Chapter 66

John began unbuttoning his shirt starting at the bottom. He pulled the fabric out of his trousers, tugging it off his shoulders and letting it lightly fall atop the bed. A brief glance in the mirror showed a tall man with muscular arms moving toward the bathroom door. When he pulled it open there came the sound of water splashing, it coming from Billie who was in the bathtub, startled.

"It's me, doll," John said, peaking around the door.

From where he stood he could see the bare knees and shoulders of Billie's body, her hair hanging dark and heavy, soaked to her back. When she saw that the intruder was John she relaxed visibly, sinking further down into the water for comfort, or perhaps decency.

There was a smile on John's face as he sauntered closer. Again Billie shifted in the water to somehow conceal her body but it was useless. John had already seen all of her (and liked it) so she had no need to feel the insecurities she did. She tried to be eased by the look in his eye, the twitch of his lips, but having John's attention in such a way made her feel all too conscious.

John squatted down to the floor, resting his arm on the ledge of the tub. "You had a good day?" he said, a bit of a statement and a bit of a question. Billie gave him an amused look.

"How can you tell?"

"This," he reached out, touching her cheek and brushing the side of her lip. "I saw you smile. You haven't smiled like that in a while…"

Both of them knew what he really meant- she hadn't been herself since the loss. Even something as easy as a smile had been difficult to muster for some time. Smiling and laughing were starting to come back to her slowly. It felt good to look at John and smile, knowing how that gave him happiness. Billie also knew that it was hard to look at John and not smile. She was grateful for him in so many ways.

"What'd you think about gettin' outta this place tomorrow? Maybe seein' a picture?"

There was a kind of hesitance in John's voice that made Billie instantly skeptical. He was not offering Billie this option with any confidence- something he always had, or made sure to have, before speaking. Her silence tipped him off that he'd have to do some more explaining.

"We have to meet some guy…"

She was growing increasingly more confused. "At the theater?"

Billie had an image of John, the most wanted criminal in the country, casually hanging around the local theater as crowds of people mingled in and out. John had said "we" meaning it was gang affair. All those men, those fugitives, would easily parade through town without the fear of being accosted? It didn't sit easy with Billie.

"No, it won't be at the theater," John started slowly. "There's a guy who's staying somewhere, an abandoned building, or so I hear. He said we could stay there for a while so long as we work with him on a robbery…"

The story started to make Billie more nervous the more she heard- or didn't hear. She wanted to know more simply because he spoke so little. Usually John informed her about a situation as much as he could. Now it seemed as though he were holding back. It was clear, for one reason or another, there was something that just didn't feel right, either about the man or the building or all of it in general. She figured by John's tone and choice of words that this person involved with the gang could either be a friend or foe, Billie then inquiring about him in the politest of ways.

"This man…you don't like him?"

There was another pause before John answered as though he were choosing his words carefully. "I wouldn't choose to work with him. Not unless I'm desperate."

This took Billie by surprise.

"Are you desperate?"

John bit his lip, avoiding her eyes and gazing at something else within the room. Billie knew there was everything to fear and worry in her and Johns life, but seeing John's confidence shaken filled her with immediate panic. Eventually John looked up and he stared into her eyes with a new look- one of passion and determination.

"We can't stay here forever. You've slept an entire night in a car too many times. I won't let you do that ever again."

"John-"

He cut her off. "Ever again."

That was it. Another promise had been made and Billie was helpless to do anything but agree. Aware of her nakedness more now as they spoke of touchy subjects, she leaned up in the bath gazing at John. Her voice came out almost sultry. "Let's not talk about this."

In a moment John smiled and the couple's lips met.