Читать книгу Piano in the Dark - Eric Pete - Страница 13

My alarm went off before daylight, bringing me out of my deep slumber. The standard call to arms at the beginning of my day. As I labored to move, I was greeted by stiffened parts beyond the usual morning wood. Felt like I’d been used as a punching bag for Floyd May-weather Jr.

“Hey. What are you doing?” Dawn mumbled as she felt the bed shifting with my sitting up.

“Time to get up,” I replied as I yawned.

“Uh-uh. You have amnesia or something? No work for you today. Go back to bed,” she said as she rolled over in the direction of my voice. I watched her eyes softly open. Same enchanting eyes that greeted me for the first time back at Sam Houston State. Before my attempt at law school.

“You’re my doctor now?” I asked of my once-upon-a-time math tutor.

“Nope. Just your nurse.”

I didn’t protest much when she nudged me back onto my pillow. In addition to her college-prep business, Dawn worked part-time at Macy’s in the Woodlands Mall, but didn’t go in until this evening. No dinner last night, but maybe we could work on dessert as she slid closer, her hand exploring beneath the covers.

“Sore?” she asked as her hand moved sensuously back and forth across my chest.

“Some. The muscle relaxers helped.”

“Not too relaxed, huh?” she asked, her hand snaking past my waist.

“Um…you might be on to something there,” I said with a grin as she awakened my dick with her skillful touch. I let out a deep sigh of relief, my remaining tension subsiding as Dawn pulled the covers off. She took me in her mouth, quickly coaxing me to a hard, effective state within the warm, inviting space beyond her lips. As she worked me over, I reached toward the curvaceous ass presented before me. I eased my thumb against her clit while probing the perimeter of her anus with my middle finger. Her asshole puckered at my touch, urging me to continue as she bumped her ass against my hand.

“Mmm-hmm,” she mumbled, her mouth full of me, sending good vibrations through my body of the most wonderful kind.

In the bedroom, we never truly had problems. Problems existed whenever I put on my suit and ventured out beyond the bedroom walls. Where expectations were never met in someone’s eyes. Maybe I’d stay here all day.

Dawn made that familiar sexy pop of her lips as she released her oral grip on my dick. She wiped the product of her labor from the corner of her mouth, then slid her nightgown over her head. I paused from kicking my underwear off my ankles to admire her.

I went to reach for her. To take her in my arms and kiss her like my life depended on it.

“Uh-uh. Take it easy,” she said as she forced me onto my back. “Nothing too strenuous for you, big boy. Just lie down and enjoy.”

I eagerly obeyed my nurse’s instructions as Dawn mounted my erection, her hips quivering and flaring. I grunted as she lowered herself onto me, deliciously damp and wanting more.

True to her word, Dawn did all the work. After a shower, she found comfort in a peaceful sleep. Good for her, as I wasn’t ready for a nap after all the activity of yesterday. As much as she’d object, I needed a moment to clear my head. I threw on some clothes and ventured out in her car.

Despite its tiny interior testing my current condition, I jetted down the street FM 1960 in Dawn’s MINI Cooper to pick up a treat I knew she’d like. As the satellite radio played uninterrupted jazz on the Watercolors channel, I noticed the time. Close to noon. Rather than going to the Smoothie King at the corner of Red Oak by Houston Northwest Hospital, I proceeded the four extra miles to the next location by Veterans Memorial Highway.

Did one make better smoothies than the others? Probably not.

I was in front of the HB Japanese Steakhouse when my iPhone rang. I grimaced, suspecting Dawn had realized I was no longer in the bed beside her. Worse. It was Jacobi.

“What’s up, bro?”

“Hey, Jay,” I replied, lowering the volume to Paul Hardcastle as I placed my Bluetooth in my ear.

“Thought you’d be asleep. How you feeling?’

“Sore, but I’ll live. Thanks for bringing Dawn by the hospital.”

“No problem, sir. She’s nursing you back to health?”

Thinking of our morning interlude, I chuckled. “She’s taking care of me,” I replied.

“Maybe get your mind off your old classmate.”

“She’s not on my mind, man. You saw I was taking Dawn out to dinner last night.”

“Uh-huh. But where were you when you got crunched? Nowhere near your house. Don’t think I didn’t notice that.”

“I’m not dignifying that with an answer. I was on my way home.”

“Okay. You’re lucky I’m not deposing you, though.”

“I’ve seen you in action. Remember? You ain’t so scary, bro. But debating your skills isn’t healthy for my recovery. What’s up?”

“Gayle’s filling in for you and can’t find the discovery responses to the Polk case in your office.”

“That’s because I left them in your office. It’s the last thing I did before I left yesterday. They’re on your desk beside yesterday’s mail and your billing sheets for the month.”

I listened as Jacobi fumbled around at his desk before everything went silent. “Okay. Got it, man. Thanks,” he said. If he didn’t call me from the courthouse later, I’d be lucky.

“Can I go now, boss?” I asked as I crossed Veterans Memorial, preparing to make a left turn into the Smoothie King parking lot.

“Yeah, bro. Sorry about calling you over this mess.”

“S’okay. It’s what you pay me for.”

“Need anything? You car okay? Need a ride or something?”

“No. Dawn filed the claim with State Farm last night. Waiting to hear from them. I’ll get a rental later today. Just trying to take it easy right now.”

“All right,” Jacobi responded, his voice easing. “I’ll leave you alone, man. See you soon.”

“Later, bro.”

I ordered Dawn’s Passion Passport and my Power Punch Plus. As I waited for my frequent customer punch card and the smoothies in the drive-through lane, I eyed an elderly man on the curb. Dressed in a pair of wrinkled khakis, flip-flops, dark blue socks, and a dark blue Hawaiian shirt, he sat comfortably on an overturned shopping cart with his back to me. It was a makeshift stage for a lunchtime performance.

I lowered my window some more, better to catch the notes from the trumpet he prepared to play. As the drive-through window opened, the employee handed me my card and the drinks along with my receipt. The man on the shopping cart blew.

The beginnings of “The Girl from Ipanema.” He always warmed up with that song. Every time I watched him without his knowing. Call it nagging concern, but I’d been doing it more frequently these days. Having loosened up enough, his worn and weathered fingers were ready to perform admirably for the public.

I pulled away from the drive-through window, anticipating surprising Dawn with her favorite. But before I’d gone five feet, I stopped. Leaving the MINI Cooper running, I walked over from the drive-through lane and came over. He glanced over his shoulder, surprised to see me. He looked at least ten years older than what he really was. Despite that, we shared the same light brown eyes and skin hue. Without registering anything on my scratched face, I dropped a five-dollar bill in the white plastic bucket at his feet.

“Thank you, sir,” he said with a nod and smile as he paused from his joy. I turned without speaking, returning to Dawn’s car before someone thought about jacking it.

“How’s your momma?” Joell Hidalgo, my father, asked after a single hastily ended note.

“Same as always,” I replied loud enough for him to hear before I drove off.

Back to my world and away from his.