Life in High Gear - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

         There was bright light in the room. Georgia opened one eye slowly and saw nothing but red hair. She sent a message to her hand to brush it out of her face. After a brief argument, it finally complied. The room wasn’t familiar; it was light grey with white trim, clothes strewn over the dark hardwood floor. It wasn’t Lena’s and it wasn’t her old town home. There was a stirring in the bed next to her and she closed her eyes again. The headache she knew she would have started. She always got headaches when she drank, it wasn’t a hangover just a nuisance. She groaned a little at this tell tale of her age. The stirring was there again, his name was John, she told herself. She remembered that much, she didn’t drink herself into a stupor last night, there were some fuzzy parts but she remembered everything except for a few details. She smiled. She also remembered that she’d had a great time with a nice guy. He was innocent and surprisingly caring. She turned slowly trying not to disturb him. It was John all right, dark hair in complete disarray, looking even more innocent than he did the night before. She rolled quietly out of bed and looked for something to cover herself with, finding his blue checked shirt thrown near the foot of the bed, and left to find a restroom. After rinsing her face, wincing at a bite mark under her ear, and combing her hair with her fingers she felt like it was a small improvement. She went to find the kitchen, her stomach growling loudly.

         She walked around a corner and found the kitchen. Open and light with large windows. She felt a pang of jealousy; it was a gorgeous house - vaulted ceilings, hardwood, white trim, and large windows - though not big. There was some noise from the kitchen, she figured it was one of the other guys in the party waking in the same state she was. It was a long night ending some where early in the morning. Lena did join up with them to check on her and ended up staying the rest of the night with them making Dave, the groom to be, her primary target. Georgia entered the kitchen to find it empty. She opened the refrigerator to find something to drink and shivered as the chill ran up her naked body under John’s shirt. Orange juice would do for now she thought, and searched quietly through cabinets for glasses. She was reconstructing the events of the previous evening in her mind when a hand reached from behind her to open the correct cabinet door and produce a glass for her. She hadn’t heard anyone come in. She turned her head slightly to say thank you and stopped short when she saw Chance.

          “Good morning legs.”

          “Um,” was all she said when she found him almost on top of her. “G-Good morning,” she finally said placing a few fingers over her mouth to help mask her morning breath. She immediately started racking her brain to figure out where he’d come from.

          “I can see you’re still trying to piece it all together, you’re eyes are going nuts.” He knew he’d taken her by surprise. He’d been watching her as she strolled into his kitchen in his brother’s clothes her long bare legs barely covered. Now he was watching those deep green eyes as they searched inwardly for some clue as to what was going on.

          “Ah, there it is,” he said as she closed her eyes and he pouring some orange juice in a glass. “I see you met my little brother Johnny huh? And from what I heard you rather enjoyed it” he took a drink and set the glass down getting back in the fridge producing tomato juice, vodka, Tabasco and all the makings of a Bloody Mary.

         She was rubbing her temples her brow appealing wrinkled. He imagined she had one hell of a hangover, especially if she had been out with Johnny all night. “Orange juice won’t do you much good. Sit down and we’ll have a little hair of the dog. And quit blushing, it’s not like I haven’t heard my brother’s dates before.” He had definitely heard them. Imagining the whole time what it would have been like had it been him instead of Johnny sharing a bed with her. Those long legs ended somewhere in that shirt but he wasn’t sure where. He could hear her cries of passion in his head still and could almost see them forming on her full soft lips.

          “I’m not hung over just getting old.” How true was that? She thought. She certainly felt much older that her early thirties right now. Why hard liquor affected her this way she had no idea, but she made a mental note never to drink that much again, but knew at the same time she’d ignore it the next time.

         She sat down at the oak table and he caught him self watching her. She was very careful to make sure she kept herself covered, and rubbed her eyes.

          “Did I know you were here?” she yawned.

          “No,” he said matter of fact pouring tomato juice. “You’re friend Lena did though, and she was rather intrigued, and thoroughly approved. Apparently I have been the topic of recent conversations,” he said while he mixed ingredients in a glass. “You and Johnny didn’t waste any time heading away from the crowd. You didn’t see me, but I saw you,” he winked at her. She sighed softly, and raked a hand through her curls.

          “I have to say I was surprised to see you here. Didn’t think I’d see you around hardly at all. We seem to run in different crowds.”

          “Well, I’m sure we did.”

          “Yeah, I heard about that too.” He set the glass in front of her, no garnish just plain red liquid. “Lena was very helpful in that matter.” Lena had spent a good hour talking to him and explaining her friend’s situation. She had even threatened him bodily if he hurt her. He didn’t put much weight in the threat. He didn’t doubt she would, but they had been drinking and he knew although people were honest when they were drunk; there were also hollow threats and promises made.

          “Do I want to know?”

          “I won’t tell you now; I’ll need to keep something to tease you with.”

          “Oh good,” she sighed. He laughed as she took a drink.

          “Was she honest? Or was she lying?”

