Chapter Two ~ Games
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Nadine caught up with me and passed me up as she ran up the stairs to her room. Michael was gaining on me. I got up four of the stairs when I felt a hand grab my ankle, I tripped and fell, my hands breaking my fall. Michael was running up the stairs ahead of me.
"Cheaters never win Michael!" I yelled as I got up and grabbed Michael's ankle, he tripped and fell as I raced ahead of him on the stairwell. He tried to grab my ankle again but I was too quick. I turned around at the top of the stair well and helped him up.
"You're pretty fast for an old guy..."
"Thank you. I work out." Michael said, breathlessly as I helped him up. He caught me off guard and threw me over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.
"Oh my god! Let me down!" I said as he carried me into Nadine's room. I couldn't see Nadine's reaction because it was blocked by Michael's back. Nadine started laughing.
"Nadine tell him to put me down!!!" I yelled flailing my arms and legs like a helpless child.
"Michael! Stop that…put Crystal down…”
"But...she tripped me..."
"You tripped me first! Michael put me down this instant." I said pounding on Michael‘s back, but he wasn‘t relenting. An idea popped into my head.
“Fine,” With that, I playfully gave Michael a hard smack on his booty. Michael put me down quickly after I did that. The look on his face was priceless. It was one of shock and disbelief. Nadine busted out laughing.
“You just didn’t…”
"Hey! I had to do what I had to do, you gave me no choice…”
"Oi! Sorry to break up the love fest here, but I really want to DDR." Nadine said popping her DDR CD for her game system and hooking up two pads. Michael looked at me competitively.
"All right Crystal, I want to see what you got." Michael said jumping on one of the DDR pads.
"Oh really? What's in it for me, because I would really hate to slaughter the man who invented the moonwalk." I said with a cocky grin on my face. Michael laughed.
"Well, lets make a wager shall we? If you win, I'll stay here tonight, if I win, I get to take you back to my place for the night. Deal?" Michael said looking at me then at Nadine. He then offered his hand. I shook it, accepting his challenge. I had to win this one, if he stayed here, I had a better chance of things not getting out of hand. If I went with him, I couldn't guarantee that things wouldn't lead further. I hoped all that practicing before I left was worth it.
"All right, you're on." I said hopping on the other pad. Michael was on the first controller pad so he got to pick the song. Both pads were on intermediate, and the song had an excess of 200 beats per minute. It was Wherever you are (Speed master remix) by Laava. It was going to prove very difficult. I counted the beats in my head before the arrows started showing up on the screen. I did my very best to keep up with all the double and triple steps, the holds, and the double arrowed jumps. By the end of the song, both of us were spent. My legs felt as if they were about to fall off my torso. I stood only long enough to see the score. I had beaten Michael by one little point. We had both gotten an 'A'.
"Oh my God. You guys were amazing. I've been trying to beat that song forever!. Its so hard!" Nadine said looking at the both of us. I collapsed on the bed, limbs sprawled out, in pure exhaustion. Nadine was first to notice me.
"Crystal are you going to be all right?" Nadine asked, standing over me. Michael stood by Nadine and looked down at me. He was sweating pretty bad, but he had recovered his normal breathing rate. He peeled off his black shirt to reveal a wife beater underneath.
"Yeah, I'll be fine, I'm just...really out of shape." I said breathing heavily. "Just give me a moment to recover..."
"Okay, you want me to get your soda from downstairs?" Nadine asked, her eyes meeting mine.
"Yeah, that'll be great." I said, sitting up finally. I looked at Michael.
"Okay, I'll be right back. Michael did you want a soda too?" Nadine asked looking at Michael. Michael turned to her and nodded.
"Yes, thank you." Michael said sitting down next to me on the bed.
"Okay," Nadine said leaving her room and going downstairs to get the soda.
"I guess you'll be staying here tonight?" I said, looking at Michael, still trying to catch my breath.
