| Chapter Two It had been three hours since Rico left Nini in the studio. It was almost 4am. Rico looked out the window of his apartment. It overlooked a narrow river. On the other side of the complex you could see the Moulin Rouge. Rico shared his small apartment with Satie who was one of the first Bohemians he met in Paris. He looked into the dark water, hoping it held what he had been searching for. He wondered if he should get to bed, he had to be at work early tomorrow. He was working now in a cafe in Paris as a busboy since his career as an actor was currently stalled. Harold Zidler's club was making more money then ever, but the theater left much to be desired and he couldn't afford to put on shows there anymore. So Rico had to find work somewhere else. He headed for the water closet and began to change his clothes when his door opened and Nini stood at the doorway. "Were you going to bed?" She asked, turning to leave. "No, it's okay. Are you feeling better?" "Uh, yea. I guess." She walked into the room and sat in a chair in the corner. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for being so short with you earlier. You are my best friend and I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate you." Rico smiled at her. Yes, best friends they were. It was a very difficult relationship to define. Brother/sister? No, there was too much sexual chemistry for that. Lovers? No, there was too much promiscuity and lack of commitment for that. Best friends were a good description. Best friends who gave the other what they needed. "I know." Was all Rico could say. "Would you like a drink?" He asked walking to the kitchen to pull out a bottle of Absinthe, his drug of choice. "No, my head is cloudy. I need to clear up my thoughts." She said, looking at him. "What happened to you earlier? I know you told me, but I still don't understand." He leaned on the counter and downed his drink. "Rico, I don't want to talk about that okay?" He walked to her sitting on the chair and kneeled down in front of her. "Nini, you know I will do anything for you? If you need something, don't go to the street. I am here." Nini looked into his dark eyes. The same eyes she'd looked into millions of times before. The same face she'd laughed with, the same face she'd cried to. He was the most stable thing in her life. She leaned in and kissed him reaching her hand down to his pants and undoing a button. Rico pulled away. "What?" She asked. "I don't have any money." He said. He always paid her, and never thought twice about it. Nini looked at him, taking a brave step she said, "I don't want you to pay me anymore." The truth was deep in her soul she wanted to be wanted for herself, not because someone pays her to do what they want. "Are you sure?" He asked coming toward her again, taking her face in his hand. "Yes," she breathed on his lip before placing hers over it. Now that he was there again, she could continue where she left off. She took the button of his pants and began to fidget with it. He breathed into her kiss, "no, lets go slow." They were both experienced lovers, but he wanted this to be special. He pulled her hand off his button and intertwined their fingers. He moved his kissed down her neck and then met her mouth again where his tongue gently grazed her soft lips. Nini pushed him into the wall and pressed her body against him. Slow? Slow was something she didn't do well. She pulled his suspenders down his shoulders and grazed her hand across his butt. "Didn't you once tell me you like your women fast?" She laughed. "That was different." He kissed her again and unhooked the hooks on her dress. It was noting fancy, not a costume or anything special, just a plain dress. But for some reason she looked more beautiful in that plain dress then she had looked in her most elaborate costume. Finally he got the hooks undone and caressed her neck with his lips while his hand removed the dress. There was no corset underneath, no underclothes, just beautiful skin from her waist up. Nini had done this a million times before. Even with Rico. They were no strangers to each other's bodies, but she was self-conscious about her body for the first time. For the first time she was worried she wouldn't be adequate. That changed when she felt Rico's excitement grow against her hips. "Ah, I love seeing your body. I love seeing you like this." He grazed his hand across her lace panties. He kissed her neck, her shoulders and her breasts before moving up to her mouth and sitting her down in the small wooden chair. He pulled his own shirt off, pulled the suspenders down and squatted in front of her. He held her body close to his, feeling her soft skin. Nini reached her hand into his pants and messaged the firm skin that awaited her. She kept her hands on him while he moved his kisses up and down her neck and chest before he gasped. Finally his kisses met her mouth again and she whispered in his ear, "Fuck me, Rico. Stop playing and fuck me." He wasn't going to turn down a request like that. He pulled off his pants, removed her panties, straddled her hips and thrust himself inside her. The tiny wooden chair squeaked with each movement made and was incredibly uncomfortable, but neither noticed. Neither cared. They were slaves to their own world at that moment. Their own world of flesh and passion. Nothing else mattered. It didn't matter when Satie opened the door to the garret he shared with Rico and got an eyeful, then closed the door and left. They were trapped in their world of ecstasy that ended several minutes later with screams of pleasure from both of them. Even then it was still just them. Rico and Nini wanted this to be different, and it was. This time was different then any other time they'd had together. It was passion that shot across every inch of their bodies and lasted long after they were done, still sitting together in the small wooden chair, clinging to each other. |