“I’ll have a Guinness,” Tank said.
“Coming up, cookies.”
“She’s saucy,” I said when she walked away. “I love her.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he just looked straight ahead and stroked my knee.
“Is everything OK?” I asked.
It was a moment before he turned to me. When he did, on his face was an unexpected well of emotion, something Tank rarely showed. “I’m just happy,” he said. “It’s good to be here. It’s good to be out with my girl.”
“It was time,” I said. “I’m not going to belittle what I went through, because that would be disingenuous—and we’d both know that it was a lie. Better to just face it, put it in the past, and move forward. That’s what I resolved to do this morning. Are you with me?”
“I’ve never left you.”
When the waitress returned with our drinks and it was time to order, Tank chose a half-pound hamburger covered with all of the American staples—lettuce, onion, tomato, mayo, mustard, and ketchup. Since I was getting a large serving of fries, he went with the onion rings.
“And what will you have?” the woman said.
“I don’t see it here on the menu. Do you cook to order?”
“Sometimes we do. What would you like, honey?”
I gripped Tank’s thigh. “I’ve heard about it before, but I’ve never had it. I hope you can make it. I’d love to have the ‘I’d Love to Move in With You” burger. Medium rare. All the fixings. With a side of large cardboard boxes if you can manage it.”
“You want the what—?” She stopped short, her eyes widened, and then she gave us a knowing smile. “Oh my,” she said. “Oh, how wonderful. You’re both so cute together. Shirley approves! And, yes, we do have boxes out back. I can get you whatever you need.”
Tank turned to me, saw my smile and likely also the love in my eyes, and then turned back to the waitress. “May we have a moment?” he asked.
“Of course, Hercules. Call me over when you’re ready.”
When she walked away, Tank’s initial response was primal—he went straight for my lips, and we kissed as if no one else was in this room, or in the world for that matter. I placed my hand against his chest, he put his against the back of my head, and before we knew it, a few whistles came from the bar, which was packed four deep in people.
“Oh dear,” I said. “We might have caused a scene.”
“You caused a scene. You set me up.”
“Are you happy that I did?”
“Are you joking? I’m beyond happy. I’ve been fighting for this for months. What made you give in?”
“Love,” I said. “That and lost time. But mostly love. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Tank. Why wait any longer?”
* * *
Later that night, when we returned to his apartment after a terrific meal of burgers, fries, and onion rings, Tank swiped the key through the lock, opened the door for me, and said, “Welcome to your new home.”
When I stepped inside, I pulled my shirt over my head, dropped it to the floor, and looked over my shoulder. “Join me in the bedroom?” I asked.
With one fluid motion, his shirt was also on the floor.
“You’re so efficient,” I said.
“Former Marine.”
“What other skills did they teach you?”
“Do you really want to know?”
I was only joking, but there was a reason he’d asked. Obviously, he had something in mind. And was that a trace of humor in his voice? I was fairly certain it was. “OK….”
“Good. Let me show you not only what I learned from the Marines, but also from my friends in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. In some way or another, all of us follow the same creed, and all of us follow mottos that can be applied even in situations such as this. Sounds crazy, but you’ll see what I mean. In fact, I think you’ll be pleased with the results.”
He stopped me in the middle of the bedroom, where the only light came from the city lights beyond the wall of windows to my left. He turned me so my back faced him, and with one deft move, flung my bra across the room. I felt his lips press against the nape of my neck, and then his tongue ran down the length of my spine, stopping just above my buttocks, which sent shivers of anticipation through me. As he stood, his tongue traveled up the length of me again, stopping just behind my right ear, which made me want to scream with pleasure.
“For instance,” he said, reaching around to pinch my aroused nipples. “There’s ‘excellence in all that we do’.”
I closed my eyes and leaned against him while he lowered his hands, unfastened my jeans, and allowed me to step out of them as he stepped out of his. Both of us removed our underwear, and then Tank was behind me again, his cock pressed firmly against my ass, immediately making me wet.
