The Rooster Club_The Best Cocks in Town

by N. M. Catalano

  “I’m coming. When’s the service?”

  There was a determination in Michael’s voice that went out to her like a life-line of strength. She did feel alone, completely and utterly alone, and she loved him for understanding that, even if she didn’t. But she couldn’t ignore the fact that he was married, and after everything was over, he would be going home…to her.

  “Michael, what are you going to tell your wife?” she couldn’t stop the question before it blurted out.

  “I’ll tell Theresa the truth. I’m going to visit an old friend who just lost someone very dear. Natalie, it’s not like we have a normal marriage, I’ve told you that. We haven’t slept in the same bed for years. It’s just a formal relationship for the kids.”

  Natalie took a deep breath, “Michael, what happened two years ago was beautiful. But…,” she had to say it, “I don’t want to be another one of your women.”

  “Natalie,” his voice was firm, as if he were trying to maintain control, “I never cheated on Theresa. Not once. And being with you is, was, not cheating. I think you know how I feel about you, how I’ve always felt about you. I was just too stupid in the past to do what was right. And half a lifetime passed before I could tell you.” There was a long pause. “I think you know this, that’s why you came two years ago.” He kept on, “Natalie, there are a lot of things we need to talk about, things that can’t be done over the phone. Let me come down and be with you now. Nothing has to happen. I only want to be there for you.”

  She believed him. Every. Single. Word. He was right, that is what she’d felt, deep down inside, but she was too afraid to admit it to herself, afraid that she was wrong. Again.

  “Ok…it’s in two days at 4:00 in the afternoon,” she finally said.

  “I’ll be there tomorrow. I’ll tie up what I have to today and I’ll come down for a few days. Send me the name of the closest airport. When I’ve got my flight information, I’ll forward it to you.” Relief was evident in Michael’s voice.

  “Michael, you really don’t have to...,” Natalie tried to give him an opportunity to back out of his offer one last time.

  Although she hoped he wouldn’t.

  “Stop, I told you, I want to. I can’t wait to see you. And it will be good to see Vinnie and Sylvia again.”

  “Ok, if you’re sure…,” she said hesitantly.

  “Yes, and if I need to stay at a hotel, send me the name and address of one so I can make a reservation,” he added. She could hear his smile in his words.

  “No, that’s not necessary. You can stay here,” she answered, smiling too, as a gentle calm enveloped her.

  Michael was coming.

  She had to figure out a way to tell her kids an old friend was coming to stay, which was the only thing Natalie was worried about.

  And Michael wasn’t a friend.

  ***

  The next day Natalie stood at the only gate entrance at the tiny international airport. She shuffled from one foot to the other as the stream of people began to walk up the passageway.

  Michael’s flight had just landed and she was half expecting him not to show. Some old demons never go away.

  There he was.

  She gasped when his eyes found hers. His smile pushed all her doubts aside. He was there, pulling her into his arms, right when she needed him the most.

  “Hi there beautiful,” he whispered in Natalie’s ear.

  “Hi. Thanks so much for coming,” she said quietly as Michael’s strength slowly seeped into her.

  “Are you kidding me? You couldn’t keep me away. I’m really glad you told me, Natalie,” he whispered again, pulling her tighter

  Natalie felt the lump starting to form in her throat, telling her the tears were right behind it.

  “Do you have any checked bags?” she changed the subject.

  “No, this is it. Let’s go, and I’ll drive, you just relax,” he answered as he led her towards the exit with his arm still holding her waist.

  Natalie’s daughters were with their dad so the house was empty when they arrived. She thought it was going to be strange having Michael in her house, but it wasn’t. He had a soothing strength about him that put her at ease. He took charge when she needed him to, and let her keep busy when he saw she was about to climb out of her skin.

  “You have a beautiful home, Natalie.”

  He walked to the couch after the tour and was pulling her gently down with him. She followed his gaze as he scanned the spaces, and saw it through his eyes.

