Ice
Cold, it was so cold you could watch your breath as you exhaled. The cold air would penetrate your nostrils every time you inhaled, sending a shaft of icy air down into your lungs until you were cold from the inside out. There was no sun out, and it was miserably wet and cold. It hadn't turned to ice yet, but in a few more hours the drizzle would turn to icy rain. Chris and Vin were on their way back from Eagle Bend when they had been set upon by bounty hunters who wanted the five hundred dollars on Vin Tanner. They had opened fire just as the two rounded the bend. Both men had avoided being shot, but they had had to leave their horses as they went for cover. The horses ran straight for home.
They had returned fire sporadically until two of the four bounty hunters had made their way behind Chris and Vin. Then, it had turned into a free for all, bullets flying in every direction. Chris took one to the shoulder, and Vin got winged on the fleshy part of his left arm. Three of the bounty hunters lay dead on the ground, and one was dying fast. He had raised his gun one more time when his strength failed him and the gun fell from his hand before he could shoot. Now Chris and Vin were the only two left alive, but they were half way home, cold, wet, miserable, wounded, and on foot.
Vin tore one of the three shirts one of the bounty hunters was wearing into strips, he tried to find the cleanest part, and tied his folded bandanna and Chris's handkerchief as a makeshift bandage with the strips to the entry and exit wounds on Larabee's shoulder. The fact that he had poured a generous amount of the whiskey he found in one of the flasks on the men into the wound and that Chris could move his arm a little meant that little damage had been caused by the bullet. It didn't stop him from bleeding, though. Then, Chris had helped Vin clean the wound on his arm and bandage it with his one good hand. That flesh wound bled quite a bit, also. Then, they emptied one of the flasks, sharing the whiskey to dull the pain. They looked at each other and laughed. They didn't need to mention the fact that they would miss the fancy supper Mary and Inez had planned to serve them upon their return tonight. It was a good thing they were both wounded or they might face serious injury from the women for spoiling their supper. They discarded two of the empty flasks and started walking towards Four Corners. Vin had found a canteen full of whiskey under one of the bounty hunter's coats as he tried once more to find any indication of who they were or where they were from. He held it up like a prize to Larabee.
"We best be goin' before Inez gets Mary all worried and she makes the boys come lookin' for us."
"You sure you got that the right way? Mary could be the one makin' Inez go all crazy." Chris took another drink from one of two remaining flasks and handed it to Vin who did the same.
"Don't matter. Gonna be hell to pay when Inez see’s this here graze." Vin had a disgusted look on his face as he picked up his hat and shoved it onto his wet head. He was beginning to feel the icy cold and knew that neither man could afford to stay here in the wet and cold and wait for help that might not come. They would die of exposure first. No, they had better get as close to Four Corners as possible or find better shelter than this if they wanted to survive.
"Why's Inez gonna give you grief over a graze? Would appear to me she'd be grateful you weren't hurt worse." He took another generous dose of whiskey. Vin joined him.
Seeing Chris was not about to let it go, Vin sighed and actually told him about the ritual Inez put Vin through every time he returned from some outing with the boys. He just had to extract a promise first after he had another drink from the flask. He handed it back to Chris who copied him. They discarded that empty flask.
"You tell anyone 'bout this, an' I'll shoot ya Larabee."
Knowing this had to be good, Chris smiled as he nodded. "You got my word, I won't say a word to no one 'cept you." Then he looked at the two remaining flasks and one canteen of whiskey. "Nice of them to leave us some libations as Ezra would call it." He snickered and was joined by Vin.
"Hell, shoulda known better. Maybe I won't tell you." He put out a hand and caught Chris as he stumbled. "You okay?"
"I'm wet, I'm freezing to death, I got a bullet wound to the shoulder, hell yes, I'm okay. Now spill it, Tanner. What's Inez do to you every time we get back to town?"
Knowing that the talking would keep them awake, and that the damned story he was going to tell would amuse Larabee to no end and get his mind off his pain, Vin took a deep breath and regretted it instantly. The cold air caused him to start coughing. It was Chris who paused to help keep him upright this time. They emptied that flask, too.
"That bad, huh?"
Vin laughed at the lousy joke as soon as the coughing fit was over. He had been coughing with more frequency the last couple of days, but he refused to admit he might be catching a cold or anything. It was just the icy wind irritating his throat. Pulling his coat tighter around him, he looked over at Chris and started talking as they trudged through the icy mud.
