Deuce's Dancer (5 page)

Pilar gave him a quick smile, one that didn't reach her eyes, and stepped away. He reached for her as the door closed behind him, pulling her into his arms, but she turned her face away from his kiss and stood stiffly in his embrace.

"Pilar?"

"We have to talk."

The words, "We have to break up," were etched on his memory of their lunch, so he figured he knew what she wanted to talk about.

"Okay, sugar. Go on in the living room and I'll take off my jacket and tie. Be there in a minute."

She nodded, silent, and left him standing in the hall.

Deuce tried not to think about the possible reasons she wanted to break it off. Maybe she was the kind of woman who ran when faced with the possibility of commitment. Maybe she had a job transfer and didn't realize that they could make a long-distance relationship work if they tried. Maybe aliens from another planet were calling her to come join them. A wry smile formed on his lips, quickly vanishing as he moved through the house and into the living room to join her.

"So," he said, sitting on the couch with her, his back tucked into a corner so he could face her. "What's your reasoning this time?"

Pilar wouldn't look him in the eye.

"I have been keeping a secret. I know it's wrong, but sometimes…sometimes you can't reveal all your secrets until you know someone well." Her voice got softer and she wove her fingers together primly in her lap. "But the more I think about it, the more I'm sure that you'll understand why we can't stay together. It wouldn't be good for you."

He arched an eyebrow at that last remark. "Wouldn't be good for
me
? Why don't you let me decide what's good for me all by myself, sugar? I've been at it for a few years now. I reckon I can figure it out."

Pilar shot him a look, but immediately pulled her gaze back down to her hands. "This is a big deal, Deuce. Really big."

Here came the story about an ex-boyfriend who meant the world to her, had come back from the dead, and was going to sweep her off to Mazatlan to live in his palatial beach home for the rest of their lives. Happily ever after. Deuce braced himself. "Tell me."

"It-it's about my brothers."

He waited. She didn't continue so he prompted. "And?"

"Well…you know they died."

"You told me that, yes."

"Well, Manuel and Jorge were younger than me. Manny was two years younger, and Jorge was six years younger."

"Okay. And Ricky is about fourteen years younger. That much I knew."

"Right." She pushed a strand of hair off her face and pressed her knees together. "Manny and Jorge died in a gang fight."

"Accidental?"

Pilar shook her head, her lips tight. "No. They were in a gang war."

"I'm sorry." And he was. It must have been painful for the Peréz family to lose those young men so needlessly.

"That's not the worst part of it."

"Oh?"

"Ricky is in the gang now."

Fourteen years younger than Pilar made him fourteen years old. He was barely a teenager and he was busy endangering his life at every turn.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm afraid for you, Deuce. My family lives with this every day. A rival gang could come by our house and shoot us all dead anytime. And there's other crime. I'm sure Ricky has gotten into theft, maybe even drugs. I suppose…I suppose he might have killed someone."

It was an ugly picture, but it didn't make him care for Pilar any less. In fact, it raised his protective instincts to a new level. "And your father? Is he doing something about it?"

"He can't. Ricky won't listen to anyone." Her amber gaze went to his face. "He could have been so much more, you know? He could have gone places, done things. Ricky was an excellent student. But when Manny and Jorge died, it was like he had so much anger in him that he had to do something dangerous."

"He's trying to get back at the boys who killed his brothers?" Deuce knew that he'd have done the same thing, though his methods would have been different.

Pilar nodded. "I think so." She sighed. "But you see why you and I can't go on, right? If this kind of information got out…that your girlfriend had a gangster brother, and two others who'd died in a gang war, your career would be ruined."

"Hogwash."

"Don't you understand? I can't control Ricky. I can't make him stop. He'll end up dead or in jail!"

"Your brother cannot be allowed to dictate your life or your parents' lives, Pilar. The choices he makes are not your choices, and you shouldn't have to reconstruct your life to live in fear of his bad behavior."

"But, Deuce-"

He held up a hand to stop her, and patted his lap. "Come here, sugar."

"No. You don't understand."

"I don't much like you keeping this secret from me. You should know by now that you can trust me." Reaching for her, he pulled her into his arms. "I know you thought you were doing the right thing, but Pilar, if you don't trust me, we can't build a relationship. Have I ever let you down?"

She put her head on his shoulder, snuggling in. "No."

"Have I given you any reason to think that I'd run away like a coward, faced with this situation?"

"No. I didn't mean it that way."

"That's how it came out, Pilar. You expect me to drop you like a hot rock because of your family troubles. This is the second time."

She sniffled a little and he realized that his shirt was getting wet from her quiet tears. "I'm sorry."

