Subway Girl Ch. 08

Sunday morning I woke up with every reason to be in a great mood. I had a beautiful new girlfriend, the apartment to myself, a job with some security, and a whole day in front of me with nothing to do. But it was the nothing-to-do part that was bumming me out. It made me feel like the old Ray, the one who used to roam around all day depressed with no one to talk to. I tried to shake it off and get busy: there were plenty of projects I could work on in my apartment. So I painted one wall, refinished my coffee table, and was in the middle of building a bookshelf out of scrap wood when my phone rang. I expected my dad, but it was Carlos.

"Hey, man! 'Bout time you called me back!" I greeted him.

"Me? You fuckin' don't call me for a whole fuckin' year, then expect me to fuckin' call you right back? Fuck you."

Whoa, I thought. That was a lot of f-bombs. Carlos is pissed.

"Yeah, you're right. I've sort of had my head up my ass this past year."

"What's your fuckin' problem? Have you been pissed at me since I left after we got fired?" He was unloading on me, hard and heavy.

"Naw, man, that wasn't it at all. I probably would have left too, if I had a nice home to go back to." I sat down on my futon. "Remember how I let that guy Thomas move in? Well, he brought this other guy in and the two of them went crazy doing drugs and things got pretty bad around here with them stealing my shit, bringing hookers and junkies home, and all kinds of weird stuff goin' on in this tiny place."

"Shit, man, you didn't do drugs with 'em, did you?"

"Hell no!"

"You could've at least called and said what was goin' on, stupid motherfucker. You want me to come help you evict those motherfuckers or somethin'?"

"They're both gone now. One's in jail, one's in rehab."

"Sounds like a good place for 'em. How're you doin' now?"

"Better. Much better. How 'bout you?"

"Got me a new job and a new girl," Carlos laughed in that cocky way of his. Carlos could swagger with nothing more than the tone of his voice.

The rest of our dialogue slid into our old familiar pattern, just like we used to, except we had a lot of catching up to do. He laughed about how I got my new job and of course about how I met my new girlfriend.

"She came up and hugged you, just because you asked?"

"Yeah... well, I guess I helped her out one time when she dropped a bunch of stuff, but she definitely surprised me. She's still surprising me." I was thinking about how Alicia told me to bring condoms, but I didn't tell Carlos that part. I surprised myself because that was the kind of stuff I would normally tell him.

"Well I hope she ain't no 'false advertiser'," Carlos joked.

I laughed, "Nope, definitely not. She's super-hot, but really sweet too. Hey, Marcus is asking about you all the time."

"Ah, really? That's cool. I should come out for soccer and bring my new girl and meet yours too."

"That'd be cool, 'cept I'm gonna' be working the next few Saturdays. I'm gonna play with a few of the same guys on Tuesdays for a while instead."

"Yeah, well, maybe in a month or so." Carlos went on and updated me on what all our old friends were doing, which sounded like just more of the same old same old. We ended the conversation with Carlos telling me not to go "a whole fuckin' year" without calling him and I laughed and agreed.

When I hung up I saw a text from Alicia. It had a selfie with an accounting book covering the lower half of her face and it said, "Stop distracting me!"

I laughed and wrote back, "Whoever this is, knock it off. I have a girlfriend now."

She sent another selfie, this time one of her butt, with her jeans pulled down. She was wearing a pink thong. Damn. Surprised again. The caption said, "Recognize me now?"

I wrote back, "I could pick that sweet ass out of any lineup. Why don't you come over and study on my lap?"

"Hahaha. You have to wait until tomorrow," she texted.

"I know. Feel free to keep those pics coming. I miss you." I texted back.

Then she texted me a row of hearts and said she missed me too.

* * * * *

The next morning I was a few minutes early getting to the address Don had given me. He said he wanted to take Lenny and me out to breakfast. "Don't worry, you're on the clock. Just want to go over some stuff." He was in a great mood, but anxious too. Don explained that we needed to finish up a bunch of work this week and start our new job next week. We would be working on a warehouse that was being converted into residential lofts.

"Do you know what this means, Ray?" Lenny asked, elbowing me in the ribs.

I thought about it for a second and answered, "Prosperity?"

For some reason both guys thought this was hilarious and they repeated it a few times, laughing until Lenny answered, "Yeah, prosperity, Ray. It also means we have steady work for the rest of the year, and come winter, we'll be working indoors at the same place everyday instead of freezin' our balls off!"

