The Pianist

Like every night I sat at the piano and played. Depending on my mood I would play evergreens or some improvisations, or even some Bach now and then, but most of the time I stuck to evergreens. That's what the owner paid me for: light entertainment for the customers of his bar. Most of the time nobody would really listen to what I played but what did I care? Playing piano was the best I could do for a living and the only thing I had ever done, except for the odd job during college. Even back then, I ended playing the piano in bars and one day I realized I wasn't made for a career as a teacher or an engineer or some other white collar job. Playing piano was all I wanted to do.

That night Evelyn showed up. She was a friend of the owner's. Most of the other employees assumed she was his lover, but no one really knew. She used to show up once or twice a week, come to my piano, nod to me and then sing away to the tune of some old sappy songs from musicals or movies. Of course as soon as Charlie the owner, had warned me she would drop in and want to sing to my music, I was always prepared to change into a tune of which I knew she would know the lyrics. Over the weeks I had found she knew the lyrics to most if not all of the tunes in my repertoire. Somehow we made a good pair. The audience enjoyed it too. She always got claps and cheers. Pity was, she wasn't showing up on a regular schedule and never sang more then three songs.

Evelyn jumped up on the piano as she often did and started to sing. Apart from a rare casual greeting when she happened to hang around while I left home, she never spoke a word to me. Somehow I noticed a difference in her style that day. She had a deep husky voice that always sent shivers down my spine. Besides, she was quite a sight. Tall, slender, but not bony, with dark blonde hair and some incredible green eyes, she had the looks to kill for. In other words she was out of my league entirely. But then I had no league to play in. For more than a decade I had lived like a monk. After a very disappointing affair with a girl in college, I decided I wasn't meant for girls. I could live a perfectly unhappy sad but quiet life as a bachelor. Lisa, my first and last long-term relationship, long-term meaning five month, had hurt me real bad. Not that five-month would be a long enough period to develop a true fixation on a partner, but I had loved her. She was not only cute, but had at least pretended to love me too. All went well till we started to do more than just kissing. It turned out I was a poor lover. It took us several futile attempts till I finally managed to make love to her and even then it wasn't very good for her. We had been both totally inexperienced and had to work it out somehow. At first she played it all down and was very sympathetic, but after a couple of sexual disasters, her attitude changed. The night came when she delivered the fatal blow to my ego. After I had once more tried in vain to bring her to an orgasm, she said simply that Mark, one of my hated beaming super-boy colleagues, did it better than me. I was shocked and she realized it. Under tears she tried to explain that she had just wanted to find out if she was frigid or so and that it had been her intention to help our relationship. I knew or thought I knew better. Once again I had lost against the league of the athletic handsome brilliant masters of the universe. I, a slob, simply had no chance against them, with my curbed down shoulders, with upper arms thinner than my forearms, a slightly curbed spine and an average face. She became Mark's girlfriend for a brief period of time, but afterwards they split. She tried to talk to me once, but I refused. Shortly after I left college without a degree, but set on becoming a professional bar pianist and a monk too.

The farther Evelyn advanced into the song the more it became evident she was not her usual self. I heard undertones of sadness in her voice and she was slightly unsteady. Wanting to test her, I played one of my favourite sad songs. All my favourite songs are of the sad type, but this one was a true heartbreaker. She gave me a rather annoyed look, but sang it nevertheless. Somehow I felt a bit ashamed towards the end of the song. She clearly had troubles finishing it and I saw she had watery eyes. She disappeared without a third song. Well, I shrugged inwardly. People in bars rarely are there for the music, even thou Evelyn got her share of admiration, but the buzz continued in full strength the moment she sang her last note and the clasps subsided.

After two more hours, I could finally rest my tired fingers. After three hours of hacking into the keys I sometimes wished I had chosen another profession, but most of the time I felt quite comfortable.

To my surprise Evelyn waited for me back stage.

'You did that on purpose!' she shouted at me, but with more resigned sadness then anger. Her voice sounded slurred. She must have been drinking.

'Oh, I'm sorry if I did something wrong, but I assure you I had no intention to. Don't shoot me, I'm only the pianist.' That made her smile involuntarily.

'Oh, I guess you're right. You are only the pianist. I shouldn't take it out on you.'

'Well, my shoulders aren't that broad, but if you want to unload something on them, go ahead. I can take a lot. Besides, I must confess guilty. I did play a particularly sad song for you, but I meant no harm. When I feel blue, I play only sad songs, like to console me.' This time her smile broadened.

'I know you're a nice guy. Everybody says that.'

'That's because they don't know me.' She actually laughed now. Once in a while it felt good to just flirt with a beautiful woman, even if there was nothing in it for me.