"She strips me nekkid."
"She what?"
"She closes the door and starts rippin' my clothes off."
"Let me get this straight, Tanner. You're griping because as soon as Inez gets you behind locked doors, she strips you naked? You been hit on the head lately?"
"It ain't that kind of strippin'! If she'd just pull my clothes off and have her way with me, I'd put a lock on every damn door in the saloon. But she acts like I don't tell her the truth, an' that I'm hidin' some big bullet hole or somethin'!"
Chris couldn't help it any more. He started laughing so hard he ended up losing his balance trying to keep his shoulder from shaking. It only made Vin reach out to help, and then both men ended up in the icy mud. Disgusted that Larabee was still laughing at him, Vin tried to disentangle from him and ended up falling right back into the mud. Now he was wet and muddy through and through. He wouldn't live to be humiliated by Inez. He was going to die out here of exposure or get shot when he drew on his best friend. Chris finally stopped laughing as the icy mud penetrated his clothing and made him shudder from the cold. Still clutching his shoulder, he painfully climbed to his feet without the aid of his disgruntled friend. He refrained from shooting Vin simply because Vin was coated with more of the icy ooze than he was.
"Serve you right if ya freeze, Chris. It's humiliating to have someone strip ya and look ya over like you was a piece of meat they were getting' ready to eat!"
That only caused Chris to nearly choke as he tried valiantly to withhold the chuckle that was trying to escape. Finally succeeding, he looked at the younger man. He couldn't help himself. He'd probably die from laughter before the cold got him. He burst into a new bout of laughing, but he managed to remain on his feet.
"Does she?"
"Does she what?" Vin sounded pissed, but Chris was having far too much fun even with the sorry state he was in.
"You know???" The question was asked with a leering grin and a waggle of eyebrows. Vin was so unused to seeing Larabee act like Buck that he finally succumbed to the absurdity of the situation. He started laughing, too. That only set Chris off again, and soon both men were holding on to each other to keep from falling into the mud again.
"I wouldn't worry 'bout, it, Vin." Chris managed to squeak out. "I doubt either one of us will make it back to town before we freeze to death.
Vin just started laughing harder, but then he managed to pull out the last of whiskey. "I guess we'd better drink some of this here gut rot to warm us up."
"Don't mind if I do." Chris took another swig and handed it back to Vin who did the same. They must have walked and fallen in the direction of Four Corners because they were suddenly closer than they had been. They spent the next half hour trading stories about Inez and Mary as they drank the remaining whiskey. By the time they were two miles from home, they were thoroughly drunk and wet and cold and feeling no pain whatsoever. It was in this sorry state that Buck and Nathan found the two inebriated and wounded men sharing the last of the whiskey maintaining that it was the medicinal warmth from the whiskey that had kept them from freezing. Seeing two of their rescuers, Vin waved his wet and mishapen hat at them while Chris upended the canteen to show they had no more medicinal whiskey. They stood there in the middle of the muddy road hanging on to one another laughing at some joke only the two of them were sharing.
+ + + + + + +
Buck sat on his horse taking in the sight of the wounded and filthy men who were so obviously three sheets in the wind. Shaking his head he took out his gun and fired twice in the air as Nathan jumped down and trudged through the mud to check out both men. He got one whiff of them and wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"Buck, they smell like they bathed in whiskey."
Vin took exception to that. "We didn't take no bath. It'ssss toooooo wet an' cold for a bath." He leaned close to Nathan and whispered conspiratorially, "Sides, we got shot."
Buck burst into laughter. Nathan threw a dirty look over his shoulder at Buck, but Chris decided to let Nathan know how well he and Vin had dealt with their injuries.
"We fixed us rrrrrightup. Vin cleaned the wounds with whiskey and we drank the resssssssst to keep warm." He smiled as he teetered to one side. Nathan had to grab him by his good arm to keep him falling. Vin started laughing and fell right on his butt in the mud before Buck could reach him. Pulling him up by the arm that wasn't bandaged, Buck looked over at Nathan.
"How much you think they had to drink?" Chris was happy to supply the answer. Chris was just plain happy.
"We used half of one flask to clean the woundsssss. Right, Vin?"
"Uhuh. An' we drank that one annnnn' the other three." He smiled up at Buck and burped. Buck turned him around so he faced Nathan and Chris.
