Falling Capricorn (7 page)

         
Eric,

          Take care of her. I’ll be watching to make sure you do.

Eric glanced around the room. Was this some sort of bad joke? “Roxie!?!?" he angrily questioned in the room. His eyes fixed back onto the chicken-scratch scrawl that he knew to be Joey's hand-writing. "Joey!?" he uttered in sheer disbelief. Joey tried to say "yes", but there was no reply; only a chill that rolled down Eric’s back as he sat in the silence. His hand shook, placing the letter back where he found it. He slowly lay down, staring at the ceiling. He didn’t know what to think. He never was one to believe in ghost stories or anything unrealistic but… he didn’t know what to think. Maybe sleep, he thought. "Maybe I’m just exhausted and I’m seeing things," he nodded his head. "That must be it," he thought as his eyes shut. Joey smiled slightly before heading to Christen’s place.

Christen wandered into her apartment, kicking off her shoes. “Joey.” She murmured, collapsing onto her sofa. She laid there on her stomach with a deep sigh, staring at a picture of her and Joey that sat on her table. She reached for the picture, grasping it with a fragile care. She rolled over so she was lying on her back, staring at it.

She remembered that day like it was yesterday. It was one of the rare hang-outs where Eric was not even there, just her and Joey. They had gone to a fair that came into town and rode on the roller coasters. They played fair games, ate plenty of cotton candy, and even went through the "tunnel of love". She smiled at the memory.

There was one game she remembered vividly. It was destined that Joey would win. It was a shooting game. Even though she didn’t want to admit to it, he was a good shot. He was determined to win the giant pink cat that Christen was giggling about all night, and that’s exactly what he did. He got double the amount of balloons he needed to shoot in the time limit. The man handed them the stuffed animal which Christen named Mr. SnugglePaws.

Joey rolled his eyes at such a name muttering, “You really expect me to call it that?” Christen looked at him, batting her eyes.

“Yes, now say his name five times,” she giggled.

“Do I have to?” Christen just gave Joey a look. He sighed knowing the answer. He crossed his arms over his chest muttering, “Mr.SnugglePaws.” He looked at her with an annoyed look. She stared at him, waiting for him to continue. “Seriously, Christen?”

“Joey! Four more times,” she whined childishly as Joey groaned.

"Oh fine. Mr.SnugglePaws,” he grumbled but smiled slightly as Christen got closer, snuggling the stuffed animal in her arms. He said it again. “Mr. SnugglePaws.” Christen leaned up and kissed his cheek with a giggle. He chuckled as well. “Mr. SnugglePaws.” Christen rubbed her nose against his as he said the name one more time. “Mr. Snuggle, ah screw it. Just kiss me already,” he said softly as he felt her breath near. Their lips touched, and it felt as if time stopped.

After that, is when the picture was taken in the cute pink swan they had ridden in through the "tunnel of love". She was kissing his cheek while he was smiling hugely, giving the camera a thumbs up. Mr. SnugglePaws was nestled right between them. She missed him so much and his goofy ways.

“Why did you have to take him away from me?” she asked suddenly, staring up at the ceiling. “We had so much to do, so much to prove,” she sighed deeply before sitting up. She looked at her canvas sitting there, waiting to be painted on. She looked at it softly; she knew she had to make something that would really wow Eric and all the other people who would be visiting his art gallery, but what would she paint?

“The family.” Joey whispered. Christen looked around quickly as her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She could have sworn she heard a voice whisper to her.

“Family?” she questioned out loud. She thought about what that could mean, and then it struck her. “Yes, that would make an amazing scene!” she exclaimed, jumping onto her feet. She rushed over, setting her paint and brushes up. She grabbed a pencil and quickly started on the outline of her inspiration.

Once her outline was complete she started mixing her paint with a few tooth picks. She created a nice variety of warm and earthy tones to work with. After creating her colors, she pulled her hair back in a ponytail and began to paint. She hummed as she started to move the brush in an airy motion. She had the image in her mind, and now all she had to do was put it on the canvas.

