Chapter 5
I was satisfied that I had covered all traces of Gil's and my love-making; covered every trace. There wasn't a sign that he'd spent any time in the apartment. Linda would never be able to guess what had happened between us.
"We'll tell her you called and I invited you over for lunch so that you could be here when she got back," I blurted, nervously.
"Okay, Rosalie. Just relax, baby. Don't worry, will ya, for cryin" out loud."
"I can't help it, Gill. I'm scared ... really scared."
"There's nothing to be scared of. She'll never know."
"Oh, I don't know. I wish I could be sure."
"Don't worry," he said. "Take my word for it."
"Now," he went on, "How about making me some lunch?"
"Okay," I said. "I'll get things ready, but we have to wait for Linda."
"Okay. Any way you want it," he said.
I had just moved into the kitchen when the phone rang.
Gill started to go for it, and I leaped.
"Don't!" I screamed. "Don't touch it! What if it's Linda?"
"So? If it's Linda, I tell her we just got here."
"Okay," I answered, racing for a cigarette.
"Hello?" Gill's voice was as smooth as velvet. There wasn't a trace of gudt ... anything but confidence.
Gill's face changed. The concern washed away and a strange leer came over him.
"How the hell are you? "His whole attitude was different, friendly, relaxed.
I couldn't imagine who it was. I knew it couldn't be Linda-not the way he was talking.
"Sure," he went on. "That sounds great, really great. Linda's not here, right now, but she should be arriving any minute."
There was a silence as he listened to what the caller had to say, and then he smiled again.
"Ya did," he said, the smile leaving his face. "You got yourself a good girl there. I expect you'll take care of her."
I still had no idea. I couldn't understand what he was talking about. But now, he was obviously disturbed ... it was showing all over his face.
"Yeah ... hold on. I'll go get her."
Gil took the phone from his ear and held it in front of him; his hand covering the microphone. "Who is it?" I asked. "It's Bob."
"Bob!" I said, feeling my hand beginning to shake. "What am I going to say to him? What am I going to do?" I asked nervously.
"What's to do? He wants to know if you want to go to the beach today."
"What'll I tell him? I can't go."
"Sure you can."
"I can't! I can't stand the thought of leaving you and Linda alone."
"Don't worry about that I already told him the four of us would go."
I felt some relief; felt it spreading throughout my body. At least we'd be together. I wouldn't have to worry about Gil and Linda.
"Come on, Rosalie. Take the phone," he said, holding it in my direction.
"Okay. Just let me calm my nerves a second;" I answered, moving toward him and running my fingers the curly hair on the side of his head.
He handed me the phone and put his arm around me at the same moment
"Hi," I answered, trying to sound friendly ... warm.
"Hi, sweetheart. How are you?" he asked.
"I'm fine," I said, flatly, concerned that he would be able to see through my mood.
"I'm sorry I didn't gel a chance to call you sooner, but I've been all kinds of tied up this weekend."
"I'm sure," I said, my mood ... my tone becoming colder.
"Are you angry?" "No," I lied, "Not at all."
"You seem stiff. Am I intruding?"
"Intruding?" I snapped. "On what?"
"I mean ... you don't seem so friendly."
"Don't lie silly. I just have a terrible headache."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear it, but I'm glad too." There was an uncomfortable silence. I didn't know what to say; didn't know what to do.
"Gil tells me we're all going to the beach, today."
"Then you're going?"
"Sure," I said, remembering that was the only way to be with Gil.
"That's great! I guess you aren't angry, then."
"No. Honestly, Bob, I'm not. I swear. I just have this headache, like I told you."
"We'll see what we can do about getting rid of it," he went on, his voice more confident.
"Anything to distract me," I said, earnestly, but for different reasons than he thought.
"What are you doing now?"
"I was just getting things ready for lunch for Linda) and Gil and myself."
"How about an invitation?"
"You don't need one," I answered, my mood changing and my voice becoming more friendly. He was the only answer, right now. He was my ticket to tag along with Gil.
"That's better," he said. "That's like the girl I met the other night."
"Come on over," I said, "Linda should be here any minute. But we'll hold lunch for you."
"You got a deal!" he said. "See you soon."
"Okay. Bye."
He said goodbye and I dropped the receiver back into its cradle.
[Well," Gil asked. "What's happening?"
"He's coming over to join us for lunch."
"Don't look so glum, sweetheart. At least we'll be together."
