Never Me (15 page)

“Yeah, well have a cat scratch your face up at six years old in the middle of the night and see how you feel about it.” He chuckled a little, but I could tell it wasn’t really genuine.

The gang joined us for a few hours of sightseeing, but Amy and Jack retreated back to the hotel after a while at Jack’s insistence. I heard her playfully refuse him as he fully grabbed her ass in plain sight as they walked off. Amy turning back to say they would meet us for dinner.

I watched a horse drawn carriage slowly move past us, mesmerized. This was truly a dream. I looked at Ellie who was totally unaffected by the insane display of architecture and history. She was messing with her phone and talking to Rory. I couldn’t figure out why they weren’t as captivated. Did they not see the beauty of this incredible city? Spencer smiled at my reaction and grabbed on to the back of the covered carriage, gave me the shush finger, then waved me to join him. I was not quiet.

“Are you crazy?”

He continued to wave me on and I was losing ground quickly. I looked at Rory who gave me a knowing smile.

“Well of course I’m going to do it.”

“Meet you at the hotel at dusk?” Rory asked.

“Done.”

I took off running and watched Spencer’s eyes light up as he saw me getting close. I could hear the tour guide talking to the couple inside the carriage as I approached, trying not to giggle as Spencer hauled me up so delicately it would seem like I was just another bump in the road.

We toured behind the carriage for a good half hour without people drawing attention to us. They seemed entertained with our sneaky tour. I smiled at Spencer who looked at me with a mix of mild amusement and hunger. I traced his lips with my finger and kissed him for the very first time, surprising him and taking his tongue into my mouth to suck it sweetly. We were interrupted seconds later by the Creole voice of the tour guide as he apologized to his passengers.

“Whoo wee, sorry about that folks. It’s definitely a job hazard.”

We couldn’t figure out what he was referring to until seconds later the horrible smell hit us and we saw a trail of horse shit underneath us. To our absolute horror we burst out laughing uncontrollably and had to make our escape while still hysterical. Spencer landed firmly and held out his hands as I held my stomach and wiped my tear filled eyes and jumped quickly. We saw the couple who had paid for the tour peek out with their bodies twisted and give us a wave. No one ever got pissed in New Orleans it seemed. I laughed and waved back at the couple then looked at Spencer who was no longer laughing.

“You look the best like this, Nadine.”

“Like what?”

“Off guard.”

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.” He pressed his lips to mine and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, walking me to the sidewalk.

We spent the next hour grubbing on hot dogs and walking around The Quarter. Something in Spencer had … changed. Something had awakened in him. With each hour that passed in New Orleans he had become more alive. He kept grabbing my hand to mildly assault me with feverish kisses in a corner, behind a tree, in an abandoned alley. His kiss grew more intense with each display. I could feel the vixen in me about to step up to the plate. For now I would take whatever he offered. Soon, I thought. I had to have him. I reminded myself this might be a game, then scorned myself for thinking otherwise. I didn’t care what it was. Spencer had my full attention and I had his.

“So tell me about your dad,” I said casually as we strolled through the streets with absolutely no destination in mind.

I saw him cringe and then hesitate. I felt like I had sucked the fun out of the entire day with my words and regretted them, but looked at him expectantly anyway.

“You remember the movie
Arthur
with Dudley Moore?”

“Vaguely.”

“Well he’s like that, but not the funny version.”

“Oh.” I studied his face for a minute and decided to pry a little more. “You are too damn young to be taking care of him already. Your life should have started years ago, or what should have been your life. Why can’t you walk away?”

He looked at me as if he was disgusted. “It’s so easy to judge, huh, Nadine?”

“No. I’m really not, I swear.”

“I’ve already given up on him, Nadine, but I can’t let go. He’s the only person besides Jack and Amy in the world that I love. Anyway, let’s talk about something else.”

“Not yet.”

“Drop it.” It wasn’t a question, it was an order. Instead of pissing me off it intrigued me. I was close to getting what I wanted.

“You can’t even properly practice law. I overheard you telling Jack, and Amy told me as well, because you’re too busy scraping your father off of the streets of Philadelphia. How long will you let this go on?”

I could see him visibly shaking now, his anger beginning to show on his face.

“I am your stranger,” I said softly.

He looked at me puzzled, then remembered his own words.

“Yes you are.” He moved in to kiss me and I turned my head.

“Deflecting,” I chimed a little too forcefully.

“Nadine, leave it alone. It’s not a problem I can solve with the snap of my fingers.”

“If you do nothing, nothing changes,” I said, offering him the truth.

“Again, with the levels shit,” he muttered, pretending to be distracted.

“It’s not shit. It’s all true. And it’s mostly common damn sense, Spencer. Don’t make fun of my principles because it’s convenient for you. Now you give me one truth about this and I will drop it.”

“One truth?” He knew exactly what I was asking, so I didn’t bother helping him.

“You heard me.” I pressed in.

I saw him pause with an automatic response on his lips and change his mind.

“No,” I said loudly, making him squirm a little, “I want to hear exactly what you were about to say.”

He looked at me exasperated and finally gave me an answer. “If I stop, he will die.”

“That’s part of it,” I added “What’s the other part, Spencer? The truth?”

“He will die anyway.” His voice was shaking now and I could see he was angry at me for it, “No matter what I do.”

