Chapter 14
Marie stepped out of the taxi outside of the dormitory block, pulling her bags with her. The driver took off as soon as the door was closed and Marie made her way inside.
"Hey Marie," Toby greeted, spotting her in the foyer. "How was your summer?"
"Good, thanks," Marie replied. "Yours?"
"Yeah pretty good."
"Is Jackie here yet, do you know?"
"No idea."
"Okay thanks anyway."
Marie headed upstairs to her dorm. She pulled out the key she'd gotten earlier and unlocked the door. It felt so weird to think this would be the last year she'd be living here. She pushed the door open and headed inside. From the looks of things, Jackie hadn't arrived yet. In any case, Marie shut the door behind her and began the unpacking of her luggage.
About an hour later, Marie was startled by the door opening. A suitcase was pushed through the gap in the door, which opened wider as a result and Marie grinned as she saw Jackie backing in with a couple of other bags and a large square present about two or so inches thick.
"Hey," Marie greeted, standing up. "Need a hand?"
"Oh hey Marie," Jackie replied. "Nah, I'm right. Oh wait, here, take this, it's for you anyway."
Marie raised her eyebrows as Jackie gestured to the present with her head.
"Thanks," she said, taking the present off Jackie with both hands. "Weighty, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Jackie said, shuffling the rest of the way into the dorm and dumping her things onto the floor. "And it's not from me. It's from Papa."
Marie blinked in surprise. She wouldn't have expected Remy to ask Jackie to play messenger for him, Nevertheless, Marie put the present on her recently made bed and started undoing it.
"Well, it's very nice of him, I'm sure," Marie said.
Jackie didn't reply, only stretched her arms and peered over Marie's shoulder while she opened it up. A smile appeared on Marie's face when the paper fell away to reveal a framed painting of herself. She was sitting sideways on the lounge chair from Remy's lounge room, with her back against one arm and her legs hanging over the other. A book was propped up between her knees. The initials "RB" were scrawled in the corner.
"Rene does good work, hein?" Jackie said.
"Yeah, wow," Marie said, nodding. "This is amazing. I'd completely forgotten about Remy getting a painting done for me too."
"So, we hanging it up?" Jackie asked cheekily.
"What? In here?" Marie said, turning her head to catch Jackie's eyes, which were sparkling with mischief. "I really don't think so."
"Aww, why not?"
"Well, for one thing," Marie said as she lifted the painting, "I'm not nearly narcissistic nor egocentric enough to want to live in a room with a big painting of me in it."
Jackie laughed as Marie set the painting against the wall.
"Hey, what's this?" Marie asked, turning to find an envelope sitting on the wrapping paper still on the bed.
"Ugh," Jackie said, returning to her bags. "If that turns out to be some sappy love letter, I don't want to know about it."
Marie laughed softly, opened the envelope and pulled out a letter. It started off talking about the painting he'd promised and how he hoped she liked it and it helped, and then switched to a more romantic vein. She read it twice with a silly smile on her face and finally put the letter down on her desk.
"I have to say, Jackie," Marie said as she scrunched up the wrapping paper and put it into the garbage, "there are times when I honestly regret your dad is married, and well, your dad."
Jackie gave her friend a long, appraising look.
"I don't believe you," Jackie said.
"Umm, okay?"
"I don't believe for one minute you had to tell me that."
Marie laughed.
Remy picked Marie up on a Saturday a couple of weeks later. He grinned with delight when Marie decided to climb over the door to get into his convertible.
"That's right chère," he said, "doors are for the weak."
"Oh really?" Marie asked. "What about doors leading into buildings?"
"Windows are better."
Marie opened her mouth to retort, but Remy took her face in his hands and kissed her hungrily instead. He had missed her.
"So," he asked as he finally pulled away and drove off, "how was your summer?"
"Pretty good," she replied. "Well, for the most part."
"Oh?"
Marie hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. "I hit one of the students after he implied I had black slaves. Storm made me do an anger management course."
"I would have done more than just hit him," Remy said.
"Finally!" Marie said, throwing her arms up in the air. "At last a sympathiser!"
Remy laughed.
