BEFORE THE MOTEL PAINTING

It didn't take long before Friendly and the hubby were regular weekend guests. We were an oddball threesome out at the store or the local auction house bidding on overlooked treasure. The svelte 19 year old that had caught my eye so many years ago hard turned into a knock out 31 year old. Hubby and I were much older. So had the guitar player been. Friendly seemed to prefer the company of older men. Another star went next to her name. Big dinners with plenty of cheap wine and late hour hard stuff were followed by bad movies and conversation. I hadn't realized how starved for company i had become. A better man would've counted his blessings and stuck to proper host protocal. A better man, I say.
One night the wine flowed liberally and when Friendly and I turned to a bottle of rum, hubby begged off and went to bed leaving the two of half slooshed on the couch. By the time we were fully slooshed i had moved in just close enough to feel her breath exhaled in quick snorts when I made her laugh. The booze was giving me the confidence i needed. "You know." I started in a drunken slur, "I always had a thing for you......" Then I knocked over the bottle of rum. Smooth. Following the sloppy clean up, an uncomfortable silence fell over the two of us. Do I continue? Yes, please do, the little voice in my rum addled head advised.
She looked at at me with droopy, liquid brown eyes. Long eyelashes attached to heavy lids fluttered as she smiled, stretching her full lips into what I percieved as a pitying grin. "You're drunk." she said softly. Hubby's snoring cut through the Lucinda Williams CD I had put on the box. "So? So are you." I rejoined. It was all I could think of to say. "You know I think you're amazing, but.....well....you know." I knew. I tried to cover my tracks without too much muss. We hugged. "I'm drunk." I admitted, hoping that would do it and we went our separate ways. In the pit of my stomach rested a a festering beast. A tall glass of water and three aspirin quieted him for the night.
I'd let my guests take the loft bed, while I crashed on the single in the guest room. Just before daylight the door squeaked open a crack. She sat on the edge of the mattress and laid her long fingers on my shoulder. "Where's your aspirin?" I mumbled something about a medicine cabinet. She came back with the pills and a glass of water. I shook my head in a groggy half sleep when she asked if I wanted some. She took two, drained the glass and leaned down and kissed me on the lips. "You're the best." she said softly and went back up in the loft. The beast woke up with a start.