Like A Siren’s Song (part 3)
Day 3
When I woke up the next morning, I convinced myself that this was all just a coincidence or a joke as I had originally suspected. I heard the TV and opened the door just to be sure….but David was wide awake and watching it. He didn’t look so great to be honest, circles under his eyes like maybe he’d not slept. I told him I was going to shower.
I turned on my shower radio and warmed up the water. I also made sure to lock the door, no sense in taking any chances. One of my favorite new songs was on, and deciding that David’s theory was just silly, I went ahead and sang.
Shawty’s like a melody in my headThat I can’t keep outGot me singin’ likeNa na na na everydayIt’s like my iPod stuck on replay replay-ay-ay-aySee you been all around the globeNot once did you leave my mindWe talk on the phone from night ‘til the mornGirl you really changed my lifeDoin’ things I never doI’m in the kitchen cookin’ things she likesWe’re real worldwide breakin’ all the rulesSomeday I wanna make you my wifeThat girl like something’ off a posterThat girl is a dime they sayThat girl is the gun to my holsterShe’s runnin’ through my mind all day
After showering, I got out and spent some time brushing and drying my hair. I threw on some shorts and a shirt. I then noticed the smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen. Oh, they smelled so good, David must have thoughtfully decided to make breakfast.
I poked my head out, and there he was, cooking away. He smiled at me, and said he hoped I was hungry. I admitted I was starved, and we sat down to a nice breakfast, all of yesterday’s stuff seemingly forgotten, much to my relief. He insisted on doing all the dishes himself. I was so much more relaxed, thinking he’d let go of his whole “doing what I sing” theory. Besides, he’d be going home today. I wondered if he’d made his reservations yet. I hoped so, although I’d enjoyed his company, the shower incident yesterday and then the “feet” incident from last night, kind of made me ready for him to leave.
When he was finished, he asked me to come and sit with him on the couch. He sounded very serious, and I was again reminded that he also looked exhausted. David looked at me for a moment, not seeming to know where to begin.
“Becky, I know I’m supposed to leave today, but I’m asking you to let me stay. I will call work and tell them I’m taking a weeks vacation.”
I looked at him in disbelief. A week? Why on earth would he want to stay here another week, hadn’t he had enough? When I said nothing he continued.
“I had to make breakfast for you this morning because you sang it, you know that don’t you?” He’d not let go of his theory at all. I thought about what I’d sang, I’m in the kitchen cooking things she likes. There was some genuine distress in his voice as he spoke. He told me he didn’t sleep at all last night, because he couldn’t stop thinking about me, and what was happening, and what it meant. He said he hadn’t been able to get me out of his thoughts for a second since he first heard me sing. Not only did he feel he HAD to do the things he heard me singing, but he desperately WANTED to do them. He had no understanding why any of this was happening, but he wanted to understand.
“Becky, you’ve got all these songs running around in my head, and I can’t get them out. I know it sounds crazy, and I keep telling myself this can’t be happening. Then you sing again, and I hear you no matter how far apart we are, or how much noise there is between us. You call to me like a siren’s song, and I want, and I need. I must try and find out why, or I fear I will go home, and your voice will continue to be in my head and thoughts of you will keep running around in my mind. Please let me stay. If we’ve figured out nothing by next weekend, I promise to leave, I will have to get back to work anyway. Please let me try and figure this out.”
He really wasn’t kidding. I knew that now, it was all real. I was really uncomfortable with this whole thing, but at the same time, I knew he needed to understand what was happening and honestly, so did I. “OK, you may stay the week.” I was rewarded by the big look of relief on his face. Silently I resolved not to sing that entire week. I had no idea how I’d do that, but I would make a sincere effort not to.
If he was staying, we may as well do something interesting right? I suggested going to the museum where Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK. He readily agreed, even though we’d both been there before. We puttered around for a bit, checking e-mails, watching a little TV. He asked if we could also go get him a few more things at the store, since he was staying longer. I readily agreed.