"All I got was 'you shouldn't hit the students regardless of motivation'. Screw that. If he's going to be rude and offensive, he needs to be smacked. He's lucky I didn't take him over my knee," Marie went on vehemently.
"Or maybe he's unlucky..." Remy said mischievously.
"You and your dirty mind," Marie retorted disgustedly, shaking her head.
Remy chuckled. "So if I were to accuse you of the same, would you—"
"Destroy any chance of you being able to have childr- have sex in the future?" Marie interrupted angrily. "Yes. This is not a joking matter."
"Désolé, ma chère," Remy replied sincerely. "You know I can't resist the idea of your hands on me. Mais, you're right: Slavery isn't a joking matter."
"Thank you!"
Remy took one hand off the wheel to hold Marie's closest hand.
"The worst of it is that it still happens even today," Remy said seriously. "Even in countries that have made it illegal, there are always some who continue the practice in secret. You think you're safe, but you just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and next thing you know, you're running for your life over a fortress wall, gambling that you won't hit the rocks on the jump down into the sea."
Marie frowned at the bitter edge to his voice and the rather specific scenario.
"Anyway," Remy went on before Marie could say anything, "this conversation is far too heavy for what's supposed to be a fun date. Tell me about something good that happened to you over the summer."
Marie thought for a moment, then picked a story that wasn't particularly revealing about the goings on of the X-men. They chatted about trivial things all the way to Lake Pontchartrain, where they rented a couple of jet skis, and a wetsuit for Marie.
"Hmm," Remy said, eyeing Marie when she came out of the change room in her wetsuit. "I don't think we got one that's tight enough."
"Really?" Marie replied, looking Remy over in his personally owned wetsuit without batting an eye. "Because from over here, it looks like your circulation is being cut off."
Remy laughed and kissed her fondly. They went jet skiing for about an hour, took a break and then exchanged their jet skis for water skis. Marie hadn't done either before, and Remy rather enjoyed watching her try both for the first time.
Finally they changed clothes and returned their rented equipment. After a short walk, they had stopped for dinner at one of the local restaurants. After pursuing the menu (and Marie getting Remy's wine recommendation), they ordered and as the waiter walked off, Remy pulled out a deck of playing cards and started springing them from one hand to another. Marie had seen this mannerism of his before, usually when they were waiting for something, but this was the first time he'd started fiddling at the dinner table.
"Feeling restless?" she asked.
Remy shrugged slightly. "A little." There was a moment's pause and then: "I decided to quit smoking, so I'm a little fidgety."
Marie's face lit up. "You did? Really?"
"Oui," Remy replied, feeling rather pleased at the obvious approval in her voice.
"Well, congratulations," Marie said, smiling at him. "Any particular reason?"
"I've thought about it from time to time," he said with another shrug. "I even tried quitting around when Jackie was born, for her sake, but I wasn't having a whole lot of success and then there was all the stress from dealing with my problems with Bella Donna... It was just easier to keep the habit going."
Marie nodded thoughtfully.
"Never did like smoking around Jackie," Remy went on, his eyes now on his cards rather than Marie. "Although it was always fun smoking around Belle. She hates it like the plague."
Marie laughed.
"Well, I think it's awesome that you're giving it up," Marie said firmly. "And if you're ever having a craving and need someone to talk you out of it, call me."
"Unless you're in class, right?" Remy asked with a grin.
"Yeah, it might be a little difficult to get me when my phone's off," Marie said thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll change my voicemail and say something like 'if this is Remy, don't do it!'"
Remy laughed and Marie grinned at him.
"Are you on patches or something?" she asked.
"Non, I decided to go cold turkey," Remy replied casually. "Why beat around the bush, you know?"
"Fair enough. So, how long as it been since your last cigarette?"
Remy beamed proudly, catching her eyes. "June."
"June?" Marie repeated. "Before or after I left?"
"After. I didn't want to make a big deal about it in case I couldn't stick with it," Remy replied, continuing to spring the cards from hand to hand.
"Well, congratulations," Marie said with a nod. "Just how long have you been a smoker for anyway, if you don't mind my asking?"