He walked away from me then to look around for his escape. There was none and I wanted him to see that. I also wanted to show him that I was there, so I grabbed his hand and laced our fingers and saw the surprise on his face. He gave me a soft look, one I hoped matched my own. I was hoping that he didn’t see sympathy, just someone who cared. God, why did I care?

“Spencer, I could never turn my back on my father, either, but I know this much. If he loves you like a father should, he has already worded your escape to you a thousand times, hasn’t he?”

I saw a single tear roll down his face and he didn’t hide it. It made him seem even more human to me. I grabbed it with the tip of my finger and waited for him to respond.

He gave me a simple, “Yes.”

“And what was it?” I saw torment on his face as he looked around. This man was showing me his most vulnerable side and I didn’t want to screw it up. I felt my chest fill with lead as he finally faced his fear.

“Let me go, son.”

He held his head up and fisted his eyes, stifling his emotion, and I quickly walked him onto a quiet street. Once there, I walked away from him to let him gather his thoughts, wrapping my fingers around an iron gate to view the well-kept garden behind it. Several minutes later, Spencer wrapped his fingers around mine and I could feel his chest behind me. It was slow and paced. He was calm.

“I’m sorry I pushed you,” I whispered.

He said nothing for a few quiet moments then turned me to face him, keeping his hands around the gates, locking me in.

“You are the perfect stranger,” he whispered back, brushing my lips with his. I started shaking as his eyes bore into mine. “My perfect stranger.”

He lifted me onto the brick wall just below the iron gate and forced himself between my legs. He ran his hands up each one of my legs, up my thighs and underneath my shorts, stroking his thumbs on my inner thigh, just a hair from my panties. A sharp intake of breath had my lips parting as he stared into my eyes, his thumbs stroking me stoked my desire. I braced myself, expecting him to move his thumbs further, but he hesitated, soaking in my need for him, reveling in it. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t protest or beg. I was completely lost in the stroke of his thumbs and the heat emanating from his body and the look of pure lust in his eyes. It was the look I craved and so much more.

He continued to stroke the delicate skin and I felt my wetness and urged him on with the tilt of my back, but he stayed relentless in his pursuit to completely undo me. I kept my hands firmly planted next to me and gasped as his thumbs rubbed only once over my sex. Still he said nothing. He had reduced me to nothing with the stroke of his thumbs and the look in his eyes. I waited for him to speak first, but he remained silent. He wanted my submission, and right now that was the only thing I wanted to do. He leaned in and brushed his tongue along my lips while simultaneously brushing his thumbs across my sex. I let out a low moan and he backed away, lowering his thumbs to again stroke the inside of my thighs. The act begin to gnaw at me as the moisture between my thighs and the pulsing in my sex began to eat at me. He had no intention of freeing me.

He leaned in again and I turned my head, grabbing his hands from underneath my shorts and giving them back to him before forcing him away from the wall so I could escape. He let me out of his grasp and I got a few feet away when he grabbed me and flattened by back to his chest. He moved my hair out of the way and darted his tongue in and around my ear.

“Don’t get testy.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Spencer. Are you all done? Was that your best shot?” The words were a perfect choice, but the delivery was way too breathless and buried any chance I had of saving face. This round, like the last, and the one before that, had gone to Spencer.

His grin was almost as tempting as his touch. “Come on, beaut—Nadine, let’s go get the girls. I think you’ve had enough of me.”

He grabbed my hand again and I quickly realized all I wanted was to be alone with him, just a little longer. It was already dark and I had told Rory I would meet her. Frustrated, happy, tired, even hungover, there was no such thing as too much Spencer. Either way, this was the last round he was winning.

We met the crew at the hotel and Rory brought me to one of the empty rooms for a little alone time and debriefing.

“Rory, I’m sorry. I keep leaving you.”

“Oh, screw that. I’ve never seen you so … entertained. Anyway, there is a reason why I brought you here.”

“What?” I asked, curiosity piqued as I took in the excitement on her face.

“You know that bartender? The one downstairs?” she said excitedly, pulling out the makings of an outfit. I felt a story coming.

“Yeah, so are you hooking up?”

“Yes, tonight. I can’t wait. God, he is so hot. His name is Rafe and he’s taking me to a secret spot, you know for locals.”

“Can you trust him, Rory?” I said harshly, making sure she knew I would worry.

“I know, I know. But you know where he works and what his name is, plus he seems harmless. Well, he might bite if I ask him to. It seems like he may have a little to offer a girl.” She waggled her eyebrows up and down and excitedly turned on her heel for the bathroom after laying out what I was sure was an outfit suited only for Catwoman. This one must be new.

I shook my head as she started singing in a horrible octave the minute she hit the water. With Rory occupied, I quickly came to the conclusion I had a job to do and it was time to focus. I hadn’t been that girl in almost four days and it was time for her to come out to play. Tonight, I wasn’t going to win a round, I was going to win the game.

I felt the day’s wear on me but pushed through as I picked out the tightest form fitting white dress I could find. There was a huge circle in the chest, heavily exposing both my breasts, and hung just a few inches short of exposing everything underneath. It had puffed sleeves reminiscent of the 60’s, so I pulled out my thigh-high solid white go go boots to finish the look. Half an hour later, I had my hair tousled perfectly in a way that screamed ‘I was just screwed but could go for another round.’ I put a bright pink gloss on, added heavy shadow and I was ready. I turned to Rory for the okay.