The Necklace - The Dusky Club, June 1962, Linda S Rice [manga ebook reader .TXT] 📗

>She looked up into his mesmerizing eyes and thought of everything Sandra had said about him. Oh, the temptation! A girl could drown in those eyes. She was torn between saying “yes” and “no, not yet.” She’d only been here a few hours, and yet here she was in the lobby of a hotel with him wanting to come up to her room and now asking for a kiss. She thought for a minute as he continued to look at her questioningly with his perfectly arched eyebrows raised.

“You may kiss my hand,” she said impulsively, lifting it up towards his face.

“Are you teasing me?” he asked, the laughter still in his eyes along with something else that made her shiver.

It was almost as if she could read his mind. Arrogant guy! He likely thought that it wouldn’t take a whole lot of convincing to get her to take him up to her room and into her bed.

But, for some reason, he wasn’t pressuring her. She didn’t know why, but she was very grateful for it. You don’t hop in bed with somebody you only knew a few hours. At least she wouldn’t contemplate such a thing. The thought made her knees feel weak again. It sounded like the girls at the club did it every night. Yikes!

It felt like a stomach punch as he took her hand in both of his and brought it up to his face. His lips lingered over the top of her hand, then kissed the knuckles on each one of her fingers. Very slowly, he turned her hand palm up, softly pressing his lips to her palm as he looked into her eyes. But he wasn’t done…His lips moved up to kiss the inside of her wrist, while at the same time, he trailed the fingers of one hand up the inside of her arm to the crook of her elbow. Her legs felt like they were made of jelly, and she thought they might cave under her. Her breath caught, and her lips parted in a small gasp. She turned her head away. Her unruly, young hormones were beginning to awaken.

Sensations were shooting through her from the tips of her fingers down to her toes, and she knew when she met his eyes again that he was aware of her response to him.

He gave a triumphant smile and said softly, “I’ll just be walking you up to your room then…” He started to pull her towards the elevator.

She let out a big exhale and stopped, planting her feet on the carpet. “No...oh, no, thank you...that’s quite all right...” She was trembling, and she knew he could see and feel it.

He stood staring at her, waiting for her to change her mind, but when no words were forthcoming, he said, “Until tomorrow then, my lady.”

He looked disappointed and even slightly annoyed.

“Certainly, sir,” she whispered as he released her hand and turned to walk away.

She was still looking at him as he got to the lobby door. He turned and gave another small bow before going out the door.

“I think I’m going to faint,” she said to herself as she pushed the elevator button and grasped her necklace, twisting the chain back and forth between her trembling fingers.

Sandra was ten minutes late for their shopping expedition, saying she’d had to drop her mum off at the hairdressers for a tint.

“No worries,” Susan said.

Sandra thought that a rather odd expression but ignored it, blurting out, “So...tell me about last night, love. I’ve been dying these hours to know what happened.”

She looked Susan over for some change in her demeanor but didn’t see anything different about her. Today she was wearing another one of those “go to church” dresses, this time a pale blue one, with her hair tied in a ponytail that went down her back.

“Why such intense interest?” asked Susan.

“Well, love, the odds were against you, you know, him being so experienced and all that, and you seeming so innocent and all.”

“What are you talking about? What odds? You’re just speaking figuratively, right?”

“Well, whatever that means, I’m sure I don’t know,” Sandra giggled. “No, you don’t know, of course. The boys always make a wager when there’s a new bird for James or Ian or Blue to...hmmm...how do I put this delicately...to, um...seduce...you know what I’m getting at?”

“A wager?!” Susan exclaimed. “Like a bet!? You’ve got to be kidding me! Who would bet on something like that? That’s downright tacky!”

“Might be, and that’s for sure, but it doesn’t mean they don’t do it.”

“What kind of wager do they make? What do they bet?”

“Well, things like who pays for dinner after a practice or who buys a round of ale for the band during a break between sets, that sort of thing.”

“I see,” murmured Susan, a strange expression crossing her face. If Lynn had been there, she would have seen the warning signs of some very unpleasant thoughts regarding her future meeting with Sir James and the “boys.”

“So, how long have they been doing this kind of thing?” asked Susan, sounding nonchalant but secretly fuming inside.

“Pretty much since they started singing at the club, a few months ago, I’d say. The girls bet too, ya know. They were probably bettin’ on Hilary bein’ with James again against you bein’ with him last night.”

“So, both the guys in the band and those girls across the room were betting on me?”

“Sure. We English love to wager, you know. I saw James, Ian, and Derek whispering to each other and looking at you after James went over and talked to you the second time. Pretty sure they were making a wager.”

“And what do you think the wager was exactly?”

Susan's eyes were narrowed, and she was becoming more incensed by the moment.

“As I said before, and warned you about last night, it most likely was whether James would get into your bed last night after walking you back to your hotel. He has no trouble at all getting girls into bed after knowing them for just a few hours; he’s an expert…turns on the charm, ya know. And then, here you are, conveniently staying in a hotel all by yourself and all.”

