Thank You for Listening(85)

“Aren’t you going to say something?”

Sewanee read her line. “I think we’ve done enough talking.”

Nick continued, “The tightness in her voice stopped me. I went down to my knees in front of her. I plucked her fingers up, which had been nervously toying with the bedspread, and held them. ‘This is safe. This is us.’ I clenched my jaw. ‘This is my job,’ I said, though I wasn’t sure who I was reminding, her or myself. ‘When you filled out the preference sheet, you had to think about what you wanted. Now, I want you to voice your wants.’ She swallowed and I watched the ivory column of her throat bob. I had an irrational desire to bite it. I ran a finger lightly over her hand.”

Sewanee said, “‘I want you to touch me,’ she finally said.”

Nick, in his own voice, said, “Hang on, I need to say the dialogue tags.”

“Right, sorry,” Sewanee said. “Gotta get used to this. Cosmo, can we punch in right before my line, ‘I want you to touch me’?”

“Si, rolling.”

They heard “I ran a finger lightly over her hand,” in their headphones and then Sewanee said, “I want you to touch me . . .”

And then Nick said, “She finally said. ‘Where?’ I asked,” and they were back on track.

“Wherever you want.”

“I tsked at her.” Nick paused again. “Should I tsk?”

Sewanee considered this, glad he was engaging her. “Have you ever done it and made it sound good?”

“No! Never! It pops on mic.”

“Yeah! Or sounds like static.”

“Right? So weird. I’ll keep it the way it is.” Audio nerd moment over, Nick signaled Cosmo and asked him to come in after “I tsked at her.”

“Si, rolling.”

Nick picked up his cue: “‘Where would you like me to start?’ I asked. ‘Here?’ I tapped her knee with the hand that wasn’t already engaged with her fingers. She shook her head.”

“Maybe higher.”

“I removed my hand from her knee and placed it on her cheek. I slid my fingers under her chin and gently raised her head, so we looked each other in the eye. ‘High enough?’ I said with a whisper of a smile.”

Sewanee murmured back with the faintest sensual giggle, “Maybe lower,”

“She murmured with a sensual giggle. I freed her chin and ran the backs of my fingers down that throat, let the knuckles pass down over her collarbone. Lower. Her breath hitched. I flipped my hand over and gently squeezed her breath. So perfect, so–”

“Ooh, kinky.”

“Huh?”

“Squeezing her breath.”

“What?”

“Who knew June French was into erotic asphyxiation?”

“What in the world are you–”

Sewanee finally let out her laugh. “Breath! You said breath!”

“I said breast, Sewanee, breast.”

“You said breath, Nick, breath.”

“I did not! I said–”

Cosmo punched in. “Scusa, but you say breath. No breast. In Italy, we know the difference.” His laugh was cut short when he released the button.

Nick threw up his hands. “Well, maybe we should change it! I never liked the word breast anyway. I don’t even like saying breast. It makes me think of chickens.”

Sewanee guffawed and Nick chuckled. He tried to take a sip of water, but they weren’t done laughing yet and he almost spat it out, which made Sewanee laugh harder and she felt like they were back in the Venetian casino pushing each other into the chairs in front of the slot machines.

Cosmo came over the God Mic. “I think maybe I record this, eehh?”

“No, no, sorry, Cosmo,” she said. “We’ll get it together.” She caught Nick’s damp eyes and they smiled at each other.

He cleared his throat. Sniffed. Cleared again. “Okay, Cosmo. I’m ready.”

“Rrrrrolling.”

“I flipped my hand over and gently squeezed her breast.” Sewanee saw his jaw tick, the only tell that he’d almost lost it. But he carried valiantly on. “So perfect. Perfection matched only by the soft moan that escaped her. ‘There?’ I asked.”

“I want,”

“She panted,”

“I want . . . you to undress me. Just my blouse. And bra. I want my skirt on when you take me the first time.”

“My erection was immediate.”

Sewanee’s laugh was so loud and so directly on-mic that Nick jumped back as if it were a physical thing he could dodge, a bee or a shoe or a fist. He was still whipping the headphones off his head when she bleated, “Sorry!” and covered her mouth.

Nick glared playfully at her. “What are you, twelve? It’s just a word! Erection!”

She dropped to the floor in hysterics.

“Oh, come on,” Nick groaned.

“Signore,” Cosmo interjected.

“I’m sorry, Cosmo, I’m gonna need a minute. I’m dealing with a toddler here. She–”

“Si, but the last thing you say, erection? Eh scusate, but I think I read something different.”

Before Nick could respond, Sewanee weakly reached a hand straight up and tapped the tablet on her music stand.