'Thanks, man. I needed that. Tell you what. It's not very comfortable here in the hall. Let's go to Charlie's office. He's not here anyway. Left with that bitch for a good fuck the bastard!'

We entered Charlie's office. It was a fairly big room with a big desk and a swivel chair behind it. In front of the desk was a big leather chair, the one you almost drowned in. Evelyn sat behind the desk, leaving me the leather chair. I sank into the chair, my knees almost at my chin. She began to rummage in Charlie's desk. Finally, with a sigh, she found what she was looking for and I saw her with something in her hand I first took for a pen or pencil. It was a long brown tube. Only when she took it to her lips did I realize it was a sort of cigarette. It was brownish, with a gold coloured mouthpiece and longer than then a cigarette. She ignited a lighter from Charlie's desk and puffed to get it going then she took a long drag and inhaled hastily.

'Gosh, I needed that. I've smoked up the ones I had on me. Thank God Charlie always has some in his desk.' She said blowing wisps of smoke while talking. She finished by releasing thin stream thru her nose. I was baffled, almost in shock. Damn it, not only was she a gorgeous looking woman. She was also a smoker and judging by the way she smoked, not a casual one either. I had been attracted to her at first sight, but now I knew she was a smoker, I was totally out of my depths. I felt an insurmountable urge to court her, yet I knew she was out of reach. For all I knew, she was Charlie's girl and even if she had made that remark about Charlie being off with another woman, that didn't mean she would take the slightest interest in me. She must have noticed my stare.

'Why do you look so shocked? I smoke. So what? Or is it because I dare smoke these?' She pointed up with her cigarette or whatever it was. 'I can smoke these any time I want.'

I had to clear my throat and try to suppress my deep emotion. Women smoking had always intimidated me. Maybe that had been the reason for my disastrous love life. When I saw a woman smoke, I got aroused in a way no non-smoker no matter how beautiful could arouse me. Yet I had avoided smokers. They intimidated me and I was afraid to make an ass of me.

'Oh, no, nothing of the sort, I assure you. I don't mind it in the least. It just came as a surprise. I didn't know you smoked.' I managed to say with minimum tremor in my voice. 'In fact, I have always found smoking makes a woman look more glamorous, even sexy.' I added as an afterthought. She was so remote, I felt I had nothing to loose.

'You must be the one exception then. Nowadays smoking is about the greatest sin a woman can commit. Most men I've met, close up I mean, have complained about my smoking, pestering me to cut down or quit. Only poor old Charlie never complained. He even introduced me to these wonderful Nat Shermans. Before my romance with these beauties started, I was a pack a day girl. Now all I need is ten of these to keep me going. Except today! I've already finished off the pack I had on me, but I need more.' It seemed to me she liked to exhale while talking as she always took a deep drag before she started to speak. I was a bit puzzled of the way she talked about Charlie. It didn't sound exactly like they were lovers. Well, that didn't really matter.

'Where the heck... Oh, here it is. Care to join me?' while she said that she had again searched Charlie's desk and had extracted a bottle of Bourbon and too tumblers from it.

'Guess there's no harm in a little night cap.'

'That's the way I see it too. I already had a couple of them, but I could do with more. I'm so pissed off, I could drown the whole bottle.'

A dark cloud had settled on her face. 'I hope you don't mind, but I called you in here because I need someone to take care of me in case I misbehave. Is there anyone waiting for you?'

'Not a soul.'

'Good. I counted on that. By the way, I'm afraid I don't even know your name. I'm Evelyn.' She extended her hand.

'I know. I'm the anonymous piano player, but you may call me Robert or Rob.' I took her hand and shook it. She had a nice grip. Not the weak boneless affair most women had, but the firm yet not too strong pressure of a self-assured mature woman.

'Hi Rob. Well then, cheers!' She gave me my glass and then gulped down most of the half-inch she had poured for each of us, went on dragging hard on her cigarette. It smelled very nice, spicy and sweetish. I sipped on my drink, waiting for her to speak up. Obviously she needed someone to talk about whatever was eating at her.

'Did you ever notice there are times when you want to drown your sorrow in alcohol but no matter how much you drink, it gets worse? I mean, look at me. Ever since lunch I kept drinking but it feels like drinking water. Instead of getting drunk I keep getting mad on that asshole.' Her blurred speech told otherwise. 'I feel so godamn dirty! How could I be so stupid! I don't even love him.' I could see her eyes watering. I didn't know what to say so I said nothing. She went on smoking voraciously, filling the room with dense smoke while she drank more Bourbon.

