Dream Me Off My Feet (Sex, Love, And Rock & Roll)

by Kisner, Stevie

  She’d agreed to stroll and browse if the strolling was in the direction of the stores she needed to visit and if the browsing didn’t waste the entire afternoon. JT thought it was a fair exchange, although he did try Kori’s patience more than once as he picked up and leisurely examined items he had no intention of purchasing.

  Then there were the jewelers.

  Kori didn’t want to go into any of the myriad jewelry stores that dotted all sides of the mall.

  “I don’t need anything from in there, JT,” she said as he attempted to pull her into another shop filled with sparkling gemstones and precious metals.

  “Well, I suppose, in the strictest sense, nobody needs jewelry, Kori. But so what? Let’s go look anyway.”

  “I don’t want any jewelry, JT.” She tried to cross her arms, but he still held fast to one hand. She widened her stance and settled a hand on her hip instead.

  “Sure you do.” He swung their joined hands, cocked his head and smiled.

  “No, I don’t. And I can’t afford what they sell here.”

  “Ah, but I can. So let’s look around.” He dragged her inside and leaned on the first glass countertop to stare down at jewel-encrusted bracelets.

  “If you buy me anything, I’ll throw it back at you.” She made a face at the impractical bracelets and tugged at his hand to move along.

  “I’ll duck.” He followed her sidestep to the next showcase filled with diamond bridal sets.

  “I’ll smack you, then.” She pulled him down to the next case.

  “You promise?” He waggled his eyebrows.

  “Keep it up, Blackwood, and I’ll smack you right now.”

  “Oooh, I love it when you talk dirty.”

  She rolled her eyes, knowing this was an argument she couldn’t win, and silently refused to give him any more fuel.

  JT looked down through the glass into the dazzling display. “Those would look stunning on you,” he said, pointing to a pair of very large heart-cut diamond stud earrings.

  “No way,” she replied, scowling. “Those are obscene.”

  “What’s wrong with them?”

  “They’re too big.”

  JT glanced at her face and concentrated on deciphering her feelings.

  “Those are boulders, JT,” she continued. “I could never wear something like that.”

  His connection was far stronger with their palm-to-palm contact. He wasn’t surprised to feel her words were honestly spoken; she was really was disgusted. He expected that she would be, but couldn’t resist the temptation to both test and tease her. So many women in his past had voiced in protest to high-ticket baubles but secretly adored them and came to expect them more and more with near-drooling avarice. What did catch him off-guard, however, was the faint taste of anxiety.

  “What’s troubling you, Kori? It’s just a pair of earrings.”

  She straightened and met his eyes with only a tiny fluttering flop in her midsection. One of these days, that little thrill just might stop when I look at him. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad. “Look at the price, JT. They cost as much as a compact car.”

  “So?” he pressed.

  “So what if I lost one? You’d never forgive me.”

  “Yes, I would.”

  “I’d never forgive myself.”

  “It’s only money, Kori.”

  She snorted. “That’s easy for you to say. You have money. I don’t. I’d be devastated if I lost several thousand dollars by simply shrugging off my coat the wrong way.”

  He looked thoughtful for a moment, the realization finally hitting home that she truly didn’t understand his intentions. He longed to tell her, but this was neither the right place nor the proper time. He sighed and strengthened his resolve to exercise patient self-restraint.

  Kori pulled him hastily past the remaining display cases, pausing at each for a perfunctory look before tugging him along to the next one.

  “There. Feel better now that you’ve gotten the need to see sparkly rocks out of your system?” she asked as they exited the shop.

  “Yes, thank you. Smartass.”

  “My ass is not smart,” she teased as she walked as far ahead as their joined hands would allow.

  He widened his stance and finally let go of her hand, then folded his arms and regarded her with a smirk. “You’re right. I can think of many many words to describe your ass, but smart would not be one of them.”

