Seeing Black (4 page)

“OMG!
Goonies
was a super popular movie in
the eighties. They play it all the time on television? Y’all really
don’t know the
Goonies
. Group of kids? Pirate ships? Cory
Feldman?” She continued to talk since the rest were giving her
blank stares. “Goodness, I forget you guys were stuck on that
island without television.” She took a sip of water, before she
continued, “And then you must have come back and lived under a
rock, because everyone knows the
Goonies
.” They all
shrugged. “How sad.” Heather looked genuinely heartbroken for
them.

They looked at each other as if she were talking
another language.

Heather continued to talk as they all picked at the
food in the middle of the table. “I wish I’d been born in the
eighties. It was the best decade. But as a nineties child, I had
all the best music. Granted, it was a little melancholic, but it
rocked! I bought this shirt yesterday when I was looking for a
costume—” Heather instinctively covered her mouth, almost spilling
the beans about the surprise party.

“Costume?” Oliver asked.

“Um, yeah. Heather likes to shop early for
Halloween. Get all the best costumes and all that. Anyway, so how
long you in town for, Oliver?”

Oliver and Alexander looked at each other but
ignored the abrupt and obvious change of subject. “You guys are
acting so weird.” Oliver took a sip of his soda, eyeing the girls
over his lashes. “I’ll be here another few weeks or so until my
next assignment, which will be in Japan for a month.”

“Oh cool. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan.”
Heather said, her chin resting on her palm, looking starry-eyed at
Oliver.

Alexander turned to Jillian. “So what time do you
want us over for dinner tonight, Red?”

“How about nine?”

“So late?”

“I know, but I’ll still be stuffed after all this
Chinese food. Anyway, it’s Saturday. It’s not as if we have
anywhere to be tomorrow morning.”

“What’s the occasion?” Oliver asked.

“Can’t I just have my two favorite people over for
dinner?” Jill retorted.

“Hmm?” Alexander said. “Definitely something
suspicious going on.”

When they finished and headed back to the car, there
was no rock, paper, scissors this time. Alexander happily sat in
the backseat with Jill. Unable to resist, Jill ran her fingers
through Alexander’s now-short hair while planting small kisses
along his neck. “I liked the long hair, but I love, love, love this
shorter hair. It gives you that
I-don’t-care-that-my-hair-is-all-over-the-place-because-I’m-sexy-no-matter-what
look.”

“I thought that had always been my look.”

“No. Before you had the fuck-you-I’m-a-bad-boy
look.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, you’re cursing,” Oliver said from
the front seat.

“I think I’m giving up my no-cursing resolution. It
just doesn’t seem to be working.”

“I know, especially in bed.” He winked at her,
mischievously.

“TMI, guys!” Heather faked gagging, and they all
laughed.

When they arrived back at the apartment, the girls
did everything except carry the guys to Alexander’s motorcycle.

“I know you well enough to know you ladies are up to
something. I won’t ask, since you obviously aren’t going to tell
us. Just answer me one thing. Whatever you guys are scheming in
there—is it safe? You’re not hiding any cryptic notes, intruders,
or planning a rendezvous with a homicidal killer?” Oliver
asked.

“Trust us. It’s nothing. See you at nine. Thanks for
lunch.” Jill got on the tips of her toes and gave Oliver a kiss on
his cheek and then went to Alexander to do the same, but he turned
his face at the moment and the kiss landed squarely on the lips.
The innocent kiss turned into a body-crushing, opened-mouth,
tongue-fighting, teeth-biting, panty-wetting, almost make-out
session. All until two voices cleared their throats, loudly.

“Come on, lover girl. We got things to do.”

“Bye, love.” Alexander yelled as he hopped on his
bike. Oliver followed right behind.

***

A few hours later, Heather walked into Jill’s room as
she finished applying the final touches on her makeup.

“Holy smokes! I thought you’d wear something
involving big teased hair and leggings. But this is
va va
voom
! Good choice, sister.” She high-fived Jill. “Alex will
faint.”

“It’s not too much?”

“You mean not enough?” Heather laughed. “Your legs
look a mile long, and your boobs look awesome in it.”

“Speaking of boobs,” Jill reached over and squeezed
Heather’s coned bra, “I can’t imagine this was actually cool at one
point in time.”

“Honey, everything Madonna does was cool at one
point in time.”

“What happened to She-Ra? The costume I got Oly only
worked with you as She-Ra. Otherwise, he’s just a half-naked
guy.”

“Couldn’t find the costume anywhere. And now that I
know Oliver will be half-naked, I’m glad I made you do research!”
They both laughed.

