Odalisque
Eleven
I COULD FEEL THE FAINT BUZZING and realized I held Bree’s hand. She pushed herself up and stopped the alarm on her cell phone.
“Mmm. My time is up. I have to go home,” Bree mumbled. She pushed herself off my lap and stood up stretching. I stood up, too.
“Thanks for keeping me warm,” I said.
“Thank you. Thank you for still being my friend,” Bree said. “I want to be out of here before your next blanket arrives. I really don’t even want to know who it is.”
I bent down and kissed her on the cheek.
“Goodnight, Bree. Drive carefully getting home.”
She left without another word, but nodded as she walked away.
Now that I was awake, I also realized that I had to pee. I glanced at my phone and saw that it was almost midnight. I used the Honey Bucket and spritzed my hands with sanitizer. When I got back, I saw a person huddled in a little ball in my chair under the blanket Bree left.
“Umm… Hi?” I said softly.
“Oh!” I quickly held a finger to my lips. Whitney unfolded from the chair. It was like watching this impossibly tall person get out of a little clown car or something. I opened my arms and she gave me a hug.
“We can only whisper,” I said. “People are sleeping and voices carry. What would you like to do? Just sit and talk, cuddle, or sleep?”
“Definitely cuddle and probably sleep. I had to set an alarm to get here on time and I think I’m right in the middle of my REM.”
I laughed and went to sit in the chair. I’d hardly gotten myself positioned before she was trying to fold up on my lap. She kicked her shoes off and stuck her feet down between me and the arm of the chair. For a tall girl, she sure could fold up compact. I pulled the blanket up around us and we were pretty warm in a minute.
“This feels so nice,” Whitney said. Then she leaned in and kissed me. I pulled away from her.
“Hey. You know the rules. Cuddle. No making out.”
“You mean you’re going to follow the rules?” She chased my lips.
“Seriously, Whitney. You want to be here, behave. Otherwise leave.”
She pulled back and looked at me in disbelief.
“Really?”
“Really.”
She hesitated a minute and then unfolded herself to get up. I think she was a little surprised that I let her. I even handed her the shoes.
“It’s not that… I want… I just… shit,” she said. At least she was still whispering and not shouting at me. “I’d like to do that, but I don’t think… You’ll really let me leave?” I nodded. She bit her lip and turned her head. “I can’t right now. I need to rethink everything. Sorry. I was supposed to keep you warm. I hope you can stand the cold for a while.”
Whitney turned and left. It was only a quarter after midnight. Damn! If Bree knew there were two extra hours available, she’d never have left. Oh well. The thing is, as I replayed what Whitney had said, it sounded more like what you’d hear a girl say if her boyfriend was being overly aggressive. “I’d like to, but I can’t.” Wasn’t doing nothing the easy thing? I flopped back, pulled the blanket up and went back to sleep.
I felt a chilly breeze hit me when the blanket was lifted, then let out a quiet “oof” as a new body slid onto my lap.
“I’m not too heavy for this, am I?” a worried voice said.
“You’re not heavy at all, Rio,” I answered. “Don’t talk like that.”
“But I know I’m… Rubenesque… isn’t that the word?”
“Rio, are you happy with who you are?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“There’s your answer. You don’t weigh more than Lissa. You’re just more compact.”
“You mean short and wide,” Rio giggled. “I don’t really care if I’m a little flabby. I was just afraid you might not like me on your lap.”
“You are one of the happiest people I’ve ever met,” I said truthfully.
She wiggled a little in my lap trying to get comfortable and felt my slight rise in attention under her butt. She giggled and squirmed once more before settling down.
“You do know the rules, right?” I asked.
“Yeah. And I know you are serious. Whitney came to find me an hour-and-a-half ago and kept me awake until it was my turn.”
“Well, I’m not sure what was going on with her, but I’m afraid she didn’t get her cuddle.”
