Zeke (10 page)

It didn’t take Zeke long to lure
Sheila under a dock where he proceeded to divest her of her bikini. They groped
each other, overcome with lust, their kisses fierce, deep, and animalistic.

In the distance, the shouts and
laughter of swimmers carried on the breeze. Beneath the pier, the air was dank
and moist. Zeke buried his face between Sheila’s breasts, causing small gasps
of appreciation to issue from her luscious lips. He stood back and slipped his
shorts off. “Hold onto the beam above you,” he instructed.

She looked up and grabbed the post
gingerly. “Now what?” Her voice was husky with anticipation.

“Wrap your legs around me,” Zeke
said, and she pulled him close with her legs. He wasted no time; there was no
gentleness in his actions. He was aggressive, ramming into the girl with savage
force. She lost her grip on the beam and they fell to the ground. Zeke
momentarily lost his stride, but quickly regained it.

“Harder,” Sheila moaned. “Oh, Gary,
you’re so
big
!”

Zeke grinned, surprised she wanted
it rougher; he gladly indulged her request and pounded away. Panting, he ran
his hands over her back and under her round bottom, squeezing the fleshy globes
roughly in his passion. The girl sensed when he was about to finish and
artfully pulled back. He groaned as he spent himself on her belly.

“What the hell? Why did you do
that?” Zeke flung his hair out of his eyes and glared at her.

“What?” the girl asked in
confusion.

“I don’t waste my seed.” Zeke’s
anger was evident. “It belongs inside, not outside.” He got to his feet and
pulled on his shorts. Bending down, he retrieved his sunglasses from the wet
sand and rammed them on top of his head. His flat cobalt eyes challenged her.

“Well, it doesn’t belong in me,” Sheila
stated flatly. “I’m out for fun. I am
not
getting pregnant by some dude
I did it with just one time.”

Zeke’s face turned crimson. He
reached out and grabbed the soft area under her arm, twisting the flesh viciously,
while staring into her wide-open eyes. “You worthless little twat. I ought to
throw your slutty ass in the ocean.”

“OUCH! That hurts.” Sheila pulled
away and hurriedly reclaimed her bikini, pulling on the bottoms. Reaching
behind to tie the swim top, she backed toward the open beach, fear bright in
her eyes. “You’re sick. You just stay away from me!” She turned and ran.

Zeke fumed a moment in the shade of
the dock, paced back and forth, and then shrugged.
What the hell; her loss.
Pulling his sunglasses from atop his head, he slipped them on, left the beach,
and walked back toward the villa, surveying the area to see if Sheila had
alerted anyone. No one paid attention to him. Zeke decided that he shouldn’t
hang out in this spot anymore, just in case Sheila decided to report him to the
lifeguards or worse. It wasn’t that much of a sacrifice, in his estimation; the
villa had a huge kidney-shaped private pool. He could swim there. And as for
picking up women, he’d have no need of that. Servicing Mrs. Harrington’s guests
would satisfy his libido for the time being.

The weekend progressed, Zeke and
Lazlo filling their roles as Mrs. Harrington’s special gifts to the society
gals. Even with Lazlo’s eager assistance, Zeke had all he could do to appease
the hungers of the group. Many oily massages and fevered carnal acts later, the
Pleasure Party was over. All too quickly, it was time to fly home, settle back
to the same old routine. Zeke was getting restless.

Lovers’
Reunion

With Zeke gone, Sue could hardly
keep her mind on her classes and had no interest in her assignments. Although
she read and reread Zeke’s poems, she found no direct references to Big Ben.
She fretted over his lack of contact, and her mood suffered. At work, she even
snapped at one of the residents, which was totally out of character for her.
She checked and rechecked her phone for messages, but Zeke didn’t call or text
her. Fear of losing him crawled around inside her. Was he with another girl?
Had he left for good? Would he really come back?

She haunted Re-Books until she
cornered the manager at the counter and worked up the nerve to ask him about
Zeke. The man was busy at the time, and clearly in no mood for idle talk. “He
took Monday off. He’ll be back on Tuesday. What do you need with him?”

“Nothing,” Sue replied quickly. “I
was just going to talk to him about a book I saw him reading. Don’t mention I
asked, okay?”

The manager looked at her oddly
before turning to the next person in line.

