The Trouble Way (31 page)

He knew for a fact, once shoes came off
— Make yourself comfortable —
it was less than the time it took Willie to sing
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
to end up between the sheets, guar-an-fuckin’-teed, a boast his friends back in the Air Force were fond of saying.

When it came to Annmarie, he was not of a mind to pressure her. But, he sure as shit wasn
’t of a mind to play hard to get, regardless of what advantages that theory was professed to have. Not that he had a clue how that worked anyway.

Deep in thought and nursing that extra Bud, Jake noticed the girls sashay into the bar. This time, the
“Dancing Girls,” were shy by two; the two who showed up were Annmarie and Jan. One of Annmarie’s hands had a grip on Jan’s elbow and the other hand clutched the first, like they were in a wedding procession. More likely, it was the cold of the Missoula night that enticed her to keep as close as possible to another warm body. It didn’t surprise Jake; more evidence Annmarie was a touching sort of gal.

“
Hi.” It was another of Annmarie’s unique whisper “Hi’s” that seemed to linger as though it were a warm, gentle breeze. A “Hi” that loitered in Jake’s mind and whirled like a dust devil. A “Hi” that kept returning and caressing his thoughts for days. Even when he forgot many of the other things they talked about, the “Hi” seemed to always be with him. If she said nothing more than that, it would have been enough. He did not think she was aware her voice had such a profound effect on him, but then again, he could be wrong. Maybe she did know the power she possessed. You never knew with women.

Annmarie was careful about touching Jake overly much while they were in such a public place. She would frequently make innocent lingering contact with his hand or arm with her hand gestures in the course of conversation. Jake sensed they were more than mere conversational gestures.

Jan knew the situation, and Annmarie had complete trust in her long-time friend, but she did worry about someone in the bar seeing her at a table with a man not her husband who may not have been as trustworthy.

It was a different matter entirely when they were on the dance floor. Jake prayed for the slow songs where he could draw Annmarie close and feel her warm body against him. He was careful to make sure he always held her in the traditional way, with h
er right hand in his left. They never tangled themselves with both arms around each other’s bodies like some of the obvious lovers did. She had a wonderful way of putting her left arm high around his shoulder and managed to snuggle her chest tight to his, as if she were shielding him from the icy Missoula air that may slip between them.

Back in high school, the chaperones were always harping at the couples to
“leave space for Jesus,” between them. She always held his hand resolutely as if he might escape, which, of course, there wasn’t an ice-cube’s chance in a hot frying pan he had any intention of allowing.

Sometimes he was lucky and she would put her lips close to his ear and whisper her sexy thoughts. To Jake, all her thoughts were sexy.

Other times, when he managed to guide them into the dark recesses of the dance floor, she would give him shivers by sneaking her fingers beneath his collar and pull it down enough to brand him with a warm, lingering kiss on his neck. Later, when the night was over, he discovered the imprint of her lipstick on his neck and did his damnedest to re-live the experience in his mind.

“
You feel absolutely lovely,” she whispered to him as she ran her fingernails up the back of his neck and into his hair and as quickly patted his hair back into place. “What do you think, sweetheart?”

“
That feels unbelievable,” Jake said as he recovered the beat in a rare misstep in their slow musical embrace on the dance floor. He felt equally enthralled about of her use of “sweetheart” as with “lovely.”

They had only been on their second non-date, or whatever it was supposed to be called. He was not sure what was going on and had never experienced anything like it. It was a strange relationship, that was for goddamned sure, but he carelessly fell in love with Annmarie anyway.

After their late-night bacon, eggs, hash browns, and coffee at IHOP, he walked the girls to their car and when Jan got in behind the wheel, he was able to give Annmarie a brief hug and get his first taste of her kiss. It was wonderful, brief, and left him absolutely paralyzed with wanting. It was when he was shifting through the gears of his VW as he slid his way on icy Missoula streets on the way to his apartment he was struck by his first inkling that the person in this relationship who might end up being hurt was probably the one looking at him when he glanced at himself in the rearview mirror.

Annmarie
’s face offered a smile when she saw Jake sitting in a booth near the window and she gave a quick wave.

“
It’s so nice to see you,” she said, pressing her fingers around the back of his hand. “I hope it isn’t a problem; I know it’s really on short notice.”

“
It’s not a problem at all. I’m always happy to see you,” Jake said. He had a coffee cup waiting and filled it as she sat.

“
I’m so happy you could meet me for lunch.”

By the time they had eaten their burger and fries and were putting their jackets on, their rendezvous had been planned. She was available that evening after work, and if he liked, she could come visit for a little while. She would be by at six.

“I’m off at five but I need to stop at home to change out of my work clothes. Is that all right, Jake? Will six be okay?”

“
Six is perfect. I get off at around that time too and I have a hard time getting out right on the dot,” Jake said. “Customer problems. They are either the first problem of the day to ruin your day or the last of the day which tends to ruin one’s evening. I
will
get out on time tonight, for sure.”

“
That will be wonderful. I’ll see you then.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “Don’t be late, Hon.”

There was not word one about her
“special circumstance.” She didn’t bring it up and he assumed she knew that it would be safe for a visit. He sure as heck was not going to broach the subject.

Jake walked back to the store and got back into managing his area until his shift came to an end. He tied up loose ends with the department heads and left the merchandise office and wound his way to the front of the store, purposely avoiding any aisle where there were customers. He exited the front door of Big Richards on the dot of five and when he got to his VW, he let it warm up for only a few minutes. He had to scrape the accumulation of snow off the windshield and now waited for the fog to dissipate from the inside of the window. Before heading for home, there was one stop at the grocery store for some beer and wine and some cheese and crackers and he walked into his apartment at exactly five-thirty.

