Arizona Skies: The Muse

by S. Cruz

  “Memories,” Shelly said, tucking the camera back in her bag and looking like she was about to cry. Scott rubbed her back as we headed toward the nightclub. I noticed that he and Keith both had on their necklaces that the girls had bought for them. Jesse, of course, had his leather band on, and I had my necklace, which I couldn’t help but feel every so often to make sure it was securely around my neck.

  The nightclub was dark, and the music was loud, the perfect place to lose myself in and enjoy my night. John ordered a round of drinks for everyone, and we hit the dance floor. Scott and Shelly were doing their usual X-rated moves, but I wasn’t embarrassed this time. I just laughed and danced around them, feeling young and happy. Jesse and I danced a couple fast dances and went back to the table to drink. I took out Shelly’s camera to take a couple shots of her on the dance floor. She looked so happy as she smiled up at Scott and he smiled down at her. I downed my wine and ordered another. Jesse was watching me but didn’t say anything.

  “Let’s dance,” Jesse said when a slow song came on. He pulled me into his arms as he twirled me around the floor, getting lost in the sea of bodies moving around us.

  “You look really sexy in the blue dress,” he whispered in my ear. “All the men in here have been watching you since you walked in. If you weren’t with me, I’d be jealous,” he said.

  I smiled and molded my body into his, feeling every movement his body was making as we moved to the beat of the song. I breathed in his spicy, citrus Jesse scent, committing it to memory. He held me close, stroking my back and looking into my eyes.

  I smiled up at him, studying how the lights showed the golden highlights in his hair. His green eyes sparkled as he smiled back at me. We didn’t talk, just held each other and swayed slowly to the music. Jesse’s mouth was close to my ear, humming the tune to me. This was the closest thing to heaven I had ever experienced, not wanting the night to ever end.

  “Smile.” We turned to see Shelly at it again, making memories for us to hold on to. We went back and drank some more. I was getting pretty wasted and needed to dance some of the alcohol off. When the music turned fast, we all got up, even John, and danced in one big group, being silly and laughing. I closed my eyes and moved to the music, not feeling any pain. When I opened my eyes, Jesse was watching me with a slight grin. Scott was jumping around yelling. I turned around, noticing people in the nightclub watching us, definitely enjoying the show. I gave the signal to Jesse that I needed to go to the ladies’ room; he nodded and followed me as I weaved my way toward the hallway. Suddenly I stumbled and fell onto this man’s lap, who quickly put his hands all over me. It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening.

  “Hey, baby,” he said, reaching up my thigh under my dress.

  “Get your hands off my girl,” Jesse said, pulling me off him.

  I pushed the man’s hand off my leg as I tried to steady myself to continue toward the bathroom. “Get your filthy hands off me and leave me alone,” I yelled at him, straightening my dress.

  “Hey, you fell on me, princess,” he said, looking me up and down. “She’s yours!” he said to Jesse. “Well, you’d better keep a better eye on her, man; she was just all over me,” he sneered.

  “She tripped, you asshole, probably over your big feet. Get your feet the fuck out of the aisle,” Jesse said, kicking his shoe. Scott, John, and Keith were suddenly there, forming a semicircle around Jesse and me.

  “Is there a problem here?” John asked, his muscular arms folded across his broad chest. All three men were tall, but John was built like a bodybuilder, and the look he gave that man sent a chill up my spine.

  The man looked up at all of them and backed right down, getting up from his table as he held his hands up in self-defense.

  “No, I was just helping the lady back to her feet,” the man said, swiftly walking away from us and out the door.

  “I’m sorry,” I said to everyone and ran into the bathroom with Shelly right behind me. I ran into a stall to pee, feeling my head spinning as I held on to the toilet-paper holder for support.

  “Shelly, I’m going to be sick,” I said, standing up and turning around. She burst into my stall to hold my hair while I lost dinner and all the wine I’d been drinking. She flushed the toilet and helped steady me as we walked out to the sink. She got a cold paper towel and held it on the back of my neck. I rinsed my mouth in the sink. “Here,” she said, giving me a stick of peppermint gum, which tasted out of this world.