When she thought she was at the end
of her endurance, Zeke called to tell her he was back. “Meet me at the park.”

His voice sent thrills shooting
through her belly. When she saw him standing beside the park fountain, she
threw herself into his arms as if he were a soldier returning from war. She bit
her tongue, resisting the impulse to ask him where he’d been, knowing it would
ruin the moment. Shoving her concerns and curiosity aside, she instead drank
deeply of his intoxicating presence.

“Oh, honey, I missed you so much!”
He buried his face in her hair and sucked the scent of it into his lungs.

“I missed you, too,” she said
against his chest, holding him tightly in her arms. “I missed you so much I
thought I’d die.”

Inwardly, Zeke laughed at her
theatrics. But, he pasted a lovelorn look on his face. “Let’s never be apart
again, bunny. It’s too hard on me.”

“Me too,” she sighed with relief.

Gypsies

Autumn descended early and settled
its grim cloak over the last days of summer, snuffing them out like weak
flames. Sue looked up. Several crows cawed hauntingly as they swooped over the
abandoned cemetery where she waited in the cold for Zeke. Leafless trees
reached their denuded branches toward the overcast sky like dark fingers, and a
thin, chill wind crept like a sneak around the scattered headstones. Some of
the graves were obscured by an overgrowth of dead weeds and brush, and a
low-hanging fog gave the grounds a ghostly feel. Sue huddled deeper into her
brown corduroy jacket and hunched her shoulders against the icy air, thinking
the scene would make a perfect setting for a murder. She half expected to see a
ghost winding its way through the headstones. Or Dracula peering at her from
behind a tree.

Attempting to shake off the spooky
feeling, Sue looked back toward the gate, hoping to see Zeke’s van pulling up.
Her silver Toyota crouched outside the broken fence, its outlines barely
discernable in the haze. She pulled out her cell phone and punched in Zeke’s
number. He picked up without saying hello.

“Where are you?” she demanded,
irritated and completely unnerved now. The lowering sky was edging toward dark.

“Here.” A voice behind her set her
heart thumping. Turning, she spotted Zeke a few yards away, lurking under a
tree. His slender form materialized from the fog as he approached, one hand in
the pocket of his stonewashed, olive green field jacket, dark glasses hiding
his eyes.

“Thanks for sneaking up on me,” Sue
said, forgetting for a moment Zeke’s volatile temperament. “You scared the crap
out of me.” After taking a quick look around, she asked, “Where have you been,
anyway? I’ve been waiting forever and I’m freezing. My feet are like ice.”

Zeke walked toward her slowly.
“Don’t be a pain.”

Sue immediately backed off,
repressed her annoyance, and forced a pleasant tone into her voice. “Where’s
your van?”

“Down the road.” Zeke smiled
tightly. He removed his glasses and slid them into an inside pocket of his
coat.

“Why did we have to meet here
again? This place is creepy,” Sue complained, but her anger was already fading
as it always did with Zeke.

“Because I said so. Now come here.”

Sue stepped closer and he leaned
over, kissing her deeply. She reached up to put her arms around him, but he
clasped her wrists and held them at her sides. His hands were warm against her
cold skin. He continued kissing her without moving closer. She responded, but
found it mildly disturbing that he wouldn’t let her touch him. He pushed down
harder on her wrists, holding her in place, while he increased the pressure on
her lips enough to cause discomfort. She tried to pull back, making small
whimpering sounds. He dropped her wrists and grabbed the back of her head with
both hands, digging his fingers into her hair. Now she genuinely struggled. The
sounds of her distress were muffled under the force of his mouth on hers.

He finally let her go and she
jerked away from him, her hands going to her bruised lips and tears spilling
from her eyes.

“You hurt me!” she accused, backing
away from him.

“I didn’t mean to.” Zeke’s eyes
were suddenly penitent. “I’m sorry, Sue. You just have that effect on me.”

“Well, you don’t have to be so
rough!” Sue hugged herself, trying to be calm.

Zeke shook his head sadly. “Look, I
got carried away. You know how it is when you hold something you love so much,
like a puppy or kitten, and they’re so cute and sweet, and you just hug them
and hug them, and before you know it you’re squeezing them too hard. You’ve
accidentally hurt them and you didn’t mean to. It’s like that with you, Susie.
I just love you so much. The last thing on Earth I want to do is ever hurt you.
You drive me crazy, the way you look at me. I’m nuts for you, baby. Head over
heels.” Stepping closer, he took her hands into his. He rubbed them to warm
them. “Forgive me?” he implored, his blue eyes tender.

