Deuce's Dancer

by Patricia Green

  Deuce checked his watch. "Damn." Sliding his hand across the table, he gestured for her to put her own in his. She didn't. "Pilar?"

  "I can't meet you. I can't date you. We have to break up."

  His frown was mighty, the muscles in his jaw tightening as he gritted his teeth. "I don't know what this is about, Pilar. And, believe me, I want to know. Very much. But I have patients again right about now and am going to be late getting back to the office as it is. Meet me at my-"

  "Deuce!"

  They both looked up at the woman who waved from the sidewalk a few feet away from their table. "Oh shit," he murmured.

  Pilar recognized her as the woman from the photo with the little boy. Stacy. Her hair was longer, and maybe a little lighter blonde, but those gray eyes were as cool as the ones in the photo. As they lit on Pilar, they glittered with malice and Pilar's hackles rose defensively.

  Stacy rushed over and leaned over the railing separating their table from the sidewalk. She grabbed Deuce by the arm and pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around him once she'd dragged him close enough. Her lips smacked against the side of his face as he turned away and pushed her back a pace.

  "Stacy."

  The woman's voice didn't falter. It was as though he'd not made his rejection public. "Darling! It's so fantastic that we've run into each other. I always miss you when we're apart. I can hardly wait until tomorrow. I have everything planned, right down to what I'm going to wear. Isn't that silly?" She giggled, but it was a hollow noise.

  "Stacy, now is not the time. I have to get back to my office." He was scowling at the blonde, wadding up his napkin and tossing it on the table.

  "Who is your friend?"

  Glittering gray eyes fell upon Pilar and a chill went through her. This was a woman who was used to getting what she wanted. Pilar was puzzled by Deuce's reaction to Stacy, and the woman's proprietary behavior made Pilar feel a little irritable. It was not jealousy, she told herself. It was decency. After all, it was obvious that Deuce was here on a lunch date.

  "Stay away from her, Stacy. Or you'll have me to answer to."

  Stacy made a little moue and moved her hands off the railing. "Testy, aren't you, darling?" She turned to Pilar and held out a well-manicured hand. "Since Deuce is feeling surly, I'll introduce myself. I'm Stacy Armintier."

  Pilar slowly took Stacy's hand. She'd rather have hugged a viper, but she also didn't want to be a coward. And, Stacy was making her feel like an intruder on her own lunch date. "I'm Pilar Peréz."

  "Deuce hasn't mentioned you before. Are you the latest fling?"

  "Stacy!" Deuce leaned toward her, menacing without touching. "That's enough."

  "I don't believe you've ever declared that to me before, Deuce," she said, her voice dripping like honey. "You're usually asking for more."

  Tears began to form, so Pilar straightened her spine against them. "I was just leaving."

  Deuce held his palm out toward her. "No, don't. I think that's Stacy's job."

  "Really?" Stacy asked. "How about if I walk you back to your office, Deuce? We can talk about our date tomorrow. I have high hopes."

  Deuce actually growled. "It's not a date, Stacy. It's about Eddie." His eyes softened somewhat when he turned his head back toward Pilar. "I'll see you tonight, sugar. We'll talk about this." Pilar didn't respond, and he apparently took that as agreement. He tossed money at the table, and moved away, rounding the barrier and grabbing Stacy by the arm to drag her down the street.

  The woman glanced back over her shoulder and wiggled her fingers in Pilar's direction, her smile feral and triumphant.

  Pilar sat there, calming her breathing, trying to deal with the idea that Deuce was still carrying on with his ex while having an affair with her. Her eyes lit on the key sitting in the middle of the table. Her first thought was to take it, meet him, and make sure he forgot all about Stacy for the rest of his life. But her second thought was to take the key and have it messengered back to his office that afternoon with a polite note ending their relationship. It was what she ought to do. It was dishonorable, however, to tell Deuce good-bye via messenger. That was one step below doing it on the phone or by text message. It looked like meeting him at his house was the only way to close things off today as she'd planned. She tried to still niggling tendrils of jealousy as she imagined how pleased Stacy would be to have Deuce all to herself again.