  “Still a lightweight,” she laughed.

  “Very funny,” I said, holding the paper towel to my chest to cool myself down.

  “Think you’d better call it a night,” she said, straightening my dress and fixing my hair. “I’ll go tell Jesse.”

  I walked out a few minutes after her, feeling like the ship had hit high seas as I held on to the wall for support. Jesse put his arms around me to help hold me up.

  “Let’s get you back to your room, honey,” Jesse said. I nodded as he helped me walk back to our table to get my purse.

  “Feel better, Bailey,” John said softly. I nodded, giving him a weak smile.

  “Night, Bailey,” Keith and Scott said as we walked out the door.

  “I’ll check on you in the morning,” Shelly said, looking concerned.

  “Don’t worry; I’ll take good care of her,” Jesse said, holding me tight. “Come on, sweetheart; I’ve got you. Let’s get you to bed.”

  It seemed like two hours before we reached my door. I fumbled around in my purse for the key; finally, Jesse pulled it out for me and opened the door.

  “Here we go,” he said, picking me up to carry me in. The room was spinning as he kicked the door shut and walked straight into the bathroom.

  Putting me down, he propped me against the sink as he knelt to get my sandals off. I tried to stand on one foot; holding on to his shoulders, but lost my balance and fell into the side of the sink.

  “Whoa…steady, girl,” he chuckled, bracing me against the sink to unhook my belt so he could pull my dress over my head. I gasped and reached up for my necklace, afraid I may have lost it. “It’s still there, sweetheart,” he said, unclasping it and setting it on the sink. “Here, let’s get those earrings.” He unhooked them from the holes in my ears. “There, are you ready for a shower?” he asked. I nodded, unable to form words. First I wanted to brush my teeth, so I turned toward the sink and reached for my toothbrush. My hand had a mind of its own as I tried to put toothpaste on the brush; it wouldn’t hold still, so I looked at him for help.

  “Problem with eye-hand coordination there, tiger,” he chuckled. I tried to swat him but missed and almost fell over the toilet. He chuckled and held my hand steady, put toothpaste on my brush, and then turned on the water for me. I leaned over and brushed that horrible taste out of my mouth. Jesse held me around my waist to steady me; I felt like a limp noodle.

  “You still feeling sick?” he asked, shutting off the water and putting up my toothbrush.

  “Nn…ottt…ssu…rr…e,” I tried to say as I put my arms around his neck with a smile. I was having a hard time focusing. He was laughing as he reached behind me to unhook my bra. “It’s a good thing I don’t take advantage of drunken women, because, baby, you’d be in a lot of trouble right now,” he smiled. “Panties off,” he demanded, kneeling in front of me. “Do you think you can stand still for one minute?” he asked, showing sexy dimples as he smiled at me. I nodded yes, which catapulted me forward. “Whoa,” he said, grabbing me. “OK, into the shower you go.” He guided me toward the tub. He held me by my shoulder, bracing me against the wall as he leaned in to turn on the water. “Ssss…pec…i…allll…ssss…howw… er?” I asked, giggling and rubbing against his body.

  “Honey, as tempting as that offer is, I’m afraid you might fall and break that pretty head of yours,” he said, guiding my legs over the side of the tub and into the steamy spray.

  “Stay,” he said with his hand in the middle of my chest to keep me from falling as
he quickly took his clothes off to get in with me.

  “Oooooooo…” I reached for his bare chest. “I looovvve you,” I said, pointing at him with an unsteady finger. I leaned forward with my lips puckered for a kiss; he laughed as he held me.

  “You are the cutest damn drunk I’ve ever seen,” he said, giving me a sweet kiss. “Now back to business,” he said sternly with a smirk.

  “Yessss…sssi…rrrrr…” I said, trying to salute while holding on to the handle on the shower door.