  It was a big overstuffed couch and loveseat, with the corners slightly frayed from the cat scratching on it, and a zebra patterned rug between them. In the dining area there was an antique table and chairs with a secretary next to it. The walls and shelves were filled with her children’s’ artwork and ceramics they’d made through the years, with only that and their pictures as decorations. Her home was a hodgepodge of stuff, but it was her sanctuary because you felt love when you were here.

  “Thank you,” she told him quietly, beaming inside.

  “Are you ok with me here?” Michael sensed that Natalie was comfortable but he wanted to be sure. There was too much he needed to do while he was here, and he wasn’t going to risk a thing.

  He had his arm draped over her shoulder, holding her close in the crook of his arm.

  “Actually, it feels nice, Michael.”

  “Yes, it does,” he replied quietly, as he placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. “What did the kids say about me coming?”

  Natalie had been worried about what their dad would say. It had taken a few years, but Ray and Natalie were now friends. He could have had legal rights to say Michael couldn’t stay overnight because he wasn’t a family member. Fortunately, Michael was an old family friend everyone in Natalie’s family knew, so Ray didn’t put up a fight.

  “They’re curious, of course, but with the circumstances, and how family had all come in when my mom died, they didn’t find it too unusual.”

  Which was the truth.

  “Can I take all of us out to dinner tonight?” Michael asked.

  “Michael, you’ve done more than enough just coming here and dropping everything,” Natalie began to decline

  “I want to. And I think it will help break the ice, with us somewhere that’s neutral ground.”

  ‘Break the ice for what?’ Natalie wondered, but decided not to ask.

  “I suppose you’re right, that would be nice, thank you,” she agreed.

  “Stop thanking me, Natalie,” he chuckled, as his chest rumbled under her ear.

  Natalie laughed, because she had thanked him a lot, and her nerves were still a little tense.

  “Why don’t you go take a hot shower, to help relax you a little? I’ll get unpacked and settled in my room. Then we can go pick up the kids,” Michael suggested.

  Her eyes flew open in surprise, “How did you know?”

  “That I should stay in a guest room? I’m a parent too, and I know you wouldn’t let some strange man stay in your room with your kids’ home.” Michael placed a tender kiss on her forehead, “Now go get in the shower.”

  Natalie had her cheek and palms pressed against the cool tile wall as she stood under the pulsating jets of hot water. This was a perfect idea, exactly what she’d needed. The curtain slid to the side. Natalie knew he would come, she’d been waiting for him. Her eyes opened slowly as a contented smile curved her lips. He was naked, and he was still perfect, absolutely perfect, even after all these years. His body was fuller, bigger, than when they were younger, and she thought he looked even better now. His savage beauty hadn’t diminished at all. Rather, it was more powerful and intoxicating, something that only time could have done. She reached a hand out to him, and he took it as he stepped in behind her. He pressed his warmth against her, and it felt so good.

  Gone was the urgency in Michael. It was replaced by an overwhelming need to love her slowly, completely, and thoroughly. He wanted to savor Natalie fully and deliciously, p
ossess her and consume her like she’d done him. This was the woman he’d fallen in love with all those years ago. She was here in his arms, and he was going to show her how much he’d missed her for so long, and make her soul rock with it.

  She still had the same innocence and purity, life hadn’t robbed her of it. And it still soothed him in a way nothing else could. She had a subtle strength now that enchanted him. She was so beautiful, it took his breath away.

  “Let me take care of you, Natalie,” he murmured, his lips brushing against the skin of her back.