  She picked up the key. It was cool in her hand. The faint smell of coffee wafted over from a nearby table, and a horn honked somewhere close. It was the right thing to do, she told herself. It was the best way to deal with the problem. A few more minutes with Deuce was all she'd have, but she was aching to have those minutes. She needed them…to do the right thing. The key went into her purse.

  * * *

  The street was quiet save for some television violence from the neighbor next door and a few desultory crickets. A yellowish light shone from the front porch light as he walked from the driveway up the front stairs. It was a little odd pressing the doorbell on his own door. A brief shadow moved across the stained glass panes in the door, and then it opened.

  Pilar gave him a quick smile, one that didn't reach her eyes, and stepped away. He reached for her as the door closed behind him, pulling her into his arms, but she turned her face away from his kiss and stood stiffly in his embrace.

  "Pilar?"

  "We have to talk."

  The words, "We have to break up," were etched on his memory of their lunch, so he figured he knew what she wanted to talk about.

  "Okay, sugar. Go on in the living room and I'll take off my jacket and tie. Be there in a minute."

  She nodded, silent, and left him standing in the hall.

  Deuce tried not to think about the possible reasons she wanted to break it off. Maybe she was the kind of woman who ran when faced with the possibility of commitment. Maybe she had a job transfer and didn't realize that they could make a long-distance relationship work if they tried. Maybe aliens from another planet were calling her to come join them. A wry smile formed on his lips, quickly vanishing as he moved through the house and into the living room to join her.

  "So," he said, sitting on the couch with her, his back tucked into a corner so he could face her. "What's your reasoning this time?"

  Pilar wouldn't look him in the eye.

  "I have been keeping a secret. I know it's wrong, but sometimes…sometimes you can't reveal all your secrets until you know someone well." Her voice got softer and she wove her fingers together primly in her lap. "But the more I think about it, the more I'm sure that you'll understand why we can't stay together. It wouldn't be good for you."

  He arched an eyebrow at that last remark. "Wouldn't be good for me? Why don't you let me decide what's good for me all by myself, sugar? I've been at it for a few years now. I reckon I can figure it out."

  Pilar shot him a look, but immediately pulled her gaze back down to her hands. "This is a big deal, Deuce. Really big."

  Here came the story about an ex-boyfriend who meant the world to her, had come back from the dead, and was going to sweep her off to Mazatlan to live in his palatial beach home for the rest of their lives. Happily ever after. Deuce braced himself. "Tell me."

  "It-it's about my brothers."

  He waited. She didn't continue so he prompted. "And?"

  "Well…you know they died."

  "You told me that, yes."

  "Well, Manuel and Jorge were younger than me. Manny was two years younger, and Jorge was six years younger."

  "Okay. And Ricky is about fourteen years younger. That much I knew."

  "Right." She pushed a strand of hair off her face and pressed her knees together. "Manny and Jorge died in a gang fight."

  "Accidental?"

  Pilar shook her head, her lips tight. "No. They were in a gang war."

  "I'm sorry." And he was. It must have been painful for the Peréz family to lose those young men so needlessly.

  "That's not the worst part of it."
/>
  "Oh?"

  "Ricky is in the gang now."

  Fourteen years younger than Pilar made him fourteen years old. He was barely a teenager and he was busy endangering his life at every turn.

  "Is there anything I can do?"

  "I'm afraid for you, Deuce. My family lives with this every day. A rival gang could come by our house and shoot us all dead anytime. And there's other crime. I'm sure Ricky has gotten into theft, maybe even drugs. I suppose…I suppose he might have killed someone."

  It was an ugly picture, but it didn't make him care for Pilar any less. In fact, it raised his protective instincts to a new level. "And your father? Is he doing something about it?"

  "He can't. Ricky won't listen to anyone." Her amber gaze went to his face. "He could have been so much more, you know? He could have gone places, done things. Ricky was an excellent student. But when Manny and Jorge died, it was like he had so much anger in him that he had to do something dangerous."

