Lovers and Gamblers (65 page)

‘What happened? What got you into this state?’

‘
State
! like
what
state?’

‘Come on, you know what I mean.’

She rolled off the couch, bumped onto the floor, giggled, dropped the joint, attempted to stand, swayed against him. ‘Shall I take my clothes off?’ she slurred. ‘Want to see what I’m offering you? I thought you
wanted
me. That’s why I’m here, babe, service with a smile – and no charge. You like that – no charge.’

He held her firmly by the shoulders. ‘Where are you staying? I’m taking you home.’

She grinned. ‘I am not staying anywhere. I am with you. Hey – you got any coke? May as well make this a big trip. Whatcha say?’

He guided her into the bedroom and eased her on to the bed. ‘Why don’t you rest a minute, you look tired. I’ll get you some goodies…’

She threw her arms wide. ‘Wow – whole room is spinning like it’s a whole roundabout trip.’ She closed her eyes. ‘Gotta make sure…’ she mumbled, ‘goddamn dyke… nice to be here…’ She lapsed into sleep. He had known she would. Whatever she had been taking apart from the shit had finally knocked her out. Anyone could see she was exhausted. She looked terrible, unkempt and dirty.

He sat on the side of the bed and watched her. In the morning she probably wouldn’t be talking to him again. If he had done what she wanted, he
knew
she wouldn’t have been talking to him.

Al King. Gentleman. When had
that
transformation taken place?

He gently removed her shoes and pulled a cover over her. She was still muttering in her sleep, but nothing intelligible. He went in the other room and emptied out the contents of her bag. Amongst the jumble of clothes and make-up he found two bottles of pills and a tin with about eight rolled joints in. He confiscated them all. Then he called her house in Los Angeles hoping to reach Linda. There was no reply.

What to do? He wasn’t about to just fly off and leave her in the morning. Then it occurred to him that she could come too. His plane had to stop off in Los Angeles to pick up Evan, and he would surely reach Linda by then, so maybe she could come to the airport and collect Dallas.

Three days in South America and he would be back. And when he returned that was the time to work something out with Dallas. She wasn’t just another dumb piece of ass – she was the woman he wanted – and she was just going to have to realize that. Maybe tonight would prove it to her. He could have done anything he wanted – but he hadn’t. When it happened, he wanted them
both
to know about it.

No way was it going to be a one-way fuck.

No way.

Cristina was kept so busy that she hardly had time to think. Louis took care of that. After asking her father’s permission to marry her and receiving it, he plunged them both headlong into a series of engagements.

In spite of her protests everyone wanted to give parties for them, and she could hardly refuse.

Louis showered her with gifts. He was sweet and fun. In spite of herself she was having a good time. She had never felt so important before, suddenly she was the centre of attention. Her girlfriends were consumed with envy. ‘Cristina, you are so lucky,’ Marie Therese sighed. ‘Louis is so nice, everyone adores him. I’ve had my eye on him for ages – especially when the two of you broke up. He always wanted you though – can’t imagine why!’

‘Cat!’

‘I’m just jealous, that’s all. I’m sure I won’t find anyone to marry me for years – probably not until I’m ancient – twenty or something. And you’ll have such a wonderful life together. Oh, you are so lucky!’

For a moment she agreed with Marie Therese. She
was
lucky. Then she remembered the truth of the situation. Her marriage plans were merely a smokescreen. Nino was to be the man in her life. She shivered at the thought of his hard, dark body, so different from blond Louis’s. Different in every way. Louis was rich. Nino was poor. Louis came from an excellent family. Nino’s family consisted of an aged crone who lived in the slums. Louis adored her. Nino – well, she wasn’t sure how Nino felt. He
said
he loved her, but only when she asked him outright. Louis would give her everything – a beautiful home, clothes, jewels. Nino scorned material possessions, they would probably have to live in his small one-roomed apartment.

It crossed her mind that she might be making a terrible mistake, and there was no one she could discuss it with. No one she could turn to for advice.

At the end of the week she didn’t telephone Nino at the appointed time. She had meant to, but somehow it slipped her mind.

He phoned her the next morning and insisted that she came over to his apartment at once.

‘I’m going sailing…’ she objected.

