 perfect banner by AvalonMist Chapter 8 This isn’t looking hopeful, the place is completely dark, not a single car in the parking lot at the back. Out of season then, though I wonder if it ever is in season. The bang on the door echoes rather too loudly and stomach feels like it is on its own roller coaster. Why am I nervous? Maybe because outside that bank a few days ago there seemed like no other choice, we were just heading for it whatever else happened, now I am standing here in the cold waiting with him, thinking, making arrangements, about to climb stairs, open a door, all that preamble before you actually get down to it, and frankly I am thinking about my underwear. Sorry, but you know what I mean. 4 hour old, bicycle ride AND horse ride, sitting-on-his-lap-thinking-about-his-cock knickers. I steal a sideways glance, sh!t he is breathtaking. Has that flush of cold wind about his cheeks and his neck. He wears his clothes well, you know what I mean? They might be from some charity shop stuck in time but they fit him perfectly, apart from his jacket which is open, the waistcoat is snug around his chest, the material far from new but soft and cared for, glancing the top of his hips inviting you to undo it and find more buttons underneath. Least he’s warm eh? The cloth just hangs off him right, stretching to cover his muscles as he moves to look around find the source of a noise in the background. Fuck, stop staring. See now there’s the other thing, what if we get to the laying down on the bed naked bit- little lamp glowing in the dark- and he thinks ‘hmmm, you know what…in the light…I could have found meself someone better’ Oh I am sure he wouldn’t say actually say something bloody rude, not the sort, for all his frankness. But he might think it. I always meant to keep up with those stomach crunches, and the sit ups. And the hiking. Honest. And I am thinking about who the hell he is. Knock again then. Oh hold my hand will you? I think he is psychic, smiling at me, winking, rough fingers weaving into mine “we’ll be alright” Christ lets just get this started. At last some clunking bolts sliding through on the other side of the door now and a woman’s face is peering out a little blearily. I hope there is room at the Inn; I am not getting back on that hoofed beast. “It is bloody late- what is that you want?” comes out of her mouth as she is opening her eyes, but I watch the almost biblical awakening as she takes us, or rather Mr Hair in. Perhaps it is about the money but all my intuition is saying otherwise, that and her mouth being a bit wider than you’d expect “Well I surely hope you can help us, will yer forgive us for waking you Mrs…” “Cat. Well I was christened Tabitha, but…call me Cat” Well that was quick eh? Maybe I am not the only woman in Australia who knows a good thing when she sees it; I think we might get along just fine This Ned does light up when he smiles. Mostly, I have observed, he looks like he is in another world of worry and thought, but just right now you can see the other side of what he could be. Like he relaxed and forgot about everything for a bit. And I guess he knows it is not about the money too. He has his hand out to take hers, old fashioned really, but it’s a hand there’s not many would ignore “Me names Kelly, Edward Kelly would you believe? Me mother had a sense of humour as well wouldn’t yer say? This here is me mate, Billy King, and the lovely Eva, I’ve two other mates that’ll be along soon, and we are after some rooms” We are in the door faster than a jack rabbit on heat, suppose that should be a Jill rabbit on heat, and she is looking at the plastic bound register by the door, well supposedly so, she seems to be more caught up in the details of his face. He is all charm “Is there a problem Cat?” “No, nothing at all, just you all look familiar” “I’ve been here before” I say too quickly “last spring” “She was wearing red” Very funny, Joe, oh you should be on the stage She nods, but I have the feeling it isn’t me she would have noticed “Ok that must be it then ay? Anyway how many rooms are you wanting Mr Kelly?” I can hear Joe snort a little beside me, and those men are just exuding sex, or maybe it is just me that is breathing too heavy. “Three I should say. The 2 boys can share with each other” She is filling in names now, reaching up for keys from the little rack.  “There you go, up the stairs” She drops one set into Joe’s hand, clunk, and grins at me, one of those my-you-turned-up-trumps kind of grins as she glances at the man next to me, I can hardly breathe and she knows it “I’ll cook you some breakfast in the morning if you like. Bathroom is at the end of the hall,” Ah yes the extensive facilities at The Royal Mail, I remember now, freezing cold, and a good walk down the corridor in yer nightie...which of course I don’t have. “I’ll stay down here a bit…wait for the boys” To be honest I don’t think they have noticed me and Joe are halfway out the room, Ned already has her arm as they are off towards the bar. And all I can hear is just the thump of my blood. He is taking two stairs at a time so I am kind of running to keep up, hahaahah, well don’t want to fall behind at the last now eh? You ever watch men do things? Watch their fingers and their muscles work, the concentration, the application of force as necessary, in this case on a stiff door, the way their brains can focus just on the job in hand? Joe seems to be completely himself, applying himself to the next bit whereas I am out of my skin. A few seconds pass before the triumphant swing opens up into the darkroom “Come on in then Lass” it is all settled in his mind. A flick of the light switch and here we are, me and him. Nothing but a bed, a dresser, a threadbare carpet and a slightly musty smell of air that has been prisoner too long. Fuck what AM I doing here? Aside from evidently about to have sex with the most beautiful man I ever saw. Reason enough you might say, and it had certainly seemed simple before. Out with it, come on Eva, you were never any good at keeping schtum. I stand with my legs against the dresser, some hard thing to keep me steady at least “Why did ‘Ned’ say your name is Billy King? Who are you?” Ok so not much of a line in seduction and I don’t suppose it is unusual for bank robbers to have other names. Otherwise it might make it too simple eh? But there is something that’s bothering me here. His eyes narrow a bit with a frown as he takes off his jacket and hangs it on the back of the chair, just inches from where I stand glaring at him, but nevertheless he smoothes down the material, don’t want any creases now. Everything is deliberate, measured, controlled, he is considering my question, what the right answer might be, as his hands pulls a silver flask from an inside pocket. “You weren’t so concerned about who I am before” He is both challenging and joking and I take the flask from him, a long gulp and a longer look at him turn to sit on the edge of the bed, rolling a cigarette between his fingers and thumbs. Christ “No, well that’s true, and I have no way of knowing whether you are going to tell me the truth now, so I guess you might say ‘what’s the point is in asking?’ May as well just say your name is Jesse James eh?” I am sure he grimaced just a bit as the sulphur lit up his face, I take a quick look up but there isn’t a smoke detector to be seen, not quite that sort of establishment “But all the same I am here because you sort of asked me. Some might say I took a bit of a risk, and some others might say that I since I have got myself involved with men who whatever their names are, are up to no good, that I am already in trouble. Doesn’t seem so much to want to know, what to call you…” He is grinning. “We all ready had this conversation Eva, and I told you what me name is. But alright then...What to call me when?” he is kicking off his boots now and laying back against the head board, legs stretched out in front of him, and just watching me while he takes a drag, little curls of smoke slipping in between those lips. Smug bastard huh? No time for standing on ceremony then. “Well when I do this” Ok so that worked, I think I just whimpered out loud but I am on his lap now, and he is looking like a snake with a rat in the cage “and when you make me…” “Ah what do you call it now? Come” Such a small word. “Yes that’s about it. Then” “You can call me Joe, me names Joe Byrne” His mouth is just hovering over mine waiting for me to reach up to him “Billy King is one of me aliases. I am an outlaw and a bank robber, I steal their money and give some of it to the people who support us” Oh sh!t well his hands up the back of my t shirt and tangled up in the catch of my bra are as good an answer but he seems to be on a roll. “AND I was born in November 1856, in Victoria, Australia, me mothers name is Margret and me Da was Patrick.” 1856? Hmmm now that was a while ago, but yes you can kiss me while you speak...Jesus...those thumbs over my breasts are enough to make me forget again anyhow “I killed a copper called Scanlon in self defence at Stringybark Creek and held hostages at Faithfulls Creek while me mates robbed the bank at Euroa” His hands work fast I am naked to the waist, pulling me into his chest, rough material against my skin as I squirm, there is something about being undone and him not even exposed. I can feel is the shape of his cock under me, can’t stop my hips moving in time with his even if I wanted to, wet cotton getting wetter. “I held up the bank here…Fuck…in Jerilderie” My hand in his hair, my mouth against his and he is losing it. “Listen to me Eva…” “You mean I have to stop?” His hands grab my ass and pull me harder against him as he presses my hands down to his belt “Don’t you dare, but listen…since you asked…” Thwack! That leather slipped out fast through the metal buckle and I can feel his cock under my hand, buttons hard against my palm as I kiss him, mixed up tongues and grating teeth. His head goes back against the wood “Eva…it’s true.” “What is?” alright so it feels less important now “I am Joe Byrne, me mate is Ned, and there’s Steve Hart and Dan Kelly. And we are the Kelly gang” He is taking the piss of course he is, and I keep kissing him, asking him to lose control, taking his gasps in my mouth and pulling those buttons open one by one “right and I am Calamity Jane” Fuck. He has me tight now. I can’t move my hands, no further. “Eva. Look at me, you want to know what to call me, then it is Joe. Joe Byrne” I am stock still, looking at him now “That’s impossible, he’s been dead…” some centenary flashes through my mind but I can’t pin it down “a long time” “Do I feel dead to you?” ~~~~~~~~0~~~~~~~~~