  "He's trying to get back at the boys who killed his brothers?" Deuce knew that he'd have done the same thing, though his methods would have been different.

  Pilar nodded. "I think so." She sighed. "But you see why you and I can't go on, right? If this kind of information got out…that your girlfriend had a gangster brother, and two others who'd died in a gang war, your career would be ruined."

  "Hogwash."

  "Don't you understand? I can't control Ricky. I can't make him stop. He'll end up dead or in jail!"

  "Your brother cannot be allowed to dictate your life or your parents' lives, Pilar. The choices he makes are not your choices, and you shouldn't have to reconstruct your life to live in fear of his bad behavior."

  "But, Deuce-"

  He held up a hand to stop her, and patted his lap. "Come here, sugar."

  "No. You don't understand."

  "I don't much like you keeping this secret from me. You should know by now that you can trust me." Reaching for her, he pulled her into his arms. "I know you thought you were doing the right thing, but Pilar, if you don't trust me, we can't build a relationship. Have I ever let you down?"

  She put her head on his shoulder, snuggling in. "No."

  "Have I given you any reason to think that I'd run away like a coward, faced with this situation?"

  "No. I didn't mean it that way."

  "That's how it came out, Pilar. You expect me to drop you like a hot rock because of your family troubles. This is the second time."

  She sniffled a little and he realized that his shirt was getting wet from her quiet tears. "I'm sorry."

  "Do you actually want us to split up?"

  Two minutes went by, and her silence was wrenching his guts. If she really wanted it to be over, there was little he could do. Finally, she shook her head.

  "I want you to go stand in the corner and think about what you did. I want you to ask yourself, honestly, if there's anything else you want to tell me. I'm going to spank you for not trusting me, Pilar, but I won't add onto it if you have more you'd like to confess."

  "I…I…"

  He waited. "You what, sugar?"

  "I don't want you to be mad at me."

  Her hair was so soft under his hand and her slender body trembled slightly against him. She had to learn not to throw secrets in his face and expect him to run away. Punishment, in this situation, was going to be cathartic for her. Redemptive. He wanted the relationship to flourish, and was willing to show her by not letting her get away with wrong-headed thinking. "I'm not mad at you. Disappointed, I think. A little irked that you'd think I'd be a coward."

  Popping up sharply, she pressed a hand against his chest, her eyes imploring. "You're not a coward, Deuce! I know that."

  "My career is important to me," he told her. "But family troubles are part of everyone's life, Pilar. No one is going to hold me responsible for what your little brother does with his life." He covered her hand with his own and held it against his chest. "And I'll talk to Ricky. I doubt he'll care what I have to say, but I can try."

  "You don't have to. You'll be wasting your breath."

  "It's my breath to waste. Now go stand in the corner. Pull your panties down and your dress up."

  In a little-girl voice, she asked, "Do I have to?"

  "Yes, sugar, you do. Go on now."

  She moved away from him and stood. "Are you going to spank me, too?"

  He nodded. "Yes. Hard."

  A deep sigh soughed from her mouth. There was something like relief on her face, a lightening of her eyes, a loosening of her tight lips. "Okay. I deserve it."

  Deuce didn't say anything, and she walked toward a corner. When she got there, she pulled down her panties until they gathered at her ankles, and lifted her cotton dress so that the skirt was wadded up at her waist in the back. Her lovely heart-shaped bottom called to him. He wanted to stroke and squeeze, he wanted to coax sighs of pleasure from her with playful spanks. It was irritating to him that, once again, he was called upon to wallop her instead of loving her. But, it was necessary, both for her peace of mind and for the furtherance of their relationship.

  "Nose into the corner."

  She bent at the waist, and the plump lips of her pussy peeked out at him from between her legs. His cock hardened. This was not the time for sex, however. It was time for discipline.

  He sat there, thinking about how their evening could have gone, about all the delicious things he'd rather be doing with her. Finally, tired of torturing himself, he picked up a newspaper and scanned it, looking for something to distract him from staring at her charms.