  He shampooed and conditioned my hair, then washed my body quickly. I stood there with my eyes closed; just enjoying the attention he was paying to me. It felt good to let the water run down my face and over my body. The shower was refreshing and helped clear some of the fog out of my head. I realized I liked having him take care of me; it made me feel loved and cherished. “OK, out you go,” he said, shutting off the water and wrapping a towel around me. Standing in front of me, he bent my head to dry my hair. I felt like the floor was moving and lost my balance. I grabbed on to his thighs to steady myself, with my head resting in his groin. I heard him chuckle as he carefully dried my hair and reached for the comb, holding me with one hand as he combed through my long tresses.

  Feeling like a child, I stood there helplessly, letting him tend to me. He dried my body and sat me on the edge of the tub while he quickly dried himself off. Then he picked me up and carried me to the bed, sitting me down on the edge. The last thing I remembered was flopping backward into the soft mattress. Everything went black.

  Jesse

  Our day on the island was perfect. We did the pampering and relaxing, just being together. I waited for her in the dining hall that night. I could have waited for her all night, anticipating every time the door opened that I would see her beautiful face smiling at me. When she finally walked in, my heart jumped at her beauty. She had on this short, blue dress, looking like an angel. I was anxious to get my hands on her—this feeling was not going away. What the fuck was I going to do in two days now that I’d confessed my feelings for her? I was a fucked-up mess, but I put on my brave face, smiling brightly at her as she tucked herself into my arms. This was her special spot against me, tight and warm next to my heart, right where she belonged. Our dinners on this ship had been amazing, and since we were part of the entertainment, we got extra-special treatment from all the staff. A couple waitresses had been flirting, but none of them compared to my Bailey. I’d smile sweetly at them as I held my girl tight. Our reception at the Green Room had been out of this world, only fueling our need to take our band on the road after our first album comes out. My confidence and my creative side had kicked into high gear; I was cranking out a new song a day. John was beyond happy with my writing talent back in full swing, sending daily progress reports to our producer. He even taped two performances to play back to him once the cruise was over. My life was finally back on track.

  We decided to go dancing and just let loose tonight; wild and crazy was the tone of the night. I noticed that Bailey was drinking more than usual, but knowing she was surrounded by friends, I decided to let her have fun. We’d been sad and melancholy all day, so tonight we decided to party. Everyone was having a good time; even John got up and danced with us. He was a built son of a bitch, but he stayed true to Natalie as women approached him for a dance. I admired his loyalty to his girl, finally understanding it.

  Bailey was a little unsteady on her feet, but I knew the dancing would help burn off some of the alcohol she’d drunk, so I held on to her and let her go. I remembered so many times I’d had too much to drink that I could hardly navigate, but my friends always took care of me. It was a blessing to have such good friends that cared about me even when I was a complete asshole to them, which now I regretted.

  Bailey signaled that she needed to go to the ladies’ room so I followed her as she weaved her way toward the bathrooms. She stumbled, landing in this man’s lap, who immediately started groping her. That catapulted me into action. I grabbed her, pulling her up on her feet as I slapped his hand off her thigh. He grinned like an idiot—big mistake. I lost it.

  Waves of anger radiated off me as I grabbed a hold of his shirt. He tried to look innocent and blame Bailey. I kicked his big fucking foot out of the aisle and doubled up my fist furious at him. I pulled my arm back to take a swing, but my arm was grabbed and held by Keith. I looked up to see John with his massive arms folded across his chest. Scott and Keith were beside him. They had formed a semicircle around us, all staring at the asshole in front of me. He looked at each of the guys and backed right down, making some lame excuse about helping Bailey. I let go of his shirt as he quickly left the bar. Bailey was four shades of green and excused herself as she ran into the bathroom. I knew that look, having been there a few times myself. I asked Shelly to check on her.

  “Keith, thanks, man. I was about to teach him some manners.”

  “I know, and that piece of shit wouldn’t have been worth getting into trouble over,” he said, patting me on the shoulder.

  “I know, but he put his filthy hands on Bailey,” I said, blowing out some pent-up steam. I was still hopping mad, thinking about his hand on her thigh.

  “I saw the whole thing; he deliberately tripped her,” John said.

  “I just hope I don’t run into that fucker on this ship. I won’t be responsible for rearranging his face,” I threatened.

