Epilogue 

Lifting his vodka to his mouth, a sweet sound drifted down into his ears and it made him turn. A woman stood in the center of the room, lights shining on her gorgeous tawny skin. Her voice caressed the notes of the piano, weaved a web around the trumpet and gave the horns a run for its money. Dressed in a startling dark blue slip and matching shoes, the only other decoration that adorned her was a black flapper cap, long dangly pieces of sparkling beads. It drew the eye to her slim throat, small round shoulders and dark red lips. Taking his eyes off of her, he ordered another vodka. 

The sound of clapping deafened him and he was glad to lose himself in it, reaching into his pocket to pull out his cigarette case. He was glad for a moment, just to relax and unwind from the uniform that sometimes suffocated him. Striking the match, he put the lit cigarette in between his awaiting lips and exhaled, the sudden smell of perfume disrupting the minty nicotine haze. Opening his eyes, he found the woman from the stage standing in front of him, skin glistening with sweat.

For a moment, the two of them said not a word, simply stared at one another. She watched him inhale smoke and blow it out, hiding his face behind a mirror of clouds. Enchanting almond shaped eyes watched as he reached for the vodka, ice now melted. Before he could lift it to his mouth, she reached out and grabbed it, lifting it instead to her own, throwing back the shot. Finally, she chose to speak, voice low and soft. 

"I've been waiting a long time for you, daddy." Her voice instantly set him on fire and those eyes of hers, they devoured him; from head to toe she threatened to consume him. He didn't answer, just let his eyes roam every inch of her tempting little body. She placed the glass not too gently back onto the surface of the bar top just as his gaze lifted onto her own once more. 

"You don' t have your uniform on, tonight." She said with a smile, a sweet lulling twang to her voice. 

"No. I don't." Tiny amber fingers plucked the cigarette from his lips, bringing it to sit instead in between hers.

"Guess we all have somethin' we wanna hide from." Inhaling deeply, she let the smoke exit through her nostrils. 

"What are you hiding from, soldier?" He completely turned towards her. 

"What makes you think I'm hiding, woman?" Taking fingers, he slowly teased the beaded tassels that hung down from her cap. 

"How do you know you're not right where I want you?" Brushing them back and across her shoulder, he let his fingertips taste the soft smoothness of her flesh. Taking the short stub now imprinted with her lipstick, she placed it back in his mouth. The horn player played a solo and it echoed the rhythm of their hearts, how fast and in tune they beat. 

"You're not thinkin' of leavin' are you?" 

"Would it bother you if I were?"

Emboldened by the fire that burned on its way down and her own desire, she slipped in between his legs, pressing her body against him. 

"I'm not ashamed to say it would." Her warmth, her lips, those eyes of hers, everything about her he wanted to get lost in, wanted to drown into her entire being. to completely consume him. 

"Stay with me a while. Drink some more." He watched as she lifted his hand that pressed against the bar top. Placing it against her face, she sighed in relief as he accepted the green light and pulled her flush, allowing her to bury herself against his warmth, nicotine and the sharp sour of the vodka. 

"You're the one who left here first. Now, you want me to stay." His touch glided down and across her back, pausing above her derriere. 

"You've got a lot of fucking nerve, Beatrice Jones." She released a breathy sigh as he finally gave in and squeezed one of her ass cheeks. Biting into her lip, she lifted up just enough to look down into his eyes. 

"I didn't plan on leavin' the way I did, baby. Sometimes, things jus' happen." His fingers slid down the back of her hamstrings, choosing to further their exploration up into her dress. 

"But I'm here now... you're here now. Finally." Her eyes closed suddenly and her lips parted, soft pleasure-filled sound and her leg lifted ever-so-slightly to rest on one of his thighs. She breathed heavy, fast, uneven, letting her head fall back against her shoulders. His lips burned as they kissed the column of her neck but icy hot wet relief licked up and across her throat. The pleasure of release and the thrill of being in public left her mute, breaths shuddery and short against his mouth. Breaths he drank in greedily, not satisfied until she could barely breathe from the force of his kiss. 

Slowly his hand came back up from underneath her dress and the people kept on dancing, drinking and laughing. Whether they cared or not didn't matter. It was all good fun, all a mirage they sought after to distract them from what was going on outside. Their eyes met and the electric energy between them needed no words. He hungered for her and she thirst for him. Every thing he'd ever desired she could see there in his eyes. Spilled vodka onto the bar top. Aggressive hands that pulled, yanked and ripped the fabric of her dress apart. The first bite, the first time, the first entry there, rough, hard, breathless. Tears, cap on the floor and hair gripped tight between his fingers. Breath, sweat, warm sticky wet between her legs. 

"It's okay to say you missed me, papa." She breathed, kissing those fingers that promised more heaven, hell and sin. His free hand lifted and with a single finger, glided up underneath the thin strap that had slipped down her shoulder, and guided it back upwards until it rested nice and proper again.

"I did miss you. More than you know, my girl." Smiling against his hand, she gently tugged on it. 

"Dance with me, papa." Powerless to resist her, he slowly stood with ease and two sound legs followed her into the crowd. There was no need for crutches here, no need for canes or wooden legs. As he wrapped arms around her and pulled her flush, together they swayed in time with the music, a slow sensual cadence. 

"How long do we have this time, Bea?" His voice asked her, that distinct rasp against her ear making her thread her hand up into his hair, keeping him just where he was. 

"We have all night, sugar. We can dance all night." He released a sigh of relief and hugged her even closer. 

"If you want... we can even dance forever." 

FIN