We had a couple of sandwiches for lunch, then headed out. First we got him a few more clothing items, I noted he bought a nice pair of pants and a collared shirt, which I thought was an odd choice of clothing. We had a nice time at the museum, and I made sure not to turn the radio on the entire time. He even went to turn it on at one point, and I said no. I could tell he understood why.
By the time we were done with everything, it was dinner time so we just stopped by Wendy’s and had a quick bite before going home. We spent the whole day carefully avoiding the topic of just why he was here, and I carefully avoided singing. Once home, we played some cards together and made idle chit chat. It was clear we were uncomfortable being together, yet felt like we had to be. We turned on the TV and watched for a bit. I could see it was going to be a long week. He began to mindlessly flip the dial, looking for anything interesting. He turned to one of those music stations, and I got so excited by what was playing, that I forgot that I wasn’t supposed to be singing:
You can kiss me in the moonlightOn the rooftop under the sky, ohYou can kiss me with the windows openWhile the rain comes pouring inside, ohKiss me in sweet slow motionLet’s let everything slideYou got me floating, you got me flying
I stopped as soon as I saw the look on David’s face. I could see he was having an internal struggle, so I opened my mouth to sing some made up song about NOT kissing me, but it was too late. Before I knew it his arms were around me, and his lips were on mine. I struggled at first, but he held me tight and I found myself melting against him, responding as our lips moved against each others‘. For a moment I forgot about the awkwardness, I forgot I didn’t want him here, in fact I wasn’t thinking about much of anything except the feeling of his mouth on mine. The kiss seemed to last forever. When he finally let me go, we just stood there looking at each other, not knowing what to say. I looked down, and felt a blush start to creep up on my cheeks. I mumbled something about going to my bedroom.
“Becky,” said David questioningly.
“Yes?” I asked him looking up for a moment. He wanted to say something, but the words were not coming. I looked away again and walked to my bedroom and shut the door, thoughts reeling through my mind. I knew why he’d kissed me of course, what had my mind spinning was the way it had made me feel. I’d wanted the kiss, hadn’t wanted him to stop, and I had no idea why. I didn’t come out of my room again that night, I just went to bed.
I woke up feeling like I was being watched. I jumped when I saw David’s silhouette in the darkness. He apologized profusely, saying he hadn’t meant to scare me, he just really wanted to be near me. I told him maybe staying the whole week was a bad idea because this was all really weirding me out.
“Becky, ever since you sang about kissing you, I’ve been unable to think about anything else. I sat on the bed, thinking about how good it felt when I did it and how much I want to do it again. If you make me leave, I fear I will come back, I know that sounds crazy, but I think it will happen. I just want to be close to you, the closer I am to you the more relaxed I feel.”
Even in the darkness I could feel his eyes on me. I sat up, hating to admit to myself that his words were getting to me. Hating even more to admit that I WANTED him to kiss me. Nighttime can do weird things to a person, though, and in that moment I suddenly felt wicked, wanting to test out his theory.
Softly I sang, “kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again.”
I heard him groan, “Becky, I’m not sure I can control myself.”
I whispered back, “Maybe I don’t want you to.” That was all it took, his lips came down on mine, and they seemed to almost lock together. His arms were tightly around me, pressing my body closely into his. When I opened my mouth slightly his tongue immediately found mine. I couldn’t tell you how long we sat there just kissing.
His hands started to caress my back and I did nothing to stop him. My breasts crushed into him, as he pulled me tightly against his chest. I ran my fingers softly along his back in return, and then under the tee shirt he’d worn to bed, so I was touching his skin. This seemed to inflame him even more. I felt his hands searching for the bottom of my pajama shirt, and lifting it up when he found it. His hands felt good on my skin, and in spite of myself I moaned.
His body immediately pushed mine down so I was laying on the bed and he was on top of me. Part of my mind was screaming that this was wrong and we were going too fast, the other part of me was aching for it. I felt conflicted, and I knew I had to make a decision before there was no turning back.
