Off Season - Jack Ketchum [33]
He shook it into the basin. He turned off the bathroom light and walked into the kitchen. Marjie’s light was still on and—now he couldn’t avoid seeing it—so was the light from the living room. Between the two rooms was his own. And Laura.
He frowned. There were too many contradictions about Laura. Nothing matched up. She liked to act tough but in some ways she was more timorous than Marjie. She couldn’t bear to take the cat to the vet. Wouldn’t touch drugs or booze at a party. He knew she was in love with him but she never showed it. Not unless he pulled away from her for some reason, trying not to get involved too deeply. Then she’d break down altogether. It was a lousy situation. But because there was nothing better in his life he hadn’t broken up with her. He should have. He was cheating her. Cheating her right now, thinking of Carla.
What it all came down to was that tonight, like a lot of nights, he would say he was exhausted so he wouldn’t have to make love to her, so he wouldn’t feel like a complete bastard screwing Laura and wishing it were Carla. It surprised him that the past was so much with him. He hadn’t known. He just hadn’t known it would be this way, not until the past started whispering through the wall, calling him back and telling him to stay away.
He walked through the bedroom doorway and looked at Laura and then breathed a deep sigh of relief. It was all right, he thought. She was asleep.
In the next room, Marjie got up and closed the window. For a moment she stared out into the dark.
“I’m cold,” she said.”
“You’ve got two blankets,” said Dan.
“It’s not enough.” She jumped back into bed.
“What about the good clean country air?” He sat down beside her and pulled off his shoes and socks.
“The good clean country air is freezing,” she said.
“Come over here and twirl on my cock,” he said. “That’ll warm you.”
She liked it when Dan was vulgar. He was usually vulgar. He was naked when he got into bed and already hard. His body was lean and smooth-skinned and she liked that, too.
“Get rid of the nightgown,” he said.
“I’m cold.”
“I know you’re cold. Take off the nightgown.”
“I want to leave it on.”
“Will you get naked, please?” He climbed on top of her.
“No!”
He dove underneath the sheets, under her nightgown. She laughed. He bit her stomach. “What I have to go through for a mediocre piece of ass,” he said, his voice muffled against her belly.
“Screw you,” she said. Before Dan she would never have said “Screw you” to a man. He was bringing her out, she guessed. Dan was fun. He pressed his lips against her belly and blew out hard. What sounded like a huge fart vibrated against her flesh and made her giggle. “Shhhh. Shut up,” she said.
“You’re the one laughing. Am I laughing? No, I’m trying to get laid.” He rose up out of the covers and began to unbutton her nightgown. As usual his fingers were clumsy.
“No, wait,” she said. “Wait! I want you to do just one thing for me. One thing!”
“Jesus. What.”
“I want you to do one thing before we go to bed.”
“We are in bed.”
“You know what I mean.”
“What.”
“You know.”
“You mean before we fuck.”
“Right.”
“Okay, what.”
“Could you just put a few logs on the fire first? Otherwise I’m really gonna freeze in here. Please?” She gave him the little-girl routine—three quarters plea and one quarter pout. It had always worked before. It worked now.
“Yeah, I guess I could do that. Where is she keeping the firewood?”
“Right in front of the stove, I think,” she said. And then coy, fully knowing she was coy, as coy as she could get, she said, “Thank you, Dan.”
“‘Thank you, Dan’” he mimicked. “You really are one real cheap trick, you know that?”
She swatted him. Without bothering to put on a robe, Dan walked to the bedroom door and peered around at the darkened kitchen. Nick’s door was dosed, and the lights were off in the living room. It seemed safe to step outside. In the dim light from the bedroom he tiptoed