Casa Parisi (2 page)

"That's why I get drunk. So I won't have to think at all."

"That bad, huh? You know I'm here if you ever want to talk."

"I know." Lucia shook her head. "But I can't talk about it and I won't, not to you or anyone else. No offense. That's just the way it has to be."

"No offense taken, but if you ever change your mind, come in when it's not too busy. I'm a decent listener, or so I've been told."

"I'm sure you are." Lucia turned her eyes to Georgie's. "And thanks."

"Anytime. I guess I just wanted to say--" Georgie ran her hand through her short, salt and pepper hair. "Oh, hell, I don't know what I want to say except that I'd sure like to see you happy. Whatever's eating at you, I hope you work it out real soon."

"I think it's time I did."

"Me too, honey, me too."

"Is Joan here tonight?" Lucia knew the answer to her question but asked it anyway to divert Georgie's attention away from her. Joan, Georgie's wife as she called her, wasn't at the bar every night although she always came in on the weekends to help in the kitchen and prepare the limited bar menu.

"She's in the kitchen. Speaking of which, I'd better go back there and help her out or she'll be pissed as hell. She hates when I stand around gabbing for too long."

"That wouldn't be good."

"No, it wouldn't. Happy wife happy life, that's my motto." Georgie paused. "I heard that on a TV show once and I liked it."

"Catchy," Lucia said with a smile. "And so true."

"You're kind of in a pleasant mood tonight even though you've had a lot to drink and I have to say it's a welcome change."

"Is that your way of telling me I'm not usually pleasant?"

"If the shoe fits," Georgie said. "I'm not one to beat around the bush."

"I know how I am. Would it help to say I'm sorry?"

"It would, but you don't need to, not to me." Georgie took a step or two and then stopped and turned around. "Maybe I'll see you later. Take it easy."

"I'll try." Lucia watched Georgie until she disappeared through the swinging doors leading into the kitchen. She was such a warm, cuddly woman.

Bernie arrived with the hot coffee and set it down on the bar. She placed a napkin next to the cup. "Be careful, it's really hot."

Lucia touched the cup with the tips of her fingers and yanked them away. "You're not kidding. Good thing I didn't take a big sip."

"You'd better blow on it before you drink it." Bernie reached under the bar and came up with a spoon. "Want milk or sugar?"

"Nah, black is fine. Thanks." Lucia raised the mug to her lips with two shaky hands and blew on the coffee several times before gingerly taking her first sip. "This is strong enough to grow hair on my chest."

"I doubt that," Bernie said. "Quit with the comments and drink it."

Lucia managed a couple more sips and then put the cup down. She wrinkled her nose and sniffed noisily. "You know what, Bernie? It stinks in here."

"Imagine that. This is a bar, Miss Fancy Pants, not those flower gardens they have up at the university." Bernie shook her head as she wiped the bar. "What did you expect it to smell like, a bunch of roses?"

"No. I expected it to smell like spilled beer and old frying grease."

"And it does, so why don't you drink that coffee and keep the complaints to yourself. I've got customers waving at me."

"Hey, no offense," Lucia said as Bernie moved away.

Bernie waited on a few other women and came back to where Lucia was seated. She leaned toward her. "What's up with you? You're not acting like yourself."

"Of course I'm myself. Who the fuck would I be?" During a rational moment, Lucia thought about zipping her lip, but unfortunately, she didn't follow her own advice. "That reminds me of one of those stupid greeting cards that says, 'thank you for being you', or some other shit like that. You are you and it's not like you could be somebody else even if you wanted to."

"Why don't you go home and get some rest?"

This time Lucia did find the wherewithal to stifle another snappy comeback. "I can't go home. I think too much when I'm like this and I won't be able to sleep anyway."

"Are your thoughts that bad?"

"Tonight they are. No rest for the wicked as they say."

"What did you do that was so wicked?"

"Nothing. Not a thing." Lucia sipped her coffee. "It's just a saying."

"Okay. Well, you finish that coffee. All of it." Bernie hurried to the other end of the bar to wait on the line of women that was getting longer by the second.