"Don't forget the canteen that wasssss fullll of it." Chris decided burping was a good idea. He tried one. Nathan turned him to face Vin. He smiled at his friend.
"You're drunk. Inez is gonna get you good."
"Shhhhhhhhhh," Vin tried to get his finger to his lips and succeeded in poking it into his eye. "Owwww! Who hit me?"
"You did, now settle down. Here comes JD and the rest of the boys. They got a nice wagon you and Chris can sit in. We'll wrap you in blankets and get you back home and clean you boys up." Buck was leading Vin toward the wagon. He turned and looked at Nathan the question still of concern to him. Both men held their liquor better than this.
"Blood loss can make you drunk quicker than anythin', Buck, an' it smells like these two were tryin' to keep real warm. We gotta get them wrapped up quick and back to town before exposure gets 'em."
"Hey, Josiah! Where you been?"
Josiah took one look at Vin and grinned back at him. Enfolding his young friend in a warm, dry blanket, he helped him into the wagon. "I've been out looking for you, friend."
"Well, ya found me."
"No, he didn't. Buck and Nathannnnn did first." Chris smiled at Josiah to ease the harshness of his truth. Then he saw Ezra helping wrap the blanket around him. "Hey there, Ez. Where you been hidin'?"
"In plain sight, Mr. Larabee. May I ask if the libations precipitated this exuberant display?"
"We got shot, Ez." Vin grinned from the bed of the wagon as Josiah and Ezra pushed Chris in to join him.
"What he ssssaid." Chris smiled benevolently on JD. "Hey kid, you drive this wagon all the way out here to get ussssss?"
"Sure did, Chris. Your shoulder hurt much?"
"Shoulder? Did I hurt my shoulder?" Chris looked over at Vin. "Which one?"
Vin pulled one arm free of the blanket and pointed at Chris's bandaged shoulder. He got Chris on the bottom of the chin instead.
"OW! Who hit me?"
"Same guy hit me. Wait'll I catch him."
"Catch him, hell! I'm gonna shoot him."
"Hey, did he shoot us?"
"We got shot?"
"Right there." Vin got Chris on the chest this time toppling the older man over onto his back. When he didn't move any more, Vin turned to JD and grinned. "We got shot."
"I know, Vin. Why don't you lean back and go to sleep, too?"
" 'K." Vin did just that. The others looked at each other and started laughing.
"I don't know what happened," Buck looked around, "but I gotta say, this is gonna make some story when one of those two sober up." Their echoing laughter did nothing to wake up the two men who had passed out in the wagon bed.
"Would anyone care to place a wager on how the lovely Inez is going to react to the condition in which we shall return her supper companion?"
"Now Ezra, that's plain mean tryin' to make money off this poor boy's love life."
"Or lack of it, Buck." Josiah held out a gold coin. "I believe Inez will be so happy to see Mr. Tanner returned to her, that she will forgive his present appearance."
"Yeah, well I'm waitin' to see the look on Mrs. Travis's face when she sees Chris drunk and shot." JD looked over at Nathan and ran right over a rut in the road.
"OW!" Vin sat straight up and saw Buck riding alongside the wagon. "Hey Buck, why you out in the cold instead of shacked up with some purty girl?"
"I figured I'd best get you and Chris home first. You both been shot."
"We have?"
"Oh yeah."
"Aw hell. Inez is gonna be real mad."
"Now don't fret. I'm sure that once you sober up, Inez will forgive ya."
"Sober up? I ain't drunk."
"Not a bit. But all that medicinal whiskey you and Chris used sure has made you sleepy."
"It has?"
Buck rode closer and pushed Vin back down in the wagon. His snoring filled the icy air only to be interrupted by Chris's snores. Buck shook his head once more. He couldn't wait until he could see these boys sober and tell them how much fun they had. It might be the last bit of fun they would have before Inez killed Vin. She tended to get real upset when Vin was hurt, but Buck wanted to be a fly on the wall to see how she was going to handle this happy drunk. It made him smile just thinking about it.
+ + + + + + +
They rode straight to the bathhouse. Nathan knew it was warm in there, and he needed both men warm and clean in order to tend to their injuries. Besides, Mary and Inez were going to kill both men if they caught sight of their drunken behavior while they had spent the day preparing supper for them. Seeing the two horses return riderless to town had scared the hell out of both women, but they would not appreciate the fact that both men had gotten happily drunk while they worried at home. So being the friend he was, Nathan insisted on taking the two immediately to the bathhouse. JD was dispatched to get clothes for both men and Ezra and Buck were sent to let Mary and Inez know that they were safe and home and only slightly damaged.
