Ghost Days, page 6
“This is probably going to be a godawful game,” Garza said.
“Did I hear right?” Parrish asked. “They’re called the Vendors?”
“The Stoneham Vendors, yeah.”
“Where is that?”
Garza laughed and shook her head. “Couldn’t tell you.”
Parrish grinned and leaned against her. “Maybe the other team will be better.”
“Maybe.”
***
The Stoneham Vendors were as lousy as their name implied. Their opponents, the Edmonton Klondikers, were even worse. It was probably the most terrible baseball game Garza had ever seen in her entire life. It was lucky, then, that sometimes the wind caught the hem of Parrish’s dress and lifted it to show off her thigh. And sometimes Parrish would shift on the bleacher and cross one leg over the other, and Garza got to watch that process happen. So all in all, worth the price of the ticket and the snacks she bought during the nine interminable innings.
The game ended at five o’clock, a blessing. The manager who had given them a ride to the park was nowhere to be seen, and Garza spent a horrible few minutes unsure how they would get back to the airport. She decided to delay the problem a bit and suggested they walk to the fried chicken restaurant she’d seen a few blocks away from the park.
After they got their food, Parrish impulsively decided to swap hats. She put Saul’s fedora on the crown of her head so her hair stuck out at the front, the brim pointed jauntily into the air.
“You look good in that hat,” Garza said.
“I look good in everything.”
Garza gave her that point.
Parrish looked past her to the checkout line. “Oh, hold on just a second.” She stood up, smoothed down her dress, and pushed back her shoulders to highlight her breasts. She walked up to a man in mechanic overalls and smiled as she lightly touched his arm. “Sorry, excuse me, sir. I noticed the logo on your back here. Are you by chance on your way to work at the airport?”
His eyes went to her cleavage first, then guiltily moved up to her eyes. “Um, yes, ma’am...”
“That’s great!” Parrish said, bouncing on the balls of her feet in a way that made her body do interesting, distracting things under the dress. “My friend and I lost our ride, and we just need a lift. We’d be happy to wait for you to have your meal, and we’ll pay for it, even, if you’d be willing to take us.”
“Oh, well, uh.” He was blushing brightly. “Well, you don’t have to pay nothin’. I’m going there anyway. If you need to get there, I’d be more than happy.”
Parrish squeezed his arm. “Ah! Our hero. Thank you...” She looked at his name patch. She poked it with two fingers as if pressing a button. “Thomas! Our hero, Thomas. You’re a lifesaver.”
“Oh geez, I dunno about that,” he said bashfully.
“We’ll be right over there whenever you’re ready. No rush!”
She walked back to the table, somehow making the hem of her dress sway like a broom being swept back and forth before she dropped down into her seat. Garza had watched the entire interaction with eyebrows raised, and now she rested her chin on her fist.
“Who are you?”
Parrish winked. “Someone who knows how to get what she wants.”
The mechanic, Thomas, was quick to finish his meal. Not that Garza blamed him, after the show Parrish had put on. He was driving an old tow truck, and this time Garza sat between him and Parrish. She didn’t want the poor fool getting any ideas.
When he dropped them off at the terminal, he twisted in the seat and looked past her at Parrish.
“So, uh, I-I’m happy to... help... if you... I mean, if you need anything else, anything at all...”
Garza could almost hear his thoughts processing what he really wanted to say. She almost felt sorry for him, even as she shrank back into the seat. It was like she had ceased to exist, and it was just him and Parrish in the cab.
“Gosh, you’re sweet!” Parrish put her hand on Garza’s thigh, seemingly casual but far too close to her hip to be anything but suggestive, and leaned across her to place a lingering kiss on Thomas’ cheek. “Mwah! My hero.”
His face was bright crimson. “Well, any time you’re in town, ma’am.”
“I’ll keep you in mind. Thank you!”
She winked and opened the door, hoping out onto the sidewalk. Garza awkwardly lifted her hand to wave goodbye, then scooted sideways until she was also out of the truck. They watched the truck as it trundled off to whichever hangar required his services. Parrish stretched to her full height, arm extended over her head so she could wave until he was out of sight.
Garza snickered and shook her head. “You wouldn’t manipulate me like that, would you?”
“I don’t know,” Parrish said coyly. “Is there anything I want that you haven’t freely given me?”
“Hm,” Garza said, unsure if she was teasing or hinting at something.
She decided she could twist her brain around that question until she couldn’t think straight, so she just dropped it and started walking back to the plane. Parrish followed her like a shadow.
When they were aboard the plane, Parrish watched every movement of Garza’s hands. Every switch she flipped, the dials she turned, the gauges she checked.
“How much does gas cost for a thing like this?” she asked.
“You really don’t want to know.”
“Ouch?”
“Ouch,” Garza agreed. “Most of the client’s fee goes right into the tank. Everything left over usually goes to upkeep or some kind of repair. That’s just how it works. But I didn’t get into this for the money. Thank goodness.”
Parrish grinned.
They’d been in the air for half an hour when Parrish, who had been watching the terrain pass under them, suddenly unfastened her seatbelt.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Nowhere,” Parrish said. “I just had an idea.”