“And does she ever regret it,” Rio said. “But she’ll figure it out. Unfortunately, though, that means I haven’t been to sleep yet tonight, so if you’re comfortable, please hold me and shut up.”
I did as the lady asked and it took her only a minute to fall asleep.
I suppose I lied when I said she didn’t weigh more than Lissa, but Lissa is solid muscle and ten inches taller than Rio. Rio might have a couple pounds on her though. She was the softest woman I’d ever held. Except Beth. Yeah. In the old days, Beth was pretty round. Then she decided to go away and seriously lose weight. I loved the new Beth, but I missed the old one. Rio reminded me of her. I wrapped my arms tightly around her and settled in for my own snooze.
I dreamed about painting Rubenesque nudes.
“Psst… Rio. Your butt is buzzing.”
“Huh? Oh! Goosey! That’s my alarm. My shift is over,” she answered. She remembered to keep her voice down, but reaching the vibrating phone in her back pocket proved interesting for both of us. She shrugged her shoulders a little. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to, like, apply a vibrator to anything sensitive.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a little pressure against my bladder.”
“Didn’t feel like nothing to me,” she giggled. She stood on her tiptoes and I bent to receive the little kiss she placed on my cheek. “Thanks, Tony. I’ve been feeling really homesick lately and it was nice of you to hold me for a while. I’ll see you Monday.” She was off.
I lied about the pressure on my bladder. There wasn’t any really. I settled back into the chair to wait for my next “blanket,” as Bree called the girls tonight. I figured Wendy would be showing up soon. I couldn’t think of any other girl that might be interested in a night on my lap. I was really surprised when I saw who showed up.
“Ames?”
“Hey, Ames,” she replied.
“I sure wasn’t expecting you tonight,” I said.
“If you’d rather it wasn’t me, I’ll go,” she said softly. “I understand.”
“Amy, why wouldn’t I want you here?”
“I don’t exactly fit the profile.”
“What profile?”
“Girls who want to sleep with Tony,” she answered.
“Come on, goofball,” I said, holding out my arms. “You fit perfectly the profile of friends of Tony that he doesn’t mind cuddling.”
“Okay, but no funny-stuff, okay?”
“You know the rules,” I said. She sat on my lap rather stiffly. “You don’t seem very relaxed, Ames.”
“I know, Tony. Melody convinced me I should do this, but I’m not that sure it’s a good idea.”
“Hey, we swapped tears last weekend. How could friends hugging each other be a bad idea?”
“I was doing all the crying,” she whispered, but she leaned back against me. Thank heavens my boner had subsided.
“Do you really think that I had dry eyes when one of my best friends was hurting?” I asked. “I miss our Friday lunches. I feel like I hardly see my best friends.”
“Oh god, Tony,” she whimpered. This time she drew her feet up and leaned into me, hanging on fiercely. It had gotten pretty cold by this hour of the morning, so I pulled the blanket up over her shoulders and just held her while she cried quietly. In a few minutes her breathing evened out and I realized she was asleep. My poor friend was really hurting and I didn’t have any idea what to do about it.
It was my phone that woke us up at a quarter till six. I managed to get it out of my pocket and mumble a sleepy “hello” into it.
“Tony, it’s Eric. Sorry I’m not there, but I’ve got car trouble. I knew I should have taken it to the shop this week but I was so damned busy that I didn’t make it. Now it won’t start at all. I’ve called Triple-A, but god knows how soon they’ll get here on a Sunday morning. Can you stay on a bit till I get there?”
“Sure, Eric,” I answered.
“Sunday morning the camp gets to use the locker rooms, showers, hot tubs and everything. Open the doors at six-thirty. There’s a bin of towels in the attendant’s room so they can grab one on the way in. Just monitor so that anyone who goes in is from Tent City. Okay?”
“Yeah. I can handle that. Let me know if you aren’t going to be here by seven-thirty so I can call home and tell them not to worry, okay?”
“Will do.”
Eric hung up and Amy snuggled against me a little tighter.
