Zeke (27 page)

“Say, we ought to pick up some
beer.” Zeke held Sue’s arm tightly as he dug his keys from his pocket and
unlocked the van. “But, I have to ask, how old are you?”

“It’s okay, I’m over eighteen.”

“Close enough for me.” Zeke winked.

The girl giggled, stepped on the
mattress, and flopped into the back seat. Zeke closed the rear door and opened
the passenger side so Sue could get in. He quickly circled the front, hanging
onto the hood to stabilize his footing.

Sue stared into the night thinking
this might be her chance to run; but she didn’t take it. She sat like a statue
as Zeke got in and slid the key into the ignition. He started the engine and
rubbed his hands together for warmth. Sue shivered even after heated air from
the vents began pouring in.

The girl lit the cigarette she’d
bummed from Zeke and inhaled deeply. She pulled her coat open as the air began
to warm and looked curiously around the inside of their van.

“So? You guys live in here?” Her
nose turned up slightly at the thought.

“Sometimes. If we’re on the trail
of a hot story, we won’t stop for the night; we’ll just keep going down the
road.” Zeke changed the subject. “Where’s the closest liquor store?”

She gave directions between drags
on her cigarette. The store was nearby. Zeke parked but left the motor running.
He told Sue he needed her to come in so she could help him carry the bottles.
The girl waited in the van.

The sidewalk in front of the shop
had been heavily salted and wasn’t slippery. Still, Zeke kept his hand on Sue
as if supporting her. “Don’t want you to fall, bunny.” His grin looked feral in
the neon lights from the window.

Sue assumed he was less worried
about her safety than about her leaving him. She was half convinced he could
read her mind. The door buzzed as they pushed their way inside.

Zeke made his selections and paid
with Sue’s money. She looked longingly at the cash as he laid it in the clerk’s
hand. She thought of all the years it had taken to save her money and how she
might as well have just set fire to it. She was glad she had only withdrawn a
portion of it. At least she still had the greater share, safe in the bank.

Staring at the money as it
disappeared into the cash register, Sue pictured the bus ticket she could be
buying right now. But she knew she was fooling herself. She was still so hooked
on Zeke; she wasn’t going anywhere. At least not yet.

With Sue’s arms loaded with the
sacks, Zeke once again took her elbow to guide her out. “Good. She’s still
there,” he whispered to Sue as they approached the van. “It’s gonna be an
awesome night.”

He opened the sliding door, and set
the bags on the floorboard in the rear as Sue climbed into the passenger seat.
He slammed the door, rushed to his own side and jumped in, blowing into his hands
to alleviate the chill. Looking over his shoulder, he said, “We should
introduce ourselves. I’m Zeke and this is Sue.”

“I’m Deidre but my friends call me
Dilly,” she said. “Nice to meet you guys.”

Dilly Dally

Once inside the motel room, Zeke
tossed each of the girls a beer. “Here, we’ll get started on these,” he said
cheerfully.

Sue had remained silent during the
drive back, and simply listened with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach
as Zeke spoke warmly to the girl.

Dilly took a deep drink from her
bottle and started to remove her coat.

“Hold on.” Zeke stopped her. “I’m
gonna run down and fill up the ice bucket. Want to go with me?”

“Sure.” Dilly smiled.

They left together, a blast of
cold, wet air rushing into the room before the door shut behind them. Sue
paced, twisting her hands. She tried to picture what Zeke had in mind for the
girl,
and
for her. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she crossed her legs
tightly, and waited.

They were laughing when they came
back, and Sue experienced a small twist of jealousy deep in her gut. Zeke gave
Sue a loving look and wink, and she felt a little better. At least he seemed to
be in good spirits now. Maybe things weren’t so bad after all.

Dilly placed a couple cans of soda
on the counter and Zeke put the ice bucket down. He gave Dilly a smile that she
returned before slipping out of her coat and laying it across the chair.

“Drink up that beer,” he
encouraged, “while I make you ladies a special drink. A little something I call
the Cincinnati Slammer.” He busied himself with the glasses, liquor bottles,
and ice.

Dilly sat on the side of the bed
opposite Sue and unzipped her boots.

“Hope you don’t mind, these things
are wet.” She glanced at Sue, who shrugged.