“Well, you look great. Oliver will have a coronary
when he sees you. I’m not the only one showing a lot of skin.”

“Oliver? Please. He and I . . . I don’t know. I
don’t think there’s anything there.”

“Oh, there’s definitely something there. I’ve seen
how he looks at you.”

“Well, we’ll see. He hasn’t said anything to me, so
tonight is fair game with any hot single men coming.”

A few minutes after eight thirty, guests began to
arrive. At ten past nine, all the guests began to quiet down,
awaiting the guys arrival.

“SURPRISE!” everyone yelled, when Alexander and
Oliver walked through the door a few minutes later. Jill wasn’t
sure whether they were surprised at the party or confused over all
the ridiculous costumes.

“Uh, what’s going on?” Alexander asked, his eyebrows
furrowed together, his jaw set tight, and his eyes honed in on
Jill’s cleavage.

“What’s this?” Oliver also asked, but his eyes
shifted between Heather and the rest of the guests.

“It’s a belated surprise birthday party!” Heather
said, as she turned up the volume of the music, which got everyone
to resume dancing and drinking.

Oliver looked at Jillian. “I see that, but why are
you dressed like . . .”

“I’m Jessica Rabbit. Apparently she was a very
popular cartoon character from the eighties. Heather wanted an
eighties-themed party since we missed the eighties.”

“She missed the eighties too. None of us were born
in the eighties.” Oliver laughed. It was all so ridiculous and
nonsensical for anyone except for those who knew Heather. Since it
was Heather’s doing, it somehow made sense.

“I know, but the eighties were the best! It was the
funnest decade.” Heather replied.

“Funnest? Jill’s rubbing off. You’re making up words
too?”

“Hon’, stop being the grammar patrol, and tell me
how much you love your surprise,” she teased Oliver.

“I do love it. Thank you!” Oliver yelled over the
music and reached down and kissed her cheek. Heather’s face turned
the same color as Jill’s hair. Jill had never seen Heather blush
over anything.

Alexander had yet to say a word. Jill nudged his
ribs with her elbow. “I’m speechless. I’m gonna have to see that
cartoon right away. You look . . . Wow!” Alexander said when he
finally spoke, still staring at Jill and ignoring most of the
conversation happening around him.

“Well, since you always call me Red and she’s famous
for her red hair, I thought it would be appropriate.”

“It’s not only the red hair she’s famous for,
Jillian.” Walter, a friend from class, yelled over the music.

“I see that.” Alexander said, looking down at
Jillian’s breasts again. “Look away, dude. Look away.” Alexander
scowled at Walter and then turned back to Jill, who smiled. “Even
though you look un-fucking-believable, I’d prefer if not everyone
could
see
so much of you.” He whispered into her ear.

“Oh stop with the jealous thing.” Jillian said,
rolling her eyes and playfully punching Alexander’s shoulder.

“Trust me, babe. Every guy here is looking at your
tits.” Alexander grabbed Jill by the waist and pulled her close to
him and brushed his lips on hers. He looked down between them at
her cleavage. It was pressed against him and therefore even more
pronounced. She heard a low growl from deep inside his throat.
“Thanks for the party, Red.” He winked. “I hope you leave that on
for later.” He leaned back, and his eyes moved up and down the
curves of her body.

“Stop being an ogre. No one is looking at me. Look
over there—that girl is practically naked. I don’t even know what
she’s supposed to be dressed as. I’m a nun compared to her.”

“Yeah, but that girl isn’t mine. You’re mine, and I
hate seeing other guys looking at you.”

“Come on, pervert. Let me introduce you to
everyone.” She grabbed his hand and showed him around. Oliver was
talking to Heather on the other side of the room and yelled over to
Jill. “Thanks for the party, Jill!”

She lifted a cup to him from across the room as a
gesture of cheers. “You’re welcome, Oly.”

“That guy over there is Mr. T,” Alexander said
proudly.

“Wow. I’m impressed you knew that.”

“I know lots of things,” Alexander said, kissing
Jill’s cheek.

“Okay, so here we have Walter, who’s apparently some
cartoon slash television show named
ALF
. And this is
Walter’s girlfriend, Justine, who is
Punky Brewster
, a
television character. And that guy dressed in a white suit is Al
Pacino from
Scarface
. I’m sure you’ve heard of
Scarface
.” Alexander nodded and Jill continued. “That guy
over there is . . . I’m not sure what he is. He told me, but I
can’t remember. Some sort of alien from
Star Wars
. Anyway,
that girl over there by Oly is
Rainbow Brite
, another
cartoon, and her name is Rachel. Okay, there’s more, but I can’t
keep everyone straight, so just ask them when you go say
hello.”