“Hey, sleepy-head. Your shift is over and I’ve got work to do. My replacement isn’t going to be here for a while.” She pulled herself up and struggled off my lap.
“Oh man! That’s the best sleep I’ve had in weeks. Thanks, Ames.”
“You’re welcome, Ames.” We chuckled a little. Amy was about to walk away, but she turned around suddenly and hugged me.
“I really mean it, Tony. Thank you.”
“Anytime, Amy. And I mean it, too.”
What a night. I used the Honey Bucket and unlocked the pavilion. I rolled the bin of towels out into the hall. I checked to make sure the showers were stocked with shampoo and conditioner, that the hot tubs were up to temperature, and that there were razors, shaving cream, and combs at the sinks. I turned the sauna and steam room thermostats up in both locker rooms for good measure. Then I headed down to prop the door open just at six-thirty.
Guys were already waiting at the door when I propped it open. I sat behind the desk and made tick marks on a sheet. As long as a person came from Tent City, he was allowed into pavilion. A couple of students approached, but I waved them away and told them it would be open to students at ten. They didn’t challenge me.
I was sitting at the table and almost missed the tiger-striped hair.
“Wendy?” I called. She froze and turned to look at me. There was a panicked look on her face and she turned back to the encampment.
“Wendy, stop!”
My voice almost echoed as I restrained myself from shouting the command for Wendy to stop, but it had the desired effect. She stopped.
She turned to look at me and tears began streak down her face.
“Don’t hate me. Please, don’t hate me,” she cried as I held her.
“Hate you? Tiger, I could never hate you. I just worry about you. Are you all right?” I asked.
“Y-yes,” she said. She looked at me with longing. “It’s hard to always have to make all my own decisions. I… I get… lonely sometimes.”
“Oh, baby, you have us anytime you want.”
“There’s rules here. Tony, I have to go shower.”
“When you are done, we’re going out to breakfast. Understand?” She nodded against my chest and then ran into the building.
Two guys from the encampment came up to me and they didn’t look friendly.
“You Rafe?” the first one asked.
“You mean that scumbag who beat her?” I snarled. “No, and if I ever get my hands on him…”
“Don’t throw around threats out here,” the second one said.
“How do we know you aren’t here to hurt her?” the first one asked.
“Ask her,” I said. “I’m her friend. I had no idea she was living here.”
“Later,” the first said. “Just don’t touch anybody from our camp.” He pushed by me and headed for the showers.
Eric got there about seven. Triple-A had replaced his battery on the spot and his car worked fine now. He was surprised that I kept hanging around, though.
“I’m meeting a friend,” I said. I turned away from Eric and called home. A sleepy Lissa answered.
“Hey. Why aren’t you home?” she asked. I could hear the boys yelling in the background.
“Eric had problems with his car and just got here. I had to open the locker rooms,” I said.
“So, are you on your way now? I could start coffee,” she said.
“Um… actually, I’m going to be a while yet,” I said. “Lissa, Wendy is living here. I’m taking her to breakfast.”
“She’s what? In a tent?”
“That was just my response. But, sweetie, I think Kate knew she was here,” I said.
“That makes sense,” Lissa said, having become more alert as we talked. “She sometimes takes Wendy home or meets her for coffee. Tony, bring her home. We have room.”
“No!” I heard Kate’s voice in the background. Lissa switched to speaker phone.
“Speak of the little devil,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I should be angry with Kate about keeping the secret or glad she was keeping tabs on Wendy. Either way, I could feel myself being a little irritable.
“Listen,” Kate said, “Wendy needs this. If you order her to come back here, she’ll come and believe she can’t make it on her own. She really wants this and was afraid that if you found out you’d make her come back. She needs friends, not charity.”
“But we care about her, Kate,” I complained.
“Then listen to her. But don’t give her any orders. Please, Tony.”
“Okay, Kitten. It just hurts to see her here,” I said. “I have to go now. Love you all.”
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