  She sighed deeply as his hands slid up the wet sides of her body, and his erection grew against her. He gripped Natalie’s shoulders and began to tenderly massage the tension from her body as his mouth nipped along the length of her neck. She melted further and further into him, and into the place where she forgot about her sadness, her dad’s death, and the worries about letting him into her world. His hands were magic as they moved from kneading to caressing, touching her in all the right ways, in all the right places. He massaged from her shoulders, down her back, to the plump round globes of her ass. Her sex ached and pulsed with each grasp and each stroke, the fire inside her roaring higher and higher. Everywhere Michael touched her with his lips, tongue, fingers and hands ignited her flesh. He turned her slowly to face him while his lips never left her body. He took her pain and replaced it with adoration as he worshipped her. His lips and tongue made love to her breasts as his hands and fingers began their erotic seduction of her throbbing sex. He was loving her so slowly, so uninhibitedly, with so much intent and emotion, it brought tears to her eyes. The high from feeling him slide his fingers inside her, in and out languidly and perfectly, sent rippling shockwaves through her entire body, making her soar as he stroked her. His mouth flicked, sucked and nibbled her hard nipples as her heart beat in rhythm to the pulsing in her breasts and the throbbing of her sex. Each time his tongue licked the tips, her walls clenched his fingers, pulling her closer to the cliff.

  Michael loved the velvet feeling inside her as he stroked her, caressed her, needing to get deeper. He slipped, turned, twisted, rubbed her inside until her knees almost buckled beneath her. She was hungry, he could feel it every time she grabbed his thrusting fingers, begging him for more. He teased her with each whisper touch over her clit. He wasn’t going to let her come yet, not until he was inside her so he could feel her explode all around him. It made his cock jump with the thought of it. The soft moans and whimpers of Natalie’s lust was a drug to Michael, and he continued to milk her, needing to hear more and more.

  This. Was. Bliss.

  When Michael lifted Natalie and wrapped her legs around his waist and slid inside, she was already shattering into a million magnificent pieces.

  Michael was almost insane with desire, a hunger and a need so consuming, so fierce and so strong, he almost came the instant he plunged into her. Her pain had wrenched at his soul and he wanted to take it all from her, erase every heartache she’d ever had, and fill her with everything he felt for her.

  He wasn’t prepared for the intensity of emotions that rushed through him when she screamed his name and pulled him into her rapture, drowning them both.

  He’d gone back often to their time together two years ago, and relived it over and over again in his mind when he was alone. And when she’d walked out of his hotel room without a word. The memory gave him something to hold onto, a hope for more in his life, the same thing he’d felt when he held her so long ago.

  “God, Natalie…,” his voice was ragged.

  “Michael…,” Natalie breathed, as she pulled his mouth to hers, needing more, needing all of him.

  Their orgasm was so hard, so intense, it went on and on.

  They dressed together, both of them a little bit drunk from their lovemaking, but unable to be apart.

  They decided it would be best if Natalie went to pick up the kids alone, to get them ready to meet her ‘friend’. On the way back to her house, Natalie’s cell phone rang. It was Sylvia.

  “Hello, Syl.”

  “You have company?” she asked, her voice a repressed shrill.

  Natalie should have known Ray would call them to ask about Michael.

  “Yes, Michael came down for dad’s service,” Natalie answered her. She forced herself not to be curt with Sylvia, but she was already starting to agitate Natalie.

  “Our ‘Michael’?” Sylvia asked excitedly.

  Natalie thought, ‘No, my Michael.’

  “Yes, we’ve been talking, and he flew in today. The girls and I are going out to dinner with him now. We’ll stop by afterwards, if that’s ok?” Natalie replied, holding on to the last threads of politeness she could grab.

  “Of course, I can’t wait to see him,” Sylvia was a little too happy, and Natalie couldn’t help getting annoyed.

  Natalie tried to be happy because Sylvia was excited, but something was bothering her about how over the top Sylvia was. Natalie was really looking forward to bringing Vinnie and Michael back together. Even though she’d hated how inseparable they were before, now Natalie was glad that her brother was going to see his old friend. The way Sylvia was carrying on, though, was as if Michael was her old boyfriend. It was really starting to piss Natalie off.

  “I’ll call you later when we’re on our way,” she tried to get Sylvia off the phone.

  “You really should have told us earlier. He can stay here,” Sylvia gushed.

  ‘No fucking way in hell, I’m not a little girl anymore, and there’s no way I’m letting him spend the night alone in a house with you,’ Natalie thought. She tried so hard not to, but couldn’t stop.