         She wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Of course Lena was honest it was the only thing she knew how to be. He made her feel like she was a teenager again with a silly crush, she finally decided to just own up. “Honest is what Leny always is,” she said with a sigh. He was leaning back in the wooden chair his grey pocket tee stretching across his chest revealing a toned chest and solid arms. He wore loose fitting faded jeans that had a rainbow of paint stains on them, and radiated full on sex appeal. She quickly checked her lust and continued. “I find you incredibly attractive. Cocky and brash. Sexy, honest and masculine. Everything I like in men you have. However,” she started when he broke into another confident smile, “for over two years I have been living a life that someone else has wanted me to live. I have to remember who I am and how I want my life to go.”

          “Listen Red,” He said leaning forward looking her in the eyes, “I don’t want to get married, I don’t want to live together. Hell, I don’t even know if I want a relationship, I just wana have some fun. I think we can have that together. Why don’t you hang with me the rest of the weekend, see what happens?”

          “What kind of fun do you suggest we have?” she said setting her glass on the table and leaning toward him. “I can only hope that it involves activities we can do with our clothes on. I’m not so sure I’m good at this one night stand stuff.” She grabbed her drink again.

         He laughed again. “If that’s what you want, that’s the kind of fun we’ll have.” He downed the rest of his orange juice. “Although it’s not the kinda fun I would truly like to have with you.” He scooted his chair closer to her. “Loud women turn me on,” he said quietly. She watched him over the rim of her glass and choked on her drink, and he laughed pounding her on the back.

          “Do you enjoy making me uncomfortable?” she finally asked once she’d composed her self again.

          “You blush so becomingly, it’s hard not to.” He watched as the rosy tint covered her from head to toe, as well as he could see that is. She kept tugging at the hem of her shirt trying to keep herself covered. He wanted to rip the thing open and send button flying, to see the curves he knew she was hiding.

          “How old is John?” she asked interrupting his lustful thoughts.

          “Twenty-two.”

          “Wow, he’s still a pup.”

          “Yeah, I called him ‘Oops’ for the longest time. Well I still do when he pisses me off.”

          “That’s mean.”

          “It’s the truth. I remember clear as day that’s what pop told mom when she announced she was pregnant.” He hadn’t been in the room but was listening around a corner as he usually did when his parents talked in hushed tones.

          “I’m surprised you are so close with the age difference,” she said smiling. She sipped a bit more of her drink. “What is the age difference by the way?”

          “Thirteen. We weren’t close for a long time. I was a built in baby sitter and didn’t get to do a lot of the things that I wanted to because of Johnny,” he laughed again softly. “I got in a lot of trouble because of him too.” He’d taken the poor kid on all sorts of adventures he shouldn’t have been.

          “For some reason that doesn’t surprise me.”

         He smiled at her again. “You’re gonna need a ride aren’t you?”

          “Nah, I got Lena,” she looked around. “I’ll just have to find her.”

          “I think she crashed with Dave somewhere in the house.”

         She looked over his shoulder and could see one of her slender legs draped over the end of the couch, a toe ring catching the morning light.

          “That doesn’t surprise me,” she said setting her drink down.

          “She’s a knock out.”

          “She is,” Georgia said and jealousy flickered briefly through her, “but she doesn’t know it. Never has.”

          “I’ve never been much for blondes though.”

          “You were with one two nights ago.”

          “Yeah, well let’s just say they get me into too much trouble and the majority of them aren’t accomplished conversationalists. Not the kind of woman I see myself spending a whole lot of time with.” Georgia was though. She was real, honest and smart. He could tell just by looking in her eyes she was the type of girl.

          “I doubt Leny will spend much time with anyone. It’s just not in her to settle down. I’m not sure what it is but she just doesn’t want commitment,” she said shifting in her seat and quickly readjusting the shirt to cover her.

          “Sometimes that’s better,” he said. When she shifted he’d caught a brief glimpse of where those legs did end, and to his surprise, felt his body react almost instantly.

          “What?” She said when he shifted in his seat trying to accommodate his arousal.

          “I think it’s time for you to go and get dressed,” he said offering her a hand up. She took it and he pulled her close, their bodies pressed together. She was hot through their clothes on his skin; her breasts were firm against his chest making his condition worse.

          “Why?” she asked breathless, close to his ear. He was hard and it was pressed up against her belly. She was surprised and aroused at the same time. She’d spent another night imagining him on top of her stroking her body and making love to her. “What did I do?”

          “Nothing on purpose I’m sure. You seem a too demure to do something like that on purpose.” He knew she didn’t do it on purpose, but couldn’t help the reaction he had. He’d fantasized almost every hour of the day about what it would be like to hold her against his body, to feel her want him as much as he wanted her.

          “What did I do?” she asked again and he heard the irritation in her voice. He knew she didn’t know what she had done and his reaction had taken her by surprise.

         She didn’t know what she had done to create this kind of a reaction from him. He’d been very relaxed and in control of himself. Then it clicked. She was sure that all her efforts to keep herself covered failed.

         Finally, he heard her laugh quietly and say, “No, I don’t color my hair.”