“Well, he didn’t get into my bed! He didn’t even come close!” Susan exclaimed, thinking about his kissing her hand and doing his best to win her over.

“Really and truly? Did he at least kiss you?” Sandra asked.

Susan was about to lie and say “no,” but said instead, “I gave him permission to kiss my hand, is all.”

“You what?!!!”

“I said I permitted him to kiss my hand, so he kissed my hand. I thanked him for being a gentleman and shooed him off home.”

“Whoa, ho! That’s a funny one! Just wait ‘til the boys find out about that! He’ll be a laughing stock, and that’s for sure!” She bent over, chuckling.

“Well, I’m sure not telling anyone else, and you shouldn’t either! He probably wouldn’t like anyone knowing I only let him kiss my hand.”

“I’m not promising. I hope you don’t mind. It serves him right losing the wager, always being so cocky and sure of himself...So, why did you only let him kiss your hand? Just about all the girls think he’s irresistible; they’d all die to have been in your shoes last night… Say… You’re not a prude, or a virgin, or studying to be a nun or something, are you? Or, or…You’re not a girl who likes other girls better than guys?”

Susan’s eyes opened wide. “Holy crap! No! I don’t like girls better than guys! Geez! And I’m certainly not studying to be a nun!” she exclaimed. “And, no, I’m not a prude either...and…and… I don’t think I’m a virgin...I mean, I’m not sure...I mean, I need to think...”

She paused to think. “I’m seventeen, and it’s June now…my birthday was in January, and I wasn’t intimate with Donald until July…so I think I might be...but...geez! I never thought about that aspect!”

Sandra was looking at her like Susan had lost her senses. “How would you not know if you’re a virgin? Have you done it or not?”

“Done what?”

“It! You know, the tumble in the sheets.”

“What an expression! Well, no, I guess I haven’t if you want me to be specific.”

“Holy Jesu! If anyone knew that, the cost of the wager would be ten times higher! Beddin’ a virgin puts the stakes up high!”

“Sandra! Please, please don’t say anything about me being a virgin! It would be downright embarrassing! But...I’m furious about being part of a wager. That’s just a low-down, dirty thing to do...to bet on getting a girl into...into...tumbling in the sheets, as you say. I could choke him for being part of something so, so...dastardly!”

“Well, that’s a big word!”

“Yeah, well, it means worse than horrible...which is what this is! Hmmmm...so he thinks he can tumble me with just a nod of his head or one of those ‘looks’ from his big bedroom eyes…or…or by kissing my hand does he...well, he’ll find out how mistaken he is! I suppose if he lost last night’s bet, there will be another one on for tonight?”

“Of course, there will be! Double the odds and all. And, if they find out you’re a virgin, oh blimey, I can’t even imagine what they’ll wager!”

“You are NOT telling anyone that...promise!”

“Okay, I promise not to tell anyone you’re all virginal, but I won’t promise not to say anything about the hand-kissing. That’s just too good to pass up, plus it’s about time Mr. thinks-he-can-get-any-girl-he-wants, finds out he can’t, don’t ya think?”

Susan sighed. “Well, I wish you wouldn’t, but on the other hand, it would be pretty funny to overhear what they all say when they find out James failed to seduce me. I’m supposed to go to the band practice this afternoon, you know. He made me promise I’d go. And you’re right; it would serve him a good one if everyone knew he didn’t get to first base with me, as the saying goes. And furthermore, if they find out that I just permitted him to kiss my hand and it embarrasses him, that’s just what he deserves!”

Susan was working herself up to a feeling of indignant outrage again, thinking about being part of a wager.

“Well, now you know why he invited you to band practice,” said Sandra. “Needs more opportunity to win you over and try to have his way with you...ha, ha...I’m a funny one, ain’t I?”

“Yeah, you’re a real bag of laughs.”

“So, are you going to the band practice then?”

“But of course! Now that you told me all this, I wouldn’t miss it for anything!”

“You have an evil look in your eye, I see.”

“Really? Am I so transparent then? I’m just thinking.”

“Plotting revenge, you mean?”

“Well, let’s not put it that harshly, but I most certainly am going to give him a piece of my mind! Wagering on a girl’s virtue...despicable!”

Sandra led Susan out the lobby door and down the street.

“Most of the interesting shops are down by the waterfront. Parts of the waterfront are quite seedy, but where the cruising ships come in...we don’t get many...there are some decent shops. Let’s go; it’s only about a half-mile if you’re up for walking.”

“I’m up for walking. I need to burn off some steam.”

“What’s that, Luv?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Susan and Sandra enjoyed a few hours walking through the shops, which sold everything from trinkets to high-end clothing and jewelry. They browsed through the fresh market stalls, which made them both hungry.

“Where should we go for lunch?” asked Susan. I didn’t have any breakfast, and looking