“I’m better at pancakes.”
“You gonna make me breakfast?”
“Got nobody else. It’s the weekend.”
“I’ll wait for Minerva.”
“Who is Minerva?” We either had a Minerva on staff or Dad was confused. Alzheimer’s did that to people.
“The nurse who comes on Mondays. She brings me food from her home, so if a nice girl brings you food, marry her immediately. You have my blessing.”
“Pancakes it is.” I hopped off the bed and headed for the door.
“Nikola,” he said, putting more force into the word.
Here we go again.It never stopped, and I wasn’t sure I wanted it to stop, because it would mean my dad was dead. “Sons don’t make themselves.”
“I know.”
“You’re forty. How many pussies is it gonna take to trap you?”
“You want syrup on your pancakes?”
“Happy birthday.”
“Thanks. Syrup?”
“Brother, is that you?”
I’d lost him. Alzheimer’s. Dementia. Who the fuck knew what they called it anymore. I didn’t care what they called it when they couldn’t cure it. But the short moments when he recognized me were priceless. I closed the door behind me and dialed Ludi. He didn’t answer. I dialed Ivana and heard her phone ringingbehind the door I passed on my way back to my bedroom. Female voices sounding from the kitchen told me people had slept in my house, and hearing Neven’s laughter told me I didn’t have to worry about more stray puppies playing around, sticking their little noses into things that were best left untouched.
Inside my bedroom, I heard the shower running. Excellent.
Last night’s clothes smelled of whiskey and cigars, and stale cologne lingered on my neck and collar. I walked into my bathroom. The clear shower glass hid nothing, and neither did she. She didn’t cover her privates or even flinch, just kept blinking her pretty blue eyes at me. I stripped off my clothes and joined her, turning on the opposite showerhead. It beat my head and back, working out the kink in my neck.
A quiet girl. And I wasn’t much of a talker either. Two naked adults stood in the shower. What was there to say? Her eyes roamed over my body, lingering on the tattoo under my pectoral and over the entire span of my abdomen. She continued the perusal all the way down, then reached for me. I stepped closer, telling her with no words she could touch me. Slender, tanned fingers traced the swirls of the tattoo and circled my belly, dragging lower and finally wrapping around my hard-on.
I fisted her hair and tugged it down. She dropped to her knees and took me into her mouth. Groaning, I licked my lips at the feel of her warm mouth.
With a hand in her hair, I moved her the way I liked it sucked, pausing briefly when the tip hit the back of her throat so it could choke her. Holding her there, I pinched her nose, staring at her as traces of mascara ran down the corners of her eyes.
I released her and rested my hands on my hips, letting her suck me any way she wanted, but she sucked me just the way I wanted. Deep, long, and slow, drawing up my balls with each glide of her tongue and lips.
I grabbed my balls and squeezed. She pumped me faster, moaning as if I was getting her off. I liked this. The pent-up arousal lingering in my balls since yesterday made them heavy, made my body ready to bend her over and fuck her for days. Snarling, I yanked her up and stepped back, shooting cum all over her breasts.
Water poured over us, and I wiped my face, uncapped a shampoo bottle, and got on with showering as if nothing happened so she couldn’t read how great she made me feel. I didn’t want her to know I thought anything of this strange chemistry between us, because there was no us.
As if we’d reached some sort of understanding, the girl nodded and exited the shower. Cute small feet on the gray tile, she wrapped her hair and body with a towel. She picked up my toothbrush, put paste on it, and brushed her teeth. That wasn’t all. Once done, she added more toothpaste and passed me the brush. Stunned, I accepted it, and she left the bathroom.
Where was she going?
Leaving for good or just downstairs?
Shampoo slid into my eye. “Fuck,” I said to no one and rinsed quickly. One-eyed, I rushed out of the shower, slipped, toothbrush flying out of my hand as I fell backward, barely catching myself on the sink. Immediately, I straightened up and gripped the edges of the sink. I hated rushing and wet floors.
I bent and got the toothbrush, rinsed it, and brushed my teeth, then spit into the sink like I spit on Ranko’s dead body a few weeks ago after I found out he’d lied to me. If you couldn’t trust people in your immediate circle, then you were a fucking island, and islands had limited supplies. Eventually, one had to leave the island or die of starvation or boredom. I kept close friends. When they betrayed me, I executed them. Personally. Not with Ludi.
These thoughts took me where I didn’t want to go this morning but when the girl returned to the bathroom, I wasn’t thinking of anything else. I turned and leaned against the sink. She was wearing my white V-neck undershirt. I tapped my finger on the sink, thinking I liked this too.
