Steel & Ice (31 page)

LARRY: com on

Damn it. He was hammered. He couldn’t even
text right. First Down was close to my house and far from his.

ME: ok. i’ll b there in 30. ur sleeping on
my couch. i’ll take u to ur car in the morning

LARRY: thx

I walked over to Chris and her new friend by
the juke box. “Hey. I gotta go get Larry.”

“
What’s wrong with Axl
Rose?” Chris and Larry had met a handful of times and she found his
slightly stuck in the 90s style humorous.

“
He’s hammered. I’m gonna go
get him and he can crash on my couch. I ain’t driving across town
to take him home, and then pick him up again in the morning to get
his car. Can you drop me off at home so I can grab the
Monte?”

Chris leaned in to her friend and whispered
something. They exchanged words and she turned back to me. “Yup.
Let’s roll.”

I grabbed a bottle of water
from the bartender, and said my goodbyes to the regulars before
following Chris out to her car. The guy, her
friend,
it appeared was joining us.
Looked like Chris was moving on from Devon. Bummer. I liked him
better than this guy. I’d wait to see if this one stuck around
before learning his name or giving him one.

“
You sure J would be OK with
another man sleeping in your apartment?” Chris asked as we drove
towards my place.

“
It’s Larry.”

“
Yeah, Larry who’s in love
with you.”

“
Larry just thinks he’s in
love with me. Plus, J ain’t about to tell me who can and can’t
sleep on my couch.”

“
Just sayin’. If it was
anyone other than Larry, I wouldn’t think nothing of it, but Larry?
He gets that starry eyed look in those blues of his whenever you’re
around.”

“
Nah.” I shrugged her off,
and she graciously let the conversation die.

Chris dropped me off in front of my
apartment, and I slid right into the Monte. Thankfully, I didn’t
drink much, or I wouldn’t be able to get Larry. Since I was
relatively sober, just a little high, he was in luck. I texted him
that I was pulling up, and he came stumbling out of the doors of
First Down. Fuckin’ Larry. This was going to be interesting.

“
Eleanor!! My angel,” he
slurred, as he tumbled into the passenger seat.

“
Larry, you a little swerved
there?”

“
If you mean drunk, then
hell yeah,” he hollered, giving me the rock ‘n roll devil sign. Oh
my, it was 1988 in my car. We’d regressed from the 90s into the
80s.

We weren’t far from my house, so Larry had
only ten-ish minutes to ramble and slur, a bit incoherent. I just
nodded and said “uh huh” at the appropriate times. He really didn’t
care if I was listening when he was like this. He was a chatty
mother fucker when he got drunk, but it wasn’t about anyone
responding. He just wanted to run his mouth.

I got him inside, and threw a blanket and
pillow on the couch. “Go to sleep, Larry.”

He took his shirt off and stumbled as he
fell onto the couch. He wasn’t ripped like J, but he also didn’t
have any fat on him. Surprising, considering his diet consisted of
weed, beer, and junk food, he was pretty solid all around. “Can I
have some water? And some chips maybe?”

God damn Larry. I was hoping he would pass
out as soon as we got home. That’s what I was ready to do. I got
him a bottle of water, some pretzels I had in the cupboard, and a
couple ibuprofen. “All right, Larry. Here’s your shit. Sit your ass
on the couch.” I passed him the TV remote. “I’m gonna get ready for
bed.”

I washed my face and brushed my teeth in the
bathroom. Since Larry was on the couch, I’d have to wear PJ’s to
bed. I usually slept naked. Fucking Larry. I crawled into bed and
sighed. It had been quite a night. It felt good to let my brain
shut off. The window was open since the air wasn’t too cold
outside. A nice breeze was blowing over me as I let my body relax,
and prepared to visit Mr. Sandman.

“
Do you want to watch TV
with me, Elle?”

What the fuck? “No!” I yelled, and snuggled
into a sweatshirt of J’s I was sleeping with.

“
Want some
pretzels?”

I threw my arm over my eyes. “Go to sleep,
Larry.”

“
Elle…”

I sat up in bed and yelled, “Shut the fuck
up, Larry, and go to bed or I’m going to make you sleep on the damn
lawn.”