"I can't help it. Everything is closing now, Gil. Our lives aren't our own any longer. In the next half hour or so, we're gonna start playing 'pretend" games. You're going to be Linda's lover and ... Bob is going to have to be my ... deadline."
"Boy! I can't tell you how good it is to be back!" Linda said as she closed the bedroom door behind us.
"I have cute little number you can wear, if you like. You are a few pounds lighter than me," she giggled. "I bought it last summer and got to wear it once."
"Let's see," I said, brightly, trying to appear like everything was normal.
"It's right here," she said, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a bright yellow two-piece.
"It's a little risque," she went on, "But after all you're no virgin anymore ... or are you?"
I knew the time would come that I would have to tell her about Bob and I. I would have to tell her what happened that night. It was strange, but I wanted to tell her everything. I wanted to tell her about the other guy I met-about how he was engaged and he didn't want to hurt his girl. But I was afraid ... afraid she'd know who the guy was. I couldn't take that kind of a chance.
"Well? ... You gonna tell me or do I have to pry it out of you bit for bit?"
"You have a minute?" I said, smiling and plopping down onto the bed.
"Are you kidding?" she giggled. "If we go out of this room before a half hours" time, they're gonna think we don't care ... think that we just throw any old thing on for them." She chuckled again and joined me one the bed, flopping down and reaching for the cigarettes on the night table ...
GIL'S CIGARETTES!
Her hand froze in mid-air. Her eyes narrowed, and then she quickly spun in my direction.
"What brand of cigarettes do you smoke?"
"Any kind. Why?" I asked, trying to appear calm, hoping that my tone, my eyes, didn't show my lie.
"Aren't these Gill's?" she asked, her tone icy.
"I don't know. They could be."
"How did they get here?"
"I guess I brought them in when we came in."
For a second she didn't answer. She looked at the cigarettes ... looked at the ashtray ... empty, then back to me.
Suddenly the smile reappeared on her face. "You wouldn't believe what I was just thinking."
"Why don't you try me?"
"No. I'm too embarrassed."
"And, besides, I wanna hear what happened to you," she finished.
"What's to tell? I went to Bob's apartment, that night, I was ready ... really ready, as you know, I'm sure."
"I could tell when you left here. I said to Gil that night that it would be the night. He didn't believe me. How do you like that?"
"Why not?" I asked.
"He was under the impression that you were one of these small-town hick-girls who saves herself for the man she loved. Can you catch that?"
"I could have before this weekend, but I sure as hell couldn't swallow it now," I said, feeling sorry that I hadn't saved myself for the man I loved, hadn't saved myself for Gil.
"So? What happened?"
"It was fast ... real fast. We were in the apartment for about ten minutes before we were in the bedroom."
"Did you at least make out?"
"Forever!" I said, laughing. "I experienced every kind of sexual thrill you could think of."
"That's nice," she said coyly. "So? What else?"
"What else is there to tell? We went to bed and I am no longer a virgin."
"Didja only go to bed with him once?"
"That's it," I said. "I don't want to turn into a whore over night."
"You still worrying about reputations and all that jazz?"
"Don't forget I was brought up all my life to believe one thing and I can't break away twenty-somewhat years of thinking over night."
"Yeah. I guess you're right," she answered. "But, at least, did you like it?"
"You mean ... after the pain?" I went on, sarcastically.
"Yeah, sweetheart, after the pain."
"You know it," I said, reaching out and hugging her tightly. The two of us broke into wild giggles like two schoolgirls.
"Welcome to the crew," she said.
Linda squinted her eyes and affected a childlike expression.
"Tell me something, Rosalie ... "
"Sure," I said.
"Does Bob ... does he have big meat?" She blurted into another round of hysterical laughter.
I nearly bit my tongue as the answer flashed in my mind. "Yeah, he has big meat," I thought, "but not nearly as big as Gil's."
"That's for me to know and you to find out," I said, aloud, "Does Gill ... "
"That's something you'll never know," Linda went on, her tone serious, now.
"Hey! We better start getting dressed," I said. "We must have been in here for close to half an hour, already."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, and handed me the skimpy bathing suit. "Ya got the nerve, kid?"^
"Wed, that depends," I said. "What are you wearing?"
"Wait until you see it," she went on. "You won't believe it!"
I made up my mind that I was going to be twice as risque as Linda. I was going to have Gil hot as hell. I was going to have him wanting me, desperately ... needing more of me than anything else. I was going to have it so that even when he was in bed ... all the way into Linda he was going to be thinking of me ... going to be wishing it were me.