Parasomnia

Part 3 - The Call

The taxi bounced down the street, stopping and starting abruptly at each red light. Leo felt his stomach churning, both from the vehicle's terrible lurching, and from nervousness. He had drunk entirely too much and now he regretted it horribly. He glanced over at Lucille; her face illuminated by the glow of her cell phone as her thumbs tapped away message after message. For her, work never stopped. Leo admired that about her. If she wasn't creating art, she was selling it, and if she wasn't doing either of those, then she was sleeping. Art was her life; it was her everything.

Leo swallowed hard as the cab slammed a pothole, bouncing him out of his seat as he nearly struck his head against the roof. Lucille chuckled and clicked her phone screen to black.

"Oh Leo," She cooed, turning towards him as she leaned her back against the door. She slid her feet out of her heels and ran them up his calf. He hadn't felt a woman's touch since Tori walked out on him. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it.

"You've really been waiting for me to ask you out?" He smiled, playing it as cool as he could manage. Inside, he felt like a hurricane was raging. Emotions and hormones flowing through him like some kind of horrible drug cocktail.

Lucille laughed, "Leo, don't play dumb. There's always been chemistry between us. Unfortunately, you and I have always been... otherwise occupied, so to speak."

He nodded, an image of Tori's smiling face flashing across his vision. Even months later, it still felt like he was cheating on her.

"Yea, Tori and I had been together for a while." He hoped his voice didn't sound as sad as those words made him feel.

"And I was building my business, working my way to the top." She made the final 'p' pop like a balloon. Her lips curled into a sly grin at the insinuation they both knew was there.

Lucille wasn't easy, but she knew how to use what she had to get what she wanted. She hadn't built her career strictly on her artistic and business talents, but she wasn't shy about that fact, and Leo appreciated that. To her, her body was just another asset. He couldn't blame her. If he had curves like her, he would use them for the same reasons.

"I do hope you understand that our little... adventure this evening has nothing to do with business. In fact, I refuse to accept the painting for less than market value." And just like that, she was all business again. The sexually playful banter replaced with serious professionalism.

"Lucille, really." Leo started, but she leaned across the cab and placed her finger on his lips. Her eyes were brown crystals, infinite pools of eternity that swallowed his words and threatened to devour him.

"Leo dear. Enough about business." With that she grabbed his lower lip between her teeth, and everything was overwhelmed by a violent shade of blue.

He knew the driver was watching; he caught the man's glances in the rear-view, but he didn't care. Let the man watch, hell, let him film it if he wanted to. Leo Harr was on top of the world, and he didn't give a damn who knew about it. Time was an irrelevant construct, drifting between shades of blue and violet as their bodies and mouths intertwined. He could see down upon himself, watching from above as the taxicab streaked through the city, leaving a red trail of taillight in its wake.

An instant and an eternity later the taxi stopped, and Lucille detached herself from him, snatching her stilettos from the floor of the cab and winking his direction. Leo could think of nothing else but her. If the world ended in that very moment, he wasn't certain he would have noticed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bill. Grant's face stared back at him and screamed that it was entirely too much money, but Leo paid it no mind and handed the driver the fifty.