Chapter Twelve: She’s Got Game! Scene One: 11:15 AM: Kevin’s room.“He remembers her!” “Howie, what the hell are you talking
about.”“The guy that
parked the cars. Kevin, he remembered Nick and the girl, her name
is Jennifer Lockly!”“Really?
Wow, that’s great!”“Yea,
Bri. He remembered Jennifer because he had seen her strip at
another club! And he remembered Nick ‘cause he was so drunk
he could hardly walk.”“He
was WHAT?” “Kev...”“No, no way Brian. This is BAD. AJ! Get your
ass in here!”“Thank God
for connecting doors. Man, Kevin, you need to calm down! We have
something to go on, and that’s what’s important.”“You’re right Howie. Do you think
AJ’s medical insurance is paid up?”“Er...Kev...”“Hey guys, what’s going on?” “AJ! Stop acting like an ass!”“Brain, my man, don’t call me an ass.
Not unless you want to see the inside of yours up close and ....
ugh...hey!”“Shut up,
AJ.” Kevin punctuated this statement by shoving AJ for a
second time. “We just found out the girls name, and
we’re working on finding her.”“Well, that’s all good.”“Yea, it is.” Kevin’s voice
dropped to a near whisper. “We also found out that Nick was
drunk when they left last night. D...R...U...N....K. Drunk. Now,
why would the restaurant serve Nick liquor? Let’s see,
he’s under age in this country. Hummmmmm....did someone
clear it with the waiter before?”“AJ! You creep!”“Guys...”“AJ,
what were you thinking?”“Look
guys, I just thought he would need a little something to help him
relax.” “Relax! AJ is your
damn brain made of mush? Nick is a kid. A KID! In more ways than
one. He shouldn’t be out by himself like that! He
doesn’t know the score like us!” “Kevin he is not a complete moron! Just a
half-moron!” AJ thought his joke was hilarious. Kevin did
not.“AJ, you bastard!” “UGH! Get off me! You ...” “GUYS! Stop it! Brian, help me!”“No Howie, let ‘em slug it out.”“Brian!”“What?
AJ deserves it, and truth be know, so does Kevin.”“Brian?”“Hell,
Howie, I don’t...” The ringing of the phone
interrupted.“Hello? Who?
I’m sorry, you’ll need to speak up. Really?” Howie
covered the receiver and hissed...”GUYS! Will you hold it
down! It’s Jennifer!”“What?”
Kevin pushed AJ off him and make a bee-line for the phone.“Yea, go ahead.” Howie listened for a
moment while Kevin and Brian looked on with anxious faces. AJ
stayed, smart man, on the floor. “Yea, thanks. You
don’t remember her name? Um...yea. Thank you. Thank you so
much.” “Well?” Brain
demand as Howie hung up the phone. “Some
woman came and got him.”“Who?”“She didn’t get her name, but she did
remember that AJ sent her.” All eyes turned to AJ. “Aje? What woman? Did you have a woman in
your room last night?”“Let
me think...” AJ frowned at the ceiling.“Let me kill you.” Kevin frowned at AJ.“Kevin, cool it. That’s not
helping.”“Fine, Bri. But
he’s...”“Not that I
remember.” “What?” It
was Brian’s turn to frown.“I
took Nick out, left him...er...” AJ felt it best to change
the subject. “I came back here and ...let’s see...yea!
I went to the bar..”“Oh,
I’m soooo surprised!”“KEVIN!”“ANYWAY, I went to the bar...and I had a few
drinks...then...um...I guess I came back to my room.” “You guess? You guess?”“Now Brian, that’s not helping,
remember?”“Shove it,
Kevin! AJ, think. WHO was with you?”“Honest, I don’t remember anyone!”“AJ.” Howie’s voice remained calm.
“You sent someone after Nick. Come on man, we have to find
out who that was. Do you have any idea?”“No....I’m sorry guys.”“Now he’s sorry. NOW he’s
sorry.”“Bri, take your own
advice and chill. I have another idea.”“Let’s hear it.” Kevin flopped on
the sofa. “So far you are the only one making sense
today.”“Let’s go
downstairs. I’ll bet a waiter or the bartender can tell us
something.” “Howie, you
may have just saved AJ’s life.”“Let’s go!” Brian headed for the
door.“Guys, you go ahead.”