"And," Don added, "It means we gotta up our game. Lenny, I want you to spend the next week teaching Ray as much as you can about every trade, which ones we're gonna sub out, and what we're gonna do ourselves. Ray might have to supervise some guys and coordinate shit, and hey, Ray, there's gonna be some days where you're holdin' a clipboard instead of a drill."

Our food came and we dug in, but Don kept talking, "And don't forget, both of ya's, you need to set an example for any new guys: no coming in late, no bein' on the phone."

I had to bite my lip at that. Few things irritate me more than being told to do something I am already doing, or not to do something I'm already not doing, but I knew Don was just looking ahead. "I even ordered some t-shirts with collars. They say DT Construction right here," he was rubbing the left side of his chest and he was grinning with pride.

When we got back to the jobsite, Lenny did proceed to explain everything he was doing while trying to rush at the same time. He gave me specific tips for checking other people's work and also what would catch Don's eye. I took some notes and asked a lot of questions and even made a few video clips when he showed me something new. Lenny teased me about studying at night, but I definitely had my mind on other ideas for that particular evening. Alicia's place.

That morning I had texted her wishing her luck on her test and hadn't heard back from her yet. Lenny caught me grinning a few times and asked, "What's so funny?" I didn't want to tell him I was thinking about the picture of Alicia's butt, so I said, "Don was really excited about those t-shirts."

"Yeah well, it's been a hell of a ride for him. It ain't easy being the owner. I wouldn't do it, I got enough stress with my kids." We were tiling the bathroom of an apartment and I really enjoyed it, except for the smell of cutting tile. We barely finished at five o'clock and I finally got a text that read, "Test is over, home from work, come over any time."

I put my tools away and then literally ran home to take a shower.

* * * * *

It takes me about forty-five minutes to walk to Alicia's apartment, and almost as long to take the subway. I prefer walking, especially when it's nice out. I walked by the flower shop and spontaneously decided to pop in. I saw Flower Girl again and she teased me, "Back so soon? Must be love."

"Sorry, but I don't know you that well yet. I think 'like' would be more honest." I teased her, even though I knew what she meant.

Flower Girl smiled and asked if I was on a budget again today. "Always. But today I do want to buy just one rose and I was hoping you could tell me what the different roses mean."

"I just know that red is love and I'm pretty sure yellow is sympathy. Let's Google it." She looked at her phone screen and walked over to the buckets of roses. Girls with tattoos are confusing. Flower Girl had this tattoo on her thigh and she was wearing short cut-off jeans and black boots, so of course I was looking at her legs. Or rather her tattoos. It's a mind game they play, giving you permission to look at the art on some private body part. Not that her upper thigh was that private, but I usually wouldn't stare like that.

"I like to write," she noticed my staring. "And I like birds."

"Hmmm. That explains it. Very interesting." Her pale thighs were very interesting, and so was the typewriter surrounded by birds.

"Okay, here are the ones we have in stock. Let me see, pink means appreciation, oh, unless it's light pink; that means admiration." She looked at me and I shook my head. "Okay, white means purity or innocence, red means love, of course."

"What about this one?" I pointed to a really cool looking rose, yellow with red tips.

"That," she consulted her phone's screen, "Means friendship and falling in love."

I stared at the flower for a few seconds. Then I picked it up.

"Dammit!" Flower Girl exclaimed. "I guess that means there's no hope for you and me," she laughed like she was joking.

"I guess we were meant to be just friends," I shrugged and gave her my most charming smile.

We walked up to the counter and as she rang me up, I asked, "Do most girls know what the colors of flowers mean?"

"Well, I own a flower shop and I had to look it up. Except red, of course."

"You own this place?"

"Yep. Three years."

"Damn, Tracy. Impressive."

"Did I tell you my name?"

"It was on your business card, but it didn't say you own the place. My name is Ray."

"Your name is Ray and you're falling in love," she sighed, handing me my change. "Well, it's good for business."

I thanked Tracy the Flower-Girl-business-owner and continued on my way.

* * * * *

In front of Alicia's apartment I gave myself the anti-pep talk. Just because I had condoms in my pocket didn't mean I would for sure get to use them. I would just take it slow, see what happened, and be a gentleman. I rang the intercom.

