In the Nick of Time (38 page)

He quickly gulped the lemonade, grabbed his socks and shoes, and redressed as if he were on fucking fire. As he approached the door, he stopped, turned back towards her and grabbed her close for a kiss. Releasing her, he moved back to the door.

“Get away from there!” she angrily whispered, flailing her hands in his direction.

He stepped back, and she poked her head out, her eyes large and roving about like a child attempting to sneak out of their room to catch Santa by the Christmas tree. She closed the door back, and shook her head.

“We’re fucked. There are people
everywhere
. I had the alarm set for 4:30 a.m. That would have given you ample time to get dressed and leave. The first shift crew doesn’t arrive until 4:55. It’s almost five
now
.” She swallowed. “Now, there is absolutely
no
way you are going to get out of here unnoticed.”

“Oh baby, you must have me mistaken for some unskilled chump.” He chuckled. “Not getting caught is my forte. Sneaking around was my childhood job, remember? I could lift one of those big ass, early model, clunky DVD players off a department store display counter in broad daylight and no one would see shit. I was a damn professional. Now that I know about the cameras, thanks to your information, I believe I know how to handle this.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he observed her grab her robe and cover herself up. He hated that the beautiful show had to end… Gritting his teeth, he creaked the door a bit wider, made an assessment. Looking back her way, he snapped his fingers and pointed towards the Dixie cups and lemonade. Startled, she quickly figured out what he wanted, grabbed the damn things and handed them to him. Blowing her a kiss, he closed the door behind him, making a beeline towards the cafeteria after zigzagging like an injured sidewinder snake across the hall. He’d timed the shit just right, waiting until no one stood on her side of the hall, and the folks on the other side were distracted with their morning chatter and usual daytime grogginess. Patience. It was all about waiting, biding one’s time, then not hesitating once the second of reckoning approached! Hide-and-seek…

By the time he’d made it half way over and attracted attention, he looked as if he was throwing away early breakfast beverages. The shit happened seamlessly…

Ahhh yes, Officer Nick Vitale was no longer a thief, but Little Nicky, who lived deep within him, still knew a trick or two…

The afternoon had
arrived and despite the cool temperatures, the sun showed mercy and flowed, outstretched its sizzling arms and waved warm rays upon the place. It didn’t necessarily matter, because the real sunlight consisted of Taryn’s recollections of the way the man touched her and spoke her damn name. Now here they were once again, careful to not mention anything aloud of their night together, but his eyes said it all. He scooted in closer to her as they listened to a speaker discussing accountability and atonement.

“I want to meet up with you and read you the letter today,” he whispered. “Is that cool or do you have something going on?” He scratched at his knee through the blue jeans in a nervous sort of way. It seemed the mere topic broke the man out in hives.

“Yeah, that’s fine. We can meet up at the library, sit somewhere quiet like in one of the study labs.”

He nodded then scooted a bit away from her, as if something heavy and downright troubling rested on his shoulders. It hurt her to see him this way, as if he knew the exact date for doomsday and was simply biding his time.

“You have nothing to worry about, baby. You know I won’t tell anyone anything, Nick. Whatever you discuss with me, whatever is in that letter stays between
us
,” she assured in a hushed undertone, careful to not draw attention to their conversation.

I can still feel him inside of me… thrusting, loving, cumming…

She couldn’t help but smile. He looked at her for a brief spell, nodded, turned away, and did that disappearing act she’d gotten accustomed to. He was sitting there, but he’d left, withdrew within himself, twisting his hands over and over, and filled with terrible anxiety.

Oh Nick, don’t you know you got me, baby? Everything is going to be alright…

Nick closed the
heavy door behind them. As it was made of glass, everyone that waltzed past could see in, but at least nobody could hear, and that was a small gift within itself. The placed smelled of aged books, the kind with brittle, dog-eared pages and smashed paper mites every few chapters, their graves between two pages of a text seldom reviewed. Nevertheless, there was an upside. This time of day brought them less traffic, a slither of privacy, some semblance of how a relationship is supposed to feel, taste, and evolve. That’s simply how they planned their excursions…playing make believe, pretend games, in a place that would deny them the luxury of fantasy.

“Come here.” She offered a tilted grin as the man raced towards her, pushing her in a corner out of view before they commenced. “Nick!” She giggled, pushing him away and making an escape. She plopped down in a glossy wooden chair, and he soon followed, falling to his knees before her as if she were some altar. His love poured onto her hard and heavy, just like his body during their emotional lovemaking, as her spirit slowly broke him down. The woman couldn’t possibly have any idea how he felt about her, for there were no words to fully illustrate it, tell the entire story.

Was she becoming his next addiction?

