Hannibal - Thomas Harris [116]
The water went off next door. But now her voice came. “Hey, Barney, what's the spread on the Patriots?”
“With . . . with my guy, you can get Miami and five and a half.”
He looked over his shoulder.
She was drying herself just beyond the range of Barney's spray. Her hair was plastered down. Her face looked fresh now and the tears were gone. Margot had excellent skin.
“So you gonna take the points?” she said. “The pick 'em pool at Judy's office has got . . .”
Barney couldn't pay attention to the rest. Margot's Mohawk, jeweled with droplets, framed pink. Barney's face felt hot and he had a major cockstand. He was puzzled and disturbed. That freezing feeling came over him. He had never felt any attraction to men. But Margot for all her muscles was clearly not a man, and he liked her.
What is this shit of coming in the shower with him anyway? He turned off his water and faced her wet. Without thinking about it, he put his big hand on her cheek. “For God's sake, Margot,” he said, his breath thick in his throat.
She looked down at him. “Goddammit, Barney. Don't . . .”
Barney stretched his neck and leaned forward, trying to kiss her gently anywhere on her face without touching her with his member, but touched her anyway, she pulling away, looked down at the catenary strand of crystal fluid that stretched between him and her flat stomach, and she caught him across his broad chest with a forearm worthy of a middle guard, his feet went out from under him and he sat hard on the shower floor.
“You fucking bastard,” she hissed, “I might have known it. Faggot! Take that thing and stick it up . . .”
Barney rolled to his feet and was out of the shower, pulling on his clothes wet, and he left the gym without a word.
Barney's quarters were in a building separate from d the house, slateroofed former stables that were garages now with apartments in the gables. Late at night he sat, pecking on his laptop, working on a correspondence course on the Internet. He felt the floor tremble as someone solid came up the stairs.
A light knock at the door. When he opened it, Margot stood there, muffled in heavy sweats and a stocking cap..“Can I come in a minute?”
Barney looked at his feet for a few seconds before he stood back from the door.
“Barney. Hey, I'm sorry about in there,” she said.
“I kind of panicked. I mean, I screwed up and then I panicked. I liked being friends.”
“Me too.”
“I thought we could be like, you know, regular buddies.”
“Margot, come on. I said we'd be friends but I'm not a damn eunuch. You came in the fucking shower with me. You looked good to me, I can't help that. You come in the shower naked and I see two things together I really like.”
“Me and a pussy,” Margot said.
They were surprised to laugh together.
She came and grabbed him in a hug that might have injured a less powerful man. “Listen, if it was gonna be a guy it would have to be you. But that's not my thing. It really is not. Not now, never will be.”
Barney nodded. "I know that. It just got away from me.
They stood quiet a minute with their arms around each other.
“You want to try to be friends?” she said.
He thought about it a minute. “Yeah. But you've got to help me a little bit. Here's the deal: I'm going to make this major effort to forget what I saw in the shower, and you don't show it to me anymore. And don't show me any boobs either, while you're at it. How's that?”
“I can be a good friend, Barney. Come to the house tomorrow. Judy cooks, I cook.”
“Yeah, but you may not cook any better than I do.”
“Try me,” Margot said.
Hannibal
Chapter 62
DR LECTER held a bottle of Chateau Petrus up to the light. He had raised it to the upright position and set it on its bottom a day ago, in case it might have sediment: He looked at his watch and decided it was time to open the wine.