"I think I had my first one when I was twelve or something," Remy replied thoughtfully. "You know, just to try it out, see what the fuss was, all that jazz. I didn't really become a smoker until I was fifteen though."
"Wow, so that's..." Marie frowned thoughtfully as she calculated. "Twenty-six years?"
"Oui."
"That's sure one hell of a habit to break," she said seriously. "But I'm sure you can do it."
Remy stopped springing the cards, reached over and took Marie's hand. "Merci for your vote of confidence."
"You're quite welcome," Marie replied as Remy kissed the back of her hand.
The following Monday, while Marie was busy in her morning class, Jackie arrived at the club room, with Marie's painting wrapped up in a spare sheet to protect it.
"Hey Jackie," Sandra greeted as she walked through the door. "What's that you've got there?"
Jackie grinned at Sandra. "A miracle has happened."
"Oh?"
"Papa, as usual, has decided that his latest painting of Marie completely sucks," Jackie replied, propping the painting up on a nearby chair. "Fortunately, I was able to salvage the painting before he could throw it away. Voila!"
Jackie pulled the sheet away, revealing the painting. She then turned the painting the right way up.
"Huh," said Toby, looking the painting over while Sandra got up to make a closer inspection. "There really is a painting."
"Don't sound so surprised," Jackie said, smirking at Toby. "What did you think they were doing? Having a sordid love affair?"
"The thought had occurred to me."
"That's because you're a pervert."
"This is actually really good," Sandra said. "I can't believe your papa was going to throw it away."
"Yeah, he's always doing that," Jackie replied with a wave of her hand.
"RB," Sandra said, glancing at the signature in the corner. "What does the R stand for?"
"Remy," Jackie said, smirking to herself with the knowledge that everyone would figure his last name was "Boudreaux". It had been rather sneaky of Remy to pick the one artist they knew with appropriate initials, but then she never expected anything less from him.
When Marie showed up from her class, she gave a dramatic, pre-planned groan at the sight of the painting, now proudly on display on a table top, leaning against the wall.
"Jackie! I can't believe you brought that thing here," she said, pulling a face at her.
"Heh, you're just embarrassed I managed to salvage it at all," Jackie replied, grinning. "And it was a good thing too. Toby over here wasn't entirely convinced you weren't having an affair with mon père."
"Okay, Toby, one word: Eww," Marie replied.
Toby shrugged. "You can't blame me. I have seen the guy pick you up, bring you flowers and drive you away in his red convertible."
"It's all part of his plot to trick the canvas," Jackie said, and then gestured to the painting. "Although to hear him talk his plot had failed miserably lately, as he considered this to be a disaster."
"Yeah, he wants to do occasional day time sessions now too," said Marie. "He figures the canvas has cottoned onto his night painting scheme."
"One of these days we're going to have to meet him," said Sandra with a nod. "I bet he's a hoot to talk to."
Marie chuckled. Conversation dwindled down not after that and Marie plugged in her laptop and turned it on. The painting seemed like a great idea when Remy thought of it, but now she was just feeling guilty about going out of her way to deceive her friends. And she was also feeling a little bad about referring to Remy as "eww".
At least there was an end in sight: She'd have to come to some sort of alternate arrangement for her next dose, but after that she could just save up and pay Remy for any more after that. She should probably try pushing it too, and see how long she could go without her powers coming back. After all, the more doses, the more expensive it got, and there was no telling how much Remy had left. The longer she could put off her powers coming back full time, the better. She pushed away all thoughts of 'shelf-life' and 'building up immunity'.
Marie sighed as her computer finally finished starting up and she opened up her word processor. Her college career wasn't going quite the way she expected. She had been really looking forward to spending some time to get to know herself again, and felt that the joy of learning all these little things about herself had been dampened down by the burden of the measures she took to prevent her powers from coming back. Things like discovering she liked beer because she liked beer, and not because Logan did; realising that she'd rather have a good brawl than a competition fight any day of the week; finding out that she did her best work under pressure; and coming to the conclusion that she made impulsive decisions unless she was in denial about something—like getting her powers back—at which point she tended to procrastinate.
