The Necklace - The Dusky Club, June 1962 - Linda S Rice (books to read fiction txt) 📗

is the dress, then? I’ll be paying for it.”

When the saleslady stated the price, James blanched but pulled bills out of his pocket the same time Susan pulled some out of her purse.

“No,” said Susan. “I’m paying for this. It’s a dress for me; I have plenty of money, and you don’t need to keep paying for everything.”

“But I do, you know,” he said, pushing his money onto the counter.

“No, you don’t,” she insisted, pushing his money back towards him and placing her own on the counter. “You already paid for the cup I broke.”

He pressed his hand down on top of hers as she was pushing her money towards the saleslady.

“I said I was paying for it, which means I’m paying for it, and you’re not. Is that not clear or something?”

She suddenly sensed he was angry and looked up at his face.

Not clear? What in the hell was that supposed to mean?

And then she saw he was angry. She could see his eyes narrowed as he looked her straight in the face, unblinking. She’d seen that look before; it was when she’d walked into the practice room after the hand-kissing incident.

“But,” she started to say.

“But, nothing. Haven’t you been listening? Haven’t I made myself clear?” His voice was calm but cold.

Slowly, he lifted his hand off hers, and she drew her money back towards her and put it in her purse. She looked contrite but inside, she was angry.

“Well, this is a side of him I wasn’t expecting,” she thought, fuming. “He’s acting downright controlling!”

And, as Lynn would have told him if she’d been there, she wasn’t a person to be controlled or bossed around.

She found her temper begin to rise higher. No man had ever told her what she could or couldn’t do, not even when she was seventeen. In fact, never! She’d always had one of those rebellious and willful natures and was used to getting her way. She felt like saying “just never mind!” about the dress and stomping out of the shop.

Without any further words, the saleslady rung up the purchase, folded the dress between tissue paper, placed it in a box, and handed it to James. He put it under his arm, took Susan by the elbow, and they left the shop.

When they got outside, she spun around to look at him and shook her elbow free, stepping away a few feet and planting her hands on her hips.

“And what was that all about?” she asked, sarcasm heavy in her voice.

“It’s not your place to pay for things when you’re with me,” he said. “If you want or need something, you let me know, and if I feel it’s warranted, I’ll take care of it. You’re not to spend your money! Do you understand me?”

“But I have plenty of money, and I know you probably don’t, so why are you throwing such a fit over it?”

He pursed his lips. “Is that what girls do in America then? Humiliate their boyfriends by paying for everything?”

“Humiliate? What in the hell are you talking about? It’s a simple fact that I have the money to pay for whatever shit I want!” Her voice was raised. “And who said I was your girlfriend anyway?!”

“You’re my girlfriend because of what happened between us yesterday…and that’s not the point! You need to learn that’s not the way it’s done here. When you’re with me, I’m the one who pays for everything, including what you may need or want. And quit the swearing! It’s not ladylike. I’m not letting you pay for anything, and you better understand that.” He paused. “And, maybe you don’t always get what you want!”

His voice was rising even higher than hers. People who were walking by slowed down to try and eavesdrop on the conversation.

“Oh, really...I better understand that?!!...” she fumed. And here he was on his way to becoming a millionaire and didn’t even know it!

Then, she took a moment to contemplate, looking down at the ground for a minute, tapping her foot on the cobblestones while she tried to gather her wits about her and calm down. It would be pretty stupid and embarrassing to make a scene in the middle of the lane. It was the early sixties, after all. Women’s Lib hadn’t happened yet. Unless a woman was single or divorced and needed to work a job, she stayed home, kept house, and made babies.

She suddenly realized that she had stepped over the line based on the period of time she was in. She shouldn’t even have gone into the shop to look for anything. Her sundress was just fine. She could have just washed it in the sink or something. She’d forced him out of pride to pay for something he probably couldn’t afford right now. She felt contrite.

“I wasn’t thinking,” she said meekly. “I didn’t need another dress...” She looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. “Should we take it back?”

“No, you looked beautiful in it,” he said, the anger instantly fading from his eyes as he saw her pending tears. If it was one thing he couldn’t abide, it was a woman’s tears. “I want you to put it on when we get back to the cottage; then we can take our pads and pencils, go sit up under the tree and sketch.”

“Oh James,” she said, looking into his eyes and leaning up to peck his cheek. “Thank you...”

He smiled, took her hand, and they walked back to the cottage.

 

Chapter Nine

Falling in Love

When they got back to the cottage, there was no sign of Buttons. Susan diced up the kidneys then put them on a small plate on the back porch, knowing she would find it eventually.