"Do you actually want us to split up?"

Two minutes went by, and her silence was wrenching his guts. If she really wanted it to be over, there was little he could do. Finally, she shook her head.

"I want you to go stand in the corner and think about what you did. I want you to ask yourself, honestly, if there's anything else you want to tell me. I'm going to spank you for not trusting me, Pilar, but I won't add onto it if you have more you'd like to confess."

"I…I…"

He waited. "You what, sugar?"

"I don't want you to be mad at me."

Her hair was so soft under his hand and her slender body trembled slightly against him. She had to learn not to throw secrets in his face and expect him to run away. Punishment, in this situation, was going to be cathartic for her. Redemptive. He wanted the relationship to flourish, and was willing to show her by not letting her get away with wrong-headed thinking. "I'm not mad at you. Disappointed, I think. A little irked that you'd think I'd be a coward."

Popping up sharply, she pressed a hand against his chest, her eyes imploring. "You're not a coward, Deuce! I know that."

"My career is important to me," he told her. "But family troubles are part of everyone's life, Pilar. No one is going to hold me responsible for what your little brother does with his life." He covered her hand with his own and held it against his chest. "And I'll talk to Ricky. I doubt he'll care what I have to say, but I can try."

"You don't have to. You'll be wasting your breath."

"It's my breath to waste. Now go stand in the corner. Pull your panties down and your dress up."

In a little-girl voice, she asked, "Do I have to?"

"Yes, sugar, you do. Go on now."

She moved away from him and stood. "Are you going to spank me, too?"

He nodded. "Yes. Hard."

A deep sigh soughed from her mouth. There was something like relief on her face, a lightening of her eyes, a loosening of her tight lips. "Okay. I deserve it."

Deuce didn't say anything, and she walked toward a corner. When she got there, she pulled down her panties until they gathered at her ankles, and lifted her cotton dress so that the skirt was wadded up at her waist in the back. Her lovely heart-shaped bottom called to him. He wanted to stroke and squeeze, he wanted to coax sighs of pleasure from her with playful spanks. It was irritating to him that, once again, he was called upon to wallop her instead of loving her. But, it was necessary, both for her peace of mind and for the furtherance of their relationship.

"Nose into the corner."

She bent at the waist, and the plump lips of her pussy peeked out at him from between her legs. His cock hardened. This was not the time for sex, however. It was time for discipline.

He sat there, thinking about how their evening could have gone, about all the delicious things he'd rather be doing with her. Finally, tired of torturing himself, he picked up a newspaper and scanned it, looking for something to distract him from staring at her charms.

The paper crackled in his hand as he folded it and put it aside a half hour later. She was done with being fidgety, and now stood quietly, biding her time. Time was up, however. He rose and got a sturdy leather strap from his lowest dresser drawer, returning to the living room to his place on the couch.

"Kick off your panties and come over here, Pilar."

Shoulders drooping, Pilar slipped off her shoes and dropped her panties on the floor. She walked over to him like she was walking through concrete, slowly, resolutely. He patted his thighs. "Over my knees."

"You don't have to do this, Deuce. I didn't mean to imply that you're a coward."

He didn't miss the fact that she was skirting the trust issue. It hurt him to think that she still didn't think he could be relied upon, but the only thing he could do—if he wanted to work through their relationship issues—was to deal with each problem as it occurred. If he was consistent enough with his affection and discipline, she'd come to have confidence in his integrity. He had to believe that.

"No wheedling, sugar. Over my lap."

Sighing, she did as she was told, offering up her tawny behind. "Can you keep your hands away?"

She thought about that for a moment. "This is going to be painful, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Then probably not."

He gathered her wrists in his left hand and held them at the small of her back. "Relax, Pilar."

"I can't! Hurry up, please!"

He mumbled, "At least you said please," right before he gave her the first stroke with the strap.  She flinched and stiffened. Adjusting his grip on the leather, he spanked her again and she squeaked out "ow!" as he swatted her a few more times. Each time, her exclamations got more sharp, her breath coming in gasps.

"Have I ever given you any reason not to trust me, Pilar?" he lectured as he brought the strap down in a percussive volley, the snapping sounds lost in her cries.

"No!"

"I can't make you trust me," he pointed out. "But you're not giving yourself time to get there on your own. You have to stop running away."

"Yes! Yes, sssir!" Her hiss was predicated on a long series of smacks. Pilar's bottom was getting quite pink and warm to his touch as he paused to glide his hand across the globes.

Deuce concentrated his spanks on the underside of her cheeks and she started to cry. He told himself that crying would be good for her—cathartic. That she needed to release her guilty feelings. He wanted what was best for her, and he felt objective enough to see what she couldn't see for herself. She needed his emotional support; her life was too tumultuous and the security he could give her would help her deal with her issues.