She hated this 'open relationship' stuff too. For a moment, Marie seriously considered just giving in and embracing being Remy's mistress. After all, it was something she'd never do again, so she may as well enjoy it. But the idea was immediately rejected by her conscience: it was wrong, and she'd never be able to convince herself otherwise.
Marie glanced at the young man in Ryan's dorm room, presumably his room mate, as she walked in with Ryan. The young man glanced up from where he was sitting on his bed to look at her.
"So, umm, Luke, this is Marie," Ryan said. "Marie, this is Luke."
"Hey nice to meet you," said Luke, standing up and walking over to her. "I was beginning to think you didn't exist."
Marie laughed. "Nice to meet you too."
"So, Ryan tells me this is an open relationship?" Luke asked, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
"Hey!" Ryan objected.
"I'm not looking to date anyone else at the moment, sugar," Marie replied in amusement.
He gave a shrug. "Doesn't hurt to ask. Catchas later."
Luke gave a wave, grabbed his wallet and departed. Marie snickered and sat down next to Ryan on his bed. There was quiet for a moment while they looked at each other.
"Hey, I was wondering," Ryan said cautiously. "What do you think about, umm, making this a closed relationship?"
Marie grinned, all the while hiding how much she dearly would have loved to do that.
"I'm sorry, sugar," she said, taking his hand. "I really think this is better for now, okay?"
"But neither of us are seeing anyone else," Ryan pointed out.
Marie ignored the twang of guilt at Ryan's misinformation. "Well, yeah, that's 'cause we're juggling school and work. Don't need to juggle relationships as well."
"Well, what about after college?" Ryan asked. "Are you going to use being too busy at work to as an excuse to keep casual dating then too?"
"Work's different," Marie insisted.
"How is it different?" Ryan said seriously. "There's always going to be some project, or something you have to work overtime for, or some promotion you just want to get before you settle down."
"It's different because college is giving you all the technical information you need to get started," Marie replied. "Or at least all the theory before you learn that it's completely different in practice. What we learn now, regardless of what marks we get, directly influences how well we perform our jobs, at least from a knowledge perspective. It's the foundation."
Ryan sighed, clearly unhappy. "I guess."
"Work is different," Marie went on. "It's just going to have to deal with the fact that relationships are more important. Please, Ryan, I just want to graduate before I get into anything serious, okay?"
"Okay," he said reluctantly.
Marie brought his hand to her mouth and kissed his palm. "Sorry to disappoint you, sugar. We don't even know if we'll still be together after we graduate anyway. I'm moving back to New York, and I know you want to stay in Louisiana. It's probably better if we keep our options open, when parting is inevitable."
"We could still make it work," Ryan said.
"We could," Marie said sincerely. "I really hope we do too. But let's get through this last year first, okay?"
"Fine."
"Good."
Marie kissed him and he kissed her back. She really hoped they wouldn't have this discussion again, at least, not until she was released from dating Remy. She felt awful hiding everything from him, but the truth was too complicated, and revealed secrets that were not hers to reveal.
Jackie regarded Marie with begrudging amusement on the second Saturday of October as she got ready for her date with Remy.
"Doesn't eight o'clock seem a little early for a date?" Jackie asked.
"We are going dirt biking," Marie pointed out, zipping up her brown leather pants.
"I know, but... You are aware you're not going to get out of spending the right with him, right?"
"Believe me," Marie said dryly, picking up her shirt, "I'm not counting on being able to come home tonight."
"A twenty-four hour date doesn't seem excessive?" Jackie enquired, a smirk despite herself.
"I have to admit, my plot to have more public, bright and friendly dates was flawed," Marie said, "It didn't eliminate the private, dark and romantic aspect, it just increased the amount of time I spend with him."
"So I've noticed."
"On the bright side though," Marie went on as she pulled out her socks and boots, "we've been having more fun. More fun and less awkward, so that's good."
"If you say so," Jackie replied dubiously. "I think I'm going to get myself laid today."
Marie laughed.
"Note the change of subject," Marie teased her.
"Hey, I'd much rather think about me getting laid, than mon père trying to lay you," Jackie replied, grinned at the face Marie pulled at that, and continued: "Plus, I'm horny. Have you ever noticed that you go through a couple of days every few months where all you can think about is sex? Personally, I suspect it's heat."
