“Where was I?”
“‘Doc’ had come in for a drink after a hard day sweating over a dissecting table.”
“Right. So I said, ‘I’m sorry, Doc. We’re all out of walnuts. I’ve got something else, though, if you’re willing to give it a try.'” I could see he was biting back a grin. “‘Sure,’ he said, so I mixed it for him and put it down on the bar. Doc took a sip. He was really cautious at first, because he wasn’t sure if he would like it. He wasn’t a very adventurous kind of guy, y’know?”
“Wills.”
He raised his drink to his mouth, but I could still see the grin on his face. “Anyway, he got this shit-eating grin on his face, and he finished it off in a couple of gulps. He didn’t even take the time to savor it, which kind of ticked me off. I’m a good bartender.”
I patted his hand. “Never mind. The man was obviously a philistine. What happened then?”
“Doc said, ‘This is awesome, dude! What is it?’ and I said…” Wills had to pause for a second and clear his throat.
“Don’t keep me hanging here, babe. What did you say?”
“I said…” He cleared his throat again. “…’It’s a hickory daiquiri, Doc.'”
For a second I sat there staring at him, my jaw hanging, and then I started to laugh. Wills was usually serious and rarely told any jokes. He laughed with me, obviously pleased I’d enjoyed his joke, and a few of the men nearby turned to look at him.
I stopped laughing and scowled at them, and they looked elsewhere.
“Did you really belong to a fraternity?”
“Oh, yeah. I tended bar for them sometimes too, but mostly I helped the house mother with repairs and the gardening and such.”
I sighed. I’d always wanted to go away to college and join a fraternity, but even if Poppa hadn’t…if we hadn’t quarreled, he’d have wanted me to be a fisherman. I’d liked going out on the boats with him, but that hadn’t been how I’d wanted to support myself.
“Babe?”
“You must have had the best time.”
“It was fun.”
“Do you stay in touch with any of your fraternity brothers?”
“Not really. Michael…” He looked sad. He always did when Michael’s name was brought up. “Michael was the one I was closest too, but…”
I didn’t want to hear about that stupid, idiotic fuckwad.
He raised an eyebrow, and I realized I’d spoken aloud.
“Sorry. He was your friend, and…”
“That doesn’t mean I didn’t see him for what he was at times. He could be stupid and idiotic. And a fuckwad.”
The band was playing “Someone to Watch Over Me.” I finished my drink and rose to my feet. “Dance with me, babe.”
Wills’s hand closed around mine, and we wove through the crowd to the dance floor.
He put his arms around me and drew me close, and the music changed abruptly, although to something equally as soft and dreamy. We began to move to the music, and he crooned softly in my ear.
Of course it was “Isn’t It Romantic.” “How do you manage to get them to play that song no matter where we are?”
He rubbed his cheek against mine. “I can be very persuasive when I want, you know.”
“Yes, I know.” I tightened my hold on him, and we continued dancing.
“Ouch. Ouch!”
“I’m sorry, babe. I’m trying not to hurt you.”
“Well, that damned iodine stings.” I peered over my shoulder. We’d been making love on the rug in front of the fireplace and had forgotten about Miss Su. She’d wanted to join in this new game we were playing, and with an enthusiastic “Mrrow!” had jumped on my ass.
And since I’d been braced above my lover, rocking energetically into his ass, she’d sunk her claws into me so she wouldn’t get thrown off.
The results were coitus interruptus via kittenus clawsus, painful and not at all pretty. Wills had hurried me into the closest bathroom to attend to my wounds.
“Miss Su is very sorry.” Wills was crouched behind me, still naked, and I glanced over my shoulder at him. He’d lost his erection when I’d yelped and yanked out of him, but he was half hard now. He planted a kiss on the ass cheek that was unmarked.
“Not as sorry as I am.”
“You want me to take you to the ER?”
“Oh, my God! Is it that bad?” I tried to see.
“No. I just didn’t want you to think I was taking this lightly.”
“Ass. Am I gonna have a scar?”
“I don’t think so, but you’d better lay off the tanning bed for a while.”
“Okay.”
“Give it a second to dry, then you can put your shorts back on. If you want to.” He blew on the last dab of iodine, and my cock twitched.
I was about to suggest that we take it into the bedroom, closing the door on Miss Su this time, when his cell phone rang.