He slapped the strap down her thighs and back up again and she arched and kicked, squirming vigorously.

"Feet down."

"Please stop!"

Her pitiful cries and sobs were getting to him, but he wanted to make his point, leaving no doubt behind that she'd misbehaved. "Feet down!"

Pilar wriggled harder, but her feet stayed down. "Please, please, please, Deuce!"

The pink of her bottom had turned a livid red, right down to the middle of her thighs. A few more spanks and he'd relent.

"Don't be so hasty in the future to kill a good thing," he told her, finishing up the spanking with several more hard whacks. "Okay. Done."

He gave her a few moments to stop squirming, then gathered her up in his arms. She ouched and ow'd herself onto his lap, sobbing and sniffling, her eyes puffy and nose red. Still, she was beautiful, and, as long as he could manage it, she was his.

Chapter 5

On Saturday morning, they spent a long time in the shower together, staying until the hot water was a distant memory. Afterward, they dried each other off, and wrapped up in towels. Pilar reached up and cupped Deuce's face, admiring the black stubble there before encouraging him to share one more lingering kiss with her.

"I have to go out for most of the day," he told her as she pressed her face against his cooling chest.

"Okay. What's up?"

"I'm taking Eddie to a ballgame."

"Eddie's the little boy from the picture, right?"

"Ah-ha. He's a real baseball nut and we often go to the Astros games together."

Pilar wanted to ask him if Eddie's mother was going along, too, but she was afraid of the answer, so she kept her question to herself. "I hope you have a good time."

"I'd invite you along, sugar, but-"

"No need to explain, Deuce. Guy stuff." Or was it? Maybe she'd do herself a favor to ask about Stacy. Maybe she needed to know in order to protect her heart. She gave him another squeeze and then moved away to the mirror to brush her wet hair out.

"Deuce…"

He was leaving the bathroom, combed but not shaven. "Yeah, sugar?"

"Is…umm…is Stacy going with you?"

He frowned. As she toweled the fog off the mirror, he was reflected clearly. "You don't have anything to be jealous of, Pilar."

It didn't answer her question. Stacy's behavior the day before had certainly indicated that she was more to Deuce than just Eddie's mother. And Pilar still didn’t know if Eddie was Deuce's son or not. She bit her lip, indecisive about asking.

"Eddie looks like you," she hinted.

He turned away to put his towel on a rack. "A little." Walking away, he called back to her. "You can spend the day here, if you want. I'll be home after an early dinner. Probably around 5:30 or 6:00."

"No, that's okay," she told him. "I've got errands to run."

"How about I come pick you up tonight and we'll go dancing?"

Dancing. She loved dancing, but it revealed so much about her. "I'm kinda sore from last night."

"Oh. Okay. Well, we can go to a movie."

"Sitting down…"

"Right. You can come back here and we can watch a movie on the TV while you sit on pillows."

She laughed. "Okay. I'll make popcorn."

"It's a deal."

Within the hour, she left to go back to her apartment. Almost. She drove around the block and parked a little way down the block. She knew it was wrong, so wrong, but she had to know. If Stacy went to the ballgame with Eddie and Deuce, it was a certainty that the relationship hadn't ended. It galled Pilar no end to think that Stacy might still have her claws in Deuce. Sure, maybe that was jealousy, but so what? Deuce had been evasive about the whole subject of Stacy and Eddie.

And Pilar wanted to see how Deuce treated the boy. Was he fatherly, or friendly? She had a right to know, if she was going to move forward in the relationship. She had to find out.

About ten minutes after she'd left, Deuce left, too. She followed at a safe distance, but it wasn't far to Stacy's house.

It was on a quiet cul de sac, kids playing in the street with a soccer ball. Pilar stayed on the perpendicular street, watching from the corner. It wasn't a long distance, and she could easily see Deuce knocking on the front door.

* * *

"Deuce, honey," Stacy purred, stepping back from the open door. "Come in, come in."

Two steps into the small foyer and she grabbed him and squeezed. He put her away from him firmly. "Damn it, Stacy. Cut it out."

She pouted. "You're so mean to me, Deuce."

He frowned at her, getting a good look at her in the light that streamed from the windows on either side of the door. She was wearing tight, short-shorts that showed off her long, tanned legs, and an equally tight white tank top without a bra. Her dark nipples were hard and clearly visible through the thin fabric. The whole idea that she'd go around like that with her little boy present disgusted Deuce, but there was little he could do about it. He had no custody of the child nor any say in his development. He could only be a positive influence on Eddie and hope for the best.