"Better make sure of the protection then," Marie said, smirking at her. "And yes, I have noticed that."
"Oh, good, it's not just me then." Jackie giggled. "And oui, I'll make sure of the protection. I'm not interested in providing an heir just yet. I still have to do three years full time work before I can apply to the FBI, and I definitely don't want to be a mère while that's happening."
"I love the way you talk about having kids," Marie replied dryly. "Do you even want a baby, or is it just an 'heir' thing? Seriously?"
"Seriously?" Jackie asked. "I've always assumed I'd be a mère one day. It's basically a must, really. If I don't, then there's going to be major discord about who's going to the lead the Guild. I mean, in times past, there was always someone else of the LeBeau line or the Boudreaux line, but I'm the only cross. Maman and Papa probably should have given me some siblings, but yeah... That was never going to happen, for obvious reasons."
"Not even half siblings?" Marie asked curiously.
"Actually, no," Jackie replied thoughtfully. "Well, I guess Papa might have some bastard children I—or even he—don't know about, but I know for a fact that Maman has always been very careful not to get pregnant to some other guy. It's one thing for everyone to know they sleep around, quite another to have genetic evidence of that sleeping around."
Marie nodded thoughtfully.
"Anyway," Jackie went on, "for the sake of avoiding potential future bloodshed, I'll probably have a couple of kids. I'm hoping I'll have twins, that way I'll only have to get pregnant once."
Marie giggled.
"So, waiting's good for twins," Jackie said merrily, "increased chances of having twins when you're older."
"You don't resent it?" Marie asked.
"Resent what?"
"Resent basically being forced to be a mother."
"Why?" Jackie asked. "Every Guild leader of either Guild for all our history has been expected to have children. Providing for the future is one of the responsibilities of our position, as is strengthening the family. And there's nothing stopping me from adopting, if I decide that getting pregnant is too much effort. Papa was adopted, and no one thinks that not being a blood relative makes him any less able to lead the Guild. Well, except maybe Oncle Julien, but his opinion on Papa doesn't count."
Marie nodded and shrugged. "I just think that becoming a mother should be something you want to do, and not like, an obligation or something."
"It's not an obligation," Jackie said with a frown. "It's a fact of life. If I want the family line to continue—which I do—then I have to have kids. Simple. Sure, in my case, having kids also means avoiding bloodshed in the future, but let's be serious here, chère, if I die without an heir, I'll still be dead. It won't matter to me then whether the Guild leadership ends up in contention. But, see, I love my Guild, you know? They're my people, my family, and if having a child or deux means that I can prevent fighting between them after I go, then I want to do it. No one's forcing me, not really. And quite frankly, the amount of contention that goes on between families in the 'real world' is pretty disgusting, if you ask me. Instead of sticking together, families are splintering instead. Geez, my parents hate each other but they still stay together for the good of our family. You're all very selfish, self absorbed, self obsessed, self, self, self."
"This coming from a thief and a murderer," Marie said blandly.
"Absolument," Jackie replied gleefully. "So therefore it should have more weight coming from me: I'm opportunistic and prey on the selfishness and greed of others, and I still have better family values than everyone else."
Marie laughed, and there was a knock at the door. She got up and opened it, to find Remy standing there, leaning against the doorframe.
"Morning," he said to Marie, and then lifted his head to make eye contact with Jackie, who was just in his line of sight from the doorway. "Morning, Sunshine."
"Bonjour, mon père," Jackie replied, standing up and wandering over, still in her night gown. "Trust you to figure out how to monopolise Marie for a whole day."
"What can I say?" Remy said with a shrug. "I just can't resist a belle femme."
Jackie made a rude noise.
"So," he went on, "what are your plans for today?"
"I'm going to get laid," Jackie said cheerfully. "Preferably multiple times with deux different guys. Maybe quatre if I wear out the first pair too soon."
"Ouias, it's good to pace yourself," Remy replied with a nod.
Marie looked between them and shook her head. "You two are not normal."
"Good," Jackie replied. "Normal is for the weak."
