Kiss of Death

by Dimples

 

Disclaimers:

The characters are all mine. However, the original ones from XWP do not belong to me.

This story was written for the academy of bard's contest of 2002, titled Pulp Fiction.

The story deals with a loving/sexual relationship between two women, though it's not graphic.

 

The radio was blasting at full volume from the large blue Cadillac as it sped down the dusty, deserted road. The woman behind the wheel checked her make up in the rear-view mirror once again and laved another touch of blood red lipstick to her already ruby lips. The scarf that covered her head blew in the wind joined by tendrils of blonde hair. A known tune started playing on the radio and the woman joined in, covering the singer's voice with her off key tone. A dirty, old road sign popped up on the right, showing the nearest town was 10 miles away, the town ofHilspberry.

The blonde woman smiled slightly and continued ruining the known song. The car followed the curve in the road and took a sharp turn, almost toppling the car over, going at this speed. Just as she rounded the curve, a loud blow came from the car and it started wavering. The woman tried to control the wheel and steady it and after much fight, the car indeed stopped, smoke coming from the closed hood.

The woman took a deep breath to relax her nerves and finally opened the door. A stockinged leg with a red high-heeled shoe steadied itself shakily on the ground as the woman got out of the car. Turning to look at her car more closely, she took her dark sunglasses off and pulled the scarf off her head, letting her long blonde hair fall down her back. She ran a well-manicured hand through her locks and blew a hard breath through her nose. Going to the hood of the car, she slowly pulled it open. She was greeted with a grey cloud of smoke, bringing forth a fit of coughs.

 

Waving her hand in front of her to clear the smoke, she took a look inside. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary except for the smoke made her sigh once again as she sat herself on the edge of the bumper. "Nice. Now what am I going to do?"

In the distance she saw a semi-flashing sign that said "Garg". She brightened up immediately as she realised what this meant, her car broke down exactly at the mouth of the down. Leaving the car as it was, she brushed her black short skirt from any remains of dust and rearranged her blouse as she started walking towards the sign.

Jaclyn, Jake for short, was working as usual on the barber's car. Mr. Jameson's car broke down frequently and Jake was known as the best at what she did, fixing whatever's broken.

She was lying on the ground in the garage, covered in grease from head to toe, trying to make the car start. Blowing an exasperated breath, she lost her hold on the wrench and hit herself on the forehead "Ow!". The shout of pain was accompanied by a series of curses that would make any sailor blush to the roots of his hair.

 

The blonde reached her destination as she looked up at the rusty, old flickering sign. It said "Garage" once. She was rattled back into reality as she heard the string of curses from inside the garage. Moving to the entrance, she peaked inside and smirked at the sight of the grease-covered mechanic. She softly cleared her throat and watched with increasing amusement as the mechanic turned sharply toward her and hit her already bruised head on a dangling appliance. A second set of curses broke out as the mechanic turned to look at the intruder. As her blue eyes connected with the green ones of the blonde woman, a deep blush covered her tanned cheeks.

"I'm sorry to bother you but my car broke down a couple of miles from here." said the blonde.

"Oh alright." the mechanic turned her gaze to the floor as she stumbled all over her words, "I'm sorry about the curses...ummm...You kind of caught me at a bad time."

"No, it's alright. I'm the one who startled you."

"Alright. Let's agree we're both sorry and shake hands on it."

They exchanged smiles as they introduced themselves, "I'm Jake Ryan." The mechanic took a rag out of her pocket and wiped her hands clean before taking the woman's hand into hers.

"I'm Kate O'rielly. It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." Jake smiled charmingly. "How about you show me where your car's at?"

"Alright. Come with me."

Kate walked with Jake and showed her where her car had broken down. Jake, after a quick look under the car's hood, found the problem. "Well, I'll need my truck to tow this baby into the garage. Where were you headed?"

"Oh, nowhere in particular. How long will this take?" asked Kate, pointing to the car.

