The Big Time Pt. 09

Michael was trying to take his shirt off when Natalie returned. The towel was wrapped around her body and cinched in front of her bare chest. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. "Let me give you a hand." Natalie carefully removed his shirt and looked around for a clothes hamper. Not finding one, she hung it on a hanger on the door.

When she faced him again her eyes zeroed in on the bandaging wrapped around his shoulder. The white cloth had become a dull red. She gingerly touched the bandage. "We have to change it." Natalie went back into the bathroom and found some oversized Band-Aids. "It has to stay dry." She carefully removed the bandage and took a deep breath as the wound was revealed. Natalie steadied herself. Some of the stitches were ripped and the wound was slowly oozing blood.

"I can do this part Natalie," said Michael.

"Not the part on your back you can't," said Natalie. "I can handle it." She dried the wound and applied the Band-Aids as quickly as possible. "There." She took another deep breath.

"Thank you." Michael gently grasped her hand and took the towel from her. He would be able to take care of the rest now. A few moments later Michael was relatively dry except for the rain soaked shorts he was still wearing.

He wondered why Natalie was here. If she was so concerned about Kirsten then she should be at her side, not his. Yet she was here, acting like an old friend. An old lover perhaps. At the lowest point of his life, Natalie was here for him but there was no reason for her to be. Her presence was almost unsettling. Michael averted his eyes but Natalie drew him back. The simple touch of her warm hand on his cheek absorbed his reluctance and relaxed his mind. "It's okay Mike." Very slowly, she peeled his remaining clothes down his legs and gently patted him dry with the towel.

Michael could not help becoming aroused and he turned away. "Sorry."

"Don't be embarrassed."

"I don't know about this Natalie."

She stepped close to him and whispered reassurances into his ear as she turned him around. "But I do." Slowly, she pushed him into a sitting position on the bed. With both hands she pulled her towel apart and dropped it to the floor. Michael's eyes never drifted from hers. She sat on his lap and kissed him until his back was flat against the bed.

A comfort afflicted Michael, not the sort he would associate with having a beautiful woman lying nude atop of him but something different, strange. His left hand crept up her back and settled on her neck, the wet hairs of her pony tail tickling his knuckles. A low rumble of thunder skulked over the house as the kisses became harder and more intense. Against his chest he could feel her becoming more aroused.

Natalie reached back with one hand and stroked his cock with her delicate fingers. She sat up and positioned Michael's cock in an upright position. With little flare she raised herself up above his cock. They gazed at each other as she sank onto him, the stare only broken when her eyelids fluttered in pleasure. "Oh god," she whispered softly as she leaned forward.

Michael clenched his hands into fists. The struggle to penetrate her gave him goose bumps. He sighed when he felt her bush rub against his skin. He was as hard as he had ever been and he was in a place that was hot and tight as anything could ever be. When she finally settled in she put her hands down on the bed and watched his eyes carefully.

With prolonged but passionate thrusts she made love to him. There was something so tender and caring about her but he could not shake the feeling that love was not quite the right word for what was happening. But what else could he call it? As her breathing grew ragged she twisted and gyrated her hips faster and faster.

Natalie took his good hand and pressed it to her chest, holding it tightly against her smooth skin. Michael could feel the racing pulse in the palm of his hand. She was murmuring something but Michael could not hear it over the splashing of the rain outside the window. Michael swallowed hard as he felt Natalie milking his cock.

She leaned forward and kissed him. This time he could feel her tongue coaxing his lips open with soft touches to his skin. It grazed his teeth as he opened up. Natalie gently massaged his and in turn Michael pressed his tongue into her mouth and explored her mouth. It was as if they had reached a comfort level with each other that was reserved only for those who knew each other better than they knew themselves.

He laid there nearly still and let Natalie run the show. Michael did not meet her thrusts with some of his own nor did he do much of anything else. The heated flesh sliding up and down his cock was exquisitely squeezing and releasing him. In a different situation he might have tried to exert some control over himself but here, now, he was not going to impede anything. Natalie's groans seemed to indicate much the same attitude.