"All I'm saying is that, even if my dad and I were on speaking terms right now, there is no way whatsoever that I would tell him I planning on having sex with one guy, let alone four in one day," Marie said.
"Actually, you raise a good point," Jackie said thoughtfully. "I think I'm going to have to call Sy this afternoon and see if he's up for another threesome."
"With Varian?" Remy asked with a slight smirk.
"Heh, that was awesome," Jackie replied, grinning. "And not a bad idea, if I can convince them a second time."
"You really weren't kidding when you said you were horny, were you?" Marie asked.
"My vagoo is yearning for cock."
Remy laughed and Jackie grinned at him while Marie shook her head once more.
"Well," he said once he recovered, "I was going to invite you to join us dirt biking, but since you have other plans, I guess I won't. Don't get over-excited and catch something nasty, okay Sunshine?"
"I think I can manage that," Jackie said as Marie stepped the rest of the way through the doorway. "You deux have fun now. Don't get over-excited and break any bones, okay Papa?"
Remy chuckled. "Okay, Sunshine."
Marie and Remy departed then, and Jackie closed the door behind them. She pondered for a moment, then changed into a tank top and a pair of short shorts, grabbed a couple of boxes from her desk drawer, then left her dorm and headed up the stairs to Toby's room. She knocked on the door, and continued knocking until Toby's room mate, Harry, opened it.
"Jackie?" he questioned her. "What the hell? It's Saturday morning."
"I'm horny, and I'm giving you and Toby this once in a lifetime opportunity to screw my brains out," Jackie replied.
Harry stared at her.
"This is a joke right?" he asked.
Jackie held out the boxes she had removed from her desk drawer only moments before. "I have ribbed, and cherry flavoured."
"Harry?" Toby's voice came from the other end of the room. "What's going on?"
"Uhh," Harry said, his eyes on the previously opened boxes of condoms, "Jackie's offering to have sex with us. Or at least that's what she said."
"Both of you," Jackie said firmly. "Not just one or the other, both. And I'm getting impatient. You've got thirty seconds to decide before I go elsewhere."
Harry then looked out into the hallway, inspecting carefully.
"What?" Jackie demanded.
"I'm checking for spectators and cameras," he said as a sleepy looking Toby came to the doorway.
"Ugh, it's not a joke," Jackie said irritably.
"Well, you can't blame me," Harry said, not entirely convinced there wasn't a hidden camera somewhere. "We're not exactly the kind of guys that hot chicks like you decide to come onto."
"Today's your lucky day then," Jackie replied blandly. "Ten seconds."
"I'm pretty sure this is a dream," Toby said then, and reached out for Jackie's arm. "In which case, I don't know why I'm dreaming about having a threesome with you and Jackie and not Jackie and Marie, but I'll take it."
"Finally!" Jackie said, pushing inside with little help from Toby. "And don't worry, Toby, if this is a dream, it'll be the best one of your life."
Harry shut the door.
Remy and Marie stopped for breakfast on the way to the tracks. They had a great time riding the dirt bikes, stopping only for lunch in the middle, and then again when they were done riding for the day. They picked up a pizza on the way home, and then curled up in front of the TV together and watched a movie while they ate.
Marie had come to enjoy these moments. It was warm and cosy, and very easy for her to believe that they were both just friends hanging out together.
Eventually, however, the movie came to an end. Remy turned everything off and Marie followed him upstairs to his bedroom and changed in the ensuite as she always did. On the way and in the bathroom she mentally prepared herself for what was to come, carefully tucking her guilt away in a tight little box where it wouldn't interfere with what was left of the evening. When she was of a mind to be honest with herself, Marie did enjoy making out with Remy, it was just when she remembered that he was married, or that Jackie was his daughter, or that she was making out with him in order to pay for the dose of the Cure, that she started to feel awkward and uncomfortable. All these things she had to push away and try to forget for the duration, otherwise she just couldn't relax and she couldn't 'play' either, as Remy insisted on calling it.
Marie frowned, holding up the tank top that had been with her bed shorts. It was white and thin, and it was not the cute "Hello Kitty" top she had bought.
"Hey, Swamp Rat," she called through the door. "Where's my Hello Kitty shirt?"