He was furious. ‘You are coming here,’ he insisted.

Sulkily she had cancelled her meeting with Louis, making up some excuse about having to go to the dentist.

Nino greeted her with a kiss which surprised her. She had expected him to still be angry, as he had been on the phone.

‘I’ve missed you,
carioca
,’ he whispered. ‘My body has been screaming for your touch.’ His hands started to caress her. ‘Have you missed me? Have you wanted me as I have been wanting you?’

For the first time in their relationship she felt that what he was doing was wrong. She attempted to move away from him, but he was all over her, his hands under her sweater, up her skirt.

‘You still love me?’ he whispered. ‘You still want me to touch you?’ His hands were busy, and her objections soon turned to moans of acquiescence. She clung to him, emotions rushing to the surface. ‘I do love you, Nino, I do, I do.’

He laughed softly. ‘You sound like you’ve been having second thoughts.’

‘Don’t be silly, as if I could.’

He started to undress her, but suddenly he stopped. ‘I don’t know,’ he muttered.

‘What is it?’ she asked anxiously. He had tuned her body to a fine pitch, and she was more than ready for him.

‘Maybe it would be better if I didn’t touch you.’

‘Why?’

‘I don’t know – you just seem – different.’

‘But I’m not, I’m not. Please, Nino, please. Make love to me and everything will be like it was.’

He spread her legs, lowered himself on top of her.

She arched her back, twisted her legs behind his neck.

As he plunged inside her she suddenly thought of Louis and was ashamed. What would he think of his fiancée if he could see her now?

When they had finished making love, Nino produced a pad and pencil and started to question her about Al King. Details. Details. She told him what she could.

‘We only have a week,’ Nino reminded her.

Only a week? She shuddered at the thought.

‘You must telephone me every day,’ Nino said, ‘report on every little thing.’

‘But what
is
the plan?’

‘I can’t tell you yet. Be patient, you will know soon enough.’

She was suddenly frightened. ‘Nino, I won’t be involved, will I?’

‘Of course not.’

‘But you said before, you mentioned something about Al King must be sure to know me. Why?’

‘Purely for access. No one will know you have anything to do with it.’

Nervously she bit on her nails. ‘And us? Don’t you think it would be better if we waited a few weeks before running off together? It might be suspicious if I drop Louis immediately.’

He shrugged. ‘Whatever you say.’

‘It’s not that I don’t want to be with you as soon as possible…’

‘I understand.’

How he controlled his fury he didn’t know. He waited for her to dress and leave and then he let rip. ‘Rich, capitalist, bourgeois bitch!’ he screamed, punching the mattress in anger. ‘I’m good enough to service madame, but not good enough for her to run off with!’ He could read her stupid little mind. She
liked
being engaged to Louis Baptista. She was enjoying it. Well, she would be sorry – very, very sorry indeed. They would
both
be sorry by the time
he
had finished with them.

Cristina rushed home feeling relieved that she had settled things with Nino. She would help him as much as she could with information – she had promised that much. But after – well, she just wasn’t sure any more. She wanted time to think things out. Maybe she wasn’t as much in love with Nino as she had thought. Maybe it was just a sex thing. She had heard stories about people becoming trapped sexually. She shuddered at the thought. It couldn’t happen to her – could it?

Perhaps she should try a few things out with Louis. Experiment sexually.
He
wouldn’t be averse to trying. If she enjoyed it just as much with him… Well… After all, Louis had so much more to offer…

* * *

Evita read the letter through a second time. It was written in neat girlish script on lilac notepaper. Anyone else reading it would find it to be an innocuous exchange of greetings between two friends. Evita found it a frightening reminder of her one lapse.

‘How are you?’ Doris Andrews wrote. ‘I have often thought of you and Jorge in the past year.’ Words leapt out at Evita –‘short vacation… Must get away… Would love to see you… arriving next week… will phone you…’

Jorge, sitting across the breakfast table from Evita, said, ‘Who is the letter from?’

‘Doris Andrews,’ Evita managed to reply calmly. ‘You remember, don’t you? The American film star we met in Mexico last year…’

Jorge reached for the letter. ‘Yes, yes, of course.’ He scanned it quickly. ‘How nice. You liked her, didn’t you? Why don’t we invite her to stay with us?’