  “He’s staying at the house, the girls’ dad already knows,” which Sylvia obviously was already aware of.

  “Ok, make sure you bring him over, bye,” Sylvia finally gave in.

  “I will, bye, Sylvia,” and Natalie hung up.

  “Boy, she sure sounds excited to see your friend,” Alex, Natalie’s fifteen year old daughter who was sitting next to her, said.

  “Yeah she does, but he’s hers and Uncle Vinnie’s friend too,” she tried to make Sylvia’s reaction seem normal.

  ‘A little too much,’ a little warning voice rang in Natalie’s head.

  ***

  The girls were a little shy when they first met Michael, but he was right. When they arrived at the Japanese restaurant, everyone, even Natalie, became more relaxed.

  “This is your favorite place?” he asked them.

  “Yes,” the girls’ simultaneous answer was immediate.

  “I love these Hibachi restaurants too, the show is great,” he told them.

  Natalie could tell the girls weren’t immune to Michael’s natural charm by their easy conversation. But he was genuine, which was what was really winning them over.

  Natalie sat quietly at the table and let them get to know each other. She loved how they were getting along, and how great he was with kids. She had to remind herself that he was only here for the funeral, and after that both of them were going back to their lives. The thought threatened Natalie with sadness, but she refused to allow it, reminding herself to enjoy him while she had him.

  That was exactly what she intended to do.

  Natalie called Vinnie after dinner to let him know they were on their way. He sounded so happy to see Michael, it almost broke her heart. Vinnie had taken their dad’s death pretty hard. Not only had he lost a father, but a best-friend as well, and Natalie was thrilled to be able to do this for him.

  As they drove, Natalie wondered if Michael had any idea how much he’d meant to all of them, how his disappearance had effected each and every one of them, especially Natalie and Vinnie. Natalie knew how much she’d mourned him for a very long time, but not until this moment did she really consider what her brother had gone through. Theirs was a close family most of their lives, and they’d taken Michael into their tight circle, even Mama as he’d affectionately called her, as if he were one of their own, because he was. They’d
all loved him, in their individual ways.

  Natalie looked at her daughters through the rearview mirror. She’d wanted them to like Michael, but at the same time she was afraid that if they did, he would leave them with an empty space like he’d done everybody else in the past. Natalie knew letting him into her private life was a risky move. His presence would now be cemented in every corner of her present, and not only her past. It scared her to death because it made him real, not just a fantasy any more. She was selfish allowing him to enter into her home. She was already too familiar with the pain when he left.

  ***

  The reunion was more than Natalie could have asked for, heartfelt and moving. Michael and Vinnie laughed over their old stories. Many of them Sylvia knew about, others she was as clueless as Natalie.

  The kitchen is the heart of the home, and at that moment it was no different. They were all gathered around the table, but their father’s chair remained empty, in respect for him.

  “So, what about Paulsky?” Vinnie asked.

  “Does he know you came down?” Sylvia said from where she stood at the kitchen counter.

  She was getting drinks and snacks together for them, even though Michael had said he didn’t want anything.

  “No, I haven’t spoken to him in a while, it’s got to be at least fifteen years. He got involved with some people I didn’t want to have anything to do with. He was mixing some stuff up at home and it exploded. It blew his whole hand right off.”

  “Oh my God!” Sylvia’s hand flew to her mouth in shock.

  “You’re fucking kidding me?!” Vinnie exclaimed.

  “Vinnie, language, the girls!” Natalie scolded him.

  “Oops, sorry, girls,” he laughed, he still had that charming boyish way.

  “Don’t worry Uncle Vinnie, they talk a lot worse than that at school,” Angel, Natalie’s thirteen year old daughter, laughed.

  “But that doesn’t make it ok for me to do it, and you too,” Vinnie told her with a stern look.

  “I don’t curse, Uncle Vinnie,” Angel informed him in a very grown-up way.