CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I held up the two foot bong I'd just pulled out of the closet. "This might knock you out."
A pair of feet thumped down the steps. When he saw what I was holding, Marley shouted, "Long time no toke Long Tall Sally!"
I ducked into the bathroom and opened the taps in the shower to put in a few inches of clean water.
Maggie stepped out of my room. "Hi Marley."
He answered, "Hey, girl, good to see you again. He didn't tell me we'd have an audience."
I sat down, and patted the cushion to my right. "Hold this." I said, and pulled the slider out to pack it.
As he handed me an amber bottle full of bud, Marley asked me "You introduce your two girlfriends yet?"
"He means you and Sally." I explained, pinching off a bit and poking it into the bowl.
"I don't remember you asking me to be your girlfriend." she said.
Marley laughed. "She's a feisty one."
"You have no idea," I answered. "She has to be to handle someone like me." I reinserted the slider, and fished a lighter out from under the cushion. " I looked at her, and grinned "You're not the only one who hides things in couches."
"Didn't need to hear that" he said, taking Sally by the neck.
I leaned down to light it for him. "You should have heard us earlier." I said over the rumble of bubbling water, catching her hand before she could injure me "She thinks she's mastered the double entendre. I'm gonna learn her good though" I drawled, thinking myself clever. Marley flicked the lighter, and I made Sally bubble.
"Oh, there's a lot I could teach you, boy," she said, and I almost choked on my hit.
"You win this round." I said. "Now you get to spar with Sally. There's a two toke minimum tonight."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I took Sally from him. He grinned, and held the lighter at the bowl "Ready?"
I didn't expect it to be so harsh, and started coughing. "That tasted like skunk ass!"
They started cracking up. I hacked up some phlegm and dashed over to spit it out in the sink.
"That one doesn't count." he said. I sat down, and he said "Take it slow."
I managed to handle it better the second time. But I still didn't like the taste. "Disgusting."
"You'll soon forget that it tastes bad." he said, packing the bowl again. "Now that she's warmed up, let's kick it up a notch."
I watched Marley take a good fifteen-second hit without even making a face. Then Chris topped it with one that had to have been twenty or more. Now I felt like I had to prove myself. I made it about ten seconds before I had to lean back. I was dizzy.
"And she's down for the count!" Chris said, laughing. "You know, cigarettes reduce lung capacity. If you quit you might be able to keep up with us."
Another pair of feet thundered down the stairs. "'Ello everybody! You didn't start the party without me?"
"No Devin, we were just introducing Maggie to Sally."
"Hiiiii, Devin." I said without opening my eyes, then I started giggling.
"I think they're well met." Devin joked, jumping onto the couch.
"You OK?" He asked me, poking me in the shoulder. I didn't feel it.
"Verrry. Don't you have a demo to record?"
He got up, grabbing the six string. "Wait, where's the drummer?" I asked, finally realizing there was only three of them.
"I program them. Much easier than relying on DJ Fluffernutter to remember to show up."
I giggled.
Devin howled "Oh, mate, I'm gonna tell 'im you said that!"
"Would that be before or after you suck him off?"
"That's no way to talk in front of a lady! Where're your manners?"
Chris grinned "She's no lady, Devin." He was all the way across the room, safe, since I couldn't so much as flip him off.
"Twenty, at least." Devin said.
"Fifteen." Chris said, punctuating it with the riff of Run Through the Jungle.
"Bollocks."
"Ten."
"If I have a go."
"You won't need to."
"What the hell are you two talking about?" my mind was swimming too much to decode those few words.
Neither of them answered, but I figured I'd find out later.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I felt like a dog for even making the wager, but I knew I'd win. So would she. It would be a long, long night. When Devin was sufficiently warmed up, I set the record to trigger when I hit the next chord.
"Hey, mate give me a sheet so I don't fuck this up."
I grabbed the notebook from the top of the monitor and threw it at him. "Third one in," I said.
"I can't read your scribbling! What's this word?" He pointed.
I snatched it back, scribbled in the margin, and and threw it back.
"You're left-handed?" she asked, back in the world of consciousness.
"You couldn't tell? Actually, I'm ambidextrous. I play the six both ways but the eight only right-handed. It would be a beast otherwise."
"Weird. OK, sorry. I won't distract you anymore." I thought that as unlikely as my prospects of getting sleep tonight.
I felt more self-conscious playing so close to her. It was way more intimate than being on stage in front of a crowd. But with Devin and Marley being there, I had an easier time focusing if I tried to listen to them more than myself. My hands could function very well on their own, and we only had to do a couple takes of the first three songs.
"OK, smoke break." I had to get my head right before picking up the eight string. It still made me feel clumsy on occasion.