'Tell me, why do men never have enough? Do they need to prove their virility every day? He claimed to have separated from his wife, but it was a lie! But that wasn't enough. He also had another lover beside me! And a man it was too!'

She sobbed for a while.

'I didn't know Charlie's married' I dared ask, as I assumed it was him she was talking about. She gave me a startled look then fell into a bitter laughter.

'Charlie? Who's talking about Charlie? You thought... Oh, no, he's just a good friend. I was mad at him because he left with his new girlfriend when I needed him most. My lover's a guy you don't know and you haven't missed anything either.'

She was getting real drunk now, so I decided to put it all to an end. I took the bottle away from her and asked her if she wanted me to take her home. She just nodded and I helped her up, holding her by the waist while she clung to my neck. She handed me her keys and I managed to get her into her car. By sheer luck I got to her place without any incident, as I hadn't driven a car in ages. I simply couldn't afford one from what Charlie was paying me. I stopped the car in the driveway and with difficulty managed to get her into the house. In the living room she slumped on the couch. Her house was a nice two-story affair so I took me some time to find out where her bedroom and bathroom were. I asked her if there was anything I could bring her. She asked for more Bourbon, but I made her some coffee instead. Finally, after two cups, she had recovered enough to get upstairs with my assistance. She even managed to use the bathroom on her own. When she came back, all she had on was her bra. I had never seen much of her body before, as she had always worn long dresses that obscured most of her. She looked ravishingly sexy. Her tuft was of the same dark blonde as her hair. She stopped face to face with me and said:

'Fuck me!' Just that. I was petrified. She took my hand and staggered to her bed, where she fell on her back.

'Go on, undress. I want to be fucked hard right now!'

I hesitated. My cock was already steel-hard, but wouldn't it be immoral to take advantage of her? She was stone drunk and maybe not aware of what she was doing. Yet, I would probably never again have the chance to make love to such a gorgeous woman. She was all I had ever dreamt of. So the fight was short and my hormones won over my conscience. Within seconds I was on top of her. While I had undressed she had started to smoke again. Much later she would confess to me she had wanted to play slut, totally unaware of effects of her smoking on me. Seeing her smoke while I lay on top of her drove me frantic. I rammed my cock into her dry cunt. She wasn't aroused at all, yet I couldn't stop so I gave her what she had asked for. Then something strange happened. She took a long drag on her cigarette and out of a sudden I felt her cunt contracting and turning wet. She responded to my rhythm and I felt her pelvis bump against mine. I noticed that she had clenched the end of her cigarette between her teeth and I felt her arms around me. She took long drags from her cigarette, exhaling thru her nose, while she grew frantic, just like I was. In a matter of minutes we launched into a joint orgasm of shuddering intensity. When it was all over I collapsed over her, unable to move, my half limp dick still inside her. All had happened so fast, she still had a third of her cigarette to smoke on. She took another lung bursting inhale and then turned her head towards mine and searched for my lips. I had almost forgotten how a real good French kiss was like. Now I made up for all those years of celibacy. We sucked on each other with passion and she blew the smoke she still had inside slowly into my mouth. It tasted incredibly good. I inhaled it. The turn on was so big, my cock stiffened again. She fumbled for another cigarette and off we went again. This time she needed two of them till I was ready. I doubt she enjoyed her second one very much, as she could hardly hit on it, the way her orgasm shuddered her. After it was over once again, I managed to roll to her side. She still puffed small clouds of smoke out of her nose and mouth, even thou she had dumped her cigarette. I nestled into her side, enjoying the silky touch of her skin. My hand wondered up and down her marvellous body. I could hardly believe it. Not only had such a god-like creature dragged me into her bed but she had also turned me into the stallion I had always wanted to be. I felt her breath slowing down, an indication that alcohol and fatigue had won over. She had fallen asleep. Reluctantly I dressed and left.

For a week I saw or heard nothing of her. I was disappointed, but ever since Lisa had betrayed me so shamelessly more then ten years ago, melancholy was my constant companion, so I wasn't worse off then before. Maybe some of the regulars of Charlie's bar may have noticed my music sounded even sadder then before, but nobody gives bar music much attention. Then one night Evelyn just appeared near my piano like nothing had happened. She sang three songs and disappeared without looking my way. If anything her voice sounded a bit huskier than before. I played my repertoire and then hurried back stage, just in case she might be waiting for me. But she wasn't. For a month or so, she dropped in like before, without a warning, sang a couple of songs and disappeared again. I tried a sort of musical communication, playing only sad songs with lyrics telling of deserted lovers and broken hearts, but to no end.

