Page 83 of Blossoms of the Heart
“I’m still stuck.”
“Jesus H. with the way you’ve been lounging around the place I thought you were nearly done.”
Her face when I said that was…
Well she became instantly pissed. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Talking movies and fucking shit when you have a journal to translate. If you’d done it by now our jobs might have been a lot easier.”
“I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. You can’t question what I do in my own time.”
“I wouldn’t have any cause to question you if your own time didn’t seem to take up thewholetime.”
She looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I couldn’t blame her.
I would look at me like I’d lost my mind.
But then I remembered how crazy she made me wanting her years ago and not being able to have her, and still here I was wanting her again and not being able to have her.
“What is the matter with you?” She snapped folding her arms under her breasts giving me an eyeful of the swells of her tits that were pressed in that top of hers. It had a deep cut V-neck on the front and tapered into the back where it was tied up with a ribbon.
And of course she had to be in a skirt.
“Nothing. Question is what’s wrong with you. This is work, act like you’re at work. And when the fuck did you start liking Frank Sinatra?”
“You are unbelievable.” She widened her eyes at me. Tossed her hair over to one side and turned to continue packing up her bag. That was when I saw it .
A tattoo.
It was there on the center of her lower back showing through the ribbon.
The Japanese character for fire, just like mine on my chest.
She’d been here for three weeks now, with the way I obsessively looked at her I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t seen it before.
It was the top. Today’s top provided a better visual.
I marched up to her and tugged at her top, needing to see properly if I was seeing right.
She whirled around and swatted away my hands.
“What the hell’s gotten into you?”
“What’s that on your back?”
“Are you kidding? It’s a tattoo, what is your problem?” She stepped away from me. “Are you on drugs?” She looked at me like she really believed that.
“When’d you get it?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“What did mommy dearest say?” I wished I could have seen that woman’s face when she’d seen that her precious princess had been marked.
“My mother is not the boss of me.”
“Oh yeah? Sure looked that way when last I saw her. Looked like she practically had a lead round your neck.” I needed to stop. I needed to stop right now and not dig the past up.
When her mother caught us together that was my fault. I shouldn’t have tried anything with her in such and obvious place, and I knew people were around.
There was nothing she could have done either. She was young and I had no business being with her.
“I’m leaving. Something is clearly wrong with you.”
“Yes, there is but we always knew that, didn’t we? Scott on the other hand is wonderful. Your mom will approve of his Frank Sinatra ass. I can almost guarantee he’s not thinking of bending you over the desk and fucking you in every hole in your body that counts.”
Even as the words left my lips I knew what she would do next. Not because she’d done it before.
No, it wasn’t that.
When she raised her hand and slapped me across my face I knew it was coming because I deserved it.