It took her all night and most of the next day to paint her masterpiece, but in the end, it was worth it. She sat on her coffee table, looking at her painting which was earthy, yet very airy and light. She waited until it dried before placing a sheet over it. “Beautiful.” She straightened up as she could have sworn there was a whisper in the air. She felt like a hand just caressed her cheek and then heavy arms wrapped around her shoulders. She looked around but no one was there. She felt a few tears roll down her cheek.

“Oh Joey,” she said quietly. “Why can’t you just return to me? I miss you.”

"I'm going to try love. I am so going to try," Joey sighed. He was determined to find a way to return to her, rather than letting her go. With that, he collapsed in exhaustion back to the abyss.

Chapter 4

“Awful. Just awful.” Eric sighed heavily. “Do none of you practice the routine? What’s the point of getting beautiful costumes if you can’t even do the performance correctly?” he scolded the showgirls who were on the stage in front of him. They were practicing for the performance for the new gallery wing which would also be Christen's debut. He was disheartened at the rate things were going for the hall's theater show-girls. He was beginning to wonder if he would need something else for the entertainment.

Roxie stood in the middle of the stage with her back to Eric as she scolded the girls, as well. “Come on girls! This show should be perfect and flawless. This is ridiculous. I say we’ll have extra practice if you guys don’t straighten up. Say goodbye to your social lives.” She narrowed her eyes, looking at each girl individually telling them what they needed to work on. A few got the "you did great" and the "keep it up"; but for the most part, everyone was doing something wrong in Roxie’s and Eric’s eyes.

“Take ten,” Eric announced as Roxie continued going through the line. The girls all were muttering and whining about how mean Roxie was, or how she was Eric’s favorite. Roxie did show a rather commanding lead in the girls; but then again, she was one of the stars. Roxie was one of the main attractions, but that was not the reason she acted so harsh. It was the fact that she did work so hard. She practiced every day, and did not like failure. She was a hard working woman, and she was not about to have them ruin it. She also never liked disappointing Eric, even if the feeling didn’t seem to be nearly the same.

Roxie walked up to Eric on the break, sitting in the seat next to him. She watched him scribble down some note before speaking. “I’ll whip them into shape; no worries about that love,” she stated confidently.

“I know you will, you always do Roxie. I do appreciate that,” he told her, looking up from his scribbling to look at her with a small smile. He looked exhausted. Even his hair was a bit of a mess. He hadn’t been able to get much sleep the past few days. Work pressure and the funeral were great stressors. Despite that, Eric was having a very difficult time getting the letter that was returned to him with something extra out of his head.

“It is no problem. You know I’d do pretty much anything for you," she told him with a soft tone. She would always be gentle or careful when comforting Eric. Eric was very composed, but she knew the weaker side of him. She knew how to handle that side as well. “You look exhausted. How about you go home and rest? I’ll worry about the girls.” she suggested, looking up at the stage where some of the girls still stood. They were still whispering to each other the gossip about Roxie and Eric. Eric looked up at the stage thinking about it. His mind was elsewhere anyways. He had a feeling he would still claim it was awful even if there wasn’t one flaw. He looked back at her, taking her hand.

“Thank you Roxie. I think I will take you up on your offer.” He looked at the girls. Roxie looked down at his hand holding hers. She smiled softly, a warm feeling rolling through her very being. He didn't know… or rather, he didn’t let on that he knew how much she loved him.

“Of course,” she nodded to him. Eric let her hand go as he stood up with her.

“I have an announcement!” Eric called loudly. Slowly the woman all got back onto the stage. They all stood, staring at him with their beautiful eyes. “Roxie is going to be taking over as I have business elsewhere. You better behave and treat her well, or I’ll have you jobless in a flat three seconds,” he promised them. Roxie tried her best to hold back a smile for what he had said to them. She thought it was cute that he wouldn’t take them disrespecting her. “Tomorrow I want to see this perfect,” he added. He looked at Roxie and nodded to her before turning away and walking through the aisle.

“You heard him girls!” Roxie's voice rang through the place, taking Eric’s spot. “Let’s start back at the top,” she tells them. With a nod, they all went to their starting positions. Eric looked back at Roxie once he made it to the door. She was so helpful and did so much for him, but he wondered, was she enough for him? Did he love her, or was she just too easy to have?