“What--”
Parrish lifted her hips to pull her dress up, then sat down again to pull the dress over her head. She dropped the dress in the space between their seats. Garza was still processing that when Parrish’s hips lifted again and she slid her panties down her legs and kicked them off. Her bra came next, landing on top of the panties. Now completely naked except for her shoes and socks, she fastened herself back into her seat and gave a sigh of relief.
“Much better,” she said.
“What...” Words failed her. “You can’t be naked on a plane.”
Parrish shrugged. “Why not? No one out there is going to see us. And the only other person here is you, and you’ve already seen everything.”
“I... I...”
“You’ve never flown naked?”
Garza said, “No!”
Parrish turned toward her. “Do it now.”
“No!”
“Why not?”
Garza didn’t have an answer better than ‘because.’
“C’mon, Erika. Take off your clothes for me.”
A shiver ran down her spine. “You’re playing me now. Just like that poor mechanic.”
“The difference is, I’ll actually fuck you if you play along.”
Garza took a deep breath and let it out, then shook her head. “You’re evil.” She let go of the yoke and unfastened her seatbelt.
Parrish grinned and clapped her hands quietly. She brought her hands to her face so she could chew on a thumbnail as Garza stood and quickly shed her pants and underwear. She sat down again to undo her tie, looking over at Parrish to make sure she was at least enjoying the show. Her eyes were wide and sparkling with light from the instrumental panel, and Garza sighed.
“Okay. So we’re flying naked.”
“Yeah!”
“Never done that before.”
Parrish said, “Really? Why not?” She gestured at the empty seats behind them. “Like I said, no one here to see. And it’s not like another plane is going to pass in the other direction and see us.” She frowned and leaned forward to look out the windshield. “Right?”
“Right,” Garza reluctantly admitted. “But it’s still... weird. Like walking around the house naked. It’s public space, you know? You never know what might happen. What if the plane crashes right now and they find our bodies naked?”
“That sounds like a fun story for the emergency workers.”
Garza rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help smiling. “You’re impossible. You’ve probably driven around in your car naked.”
Parrish faced forward without responding.
“Oh my god. You have.”
“Sometimes the risk of being caught makes it better,” she said with a shrug. She stretched her arms over her head. “It’s freeing.. It’s not giving a shit and just enjoying the air on your skin. If you’ve only ever been naked in your bedroom and the bath, then you’re not really living. Relax. Enjoy it. You might find out you like it.”
Garza said, “That’s what I’m worried about. I don’t want to make this a habit.”
“Every business needs a gimmick,” Parrish said.
Garza laughed.
Despite her misgivings, Garza did eventually relax and settle back into her seat. The tight T-shirt she’d been wearing to try concealing her breasts had been incredibly uncomfortable. Now she felt like she could breathe properly for the first time all day. And when she tested it by taking a deep breath, in her periphery she caught Parrish turning to check her out. She smiled and decided while flying naked definitely wasn’t for her, she could deal with it for one flight in the right company.
When they were fifteen minutes out, Garza said, “We should probably get our clothes back on.”
Parrish looked outside. “It’ll be dark by the time you land. If we’re quick...”
“I’m not risking that,” Garza said firmly.
“Fine, fine,” Parrish said with an exaggerated sigh.
She reached down to the pile between them. She had to move Garza’s clothes out of the way to get to her dress, but she paused and fingered the material. After a second, she picked up the pants and stood to put them on. Garza frowned at her.
“What are you doing?”
“Putting on your clothes.”
“What will I--”
“My dress.”
Garza looked down at the dress. She didn’t generally like dresses. No pockets. Who would invent clothes without pockets? It was insane. But she supposed she could wear one briefly. Just for a quick walk from the hangar to the house. She looked at Parrish, who was now buttoning her blouse with the tie draped across her shoulders. And she did look damn good in Garza’s clothes...
She sighed and picked up the dress. At least it was easier to put on without standing up. She pulled the material over her head, tugging it into place. She didn’t bother with underwear. She assumed it would get taken off again immediately once they got home anyway. She raised up out of the seat and pulled the dress all the way into place, smoothing the hem over her thighs.
“I feel like I’m in a nightgown.”
Parrish looked at her and laughed. “That is definitely not your color.”
“Well, hopefully no one will see me in it before you take it off me.”
“Can’t wait,” Parrish said, fiddling with the tie. “How do you tie one of these things?”
“Don’t worry about it. It looks good loose.”
Parrish said, “Hm,” and dropped her hands.
As they passed over Red Kite, Garza pulled slightly to the north to give Parrish a better view. “There she is. Home sweet home.”
“Wow.” Parrish leaned forward. “I’ve never seen the town like this. It looks like, um... like one of those little railroad toys. I can see people! And cars! Wow.”
Garza grinned. “Yeah, it never gets old.”
Parrish settled back in her seat. “I’m sure that’s true. But I’ve never been up in a plane before.”
“Really?”
Parrish shrugged. “It’s expensive. Cheaper to just go everywhere by car or train. Bus.”
“You should’ve said something. I would have taken a more scenic route.”