“There’s also ‘service before self,’” he said, turning me around and kissing me deeply on the mouth. Then, he was on his knees, his mouth pressed between my legs. He curled his tongue around my moist folds, and then gently slipped it inside of me, tasting me. Wrecking me. Destroying me. Each lick sending me farther over the edge.
I had to hold on to his shoulders to steady myself against the unexpected intensity of what he was doing. I wanted to cry out, but I didn’t want him to think that it was because I was feeling vulnerable, so I bit my lip and let him continue to make love to me with his mouth while I shuddered with pleasure.
“Oh, my God,” I said. “Tank—”
“Excellence in all we do,” he said, sinking his tongue in farther.
“I’m close.”
“Service before self.”
When he spoke, he did it in such a way that his lips brushed against my clit. And when they did, I came. He went deeper, which just made me come again. And again. Somehow, each orgasm made the barely-lit room grow even darker. I threw my hands over my face while he continued to pulse his tongue inside of me. I felt as if I was aloft, not part of my body at all. I was hovering just outside of myself, which made no sense because I was holding on to him fiercely for support. My grip was so firm on his shoulders that physically I felt one with him, though my head, my heart, and my body were in the ether. Without exhaustion, his tongue licked and fluttered and danced in and around me.
“It’s too much,” I said.
“Is it?”
“Yes and no.”
“Then how about this?” He finished, stood, and said in my ear, “Have you heard of ‘The Striking Ninth’?”
Again, I could hear the humor in his voice. Though I was too breathless to laugh, I couldn’t help a smile. He’d never been this playful before. He knew he was being silly and corny—this was the Tank nobody saw—and I loved him for it. He was skillfully keeping the situation at once light and intense.
“I’ve certainly felt yours,” I said.
In a husky voice that was barely above a whisper, he said, “I know you have. And you’re about to feel it again. But just so you know, it also refers to the 9th Marine Regiment. Not that you care much about that now. You’re thinking of something else. And I want you to think about that. In fact, I want you to feel that.”
He started to grow hard against me.
“Can you feel it?”
“Who couldn’t feel that?”
“Do you want it in you?”
“Is that even a question?”
“You’ll have to wait,” he said. “Because I’m going to work over your entire body, Lisa. Before I take you, I’m going to show you what ‘second to none’ really means. I’m going to use all of those skills to make this a night you won’t forget.”
Without warning, he swiftly lifted me into his arms, and then laid me down onto the bed. Before he entered me, he put his hands on either side of me, and then looked down at me with an expression that was far more serious than I was expecting. Just a moment ago, he was being playful and teasing. But now? All of that was gone.
“All fun aside, here’s what matters most to me,” he said. �
�Being ‘always faithful’. That’s what the Marines taught me, and that’s what I promise you as your fiancé, and, one day, as your husband. I’ll always be faithful to you, Lisa. I hope that you know that.”
When he entered me and we made love that night, it was perhaps our truest, most heartfelt connection yet.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The next morning, Jennifer and I met at Blackwell’s office at nine sharp just as we’d conspired to do the day before. Neither of us was late—we were armed with a plan, and this particular plan was too important to screw up.
When we first stuck our heads inside Blackwell’s office door, she looked up at us and immediately got out of her chair to come over and hug me.
“Look at you,” she said. “Positively glowing. It’s as if Bernie just had his way with you. What have you done with yourself?”
“Burgers and one hot night of sex,” I said.
“Come again?”
“Oh, Barbara—and again and again.”
She held up her hand. “Enough! You know I don’t tolerate talk about sex.”
“Oh, come on! Celebrate it with me. Tank and I had a night of burgers and hours of blissful, unrelenting sex. Couple that with the fact that I finally feel ready to get on with my life, and you can consider me the Lisa you once knew.”
“A tawdry tart?”
“I am hardly a tart, and you know it.”