The rehearsal dragged on, and by the end Roxie’s throat was extremely sore from yelling and giving out corrections. Some of the girls just wouldn’t admit there mistakes, and it drove her absolutely mad. She felt that even if she recorded those making mistakes, they would still deny that it happened. She rubbed her sore head. She was fighting with a growing headache from the day that was starting to hurt pretty bad. "How can Eric do this all the time?" she wondered to herself.

It didn’t take her long to get home after she went shopping. That was one of Roxie's sure-fire cure for a long hard day. She reached the beautiful estate on the beach feeling accomplished when she stepped out of her car. She held her purse in one hand, her house key hanging from her middle finger. The other hand carried a small bag with a lace night gown.

“Honey, I’m home," she called, but was not surprised that there was no response. She figured he was sleeping as she walked inside. Roxie peeked in his bedroom to see him sleeping. She put her purse and keys on the white wicker chair in the corner of the room, and sauntered into the bathroom with her bag. “He’s going to like this,” she smiled to herself, closing the door behind her.

Eric woke up to someone giving him a kiss on the lips. He opened his eyes to see Roxie pulling her lips away from his.

“Good morning, boss man,” she chuckled, amused with catching him slumbering so peacefully. “You looked like a baby sleeping,” She stared at him quizzically since he was still dressed in his work attire. “You’re still in your suit? That’s so very unlike you.” She sat up in her black, tiny, and revealing nightgown.

“It was a very busy and draining day,” he sighs, sitting up next to her. He looked her up and down in her pleasing night gown. “When did you get that? And why are you just wearing it now?” he cooed.

“Oh, don’t start with this now,” she chuckled. “Your friend’s funeral was yesterday.” She placed her hands in her lap, glancing at him.

“Exactly, make me feel better," he winked at her, giving the back of her shoulder a light kiss. Roxie rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t about to run off.

“Make you feel better? How about I make you a get well card? Would that be enough?” She raised an eye brow at him again. She waited for him to respond. He turned her face lightly with his hand, locking his lips onto hers.

Roxie returned the kiss with an edge of passion behind it. Finally, a little loving for Roxie; she’ll take it any time she can get it. One of Eric’s hands held her face, kissing her rather deeply. His body craved her, like the howling wolf craves the moon. Eric’s fingers roamed behind her arm in a slow motion causing waves of chills to ebb and flow through her. Roxie made a small whine as Eric’s tongue entreated entry into her soft bow-shaped lips, exploring her mouth with a feverish curiosity. She returned the gesture wrapping their tongues together so they could slowly dance. Roxie got a firm grip in his hair, pulling just slightly. This caused Eric to kiss much more passionately and deeply. His hand moved from her arm and to her chest, caressing one of her perfectly round breasts. Roxie made a small gasp before crashing onto the bed with him.

“Oh someone is getting a little frisky,” Eric teased as Roxie broke the kiss. She looked up at him as he held himself up with his hands. A tickle ran through her stomach like she had just remembered a funny forgotten joke, and was now laughing on the inside about it.

“And you weren’t being frisky?” she questioned him. “Don’t make me laugh,” she added as she undid the buttons to the jacket. Eric shrugged it off his shoulders with ease. He went for her neck, licking it as she continued onto his vest. He moved his mouth away from her neck with a chuckle, pulling it off. Roxie watched Eric. He was moving so slowly, she nearly wanted to just rip the rest of the suit off. She started to ache for him.

“You seem frustrated Roxie,” he pointed out, finally taking the vest off and tossing it to the side. He undid his red tie, and thrust his hips into hers.

"Why must business suits have so many layers?" she stated, groaning as she pushed her body back against his. She didn’t wait any longer, pulling the shirt off as he threw his tie to the side. She desperately wanted to surrender under his sweet loving.

 He smirked to himself at how quickly her pace was moving. He returned her hasty actions by quietly whispering steamy words in her ear. She felt her breath quiver from his sultry tone, feeling his hot breath on her neck as he slipped off her night gown. Her naked flesh was met by a torrent of licks, nibbles, and bites. Each place attacked by Eric’s storm was pulsing with warm ripples. It was as though they were both under a sexual spell as they started to move in unison.