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Taking Chances, by E. L. Van Hine and L.H. Nicoll
MaineWriter:
And we discover a place called Glenfiddle, wherever the hell that is, in Chapter 23:
“Somethin tells me we’d be neck an neck for the prize on who’s more scared right now Ennis,” he said conversationally, taking a gulp of his shot. Ennis matched him, gasping down the flaming liquid, pretending he did not hear him.
“Good shit,” he gasped.
“Fifteen years old, it better be good.”
Ennis blinked at him in surprise. “You drink fifteen year old whiskey?”
“This here is single malt scotch from an unmentionable little place my ancestors come from, Glenfiddich, Scotland.”
“Man, Ellery.”
“Yep, all man. Wanna see?” He grinned a bit lopsided and winked, but did not move closer. “So... how ya wanna do this, Ennis? Turn out all the lights and see what happens?”
“Uh...” Ennis was stupefied by his directness. “I dunno. Been a long time.”
Ellery nodded, setting down his glass and pouring again. “Or we can jes get drunk and see who gives in first. Shall we?” he waved a hand at the sofa facing the bookcases, inviting Ennis to sit. “We got plenty a whiskey to get us totally blasted, we won’t know what hit us.”
“That sounds good,” Ennis said, and despite the fear making him tremble like kitten, he grinned at Ellery, the fire of the scotch burning all the way from his lips to the bottom of his belly, scorching him, and they sat down together, side by side.
Ellery leaned forward a bit and touched the rim of his glass to Ennis’s. “To extreme drunkenness,” and tossed his hat onto the table.
Ennis reached for his own hat and set it down, and it cocked against the black hat. “To ... Glenfiddle Scotland,” he said. “Wherever the hell it is.”
MaineWriter:
For my 3500th post, one of my favorite lines. I put it in bold. From Chapter 24:
“How about we start small?” Ellery said, his voice pitched low, the sound of it making the hair stand up all over Ennis’s back, and he gulped as Ellery turned and leaned toward him, gradually, slowly, his cheek brushing Ennis’s shirt collar before his mouth connected with Ennis’s neck, touching it softly, making a soft sound as he kissed the throbbing pulse beneath his ear. Ennis stopped breathing, and Ellery pulled back. “Well?”
Ennis nodded, not trusting himself to speech, and he tried once more, this time moving in slightly closer, brushing his lips against Ennis’s jaw, and spoke. “How does a grown man have such a soft face?” he asked, nibbling up the edge of his jaw to find his lips, then breathed against Ennis’s mouth, his own lips just barely touching, and he opened his eyes, gazing into Ennis’s, letting out a slight gasp as Ennis’s arms came around him suddenly, crushing him in a near-violent embrace as his mouth bore down in a desperate kiss.
I am melting here...
L
MaineWriter:
Another wonderful passage, with some classic Ellery-speak at the end. Chapter 25:
“Twenty years, Ellery. Sneakin aroun, camping here an there, an always every time thinkin someone’ll find out, someone is gonna go after em. An one day, I guess they did.”
“Too bad you weren’t in Laramie. I coulda found the assholes that done it.”
“Wife said it was a accident with a tire.”
“You don’t think so.”
“No I sure as hell don’t. Ellery I sure am sorry.”
“Ennis.”
“Huh?”
“Do you know how many cumulative hours and words have been consumed by my bitching about, bitching to, being bitched at and doing bullshit crap for my ex boyfriend Bill? Do you have any conception?”
“Uh... .well, a lot.”
“Don’t you think its fair you got to talk about yours?”
Ennis blew out a breath. “Yer right. I guess... I guess its time. I didn’t want ta tell ya. I knew you was innerested. Didn’t want ta scare ya off.”
“Ennis I would have zero interest in you if you could walk away from a man you cared about for half a your whole life and hop inta bed with me without a second thought. Did that occur ta you? Everything about you says you had some great tragedy hangin over you. I been a police detective for almost 15 years already and if it’s one thing I understand is people. I was ready to wait it out, have some scotches, exchange phone numbers, meet up, shoot some pool or fish till you finally dug it out, see if you might make a go of it again, but its you jumped the gun. I ain’t sorry yer grievin him. Makes you a damn sight more human than... well ... the aforementioned people I keep aforementioning.”
Leslie
MaineWriter:
Some more from Chapter 25:
“You mattered a whole lot, Ennis,” Ellery said, his voice a bare whisper in his ear as he set the book down on the nightstand. “And you mattered for a good long time, too.” Ellery raised the hand that was looped around Ennis’s chest, caressing the muscular shoulder, dipping down to press his lips against the nape where his short blond curls thinned to fine down.
“Yeah,” Ennis said, taking a deeper drag on the cigar. “I guess I did.”
“You matter ta me, too Ennis. With or without the sex. Just lying here holdin you is more lovin than I ever thought I would see again.”
“Thank you,” Ennis murmured, embarrassed once more, turning his head slightly to look at Ellery, catching a glance at the side of his face, the grey eyes glittering, not with mischief but with some unnamed emotion which made Ennis’s heart ache.
Ellery grinned, getting up onto an elbow to look into his face. “You and your little please and thank yous. Do you have any idea how sexy and endearing that is? Like yer grandma raised ya ta be all proper or ya went to one a them Catholic schools.”
“Nope, just easy to do an makes everyone a sight more pleasant is all.”
L
merrobot:
--- Quote from: MaineWriter on December 08, 2006, 10:00:48 am ---And we discover a place called Glenfiddle, wherever the hell that is, in Chapter 23:
Ennis reached for his own hat and set it down, and it cocked against the black hat. “To ... Glenfiddle Scotland,” he said. “Wherever the hell it is.”
--- End quote ---
Umm...someone's been yanking Ellery's chain :o - there is no place called Glenfiddich, it's distilled in Dufftown near Elgin in the North East of Scotland. I have it on good authority that is is pretty good stuff though :) Cantrell isn't a Scottish name either, it's apparently Anglo-Norman but possibly Ellery has Scottish roots from another side of his family. Who knows??
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