  Her cheeks began to pink and his smile grew. “I know you adore making me blush, but do you think you could stop staring at my butt and start walking? We really do need to get the stuff we came here for.” She glanced at her watch and mumbled a soft expletive.

  “Lead the way, Kori. I’ll stay back here and follow along… behind you.” His smile bloomed into an almost-leering grin.

  She groaned and rolled her eyes, but started away from him anyway.

  They’d breezed through the actual shopping and, once he was loaded down with bags, JT no longer had the urge to leisurely browse. In fact, he couldn’t wait to get to the car.

  If only they could find it.

  “What do you mean, you can’t remember where we parked?” he grumbled, fumbling with several heavy bags that threatened to cut off the circulation in his freezing fingers.

  “Well, neither can you. We were in there so long I almost forgot which entrance we used.” She stopped and glanced at the tops of the nearby cars. “I know we were on a hill.”

  “Well, that’s a lot of help. The whole bloomin’ car park is a bowl with the mall sitting at the bottom of it.” He turned a slow circle, noticing how many other people preferred to drive white cars.

  “I see it,” she said, starting to walk rapidly up the hill.

  “I’ve heard that before,” he replied, following her anyway.

  “But this time I’m certain.”

  “Heard that before, too.”

  “But this time I’m right.” She flashed him a triumphant smile as she neared the back of the car. “See?” She popped open the trunk and dropped her bags inside.

  “Thank God. I was beginning to lose the feeling in my fingers.” He shed his share of the bags and closed the trunk. “I can’t wait to get inside and turn the heater on to thaw out my hands.”

  Kori unlocked her door and got in, then leaned over to unlock the passenger side.

  “Cruel woman, making me wait out there in the cold,” he cajoled her after closing his door.

  “It’s not much warmer in here,” she replied, sliding the key into the ignition. “But it will be soon. This engine warms up pretty fast.” She turned the key.

  Nothing happened.

  She tried again, and still there was no sound from the engine compartment. She smacked the steering wheel with the butt of her hand. “God, I hate this thing!”

  JT turned to her with a single raised brow. “Something wrong, sweetheart?”

  “Mark never got around to replacing the starter.”

  JT shivered once and wished he’d worn more something heavier than a denim jacket. “What about that tape thing? Didn’t you used to coax it to start by playing some of our music?” Strange as it sounded, it had seemed to work before.

  She tried the key again to no avail. “Can’t. Mark said it ate a tape shortly before they left to join the tour and now it won’t play any. We’ve only got the radio.” She slumped back into her seat. “Wanna try singing to it, JT?” She chuckled ruefully. What she really wanted to do was scream and maybe kick it in the fender a few times. That wouldn’t get the car started any sooner, but she’d feel better.

  “I refuse to serenade a car. Besides, I don’t think it’ll help.” He jammed his hands under his armpits, trying to restore some of the feeling in his frozen fingers.

  Kori sighed heavily. “I’d suggest dumping the clutch and bump-starting it, but I really don’t think we can get out of this parking space. We’d have to push it uphill.”

  JT opened his door and stuck out one foot. “It’s
worth a try, at least.”

  “JT, don’t bother. You’d have to push it alone, because I have to stay here and turn the wheels to get us out of the parking spot. And I’d be turning them so that we went up this sideways hill.”

  “Can’t you turn it so that we go downhill instead? That’s sure be an easier push.”

  “The parking spaces are all slanted, so no, I can’t turn that way. We’d never get out. Besides, the car won’t bump-start in reverse.”

  “Well, I’m going to try it, anyway. Beats sitting here doing nothing.” He slid out the door and walked to the front of the car, then leaned down to rest his hands on the bumper. “Release the brake, Kori.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll roll over you.”

  “No, you won’t. Take off the brake, all right?”

  “We’re parked sideways across a hill, JT.”

  “So? I’m strong, I can push ‘er.”

  “Just remember, you asked for it.” She slowly lowered the parking brake handle and the car began a lazy roll forward.

