Pier Lights (22 page)

“Yes you are.” He pulled her hands farther
over her head and pushed into her. Hard and fast. She cried out,
his name. Repeatedly. Until her body shook and her legs squeezed
against his thighs and he let himself release.

When he freed her wrists, she wrapped her
arms tight around his neck. “Oh Dio. I am keeping you. I am
absolutely keeping you.”

“I love you, Caroline.”

“Oh, and I am full force, no holds barred,
earth shatteringly in love with you. You better never change my
mind.”

“I will try very hard to never change your
mind. Or to change you. I want you just as you are.” He pulled out
and she started to object again, but he scooped her into his arms
and carried her to the water. “Time to cool off. We have a long day
ahead.”

With the sunrise highlighting the Atlantic,
Dio gave her a head start and watched her naked backside as she
front crawled away from him. He caught up fast.

Lina was glad to get out of the house again.
Dio oriented her with the location and general workings of the
place. They talked with a few prospective employees, both inside
and out. Lina told him she could handle the cooking and general
care of his mom but he reminded her of her hands and said he didn’t
want it to happen again. He also wanted her to sit with her foot up
plenty often. He’d called some doctor and explained what happened
and made an appointment for a specialist to look at it, but in the
meantime, the guy told him she should keep it up as much as she
could. She’d spent far too much of the day with her stupid foot up
on the couch.

It was nearly dusk. The girl Lina had
approved of had made dinner, a nice easy light dinner that was
perfect to her but that the old woman complained about until Dio
stopped her. Now she sat in the house to keep an eye on Cleo so
Caroline and Dio could spend part of the evening outside alone. He
carried her out to the pasture where he fed and watered the sheep
and walked the fence to be sure it was in good condition and
checked on an expectant mother sheep. Caroline convinced one of the
kittens running around the yard to come to her, despite Dio’s
warning they were farm cats, not pets, and they didn’t want to be
played with. She gloated when she picked up a precious little gray
and white mixed thing that was wary of her but allowed her to
soothe it.

“They’re farm cats, baby, not pets.”

“You said that.”

“They catch the mice and keep the snakes
away.”

“Okay.”

“Caroline, if you spoil it, it won’t do its
job right.”

“Okay.”

He put his hands on his hips, fingers faced
back.

“I want this one as mine. Please?”

He frowned and sighed.

The kitten rubbed its head against her chin,
purred loudly, and stretched its paws one at a time against her
arm. “Oh Dio, I want this one. Those others that won’t even give me
the time of day can catch mice and scare snakes. I want this
one.”

“Too late for me to argue. Come on, then.”
He approached slowly and offered the kitty his hand to smell and
rubbed its head. Then he picked Caroline up and took her back to
the front of the house. “Think you’re going to like it out
here?”

“I already like it out here.” She laughed as
the kitten rubbed its head against his neck and he pulled back with
a frown. “And I’ve already been adopted, so you’re stuck.”

“You’ll have to give it table scraps like
the rest. I’m not buying special food for it.”

“Okay.”

“And it sleeps outside.”

“We’ll see.”

He set her in a lawn chair. “How about music
as we enjoy the sunset?”

“Sounds good.” She scratched behind the
kitten’s ears.

Dio went up to the porch and fiddled with a
box. Music drifted out from under the porch. He shrugged with his
hands as he came back to her. “Outdoor speakers. What do you
think?”

“I think this is paradise.”

He stood in front of her and brushed a hand
through her hair. “It is now.” Leaning down, both hands on the back
of her chair, he gave her a soft kiss. “I wish I could have seen
you dance, Caroline.”

“You did.”

“No, I mean what you were trained for. I
wish I could have seen you in a prima ballerina spot, or anything
close to it. I bet you were magnificent.”

“I was.”

He kissed her forehead and lowered into a
chair beside her.

“You want a taste of it?”

He looked over. “You stay off that
foot.”

