Part 19 (1/2)
Chapter Fourteen.
They walked across the dusty, hot street of Kingman in silence. Amanda found she couldn't speak in antic.i.p.ation of what was to come. It was just a lesson, she told herself, a lesson she could transfer to Taylor. After all, it was Taylor she was interested in, wasn't it? Taylor was the man she'd loved for years. Taylor was the man she was going to marry. She needed to learn how to change herself in his eyes from a child to a woman. And Dr. Montgomery was kind enough to teach her.
”In here,” he said, opening the door to the broom closet.
”Here?” she asked.
”Only place private. Come on, we've been away too long as it is.”
She had the distinct impression he wanted to get this duty over with. The problems of the people upstairs were of course much more important than hers. She stepped inside the closet and he locked the door behind her.
Hank turned a big bucket upside down and sat on it. ”First of all, you're at a disadvantage if he's standing, because he's taller than you. Wait until he's sitting down, then you have the upper hand. Now, pull the string and kill that light and come sit on my lap.”
”But-” she began.
”Pretend I'm Taylor. You can do that better in the dark. Amanda, if you want a schedule after you're married, then don't learn what I have to teach you. It's up to you.”
She pulled the string on the light and the room was absolutely dark, but Dr. Montgomery's hands found her and guided her to sit on his lap.
”Amanda! What are you doing? You should be studying your Latin.”
”Yes, I- Oh, I see, you're Taylor.”
”Pretending to be,” Hank corrected. ”Amanda, if I were me, I'd put my arms around you like this,” he said, his arms caressing her back, ”and my hands would do this.” He ran his hands down her arms, his thumbs touching the sides of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. ”And I'd kiss you like this.” He kissed her softly, lingeringly, in such a way that made her remember last night. Her arms went around him, her tongue entwined with his. She moaned when his hand cupped her breast. Sitting, he'd said. People could make love while sitting down. She turned more fully toward him.
He pushed her away. ”But I'm not me. I'm Taylor.” Hank was swallowing and he was painfully uncomfortable. She was going to drive him mad. ”Taylor would sit here like this.” He put his hands beside his thighs, not touching her. There was a little light coming in around the door and he could see enough of her to again realize how beautiful she was. There seemed to be less sadness in her eyes. ”Now what are you going to do?”
”I don't know. With you I don't have to do anything. You always seem to be ready.” She could feel how ready he was now, against her left thigh. Her heart was still pounding, but he seemed to be so cool and unaffected by their kissing-well, maybe not all of him was unaffected. ”I guess I would kiss him,” she said, leaning toward his lips, but he turned his head away.
”No, start more subtly. Here, kiss my neck a little and maybe use this hand to unb.u.t.ton a few b.u.t.tons and this one you can put in my hair.”
”Oh,” she said, ”I see.” This was the easiest a.s.signment she'd ever had. His hair was soft and clean and seemed to twine around her fingers. The b.u.t.tons of his s.h.i.+rt opened easily, and she slid her hand inside to touch his bare flesh. ”Like this?”
”Exactly,” he whispered.
She put her lips to his neck. Hot, smooth skin with just the faintest trace of whiskers. She touched her tongue to his whiskers. His skin tasted good.
”Ear,” Hank said, and could hardly hear himself above his heart's pounding.
Amanda thought she was maybe getting the hang of this. She put his earlobe in her teeth and pulled it gently. He moved his hands from his thighs to hers. She ran her tongue around the rim of his ear, her breath warm against it. ”Am I doing all right?” she whispered.
”Fine so far,” he managed to say.
She began to get creative as she kissed his temple then his eyes and down his face to his cheeks. She had unb.u.t.toned most of his s.h.i.+rt now, and she wanted to feel her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s against his hot, dark skin, feel the hair of his chest against her smooth skin.
”This ear?” she whispered, and used her tongue to caress his left ear. She had to stretch across him a bit and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s felt so good where they touched him. She wanted to open her dress and feel his mouth on her.
She kissed his lips. As if she were dying, she kissed him, plunging her tongue into his mouth, ravis.h.i.+ng him, attacking him, sucking at his lips, biting his lips; then her mouth and teeth bit at his jawline, down his neck. Her hands began tearing at his clothes.
Hank quit playing a game. He turned her to straddle him, treating her as if she weighed nothing, as he shoved her dress up over her hips. Her tap pants tore at the crotch so that she was bare against him, the cloth of his trousers against her soft inner thighs and her engorged womanhood.
His left hand clamped down on the back of her head, turning her so he could invade the deepest recesses of her mouth while his right hand unb.u.t.toned his trousers, his knuckles caressing her. She rubbed against the skin of his hand.
Someone started trying the doork.n.o.b.
”I think it's locked,” Reva said from outside. ”You have the key or does Hank?”
”I think there are some keys upstairs,” Joe said. ”I'll go look.”
”I'll go with you,” Reva said, then to someone else she said, ”You stay here. You can clean up your own kid's vomit.”
Inside the closet, Amanda and Hank became aware of who they were and where they were.
”We better go,” Amanda said. ”I don't think they would understand.”
Nor do I, Hank thought as he mechanically began to refasten his trousers.
Amanda at last found the string to the light and pulled it on, and for a brief moment their eyes met, but she didn't dare look at him for too long. It seemed that all he had to do was pull her string and she lit up like an electric light bulb.
Hank unlocked the door and looked out. Reva and Joe were still upstairs but standing quietly was an Italian woman holding the hand of a green-faced little girl. ”h.e.l.lo,” Hank said. ”We, ah...”
Amanda began to talk to the woman, making up a long excuse as to what they were doing in the closet as they pa.s.sed her to go upstairs.
Hank paused on the stair landing. ”What language was that?” he asked.
”Italian. Isn't she Italian?”
”I think she is, but I'm not sure what your language was.”
”Oh. Greek, perhaps,” Amanda said helplessly. ”Maybe Russian. Maybe Latin.”
He looked at her and it was all he could do to not touch her. He could feel her tongue in his ear. ”Go fix your hair,” he said, ”then come back to work. We have another train arriving at two. Your father advertised for workers in three states. The more people he gets, the greater the compet.i.tion for the jobs. He can fire hundreds and still have enough workers to pick the crops. Go on now. One look at you and everyone will know.”
Amanda hurried up the stairs to the restroom. The mirror showed her flushed face, her hair about her shoulders and puffy lips from having kissed so much. She did the best she could to repair the damage. At least no one would be able to see her torn underwear. For a moment she leaned back against the door. It seemed that all he had to do was touch her and she came apart. She did outrageous, shameless things.
Taylor, she tried to remind herself. She was in love with Taylor and she wanted him to think of her as a woman. That was her goal.
She left the restroom and went back to the hot office which was filled with people who were trying to understand what a union was. Amanda was to explain to them that they would not lose their jobs if they asked for a drink of water.
She glanced at Dr. Montgomery before she took her seat. The back of his hair was mussed and she wanted to smooth it down, but as she watched, Reva's hand ran over his hair and straightened it. As Reva walked past Amanda she whispered, ”Why do you have to have two men? Give me one of them, will you?”
Guiltily, Amanda gave her attention to the Hindu family before her. She needed to find a common language so she could talk to them. She didn't look at Hank again.
But Hank couldn't keep his eyes off Amanda. There were times when he couldn't remember what a union was. He thought of how he'd believed her to be a prig, an anxious, nervous, judgmental little prude. But then he'd touched her.
Reva annoyingly kept reminding him of his work and Hank had to stop daydreaming.