It had been another night without her. I closed the lid on the piano, while the waiter started to clean up the now empty tables. Then I noticed that there was someone at a far off table. It was the darkest corner and at first all I saw was a silhouette. Then she rose and I saw it was a woman. By the way she moved I recognized Evelyn. She left the bar thru the main door. What had she been doing there alone at a table? Was it the first time or had she been here more often? I hadn't usually paid attention to customers, but from then on I did.

Almost every night she was there. What was the meaning of this? Charlie was away on a vacation with his lover, so it wasn't for his sake she was there. After yet another sleepless night, I decided to put it all to an end. Probably there would be an explanation that had nothing to do with me, but I wanted to be sure. I had to wait two nights till she turned up again and I noticed her only because I knew what to look for. I couldn't wait till my program was over, so I decided to make a little break in between. She must have guessed what I was after because as soon as I headed for her table she rose and wanted to leave. That was my lucky day however as her path was blocked by people from another table who had just risen to leave. She was trapped, so she fell back on her chair.

'What do you want?' not a good start, I thought.

'I just called to say I lo... oh, darn Freud, I wanted to say hello.' I had tried to make a joke upon a song she had sometimes performed together with me. She gave me only half a smile.

'Don't make fun of me.'

'Oh, I'm sorry. That was the last thing I had in mind. Why would I make fun of you?'

'Oh c'mon, don't play dense, you know why.'

'No I don't.' she shook her hand in a resigned way as an answer. 'I really don't know what you mean. Look, I came here with no after thoughts.'

'Cut it out!' she really was angry now. 'You don't have to rub it under my nose. I know how disgusted you must be of me. I behaved like an ordinary slut and I probably deserve all your contempt. You don't have to pretend.'

For a moment I was speechless. I might have expected her to be a little embarrassed, or maybe mad at me because I took advantage of her. For all I knew, she might even have lost all memory of what had happened that night, with all the alcohol. But ashamed? She had gifted a slob like me with the hottest night of his life. Why on earth should I scorn her? While she lit another cigarette, I slowly came to realize what was going on. She thought I had left disgusted! That called for a rectification. One of those rare moments of inspiration took hold of me. I extended one hand and started to stroke her cheek.

'My dearest lovely Evelyn. Don't you know you have given me the best night of my life? A night I would tell my grandchildren in front of the fireplace, except I see no perspective to ever have children? My God, I'm the one who must kiss your feet for the undeserved honour of once having shared a bed with you. Don't you know I love you dearly?' it was her turn to remain speechless. Then she simply took hold of my hand and kissed my palm. It took her a couple of huge hits on her cigarette to regain her composure. She took my arm and made me sit down. Then she started to talk, with my hand in hers:

'My God, can it be true? I was firmly convinced you were so disgusted by the show I had put up, you never wanted to see me again. Your reaction when I turned up a week later to sing seemed to prove it. You didn't even speak to me.'

'But I thought it was you who wanted to forget that nigh!'

'Forget? How can I forget the best orgasm of my life? I wasn't all that drunk. I remember every detail and above all that you were the best one ever to share my bed.'

'I don't deserve all that credit.'

'Oh yes you do. Don't you see? I can't think of anything else but you any more! I've been here every night, tying to hide, but longing to be near you, to see you.'

I had no answer other than to kiss her. I felt her shivering under my touch. I could hardly believe my luck. She was actually in love with me. When we finally parted, she rose with determination and said:

'What the hell are we waiting for? I could listen to you for hours on end, but there'll be time for that too. Right now, I want you so bad; I could rip your close off right now. We have squandered a month of the rest of our lives already. But wait! We have to settle one thing! Promise me you'll never say a word against my smoking.'

'Say a word against it? I'd rather cut my better parts off than to object your smoking.'

'I don't exactly get it. You say you actually want me to keep smoking?'

'Err, well, you see it's like this. It makes you look sexier.'

'Hey, don't tell me you're one of those fetishists?'

'I'm afraid I can't deny it.' Did I ruin everything now? Yet I had to tell her. After all she smoked during sex, so there was hope. Her broad smile reassured me. She gave me a big hug.

'God, I thought I'd never find someone like you! And I believed you were just tolerant!' she hugged me once again and then gave me the hottest smoky kiss ever. She pumped so much smoke into me I got dizzy.

'Didn't you notice I smoked during sex that night? Actually I tried to play slut, but my own fetish got the better of me. When I smoke in front of a man, especially one I care for, I often get wet. That night it was the first time I dared to smoke during sex and now I finally know what I've missed.' She kissed me once again with all the passion she could bring up. I was overwhelmed.

'God, I don't ever want to let you go again. Either you marry me or I'll chain you to my bed post for the rest of your life.' I returned her kiss for an answer.

THE END