Alexander pulled her in close. “Thanks for this.” He
whispered into her neck. “I’ve, well,
we’ve
, never had a big
party like this for our birthdays.”

“I know. That’s why I agreed to it.” She got on the
tips of her toes and gave him a light kiss on the mouth and then
his cheek. They had made their way around and were now by Oliver
and Heather. “Hey, Oliver! Were you really surprised?”

“Yes. Very surprised. Thanks again, Jill.”

“It wasn’t all me. Actually, it really wasn’t me at
all.” She gestured over at Heather, who stood right next to Oliver.
“It was mostly Heather. Remember, I wasn’t around in the eighties
or nineties. I was stuck with you two bullies on Onion Island.”

“I know. Heather has been going costume by costume
trying to explain what people are dressed as and who they are for
that matter. The eighties were confusing. I’m glad we missed them.”
Oliver laughed.

“I have costumes for you two. Come on.” Jill led
them to her bedroom.

“Y’all have to wear these. No matter what. You
promise?”

The twins looked at each other, concerned.

“Come on, guys. Promise?” Heather whined some more,
using all the southern charm in her arsenal to get them to agree,
which they did—reluctantly. Heather pulled out two bags from Jill’s
closet and handed one to each twin. “Jill went through a lot of
trouble, so no pouting.” Heather handed them bags.

“Wait, what are you supposed to be?” Alexander
reached over to Heather to grab one of the cones, but Oliver
slapped his hand away as he was about to squeeze.

“Madonna. My God, you guys really are clueless.”
Heather rolled her eyes and continued, As I was saying, these are
your costumes.”

“What are they?” Alexander asked.

“Heather over there wanted to dress you two up as
raisins, but—”

“Raisins! Hell no! I’m not going to dress as a—”
Oliver argued.

“Raisins? What was going on in the eighties?”
Alexander asked.

“Yes, they were called California Raisins. There was
a song and everything. It was very catchy,” Heather said. “But,
Jill said you two wouldn’t want to play along, so she was able to
save you. Xander, you’ll be Rambo, and you, Oliver, will be
He-Man.”

“It made more sense when she was going to be
She-Ra,” Jill interjected.

Oliver looked completely confused. “She-what? Oh,
never mind. It doesn’t matter. I’m sure whatever is in this bag
will suck for me no matter what.” He warily opened the small bag
that consisted of his entire costume. “Oh no. No fucking way! This
is a loin cloth.” Oliver frowned.

“Like I said, it made more sense when Heather had
planned her She-Ra costume. Then she changed to Madonna without
telling me. It’s still a good costume. Come on. You can totally
pull it off. You’re tall and blond.”

“Yeah, sugar, just like He-Man.” Heather smiled.

Alexander was admiring his costume. “Oh, this isn’t
so bad. I know this guy. I’ve even seen the movie. Give me that
bag. I’ll change in here. You,” he pointed to Oliver and Heather,
“out. Go change in the bathroom or in Heather’s room or something.”
Alexander pushed Heather and Oliver out of the room, and as Jill
was about to leave too, he pulled her inside before closing the
door behind her.

“You don’t need my help, Xander. I think you’re
perfectly capable of changing all on your own.”

“I do so need your help. Come here. I need you to
show me how to unbuckle these.” He handed her the camouflage pants,
and as she fumbled to get them open, Alexander planted small kisses
along Jill’s neck, moving his way down to the swells of her very
exposed breasts. “Best. Cartoon Character. Ever.”

As he kissed her, the camouflage pants slipped from
her hands, and when she stretched down to catch them, her breasts
popped out of her dress. Alexander stared. His eyes were so blue
they seemed translucent. He looked excited. Determined. Eager. The
music from the other side of the door pounded into their room, but
the thumping of their hearts and the rasping of their breaths
seemed louder as Jillian fisted her hands in his hair, while
Alexander sucked on one nipple first then the other. She pulled his
hair, causing him to move up to face her. She then plunged into his
mouth in a feverish kiss. The music continued pounding. The
laughter and talking from the other room blended into the noise
from the music. Jillian tried to control her moans and gasps as
Alexander lifted the little bit of material that comprised her
skirt.
He slipped a finger under the elastic of
her panties and slowly slipped them down at the same time trailing
a finger from her thighs all the way down to her ankles.
Once her panties were off, he wasted no time sliding inside her.
She was ready. The look of his Nordic, statuesque body in the nude
was enough foreplay for her. His rhythm sped when the music sped
and slowed when the music slowed.