Kevin hefted AJ off the floor. “I need to give Cecilia a
quick ring, then I’ll join you.”Scene Two: Cecilia’s room. 11:53 AM I hung out in the bathroom for a little while,
literally. I had left my clothes in the other room again. And all
the towels were wet (We had splashed a bit the last time we were
in there. Well, I had splashed a bit. OK, fine, more than a
bit.). Finally I heard the phone ring and decided Cecilia’s
attention would be focused elsewhere. I grabbed a wet towel and
made a break for it. “Well...where...
I see.” I looked around the
room but didn’t see my clothes. That’s when I
remembered that they had been in a ... less than pleasant
condition the night before. “When?
But...what’s going on?” Cecilia’s back was to me
so I walked a bit further into the room and noticed the large,
fluffy white bathrobe...big enough for two! That would do.
“Fine. Don’t tell me. No. Don’t. You never do.
I’ve never been a part of this, a part of your life. Just a
distraction, isn’t that what you called me?” I wrapped
the robe around myself and tiptoed towards the door. “No,
don’t. Just don’t. I don’t want to see you right
now. Go do whatever it is you need to do.” I head Cecilia
slam down the phone, but I was almost home. Almost there, the
door and freedom, when I heard her sniffle. No biggie, keep
going! Then ... I head her sob. “Cecilia?”
One part of me could have kicked me. The other part of me would
have hated myself forever if I had just walked out. “Are you
OK?”“Sure.” She kept
her back to me. “I’m fine.” Really? I could hear
her crying.“No you’re
not.” Go with the obvious, Nick! “Do you want to tell
me about it?” Where the hell had that come from? Maybe I was
channeling Oprah. “Yes ...
no.” She half laughed, half sobbed. “I don’t know
what I’m saying.” She turned then, and I almost wished
she hadn’t. She looked beautiful. Really. Not fake
beautiful, not perfect beautiful. Just beautiful. Helpless, soft,
lost. Some primal instinct must have
taken over, it sure wasn’t my mind. I walked across the room
as if I knew exactly what I was doing, and put my arms around
her. Then I pulled her head to my shoulder and let her cry. She only cried a little bit, just a few more soft
sobs in my arms. Then she turned her head and kissed me, really
kissed me. And this time I kissed her back...no hesitation, no
games. Then we moved to the bed, no words spoken, it just seemed
to be understood, the right thing to do. We moved slowly, both of us, as if each were made
of some fine crystal that would shatter. She untied the robe,
somehow I unhooked her bra. I didn’t even know I could... I
just did. Maybe it was because I wasn’t thinking, I was just
doing, just feeling. I felt a lot of
things then. Feelings inside, feelings outside, all of them knew.
All of them wonderful. I discovered things as well. That the back
of my knees are jam packed with nerve endings, that the curve of
a woman’s buttock, just where it become the thigh, is a
delicate marvel. I learned that different pressures, different
rhythms, lead to entirely different sensations. I learned... Scene Three: Cecilia’s Room: 1:13 PM... I learned that no matter what Brain says,
oral sex is not just talking about it. Really. I had no idea he
would lie to me! I also learned a few things AJ told me were just
not true. The jerk. I’ll tell him that, if I ever move
again.I’m not quite capable of
it right now. I might never be capable of it again. Wait, if I
really concentrate I think I can move my finger, which might not
be the best idea. It’s sort of resting against
Cecilia’s nipple. We just dropped where we were. I guess
that’s a good thing, that we didn’t have the energy to
move. On the other hand Cecilia is no fly-weight, and my ribs
were starting to protest. Think
Nick, think of something to take your mind off this. OK.
let’s see. How about the fact that AJ can kill me now that I
have lost my “V” card. Oops, shouldn’t have
thought of that. I’m still learning, but I think I just
discovered at least one thing AJ told me was true. Men are
animals. “Nick? Is that
you?” I couldn’t tell is she was disgusted or amused.
Better take the high road.“NO.”
“Well....it better be.”
Cecilia turned her face to me, and to my great relief she looked
amused. “Unless you’re trying to tell me there is a
third party in this bed? And I don’t mean John Thomas.”
We laughed then, thank God.
Then...we did other things. I remember something Brian said about
being “sensitive” and “waiting” and “not
being a pig.” Whatever. If Cecilia was game, so was I.
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