Dilly slammed back her beer and was
ready for another drink when Zeke handed out the glasses. Before long, both Sue
and Dilly were loosening up. Zeke maintained an easy chatter interspersed with
jokes and funny stories, and he kept the drinks coming although
he
barely drank anything. In spite of the situation, Sue found herself laughing
along from time to time. She could see that Dilly was impressed with Zeke, and
more than a little attracted to him. She could also see that Dilly was more
than a little intoxicated.

“So, are you guys married?” Dilly
leaned back against the headboard, relaxed and loose.

“Yes, we are,” Zeke lied, eliciting
a sharp look from Sue. “But can I tell you a little secret?”

“Sure,” Dilly said, leaning forward
conspiratorially.

“Sue and I have a unique
relationship. We have a New York style marriage.”

“Oh, okay,” Dilly said with a
slight frown. “What’s that mean exactly?”

“It means we have a free marriage,”
Zeke explained. “We love each other passionately and without end. We will
always be together. But we also are free to share affection with other people
if we wish.”

He watched Dilly carefully for her
reaction. Her eyes were slightly unfocused. “Cool. I’ve read about those
things.”

Sue looked over at her in surprise,
but said nothing.

“How about you, Dilly? Are you
married?” he asked.

“Oh, no!” Dilly chuckled. “I’m not
ready for that yet. I had a boyfriend until last week. He broke up with me and
I don’t even care.” Her words were just the slightest bit slurred.

“Well, he’s a stupid guy,” Zeke said.
“If I were him, I wouldn’t let you slip away from me. You’re such a pretty
girl. Right, Sue?”

“Right.” Sue felt slightly dizzy.

“Why don’t the two of you sit
closer together?” Zeke suggested. “I’d like to take a picture, if you don’t
mind. Slip off your boots, Sue, and scoot over while I get my camera. I can’t
believe I’m lucky enough to have the two prettiest women in town all to
myself.”

Dilly glowed under his praise and
patted the mattress beside her, inviting Sue to move closer. After tossing her
boots to the floor, Sue edged nearer to the girl and the two sat leaning
against the headboard, shoulders touching. Sue felt a tiny shiver of
anticipation. She knew what Zeke was trying to accomplish, although Dilly
seemed oblivious as she snuggled up to Sue’s arm.

Zeke had them smile and mug for the
camera a few times. Then he snapped his fingers as if he had just had an idea.

“Want to try something a little
naughty?” he asked. “Just for kicks?”

“I don’t know. What do you have in
mind?” Dilly responded, sounding eager.

“You seem like the adventurous
type, Dilly. And this is a good thing. Sue and I are very uninhibited people,
very comfortable in our own skins. Easygoing, you know. So I just thought maybe
you’d like to try a few things just for fun, you know take a few silly
pictures.”

“Yeah, that’s cool.”

“Great,” Zeke said. “Why don’t you
and Sue pretend you’re kissing, just for the camera. It’ll be wild.”

“Well, okay, just for the picture,”
Dilly said. “If that’s okay with you.” She turned to look at Sue.

Sue said nothing, her eyes wide.
Dilly leaned over and placed her lips on Sue’s. Sue sat perfectly still while
Zeke took shots. Dilly’s lips were soft and closed and the kiss was very
innocent. Sue was relieved to feel nothing other than the sensation of light
pressure on her mouth.

“How was that?” Dilly asked.

“That was pretty good,” Zeke said.
“But I think you guys can do better than that. Why don’t you try again, and
maybe hug each other or something.”

Dilly shrugged and looked at Sue.
At that point, Sue wanted to hold her, but not in a sexual way. She wanted to
hold her like a best friend, hold her for comfort, two girls stuck together in
a weird dream. Sue put her arms out and Dilly slipped into them. They held each
other chastely for a moment. Then Dilly broke the spell when she kissed Sue
again, this time with her mouth parted and her tongue out slightly. Sue felt a
small quiver in her belly. Dilly pulled back with a surprised look on her face.

“Now isn’t that nice?” Zeke asked,
his camera hanging at his side.

“It was nice,” Dilly said softly.
“Not so rough, like guys can be.”

“I don’t know about this.” Sue
balked. “It feels wrong.”

“No, it doesn’t. It feels good.
Just relax and go with it. You’re just enjoying each other, nothing wrong about
that.” Zeke’s voice was smooth, comforting. “Don’t you like Dilly?”