“Hmmm,” she said, and then held me out at arm’s length to study me. “Let’s see the new tooth.”
I smiled widely for her.
“It’s seamless, but you’ve lost weight.”
“A bit.”
“You were my perfect size zero, but I can’t have you go all sub-zero on me—it isn’t healthy. Right now, my skeletal ancestors are probably rolling in their slim-fitting graves after hearing me say that, but I’m still going to reinforce it—you need to eat.”
“I’m getting there.”
“Let’s hope you are. But do me a favor—have a few more burgers. You need them, and you’ve got a man in your life who wouldn’t mind eating them each night of the week if he could. So count your blessings.” She looked behind me at Jennifer. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, good morning to you, too, Barbara.”
“What’s good about it?”
“Seeing Lisa for one.”
“Well,” she said. “I can agree to that. But then there’s you, crowding in my doorway like some lost puppy from outer space when you usually give me at least until ten before bringing that beaming face of yours shining into my office like some cruel, unrelenting sun.”
“Seriously?” Jennifer said.
Blackwell didn’t respond. Instead, her eyes widened as if something had just occurred to her. “But this isn’t a coincidence, is it? Look at that look on your face, Jennifer. Right there. That look. The one that makes you look like a caged animal. Why do you look so uneasy? Why do you look so unnerved? What’s this weird tension I feel sweeping over me right now?”
“Maybe it’s the tension you’re creating yourself?” Jennifer said.
“Bullshit.”
“Lisa came by to see me, and she wanted to see you.”
“I did,” I said.
But I said it too fast for Blackwell, who immediately dropped my hands and put her own hands on her hips.
“What are you two up to?”
“We’re not up to anything.”
She backed away from us and sat on her desk. “Lies. I smell mischief. It’s hovering all around you two like cheap hairspray on an Eighth Avenue hooker.”
“Are there any hookers even left on Eighth Avenue?” Jennifer asked.
“How would I know?”
“You spoke with such authority on the matter, it sounded to me as if you know. I thought Guiliani got rid of them. Anyway, thanks for the image.”
“I can serve up a few more. So, what gives? Why do I hear war drums?”
“Do you really believe that Lisa wouldn’t want to stop by when she came to visit me?”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Blackwell asked. “It just turned nine o’clock. She’d want to visit with you first—and considering the way you two can ramble on for hours about things of absolutely no importance, that would mean it would take you at least an hour before you got to me. I sense a trap. I sense collusion.”
“Do you have any coffee?” I asked.
“You’d be better off with a milk shake.”
“Coffee will do.”
She shot Jennifer a look. “I suppose you also want one?”
“Is it too much trouble?”
“Do you want me to answer that or not?”
“Fine. I’ll have mine with cream and sugar.”
“The hell you will—it’s black for you. And it better be roughage for lunch. Look at you—that suit is too tight, and I recently had it tailored to you. Your boobs are about to bust out of it like a couple of piñatas.”
“Oh, my God,” Jennifer said to me. “Who does this?”
“Blackwell.”
“Exactly,” Blackwell said. “And you two lap it up.” With a snap in her step, she went around her desk to her phone, picked it up, and said to her assistant, “Margaret, two coffees. One black. The other one with a slice of pizza for Lisa. No, Margaret, that’s what’s called a joke. Unless you’re hoarding pizzas in your desk drawers, in which case I suggest you bring one in and share it with my friend.” She looked at me. “How do you want your coffee?”
“Cream and sugar.”
“The other coffee is with cream and sugar, Margaret. And also bring in a fattening blue cheese soufflé and a side of fries.” She looked at us and held the phone away from her ear while rolling her eyes. “That was another joke, Margaret. I appreciate the offer, but there’s no need to run out and find a pizza, fries, or a blue cheese soufflé at this time of the morning. Just bring us the two coffees, and bring them stat. Thank you.”
