Audrey Hepburn's Pearls: Part I

Chapter 23.1: 1967, Georgina

Chapter 23.1: 1967, Georgina

 

"Do you want to play a little 'stride'?" 

"Take a little stroll?" I purred, laying my hands gently on the happy notes of the piano. 

Frankie beamed behind me, and I turned my head to him. His hands spread around my waist as I kissed him on the lips. He gave my bottom lip a little bite and a little drag, and posed his left hand on the end of the piano. 

"A one, two, a one, two, three, four," Frankie counted, still smiling as I looked over at the keys. 

The piano began to sing in his lower tone, beedly beedly beedly beed beed beedly beedly, over and over in higher and lower alternating. "I know this one!" I wiggled on his lap in excitement and began to play, too. My higher notes spoke to his: deedly dee dee dee, deedly dee dee dee, deed deed deed da dee! Higher in progression and countering him like a wife arguing with her husband.

"What are they saying, pretty eyes?" he asked me, a grin in his voice. I began grinning, too.

"She wants to know why she has to do all the laundry all the time, asking why he can't sometimes," I laughed, still playing against him like an epic battle.

He started to sing to his rhythm, his voice a smooth tenor, and my heart skipped a note. "Girl don't you know, girl, girl, don't you know, I got-ta work, I got-ta work, girl, girl, don't you know~"

I started giggling up a storm and his right hand squeezed me around my waist. 

"Don't you know, too," I sang back to him, looking back at his smiling face, "I work, just as hard as you~!"

"Hahaha!" he burst into laughter and kissed me sweet, which made me forget to play the piano. His arms pulled me around the waist, the piano abandoned, as he focused on me alone. Pressing me to him, he kissed me deep, and I lost myself. 

"Mm," I moaned as his tongue entered my mouth silkily, wetly. My hand traveled up to the side of his face, wanting to feel his jaw as he kissed me. The warmness of his hand traveled up my exposed leg, coming to a stop where the slit in my dress ceased to be and began to wander. 

But the cold.

My eyes shot open and I jumped from him. He froze. 

"Hm?" was the only sound he could make in the suddenness. I saw fear spread about his face and I wanted so badly to erase that fear forever.

My hand went over my racing heart. "Its nothing, baby," I said quietly. 

"What's wrong?" he asked. I could feel how tense in fear he was, just from being on his lap. His limbs felt too tight. 

"Don't worry about it," I sighed, feeling guilty. 

His face became very young seeming, his eyes spreading a feeling. It took me a few moments to recognize, but I did. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly. 

Helpless. He was helpless. And so was I.

"...Yeah, I'm okay," I lied, the guilt becoming overbearing, mean.

"Do you need some water?" His voice was becoming very young, the tone of a five year old's in his helpless feeling.

"No, I'm alright, darling," I tried to assure him, but no matter what my words said, my voice couldn't lie.

"No, your voice is shaking." He revealed my truth like I knew he would. Frankie was no dummy. 

"No, I'm fine," I whispered, unable to raise my voice.

"My love, what's wrong?" he asked sweetly, wrapping his arms around my waist just under my ribcage, pressing his face to the back on my neck gently in so much love it could make my heart burst. 

"I don't...know how to tell you," I admitted pitifully, staring down at the black and white keys of the piano, barely seeing our reflections in the ivory whites.

"You can tell me anything," he whispered breathily, slightly muffled, his warm breath flooding my neck and cascading down to my collarbone, collecting in that space and tumbling into my heart.

I melted just slightly, but I couldn't breathe.  "I don't want you to think I don't love you," I said as quiet as a moving deer in the brush. My words tumbled out of my mouth like a smooth waterfall, roaring in my ears but so gentle to the passerby.

"Why would I think that?" His words glided into my ears like sweet cream.

"Because..." I barely whispered, "...I..." 

His arms eased up my body as he closed his grip on me, his body folding around me as cleanly as origami, two pieces fitting together to make one beautiful yet delicate creature. My eyes closed and I breathed a long breath, as if his very love could be enough to fill me up and keep me alive.

My dearest boy. My darling one. How could I tell him he couldn't love me like he always did? How do you tell the one you love to stop? Isn't love just love? 

My heart was telling me no.

Looking at those keys, my mind began to form a song. A beautiful little stride back and forth, dripping over the keys and telling me a story. Finding me. My mind argued, back and forth, two voices in one. 

Don't touch me that way. It makes me feel...

Your love is beautiful, in any way. We'll find a way.

I sighed and looked lower, below us, at the piano pedals. Three of them, looking at us like a trio of little beasts. 

He nuzzled into my shoulder, waiting for me patiently. Slowly, he began to kiss my shoulder, and I found he was doing it to a rhythm, one in his own heart. A small sweet song of love. My heart picked up the rhythm with a twinge of lust, switching a pedal to a particularly sweet pose as his beat met the one in my heart.

With these tender feelings, I knew my answer. For today, anyway. His kisses told me so. I smiled. Slowly, I lifted myself off him, and he looked confused, scared still. My finger rested on his lips and his beautiful soft sea green eyes looked at if cross eyed in curiosity. "I'm okay," I purred to him.

I let out a little giggle to let him know it was okay. Those baby eyes swung up to me as if on a puppet's lever then down as I hiked up the skirt of my dress so both of my thighs were exposed. A stifled gasp puffed behind my finger and I chuckled. 

In a fluid motion, I straddled his lap, my legs curled on top of the piano bench like flower buds. Like this, I was pressed to him and he felt it. His eyes slid half closed like sea foam crescents and my finger slipped into his mouth. 

Very slowly, my hips started to grind, and he lost himself in a beautiful cloud of sweet music.