"Now don't stir up trouble, you two. Just tell 'em both were injured, and as soon as I get 'em fixed up, we'll deliver 'em to 'em. Josiah, best get some coffee sent over here, and make it strong, real strong." It was a good plan and would have worked except the two they were trying to protect decided to wake up, and wake up loud.
"Hey, Nathan! We're home!" Vin grinned in his face as he saw several people he recognized. "Hey Sam! How ya doin'?" He actually waved at the livery man.
Chris looked up as Buck jumped into the wagon to help him out. "Hey Buck! We got shot!" Several folks started grinning as they realized that both men were drunk. They discreetly smiled and then returned the boisterous greetings that they received from both men. The crowd increased by several people as Mary and Inez appeared out of nowhere. JD was beside himself.
"Nathan," he tried to whisper, but it didn't work, "they're here."
Vin looked in the direction of where JD pointed. He wasn't so drunk he was oblivious to the danger, but he was really happy to see Inez. Even if she had her arms crossed one over one the other and she was glaring at him.
"Inez, darrrlinn', we got shot." He pointed the bloody bandage on his arm and grinned in pride.
Inez looked over at Chris and saw him grinning ear to ear showing Mary his shoulder. She exchanged a look with Mary and both decided in an instant that getting mad would deprive them of too much fun.
"I can see that. You look like you got all wet, too."
"Sssstarted rainin', but me and Vin kept walkin' till we found Buck and them."
"You found Buck and the others?" Mary raised a delicate eyebrow. The anger she felt rapidly dissipated as she looked at the man in front of her. Despite the shoulder wound and his disheveled appearance, he looked as young as Vin. She couldn't help from smiling at him. It also helped that the wet clothing clung to him like a second skin. Mary had an idea. "Why don't you get cleaned up and then come over and eat your supper? I bet you're hungry what with being shot and all."
Nathan ducked his head and grinned. Mary was up to something. "Me and Buck'll bring him over ma'am. He might fall asleep on ya."
The crowd had dwindled until it was only the seven and Mary and Inez, the cold driving them all home. The rain was beginning again and Mary opened her umbrella. "I'll take my chances." She turned to leave but stopped, "On second thought, bring him round to the back entrance, Nathan." She flashed a smile that made the man's knees go week. He didn't know what Mary had planned for Chris, but he did know that Chris was one lucky man.
"We'll do that, ma'am." Mary left as Nathan and Ezra guided their fearless leader into the bathhouse.
"Bye, Mareeeeeeee."
Buck and Josiah came for Vin who was still leaning over the side of the wagon talking to Inez.
"Ssssee? It's just a scratch, but you can still inspect me." He waggled his eyebrows at her as Buck and Josiah both asked Vin what he meant.
"Inspect you?" Josiah had the grace to turn his smile away from Inez, but she saw the speculation in Buck's eyes.
"Yeah, check out my wound. Geeeeeze, Buck. The thingsssssssss ya think of."
Inez smiled when Vin covered up her tendency to strip him and look for injuries he wouldn't tell her about simply because he didn't think they warranted any attention.
"We'll get him cleaned up and bring him over, or do you want him at your place tonight?" Josiah paused long enough to see Inez get a look on her face like a cat who had just found an unattended chicken. As cold as Vin was, Josiah didn't think it was going to be the hot water that warmed him up. Josiah pulled Vin into the bathhouse as Vin decided to go with Inez now.
"Why we goin' in here? I wanttt to go with Inezzzz." He paused long enough to look apologetically at Buck and Josiah. "No offensssse, but I like her better 'n you boys." He hiccuped.
"I bet you do, pard, but you're all muddy and cold. You'd freeze to death before we got you over to her place and had the water heated and brought up." Buck was trying not to laugh as he argued amiably with the amorous tracker.
"I would?" They had Vin in the warm bathhouse and standing before a tub of hot water. Chris was already in the water and was fussing about all the help he was receiving.
"I can bathe myself." He took the soapy cloth and stared at it for a few minutes. Nathan looked over as the other two were stripping Vin and maneuvering him into a tub.
"Well?"