“Oh, it was plenty scenic.”
Garza laughed and wiped her hand over her face, hoping it concealed her blush.
They were almost home when Parrish said, “He never would’ve done this, you know. Saul.”
“What, worn your dress?”
Parrish laughed, but it lacked the life the sound usually had. “No, I mean... all of this. Today. Woken me up to spend the day going to a terrible baseball game with teams we’ve never heard of and eating greasy chicken for dinner. He would have... he would have found articles about the teams and found out which game would be the most statistically important, and he would plan to go see that one, even if it was six hundred miles away, and he’d have a plan about how to get back to the airport that didn’t involve flirting with strangers, and the whole day would have had a schedule and...” She realized she was ranting and stopped herself, covering her mouth with her hand to stop the words.
Garza waited. “Are you okay?”
“Mm-hmm.” Parrish sniffled. “Sorry. Today was perfect.”
“Good,” Garza said. “I’m glad you had a good time. I did, too.”
Parrish smiled.
Garza set the plane down as gently as possible, now that she knew it was Parrish’s first trip in a plane. They walked together to the house, and Garza felt the weight of the day starting to drag on her. She reached out and took Parrish’s hand, linking their fingers, and Parrish swung their arms.
When they got inside, Garza left the light off and pulled Parrish to her with a quiet, “Come here.” They kissed in the dark, feet shuffling across the floor toward the hallway, or a wall, or a counter, something solid they could use for support so the kiss could become something more. Parrish whimpered into Garza’s mouth, pulling her close, slipping her tongue across Garza’s lips as she was guided backward through the house.
When they reached the bedroom, Garza pushed Parrish down onto the bed. “Scoot up,” she said, pulling her borrowed dress over her head in one smooth movement. She tossed it aside as Parrish repositioned herself with her head on the pillow. She unfastened her belt and opened her pants, and Garza pulled them down her legs, dropping them into the floor as Parrish unbuttoned her shirt.
Garza climbed onto the bed, straddling Parrish’s waist. She grabbed the tie that still hung loose around her neck and pulled it free.
“Put your arms over your head,” she said.
“What?” Parrish said, still unbuttoning her shirt.
“Arms over your head,” Garza said again. “Wrists crossed.”
Parrish raised her head to see the iron bars of the headboard. She looked at Garza again, eyes wide. “Really?”
“Would Saul do this?”
“Never.”
“Then put your arms up for me, Christine.”
Parrish did as she was told, crossing her wrists like an X. It took Garza a second to figure out how to loop the tie so that it covered both arms and went around the bar, but she managed it. She knotted the tie and slid down, lined her face up with Parrish’s, and kissed her hard. Parrish squirmed under her, and she lifted her head off the pillow in pursuit when Garza ended the kiss.
“What happens now?” Parrish said.
Garza sat up. Parrish had left the top three buttons of the shirt buttoned, so Garza grabbed the material and yanked until they popped off. She let the two halves fall open to expose Parrish’s breasts, which she cupped with both hands. Parrish lifted up off the bed to press them into Garza’s palms.
“You don’t have to worry about that, darlin’,” Garza said, her voice husky with want. “I’m going to do all the work tonight. And you’re just going to lie there and enjoy it.”
Parrish writhed under her. “God, you spoil me.”
Garza grinned and slid down Parrish’s body, her exhaustion faded as she started coming up with a list of things she wanted to do with her willing captive.
***
It happened accidentally. A busy, exhausting day followed by enthusiastic sex had left Garza physically drained. And preparing for another weekend without seeing, touching, tasting, holding Parrish was weighing on her emotionally. So after she made Parrish come twice, and after Parrish’s hands had been freed so she could return the favor, and after they settled into a clinch on one side of the bed with the sheets tangled around them like a nest, Parrish kissed Garza’s throat, her lips lingering on the pulse, and Garza slipped up.
“I love you,” she whispered into Parrish’s hair.
There was no response from the lips still resting against her throat. And despite how tired she was, Garza lay awake for another hour wondering if Parrish had heard her, hoping she’d been asleep by the time the words slipped free, wishing she could take them back, hating that she had to.
Chapter Seven
Thursday
The next morning, Parrish woke up first. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing out into the room with her feet on the floor. Garza eyed the smooth line of her back, split down the center by a rocky spine, looking for evidence of bruises either fresh or fading. There was nothing, and she was absolutely grateful for that, but she hated that she looked. She hated looking for signs of abuse, hated trying to find a reason to hate Saul for reasons beyond his selfishness and bland personality. She wanted him to be a monster. She wanted him to be cruel beyond withholding physical affection. If he was objectively despicable, Garza could position herself as the hero of their story, instead of someone who was just taking what she wanted.
“I don’t know if you heard what I said last night--”
“I heard it,” Parrish said, having jumped slightly when Garza spoke.
Garza sat up. “Okay. Well, I wanted you to know, uh, we don’t have to talk about it. I know I shouldn’t have said it.” She picked at the sheet, watching her fingers to stop trying to read Parrish’s body language. “After everything yesterday, I was just... exhausted. It slipped out.”
