Eleven

I COULD FEEL THE FAINT BUZZING and realized I held Bree’s hand. She pushed herself up and stopped the alarm on her cell phone.

“Mmm. My time is up. I have to go home,” Bree mumbled. She pushed herself off my lap and stood up stretching. I stood up, too.

“Thanks for keeping me warm,” I said.

“Thank you. Thank you for still being my friend,” Bree said. “I want to be out of here before your next blanket arrives. I really don’t even want to know who it is.”

I bent down and kissed her on the cheek.

“Goodnight, Bree. Drive carefully getting home.”

She left without another word, but nodded as she walked away.

Now that I was awake, I also realized that I had to pee. I glanced at my phone and saw that it was almost midnight. I used the Honey Bucket and spritzed my hands with sanitizer. When I got back, I saw a person huddled in a little ball in my chair under the blanket Bree left.

“Umm ... Hi?” I said softly.

“Oh!” I quickly held a finger to my lips. Whitney unfolded from the chair. It was like watching this impossibly tall person get out of a little clown car or something. I opened my arms and she gave me a hug.

“We can only whisper,” I said. “People are sleeping and voices carry. What would you like to do? Just sit and talk, cuddle, or sleep?”

“Definitely cuddle and probably sleep. I had to set an alarm to get here on time and I think I’m right in the middle of my REM.”

I laughed and went to sit in the chair. I’d hardly gotten myself positioned before she was trying to fold up on my lap. She kicked her shoes off and stuck her feet down between me and the arm of the chair. For a tall girl, she sure could fold up compact. I pulled the blanket up around us and we were pretty warm in a minute.

“This feels so nice,” Whitney said. Then she leaned in and kissed me. I pulled away from her.

“Hey. You know the rules. Cuddle. No making out.”

“You mean you’re going to follow the rules?” She chased my lips.

“Seriously, Whitney. You want to be here, behave. Otherwise leave.”

She pulled back and looked at me in disbelief.

“Really?”

“Really.”

She hesitated a minute and then unfolded herself to get up. I think she was a little surprised that I let her. I even handed her the shoes.

“It’s not that ... I want ... I just ... shit,” she said. At least she was still whispering and not shouting at me. “I’d like to do that, but I don’t think ... You’ll really let me leave?” I nodded. She bit her lip and turned her head. “I can’t right now. I need to rethink everything. Sorry. I was supposed to keep you warm. I hope you can stand the cold for a while.”

Whitney turned and left. It was only a quarter after midnight. Damn! If Bree knew there were two extra hours available, she’d never have left. Oh well. The thing is, as I replayed what Whitney had said, it sounded more like what you’d hear a girl say if her boyfriend was being overly aggressive. “I’d like to, but I can’t.” Wasn’t doing nothing the easy thing? I flopped back, pulled the blanket up and went back to sleep.

I felt a chilly breeze hit me when the blanket was lifted, then let out a quiet “oof” as a new body slid onto my lap.

“I’m not too heavy for this, am I?” a worried voice said.

“You’re not heavy at all, Rio,” I answered. “Don’t talk like that.”

“But I know I’m ... Rubenesque ... isn’t that the word?”

“Rio, are you happy with who you are?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“There’s your answer. You don’t weigh more than Lissa. You’re just more compact.”

“You mean short and wide,” Rio giggled. “I don’t really care if I’m a little flabby. I was just afraid you might not like me on your lap.”

“You are one of the happiest people I’ve ever met,” I said truthfully.

She wiggled a little in my lap trying to get comfortable and felt my slight rise in attention under her butt. She giggled and squirmed once more before settling down.

“You do know the rules, right?” I asked.

“Yeah. And I know you are serious. Whitney came to find me an hour-and-a-half ago and kept me awake until it was my turn.”

“Well, I’m not sure what was going on with her, but I’m afraid she didn’t get her cuddle.”

“And does she ever regret it,” Rio said. “But she’ll figure it out. Unfortunately, though, that means I haven’t been to sleep yet tonight, so if you’re comfortable, please hold me and shut up.”

I did as the lady asked and it took her only a minute to fall asleep.

I suppose I lied when I said she didn’t weigh more than Lissa, but Lissa is solid muscle and ten inches taller than Rio. Rio might have a couple pounds on her though. She was the softest woman I’d ever held. Except Beth. Yeah. In the old days, Beth was pretty round. Then she decided to go away and seriously lose weight. I loved the new Beth, but I missed the old one. Rio reminded me of her. I wrapped my arms tightly around her and settled in for my own snooze.

I dreamed about painting Rubenesque nudes.

“Psst ... Rio. Your butt is buzzing.”

“Huh? Oh! Goosey! That’s my alarm. My shift is over,” she answered. She remembered to keep her voice down, but reaching the vibrating phone in her back pocket proved interesting for both of us. She shrugged her shoulders a little. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to, like, apply a vibrator to anything sensitive.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a little pressure against my bladder.”

“Didn’t feel like nothing to me,” she giggled. She stood on her tiptoes and I bent to receive the little kiss she placed on my cheek. “Thanks, Tony. I’ve been feeling really homesick lately and it was nice of you to hold me for a while. I’ll see you Monday.” She was off.

I lied about the pressure on my bladder. There wasn’t any really. I settled back into the chair to wait for my next “blanket,” as Bree called the girls tonight. I figured Wendy would be showing up soon. I couldn’t think of any other girl that might be interested in a night on my lap. I was really surprised when I saw who showed up.

“Ames?”

“Hey, Ames,” she replied.

“I sure wasn’t expecting you tonight,” I said.

“If you’d rather it wasn’t me, I’ll go,” she said softly. “I understand.”

“Amy, why wouldn’t I want you here?”

“I don’t exactly fit the profile.”

“What profile?”

“Girls who want to sleep with Tony,” she answered.

“Come on, goofball,” I said, holding out my arms. “You fit perfectly the profile of friends of Tony that he doesn’t mind cuddling.”