She hung up the phone and waved at the two chairs opposite her desk. “Sit,” she said. “And let me have it. This isn’t some meet-and-greet, ladies. I know better. Break the news to me.”
As Jennifer and I sat, I decided to deflect. “I’m moving in with Tank!” I said.
“You’re what?”
“Moving in with Tank. Isn’t it great?”
Slowly, she sat down in her seat with a sense of relief. “So, that’s what this is about. I knew there was something. Look, if it’s what you two want, then do it. And I’m happy for you. You two have been through a lot together, you got through it, you’re engaged, and now it’s time for the next step. I support it as much as I support the fall edition of Vogue.”
“That’s a high honor. Thank you.”
“So, when is this happening?”
“Well, that’s the thing,” Jennifer said.
“What’s the thing?”
“It kind of depends on you.”
“How can Lisa and Tank moving in together have anything to do with me? Am I expected to pack boxes? Drive a moving van? Hoist furniture into elevators? Wash baseboards and floors on my hands and knees? Play Cinderella? Because if that’s the case, you can consider me out.”
“It’s not exactly that,” Jennifer said.
“Then what exactly is it?”
“You’re a notary public, aren’t you?”
“How would you know that?”
“Alex might have mentioned it once.”
“Once sounds like recently. Why did he mention it?”
“Because I’m also going to move in with Alex, but as I’ve already told you—I won’t do it without getting married first.”
She raised the palms of her hands. “I don’t get it. You’re getting married in July. Soon, Lisa and I will be preparing for it. You can move in with him then. How does this concern me now?”
I glanced over at Jennifer, and saw that her face was flushed. “Well—”
“Well, what?”
“Things might have changed.”
/> “What things?”
“We might want to get married sooner.”
“Sooner?”
“Yes, sooner.”
“Are you serious? You better not be serious.”
“I’m serious.”
She leaned forward in her chair, and a lock of her black bob fell into her face. “There’s no time to get married sooner. Lisa and I need time to prepare—it will take months. Bernie will want to be involved so he can try different hairstyles on you. A dress has to be made for you—we haven’t even chosen the designer yet. Venues and caterers need to be booked. Servers and bartenders need to be hired. And then there’s the orchestra, for God’s sake. And the list goes on and on. This was not planned. Why the sudden rush? You’ve just hijacked my morning.”
“I thought you would think it was good news.”
“You call this good news? I call it a suicide pact.”
“Don’t be silly. Alex and I would call it a blessing if you’d be willing to officiate the ceremony. We want you to be the one to marry us so we can finally live together. If we wanted to—and frankly, if it comes down to it and we have to—we could just go down to city hall and get married there. But that’s not what we want. We want you to officiate, and we want Lisa and Tank there as our two witnesses. That’s among the greatest of compliments we can give you, Barbara, because, as far as I’m concerned, I’m not planning on getting married again. I hope you won’t disappoint us.”
Just when it seemed that Blackwell was going to expire in her chair, Margaret knocked on the door. But Blackwell remained silent and I thought I saw her right eye twitch.
“Barbara,” I said. “I think the coffee is here.”
“Forget the coffee, Margaret!” she said. “Instead, call the police!”
“Don’t tell her to do that,” I said. “She seems to take everything literally.”
“Good point.” Blackwell sat up and picked up her phone. “Margaret, under no circumstances are you to call the police. You almost did? Well, at least you’re efficient. Back to work now. Good job. No, we no longer want the coffee. Sorry.”
She hung up the phone and leaned so far back in her chair that she appeared almost limp. “Maine, how do you always find ways to take another year off my life? Two years in this case—first asking me to marry Alex and you, and then throwing guilt on me if I don’t do it. It isn’t fair. It isn’t right. By staging it the way you just did, I now have no choice but to do it, or I’ll forever look like the bitch who didn’t marry you two. I still don’t see why you can’t wait. July is only four months away. It’s not that long.”
Unleash Me: Vol. 3 Page 12