“
Sheesh. PMS much,” I heard
Larry say. I hope he didn’t think he was whispering, because that
was barely quieter than the yelling.

******

I was fast asleep when I felt the bed dip.
The sun had started to rise, which meant I’d been asleep for
five-ish hours. I was about to grab the lamp off the nightstand and
roll over with it, ready to beat someone. I stopped when I heard
Larry sigh and begin to whisper.

“
Why not me, Elle? Why can’t
you love me?” I didn’t move. “I’ve never hurt you, and I would take
care of you til my dying day.” I knew without looking that Larry
was running his hands through his hair. He always did when he was
agitated. “You’re perfect. What do I have to do so you’ll see me?
Really see me?”

He sat there a few more minutes in silence
while I feigned sleep. Finally, he got up and went back to the
couch.

“
Fuck,” I whispered to
myself.

******

In the morning, Larry was back to himself. I
wasn’t sure he even remembered his drunken confession. I pushed it
out of my head, and went about getting ready for work.

I took Larry to his car before going in for
my Sunday shift. I knew he’d have preferred to sleep in, but sorry
about his luck. Fortunately, he lived close to the restaurant so I
didn’t have to go too far out of my way. He was much quieter than
the night before. Thank god!

“
Thanks, Elle,” he mumbled,
as he got out of my car in front of his house.

“
YOU’RE WELCOME, LARRY.
ENJOY YOUR DAY, LARRY. SEE YOU LATER, LARRY,” I yelled. He covered
his ears, and muttered a stream of cuss words under his breath.
Payback’s a bitch.

Chapter 15

J picked me up Monday and brought a surprise
with him. I had a love/hate relationship with surprises. They could
be really bad (Mom showing up unexpectedly), or really good (a $20
bill found in pants pocket while laundering). J came bearing a
large box wrapped in gold paper.

“
Oh, for me?” I said,
placing my hand over my heart.

“
Of course for you, baby.” J
leaned in the door and gave me a closed mouth kiss. I stepped back
to let him in, but he grabbed me under my knees and carried me into
the living room, kicking the door closed behind him. I clutched the
box like it was filled with gold, not just covered in gold paper. I
never tired of being picked up, tossed around, carried, and
generally made to feel light as a feather by this man. Sometimes, I
forgot how big he was. I was barefoot, which made him even taller
as he put me down and I looked up to him beaming. “Open it up,” he
told me.

I gingerly peeled the paper off the box.
“You wrapped it?”

“
Naw, lady at the
store.”

I opened the box and pulled out a black
leather jacket, fitted for a woman. It had gold zippers from the
elbow to the wrist on both sleeves, and was collarless. It was
biker chic. It was the shit! As I looked at it, I realized that it
was not a Wal-Mart coat. Hell, it wasn’t even a Macy’s coat. The
leather was soft to the point of almost feeling like suede. The
lining of the jacket was black, with gold fleur-de-lises, and sewn
to perfection. Even the zippers were high quality. It was expensive
and I knew I should try to refuse it. That’s what you do, right,
when someone gives you a crazy extravagant gift?

J must’ve seen the mix of emotions play
across my face. “Don’t even think about telling me you can’t accept
it.” Ok then.

“
I love it!” I exclaimed,
throwing my hands around J’s neck. He swung me around a few times,
lifting my feet off the ground.

“
Try it on.”

It fit perfectly. Damn, this boy was good.
“Oh, I can wear my black and gold Nike Dunk Lows!” I proclaimed, a
giant smile claiming my face. Surprisingly, I struggled to find
outfits that would warrant bright gold Nikes. Go figure.

J shook his head. “You’re the only woman I
know who calls her shoes by their make and model, like a car.” He
kissed the top of my head. “One more layer to love.”