She brought his hand up to her cheek as she let a deep moan of ecstasy. She nuzzled his palm and scrunched her eyebrows as sweet release finally overcame her. Natalie writhed on top of him, her orgasm squeezing his cock extra tight. Michael arched his back as he came inside of her. Signaled by a series of short, quiet grunts, Michael's world suddenly changed.

Natalie's heaving torso was pressed up against his, making his wound throb. Catching her breath was hardly a priority for her; she did not want to slow down any of the feelings passing through her. Michael removed his hand from between their bodies and let it fall to the bed. Soon, Natalie rolled onto his left side. He turned his head to look at her, unsure of what he wanted to say, but only a tender kiss was exchanged. The rain was still pouring down outside.

7:21 pm.

Natalie shivered and suddenly awoke. She reached for the blanket. Through her sleepy eyes she noticed that Michael was still awake, listening to the rain and staring at the ceiling. "Mike?" she whispered through the darkness of the room.

"Yes?"

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Michael scratched at the skin around the bandaged area of his shoulder. "You wouldn't be buying anything."

That was an answer Natalie was afraid she would hear. He would probably say that he was simply keeping his feelings in check when what he was actually doing was keeping them bottled up. "Do you want to talk?"

It was a long moment before Michael answered. "I don't know what's changed Natalie."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm here, alone together with you. I just don't know what's changed."

"'Alone together' is another oxymoron." Natalie gave his hand a squeeze and Michael squeezed back. She propped herself up on her elbow and let her hair down. "Don't worry about what's changed. Just know that I'm here."

She huddled closer and kissed his cheek. Then his chin and then his chest as she moved down his body. Natalie spread his legs apart and lowered herself into a kneeling position. A long sigh emanated from his lips when Natalie gradually took his cock into her mouth. Michael simply laid his head back into the pillow. He had no urge to watch what Natalie was doing. It was strange feeling that way.

Natalie closed her eyes and slowly bobbed her mouth up and down on his cock. She curled up between his legs and moaned softly as she suckled him. It was slow and methodical, like she wanted it to go on as long as possible. She let her tongue act as a guide for his cock, providing a sensuous pleasure that forced its way into Michael's brain.

His eyes closed longer than a blink for the first time in hours. At the pace Natalie was going he could enjoy that pleasure forever and for a little while he did. But soon Natalie began to push him harder and he began breathing faster and faster. She had both hands on it now, leaving just the crown between her lips. It was all she needed though. Her tongue was moving in circles around the head of his cock at a near constant speed.

Michael gritted his teeth and twitched. Natalie moaned in surprise at the sudden eruption of thick fluid into her mouth. It came in bursts and coated her tongue and teeth. She never stopped tugging his cock as she swallowed every drop of cum that had spurted into her mouth. When the flow subsided she crawled back up to the head of the bed and pulled the blanket over their bodies. The drone of the rain put her to sleep easily.

6:37 am. Sunday, July 6.

Natalie slowly awakened from her slumber in Michael's bed. Even though she was an early riser by nature, she still felt a little groggy since she had slept for nearly eleven hours. To her surprise Michael was no longer lying next to her. She tiptoed into the bathroom and changed into the now dry clothes she was wearing the day before. Michael's clothes were lying in a soggy pile in the corner of his room. She did not bother exploring the house; she had a good idea where Michael might be.

8:02 am. St. Joseph Hospital.

After returning to her hotel room and taking a much needed shower, Natalie went to eat breakfast and then headed for the hospital. Outside Kirsten's room she saw her parents and her brother. Allen was standing a few feet away from them. "Inez, Chris, hi," said Natalie. "Hi Allen." A nurse came by, greeted them and entered the room.

"Hi," said Chris.

"Hello Natalie," replied Inez. "This is Klaus, Kirsten's father."

"Hello." He shook her hand.

"Did you just arrive?" asked Natalie.

"Klaus did. Chris and I got here last night."