"Oh right, forgot about that," Remy's voice called back. "It got ruined in the wash, so I got you a new one."
"It got ruined in the wash," Marie said disbelievingly.
"Oui."
"And you, out of the kindness of your heart," Marie said, stopped to pull it over her head and continued, "bought me a brand new one."
"It seemed only fair."
Marie glared at her reflection in the mirror, her nipples clearly visible through the thin fabric.
"One that just happens to be see-through?" she said indignantly.
"Oh really?" Remy asked through the door with false innocence. "I'm so sorry, chère, I had no idea."
"Yeah, right," Marie scoffed.
She wrapped one arm over her chest, almost slammed open the sliding ensuite door and came stalking out, much to Remy's surprise. Without looking at him, she stalked over to his wardrobe and started picking through his shirts. Remy chuckled.
"It's not funny, Swamp Rat," Marie practically growled.
Abruptly she felt a hand on her waist, but before she could protest, a black tank top appeared in front of her face.
"I got you a black one as well, in case the white wasn't acceptable," he murmured into her ear.
Marie closed her eyes and lifted her free hand to take the black shirt.
"You really suck, you know that, right?" she said.
Remy trailed his fingers lightly along her back. "What can I say, chère? I have a weakness for beautiful women, and you are by far most beautiful."
Marie gave him a not-too-gentle nudge with her elbow as he attempted to kiss her neck, pushed past him and stalked back into the ensuite. Remy smiled to himself and laid down on the bed. Moments later, Marie came back out again, now in the black tank top and sat down on the bed next her him. Remy looked up at her cross expression.
"Mad at me, chère?" he asked.
"My Hello Kitty tank did not get ruined in the wash, and you know it," she said, glaring at him.
"But you don't," Remy replied mildly. "And see? I made it up to you. I bought you deux shirts as replacements."
"You bought one replacement, and another to annoy me with."
"Well, when you put it that way," Remy said wickedly, sitting up. "You may have a point."
He leaned into her and brushed her lips with his.
"So, what are you doing to do about it?" he challenged her.
Marie pushed him away, and he fell back on his arms.
"Better question," she said darkly. "What are you going to do about it? You've got some serious grovelling to do, Swamp Rat."
Marie was quick to turn her back on him and lay down on her stomach on the bed. Because she was so quick, she missed the delighted expression that appeared on his face. She felt him get off the bed, though, and then sit back on the bed by her legs after he'd gotten something from a nearby drawer. She heard the sound of a lid opening, and then closing again a moment later. She heard him clap his hands together, and finally she felt him put those same, now oily, hands down on her upper thighs.
"Hey," she objected, "what you think you're doing back there?"
"Well, we did spend most of the day riding dirt bikes," Remy replied mildly as he gently rubbed her skin, "and since that is an activity you don't do on a regular basis, I figured you might be a bit sore."
"Oh," Marie said, silently admitting she was a bit sore, and then said imperiously: "Carry on then."
Remy chuckled. "Oui Madame."
The following morning, Jackie was in the middle of having breakfast and reading a book when Toby appeared. She ignored him until he sat down next to her.
"Hey Jackie," he said.
"Little early for you to be up, isn't it?" Jackie asked, still not looking at him.
"Oh, well, uhh, a little," Toby replied. "So, umm, I was wondering..."
Jackie looked up at him irritably when he trailed off.
"What?" she demanded. "You were wondering what?"
"Oh, umm, if you and I could... You know..."
Jackie just continued looking at him. Toby swallowed.
"Have sex," he said finally.
"Nah," Jackie replied, and turned back to her book. "Not in the mood."
"Oh," Toby said, clearly disappointed. "What if—"
"Ugh," Jackie said, looking back at him with a pained expression on her face. "You're not going to be all clingy are you? Look, I'm sorry if your first time wasn't all you dreamed it would be—"
"It wasn't my first time!" Toby objected.
Jackie snorted with laughter.
"Oh fine, it was," Toby grumbled under his breath. "But that doesn't mean—"
"Look," Jackie interrupted with obvious irritation, "just because I like casual sex does not mean I'm easy. Nor does the fact that I knocked on your door yesterday mean I have any romantic interest in you. Shoo fly, don't bother me."