One thing he knew: when he lay between her thighs, eating her sweet pussy, he couldn’t get a fucking ’nuff. If time had been on their side, he’d still be there right at this moment, nestled between her legs and gulping her juices for breakfast, lunch and dinner…and all of his snacks in between. All he wanted to do was pleasure her, give her a damn break, let her relax for a moment or two, and feel his deep desire for her. When he pushed inside of her, it felt like his fucking skull was detonating; he split like an atom and exploded like a bomb. He finally broke free, flying high, yet the feeling was natural. Nothing destructive or artificial swam through his blood stream, floated in his brain, or was snorted up his nostril, leaving behind only a fraction of his true self. Being inside of her ruined him. Nothing would be able to come close or compare. Her damn heart opened up to him like rustic barn doors in the wee hours of the morning, and he’d walked right in and made himself at home. He could confess his soul to her; he could give her
everything
. He finally felt …safe.

This proved a much-needed release, and not just of the sexual kind, but one of a mental and soul-defined nature, too. As he lay at her feet, she ran her long fingers through his hair, then, she paused. He looked up at her, taking notice of her taking a gander at the three empty chairs and small oak table around them. He reached up, grazed her fingertips with his own, and said, “Don’t stop.”

So, she continued.

“I love you, Nick.”

She kept stroking his hair, massaging his scalp just so.

“You love me?” His smile prayerfully crept into her heart and hoped to pry it wide open like the vast galaxy dancing above their heads.

“Yes, I love you.” She kept tending to him, loving on him. “Let me ask you something.”

“Yeah.” He slowly closed his eyes; completely titillated by the way she poured affection on him. It felt good, damn good.

“What makes you believe you love me?” She kept on stroking, working her magic.

“Because I know what it feels like. This isn’t my first time being in love with someone.” He slicked the papers out of his pocket, placed the letter onto the floor before him, and spread his hands over the damn thing that had caused him so much pain, smoothing it out just so. “And I know the difference between infatuation and lust. I think about you all the time. When I’m not with you, I
want
to be. And when I am with you, I hate it a little, because I know eventually we’ll have to part ways again.”

She bent down to kiss the top of his head and stroke his ear.

“Remember when you kissed my head during cooking class?” He looked up at her as she grinned down at him.

“Yeah.” He smiled back. “I just had to do that, you know? I can’t explain it…it’s just something I felt right then, so, I went with it.”

She nodded in understanding. “I thought that was so sweet.”

They were quiet for a few moments, then he begrudgingly got to his feet, deserting her tempting touch.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” He slid a thin wad of light pink tissue paper out of his jacket pocket, handing it to her. She sat erect from her slumped position in the chair and slowly unwrapped it.

“Where did you get a flower in the dead of winter?!” She covered her mouth, but her smile oozed out the sides, revealing her true reaction.

“I stole it.”

She pressed her hand hard over her lips now, for a burst of laughter was sure to follow.

“From
who
?!”

“Someone got flowers on Visitor’s Day. Let’s just say when they turned their back, I helped myself.”

“Nick, you are awful! Now you stick me with the contraband!” She took a hearty sniff then set it on the nearby table.

“Hey, it wasn’t actually a crime, really. I slid a five-dollar bill there, too! That was a half a week’s money. What was I supposed to do? It’s not like I can say, ‘Hey, Frieda! I’m going to the florist, be back in a bit!’” He smirked and gripped his letter a bit tighter as he shifted his weight anxiously from one foot to the other. “I have no weekend privileges, either. I’m still not allowed to leave due to the whole Oliver situation.” He shrugged.

“You scared the life out of that man. He hardly says anything to anyone now.”

“You’re welcome,” he quipped.

“Okay now, stop playing. Come on back over here.” She drew serious, resuming her prior position as he pulled up a chair beside her. As he pressed his thigh against her hip, he trembled inside. He couldn’t calm himself, reel it back in. The letter shook in his hands, waving back and forth like a Puerto Rican flag, as if an invisible fan were blowing in the near distance, making it surf about and waft to and fro, do a little jig to an unheard jangle. But there was no breeze, no music, and no Puerto Rican parade in order to brandish one’s happiness for the world to see. No, there was only Nick, terrified of his own transcription. And then, he began…

Dear Nick,

One day you’re going to need somebody, and one day you’re going to have to admit that to someone, too…

“Fuck this.” He tossed the damn thing down onto his lap.

“What’s wrong?”

Baby, you were so close… Come on, now…

“I’m not going to read this to you, Taryn. I’m just going to tell you what’s in it. You can check. I’ll even let you read it when I’m finished so you can make sure I didn’t cheat. Just let me talk to you, let me tell you what happened, okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that works just fine. If that’s what you want to do, then just tell me…but make sure you cover whatever it is you wrote in that letter because I
will
be reading it.” She would not let the guy off the hook; he had homework to do, and now that she was in the love with the man, he was balance, and she was checks. Period.