"Hmmm...I'd say around three to four days. I need to order a part and it will take some time for it to arrive. Are you in any kind of hurry?"

"No, no hurry. Is there a motel around here?"

Jake smiled and nodded, "Yes, actually there is. How about you wait for me until I bring your car into the garage and then let me drive you?"

Kate smiled back and agreed.

Half an hour later, they were in Jake's truck heading into town. "So, what is a lovely woman like yourself doing travelling alone with no destination in mind?"

Kate smiled warily as she looked out of the window, "I'm just out on a vacation."

"Vacation?"

"Yes. I needed the rest."

"Husband driving you crazy?" asked Jake.

Kate's face hardened, as she answered abruptly, "No I'm not married."

Jake understood the hidden meaning and backed off.

The rest of the drive was made in silence and soon enough they reached the motel. They got out of the truck and headed to the entrance. Kate looked quizzically at the name of the motel and turned her questioning gaze to Jake, "Jake's?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I own this motel."

Kate raised her brows and continued staring at Jake, "What do you mean own it? You're a mechanic, aren't you?"

Jake chuckled softly and answered, "Yes, I'm a mechanic. I inherited this motel from my grandfather, who passed away a few years ago. I was named after him so the name remained the same."

"Oh." was the only answer coming from Kate at the revelation.

Jake opened the door to let Kate in and then walked in as well. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"No, thank you."

"Alright." Jake walked behind the counter and opened the register book. Writing the essential details, she turned the book toward Kate and gave her the pen to sign. "Here you go. All the rooms are much the same so I gave you room number 3, alright?"

"Thank you. How much is it you charge for a night?"

"It's 4 dollars a night with breakfast."

"Alright. I'll go settle myself in."

"Good, rest a while. How about we go to dinner at around 6:00PM, my treat?"

Kate blushed slightly and answered, "Do you invite all your customers to dinner, Jake?"

"It depends on who the customer is." Said Jake, smiling devilishly.

Kate's blush deepened and she turned to exit the motel and head to her room, feeling the mechanic's eyes following her all the way through.

Kate reached her assigned room and unlocked the door. The room was nice and cosy. In the middle of the room, stood a queen-sized bed with nightstands on each side. Next to the far wall stood a table with two armchairs around it. There was a window on the wall to the right of the door with red and brown curtains and another door on the left, further inside the room, which Kate presumed opened into the washroom. Kate closed the door behind her and went to sit on the edge of the bed. She had only a few things with her, which she packed into a small suitcase. She picked the suitcase up from her car when she caught a ride with the mechanic. The mechanic...What a strange woman. Strange, sexy woman. Her thoughts brought a grin to her face. She took her red pumps off and rubbed her sore feet. Maybe Jake would give me a nice foot massage...Kate chuckled and lay down on the soft bed, not bothering to pull the covers off. She drifted into sleep soon after.

 

As the clock hit six, there was a knock on room number 3's door. The knock startled Kate awake. She pulled herself off the bed as she walked drowsily to the door. She opened the door, rubbing her eyes with her fists. The sight of the dishevelled Kate and the cute babyish way she was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, made Jake chuckle and smile fondly.

"I'm sorry I woke you."

"No it's alright. I was up." said Kate as she stifled a deep yawn.

Jake just chuckled and shook her head. "Do you still want to go to dinner?"

"Are you kidding? And miss your invitation of free food?"

Jake laughed as she turned to leave and let the woman dress, calling over her shoulder, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Be ready."

Kate smiled and closed the door. She hurriedly entered the washroom, freshened up a bit and pulled a new blouse from her suitcase. Dressed and ready, she stepped out of her room, locked the door behind her and headed for the entrance to the motel.

"Jake?"

"Yes, in here."

Kate followed the voice and entered another room that looked like the dining room.

