Maria turned her face up and Arvo kissed her again, this time running his hand over her bare shoulders, feeling one of the straps slip off. Maria kissed his neck, touching it with her soft warm tongue, and began unbuttoning his shirt. When she had finished, he stretched his arms back and she eased it off. Then she put her hands behind her back and unzipped her dress. The second strap slipped off her shoulder, and the material loosened and fell away from her skin. Arvo cupped one of her breasts in his hands and licked the hard nipple with his tongue. Maria moaned and put her hand at the back of his head, pulling him to her. Her breasts were as firm and smooth as he had imagined.
Soon they were naked and Maria urged him inside her. He felt her muscles tighten against his hardness as they began to move together, slowly at first, then faster.
As they came toward climax, he raised himself on his arms and looked down at her. She grasped the brass bed-rails with both hands and thrust her hips against him, breasts swaying with the rhythm, eyes closed, moisture glistening on her upper lip. Her lips were open but her white teeth were clenched tight.
When he felt he could hold on no longer, she sensed it and opened her eyes, then cried out, a shudder passing through her body. She took her hands from the rails and pulled Arvo onto her so his face was buried in her hair on the pillow. It smelled of apples and cinnamon and it muffled the sounds he made as he came and her nails dug into the skin of his back.
After, they both lay for a while sweating, getting their breath back, then they sat up in bed and reached for the champagne. They toasted in silence. The sound from the TV indicated that the old year was coming to a close.
“So, do you want to talk now?” Maria asked.
If truth be told, Arvo was far too content basking in the warm afterglow for talk, but he sensed that Maria needed the communication. “Sure,” he said.
“If it’s us working together and sleeping together that bothers you,” Maria said, “I can understand that.”
“You can?”
“That’s why I said no strings, no explanations, no bullshit. I mean it, Arvo.”
“But we do work together.”
“It’s not as if we’re partners or anything.”
“But—”
“No, listen up a minute. I’m serious.” She turned on her side and propped her head on her hand. “I came over because I wanted to,” Maria said. “Sure it was a risk. Nobody likes rejection. But I wanted to go to bed with you. Have done for a while. And I thought you might feel the same way.”
“You saying you were only chasing me because of my body?”
“Asshole.” She gave him a playful thump on the shoulder. “Let me finish, will you?”
“Okay.”
“What I don’t want, Arvo, and what I don’t think you’re ready for yet, is a relationship. What we do need, I think, is a little friendly company just like this from time to time.”
“You mean this isn’t a relationship?”
“You know what I mean. We’ve been friends a long time. I know we’ve had some ups and downs, but we’ve still been friends. Sometimes even the best of friends get horny for one another. Acting on that can sometimes ruin a friendship. But you and me, Arvo, we haven’t got anyone else to hurt but ourselves. We’re grown-ups. We can deal with it.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying this is a one-night stand? A wham-bam-thank-you-sir.”
Maria laughed. “No, that’s not what I’m saying, butt-head. But what I am saying is let’s not get hung up on it, okay? I don’t want to live with you or marry you and have your children. I don’t even want to date you. What I do want is for us to go to bed together like this now and then.”
“Can we negotiate maybe dinner once a month?”
“I’ll think about it. But do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“And do you agree?”
“Uh-huh. In principle.”
“Shake on it?”
Arvo touched her hair. “I think we can do better than that.” Maria laughed and slid down onto her side, moving closer to him. “My, my, it has been a long time, hasn’t it?” she said. “Hey, listen.”
“What?”
“The countdown.”
And they listened to the crowd count the apple down three thousand miles away and three hours ago in New York City. But after the roaring and the whistling they weren’t paying attention any more. It must have been about a quarter after twelve when the phone rang at a very awkward moment. Maria was closest to it at the time, and before Arvo could make a move, she had picked up the receiver.
“Yes?” she said. “Yes, this is the Hughes residence... What? No, I’m sorry, I’m afraid he can’t speak now. He’s busy. His mouth is otherwise engaged. What? Sure. I’ll tell him. And a Happy New Year to you, too, honey.”
“Why the hell did you do that?” said Arvo.
“Don’t you want to know who it was?”
“It could have been the department.”
“No. They’d beep you. Especially on New Year’s Eve.”
“Who was it, then?”
“Can’t you guess?”
“Maria!”
“Okay, okay. It was your ex, that’s who. Little Miss Surfing Bikini.”
“Nyreen?”
“Isn’t it just the kind of thing she’d do, call you up to wish you a Happy New Year?”
“Well, I suppose so. What’d she say?”
Maria laughed. “Not much when she heard my voice. She says to tell you you’re a prick.”
Arvo frowned. “Why would she do that?”
“You really don’t get it, do you? Because she likes to control you, that’s why. It’s all right when she’s running around with someone else and you’re at home alone. But you’re supposed to be suffering, longing for her, mourning the loss of the great love of your life, not having fun.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. And there’s something else.”
“What?”
“She’s jealous.”
Arvo started to grin. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Is there any more champagne?”
“Ah-ah, not yet, mister. You’ve got some unfinished business first.”
“I have? What? Oh, yes, I have.”
Afterward, they finished the champagne, Arvo locked the house up and began to doze off, arm around Maria. He must have actually fallen asleep, because he felt like he’d been brought back from a long way off when he woke to feel Maria shaking him. He opened his eyes and saw the expression of absolute terror on her face.
“Arvo, there’s a fire,” she said, shaking him. “There’s a fire somewhere in the house. I can smell it.”
Arvo couldn’t smell anything, but he rubbed his eyes and got out of bed to check. There was nothing at the front of the house, but now he was beginning to smell smoke, too. The smoke detector started to screech, and when he went into the spare bedroom at the back, he saw the bright orange flames leaping up the walls.
31
Arvo took the Santa Ana freeway all the way to Laguna Canyon. It wasn’t a scenic ride, for the most part, but it was fast. He drove with the top of the convertible open and sang along with Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer.”
It was January 2, and Carl Buxton, ex-drummer of Gary Knox’s band, The Heros, was back from Mexico. Arvo had asked if Buxton were willing to talk about the tour and about Gary Knox, and he had agreed. According to Stan Harvey, Buxton was about the only one of the band with any brain-cells left — enough, anyway, to get out of the rock scene after Gary died and start up a music-geared computer business.