"Really? Did you beat me?" Michael asked, his eyes meeting mine. I nodded.
"By one point." I said, my cheeks flushing from my exertion earlier.
"Hm...I was positive that I beat you." Michael said, not wanting to admit to his defeat.
"Nope, I beat you. You gave me a run for my money, it was fun though." I said smiling. I got off the bed and walked over carefully to the keyboard that was in Nadine's room. I turned it on, as Michael walked over to me.
"You play?" Michael asked, looking at me once again. I looked back up at him.
"Yeah, I only fiddle around with it, you know. Play songs that I know the chords to. I'm really not that good. I play by ear mostly."
"Well...you should play something."
"Like what?" I asked putting my hand on the keys.
"I don’t know, what do you know?" Michael asked, looking at me. After a moment of thinking, I came up with one.
"All right I got one." I started playing "Good Enough" from Evanescence. I sang softly while I played. Nadine came in with the sodas. She noticed me playing her keyboard and set the soda aside and stood on the other side of the keyboard and listened. I ended the song and looked up at Michael and Nadine. Both had expressions of shock.
"What? Was it that bad?" I asked, looking at the both of them.
"No, it was beautiful." Nadine said, offering a smile.
"That was pretty nice.” Michael said, his eyes meeting mine.
"I try, it’s not quite the original, and Lord knows I can't sing like Amy Lee...but..."
"You have a beautiful voice." Michael said, quickly. "A bit nasally but it has power behind it."
"I agree," Nadine said, nodding to Michael's compliment. "Hey, you should show him that song that you sent me." Nadine added excitedly.
"Oh I don't think that's a good idea." I said, shooting down Nadine's idea. I didn't want to play my novice song for Michael. He'd probably think it was stupid.
"You write your own original stuff?" Michael asked, putting his hand on mine to keep me from walking away from the keyboard.
"Yeah, but the song she's referring is novice, you probably wouldn't like it..."
"Nonsense! I want to hear it." Michael said, looking at me. Those eyes again, I gave in.
"Nadine do you still have that song on your computer?" I asked looking at her. She nodded.
"I keep everything you send me." Nadine said, as I followed her out of her room. Michael was quickly on toe. We went downstairs and Nadine got on her computer and quickly found the file that I had sent her a little over a year ago. Pretty soon I could hear it coming through the computer speakers. I hated hearing my voice. I pinched the bridge of my nose, knowing Michael was thinking it was horrible.
"I love what you did to your voice. I like the added computerization of it."
"It was a computerized tuner." I said, admitting that I cheated. "I was sitting down when I sang this song. I was flat throughout most of the song so I used the computer to tune the off-pitch notes." I said, massaging my temples.
"And I love the beat you used...was it a loop?" Michael asked.
"No, everything from the guitar, background vocals, strings, drums, the rhythm, the lyrics, everything was all me." I said, feel a little proud that I didn't cheat on the rest of the song. "The only thing I cheated on was the effects on my voice." I said, looking at Michael, who was listening intently to the song. The song came to an end and Michael nodded.
"I love it." Michael said looking at me.
"Really? I think its horrible." I said looking at Nadine and Michael.
"Crystal, you are talented, how many times do I have to say that?" Nadine said, giving me a hug. I hugged her back.
"If you wanted my professional advice, I think you should definitely turn this into a record company. They‘d be fools not to sign you." Michael said, looking into my eyes. He was being sincere. Michael pressed play again. "I love the guitar riff you play, I love the bass, I definitely love the beat, you mess up a little bit, but that's to be expected. What program did you use to put this together on?" Michael asked, switching his gaze from the screen to me.
"Garageband." I replied.
"It's very good." He said looking at me. "You're a very talented lady. You're like me, you hear a melody in your head and you fill in the instruments and lyrics around it." Michael said, nodded, smiling.
"Thank you. I feel honored that you would say that." I said, letting out a big yawn. I checked the clock on the wall. It was around nine.