‘Oh no,’ Evita replied quickly, ‘not now, not with all the bother with Cristina…’

‘Your daughter is engaged to a wonderful boy and you call it bother.’ He shook his head in bewilderment. ‘A couple of weeks ago you were complaining because you didn’t know who she was seeing… What
would
satisfy you?’

‘I will be satisfied when she and Louis are safely married.’

Jorge’s eyebrows rose. ‘
Safely
married?’

‘I just don’t feel right about her engagement. Why won’t she allow us to have a party for her?’

‘We’ll have a party for Doris Andrews if it’s a party you want. I think it would be a nice gesture, don’t you?’

‘I don’t know…’ Evita fluttered her hands vaguely.

‘Well, I do,’ Jorge said decisively. ‘You love giving parties. All that plotting and planning that you are so good at. Yes. We shall definitely have a big party. Go ahead and organize it, my dear.’

Later, when Jorge had left for his office, Evita read the letter through once more. She had never expected to hear from Doris again, never expected to have a rude reminder of her one indiscretion. A letter was bad enough. But the fact that Doris was coming to Rio… If only she could go away somewhere, hide. But that was impossible, already Jorge was planning a party. He had known that she and Doris had become close friends; if she wanted to leave as soon as Doris arrived it would look strange. Jorge was no fool. Eventually he would work things out.

Evita sighed deeply. If Jorge ever found out… She would sooner die. She would be so ashamed.

And yet… If she was honest she would have to admit that she had enjoyed every minute of her sexual interlude with Doris. Jorge thought he was a wonderful lover, but his hands were hard and strong, whereas Doris’s had been soft and demanding in a completely different sort of way. And her tongue, so intuitive, finding every secret place of excitement within seconds. Evita thrilled at the memory. What if it happened again? She wasn’t sure if she would be able to stop Doris. She wasn’t even sure if she would want to…

Quietly she went to her desk and sat down in preparation to compose a reply.

‘My dear Doris, how nice to hear from you after all this time. Yes, I too remember what a delightful time we spent together in Acapulco. Jorge and myself are so pleased you will be visiting our city. Perhaps you would allow us to give a party in your honour…’

* * *

Louis was breathing heavily.

‘Kiss me again,’ Cristina whispered. ‘Kiss me properly.’

They were clutched in each other’s embrace in the front seat of Louis’s sports car.

Louis groaned. ‘Do you know what you are doing to me, Cristina? Every night I have a terrible stomach ache… I go home and I cannot sleep. We will have to be married as soon as possible, I just can’t go on like this. I can’t control myself for much longer. We must arrange a date, we must talk to our parents.’

‘I said kiss me again.’ She was glowing with power. Louis was under her spell, he would do anything for her. She captured his mouth once more, pushing her tongue out to meet his. His hands slid to her breasts. For once she didn’t push them away. After a few minutes he snatched them away of his own accord. ‘I can’t go on like this,’ he muttered in a strangled voice.

‘We don’t have to,’ Cristina whispered. ‘We’re engaged. Anything we do together would not be wrong.’

He wasn’t sure that he had heard her correctly. ‘Are you saying…’

‘I’m saying let’s go to your house in the hills. Is it empty?’

‘Yes. But, Cristina, are you sure?’

She felt that she was such a woman of the world. ‘Yes, Louis,’ she replied softly, ‘I am sure.’

Wordlessly he started the car. Cristina smiled to herself. He was so anxious.

The small sports car sped up into the mountains. Cristina felt quite calm at what she was about to do. It was an experiment. If Louis could satisfy her in the same way that Nino could… Well then, why
shouldn’t
she marry Louis? After all, Nino with his theories and ideas would be so demanding. Besides she
liked
having money, a fact she would never dare confess to Nino.

Louis had to break a window to gain access to his parents’ weekend house as he did not have a key with him. ‘I never thought you would ever allow me to do this,’ he said, as he let her in the front door. ‘Are you sure? Are you really sure?’

‘Of course I am, silly. I don’t want you going home every night with stomach ache, you could do yourself harm.’ She looked around. ‘Where shall we go?’

He took her by the hand. ‘Upstairs.’