Long tall Sally made her rounds again. I grabbed the notebook from Devin, and flipped to the back. A few lines had popped into my head for a new song. Maggie peered over my shoulder.
"Wow, that looks like Picasso having a seizure. Maybe you should be a doctor. Or surgeon."
"Naw, surgeons have to get up early. I refuse to rise before double digits."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
"I could change your mind about that." I whispered to him.
"I'm sure you'd try valiantly." he answered, flipping the pages in the notebook again. He cracked his knuckles, then reached over for his eight-string. It was a beast. "Devin, go sit by the computer and you can trigger the buttons."
"But there's so many of them!" he feigned whining. "What if I hit the wrong one and blow up this whole fucking basement?!"
"Yeah, well, you'll die first so at least I'll die laughing."
"Morbidity is so sexy" I said. They both laughed at me.
"She's good for ya, mate." Devin said. I wondered what he meant.
"Fuck you. Grab your dick extension and hit record."
I was shaken by the deeper sound of the eight-string. He played it without a pick. The difference in sound from what they'd played before was amazing.
"White boy, how you get so funky?" I asked, and remembered this was being recorded.
When they finished, Devin hit the pause button. "Let's keep that in."
"Oh but then we'll have to share our billions with her when we become big stars, so let's sacrifice her and use the picture of her corpse for the album cover."
"I'm beginning to doubt your sanity." I said, stifling a grin.
"Just now?" he asked, twanging randomly on strings.
"I'm a little slow," I joked.
"That's not the impression I got earlier."
"Uh, mate? Can I modify my wager?"
"Why not, you've lost it prematurely anyways." He flicked his tongue over his lips.
"Priors don't mean shit, you fucking cheater."
"Mere technicality."
Now I understood, or thought I did. I punched his arm, realize the split second my fist hit that I'd targeted the gash from last night's adventure. He shrieked like a girl.
CHAPTER TWENTY
She nailed me in the only place that could have resulted in the jolt of pain I needed to remind me that my own wager may be jeopardy. When the ache subsided, she was laughing.
"Maybe you should forfeit this one. Unless you like pain." she warned me.
At the moment, my answer was no. I was seriously considering dabbling in a bit of s & m tonight. If I could survive the next couple hours without further injury. As it turned out, after we did the final take of the final song, my fingers were almost numb. Playing for six hours straight had that effect. But my reward for the discomfort was Maggie's obvious penchant for musical talent. I was sure I could reap the benefits, but almost too tired to care. Almost.
"If I play anymore tonight my arms are going to fall off. Everybody out, I'm going to bed," Fuck manners, my intentions were obvious already. "You come with me" I said to Maggie.
She dragged me into the bedroom before Marley & Devin had even started up the stairs. I let her pull my pants down, yanking off my shirt at the same time. She stood up and pulled me into her. I could feel her nipples through her shirt, and her heat against my crotch was all the encouragement I needed. I made quick work of her clothes, and pushed her gently back on the bed. I held her hands down as I kissed her neck, shoulders and breasts.
Squirming below me, she begged me "Just fuck me already!"
"You're not getting off that easy." Although I knew she would, with my tongue parting her lips, already swollen. I listened to her moans grow louder as I massaged her clit with the tip of my tongue. If she kept it up, I wouldn't last long. Her fingertips tangled in my hair as she began to tremble. When she climaxed, I was grateful for the thorough sound proofing. I crawled up beside her, my cock throbbing against her thigh. Her hand crept into my boxers, and she kissed my neck as she began stroking slowly. When her thumb rubbed across the tip, I moaned into her ear. She rubbed harder, and I shot off like a rocket. How embarrassing.
"Sorry, your hand is so soft. It feels much better than my calluses." I kissed her softly, feeling sleepy.
"Aw, you look so tired. Go to sleep, you've earned it." She nuzzled her head on my chest, and we both fell asleep smiling.
We both woke up smiling, too. Only this time she was nudging me awake, with her crotch. "Good morning" she said, her voice equally husky from sleep and arousal.
"It will be soon" I said, reaching into a drawer for a condom. I'd barely had it rolled down before she lowered herself onto me. "Slow down," I growled.
She leaned forward and growled right back at me. I pulled her in for a kiss as desperate as her thrusts. I gently rolled her over onto her back, swallowing her moan. I had to fight the surging ache in my groin as she threw her legs around my back. But I thrust harder, and her throbbing matched mine. When she shouted my name, I felt her clamp down on me hard and I let go, hoping the condom wouldn't. My self-imposed celibacy for three months was over with a bang.
"Mmm thank you," she mumbled in my ear.