Alicia buzzed me in and once again opened the door before I knocked. When she saw that I was holding a flower, her face fell.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Does this mean you don't want to have sex with me?"

"What?" I couldn't believe my ears until I remembered she said to bring condoms instead of flowers. "Oh, I brought both."

Alicia looked mortified and I hugged her. "Oh my god, I am so embarrassed. I can't believe I just blurted that out."

I hugged here even more closely and laughing said, "Baby, you really should familiarize yourself with the meaning of flowers. I'll bet there isn't a single flower that says 'No sex for you'."

"Maybe some sort of cactus." She was at least smiling now, but her face was redder than I'd ever seen. I lifted her chin up with my hand and kissed her tenderly.

"How did your test go?" I asked.

"Oh my god, it was so hard, Ray. I won't know my grade until tomorrow." I noticed I was starting to feel anxious about her grades myself. "Are you hungry?" she asked.

"Always."

"I made a salad and it will just take ten minutes to make pasta."

"Thank you. I'd like that."

I sat on the stool at her breakfast bar and watched her put a pot of water on the stove, and then she put the rose in a vase. "You're spoiling me," she smiled and came to me where I was sitting and stood between my legs and kissed me. I really like how affectionate and passionate she is, that she doesn't wait for me to kiss her every time. "We don't have to do it, you know."

As I looked at her, not really sure how to respond, she went on, "I mean, I told you to bring condoms just in case, but I...

Time to shut her up with a kiss—the kind that wouldn't let her talk for a while, the kind that would leave her breathless. When I finally let her loose, she backed up and had lost her insecure look. She had a sexy expression and a completely confident demeanor as she stated, "I'm going to finish cooking." I watched her slide some dry pasta into the water and take a salad out of the fridge. "Do you want one of your beers?"

"Sure, I'd love one."

Alicia had some music playing and a few candles burning. She was wearing shorts and a tank top. It was a warm night, but she had a fan by the open window. She handed me a beer and I drank it from the cold bottle while she puttered in the kitchen. I loved watching her, seeing her move and bend and concentrate on what she was doing. She took a salad she had already prepared out of the fridge and scooped some onto two plates and placed them on the bar. I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten salad; it sure wasn't something I would make for myself. It was full of tiny chopped vegetables, such as cucumber, tomatoes, celery, and carrots. Everything tasted fresh and crunchy. Next Alicia brought me a plate of pasta with marinara sauce, but she just ate salad saying she wasn't that hungry. I noticed that she had scratches on the back of her hand again and asked about it. "Oh, I think it's from filing things at work. You know, sticking my hands down into file drawers and sometimes the documents are stapled together."

"Whoa," I said holding up my own hands and looking at them. "Who would have guessed accounting could be so much more hazardous than construction?" Alicia laughed and we started eating.

"I think you are the one spoiling me. I can't believe I am eating my second home-cooked meal in a week," I told her.

"If you call this cooking," she laughed, gesturing to the plate of pasta.

"Oh, I do."

We talked about our days as we ate and when we finished Alicia took the dishes and put them in the sink. I offered to wash them, but she declined. Instead, she offered to download some music onto my phone from her computer. Alicia has a ton of different types of music and I like some of it, but not all. I took off my shoes and socks and we both lay down on her plush throw rug. Alicia was already barefoot and I admired her pink toenails before saying, "Don't put any of that country stuff on my phone." I said it like I was teasing, but I was serious.

"What, you mean bluegrass?"

"Yeah, I don't have the hillbilly gene."

"Actually, I think you do, since you're half Irish." I looked at her expectantly and she went on, "Irish immigrants settled in the Appalachian Mountains and brought their instruments, at least the ones they could carry across the mountains. Banjos, fiddles, mandolins. They played Irish folk tunes that eventually morphed into what we now know as bluegrass."

"Okay Miss Wikipedia, but I think my Hispanic side is dominant when it comes to music."

Alicia slipped into a high falsetto and said in a kind of sing-song, "But you must embrace all aspects of your entire persona as a dynamic whole. That combination makes you the lovable being that you are."

I looked at her in surprise and she said, "Sorry. That was my therapist talking."

"You have a therapist?"

"Well, not right now."

"Why would you need therapy?"