  ****

  Mark shivered and rolled onto his side with a grimace, hair clinging to his forehead and neck in damp curls. Damn! Here we go again. Hot, then cold. And as soon as I warm up, the overheat switch kicks in and the sweats start and then I freeze… He reached over to the empty side of the bed to retrieve the blankets from where he’d flung them the last go round.

  He closed the covers in one bloated hand as tightly as he could and pulled on them, grunting with the effort as they edged nearer then slid from his loose grasp. It took three tries before the blankets adequately covered his trembling body and he let his arm flop back down to the bed. With eyes still half-closed and weary, he glanced at the window and noted the increasing twilight through the open blinds.

  “Kori? Zach? You back yet?” he called thinly. When no one replied, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was just five minutes after five. I keep forgetting that it gets dark so early now. They’ll all be back soon, I’m sure.

  Another shudder tracked through him and he closed his eyes. God, I hate this temperature roller coaster. I can’t wait for it all to stop…

  He drifted back into an uneasy sleep, filled with dreams of icebergs floating near sun-drenched beaches.

  ****

  JT shuffled his feet quickly, widening his stance. The car stopped its forward pitch and began to inch backward. He grunted and, digging in his heels, pushed with all his strength. He set his jaw with an audible pop and heard his teeth grind and squeak. With a roar of frustration and pain, he leaned closer to the hood and shoved with all his might. The car crept back a little more.

  He made the mistake of pausing to suck in some air; the slow-rolling car instantly lost its momentum and JT found himself trying to keep it from running him over. His arms were trembling, his shoulders ached, and his calves were on fire.

  The car drifted forward again. JT’s eyes first narrowed as he tried to force the car backward, then widened in alarm when he saw he couldn’t even keep it in place. Kori quickly yanked the handle of the parking brake and the ratcheting echoed loudly through the otherwise quiet parking lot, an accusation that he wasn’t up to the task.

  JT straightened, hands on his hips, and glared through the windshield in the darkening gloom. The red was beginning to fade from his cheeks but he was still breathing too heavily. “What’d you do that for? I almost had it.”

  Kori shook her head and rolled down her window. “JT, come here.”

  He didn’t move. “Take the brake off and lemme give ‘er another go.”

  She knew his first burst was the strongest he would be able to muster and again shook her head no. “It’s not gonna happen, JT. It’s too heavy, it’s an uphill push, and you’re still not used to the altitude.”

  He approached her open window. His breathing was almost back to normal and so was his color. “I can do this, Kori.”

  “I don’t think the two of us together could get us out of this parking space. Why don’t you get back in, where it’s a little bit warmer, and we’ll figure out our options.”

  JT knew that, without her cooperation, it didn’t matter what he thought he could do. She’d just put the brake back on if he reached over her to the center console and released it. “Pushy goddamn woman,” he muttered, walking around the front of the car and back to the passenger door.

  Kori heard him but let it go. Now was not the time to argue. Besides, he was right. She was stubborn as an ox and pushy when she needed to be and was well aware of both.

  JT opened the door but instead of getting in, he reached through to the back door and unlocked it. Kori watched with mounting curiosity as he closed the door again, then opened the back and slid inside. He stretched his long legs, putting his feet behind her seat, then leaned back into the opposite corner.

  “Ahh. That’s much better than banging my knees into the dashboard again.”

  Kori twisted in her seat to look back at him. “Comfy now?” she asked wryly.

  “As a matter of fact, I am. And after all that pushing, I’m not nearly so cold, either. My already-stiff back, however, is a bitchfire of muscles ready to knot.” He fixed his eyes on hers and her stomach did a little twirl. “So, what do you propose we do, Kori?”

  “I can keep trying to start it, but I doubt that’ll get us anywhere. This is not the first time I’ve been nearly stranded because of the starter, but it is the first time I haven’t been in a position to bump-start the car and be on my way. I really don’t want to sit around and wait for whoever is parked in the space in front of us to show up and drive off so we can roll forward and try to dump the clutch.” She glanced at her wristwatch. “There’s a garage not far from here that has a towing service. I can call them to pick us up and take the car to their shop to fix it, then ask the driver to give us a ride home.”

