A Few More Nights (Slice of Life)

by Gaines, Olivia

  He stared at her, then leaned forward and kissed her hard on the mouth, “How lucky am I? Beauty, brains and so much more. Thank you, Nadine.” The way he said her name had such a permanency in the tone, she went all warm inside.

  Chapter Nine

  Initially, Nadine was a bit off put by Marc imposing himself and staying over until her mother arrived, but after a great night of rest, she started to take back some of her reservations. All of her concerns were wiped away when it came time for her to take care of her personal needs. How in the world was she going to shower and clean herself?

  Without her asking for help, he had purchased some industrial strength garbage bags that he cut into workable sizes to secure and cover her hand and foot. Step by step, he walked her through the cutting and application of the plastic protectants so that she would be able to instruct her mother how to do it as well. There was a bit of blood in her hair that she would need to rinse out, but to wrap her hair afterwards would be a hassle. Maybe on Tuesday or something she could get Bena or her Mom to take her to the salon.

  She managed to get the shower started, but the whole process was labor-intensive and frustrating. Quietly, a naked Marc stepped into the shower, offered her his hand to step up into the tub. Nadine appeared to be offended, “You are going to wash me?”

  “Baby, with the exception of your elbows and knees, at some point over the past week, I have had every part of you in my mouth. Now, you want to be bashful?” Well, when he put it like that, she had nothing left to say. She joined him in the shower. He used the detachable shower head to rinse the caked blood from her hair, shampooed it, rinsed and repeated. She gave him instructions on how to apply the conditioner. Her bath sponge was saturated with her shower gel and started on her back, washing her legs, and then upwards, telling her, “This has to be the world’s most perfect ass.”

  Her man of mystery methodically washed all of her parts, pits, dents, and dimples, then rinsed the conditioner from her hair. She stood and watched as he slowly bathed himself while his eyes never left her face. Heavens to Betsy, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to make love to him or eat him! When he rinsed his body, she had made up her mind, she would prop her foot onto something and let him have his way. Her cupcake was in agreement.

  Instead, he rinsed himself, helped her remove the plastic so she could dry herself, and then helped her get dressed. Nadine had to walk him through how to add oil to her hair, then a wrap solution. She told him how to use the wide toothed comb to pull the hair back in one direction, then bind it at the base so that it would dry almost flat to remain straight. He asked no questions and followed her instructions. Afterwards, he joined her on the couch.

  Marc was an avid reader since much of their downtime on his job site was spent waiting for something to happen. Many of the books on her shelf he had already read, which made for interesting after-dinner conversation. They shared ideas on author’s writing styles, favorite free e-book sights and she even loaded up his Kindle with some new authors. She also found that his birthday was in early September, which made him a Virgo, which was very compatible to her being a Scorpio. Astrologically, they were an ideal match. It was very pleasing to discover they had a great deal more in common than just mind-blowing sex.

  Sex that she was not getting tonight. Her mother would be arriving tomorrow afternoon and he would be leaving Tuesday morning. She wondered if they could or if he would try at least one more time. As they lay in bed on Sunday night, as with the two nights before, he allowed her to find a comfortable spot before he draped an arm over her mid-section. She needed to know, “Marc?”

  “Hmmm?”

  She slowly turned, making sure not to hit his ankles or calves with the cast, “Do you think we could…at least just once more?”

  Those were the only words he needed as his mouth found hers. His tongue dipped inside her mouth and mated with her own. She reached for him accidently clunking him in the head with her cast. “Shit,” he told her, “I’ll give it to you, no need to club me in the head to take it!” The two of them laughed as they figured out how to make it work without hurting either party.

  His fingers, those magical fingers gently caressed her bringing her near to a climax, but he pulled her backwards, taking her right leg over his hip as he maneuvered underneath her leg to position himself, “Ooohhhh!” was all she could say as she felt the tip of him slide inside. Nadine was slick and ready as she pushed her butt against his hips slowly rolling her pelvis trying to take in every inch of his ambitions. Slowly he rolled her onto her stomach, pulling her hips into the air until she was almost on her knees. This was one of his least favorite positions, but damn, it felt good. “You are so tight, Beauty, and you feel so good.” His fingers were under her stomach and sliding downward, he wet them with his mouth before placing them inside of her lady folds to bring her pleasure. He used small strokes with his fingers then his hips, until she could properly take him all in.

  Feeling brave, she looked over her shoulder at him and rolled her hips downward. Marc’s eyes rolled up in his head. She did it again and again and again, until he was no longer in control. He held onto her hips as he slammed into her over and over again. She cried out his name as she began to orgasm. He withdrew and used his mouth to help her finish. As she began to gyrate against his tongue, he plunged back into her, whispering her name and unloaded everything he was feeling into her body.

  Somewhere in the middle of the night, she sat straight up in the bed. It was too late now; if the stars were aligning, she would just have to figure some things out later. She never made it to the drug store and she had not put on another patch.