"Geez, Stacy. Why don't you put some clothes on?"

She looked down at her body. "You don't like this outfit?" Reaching for the hem of her top, she said, "I'll take it off."

"No!" He pushed his hair off his forehead and looked around. "Where's Eddie?"

Stacy stayed her hands, but gave him a sultry smile. "He's finding his glove. We have a few minutes."

Deuce turned away from her and walked to the foot of the stairs. "Eddie! Come on, kiddo! We'll be late for the warm-ups."

"Okay! I found it! Here I come!"

As the boy rushed down the stairs, Deuce turned back to his ex. "We'll be back around five o'clock."

"I'd like to
come
, Deuce," she tried, as her gaze dropped to his crotch. "I want to eat juicy ballpark hot dogs."

He brushed past her, guiding Eddie toward the front door. His voice was low, for Stacy's ears only. "You have no shame, have you? If I'd known you were a slut from the beginning, Stacy, I would have kicked you to the curb with the garbage."

"I love you, too," she purred, completely undaunted, though her eyes glittered with anger. "Hurry home!"

"See ya, Mom!"

Deuce took the little boy by his hand and left Stacy behind. She came out behind them and waved as they got in Deuce's car. Her breasts jiggled and she smiled brightly as though nothing untoward had transpired.

It wasn't a far drive to the ballpark.

* * *

The sight of Stacy waving, braless and smiling, made Pilar's gut churn. She wondered if Deuce found the other woman sexy that way. Maybe Stacy had her talents and charms. Certainly, Deuce had plenty of experience with her and would remember what those talents were.

Pilar hoped her own gifts didn't fall short of the mark. But, she told herself, Deuce was spending his nights with her, not Stacy, so maybe she wasn't lacking in charms herself.

The ballpark was a prominent feature in Houston, and Pilar didn't have to follow Deuce to get there, but she did. She didn't park far away from his car, so she could follow them into the stadium and find out where they were sitting.

Deuce was gentle with the boy, smiling and ruffling Eddie's dark hair, sharing elbow-bumps with him as they sat together in the stands near the first base foul line. Eddie was eager for the game to start, his little glove all ready to catch a stray ball.

Although Pilar's ticket was for a seat some distance away, she stood in the shadows of the seats near the concourse, watching how the pair behaved. At one point, as the clean-up batter got a home run, Eddie jumped up and down, until Deuce gathered him up and sat him in his lap to calm down.

They were so perfect together. They had to be father and son. Had to be.

Pilar's heart did a little spin. She imagined how that patience and gentleness would be if lavished on her own children with Deuce. Reminding herself that she still had secrets that would probably make him walk away from her did no good. Her little fantasy had taken root. And, maybe he wouldn't go the other way. Maybe he was trustworthy. But she still didn't see how his career would withstand it. A niggling voice in her head told her to take a chance and tell him about her career as an exotic dancer—a stripper. Maybe he'd accept it. It was in her past, after all, years ago, when she was struggling to get through college on partial scholarships.

The whole idea of telling him made her quail, though. She didn't want to experience the look on his face, the disappointment and, possibly, the disgust. It wouldn't be the first time she'd experienced the nausea of knowing that you were suddenly repulsive to someone you cared about.

She watched them silently, vacillating over what was right and wrong. After Eddie ate hot dogs, peanuts and a cone of cotton candy, the pair got up and walked up the stairs and into the men's room.

Pilar was distracted by a little girl who'd dropped her ice cream cone, and when she looked up, she saw Deuce exit and do a double-take in her direction.

Uh-oh. Her instinct was to run. Her brain had shut down, however, freezing her flip-flops to the floor. Deuce walked over to her, Eddie walking alongside.

"Hey, Pilar."

"Deuce."

"How surprising to see you here." He glanced down at the little boy meaningfully. Little pitchers have big ears, his eyes said.

"Um…well…I…"

"This is Eddie," Deuce said, giving the boy's hand a little shake to prompt him to say hello.

He was disinterested in her. Not surprising. The boy wanted to get back before the seventh inning stretch was over. "Hi."

"Hi, Eddie. I'm Pilar. Nice to meet you." She bent and offered her hand for a shake.

He stared at her hand.

"Mind your manners," Deuce prompted.

Eddie shook her hand properly, then put his fist back into Deuce's, giving it a tug. "They're gonna start."

Deuce gazed down at the boy. There was such affection in his eyes. Pilar knew she was right about their relationship. "Okay, kiddo. I have to talk to Pilar for a moment." He fished money out of his pocket and pointed to an ice cream vendor about fifteen feet away. "Go get yourself an ice cream cone."