Unable to resist, she nodded and he
pulled her gently to him, patting her back like a father would comfort his
baby. She hated him at that moment; and she loved him. A wild love filled with
passion, pain, regret, and absolute devotion.

When he was sweet with her, like
now, she melted like sugar on the tongue. When he wasn’t, she agonized over
losing him. The roller coaster of love.

“I’m going underground,” he said
suddenly. “Breaking away.”

“What do you mean underground?” She
pulled back and looked up at him. “That’s an odd term. It’s like
revolutionaries do, or criminals.”

He laughed. “You’re so precious.”
His tone was only half mocking.

A chill that had nothing to do with
the weather or their eerie location crept down her spine. The crows flapped
overhead and their raucous cries pierced the deepening gloom. “Can we go sit in
my car while we talk? It’s getting dark and I’m really cold.” Sue shivered.

Zeke took her elbow and guided her
toward the gate. “Does anyone know where you are?” he asked casually.

“No, of course not. I know the routine
by now. I don’t talk about you to anyone. But I still don’t understand why we
have to keep our relationship a secret. It’s starting to be weird. I mean,
we’re both adults.”

“I like it better this way.”

Zeke’s footsteps made a sucking
sound in the mushy grass. They trudged through the gate and got into Sue’s car.
She started the engine and as soon as it had warmed, she cranked up the heater,
rubbing her hands in front of the vent.

Lighting a cigarette, he cracked
the window. Sue squirmed and tried to resist saying anything, but it slipped
out. “My folks don’t allow smoking in this car.” She felt stupid and childish
the minute the words were out.

“I thought this was your car.” Zeke
stared at her through the tendrils of smoke.

“It’s mine to use,” Sue said. “Not
technically mine, I guess.”

“See? That’s exactly what I’m
talking about.” Zeke pointed at her. “I can’t be myself in this town. I do my
best to keep a wide space between me and other people. Now, here I sit, being
controlled by whom?” He waited the blink of an eye before saying, “That’s a
question, Einstein. Answer me. Who is trying to control me?”

“I don’t know,” she stammered. “Not
me.”

“Your parents, that’s who. People
I’ve never even met, and have no desire to ever meet.”

“Oh, Zeke,” she said softly, hurt.

“Take it easy,” he said. “I’m not
putting them down or anything. You just have to see it through my eyes. How
would you like two total strangers putting restrictions on you?”

“I guess you’re right,” Sue said
dubiously. “Go ahead and smoke. I’ll air the car out on the way home.” She
ducked her head to hide the quick burn of tears. It seemed to happen so often,
she was almost convinced she was hormonal.

“I’ll blow it outside. That make
you happy, princess?” Zeke inhaled deeply and directed the smoke toward the
window.

Sue decided to ignore his sarcasm.
“What’s this about going underground? I don’t want you to leave.” Nervousness
caused a slight tremble in her voice. She cleared her throat and hoped he
wasn’t serious.

“Why not? You’re going with me.”

“What? Going with you? Oh, I don’t
know, Zeke.” Inside, conflict squeezed her gut. She saw herself on the
precipice of a decision, and it was a frightening place to be. In spite of the
warmth now filling the car, she felt cold and shaky.

Zeke’s face was sorrowful. He put
his hand on her knee and she could feel its warmth through her jeans. “You know
how I feel about you. Don’t you want to be with me?” His sarcasm was gone,
replaced by tender need.

“Of course, I want to be with you.”
Sue put her hand over his and massaged his fingers. Raising his hand to her
lips, she kissed his knuckles. They smelled of soap and cigarette smoke. She
glanced out at the darkness pressing against the car windows and felt a sudden
overwhelming urge to be home with the television murmuring in the background
and the aroma of her mother’s cooking wafting through the house. She pushed
those thoughts aside and focused on the dark excitement that radiated from
Zeke. “But why do we have to leave?” Her voice held an unspoken plea.

“We’re dying here,” he grumbled,
and pulled his hand from hers. He threw out his cigarette butt. “We’re getting
old.”