  Chapter Ten

  Selena Jordan arrived in Los Angeles on time and was greeted at the airport by her daughter’s best friend Bena, who only said Nadine was receiving the best care. Her daughter’s friend was one of those people who said very little with their mouths, but the eyes and body language said so much more. There was a man involved; she would wait for her daughter, and not impose on this friend’s confidence.

  Sure enough, when they reached the apartment, she could smell food cooking and knew it was not her daughter’s handy work. Nadine arose from the table and greeted her mother with a smile before throwing her bruised body into Selena’s arms. Bena’s eyes were trained on Marc as he watched the mother daughter reunion. She slipped Selena’s bags into the guest room and took a seat at the table to watch the fireworks.

  Marc stepped forward as Nadine told her mother, “I would like you to meet my boyfriend Marc,” who extended his hand for the introduction.

  “Does this Marc have a last name?”

  With a deep breath, he said, “Deasley, my name is Marc Henry Deasley.”

  Her mother was not slow to connect the dots, “Are you related to her boss?”

  “I am his younger brother.”

  Selena squinted and looked at her daughter, “A little close to home don’t you think, Dear?”

  Nadine gave that smile that only a guilty daughter could, “Well….” She started, but Marc intervened.

  “I can see where Nadine gets her keen powers of perception. My brother often tells me that I am a great deal like our mother.” He waited for Selena to take the bait.

  “You didn’t know your mother well?”

  “No, our parents were killed in a skiing accident when I was 12. Rolland was already 18 and assumed custody of me, and raised me.”

  Selena was not amused by his attempt to bait and switch, “Nice try, Marc Henry Deasley, but a hit dog will holler.”

  Marc arched his brows, with a look of confusion aimed at Nadine, “I don’t know what that means.”

  Nadine hid her smile and answered, “It means that she knows we are trying to hide something.” Marc didn’t know what she was referring to because he had nothing to hide, he just didn’t want her mother to think the worst of either of them. “I will tell you both, it does not matter how careful, how cautious, or how much you try to sneak, you will not be ab
le to get away with anything for long.”

  Nadine piped up, “It wasn’t as if we planned anything Mother,” but her words were cut off by her mother’s laughter.

  “They say if you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans,” she finally took a seat and motioned for them both to join her. Selena looked down the table at Bena. The look that only a mother could give was issued to the friend who took the cue to leave, asking Nadine to call her later.

  Marc broke the silence, “It doesn’t matter how we got here, we are here and I am not going anywhere.” Nadine loved him attempting to take a stand with her mother, but then he backed up a bit, “Well, I have to leave tomorrow, but I will be back in six months.” Selena looked at her daughter for an explanation.

  “Marc works in Alaska,” and now Selena Jordan went to the cupboard and poured herself a drink. Instead of returning the Scotch to the cabinet, she brought the whole bottle over to the table. Despite the weirdness of it all, she liked Marc and wanted to understand this pairing.

  “Start from the top, and leave nothing out.”

  When it was all explained, laid out, and the new couple took turns completing each other sentences, the first thing that came into Selena’s mind was that her grandchildren would not only be smart, but beautiful. Marc explained how they were supposed to have met years ago, but his flight got cancelled. Nadine talked about how they should have met at Thanksgiving three years ago, but reminded her mother about the emergency surgery that called her to the hospital. The two recounted all the times they had missed meeting each other over the past eight years and by random chance, they ended up together in Las Vegas for two nights.

  Selena knew as a seven-year widow, her career and personal ambitions had taken a backseat to being a wife and a mother. If there was one thing she understood, it was timing. Timing was lining up for these two and she had nothing to say other than, “Hmmppff.” It had been a long trip back to the US and she put away the Scotch, washed her glass and headed to the guest room. She refused anything to eat, but closed the door to take a nap.

  Marc looked at Nadine, mouth pursed to ask, what, how…something. Finally, when the right question could not be formed to gain an understanding on her mother’s reaction to what she had been told about how her daughter met him, he was only left with the same statement, “Hmmppff.”

  Nadine, whom had spent her life with the woman, understood her completely, and loved her dearly, knew that meant she approved. In the past ten years, Nadine had brought home famous, semi-famous, black business professionals, and even a pro athlete, all whom her mom detested after three minutes of conversation. Yet Marc had been honest and pretty much confessed he met her daughter in a hotel lobby, spent two days screwing her brains out, then found out she worked for his brother and figured fate had put them together. His firm stand of seeing it through to determine how they could make a life together was in his immediate plans along with a six month long-distance relationship. This, her mother was okay with…

  Nadine looked at Marc, whose blue eyes were focused on her face, “Hmmmpff.”

  Marc left the following morning and Nadine was proud of herself for not crying or acting like a lovesick school girl. The delay had actually worked out better for him and his group. A stop had to be made in Anchorage on Wednesday to pick up some supplies that would need to be taken to Fairbanks.

  In Fairbanks, the parts were connected to the rods that were placed on the back of a shipping truck that Marc rode in on with the ice road truckers into Prudhoe Bay. He arrived on Thursday morning. He looked around the barracks that he shared with his fifty-man crew, and with new eyes, he acknowledged that his time here was done. Where there had been uncertainty, now there was no doubt. He would buy Nadine and himself a nice home in the Valley, settle down, have some babies, and move on with his life. He would buy her a ridiculous diamond and marry her as soon as he saw her again.