  The paper crackled in his hand as he folded it and put it aside a half hour later. She was done with being fidgety, and now stood quietly, biding her time. Time was up, however. He rose and got a sturdy leather strap from his lowest dresser drawer, returning to the living room to his place on the couch.

  "Kick off your panties and come over here, Pilar."

  Shoulders drooping, Pilar slipped off her shoes and dropped her panties on the floor. She walked over to him like she was walking through concrete, slowly, resolutely. He patted his thighs. "Over my knees."

  "You don't have to do this, Deuce. I didn't mean to imply that you're a coward."

  He didn't miss the fact that she was skirting the trust issue. It hurt him to think that she still didn't think he could be relied upon, but the only thing he could do—if he wanted to work through their relationship issues—was to deal with each problem as it occurred. If he was consistent enough with his affection and discipline, she'd come to have confidence in his integrity. He had to believe that.

  "No wheedling, sugar. Over my lap."

  Sighing, she did as she was told, offering up her tawny behind. "Can you keep your hands away?"

  She thought about that for a moment. "This is going to be painful, isn't it?"

  "Yes."

  "Then probably not."

  He gathered her wrists in his left hand and held them at the small of her back. "Relax, Pilar."

  "I can't! Hurry up, please!"

  He mumbled, "At least you said please," right before he gave her the first stroke with the strap. She flinched and stiffened. Adjusting his grip on the leather, he spanked her again and she squeaked out "ow!" as he swatted her a few more times. Each time, her exclamations got more sharp, her breath coming in gasps.

  "Have I ever given you any reason not to trust me, Pilar?" he lectured as he brought the strap down in a percussive volley, the snapping sounds lost in her cries.

  "No!"

  "I can't make you trust me," he pointed out. "But you're not giving yourself time to get there on your own. You have to stop running away."

  "Yes! Yes, sssir!" Her hiss was predicated on a long series of smacks. Pilar's bottom was getting quite pink and warm to his touch as he paused to glide his hand across the globes.

  Deuce concentrated his spanks on the underside of her cheeks and she started to cry. He told himself that crying would be good for her—cathartic. That she needed to
release her guilty feelings. He wanted what was best for her, and he felt objective enough to see what she couldn't see for herself. She needed his emotional support; her life was too tumultuous and the security he could give her would help her deal with her issues.

  He slapped the strap down her thighs and back up again and she arched and kicked, squirming vigorously.

  "Feet down."

  "Please stop!"

  Her pitiful cries and sobs were getting to him, but he wanted to make his point, leaving no doubt behind that she'd misbehaved. "Feet down!"

  Pilar wriggled harder, but her feet stayed down. "Please, please, please, Deuce!"

  The pink of her bottom had turned a livid red, right down to the middle of her thighs. A few more spanks and he'd relent.

  "Don't be so hasty in the future to kill a good thing," he told her, finishing up the spanking with several more hard whacks. "Okay. Done."

  He gave her a few moments to stop squirming, then gathered her up in his arms. She ouched and ow'd herself onto his lap, sobbing and sniffling, her eyes puffy and nose red. Still, she was beautiful, and, as long as he could manage it, she was his.

  Chapter 5

  On Saturday morning, they spent a long time in the shower together, staying until the hot water was a distant memory. Afterward, they dried each other off, and wrapped up in towels. Pilar reached up and cupped Deuce's face, admiring the black stubble there before encouraging him to share one more lingering kiss with her.

  "I have to go out for most of the day," he told her as she pressed her face against his cooling chest.

  "Okay. What's up?"

  "I'm taking Eddie to a ballgame."

  "Eddie's the little boy from the picture, right?"

  "Ah-ha. He's a real baseball nut and we often go to the Astros games together."

  Pilar wanted to ask him if Eddie's mother was going along, too, but she was afraid of the answer, so she kept her question to herself. "I hope you have a good time."

  "I'd invite you along, sugar, but-"