Jackie turned back to her book and breakfast once more. Toby made another attempt to talk to her, but she just ignored him and he eventually left.
"Did you seriously sleep with Toby?" Sandra demanded of Jackie the moment she walked into the club room on Monday.
Jackie shrugged as she sat down. "I woke up horny, and he and Harry were right upstairs."
"Harry too?" Sandra asked.
"Of course," Jackie said with a nod. "One on one is boring."
"Toby didn't mention that part."
Jackie sniffed derisively. "Yeah, well, that's 'cause he's easy and desperate."
"So were you, apparently," said Chris, smirking.
"I'm neither easy, nor desperate," Jackie replied matter-of-factly. "I have certain standards which must be met, and if those standards cannot be met, then I move onto the next guy."
"Yeah, you're a slut," said Chris.
"I don't deny being a slut," Jackie said as she inspected her nails. "But you seem to be under some misconception that because I enjoy casual sex, it automatically means I have low standards about who I choose to sleep with."
"Well," Sandra said with a grin, "you did sleep with Toby, and Harry."
"Yeah, every now and then I decide to deflower a virgin for kicks," Jackie replied merrily. "In this case, it was a two-for-one sale."
Sandra laughed.
"Umm, you can't deflower a guy," Chris said.
"Well, technically you can't deflower a girl either," Jackie replied. "None of us actually grow flowers on our bodies. Now, if you must insist on shaming someone about being easy, you should be harassing Toby and Harry, who were so desperate they lost it to the first hot chick to knock on their door."
Sandra giggled.
"Honestly," Jackie went on merrily, "I think it's highly hypocritical of guys to go around calling us femmes easy, when they'd put out for any femme who so much as walks by."
"You do make a good point," said Sandra. "Although not all guys are as obsessed with sex as media likes to make out."
"Heh, make out," Jackie said with a grin.
Sandra pulled a face at her.
"But I get your point," Jackie said. "It's still hypocritical of the ones who do obsess over sex all the time to call the femmes they sleep with easy, though."
"Takes one to know one?" Sandra suggested. "I'm totally going to start calling easy guys 'easy' now."
Jackie laughed. "We can all start calling them 'easy' and start shaming them for their easiness."
"Although... Do you think they'll start thinking of it as a badge of honour?" Sandra asked thoughtfully. "I mean, it is socially more acceptable for guys to sleep around than for girls."
"Which is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Jackie said firmly. "If all the hommes in the world slept around, and none of them femmes did, all the hommes would be screwing each other."
"You're right, of course," said Sandra. "We've lived with this double standard for too long."
"Oui, we have."
"If guys are going to slut-shame girls—Chris," Sandra went on with a glare at Chris, "then we should have the right to slut-shame guys."
"Absolument," Jackie said.
"Uhh," Chris said, looking between the two women. "You go girl?"
Soft lighting lit up the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen in the evening dark on its journey along the Mississippi River. Remy was in a nice, freshly pressed dinner suit and he thought Marie looked absolutely stunning in her emerald-green dress. They were seated at one of the many four-seater tables by a window, their plates were laden with food from the buffet table, and they each had a glass of drink from the bar.
"And now you can strike 'cruise on a paddleboat' off your list of things to do," Remy said to Marie with a grin.
"It was never on my list, sugar," Marie replied, smirking at him. "I've been on the Creole Queen before."
"You have?"
"My folks took me when I was a kid."
"Hmph," Remy grumbled. "Spoil my fun."
Marie laughed at him.
The pair spoke very little during dinner; there wasn't a whole lot to talk about, and in any case they were both enjoying the live jazz band. After they head their fill, they wandered out onto the deck to look out on the view and see all the lights reflecting off the water. It was cold enough that Marie was pleased with her decision to wear gloves tonight, but was sincerely regretting choosing a shawl instead of a jacket. When Remy realised she was cold, he took off his own jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Marie smiled up at him.
"Thanks sugar," she said softly.
"You're welcome," he replied, putting his arm around her waist.
She lifted her head and kissed his lips gently, then rested her head against his shoulder and sighed contentedly.