"I should be thanking you," I said, holding the condom as I pulled out of her. I heard the washing machine start. "Oh, shit."
She whispered, "You think they heard us?"
I pulled my pajama pants back even quicker than they'd come off. "Stay here, be quiet. Maybe they'll think I was watching porn." Chris was common enough; only the female costars went by bizarre names.
I opened the door, and was relieved, because it was my sister. "I thought it was mom."
She laughed and pretended to lecture me, "Now, Christopher we raised you to have better manners. I hope you used protection."
"But I was using my manners. I woke up to her straddling me. It would have been rude to turn her down." I laughed.
"Anyone I know?" she asked, more than just curious.
"No, she's the woman I met Saturday afternoon."
"Oh, the fridge girl? I can't believe you called her!"
"I didn't have to- she was at the bar that night. Naturally, she thought I was awesome."
"You are so humble, it's repulsive." Maggie said from behind me. She was wearing my shirt- and probably nothing else.
"Maggie, this is my sister, Erin." I introduced them, silently warning Erin not to say too much.
"Charmed to meet you," she flirted, then turned to me, "She's not your usual type. But I can see what attracted you to her."
She started back up the stairs, then added, "Mom's making waffles. I'll tell her to make another batch."
"I hope your mom likes me. Your sister seems to." she said.
"Yeah, about that- she's a lesbian. And she's dated some of my exes." More like all of them, except for one. And that one didn't really count. Just in her crazy little head.
"Sounds a little awkward." she laughed, heading back to the bedroom.
"Not as awkward as meeting my mom will be. Even though it makes her a hypocrite, she doesn't believe in sex before marriage. You better put your own clothes on."
"Neither did I, at one point." That comment would have concerned me except she whipped my shirt off as she said it. She certainly didn't have the body of a thirty year old. Good thing my meter was on empty or she wouldn't have been.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I followed him up the stairs. It must have been the remnant of last night's bong hits that made my stomach grumble.
"Morning, Christopher. You going to introduce me to your guest?" His mom asked.
I saved him the trouble. "I'm Maggie. I saw your son's band playing on Saturday, and I was so impressed with them, I wanted to come watch them record their demo. I told him it was too late to drive me home last night. He let me sleep in his room and he passed out on the couch."
I hoped that wasn't too much explanation; I didn't want it to sound like the cover-up it was.
"You better go see the chiropractor before you go into work today." she said to him, setting the mountain of waffles on the table.
His sister added, "Yeah, you wouldn't want to strain your back."
When his mom turned her back to retrieve the butter from the counter, he mouthed 'shut up' to Erin, who just smiled.
"You see a chiropractor too? Who? Of course I haven't seen mine in ages."
"Brite." He said, between bites.
"That's him! I'm glad he has an office in the shopping center where I work." I nibbled on some waffle, savoring the buttery sweetness. "Maybe I should go with you; it might be more tolerable if I start my shift when I'm relaxed."
I took his silence for agreement. I thanked his mom when we finished, and she disappeared into the backyard.
"Thanks for the quick thinking" he said, heading back downstairs.
"Well, parental disdain doesn't bode well for a relationship." I said.
"Is that what this is? I thought it was just about sex."
I wanted to kick his ass, but I refrained. I chose to grab it instead, as we went back into his bedroom.
"Give me breather, woman! Unlike you, I've got a long recovery time."
He was right about that. What was it about him that brought out the animal in me? He was cute, and witty, and talented- and I stopped that line of thinking, reminding myself I had a long shift at work to stand through. It would do me no good to obsess all day.
So when he kissed me outside the chiropractor's office, and said he'd pick me up at the end of our shifts, I resigned myself to the inevitability. If I hadn't anyway, Linda would have forced me to. Being a total gossip vulture, she started pecking at me before we even walked in.
"Maggie, you have a boyfriend? He sure is young, are you going through a mid-life crisis? Who is he? Where'd you meet him? When you dump him, can I have his number?"
I wish I was exaggerating. "Linda, I'm not going to discuss my personal life at work."
She seemed to think I could be persuaded otherwise, because the litany of questions were tossed at me at various points all day. I managed to ignore her most of the time, though my temptation to throttle her increased as the hours wore on. Finally, it was nine, and I could go home. I locked up my register, turned to her, and asked as nicely as I could muster, "Linda, have you ever considered going into investigative journalism?" and stalked out.
I was glad to see Chris parked in the fire line, ever the rule breaker. I had to admit, it was charming. In the way that headstrong toddlers are charming.
"Where to, ma'am?" he asked, like a taxi driver.
"Home. But you may want to stop at CVS to address the lack of prophylactics."
"Done and done" he said, gesturing with his thumb to the backseat.
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