"Michael you should probably go..." I said looking at him. “It’s already dark and you probably have things you need to do tomorrow…”
"No way! I'm staying here remember? We made a bet, I intend to keep my end of the bargain.” “What about your kids?” I asked my eyes meeting Michael’s again.
“My kids are in the States. My nanny Grace is taking good care of them." Michael said, looking at me, knowing I would understand.
"Oh I see, okay." I said, as another question came to my mind as the three of us started to head back upstairs. "How did you get over here Michael? I mean, without bodyguards following you, or paparazzi for that matter?" I asked looking at him.
"I drove over here. I do have my license, you know." Michael said, looking at me. We got to Nadine's room.
"So did you get funny looks from people who thought they saw Michael Jackson driving a car." Nadine asked, letting out a huge yawn. Both Michael and I noticed this. Then Michael mouthed to me
'We need to get her to bed'. I nodded.
"Yeah, one guy practically stopped in the middle of the road. I found that hilarious.” Michael said, glancing over at me.
"Are you tired Nadine?” Nadine yawned again and nodded. “Why don't you get some sleep, you‘ve got a busy day tomorrow." I said, looking at her. Nadine nodded in agreement. "Enjoy your night Crys." Nadine said as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. I hugged her back and wished her a goodnight. Michael bid her a goodnight too. Nadine then walked inside her bedroom and closed the door. Michael turned to me, our eyes met.
‘Now what to do.’ "Would you like to go on a walk?" Michael asked, as if reading my mind.
"Sure." I said following him downstairs to the entry way. After putting on our jackets and shoes. I looked at him as he was putting on his infamous fedora. The night was cool, the rain clouds from earlier had dispersed. The iridescent glow of the moon illuminated the street, trees and sidewalk in front of us as we walked down the street. We walked a few blocks with light conversation filling the silence. We walked by a house and a dog startled the both of us. I felt Michael’s hand grab mine and I stopped and looked at him. Once Michael regained his composure he realized that he had grasped my hand. He quickly let go of it.
"Sorry, that scared the living hell of out me..." I held his hand, interlacing his fingers with my own.
"It's alright, it took me by surprise too." I said as we continued on our stroll. We walked by a pub and Michael stopped.
"I’m thirsty, how about you? You want a pop or something?" Michael asked looking at me. I raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"A pop? You could’ve stopped at the convenience store a couple blocks back."
“I wasn’t thirsty then, come on, we’ll play pool too. Please?” Michael asked. I rolled my eyes.
"Fine" I said letting him drag me into the pub. Michael went up to the bar, with me by his side. The pub attendant immediately came up to Michael and asked what he wanted.
“What you be havin’?”
“I’ll have a gin and tonic.” Michael said, digging in his pocket and placing a €10 on the counter.
“And for the lass?” the man asked, his eyes falling on me. He winked at me.
“Now tell me what you would like?" Michael asked his eyes meeting mine again. I bit my lip, trying to decide.
"Rum and Coke." I whispered, shyly. I looked over to the left wall in a back room with pool tables was a jukebox. I smiled and walked over to it. I put a Euro into it and picked five songs that I wanted to listen to.
"Finding the songs that you want?" Michael asked, placing my drink on top of the jukebox. I turned around to find him standing close to me.
"Yeah, I am..." I said, turning to grab my drink. I downed about a quarter of the glass, the rum leaving its warm signature on back of my throat. I then grabbed a pool stick and the chalk and proceeded to chalk the tip of the cue stick.
"Ready to lose again?" I said cockily. Michael shrugged.
“Maybe…what’s it in for me?" Michael asked, looking at me, studying my every move. I put the cue stick aside.
“What should be in it for you? What do you want out of this?” I asked, my eyes meeting his. He raised an eyebrow.
“Are you sure you want to know? Cause…” His eyes ran over my body. “…I could think of a lot of things I could get out of this…” I rolled my eyes.
