Underneath Your Clothes

Stairway to Heaven

“Time to do this other line.” I said getting on my knees again in front of the table after opening his beer. He rubbed his hands together, as if he were preparing for something.

 “Okay, I’ll do really good this time.” He bounced a little on the couch in anticipation…god, it was…adorable.  I smiled at him and took another drag on my cigarette. I re-rolled the bill and handed it to him. I honestly didn’t know how well he would be able to hold this on top of the beer that was already in him. He had an amazing substance tolerance considering he was damn thin.

 “Let me see what ya’ got, hot stuff.” He held his cigarette in one hand and held the bill in his opposite hand. I let my eyes wander down the deep V in his shirt. He didn’t have it buttoned all the way. I couldn’t see where his necklace ended, as it was concealed. I watched his hair fall forward. He was a little better this time. He twitched his nose a bit and handed me the bill. It was my turn. I shoved my hair behind my ears before leaning over the table The smell of browning beef had filled the flat. “Roger…” I began, blinking and raising my head up exhaling and breathing deeply through my nose. “…you did much better than time.” He smiled at me.

 I stood up and returned to the kitchen to finish up my crude creation. The beef was finished and so I threw all of the cheese in with it and turned the heat of the stove off. I searched around for a tray and Roger was jabbering something at me but I wasn’t sure what. While the cheese melted, I arranged everything else on the tray: a bowel for the dip, these chips I had found and another two beers…just in case. One was for me anyway. I gave the mixture a stir and poured it into the bowl. I turned the light out in the kitchen, picked up the tray and headed to the couch.

 "God, that is so delicious!" Roger said excitedly as he looked at what I had sat before him. I had just taken a drink of his open beer only to nearly spit it everywhere in my laughing fit.

 "You haven't even tried it yet!" I said through my laughter. Roger was in stiches on the couch over this. Maybe he didn't have a tolerance the way I thought he did. “Go ahead. S’all yours.” I plopped down beside him.  “Roger! For god’s sake that’s hot as fuck! Blow on it or something before you burn yourself from the inside out!” I warned seeing as he didn’t waste a second to jam one of these chips in the bowl.

 "Oh shit! That’s hot…yeah, that’s hot. Okay, I should wait…even though I’ve pretty much spit this out. Okay…” he stared at the bowl a moment. “Okay, maybe now?” he asked. I laughed stupidly and picked up the newspaper that was layin’ on the floor. I just shook my head at him and glanced at the front page.

 “ ‘ey Lyd?” he asked me. I looked over toward him with a strange look on my face. He had never called me that before but it amused me.

 “What, Rog?” I answered him refocusing my attention to the newspaper.

 “I can’t feel this part of my face right here.” He said poking the upper part of his cheek repeatedly. I threw the newspaper down as if I were pissed.

 “Would you stop it!” I said as seriously as I could before reaching over and wrapping my arms around him. I’d waited since early in the evenin’ to kiss him as feverishly as I did. He put his hands on my back but I knew this position from my perspective wouldn’t last long as it was incredibly awkward. “You can feel it now, Rog.” I said, resting my forehead against his and petting him on the side of the cheek. I reached for the paper again. He blinked a couple times.

 “You can’t just kiss me like that and then….not kiss me like that!” he insisted.

 “I think I just did. Ya’ can eat this dip now.” I told him.

 “Ooooh you are sneaky, Lyd! You’re a sneaky, sneaky...distractible girlfriend. Yes, that’s what you are! You lure me with your gorgeousness and your…I love this. I don't know what hell I'm eating but I love it!" He said as he rambled along and tasted what I had made. I chuckled under my breath and looked up from the newspaper.

 "I'm glad you like it." I reached over and pushed his long hair behind his ear. It kept fallin’ in his face…not that I cared. It was an excuse to keep my hands on him. I loved the way his jeans were ripped and the way he was absolutely poured into them. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He looked good in blue because it melted right into his eyes.  I was buzzin’ hard now, but I was sober enough to know just how badly I wanted him.

 "Why aren't you eating this!?" Roger asked me. I placed my beer and the paper aside and reached forward for the bowl.

 "Here, now we can share." I said putting the bowl in his lap. I leaned over on him a bit. “Hmm…not half bad….oh god! This has your spit in it!” I commented tasting this stuff and then quickly reconsidering eating anymore. I was just playin’ with him. He laughed at me to the point where I thought he was going to choke to death. I simply loved his laughter. He finally composed himself.

 “Lyd, guess what? Guess what?” Roger started.

 “What?” I asked.

 “Guess!” he insisted. I threw my hands in the air.

 “I don’t know, Rog! You’re…you got blue eyes?”

 “No. I mean, yeah…yeah that’s true but not what I was thinkin’. I was thinkin’ that you should go on holiday with me.” Again, I was sober enough to know he was sincere…and I thought it was a splendid idea.

 “I’d go on holiday with you.” I insisted.

 “My band…we gotta go up north and play a few college gigs. Gonna stay for four days. You should go with us. You can take your books with ya’…study and whatever you need to do.  John’s gotta girl and she’s goin’ with us. “he said.

 “I’ve never met her. Yeah…yeah I’d go with you.” I realized, stating this out loud. I knew we’d talk more about this another time.

 “You all done here?” I asked, looking at the now empty bowl. He had absolutely devoured this. “Who am I kidding, of course you are.” I took the bowl from his lap and put it back on the table, taking another cigarette out of the package. “You want one?” I asked, looking back at him.

 “You look so perfect like that.” Roger said as he rested his head in his hand. His elbow was propped on the arm of the couch. “I’ll take one.”

 “One of the things I love about you, Roger is that you’re just as sincere as you are a goof ball.” I leaned back on him and handed him another cigarette. I held the lighter up for him. My head was on his chest and I could feel the necklace he was wearin’ on the back of my head. I hadn’t felt anything more pleasant than his fingers in my hair at the top of my head. He was so warm. “Ooooh my god…Roger, I love this song. It’s my favorite on the album.” I took a long drag on my cigarette and didn’t immediately exhale. It was the most beautiful and relaxing song ever.