"Has she woken up yet?"

"Not yet," said Christian.

"The doctor told us that she's going to be just fine, thank god," said Inez. "That goddamn bodyguard. This is EXACTLY why I asked Simon to hire him." She spoke as if Allen was not even there. His was staring at the floor, utter shame on his face. "Come on, let's go see her." She, Klaus and Christian entered the room.

"Are you alright Allen?" asked Natalie.

"Yeah," said Allen. "I can't believe this happened to her. I fuck up and this happens."

"At least she's going to be okay," said Natalie. "I you could have… I know you would have done everything possible Allen."

"Thanks Natalie, but you might be the only one who has confidence in me anymore," said Allen. "I doubt I'll be in the bodyguard business anymore. But since I haven't been formally dismissed yet." He straightened up and stood next to the doorframe.

"You're a good man Allen." Natalie patted him on the shoulder as she entered the room. Kirsten's family was standing around the bed. In the corner stood Michael, one arm hanging, the other in the sling and the bill of his cap pulled down over his eyes. "How long have you been here?"

"He was here before we got here," said Christian.

"Michael has been watching over her all night," said the nurse holding a clipboard.

"What about visiting hours?" asked Klaus. "You wouldn't let us come until eight o'clock."

"Look at his eyes. Visiting hours don't apply if he's going to break back into the hospital or ride the window washer scaffolding outside her window just to make sure she's okay." She put the clipboard under her arm. "We tried to at least make him sleep or eat but he wouldn't budge. I don't know how he's still standing."

Natalie held up a small bag containing a bagel from the breakfast she just had. "Are you hungry Mike?"

He shook his head slightly, never shifting his gaze from Kirsten.

"I told you," said the nurse.

9:48 pm. Monday, July 7.

Kirsten's family and Natalie were outside the room dozing. They had all been waiting anxiously for her to awake but they were only human. Kirsten had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the last quarter of an hour. Finally her eyes opened and stayed open. She blinked over and over as she adjusted to the low light of the room. It took a moment for her to recognize the dark figure standing in the corner.

She tried to say something but ended up coughing. Michael moved for the first time in more than two days and poured a cup of water for her. Kirsten took it and slowly sipped it, making sure her dry throat was properly moistened. She tried to sit up.

"Don't. Just let me say my piece and I'll go." He shut the door and removed his cap. There was a long pause as he gathered himself. "I'm sorry Kirsten. About everything. It's all my fault. None of this would have happened if I…if we had never met." He wrung the cap in his hands. "I'm sorry I went into the bar that night. I'm sorry about that weekend, about getting a part in this movie, I'm sorry that I made you care about me."

"Mike-"

"If none of that happened, we wouldn't have been arguing in that alley and a bullet wouldn't have come that close to your spinal cord."

"You can't bl- "

"No, no no!" said Michael angrily as he pointed at her. "Don't tell me it's not my fault! Don't tell me not to blame myself! I am the ONLY person responsible for this!" Michael turned away and swallowed hard. "I had so many chances to prevent this from happening but I pushed it. I let my feelings get the best of me. All I had to do was what you wanted me to do and you wouldn't be lying there right now." He put the cap back on and faced her. "Since I can't go back and do it then, I'm going to do it now."

"Do what?"

"You told me you never wanted to see me again so you won't." Michael covered his eyes with the bill of his cap. "I'm off the movie, out of Chicago, out of your life. I-" He took a deep breath. "I just couldn't bring myself to leave without telling you I'm sorry." With a heavy sigh he turned around. "That's all I have to say."

Outside the room he tapped Inez on the shoulder. "She's awake." Inez nearly jumped out of her seat and quickly woke Christian and Klaus. They rushed into the room.

Natalie stood up excitedly as well. But before she entered she noticed Michael walking away down the hall. "Where are you going?"

He stopped and addressed her. "You were right Natalie. Go be with her," said Michael. He turned around and continued down the hall to the elevators. "Because I can't."

Chapter 10 coming soon.

-Please send any comments you may have.