  JT groaned. “I don’t suppose you’d know their telephone number so we can just call them from here with my cell? It really is warmer in here than it is outside and I’d just as soon not freeze my bollocks off.”

  “Believe it or not, I do know their number,” she said. “It’s one of those catchy ones where all seven digits are the same.”

  “Well, at least something’s going our way, then.” JT reached into his pocket and a puzzled look stole over his face. He patted his other pocket. “Oh, crap,” he mumbled.

  “Oh crap what?”

  “Oh crap, I don’t have my phone.”

  Kori looked at him with alarm. “You lost your phone? Oh Lord, that could be a real nightmare, depending on who’s found it, JT.”

  “Actually, no. It’s not lost. I know precisely where it is.” He looked sheepish.

  “And where would that be?”

  “Plugged into the charger on your kitchen counter. It kept cutting out when I tried to use it earlier, and then I forgot all about it when we left.”

  “And Zach has mine. So I guess we walk back to the payphones in the mall and freeze our butts off on the way.” She pulled the keys from the ignition and opened her door.

  JT got out and rebuttoned his denim jacket, then stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. “You call for the tow since you know the number, and I’ll call Mark and let him know what’s happening.”

  Kori shivered and pulled her loose-fitting windbreaker a little closer and began walking. “If he’s asleep, he probably won’t answer, so you might want to try calling Zach, too. Do you know my cell number?” She glanced sideways at him as he caught up.

  “By heart, Kori.” A light smile creased his features.

  As they neared the mall, Kori noticed the public telephones were outside in freestanding kiosks, one phone on each side of the wide bank of entry doors. Oh joy. We get to stay out here and freeze our hineys off.

  They separated, each heading for a different telephone.

  ***

  Mark shifted in the bed, mumbling briefly in his slumber.

  On a table in the living room, the cordless telephone shrilled o
ut an incoming call unheeded. After several rings, the answering machine took over and instructed the caller to leave a message.

  ***

  The phone on Zach’s belt began to play a quiet melody. He paused the videogame and pulled the phone from its holster to look at the tiny LCD screen. He slipped it back inside the leather case while the tune continued to play.

  “Aren’t you going to answer it?” asked his friend.

  “Nope. I’m only allowed to answer if it’s from one of two numbers, and it isn’t, so I better not. I don’t wanna get in trouble.”

  “Oh. Okay. It’s still your turn.”

  “I know, and I’m gonna whip your ass.” Zach grinned and went back to playing.

  ***

  JT approached Kori and overheard the very end of her conversation. “We’ll be in the car waiting then, I guess. Thanks. Bye.”

  She hung up the handset then curled her fingers into a loose fist and breathed over the knuckles several times. “Damn, that phone is cold,” she muttered. She looked up at JT’s glum face. “We’re going to be here a while,” she said. “Any time from thirty minutes to two hours. Seems their driver is having a busy evening.”

  “I had about as much luck. No answer at either number. I left messages that we were stranded and we’d get there when we could.” He glanced down as she blew over her fingers again. “Want to wait inside where it’s warm?”

  “Not for too long, since the tow can be here in half an hour, but heating up a bit before we have to go back to the car would be wonderful.”

  “I can heat you up, Kori.” He smiled just enough to bring out the dimple in his cheek and waggled his eyebrows.

  She smacked him lightly across the bicep. “I was thinking more along the lines of coffee.”

  “Damn. Can’t fault a guy for trying,” he said, holding open the wide glass door and admiring the view of her moving backside as she passed by.

  Thirty minutes later found them back in the car; JT again slouching across the back and Kori in the passenger seat sitting sideways, her shoulders against the cold glass of the window. She shivered and pulled her hands up into the cuffs of her jacket.