Chris looked up at Nathan as if seeing him for the first time. "Well, that's a real deep subject." Vin started giggling at the joke. JD and Ezra appeared with clothes and hot coffee.
"Hotel sent it over." Ezra paused to explain as Vin waved the soapy cloth at him. "Why Mr. Tanner, I had no idea you enjoyed ablutions so very much."
"A blue what?" Buck had taken the soapy cloth and started scrubbing the soap into Vins' hair. The man took the hint and took over his own bath. Reaching to wash his face the soapy cloth flew right out of his hand and hit Chris in the face. The older man took the cloth and dropped the one Nathan had given him. He started scrubbing the mud off his body. Exasperated, Nathan shook his head and dropped the soapy cloth he had back on Vin as he walked to the door.
"I'll go get my supplies. You try and get some hot coffee into both of them."
"You mad?" Nathan paused by the door to look at a worried Vin.
"Why would I be mad?" Somehow Nathan suspected he didn't want to know the answer to that.
"Cause if your maddd, you'llllll make usssss drink some, some, some, somethin' nasty." Proud he’d gotten that word out he looked at Chris. "Won't he?"
Chris laughed, "Yeppppp, he will." Then he looked worried. "You mad, Nathan?"
Nathan started laughing then. "No, but I will be if you too aren't bathed and out of those tubs when I get back. An’ the medicine I got don't taste anything like that whiskey you boys got hold of." He shut the door on two men who suddenly became very interested in bathing very quickly. He laughed even harder a he heard Vin yelp. "Musta poked hisself in the eye agin'." Just the thought put him in a better mood. He actually whistled all the way to his clinic. He would be a happy man when he could turn the care of those two over to Mary and Inez. Somehow he figured the women would handle both men just fine.
+ + + + + + +
An hour and several pots of steaming coffee later, Vin and Chris were dry and warm and ready for supper. The coffee had sobered them enough to remind them that that had plans with two beautiful women. It also sobered Chris enough that he remembered why Vin was so put out with him earlier. As they parted company, Buck and Nathan leading him to the back entrance to Mary's place after making a show of taking him home to the boarding house, Chris wished his young friend luck. He grabbed Vin by the back of the neck and brought his ear next to his mouth so only Vin could hear, or so he thought.
"If you're real lucky, she'll strip ya slow and check out every inch of ya." Vin snickered in answer while Buck put one hand over his own mouth and the other over JD's. The others tried valiantly not to let on they had heard. This was just too good to pass up. Maybe they would learn more interesting things as the evening progressed.
Ezra and Josiah took Vin in hand and escorted him to the saloon. Inez had turned the bar over to Tom, and had disappeared upstairs to prepare for Vin's arrival. She and Mary had split the food they had prepared together, and Inez had carried half of it upstairs to her room. She had plans for her man, and so did Mary. They both planned to teach both men what could warm them up and kill the pain better than whiskey. Vin took more time to get through the saloon than it took for Nathan and Buck to sneak Chris into Mary's back door because he insisted on stopping and chatting with several of the men he knew. Josiah caught Ezra's eye and grinned.
"Who would have thought he would be such a happy drunk?"
"He does have a positive effect upon Mr. Larabee and the town folk does he not? I do not believe I have ever seen our friend in such a state before."
"And we aren't going to let him forget it either, are we Ezra?" They laughed as the center of their attention turned to both men.
"Wanna know a ssecret?" He didn't wait for an answer as they drug him up the stairs. "Innez always sstrips me when I get home to check me out. Chrissssssaysss I sshould lie back and take it like a man. Whatta you think?"
"I think you'd better be quiet." Inez had opened the door and was listening as they walked Vin to her door. Caught, Vin looked at Ezra and Josiah.
"Ooopss, can I go with you?"
Inez grabbed him by the arm and steered him into the room. "You aren't going any where until I check you out. Remember, Chris told you to take it like a man?" Josiah and Ezra heard Vin giggle as the door was shut in their faces.
"I don't know whether to enjoy this immensely or go downstairs and drown the sorrow of the imminent demise of my friends in libations."
Josiah sighed in agreement. "If we hear really loud noises or gunshots, we come back. If not, we let her have her way with him." Ezra nodded in agreement as Josiah motioned him downstairs. "Then we'll remind him of this day for years to come, if he lives." Laughing, they went down the stairs to join JD who had claimed a table, a bottle, and some glasses for the others. Nathan and Buck came back in much the same fashion as Ezra and Josiah had been. They began regaling each other with stories about how the women had reacted. Then the betting began on who would do what to whom.