The temperature outside was near twenty and the apartment was colder than a naked well-digger’s ass, as Roy used to say, so he cranked up the thermostat, put some Willie on the stereo, and jumped in the shower. He splashed on a bit of cologne and put on a comfortable, long-sleeve cotton shirt and jeans.

The wine was still in the bag so he took it out and used his corkscrew to remove the cork on the Merlot. He put the bottle and a couple wine glasses on the coffee table and then went around the apartment lighting
several candles. As he went, he gave it a quick dust-over, collected two empty beer bottles from the floor beside the couch, and put them in the trash. He still had ten minutes to wait so he opened a bottle of beer and drank a couple of swigs while he waited.

A thought occurred to him and he sprinted into the bedroom and stripped the bed and replaced the sheets. He was not counting on it, after all, Annmarie was married, but if the occasion arose where his bed came into play, he wanted crisp sheets. She had so far just danced with him. She had kissed him on the neck a few times and he did kiss her lips that time in the parking lot but they had never been in an isolated moment; it was always in a bar or restaurant and there were always a bunch of naturally curious people around. He wasn
’t sure what to make of her aggression in suggesting she visit him at his apartment. He sure wasn’t about to raise his right hand in protest. He was ass over teapot in love with Annmarie and any time spent with her was the ultimate experience for him.

Jake went back to the kitchen and took the crackers and cheese out of the grocery sack and assembled a plate of crackers with a ring of sliced cheese around the plate like he had seen on those cooking shows that were starting to turn up, which he abhorred, on day-time television. It was one of the primary reasons he did not own a TV.

Willie began singing,
All of Me.
The second Jake had placed the goodies on the coffee table, the doorbell rang.

“
Hi,” he said as Annmarie surprised him when she walked straight into his arms before he closed the door. She wrapped her arms around his neck, like the lovers do when they are dancing to a slow country song, and put her lips on his and held him there with her body hard-pressed against him.

“
I’ve been craving you for weeks,” she said when she surfaced for a breath, then put her lips back on his and pinned him there once more.

“
Why did you wait so long?” Jake was a bit out of breath but smiling. “I have been wanting to do that too.” He took her by the hand and led her into the living room. “How about some wine and cheese?”

“
That would be lovely.”

He helped her to shed her jacket. He threw it across the back of a stuffed chair and she went around the coffee table and sat on the couch. She reached for a wine glass and held it for Jake to fill.

“Thank you, dear,” she said smiling up at him.

She hadn
’t called him dear before and it made him feel warm.

“
You’re welcome.” He filled the other glass for himself and sat next to her.

“
Help yourself to the snacks. I wasn’t sure what you would like so I got an assortment of crackers and cheese.” He started to get a cracker and realized he hadn’t put out plates nor were there any napkins. He stood and headed to the kitchen.

“
Everything is just so romantic, Jake. All of this is very nice, the wine, cheese and crackers, and especially the candles and music. Are you trying to seduce me Jake?”

“
Hadn’t crossed my mind. No, that’s a lie, honestly, I’ve been wanting to do that since I met you.” He said walking back from the kitchen with the supply of napkins and two plates. “Here you go.”

Their first glass of wine was gone in a flash. He filled her glass again, then reached for her hand, and pulled her to her feet and they began dancing to one of Willie
’s slow songs. They danced several times before sitting back on the couch to refresh themselves.

“
Just a sec, Jake, I’m going to make myself a little more comfortable. My shoes keep catching in the carpet.” She bent and pulled one shoe off and then the other.

He removed his also.
There go the shoes
.

“
I’m going to flip the record.” Willie began singing
If You’ve Got the Money Honey, I’ve Got the Time
. “Care to dance?”

She stood and he took both of her hands and they began to do the swing. He managed avoiding the coffee table, chairs, and couch, deftly maneuvering around each.

“That was wonderful, Jake. Thank you.”

Willie began to sing
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.

“
I love this song. Dance with me Jake,” she said and rose, raised her arms, waiting for him to step into her gentle embrace. She laid her head on his shoulder and let their passion lift them aloft on the wings of the music.

He released her hand and put both arms around her waist and felt her warm body under the fuzzy sweater next to him. He lowered his hands and slid them up under her sweater. Her back felt warm and smooth and he caressed the muscles on each side of her backbone and slid his hands upward. His hands felt beneath her cotton blouse and caressed her shoulders.

“Mmmmm,” she whispered in his ear and wrapped both her arms around him and began to kiss his neck. “You feel so nice. I just want to put my hands all over your body.”

They continued to dance and embrace and, when the music ended, kept their hold on each other.

She looked up at him and their lips came together and they kissed through the entire song that Willie sang,
Remember Me
.

She did not object when he slid his hand under her waistband and felt her baby smooth ass. She did not object when he pulled the blouse under her fuzzy soft sweater from her waistband. She did not object when he pulled her fuzzy soft sweater over her head and threw it on the back of the couch. And, she did not object when he unbuttoned her cotton blouse. Taking both his hands, she placed them on her breasts and stood on tippy toes and kissed him while he warmed his hands on her.

“Honey, that feels so nice,” she said and took him by the hand and led him to the couch and they sat next to each other, she in just her bra and jeans.