“I will. But do want a taste of it? I can do
that much.” She put the kitten down. “Help me over there.” She
nodded toward the grassy spot in front of them. “Now back up.”

“Caroline...”

“Trust me, Dio. I want you to see.” As he
moved back, she tuned into the radio and raised her right foot to
her knee, perfectly triangled. With the music, she moved it into a
front attitude, then back, and did a turn hopping on her left foot.
She balanced and moved position to position until her left leg grew
tired and she ended in an arabesque, as she had on the beach.

She beckoned him to her, pulled him close,
wrapped her right leg around his waist and leaned back, arms
extended gracefully, fingers held just right, and lowered the leg
as she straightened. “Pick me up.” She instructed him on how to
support and assist her when she leaped with one leg. Sliding down
against his body, Caroline wrapped her legs around him, his arms
naturally circled her waist, and she bent backward, then pulled
herself back up to him.

“See? We can still dance.”

He grinned. “You know what? I bet we can do
better than that.”

~20~

Caroline held her head up as well as
possible as she hobbled along on her crutches. Dio opened the door
for her. The front door. Of the club. A few people were there
already getting head starts on their night out, but mainly only
employees wandered around, joked with the bartenders, talked with
Charlie about their music and to Eddie about their lighting.

Their heads turned at the sight of Dio and
Caroline together. She wasn’t sure if they were more surprised that
she was on crutches or that he wasn’t wearing his mask. Some didn’t
recognize him. Others looked like they might but weren’t sure.

She had a hard time convincing Dio to go to
the club without his mask, to offer to perform without it. But
she’d taken hers off, she said. It was his turn. He was who he was
and anyone not okay with that didn’t matter. He’d agreed in
concept. In action, he had far more trouble with it. But his mom
helped. She told him also that he was beautiful as he was and only
people who were ugly inside wouldn’t see that.

So he gave in. They started with a short
walk down Center Street and a stop for lunch, and at a jewelry
store. People stared. They swerved away. Or they pretended not to
see him. He did fine, though. Caroline kept telling him they would
soon get used to him and get to know him and stop staring. At least
the locals would. He would always have that reaction from tourists,
but she would help him not to care. Or she would throw a smartass
comment so they’d realize how rude they were.

But he was nervous as his coworkers
stared.

Hayes started when he looked at Dio, and
hustled over. “What is this?”

Lina didn’t hesitate. “We have a new act for
you.”

Hayes focused on her crutches. “Doesn’t look
like it’ll be much. I don’t need a lame stripper. And no offense,
Dio, but if you plan to go on without the mask, you’ll lose your
audience. That’s not sexy.”

Dio rubbed her shoulder. “She won’t be
stripping anymore. I won’t have it.”

“You
won’t have it?”

Caroline stayed silent for the moment. Dio
could be possessive if he wanted. She figured it was more for the
patrons and the other performers, a sign to stay away from her.

“I won’t have it. Her body is not a side
show. She’s a dancer.”

“Not like that, she isn’t. And who are you
to talk for her? I don’t remember that she has trouble speaking her
mind.”

“She’s my fiancée, soon to be my wife. Very
soon. And she’ll still argue as she decides.”

“Wife?”

Caroline smiled and touched Dio’s face, with
her left hand to purposely show off the big diamond. “You’re wrong,
Hayes. This...” She put her eyes on her fiancé as she continued to
stroke his face. “Is very sexy. Dio is very sexy, and you know he
is. Everyone here knows he is.”

“Not like that.”

“Really? Want me to prove you wrong?” She
called over to Charlie and pulled the newest Melissa Etheridge CD
out of her bag. “Put this on for us, if you will. Last song.” She
gave Dio a nod. He set her crutches against a bar stool and carried
her up to the stage.

Caroline helped him out of his shirt. He
helped her out of her soft sweater, the same one she wore for her
first audition. And he pulled his sword from its case. The music
swelled. She motioned for Charlie to turn it up.