"Good evening, Ms. O'rielly. Your table is ready." Said Jake gallantly as she offered her arm to the lady. Jake halted in front of a beautifully arranged table, with flowers in the middle and two candles on each side, giving the room a soft glow. Jake pulled the chair out for Kate and went to the other one to sit herself down as well. "I hope you don't mind I chose both of our dinners."

"I'm sure that whatever you picked will be delicious."

The conversation went on softly until a dark figure appeared at their table, startling Kate, making her jump slightly. "Oh don't worry about Tim, that's just the way he is. He's very quiet. Tim is my cousin and he'll be our chef and waiter tonight. Tim, this is Ms. Kate O'rielly."

Tim moved closer to the table and out of the shadows, which made Kate wince. She couldn't believe this man was Jake's cousin. He was as tall as Jake but that's where the resemblance ended. He had a cold, hard look on his face and in his dark eyes. His hair was pulled in all kind of strange angles and had an undetermined shade. His clothes were old and stained, which brought second thoughts about this meal in Kate's mind.

Kate forced a smile to her lips as she said, "It's nice to meet you."

Tim just grunted and turned back to the kitchen.

Jake shook her head and averted her gaze back to Kate, "You'll have to forgive him. He's not used to new people and he's not very comfortable around them."

"It's alright."

The rest of the meal went on nicely, the conversation was light and the food was quite good, Kate had to admit. When the dinner ended, Jake walked Kate back to her room. "I've had a wonderful time, thank you." Said Jake, now standing in front of Kate's closed door.

"Thank you for inviting me." Whispered Kate.

Right before Jake was about to turn around and leave for the night, Kate grabbed her and kissed her lips forcefully. Jake blinked in surprise a few times and failed to respond but as soon as she got oriented with what was going on, she pushed Kate into the closed door and kissed her just as forcefully.

Pulling back to take a deep needed breath, Jake gazed into Kate's desire filled eyes. "Would you like to come in?" Asked Kate, breathlessly.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Kate unlocked the door and they pushed their way inside, shutting the door firmly behind them. For hours, lust filled moans and groans could be heard from room number 3. Even when dawn peaked from the horizon, pleasured screams could still be heard from behind the closed door. The shattering climaxes and unending love the women had shared were made known to the whole town, depriving many of their sleep.

At around noon, Jake sneaked out of Kate's room to attend to her business. She took her truck and went to the garage to start working on Kate's car. The night was incredible and she felt better than ever but she had obligations she couldn't just forsake, even if she wanted Kate to stay in Hilspberry forever.

Kate woke up a few hours after Jake had left. Stretching and yawning loudly, she looked around the room for Jake. On the pillow next to her was a hand-written note with her name on it that said:

 

Good morning, darling

I had a wonderful time last night, thank you. I had to go attend to business for a while. I'll be back in a few hours. Go to the dining room and look for Tim, he'll have breakfast ready for you.

J

Kate smiled and went to brush her teeth and hair. Taking a white sundress out of her suitcase, she got dressed and went in search of Tim.

Kate had breakfast and then went to look around town to pass the time until Jake would be back from work. Jake worked on Kate's car and tried as best she could to fix the car without the part she had placed an order to be delivered. The part would arrive in two days and then Kate would be off. She wasn't all that anxious about that day.

It was dark outside by the time she finished working on the car. She shut the garage down and got into her pickup truck and drove back to the motel. She was tired and greasy but all she wanted to do was find Kate, pull her into her arms, kiss her and then make love to her all night long all over again.

Shutting the engine, Jake walked to the entrance of the motel and turned left to her room. She got into the shower, took her dirty clothes off and washed the grime off her tired body. As she walked out of the shower and was about to get dressed, she looked around the room lovingly at her collections of guns and knives. She spent her whole life collecting them, continuing her grandfather's tradition. Dressing quickly, she walked to the front desk, noticing a note:

Come to my room, I have a surprise for you.