As she drank her coffee, Lucia sobered up enough to reflect upon her life since her return to the Ithaca area. Her days were spent running her winery with the help of her brother, Luke. He worked long and hard, but even after he went home, she stayed in her office doing anything she could think of to avoid going home. The sun often set before she walked along the unpaved road down the hill to her cottage on the lake. On a good night, she'd have something to eat, watch a little television and fall asleep on the sofa, too exhausted to remember.

On a bad night, her thoughts tortured her unmercifully, her memories driving her to the brink of despair. And all too often, a free-floating dread kept her from the comforting embrace of sleep. Until the first light of day filtered through the windows, she would lay in bed, her eyes open, counting the hours and waiting for the darkness to leave. Only then would she be able to rest.

What kind of runaway train had taken her to this place in her life? Everything she'd ever wanted had been hers and it had all slipped from her grasp as if she'd been playing tug of war with destiny and her end of the rope was greased. Now here she was, drunk in a bar, in the hometown she'd left behind her so many years ago. And the absurdity of it seemed somehow normal.

Lucia shook off her musings and spun her stool around. The dance floor was hopping and it was time to check out the women. Rusty, the DJ, swayed in her booth, her amped up energy level transmittable as she provided the pounding beat that lured the throbbing mass of women onto the dance floor. Maybe Lucia would join them later, providing she could stand up without swaying, but for now, she was content to observe.

AFTER AN HOUR, thanks to a second cup of coffee and a turkey sandwich Bernie brought out on Georgie's orders, Lucia had sobered up enough to earn a fresh drink. She lifted the glass Bernie reluctantly set in front of her and took a controlled sip. Although she longed to recapture the beneficial effects a moderate dose of alcohol would provide, she had decided to slow down and take it easy. Getting shit-faced would not serve her and would prevent her from getting what she came here for.

Before long, the loud music made normal conversation impossible. The crowd had seeped into every square foot of available space. More and more women squeezed onto the dance floor until it appeared to sway and bob like a single mass. At first Lucia was fascinated by the clouds of dust floating in the beams of light that crisscrossed the dance floor, but she soon tired of that and closed her eyes.

Letting the pounding beat pulsate throughout her body made her hum with life again. She stayed that way until a sultry voice registered in her right ear.

"What's your name good-looking?"

The voice coaxed Lucia back to reality, tickling the hairs on the back of her neck like a balmy summer breeze. Turning her head, she opened her eyes and saw a young woman with short blond hair eyeing her hungrily.

"Does it really matter?" Lucia had to speak into the young woman's ear in order to be heard above the clamor. Without waiting for an answer, Lucia reached for her drink and drained the rest of it. Setting the glass on the bar, she rotated on her stool and took in a pair of tight fitting black jeans and a dark purple shirt with the first few buttons open to allow an inviting glimpse of cleavage.

"It doesn't have to," the young woman replied.

"That's the answer I wanted." Lucia inhaled deeply. The woman smelled good and she was cute, very cute. She was exactly what Lucia had hoped to find.

"Could I persuade you to dance with me?"

"Not right now. Maybe later," Lucia answered. Pointing to the stool next to hers, she invited her young admirer to join her. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"You sure can, Ms. Anonymous."

"What do you want?" Lucia raised her hand and signaled for Bernie.

"That's a loaded question." The woman's tone was suggestive. "If you mean, what do I want to drink, I'll have a beer."

"And if that's not what I mean?"

"We can get to that later on."

"Good. So, what would you like to drink?" This one was going to be a cinch, but for now Lucia was in no hurry to leave the bar or jump into bed with her.

"I'll have a Genny Light."

"You like the local stuff."

"The local stuff looks pretty good from where I'm sitting."

Lucia's only reaction was to smile at the innuendo. This girl was full of them. When Bernie came she placed their drink orders. Bernie nodded and said nothing, although the look she threw Lucia's way did not go unnoticed.

Lucia turned her attention back to the girl and fed her one of her usual lines. "How come I haven't seen you in here before? Believe me, I would have remembered."

"I'm not from around here. I'm visiting some friends in Ithaca."