Mary Travis had her man right where she wanted him. Leaving him at the back door, Nathan had told Chris in no uncertain terms that he needed to get into bed as soon as possible, and Mary silently agreed with him. She had every intention of making certain Chris got to bed, but on her terms. This was one man who was going to learn that whiskey didn't hold a candle to what Mary knew was a certain pain killer.
"You heard what Nathan said. You need to go to bed right after you eat."
Chris looked at Mary suspiciously. The coffee had restored enough of his senses to realize that he might just be in a bit of trouble. He'd seen that look in Sarah's eyes before. Mary had a point to make, and Chris realized he was the point. He was in big trouble if the look on Mary's face was any indication. He didn't even have his gun for protection. Poor Vin, if Inez was in the same mood as Mary, Chris was going to be one friend short in the morning if he survived that is. He backed toward the door looking for an escape as Mary advanced toward him smiling. Oh Lord was he in trouble. Buck and Nathan had given him over to a mad woman. She stopped just in front of him. His whiskey-fogged mind was beginning to clear, and his shoulder was beginning to throb. However, the closer Mary got, the less his shoulder hurt. She took his hand in hers, and he forgot what ailed him. He gulped as she turned that brilliant smile full force on him.
"Why don't you sit down and eat something?" He turned toward the table and sighed. He guessed he'd better follow his own advice to Vin and take this like a man. Life was so unfair sometimes, but he decided this wasn't one of those times. It turned out to be a night he wouldn't forget for a long time.
+ + + + + + +
Vin had actually giggled. Inez couldn't help but smile. He was always so in control of himself, never really letting loose and getting drunk that she was astounded that he and Chris both had gotten in that condition. She didn't know about Mary, but she was going to enjoy herself. She had discovered that Vin Tanner got very happy and very amorous when he was drunk. This man grinning at her was just too carefree and happy. It made her wonder if he was more like this before he had the bounty on his head, or if he was one of those men whose usual laid back attitude was changed by alcohol. Inez decided that she wasn't angry with him any more, but she was going to teach him a lesson.
Vin took one focused look at Inez and knew he was in trouble. She had that smile on her face that he had seen a few times before just when she did something a bar patron wasn't quite expecting. It made him real nervous. The throbbing in his arm that had started in the bathhouse had dulled considerably under Inez's ministrations.
"I bet you're hungry. Would you like to eat something?" He was watching her closely. She was definitely up to something. Chris was right. Sometimes you just had to take whatever a woman dished out. He straightened his shoulders and stepped toward the chair she had pulled out for him. She looked at him and smiled. "You didn't answer me. Do you want something to eat?" He gulped and nodded his head as she trailed her fingers across his shoulders. He shivered in response. "Now sit down."
Vin did as he was told. Inez brought a tray of food over. The aroma made his stomach growl. He hadn't eaten anything all day, but he had drunk quite a lot. Inez was being very good to him not fussing over the whiskey he and Chris had consumed. He saw her put the food in front of him. He suddenly got the idea as her every move became slow and calculated to keep his eyes riveted on her that she was going to teach him something important, and he had an idea what that was. Inez didn't like men who liked to get drunk, and he felt certain that she was going to make him pay for this one indiscretion. How exactly she was going to do that, he didn't know. However, he was going to enjoy every minute of it. Sometimes Chris was dead to rights. Sometimes you just had to take it like a man. He nearly jumped when Inez put her hands on his shoulders and started to massage them. He began to relax under her wonderful hands.
"Did the whiskey make you feel this good?" His eyes popped open at that. So she was just a little ticked that he'd gotten drunk. He didn't mind the torture now that he knew she was out to prove to him that she was the best medicine for him. And Lord she was doing a fantastic job at that. She stopped and he looked to see her eyes staring at him. She was waiting for an answer.
"No."
"No, what?"
"The whiskey ain't never made me feel like you do."
"And how do I make you feel?" She looked at him expectantly before she kissed him.
"You make me feel like I'm flyin'." She liked that response because she kissed him again. This was worth the hangover he was going to have in the morning. He stopped worrying about Chris and settled back to enjoy his lesson. He could be a very good student when he wanted to be.
The End