Chapter 5-1
252 Words
Chapter 5
“I want you to stop worrying about what happened in this apartment before we lived here, okay? Everything’s unpacked and you still have a few days more off. Today, I want you to do something fun—go see a movie, have an afternoon cocktail at Roscoe’s, take a walk along the lakefront. It looks like it’s going to be nice out today.” Ernie gestured toward our windowed wall, and he was right; unlike the day before, pure, undiluted early morning sunlight streamed in. Promising—falsely or not—warm breezes and boundless outdoor fun.
“Okay. You’re right.” I smiled at Ernie and got up on tiptoe to kiss his full lips. He grabbed the back of my neck and thrust his tongue deep inside my mouth, kissing me hungrily and letting his hands wander down to my ass.
He pulled away, a little breathless, and laughed. “That’s to hold you until I get home from work. No bad dreams tonight. Just bad Ernie—maybe more than once. Hell, maybe more than twice!”
“Promises, promises. You better get a move on, or you’re gonna be late.”
“Promise me you won’t spend the day brooding about this Tommy and Karl. They’ve been weighing too heavily on you, and I don’t like it. We just moved here, for Christ’s sake.”
The night before, after the el train dream, I had awakened screaming.
“I promise.” I handed him the brown sack lunch I had packed for him. “Now run along.”
I felt bad. I didn’t like to lie to Ernie.
I went to the window and watched his progress toward the el station. When he was out of view, I threw on some clothes and headed for Paula’s.
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