"All the better." Lucia relaxed once she heard that. She wasn't likely to see this girl ever again and that made what she had in mind even more appealing. "What brings you to Georgie's?"

"I'm out looking for a good time." The young woman's eyes were swirling pools of darkness as she lightly traced a random pattern on Lucia's forearm with her finger.

"You came to the right place." Lucia swallowed a hefty swig of vodka and promptly made a mental note to drink less for the rest of the night. She didn't need to get any more intoxicated. Her senses were heightened, her inhibitions loosened up and that was right where she wanted to be. As long as she put the brakes on before she rendered herself senseless, she'd be fine. She raised her glass for a toast. "Here's to us."

"We're already an us?"

"Sure. As long as it's only for one night." Lucia wanted to touch this woman and get lost in the feel of her so she could forget her troubles for a few precious hours. "I think it's only fair to tell you that I prefer to kiss and run."

"I appreciate the honesty and it's not a problem. I'm not in the market for a long-term relationship. I've been watching you and I like what I see, that's all."

"Do you?" Lucia stared into the woman's eyes. "Then say yes."

"Yes," she said, her eyes never leaving Lucia's.

Lucia studied the young girl and reached out to touch her hand. She was so young and earnest and it wasn't in Lucia's nature to treat anyone like a piece of meat. There was no harm in knowing a little about her as long as it was limited. "Where are you from?"

"Binghamton. I'm from Binghamton."

"How old are you?" Lucia asked. "You look awfully young."

"Everyone tells me that, but I'm twenty-three."

"That's good to know. I wouldn't want to commit a felony or anything."

"What felony would that be, statutory lesbianism?"

"So you're cute
and
funny. I like that." Lucia wrapped her arm around the woman's waist and leaned in. "I'll take you up on that dance now, but it's only fair to warn you that I like to dance close and slow." Her words were accentuated by a few nibbles on the girl's earlobe.

"I can hardly wait." The girl squirmed with each nibble.

"The next slow dance and I'm all yours. Do you want another beer?"

"No thanks. I don't want to get drunk."

In a few minutes, the DJ announced that the next song would be a slow one and the lights on the dance floor dimmed. Lucia took another sip of her drink, took hold of the woman's hand and escorted her onto the dance floor. As soon as she located a spot large enough for them to move around in she swept her partner into her arms.

The young woman's heart pounded against Lucia's chest. A soft kiss planted on the woman's neck made it beat even faster. Lucia inched her lips along her dance partner's hot cheek until their mouths were no more than an inch apart, but instead of kissing her she stopped and waited to be invited.

"Jesus." Moaning, the woman moved her mouth to close the gap.

They kissed deeply, unaware of anyone around them. Without asking for permission, Lucia wiggled one side of the woman's shirt out of her pants and let her hand rove under the purple cotton. When it came to rest on the lower rim of the woman's breast, she held it there.

"Touch me," the woman whispered into Lucia's mouth.

While she explored the young woman's mouth with her tongue, Lucia covered one small breast with her hand. The feel of a hard nipple poking through the woman's bra and the sound of a sharp intake of breath sent a surge of lust through Lucia's body. She tore away from the kiss. "You feel good, but you'd feel a whole lot better without all these clothes on."

"So would you." The woman ground her hips against Lucia's and wedged her thigh between Lucia's legs. "You're so fucking hot."

Lucia leaned back enough to meet the woman's dark eyes, but then she had to bring her lips to the woman's ear again in order to be heard. "I'm hot for you and fucking you sounds real good right about now.

Why don't we get out of here and go somewhere where we can be alone?"

"I'm ready. Do you live around here?"

"We're not going to my place. There's a nice motel close by."

The young woman hesitated.

Lucia sweetened the deal. "I'll pay for it."

"I have to let my friends know I'm leaving."

"Tell them you'll be back before the bar closes," Lucia said. "And just so we're both on the same page, this is going to be strictly casual, right? It'll be great while it lasts and then it'll be over. You don't need to know anything about me and we won't keep in touch or see each other again. Can you handle that? If you can't, I'll be on my way."

"I can handle it. Let's get out of here."