See now she doesn’t believe me, I shouldn’t ha’ said. Maybes she doesn’t care who I am? Joseph Byrne, Billy King, Prince Albert himself. These lasses make the ones back home look like the Virgin Mary herself, but I have got her looking at me all funny now, quizzical. Me cock’s not about to give this up with out a protest, Christ, and she knew what she wanted alright. Who am I to say ‘no’ or at least insist on me name being proper first? Ah give it a rest Joe Byrne, always too easy with the truth, like they want to hear it whatever it is, look it in the face. Better let go of her hands and see if she wants to get off. Fuck it. Perhaps I can win her over, I’ll give it another go in any case “Eva, look Lass. I can’t rightly say how it happened first. We been on the run months, living in the Ranges, rough an all, when one day, we was riding hard and it just did, it just happened. We was still home but in a different year, a later year. Gave us all a start an all, til we figured we might be able to use it to our advantage” Perhaps if I kiss her gentle, let me hands move over her, she likes that. Yeah. Come on now Eva. Listen while I touch yer. Come back to where we were. She’s pulling a way a bit, but not much, letting me tongue slide over her lips all the same “What like travelling in time…give me a break! No one travels in time without a tardis!” What is she on about now? Sometimes I think she is off some other planet in the sky never mind from another century “Well I can’t explain it Lass” press a little harder now, with any luck she’ll move them fingers back down to where they was “but we have come four times already, though from what I can tell…” Jesus, her hand has me cock now, keep talking Joe “each time we do, it is further away...yer know…Christ…from 1879” “Is that right?” Can just about hear her. And those teeth dragging over me neck is making it hard to think about dates. Yer know, I don’t think she is so bothered anymore, but better safe than sorry, and I know that I would be, sorry that is, if she stopped “Aye it is, one time was 1930 by the newspaper we saw.” Unbuttoning me shirt and all now she is, can feel her breasts tickling on me skin. Jesus that feels good, her leaning over like that. “Let me help you lass” I want to touch her before I come in her hand, where would me reputation be then? Flip her over and it’s my turn. Kissing down over her belly while me fingers find those God awful zips they have. Metal teeth? Some things haven’t improved to my mind “Yeah 1931 to be exact. Dan’s horse nearly bolted into the river when one of them motorised cars came past us” No No No! Don’t sit up, ah come on lass; you want me to stop talking? I will then. Ah thank Jesus! She is just pulling off the rest of those clothes. Think I will do the same. She is smiling at me, watching- that’s a good sign; I am taking it as that at least. “You are serious…” Naked we are now; just knees and our fingers are touching. I don’t know that a woman looked at me so intent before, can’t decide whether she wants to fuck or talk. Christ knows I am up for both but one of them can wait wouldn't yer say? “Yeah I am serious. Come on lass under the covers, its cold when yer stop moving eh?” She looks kind of sweet tucked up like that under the sheet, short little curls round her face, though I don’t think she’d thank me fer saying it. Ah let me kiss yer some more then, push me tongue into yer mouth so as you make that little noise and move your hips to mine. “Yeah, bastards changed the money though, when was that? 1960 summat, changed it to dollars and cents” Lets see what yer are made of Eva, haahaha, me hands pushing those legs open while I tell yer about bank notes and coins. I know yer like me fingers “Oh…! Jesus…Did they? That must have been awkward, you know back in…shit when was it?” she is moving against me now, her voice sort of way off. You are doing well Lass seeing as you are so wet and all. Christ and I like that, not to mention what she does with her palm. Concentrate a minute more now Joe Byrne “Ah. Aye well of course we couldn’t pay off the mortgages with dollars and cents now could we? There’s the exchange rate and all to think of” “Joe… tell me about the currency later…” Ah so yer made up yer mind! I will have to remember that for the future, bore their backsides off and they’ll be begging fer me cock. |