He’d been throwing the L
word out a lot lately. He hadn’t said
those
three words yet, but he seemed
to slip
love
into
a variety of phrases. At first it freaked me out, but I found
myself wanting it, waiting for it. For him to say
those
three words. I
couldn’t say it first. I’d never said it to anyone that wasn’t
family. Or Chris or Aaron. I’d never said it to a man I was
sleeping with. J broke down so many of my walls, thawed the ice
around my heart. I still kept a thin layer when I was at school or
work, never letting anyone too close. Even Larry. He meant a lot to
me as a friend, but that was all he’d ever be. He’d never be able
to hurt me like J could. It was scary at first, but little by
little I found it comforting. For once in my life, I felt as if
someone else was looking out for my safety. It wasn’t just me.
Until now, it had always been just me, always watching my back. I
wore a thin wedding band on my right hand that I had bought myself
when I was eighteen. It was a reminder that no matter what, I
always had me. Kinda like the scraps of paper taped up around my
apartment. Each reminded me of something, either a situation I
overcame, or word that inspired me to keep going each
day.

Since we were staying overnight, I packed a
bag. I tried to keep it small, as I knew we were going on the bike.
The bike! I was so hype.

“
Ready?” J asked, as I
emerged from my room, bag in hand. “I got you a helmet too,” he
said, taking the bag from me. I started to loosely braid my hair as
we walked out the door.

The bike sat gleaming in front of me. It was
a Harley. That’s about all I could tell you. Later I would ask J
about it, but at that moment, all I wanted to do was get on and
feel the wind. J stashed my bag in some compartment on the back of
the bike and got on. He held out his hand to help me on behind
him.

As the bike roared to life, I clutched J
around his stomach. We coasted through town towards the freeway.
Once we hit it, J revved the engine, and the bike took off. I
clutched him tighter with my thighs and leaned my head against his
back, watching the scenery go by. I was glad for the jacket as it
was still a bit cool outside, especially once you were going 70mph
with the wind whipping past. I snuck my hands up under J’s jacket
and shirt. His skin was warm to the touch. I traced with a finger
each outline of his eight pack. I kept my hands warm, lazily
running them over J’s abdomen. The ride to Kansas City was a little
over two hours. We’d been riding for around ninety minutes when J
pulled us over to a rest area. One of those where it is just a
bathroom, vending machine, and two picnic tables outside.

“
I thought we weren’t
stopping. You told me to make sure to pee before we left cuz we
were driving straight through,” I questioned J, as he dismounted
the bike. He didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled me off the bike and
threw me over his shoulder.

“
What the fuck, J?” I
laughed.

“
Woman, you’ve been touching
me for the last sixty miles. You brought this on
yourself.”

I laughed. I didn’t realize tracing ab
outlines was such a turn on. J carried me into the men’s restroom
and bent me over the sink. It was kinda dirty, but not enough to
stop my moan when he pulled his pants and mine down to our ankles,
and sunk his cock deep inside me. “I didn’t realize tracing ab
outlines was such a turn on,” I gasped.

“
It was that,” thrust. “Your
thighs pressed tight against me,” thrust. “And the heat radiating
off your pussy against my ass,” thrust. He wrapped his hand around
my braid and pulled my head back, trailing kisses down the back and
side of my neck. He nibbled on my ear and whispered, “I was about
to bust a nut on the bike if I didn’t stop.”

“
I’m glad you stopped.” I
felt a frenzy stirring up inside me. I loved the impulsive, savage
sex J delivered as much as I loved the sweet love he made to me.
Either worked, but in that moment, the savage beast in him was
bringing my own out. I put my hands on the mirror to brace myself.
I think I may have growled as I shoved my ass back against him,
wanting to feel him deeper inside of me. J wrapped one arm around
my middle and the other trailed downwards.

I threw my head back and moaned, repeating
my favorite letter of the alphabet over and over again. I was
close, so close. I could feel the walls of my pussy starting to
pulse.

“
You ready, babe?” I think I
whimpered my answer. His hands found my clit and his lips found the
back of my neck. He bit and licked my neck and ears as his finger
swirled my clit with varying pressure. I slammed back against him,
grinding my ass in circles, feeling his hard length touch every
inch inside of me. Then it happened. The world opened up and I was
no longer existing in a rest area in the middle of nowhere
Missouri. I was flying, and my body was exploding. I vaguely
registered J pump into me twice more before filling me with his
liquid heat. We slowed our movements, and began our equally slow
descent back to planet Earth.