Reluctantly I whispered hoarsely, “Stop, please.” I felt him hesitate, I used that moment to push my body up, and he moved up to let me. It seemed he’d been apologizing for one thing or another since he got here and now it was my turn. “I’m really sorry David, I know I caused that to happen, but….I’m really not one who goes around sleeping with people I don’t know.”
He was breathing hard and obviously having trouble speaking coherently. We sat there for a moment in uncomfortable silence.
After what seemed like forever, but was probably only a couple of minutes, he seemed recomposed. “It’s okay Becky, we both got carried away. All you did was ask me to kiss you, the rest, well…what can I say? I’m not sure why you asked me to kiss you.” He paused, as though waiting for me to say something, but I didn’t.
What could I say? I’d wanted it at much as he had.
He continued, “I know this is going to sound insane in light of what just happened, but please may I sleep in here with you? I’ll even sleep over on that chair if I must, and I promise to behave.” He paused before adding, “As long as you don’t sing me any suggestive lyrics.”
At that, we both laughed. This was all so odd and yet, I wanted to comply with his request. It wouldn’t be any crazier than anything that had happened this weekend, right? I scooted over to the other side of the bed and barely whispered, “Sleep here.” I sensed his hesitancy, but he climbed in under the covers and seemed to fall asleep almost immediately. I think I drifted off shortly after him. We did not awaken for the rest of the night.
Day 4
The next morning, I woke up and realized that David was snuggled up against me. I had no memory of him doing this, so I must have been heavily asleep. I had to admit though, he felt nice and warm against me. He was spooned up against my back. Part of me just wanted to relax against him and enjoy it, but part of me felt this was sending the wrong message. Nuts, I know, considering I’d let him sleep in my bed. However, things always look different by the light of day. I gently tried to wiggle out from under his arm, but he seemed to hold on tighter when I did that. After a couple of more tries, I gave up and decided to try going back to sleep. Had I been able to turn around, I might have seen the big grin on his face, but I was oblivious to that.
When I reawakened later, David was also awake. He was not snuggled against me anymore but rather seemed to be watching me. He looked much more rested than he had at any point and time during this visit. Suddenly, I felt strange having him here in my bed.
“Good morning,” he said. He must have sensed my discomfort, though, because he immediately got up and said he was going to turn on the television. I cursed myself silently, wondering what had gotten into me last night. Then I remembered how it felt when he kissed me, and how much I had enjoyed it. I decided to go take a shower, making sure to remain silent.
When I came out, I told him I usually go to the gym on Mondays because I take an exercise class. I asked if he’d think me very rude if I went. I could tell part of him didn’t want me to go, but he didn’t protest. I was relieved, it would give me a little alone time and time to call Crystal and tell her about some of the weird goings on.
I grabbed a quick breakfast, and headed out the door a little earlier than I needed to. I immediately got on my cell phone, and called Crystal. I told her about David showing up. The surprise in her voice convinced me that she had nothing to do with this. I told her everything, except for the first kiss last evening, and everything that happened after that. She suggested “bumping” into us at lunch. Her curiosity was obviously killing her, so I agreed.
After class I went back and home and showered again, being that I was sweaty from my workout. I told David we were going to Chili’s for lunch, and he didn’t protest. When we got there, Crystal was already “conveniently” there. Clearly, David suspected something was up but he was quick to invite her to join us. During lunch we talked about innocuous things, but Crystal periodically looked at me, clearly wanting me to sing something so she could see it for herself. I found I was reluctant to put him on display like that. I knew she was disappointed.
As we commiserated about high school, Crystal got a gleam in her eye. She coyly informed David that I’d had a bit of a crush on him in high school. Internally I groaned, this had been a horrible idea. I should have known that Crystal might bring that up. I felt myself blushing.