"You have no idea," she laughed, then said, "Hey, I really want you to give bluegrass a try. One of my favorite bands is going to play here in a few months and I'd love it if you would go with me."

"Will I need to grow a beard?" I joked with her, stroking my chin. "Of course I'll go with you. Put a few songs on my phone and I'll see if I can get into it."

"So you will embrace your inner hillbilly?" She teased. She was lying on her side now and I asked, "Would you like to be embraced by my inner hillbilly, or would you rather get acquainted with my Latin lover side?"

"Oooo, no contest, Rico Suave. I want it spicy!" She laughed but I turned solemn and stroked her cheek with my hand.

"I'm really glad I met you," I said, lightly stroking her cheek with my forefinger.

"Me too," she answered, matching my gaze and change of tone.

"I wasn't expecting to meet anybody. You kind of blindsided me. But you have no idea how glad I am that you came along."

"I feel the same way."

I was looking into her big blue eyes with the long lashes that sparked out, and was stroking her soft cheek, and I felt like I should say something else, but didn't know what. So, I lowered my mouth to hers and kissed her gently. She let out a sigh and kissed me back. I parted my lips and let our tongues meet and gently swirled mine around hers. We were both on our sides, up on one elbow and I used my other hand to dig into her hair at the nape of her neck and pull her in closer and kiss her deeply. Our breathing quickened and Alicia threw her leg over me. I responded by lowering my hand all the way to her sweet ass and pulling her into me even more closely, so that I was really pressing into her and kissing her the whole time, alternating between soft, gentle, tender kisses and deep, urgent kisses.

There was no way to hide how turned on I was and I didn't bother. Instead I rolled onto my back and pulled Alicia over on top of me and let my hands explore her beautiful body. Her hair hung around me like a curtain and she continued to kiss me while I massaged the curviness of her sexy bottom and admitted, "I am completely crazy over this butt." She responded with a smile and by grinding herself into me. I was really feeling the urge to shed my jeans, but then Alicia sat up and pulled her tank top off in the swiftest sexiest move I have ever seen.

She was wearing a lacy bra. I knew she had nice tits but I'd never actually seen them. Her bra was a light pink color and sheer enough I could see her nipples. I reached up and felt one through the fabric with my thumb and she smiled shyly at me. I used both hands to massage her breasts and then she reached behind her back and unhooked the bra and tossed it aside, revealing the most gorgeous sight I could ever imagine. Perfect symmetry and shape, soft yet firm, round breasts partially covered by her pretty blonde hair, and the most gorgeous nipples, which I was aching to taste. "You are so beautiful," I said as I marveled at the sight of my brown-skinned hands massaging her pale breasts. She leaned back and tossed her hair backward and asked me to take my shirt off too.

I sat up and pulled my shirt off and realigned my body so I was now sitting with my back against her futon and she was straddling me. We were still in our pants and shorts, but our bare chests were pressed together and I kissed her neck, and then down to her hard nipple that was begging for my mouth. Alicia gasped and I felt her arch her back again as she put a hand on the back of my head. I was overwhelmed with passion and became greedy with her breasts, using both my hands and mouth to bring more of her to me. I switched sides and continued using both hands, feeling the weight of her breasts in my palms, feeling her other nipple harden in response to my mouth and lips and tongue. I began to suck harder and Alicia was squirming in my lap and breathing loudly. I was starting to ache from straining against my jeans and her weight on me and I gently lifted her butt up and back and set her down between my legs and laid her down on her back.

Now I was looking down at her pretty face that looked back up at me shy and expectant. "May I please have permission to remove your pesky shorts?"

"Yes! Get them off!" she almost begged, "And remove your pesky pants too."

And so I did, unveiling my desire for her and revealing her lacy panties to me. I lay back on top of her, careful not to apply all my weight, and it felt so good to feel her body next to mine, her soft pale skin against my light brown skin, the entire length of us, ankles touching, knees touching, thighs touching, abdomen and chest pressing together, and me between her legs pushing into that hot magnet that wanted to draw me in. My hands roamed her entire body, feeling every inch of her skin. I wanted to explore every surface on her body, I wanted to taste every inch. I kissed her shoulder and even down her arm. I had never wanted to kiss a girl's arm before, never wanted to take my time like this. It was as if we had all the time in the world and I knew where we were going, but getting there was better than I had ever imagined.