Sue looked at the girl and back at
Zeke. “Yes,” she replied quietly.

Zeke looked at Dilly with a raised
eyebrow.

“It’s kind of fun.” Dilly squeezed
Sue’s hand encouragingly. “I don’t mind, if she doesn’t.”

“Then, do it again,” Zeke urged.
“Just pretend like you two are a couple. A couple in love.”

“Now, that’s weird,” Dilly said,
but giggled. She leaned over and kissed Sue again. This time they both made the
most of it. Sue pretended she was kissing Zeke, and Dilly pretended Sue was a
guy. The kiss was very enjoyable. Sue found she didn’t mind this at all. She
was warm and relaxed from the booze now and Dilly was soft, clean, and cute.
For a girl. Yes, this was just fine. She could handle this. She moved deeper
into Dilly’s arms.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,
girls.” Zeke’s encouragement fired up their imagination. “It’s perfectly
natural for two beautiful women to be drawn to each other, to admire each
other, to be curious. Wouldn’t you each like to see what you look like without
all those clothes in the way?”

“Fine with me,” Dilly said. “I’m
not shy.” She disengaged herself from Sue’s arms and stood beside the bed. “Do
you want to, Sue?”

“She wants to,” Zeke answered for
Sue. “She told me when she first laid eyes on you that she thought you were the
prettiest girl she had seen in a long time, and we’ve seen a lot of
professional models in our work.”

“Really? Wow. Thanks, Sue.” Dilly
took off her shirt and wiggled out of her skirt and panties.

Sue watched her undress, lost in a
sense of unreality, until Zeke caught her eye and gave her a nod. Complying
with his silent command, Sue started pulling off her clothes too. As she did
so, she watched Dilly, making mental comparisons between their bodies. Dilly
was watching Sue with fascination also.

“Have you ever been with another
girl, Dilly?” Zeke asked.

“Sort of,” Dilly said. “A friend of
mine kissed me once on a dare, in front of some guys. It was okay, no big deal.
Plus we undress together all the time when we go to the gym.”

“Have you ever made love to a
woman?” Zeke slyly rubbed his crotch with the edge of his thumb.

“No, not really.”

“Well, neither has Sue. But if you
guys want to, it’s okay with me. In fact, I think you ought to try it, just to
see what it’s like. I mean, seeing each other naked like this, aren’t you
curious?” The catch in Zeke’s voice revealed his growing excitement.

“A little,” Dilly admitted, running
her eyes over Sue’s body, then looking back at Zeke “What the hell, I suppose
we can try it. Might be a nice change of pace. We can always stop if we don’t
like it, right?” Dilly eyed Sue.

Sue nodded. Dilly crawled back onto
the bed beside Sue. Plainly, both girls were embarrassed and uncertain how to
proceed, but Zeke was quick to instruct them.

He
took picture after picture as they followed his directions. Before long, Zeke’s
arousal was too intense to contain. He laid his camera aside, stripped off his
clothes, and joined them in bed.

Drunk as Sue was, she still
registered every time Zeke touched Dilly and jealousy flared off and on during
the heated encounter. She didn’t blame Dilly for reacting to Zeke’s touch,
though. She knew from experience his seductive powers.

Afterward, the three lay tangled
together, breathless, and smelling of each other. Dilly leaned over and gave
each of them a kiss. “I want to thank you guys,” she said dreamily. “This is
the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Us, too.” Zeke stretched like a
lazy cat. “Right, Sue?”

Sue extricated herself from the
pile and got up. “Anyone want another beer?”

She walked to the counter, and
Dilly exclaimed behind her. “What happened to you? Is that a bite mark?”

“It is.” Zeke watched Dilly
carefully.

“Oh, no!” Dilly pushed herself into
a sitting position. “I don’t go for that sort of thing. I’m not into pain.”

“Neither are we,” Zeke said calmly.
“Sue got mixed up with a truck driver at our last stop and he got carried away.
I had to go back and kick his ass when I found out.”

Dilly relaxed back onto the bed.
“What a jerk!”

“Yeah, he was. We had no idea the
bastard was like that, or Sue wouldn’t have gone with him. You have to be so
careful these days.”

“That’s for sure,” Dilly agreed.

Sue followed the exchange with a
frown on her face. Zeke lied so easily. She wondered what all he’d lied about
to
her
. She carried the beers back to the bed and passed them out.