K

Short and sweet...Just like her thought Jake fondly. With a smile plastered on her face she walked to room number 3. Knocking lightly on the door, she noticed the door was open. She pushed the door further and walked inside, stopping short at the image of the beautiful blonde in a red chemise, stockings and garter belts.

"Close the door, Jake."

Jake did as she was told and as soon as the door was closed and Jake snapped from her haze, Kate was captured and ravaged repeatedly for the next several hours.

The next day, both woke up at the same time. Jake turned to look at the sleepy eyes that were gazing at her from her shoulder and smiled, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Kate murmured contently and burrowed her head deeper into the crook of Jake's warm shoulder. "I have to get up, darling." said Jake.

"No... Just a while longer."

Jake chuckled slightly but didn't relent, "I have to go watch the front desk. What if someone comes?"

"No one will come. Besides, can't Tim do it?"

"You never know and Tim does do it whenever I'm at the garage."

"Oh alright." Kate sighed and let Jake out of bed.

As soon as Jake was out the door, Kate went back to sleep. At the front desk, Jake didn't have much work so she sat around and listened to the radio that was perched behind her, when suddenly a man approached the counter.

"Ahem. I'm looking for a room. Do you have any available?"

"Why yes, sir. A room is 4 dollars a night with breakfast. I'm Jake by the way."

"I'll take a room for a day or two, Jake."

"Sure." Jake filled in the details and handed the book to the man. When the book was returned to her, she noticed the last name was similar to Kate's. Brushing it as a coincidence, she signed and handed Rick O'rielly the key to room number 5.

Right before he was about to walk out of the door, he turned around and asked Jake, "Have you, by any chance, seen this woman?" Asked Rick as he handed Jake a picture. Jake's eyes were about to bulge out of her head when she saw that it was Kate in the picture. Quickly, shaking her head to clear it of the shock, she turned to look at the waiting Rick. "Umm...No. Haven't seen her. Why?"

"Oh, I'm just looking for her, that's all."

"Has she done something wrong?"

Rick chuckled ruefully and answered, "Depends on how you look at it."

Jake looked at him quizzically and Rick clarified, "She's my wife and she, kind of, ran away from home. Anyhow, forget it, thanks."

Jake took a sharp breath and released it slowly. Counting from one to ten to calm her anger, she made her way to room number 3. Knocking loudly, she was answered by a half dressed Kate, "What's wrong?" asked Kate as she was pushed inside the room.

 

Jake took another deep breath and started talking slowly, "You said you are not married."

Kate looked puzzled and nodded.

"Don't lie to me!" Screamed Jake.

Kate backed away from the crazy looking woman as she shook her head, "I'm not lying."

"Yes?! Then who is Rick O'rielly?!"

Kate's eyes grew large and her mouth fell open as she stumbled across the bed.

"What's the matter? Never thought I'd find out?! How could you?"

Kate started crying hysterically, shaking as she curled into a ball on the bed. Jake started to feel guilty about yelling at Kate the way she did and she stepped closer to the bed, lightly touching her shulder. At the soft touch, Kate jerked away and curled herself tighter. Jake saw there was no other way but to leave her alone and let her relax on her own. She got out and shut the door behind her.

As she stepped out of the room, she encountered Rick. "Hey, Jake. Is there any place I could get a beer?"

"Yes, sure. Let me show you. It's my treat." Jake needed to relax, clear her mind and she wanted to learn more about Kate and her husband Rick, especially to learn why Kate would say she wasn't married when she apparently was.

"So, tell me Rick. May I call you Rick?"

"Of course."

"What happened to your wife?"

"Oh, nothing happened to her. She decided to take off so I'm here looking for her."

"Hmmm."

"What?"

"Oh nothing, it's just hard to believe that she'd just take off like that."

"I guess she found out about some of my escapades with other women and got mad." Rick took another sip of cold beer and continued, "She left after we had this huge argument. I yelled at her, she started crying hysterically, I left and when I came back, she was gone."