“Of course you would think that way. But we just met today, and I don’t do one night stands…or any type of stand for that matter. I’m a one man woman there Michael. But I could arrange for a kiss perhaps?”
“A kiss huh? What type of kiss would that be?”
“Well any type of kiss I guess, as long as it doesn’t lead of a heated make-out session, it’ll be fine.” I said, leaning against the pool table.
“All right then, it’s settled if I win you must kiss me anyway that I chose…but if you win…”
“I get bragging rights.” I said, as I put change in the pool table and got the balls out. Michael thought on it for a moment.
“Okay, deal. Rack em’ up Crystal.”
"You know how to play pool, right?" I asked, looking at him again. He nodded.
"I learned when I did Moonwalker, you know, during the Smooth Criminal sequence." He said, walking over and grabbing a cue stick. I was dancing to the song that was playing and when Michael turned around he drank in every movement that my body made. I was in no way dancing dirty, I didn't want to send the wrong message to Michael.
"Nice dancing...very tasteful." Michael complimented. I nodded in acknowledgement.
"Thank you." I said laying the cue ball in the middle of the kitchen. We talked a lot during the pool game, mostly about what we wanted out of life. I was stripes, he was solids. He was concentrating on knocking the '4' ball in when I decided to ask him a question that had been puzzling me all night.
"Why did you rescue me out of the rain?" I asked looking down at him. He paused to take his shot to look up at me. His doe eyes, once again, piercing through me.
"I told you already..." Michael said, patiently, he looked back down at the table and took his shot. Making the ball into the corner pocket. He was beating me so far.
"Yeah but mega-celebrities don't just rescue women from ruining a five hundred dollar jacket. Not unless there are ulterior motives behind it." I said, taking another drink of my rum and coke.
"Well today I thought I would be a gentlemen...besides...that jacket looks rather...sexy on you." Michael said looking at me, then back down on the table, debating his next shot.
"Oh, now the truth comes out. You do find me attractive." I said, resting my hips against the pool table. Michael came around the table toward me, so that he was merely inches away from me.
"Who wouldn't...plus I have a sixth sense about what people are like. Yes I do find you very attractive, but the feeling a purely platonic…” Michael said, bending over and shooting the '2' ball in. “…for the moment.” He added. He only had to shoot the '8' ball in and it would be game over. I still had three balls left on the table. "Eight ball, left corner pocket." Michael called, aiming the shot. Just like he called, he made the eight ball in the left corner pocket. It was game over, but the night was far from over. “And that’s game.” Michael and I had just gotten done putting the cue sticks away when Rupee's 'Tempted to Touch' came on. It was the very last song I chose, and for some reason I had a feeling I would regret it. Michael began to dance to the infectious beat. I laughed as I downed the remainder of my glass. Michael reached his hand out to me, by this time, the bar was nearly empty.
"Dance with me." Michael said, his eyes were so inviting, I couldn't refuse.
"Okay." I said, taking his hand and moving my body with the beat. Michael moved closer to my body as his arms snaked around my waist. I put my arms around his neck as our bodies moved in-sync with each other, careful so that the moment wouldn't get too heated. The very idea that I was dancing with Michael Jackson made my knees weak, and my hormones kick into over-drive. Our movements became more sexual as the song progressed. Michael had spun me around to where he was swaying his body against mine from behind. He spun me around again, with his hands on my hips I ran my hands up the fabric of his shirt and dipped my hips much like Naomi Campbell did in the 'In the closet' video. My movements became teasingly seductive. Michael seemed very entertained by this and reciprocated each motion fluidly. By the time the song had faded, both of us were merely inches from kissing. "Wow." Michael said, his breath short and choppy.
"Well, I guess I owe you that kiss huh?" I said looking at Michael. He smiled.
“Yes, but I’ll take a rain check on it for now. I need to cool down for a little while.” Michael said, downing the last little bit of his gin and tonic. We walk up to the front and placed our empty glasses at the bar and headed out to continue our walk.