  He had no idea that he would see her again in three months.

  Chapter Eleven

  Rolland was the first to notice the subtle changes in Nadine’s demeanor. Doris and Gerald, her co-workers, also noticed that she was being nicer. Initially, the office assistant was the one who pointed out that maybe she was feeling better since she was eating more, “You know she is normally gnawing on a twig with a cup of tea or something.” Everyone stared at her in disbelief. For the first time Rolland actually understood what Nadine had been telling him; the office assistant was a moron.

  Nothing further was said until Nadine slipped into Rolland’s office and asked, “How do I get to Prudhoe Bay?”

  He was not going to pry, but simply gave her the answers she sought with a few words of caution, “The rules for those types of work places are very strict, please check with him before you take off for parts unknown.” Rolland explained that in the six years Marc had worked for the site, he had only been up once, which was in the summer and it was still cold.

  Nadine said nothing more until a few weeks later when she asked for a week off. Caution told Rolland to call his brother and give him a head’s up, but he was more amused by the scenario and knew of the outcome. He would let her roll the dice and let fate do the rest.

  It took two days and sixteen hours of flight time to get to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, which was at the top of nowhere. There was an hour layover in Seattle, then on to Fairbanks. From Fairbanks, she had to take the commuter to the site which was actually on the Northern end of Prudhoe Bay. There were extra baggage fees for the suitcase of goodies she was bringing to him and his team and her excitement waned when she was dropped off at the main office. It was colder than the hearts of right-wingers on birth control issues, but she needed to see her man.

  In the distance, she could see the lights from the refinery. The photos he had shown her on his computer helped her get her bearings. Five miles or so from this location was the main barracks where he and his crew lived. The small building where she was left was a main office, set up like a country general store. It held the main radio and communication between the town and the oil site. She opened the door to let herself in. She must have looked a sight.

  A scrawny man, with few teeth who sported a rather large pair of boots, looked at her with a great deal of surprise in his face. Nadine smiled, “I’m here to see Marc Deasley.” Without removing his eyes from her face, he picked up the radio receiver, keyed the mic a few times, and spoke some code on the radio. She heard Marc’s voice and started to smile, “Marc,” he said very slowly as if to drag out the syllables, “I have a few packages for you and you may want to be on your way right now. One of the packages is live.”

  Marc responded, “En route, I am five by five, rolling in on ten.” The skinny man said his name was Johnny and asked her to come and sit in a very low chair behind the counter. She started to ask why, but remembered that Rolland said there were rules. Johnny must has sensed her trepidation, “We don’t get many of your kind around these parts, so we want to be safe.” Nadine felt offended and was uncertain of what this little man meant by those words until he clarified, “Women are rare in this region; just stay hidden ‘til he arrives.”

  Nadine was now really nervous. Over the past three months, depending on the weather, they had Skyped, texted and emailed. She had sent a few care packages, but she really needed to see him. Feelings, emotions, concerns, and everything else over the past three months had threatened to consume her and she simply needed to see him face to face. A few minutes later she heard what sounded like a very large truck pull up, the front door banged and she heard his voice. “What you got for me, Big Johnny?” The thin man pointed behind the desk and Nadine popped up, “Surprise!”

  The color drained from his face. “What the hell are you doing here?” Taken aback, Nadine’s face began to crumple a bit. Marc never gave her a chance to answer, he started barking out commands at her, at Johnny, and at some guy named Bishop on the radio. He asked about the cabin and told Johnny to reserve it for a few nights. Marc continued to yell at eve
ryone who came through the door, including a young man that had climbed out of the truck with him, “You! Get on the horn, make arrangements to get her on the first thing flying back to Fairbanks, then on to L.A.” Nadine was suddenly afraid, maybe she should have called. “Johnny, get Rico on the line, have him go through the cabin and make sure there are no critters hiding in there, get a fire started and bring up some clean linens.”

  He still had not said anything to Nadine. When he looked at her he was furious. “Johnny, who saw her get off the plane?”

  She pointed to her suitcase full of fruit and gave him a weak smile, he only responded by asking her through gritted teeth, “Did you tell Rolland you were coming up here?”

  “I kind of mentioned it to him,” she said and pointed at the suitcase again. He was not interested in anything she had brought. Marc did not really seem interested in her. This had been a mistake.

  “What did he tell you?”

  “That I should let you know I was planning to come and something about rules.” She didn’t have a chance to finish what she had to say before he physically pushed her to the truck, lifted her up and tossed her inside like a sack of potatoes. “Keep your head down until I tell you it is clear.”

  She was truly scared now and it was even colder outside than it was when she stepped off the plane. Marc rumbled around in the back of the truck and found four zip ties along with a pair of wire cutters. She needed to tell him that she really needed to pee, but she stayed down on the seat. Suddenly there were a bunch of yells and whoops and Marc hurriedly started the truck and sped away, leaving the young man that had rode in with him at the office.