She began by herself, with him motionless
behind and slightly to the side. She danced as she had on the
grass, position to position, on her left leg. He joined in with his
sword movements, around hers, and then she turned and he moved in.
She raised herself onto him with a small leap. He used one hand to
help hold her there, to support her as she leaned backward, her
legs around his waist, his sword swinging over top of her, beside
her, and she pulled herself back up.

Dio held the sword between his legs and
helped her flip over his shoulders until she held herself with her
legs around his front, her head curled in against his neck. He
retrieved the sword. She heard it swing close around her, and he
twisted his body as she swung around to his side and he cradled her
in his arm, her leg wrapped around his waist to help hold herself
up, as the sword swished fast and close. Caroline pulled in tight,
kissed his chest, held herself there as she left focus on him, on
his exquisite movements around his body and hers, then she extended
an arm and a leg out as far as she could reach in a kind of
arabesque, and wrapped back around his body. Dio helped her upright
again and she slid down to her left foot, her right leg wrapped
around his buttocks, his head tucked into her neck.

He filled the last bars of sensual music
with more sword flashes and they held still as the song ended.

Applause broke out. Whistles. One of the
girls said Dio was sexy as hell without the mask and they should
close every show.

Hayes joined them on stage, eyed them.

Dio took the sword back to its case as she
balanced on her left foot and returned to lift her into his arms.
“We’ve barely worked on it. It’ll get better. If you have a spot
for us.”

“Better?”

“We’ve only had one day of practice since we
thought of it. Unless there’s a reason...”

“I have a spot for you. Can you be ready by
next Saturday night?”

Caroline nodded.

“You’re our new Saturday
closers. Any other night you want to come in and
rock and roll
us like
that, we’ll have space.”

~21~

Caroline smoothed her shimmery tan dress,
took a deep breath, and asked Nelda if she looked all right.

“Oh honey, you make the whole beach
sparkle.” She reached up to shift a curl aside Caroline’s face.
“You sure you want to try this already? It has only been a couple
of weeks since your operation. The doc said...”

“I want to walk to him on my own. Just for
today. Then I’ll be good until it heals.”

“Well, you just be careful and I’ll be right
by your side.” Nelda pulled the veil down over her face and handed
her the crutches. “Here you are. You go most of the way on these.
No need you being in pain on your wedding night.”

Caroline gave her a grin and propped them
under her arms carefully. Her dress had only two thin straps over
each shoulder and the bodice plunged halfway to her stomach, with
two even thinner straps holding it together between her breasts.
The rest was simple, smooth, flowing to her calves.

She wore tan because Dio mentioned how he
loved it on her the first day he saw her at work, so understated on
the outside, contrasting heavily with her own intense sensuality.
He loved how it flowed into her own skin and covered her but
didn’t. She wore tan for him, flowing, shimmery, sensual tan to
match the sand around them.

Her music started. It was a long piece of
music, which she needed in order to get down the pier and to the
end where he waited. Luckily her hands had healed well. Her arm
muscles had developed back to proficiency with the crutches.
Untraditionally, her matron of honor walked beside her instead of
ahead of her, in case Caroline needed assistance. Nelda carried the
large bouquet of wildflowers.

When she got down far enough to see him
clearly, she stopped.

“Honey? You okay now?”

She nodded. He was so beautiful. In black
pants and a white shirt, his sleeves rolled up, his collar
unbuttoned. A few of their coworkers were there, Dio’s mom, and a
few neighbors she’d met since Dio allowed her to drag him out now
and then to talk to people. Harry stood at his side.

“Your music will run out, honey. Are you
going to keep that boy wondering?”

She shook her head and started again, toward
him. He smiled at her. Her pulse reacted. Her Dio. He was keeping
her.

Close enough now, she stopped and traded
Nelda her crutches for the bouquet. Dio started toward her. Harry
put a hand on his arm to stop him. It was a surprise. Caroline
wanted to walk to him herself, even only a few steps. She wanted to
stand with him without the crutches in her way just as he’d left
his mask off. He now had a tan one he wore only into the city.