Chapter 42
They’d somehow managed to get dressed and ready to go despite the fact that they’d both chosen to wear leather. It wasn’t easy… for either of them. Dressing this evening had been more like foreplay; a tempting pre-enactment of things to come, but in reverse. Gen had kind of figured that he would choose it for his performance tonight… both on and off the stage. She’d watched him put on his clothes and his rock star persona and had to bite her lip to keep from drooling. He knew she was titillated by watching him and it fueled his ego. But she had completely surprised him when she pulled a short leather skirt from one of her shopping bags.
“Did you just buy that yesterday?” he asked excitedly.
“Yeah. I think Glad thought I was nuts,” she smiled. “But Kate gave it a thumbs up.”
“Whatever,” he shrugged. “You’re wearing it, right?”
She nodded. “But I don’t know which shirt to wear.”
“Show me. I’ll tell you which one.”
She pulled a pink lycra t-shirt from her suitcase and a blue silk top with thin straps from another shopping bag. She held them up for his approval.
He sat on the bed and stretched out his long leather clad legs, glancing at the clock to make sure they had time for this amusement. “Put ‘em on.”
She slipped off her robe and pulled the pink top on first. She held out her arms, feeling a little like a mannequin in a department store window. Thoughts of their shopping trip in Chicago filled her head.
“I like that. Is that one yours? I mean, you didn’t just buy it yesterday?”
“Right.” She pulled it off and grabbed the blue one. She shimmied into the silk top, fully expecting that he’d prefer it to the pink one. It was way more revealing and the color was heavenly. In fact, she’d thought of him when she’d seen it. She stood at the foot of the bed and spun around for him to catch the full view.
“Y’know,” he smiled, “I kinda like the pink one. This one’s nice, but the other one just… mmmm,” he smiled wickedly.
“Really? I thought you’d like this cause it shows more,” she blushed.
“Well, that’s good, but it’s not quite the look I’m going for here. The pink one’s more covered, good for being in a crowd- I’m not the only man there, you know- but it also shows a lot more too. It’s all snug and clingy and stuff.”
“Ok,” she giggled. “The pink one it is!” She went to her bag to get some underwear and pulled out a hot pink bra and bikinis.
He watched as she tugged on the panties, but when she reached for the bra, he interrupted her. “You’re not gonna wear that are you?”
She gave him the ‘are you nuts?’ look as she put it on. “Of course.” She looked at him staring at her, not like a demeaning egotist, but like someone who was sincerely entertained on some level by watching her go about her business.
“’Cause,” he moved behind her and unhooked it, “If you put that on it kinda takes all the fun out of it.”
“Oh?” she smiled bashfully. “But I thought you didn’t want other guys looking.”
“Oh they can look. That’s not bad. They just can’t touch.”
“You’re objectifying me, you know,” she teased.
“Yeah, I can’t help it. I’m a guy, what can I say?” He kissed her neck, then reached for the shirt as it sat on the dresser and handed it to her. “We don’t have a lot of time, so you’d better put this on right now before we end up being late.”
She pulled the shirt over her head, slid on the skirt, put on her amethyst necklace, buckled the straps on her sandals and they were on their way.
When they got to Shea’s, Mike, Robby and the Takac family, and three of his sisters were already sitting backstage. They walked in, John holding Gen’s hand tightly and checking his watch making sure they weren’t late. They weren’t. They were a few minutes early, in fact.
“Hey John, Gennie, over here!” Kate waived wildly to get their attention.
They made their way across a room that was buzzing with activity. “Yeah, whatcha need?” John asked.
“Phyl and I were talking and we think we oughta have a family dinner tomorrow. You can make it, can’t ya?”
“Um, well, that depends on what time. Gen’s leaving tomorrow evening.”
“Well how about in the afternoon? Say 1 or 2?”
John glanced at Gennie for an approving look. Just then another voice beckoned him. “Ok. That sounds fine for us. I gotta go.” He kissed Gennie and bounded off toward the voice.
“So how was your day at the spa?” Gen inquired of the four women before her.
Glad spoke up. “Oh, it was so nice. I wish you coulda been there. But I guess he had other plans for ya. I sure hope it was worth it. You missed a great massage and facial.”
Gen giggled, “I’ll bet, but I didn’t do too badly.” She held up her hands then pointed to her toes. “He did my nails for me, so I didn’t totally miss out!”
Kate laughed, “Way to go, little brother!” She spied him across the room and flashed him a thumbs up, though he had no idea for what.
It always amused Gennie that these women referred to this grown man as their little brother. She figured they must have doted on him his whole life. He’d always be the baby in their eyes.
Phyllis leaned forward and took Gen’s hand, admiring her homemade manicure. “Nice color. So, what else did you do today? You really did miss out, we had a great time.” She laughed as she realized she really didn’t want the answer to her question. “Nevermind, too much information.” They all laughed; it was a little awkward for everybody.
When Glad was busy talking to Phyllis, Kate leaned over, “You look great by the way. Gladdy’ll never tell you that, but that skirt looks good on you. She’s just getting old and matronly, I guess,” she giggled. “But I guarantee you, if she were your age, she kill to wear something like that.”
“Thanks, but I am a little self conscious,” she rolled her eyes. “The shirt, you know.”
“Aw hell,” she waived her off, “If you got it, flaunt it, right? You guys should have fun and screw what anyone else thinks.”
Gen chuckled, “You sound just like Johnny.”
John watched her sitting there with his sisters like she was one of them. She fit in so well. He couldn’t imagine any of his previous girlfriends ever sitting there chatting and giggling with them like that. For some reason, his family always intimidated other women. Her ease with everyone made him smile. Though he did notice the look Gladdy gave him when she saw what Gen was wearing. She knew him well enough to know that he was probably behind her wardrobe choices, or lack thereof, this evening. ‘Boys will be boys’ he could hear her saying under her breath. But he knew her well enough that he was certain she would never say anything to Gennie about it. He respectfully made a mental note to try to conceal Gen from his teenaged nephews this evening. He didn’t need Gladdy getting mad at him for that later. He’d be sure they were both appropriately dressed for family dinner tomorrow.