Eddie took the money and grinned. He was missing a front tooth. "Yes, sir! I'll be right back." He ran a few steps away, then turned back. "Don't leave without me, 'k?"

"Never," Deuce told him.

"Okay!"

Pilar was hot all over, and expected that her face was bright red. Deuce's lips were set in a straight line.

"What are you doing here?"

"I…came to see the Astros?"

He shook his head. "Not much of a try, Pilar."

"No," she said on a sigh. "I followed you."

"Why? I told you where I was going and with whom."

"Yeah, but I wanted to see if Stacy was coming along with you."

"You were jealous?"

Her shoulders stiffened. "No!"

"Admit it."

"No… Anyway, I saw you leave Stacy behind."

"That wasn't enough?"

Miserably, Pilar shook her head. Might as well tell the truth, she had nothing to lose. "I wanted to know if Eddie was your son. I thought that if I could see you together, I could tell."

The tightness around his mouth became more pronounced. "You couldn't just ask me?"

"If you wanted to tell me, you had plenty of chances. I figured you were holding back."

He growled softly, pulling off his ball cap and putting it back on irritably.

Eddie came back, towing another boy along with him. The little redhead appeared to be about seven years old, too, and was followed by his smiling, red-haired mother.

Deuce smiled at Eddie's friend. "Robbie. How are you?" He nodded genially at the mother. "Virginia. Nice to see you."

"Hi, Dr. Journey," Robbie said. He was missing both front teeth and had a pronounced but charming lisp.

"Can I go sit with Robbie for a while, Deuce?" Eddie asked, eagerness making him bob up and down. "He's got a new glove! See?" The little boy shook his friend's baseball-encased hand toward Deuce's face.

Deuce smiled but exchanged a look with Robbie's mother.

"We have an extra seat. It would be fun for the two boys," she said. "Who is your friend?"

"Ah, Virginia, this is Pilar. Pilar is-"

"Hello, Virginia," Pilar said quickly. There was little point in defining their relationship. As much as she would have liked to make things work out, she wasn't getting her hopes up. Once he found out about her dancing, it was going to fly like a lead balloon. Plus, there was this little issue of her following him to deal with.

"Pilar," Virginia repeated, her eyes bouncing from Pilar to Deuce. "It's okay for Eddie to join us for a while." She put an affectionate hand on Eddie's dark hair. "We always love having him around."

Pilar could see the gossip forming in the woman's head. Dr. Journey had a new girlfriend, and Virginia had given them an opportunity to be alone at the game. Isn't that romantic?

Deuce smiled his thanks and squatted down to be face-to-face with Eddie. "You be good now, hear? No roughhousing or acting up."

"Yes, sir." Eddie handed the money back to Deuce, his ice cream becoming unimportant in the scheme of things.

"You keep it, son," Deuce told him. "You might get hungry."

Eddie grinned widely. "Thanks!"

There was an announcement for the next inning, and the two boys practically dragged Virginia away. She gave Deuce and Pilar a knowing smile over her shoulder as she hurried away.

Deuce watched them for a moment. Maybe the episode was over. It was too much to hope for, however.

"You have nothing to be jealous of, Pilar. I told you that Stacy is my
ex
. That means it's over."

"But, there's Eddie."

"Eddie is a different matter." He took out his phone and tapped the screen before holding it up to his ear. "Hey, Mickey. How's it goin'? Good. Good. Say, I'm here at the ballpark and I was wondering if your company still has that executive suite." Deuce eyed Pilar, his brows forming a small frown. "You do, huh? Is it being used today? Sure, I'll wait." He addressed Pilar as he waited. "There are some private words I'd like to have with you."

A little buzzer went off in her head. She saw trouble forming for her behind. "You can't! Not here!"

He went back to his phone. "Good. I'm wondering if I can use it. I have a friend with me who's never seen a game from a suite, and I thought it might be fun." He paused. "Thanks. I'll get the pass at Will Call. Ten minutes? I owe you one. Talk to you next week, Mickey."

Deuce took Pilar by the hand and led her through the concourse, down and out toward the ticket windows.

"Deuce! Where are you taking me? What did you have in mind?" She tried to pull her hand away, but he gripped it tightly.

"I'm going to give you a different sort of ballgame experience."

"But…"

"Yeah, on your butt." He shot her a glare as they approached the ticket window. Deuce told the Will Call person what to expect, and then stood there and stared at Pilar until the attendant offered the new tickets. Pilar got very uncomfortable. Her palms sweated and a tingle moved over her butt cheeks. He was certain to spank her. That was his answer to her bad behavior.