table to him, grinning from ear to ear. “Give this to her when you guys are fuckin’, and she’ll change her mind.”
Michael caught it with one hand and smiled at me with a questioning look on his face. My face and voice left no doubt about my opinion on the subject as I snarled, “Don’t you dare!”
One corner of Michael’s mouth curled up; he chuckled under his breath, and slid the packet back across the table to Rick. “We don’t need it,” he said leaning over to kiss my cheek. The table exploded with laughter followed by a string of wise-ass comments causing me to turn a full spectrum of red. Michael, on the other hand, never seemed embarrassed by that kind of teasing – he never turned ten shades of red the way I did. He said the way I blushed was ‘cute’, and I could tell he was enjoying it now as much as everyone else.
When things calmed down some, the woman hanging on Levi’s arm whispered something in his ear and he roared again, eyebrows raising… “Give that to me – I’ve got a taker – we’re gonna parrrttty!”
Rick handed it over winking at his partner for the night, “Don’t worry sweetie – I’ve got some for you too.”
With that, shaking his head, Charlie announced he had to leave, saying in his own mischievous tone, eyes glinting, “I think I’ll go wake up my wife.”
~~~~~~~~
By the time we all made our way out of the diner the sun was starting to rise, and Michael suggested we go over to Lincoln Park and watch the lake for a while before heading back to the apartment. The air was brisk and cool, but not yet too cold to be by the water, so I agreed without hesitation. Lincoln Park had always been one of my favorite destinations in the city. A wonderful zoo and conservatory were only part of the lure as it stretched out along the north side of the city providing a much needed place to escape the busy streets; a place where you could sit under a tree and listen to Lake Michigan. We found a secluded bench along one of the walkways; Michael put his arm around me as I pulled my legs up close to my body, and leaned back against him snuggling in to stay warm.
The morning was beautiful with multiple shades of pinks and yellows beginning to peek up over the horizon, gleaming as it pushed the darkness away. He kissed the top of my head while I rested on his shoulder, neither of us speaking, just enjoying the sound of the waves hitting the cement wall at the end of the sidewalk, and the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees in the park behind us. It was a rare morning for Chicago in the fall – cool, but not too cold; light, but not too light – that elusive time when it’s not night and not day, when the air carried a faint mist and smelled of winter weather to come, but somehow was still suspended in the relative warmth of fall.
Michael broke the silence asking, “How did things go with Bernie?”
I felt my body tense a little – he felt it too - before I answered, “Okay, we talked for a while – it was good to see him again – then I went home and went back to bed. I was still hung over and needed more sleep.”
“Yeah, I tried calling, but the phone just rang – so I figured…” His voice faded off.
“Sorry, I unplugged it – I guess I forgot to plug it back in when I got up,” I murmured as he shifted his shoulder under my head and pulled me closer.
After another, shorter silence he continued, “Want to tell me what he said?”
“Not right now, let’s just watch the sun come up, okay?”
“Okay,” he whispered to the top of my head and once again the only sounds were those of the water lapping against the sea wall and the wind rustling the trees, blocking out the city noise as well as all the thoughts in my head.
As we walking back to the car, I looked at Michael, and said with as little emotion as I could manage, “Bernie says Stephen’s back in town.”
Drawing his brows together almost reflexively, Michael nodded and unlocked the
Michael caught it with one hand and smiled at me with a questioning look on his face. My face and voice left no doubt about my opinion on the subject as I snarled, “Don’t you dare!”
One corner of Michael’s mouth curled up; he chuckled under his breath, and slid the packet back across the table to Rick. “We don’t need it,” he said leaning over to kiss my cheek. The table exploded with laughter followed by a string of wise-ass comments causing me to turn a full spectrum of red. Michael, on the other hand, never seemed embarrassed by that kind of teasing – he never turned ten shades of red the way I did. He said the way I blushed was ‘cute’, and I could tell he was enjoying it now as much as everyone else.
When things calmed down some, the woman hanging on Levi’s arm whispered something in his ear and he roared again, eyebrows raising… “Give that to me – I’ve got a taker – we’re gonna parrrttty!”
Rick handed it over winking at his partner for the night, “Don’t worry sweetie – I’ve got some for you too.”
With that, shaking his head, Charlie announced he had to leave, saying in his own mischievous tone, eyes glinting, “I think I’ll go wake up my wife.”
~~~~~~~~
By the time we all made our way out of the diner the sun was starting to rise, and Michael suggested we go over to Lincoln Park and watch the lake for a while before heading back to the apartment. The air was brisk and cool, but not yet too cold to be by the water, so I agreed without hesitation. Lincoln Park had always been one of my favorite destinations in the city. A wonderful zoo and conservatory were only part of the lure as it stretched out along the north side of the city providing a much needed place to escape the busy streets; a place where you could sit under a tree and listen to Lake Michigan. We found a secluded bench along one of the walkways; Michael put his arm around me as I pulled my legs up close to my body, and leaned back against him snuggling in to stay warm.
The morning was beautiful with multiple shades of pinks and yellows beginning to peek up over the horizon, gleaming as it pushed the darkness away. He kissed the top of my head while I rested on his shoulder, neither of us speaking, just enjoying the sound of the waves hitting the cement wall at the end of the sidewalk, and the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees in the park behind us. It was a rare morning for Chicago in the fall – cool, but not too cold; light, but not too light – that elusive time when it’s not night and not day, when the air carried a faint mist and smelled of winter weather to come, but somehow was still suspended in the relative warmth of fall.
Michael broke the silence asking, “How did things go with Bernie?”
I felt my body tense a little – he felt it too - before I answered, “Okay, we talked for a while – it was good to see him again – then I went home and went back to bed. I was still hung over and needed more sleep.”
“Yeah, I tried calling, but the phone just rang – so I figured…” His voice faded off.
“Sorry, I unplugged it – I guess I forgot to plug it back in when I got up,” I murmured as he shifted his shoulder under my head and pulled me closer.
After another, shorter silence he continued, “Want to tell me what he said?”
“Not right now, let’s just watch the sun come up, okay?”
“Okay,” he whispered to the top of my head and once again the only sounds were those of the water lapping against the sea wall and the wind rustling the trees, blocking out the city noise as well as all the thoughts in my head.
As we walking back to the car, I looked at Michael, and said with as little emotion as I could manage, “Bernie says Stephen’s back in town.”
Drawing his brows together almost reflexively, Michael nodded and unlocked the
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