“It was no big deal,” I mumbled looking down. I didn’t look down quickly enough though to avoid the big grin that developed on his face. Honestly, it WASN’T a big deal. It was a minor crush, and not something I’d thought about for years until he showed up on my doorstep. Apparently, David took pity on me because he changed the subject, and we had a nice lunch.
We said very little on the ride home, and I avoided the radio. Once we got to my place, though, he asked me point blank if I’d told Crystal about what had been going on. I admitted to telling her some, but not all.
“Why didn’t you demonstrate your power?” he asked. I groaned at the phrasing of that.
“I wasn’t looking to embarrass you,” I informed him. He seemed to appreciate that.
“Look, I know we haven’t talked about last night, but I think maybe we should.” I stared at David uncomfortably, I really didn’t want to talk about it. “I don’t know what came over you last night, but I have to be honest and tell you I liked it.”
At that, I looked away. “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. I got the best night’s sleep I had since I first heard you sing on Thursday night, I know that’s because next to you was exactly where I was supposed to be. I hear you sing for a reason, this isn’t just some accident, and I think if we don’t explore it we will both regret it.”
“That is why I let you stay, David,” I informed him quietly, trying to keep any emotion from showing in my voice.
“Becky, you have been avoiding me today. First you went to the gym, and then had Crystal meet us at lunch. These are all ways to avoid being alone with me, and I think it’s a mistake. I’m not going to force anything on you that you don’t want to happen, and apparently you have the power to stop me even if I tried.
At this, I looked at him again. I hadn’t really thought about it that way, but I supposed he was probably right.
He then added, “Unless I silence you with a kiss.”
I stared at him, uncertain if he was serious or if he was kidding. As if to answer my question he reached for me and pulled me into a kiss.
When he finished he whispered, “I don’t need a song as an excuse to kiss you, but if you want me to do so, feel free to sing about it anytime.” I told him a I needed a little alone time to think about what he’d said, so I was going to my bedroom. He didn’t argue with me.
I pondered what he said. I recognized the truth in what he was saying. Maybe I was given this power (I cringed a bit at that word) for a reason, and rather than avoiding using it, I should make the most of it. I had to be a little more in control of myself, though, than I had been last night. In accepting the realness of what was happening, I also had to accept that there was some reason it happened to us, and I shouldn’t make light of it. What the reason was, I had no idea, but there was a reason.
I came back out and told him I agreed with what he was saying. I told him I wanted to go bowling, he seemed a little surprised but offered me no arguments.
We played a couple of games, he won both. I then gave him a big smile as I softly sang:
Dance with meI want to be your partnerCan’t you seeThe music is just startingNight is calling and I am fallingDance with me
Without hesitation, he took me in his arms and we danced slowly with no music playing anywhere. I saw a few people giving us amused looks, but I didn’t care.
He whispered in my ear, “Don’t think for a minute that I don’t know you are enjoying this.”
I laughed and whispered back, “I could have sang the Hokey Pokey, so you should be thanking me.” We both laughed at the image. We decided to just eat at the bowling alley before going home.
At home, I began to joke about all the things I could do with my new found power. “I could sing about all the chores that need doing around my place and you’d have to do them. You’d by my own personal houseboy.” I could tell he was wondering if I might actually try any of this.
We sat on the couch and turned on the TV. I grinned at him as I sang, “get a little closer, don’t be shy.” Immediately, he was over next to me. I paused for a moment before just sliding in next to him and was rewarded when he drew me in nice and close. I sighed contentedly, and we said nothing as we watched whatever was on TV. I was oblivious to it quite honestly, I was more focused on the feel of being in his arms.
I must have drifted off, because the next thing I knew he was whispering to me that it was probably bed time. I nodded my agreement, and got up to change and brush teeth. Once I was done, he came in to brush his teeth as well then looked at me questioningly. I knew what was on his mind, so I nodded. We slid into bed together and without even thinking about it, I just snuggled up in his arms and we drifted off together. Right before I fell asleep, I remember thinking how right it felt.