alright.”  He finally rolled over and sat up, rubbing his closed eyes with his fists. 

Thea switched the room light on to make it harder for him to go back to sleep and backed out, but hovered in the doorway until Josh tossed the covers back and swung his feet over the side of the bed.  His brown hair, that he’d recently decide to wear swept over to one side like some fifties movie star, was stuck up in all directions.  He’d also recently started to reject his old cartoon character pajamas. Where he’d gotten the idea for sleeping in just boxer shorts, which he did not have, she didn’t know.  She’d persuaded him to wear the pajama pants with a plain white t-shirt, which had so far proved acceptable.  He was a good boy who was helpful and respectful for the most part, but the teenage years were definitely on their way.  He was in the fifth grade and moving up to middle school next.  She was expecting his incipient adolescence to be accelerated by that move.

Giving him the space of trust, Thea went back to the kitchen and pushed the bread into the toaster and poured milk over the cereal before making herself another cup of coffee.  She listened out for the sounds of Josh getting up rather than going back to sleep as she tried to do the mental arithmetic to decide between spending gas money on getting to the nearest superstore to do her grocery shopping or whether it evened out if she paid the extra markup at the store she worked at and saved herself a longer journey.  In the end, it was the capability of her car to perform the extra mileage that made her mind up for her.

Josh still looked at least half asleep as he shuffled into the kitchen, but he was dressed for school and clean.  He’d made use of the cheap hair gel that she’d bought him to do the little side parting, sweeping little quiff thing that he’d adopted for his hairstyle.

She just about caught the mumbled “Thanks” as he picked up the bowl of cereal and took it to the dining table before digging in.  When the toaster popped, she buttered the rounds, sliced them into triangles, dropped them onto a plate and put them on the table next to him.  She poured him a glass of orange juice, and then left him to eat in peace.  He was still too sleepy to tolerate idle conversation without getting grumpy.

Apart from a guiding nudge here and there, she didn’t need to say much, anyway.  He rinsed his dishes and put them in the sink unprompted, and picked his coat up without complaint before grabbing his school bag.  It took a couple of tries to get the car to start, and she was about ready to panic, but on the third try it caught, and she pulled out onto the street with a silent prayer of thanks.  There was a school bus which would have saved her the gas money, but it picked up from two streets away and she didn’t want Josh hanging around on the street in this neighborhood until he was a little older.  Thankfully he hadn’t brought the subject up yet.  She was torn between mentioning it around the time of his birthday, or waiting and hoping the idea didn’t occur to him for a while longer.

He was beginning to look a little more alert.  “So, bud.  Anything you’re looking forward to today?”

“We’re doin’ story writin’ in English, which is sorta cool.  Mrs. Dawson is lettin’ us write about anythin’ we like so I’m gonna do a story about dragons.  I think Mr. Callaghan is gonna tell us about the Science Fair, too.”

“Will you let me read the story when you’re done with it?”