Before Susan slipped on her new dress, she remembered the kitchen floor, took out a pail, some soap, and filled the pail with water. James had gone into the bathroom, and when he came out, she was on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor.

‘What a lovely picture you make with your bum in the air like that,” he quipped.

She turned around, scrub brush in hand, “Oh really? You sure know how to flatter a girl, don’t you? Grab that mop over there and dry the floor as I rinse.”

“I thought you said men were bad at floor scrubbing. Besides, cleaning is girl’s work.”

“I’m not asking you to scrub, just mop it off. I figure you’ll be able to manage that. And, it’s not girl’s work! Your dad cleans, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, my lady,” he said, going to the closet without another word and taking out the mop.

When the floor was done, Susan slipped into her new dress, had James button her up in the back, and they headed out the door up the hill to where they’d had their picnic the day before. The blanket and remnants of yesterday’s picnic were still there.

“Looks like we forgot to come back and pick up,” James remarked.

“Hmmm...well, we know the reason for that now, don’t we?” she said, smiling up at him. “Look! We still have a half bottle of wine left. Let’s kill it off.”

She divided the remaining wine between the two glasses she found lying on their sides on the blanket.

“Okay, your turn to make up a toast,” she said.

“To more of yesterday,” he said teasingly.

“Pretty single-minded, aren’t you?” she responded, clinking her glass up against his. “But, I suppose I can agree to that...”

Her hormones yawned and stretched, waking up.

James handed her one of the sketch pads and picked up one of the pencils he’d laid down on the blanket. She accepted the pad and reached down to pick up one of the other pencils.

“So, what’s your subject going to be then?” he asked.

“Why you, of course,” she responded. “I can do your profile if you turn sideways to me. How about you? What do you want to draw?”

“Hmmm...Nature, I think…trees, sky, clouds...” He opened his sketch pad and started making sweeping strokes across the paper.

She studied his profile intently for a moment, then put her pencil to work. They drew silently and companionably for about twenty minutes, when Susan said, “Okay, see what you think,” as she passed her sketch pad over to him.

“Hey, that’s quite good!” he said. “Where did you learn to draw?” He handed her sketch pad back to her.

“My grandfather taught me. He does landscapes and still life, but I’ve always liked to draw people. I thought at one time I’d like to be a portrait painter.”

“I thought you wanted to be a ballerina. Remember when you showed me your necklace?”

“My bosom is too big for a ballerina as I was trying to tell you, but I’d still like to be one. I love to dance!”

“I don’t mind your bosom being too big,” he said wickedly.

“There you go again with your one-track mind...”

He tossed his sketch pad and pencil down near the bottom of the blanket, leaned over, and pushed her down on her back as her sketch pad and pencil went flying. He brought his lips down on hers and began running his hands up and down the sides of her silky dress.

“Mmmmm...lovely, I do like this dress…” he said, kissing her neck and throat.

Her arms snaked around his neck, and she pulled him closer.

“Maybe we should go back to the cottage,” she whispered seductively.

He looked into her eyes with his half-closed. “Shall we then…” he agreed.

They stood up, gathered up the sketch pads and pencils, and shoved them into the picnic hamper that had been left behind the day before. Susan put in the wine glasses, and they both folded up the blanket then headed back to the cottage, eager anticipation vibrating through their bodies.

They didn’t even make it to the bedroom. James sat on the sofa and beckoned Susan to him. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

“Wait just a minute,” she said, as she slowly reached back to undo a few buttons of the dress then pulled it up and over her head. She then pulled down the straps of her bra and pushed it down to her waist then over her hips, taking her panties down at the same time until she stood naked in front of him with only her necklace dangling down between her breasts, her eyes burning brightly. She reached up and let her hair loose from the clip she’d fastened it up in. It cascaded down to her waist. She cupped her breasts in her hands and wiggled her hips seductively.

“Wow!” she thought, knowing she was wet and ready for him. “These seventeen-year-old hormones are something else! I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be so horny all the time. It’s almost embarrassing! I can’t seem to get enough of him! Lucky guy!”

Her hormones smiled lazily. They’d been somewhat quiet lately. Probably because they were worn out and satiated from so much love making the previous afternoon and night.

She could see James’s arousal pushing against his trousers, walked over to release it, straddled him, and slid down on top until he was fully buried inside her. He leaned his head back and let out a moan before grabbing her hips and working her up and down on his erection.

She closed her eyes and threw her head back, enjoying the sheer ecstasy of their movements. It wasn’t long before they both reached the inevitable and powerful release, and Susan collapsed onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck, her loose hair tumbling down her back