Little Did I Know: A Novel by Mitchell Maxwell Read Free Book Online

topped off her own. She wore no makeup and was absolutely ravishing. I wondered if God was on the Barrows’s staff as a lighting designer. Mrs. Barrows would have been a sight in a blackout, but here in the noonday sun under a cloudless sky, it was hard not to stare. Or run away.
    She raised her glass. “To you, Auggie. To our summer together. To your wants. Whatever you’re looking for, I’ll help you find it.”
    We clinked glasses and drank.
    I looked away and saw several sailboats on the horizon. I decided to say something before the silence became uncomfortable. “I wanted to thank you for last night. Also, thanks for the papers this morning. I’ve gone over them a few times and spoken to my dad. I’m ready to sign.”
    She took the envelope from me and removed the papers. She perused them quickly, not reading a word. Then, using the railing as a writing surface, she signed her name and turned to me. “Now you.” She offered me the pen and watched me intently as I signed.
    “Congratulations, Auggie. Now the pressure is on you to deliver. Your ship has come in—and in Plymouth that means a bunch. Let’s celebrate.” She emptied the bottle of champagne in our respective glasses and drank. I watched her arch her neck as she drained the last drop of alcohol in her crystal flute. She poured me another glass, and I began to feel warm and flushed. “I have your check upstairs in my bedroom, why don’t you come with me . . .”
    “If it’s all right with you, Mrs. Barrows, I’d prefer to wait down here. I’m feeling a bit lightheaded and I might not make it safely up the steps.”
    “Suit yourself,” she said as if I had a third eye. “While I’m gone, pop another bottle.”
    She walked off the deck slowly but deliberately. I watched her narrow ankles disappear up the stairs. I sat there thinking how I didn’t even like champagne, and how one bottle of this stuff cost more than my car. I was a bit reticent to see where a second bottle might lead, but I was beginning to lose control of my head. I needed to pace myself so I could play the entire game. For the moment I wasn’t winning, but I certainly wasn’t losing either. I wrestled with the cork, which exploded out of the upright bottle sounding as if I’d pulled the trigger on a snub-nosed 38.
    Lizzy returned. “What you shooting at?” she asked coyly.
    “Doubt and insecurity.”
    She was now wearing a red silk robe, partially open, with a matching sash. The swimsuit was gone, and if the robe slid any further she would be wearing nothing but a smile. She took a long drag from her cigarette and blew perfect smoke rings into the air.
    “Doubt and insecurity?” she said. “What the fuck? Here’s your check—now don’t screw things up.” She finished her cigarette and flicked the butt into the ocean a hundred feet below. Classy.
    I took the check and held it away from me to admire the five numbers to the right of the dollar sign. All those zeros. My dream was starting to come true.
    She filled the flutes again and asked me to sit next to her. Then she opened her robe and placed my left hand softly on her breast. She pressed her lips on mine and moved my hand down toward her navel. I was quickly aroused and began to lose control of my thoughts.
    She kissed me again, this time practically demanding a primal response. Remember , I told myself, play the whole game .
    I jumped off the chaise. My boner was pressing uncomfortably against my jeans. The scene was comical, but as real as one could imagine; I felt like Jerry Lewis. I was afraid to move too quickly as I might stumble, fall on my boner and break it
    “What is this all about?” I said to her. “Do you believe in my project or do you just want to fuck me?”
    Lizzy cornered me against the deck railing. She moved in confidently for the kill, then stopped about a foot away from me and let her robe drop onto the floor. “Breathe, lover. Grab the champagne and meet me upstairs. You need to