  We waited patiently for the girls. Shelly came out first, announcing that Bailey was sick, and we should call it a night.

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” John said as Bailey emerged from the bathroom looking pale. I immediately put my arm around her to get her out of the noisy bar and into her quiet room, carrying her as fast as my feet would take me down the stairs to her door. She wasn’t navigating very well and had trouble getting her keys. So, I took over retrieving her key and carried her to the bathroom for a shower. I held her up so she could brush her teeth, then stripped her and somehow managed to get her into the shower. She was being playful with me, making me laugh at her cuteness. I got her washed and dried and made her drink some water with two aspirin before putting her to bed. No sex tonight. I wanted her to remember every minute of our lovemaking, not be in a drunken fog. She fell backward on the bed and was out cold. Even drunk, she was a breathtaking beauty. I pulled her up on the pillow and covered her. I turned out the light and crawled in next to her.

  Sixteen

  Bailey

  I woke in the morning all covered up and tucked into Jesse’s front, with his arm protectively around me. There were two aspirin and glass of water on the table by my side of the bed. I slid out from under his arm to sit up and drink the water; my mouth felt like the Mojave Desert. I quietly got up to head into the bathroom for more water, drinking it all down. Brushing my teeth, I felt better than I thought I should as I crawled back into bed with him. I didn’t go back to sleep; I just lay there trying to remember if I did anything stupid last night to embarrass myself.

  “Morning, sweetheart; how do you feel?” Jesse asked, opening his eyes.

  “Fuzzy,” I said, embarrassed that he’d had to take care of me.

  He chuckled, turning me around to look at him. “You’re pretty funny when you’re drunk,” he smiled.

  “I don’t feel funny,” I said.

  “Awww…honey, don’t feel bad; you were cute,” he said, kissing my nose.

  “I’ll bet; I’m really sorry, Jesse,” I said. “Can I make it up to you?”

  “I’m sure I can think of something,” he said, wiggling his eyebrow with an evil grin, which got me laughing too.

  “Honey, don’t stress about it; we’ve all been there at one time or another. I knew you were feeling sad all day; so was I. I’m not mad at you; I love you,” he said, kissing me sweetly. “Now stop fussing and come here so I can show you how much I love you.” He took it slow, taking his time to make sweet love to me. What a way to start the day—Jesse naked in bed, loving me with every fiber of his being!

 
The familiar sound of Shelly pounding on my door finally got us out of bed. “Damn woman is a menace,” Jesse said.

  “Hey, get your asses out of bed,” she yelled through the door.

  “All right, give us a minute,” Jesse yelled back, throwing my big T-shirt at me and grabbing his clothes. I looked at the clock; it was eight o’clock already, time for breakfast. I looked at Jesse to make sure it was OK before I opened the door. She burst in all bubbly, dressed in a cute shorts set, plopping herself on my bed as I stood there and watched her make herself comfortable.

  “I’m going to go change; I’ll meet you girls for breakfast,” Jesse said, kissing my forehead as he headed out the door.

  “How are you feeling this morning?” she asked.

  “It could be worse. I took some aspirin, and my headache is almost gone,” I said, picking up my clothing from last night.

  “Well, let’s get going, chop, chop,” she said, swinging her feet back and forth while she waited for me.

  “Damn, girl, don’t you ever sleep in?” I said as I ran a brush through my messy hair.

  “No waste of half the day; haven’t you ever heard that the early bird gets the worm?” she said, twirling her blond hair around her finger. “Here, let me help.” She grabbed my brush.

  “That’s disgusting and the dumbest saying I’ve ever heard,” I said.

  “Are we a little bit grumpy today?” she asked, gently brushing my hair.

  “No, we’re not grumpy, but keep it up, and I will be.” She handed me the brush, and I pulled my hair all to one side and braided it. “There, it’s out of my face,” I said, grabbing some clothing out of my drawer.

  “My, my, did Bailey not get fucked last night?” she said, smirking at my bad mood.

  “No, Bailey passed out,” I said, smirking at her. Then we both broke into fits of laughter, collapsing back on the bed. “Thanks, I needed that,” I said, feeling better.