Jake now understood Kate's reaction and her reason for not wanting to admit that she was married but she was still upset at Kate for letting her believe that she was single and for letting her care for her. She sipped the last of her beer, paid for another one for Rick and went to Kate's room.

Jake pushed the door open and saw that Kate had fallen asleep. She walked to the bed and knelt in front of her. Shaking her shoulder slightly, she looked into her green pools of emotion as she blinked her eyes open. "Hey."

"Hello." answered Kate sleepily.

"I need to talk to you, it's important."

Kate raised herself into a sitting position and brushed the remains of her tears. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, I didn't mean it. I just got upset that you lied to me. Rick is here and he's looking for you."

"What?" gasped Kate in surprise.

"I told him I never saw you. He said he'd be staying a day or two. I put him in room number 5."

"Alright, thank you. I want to explain why I lied. I really do care for you and these had been the best days of my life."

Jake smiled sadly and caressed her cheek. "I care for you too and I feel the same. You don't need to explain. I heard everything I needed from him."

"Thank you." Kate smiled at Jake and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I still have some work to do, I'll be back later. Rest."

With a final kiss and wink, she left Kate alone.

Night came and Rick stumbled his way to his room. He clumsily tried to fit the key in the door, as he was totally drunk. Finally, succeeding, he entered the room and threw the door closed behind him, never seeing the figure enter his room. He went into the washroom and splashed some cold water on his face. When he returned to the room he turned the bedside lamp on that cast a dim lighting on the room. He was startled to look at a figure standing in front of him. In his drunken haze he didn't recognize the person, he could only make out the black hair. Then the figure spoke in a hushed whisper, "Here, drink this." The figure handed him a glass of scotch which he gratefully appreciated as he thought to himself, Damn, this motel has good service. I'm going to have some fun with her as soon as I make out which one she is; I hope it's a she...

"Drink it to the last drop and I'll be right back," said the figure. The person stood in front of Rick and blew a kiss at him before brushing passed him and into the bathroom.

 

Morning found the women of room number 3 asleep and curled together in a tight embrace. Jake was first to awake. The part for Kate's car was supposed to arrive today and she wasn't thrilled to start work. She slowly extracted herself from Kate's arms and went to get dressed. Climbing into her pickup, she drove to the garage. Jake worked all the day long on Kate's car and by the end of the day; Kate could leave their small town and her life forever.

She was on her way back to tell Kate the good news. She stopped the truck and saw Kate waiting for her in front of her room. "Hey Kate."

"Hey Jake."

Kate pulled Jake into a kiss and through the slightly open door. She pushed Jake to sit on the bed. Jake looked around her and noticed that Kate's suitcase was packed and ready to go. "I wanted to tell you that your car is ready."

"I know and I should be leaving now."

"Don't leave yet. Besides, Rick is still out there, he might see you."

Kate's eyes flickered for a moment and she shook her head, "No, Rick is gone."

"Gone? What, you mean, he left?"

"No. I mean gone." She said casually. "You know, I really don't like it when people yell at me." She shook her head and then just shrugged. Jake looked on puzzled by the strange way Kate was acting. Kate went to open the washroom's door. The sight of Rick's dead body slumpd over the in the shower made the bile rise in Jake's throat. She looked wide-eyed in Kate's direction, who was going about her buisness, getting ready to leave town. "You didn't..."

"Hmm?" Asked Kate innocently, "Are you coming with me or what?"

"You're crazy! I'm calling the cops!"

Kate looked at Jake sadly, blew a kiss in Jake's direction and locked the door.

The shrill scream echoed through room number 3 and through the small town.

The Cadillac was speeding down the highway as its driver arranged the rear-view mirror so she could have a better look at herself. Adding another touch of make-up and pulling the scarf tighter on her head, she sang off key to one of her favourite songs being played on the radio.

The police found the bodies in room number 3 at Jake's motel in the small town of Hilspberry along with a black wig.

The murderer was never found.

 

The End