Ghost Traps

Buck and Tracey Go Walking

Buck and Trace/ Go Walking i. Tracey "The Tigress" Wynn and Buck Lord are walking down Henan Xi Da Jie, a street thronged with bicycles, taxis, minibuses . A kind of oboe is playing, but weirder, more insistent, like a snake charmer's melody. The music makes the new, the simply unfamiliar seem strange. The sky is a crisp blue above the curved peaks of the buildings which line the street. Tracey is looking good and has intended to look good. She never goes out on the street without intending to turn heads, even with Buckalong, or maybeespeciallybecausehe is along: because she knows it excites him and makes him a little jealous , a little more in her sway, and it flatters him also to think he has what other men want. Butthe truth is he doesn't "have" Tracey. She is loaning herself to him for a while, as long as it is expedient and pays off. She has no intention of living forever with a damned spy. And meanwhile she can show off a little because Buck is there to ward off any unwarranted attentions, anything like real contact, or speech. What Tracey has to show off is plenty. Sheis tall and blonde with a placid face that she turns into a mask of boredom. Her blue eyes recede behind little slits, and it is a trick of hers to grasp your attention by opening her eyes wider, to let you I/O Ghost Traps know she is observing you. Then there is this little aura of secrets being traded. You may blush if you are not careful. Her lips are full and she pouts a little to emphasize them. Sheknows how a woman's mouth can make a man swoon with fantasy and she knows in fact, concretely, from considerable experience that her mouth and tongue can be agents of ecstasy. She has used this knowledge on only the very most special occasions. Buck has received only a portion of this expertise. The full expression of her wisdom would be wasted on him, because he cannot surrender. All the same, she hints at the knowledge sometimes in the way she pouts, or in a seemingly unconscious little flicker of tongue. Tracey leaves a portion of her neck exposed, and a portion of her shoulders, because she cannot stand being closed in by anything and because she knows it invites at least a fantasy kiss. For the same reason, she almost never wears a bra, the exceptions being when she wants to calculate an effect. Her breasts are not large, but are firm and perfect for her size, and she considers them good friends and a source ofpleasure.Buck is exceedingly fond of them. Tracey thinks it is stupid that women have to keep their breasts covered, unfair that men can bare their chests and women can't. In this strange country where she walks now with Buck at her side you cannot even show the bottoms of your feet, and curled toes are taken to be a symbol of orgasm. Tracey's waist is slim, her belly taut enough to bounce quarters on. But she shows a little softness in the buttocks, just a little, so that if she runs in high heels you see her legs are athletic and lean, and her buttocks are aquiver. Altogether her overall leanness has nothing of the air of severe discipline or self-denial about it, and there are enough soft corners and sweet curves to telegraph her sensuality, some self-indulgence, a little hedonism. Shewould look terrible in leather and never Buck and Trace/ Go Walking 111 wears it. She can be calculating and savor a revenge, but she is no sadist and has no stomach for torture. This does not mean she would not be capable of killing if the necessity were thrust upon her. Buck was relieved to realize this. Tracey's intelligence is great, but of a peculiar kind. She is most sensitive to how people respond to her, and is therefore most comfortable in situations in which people must respond to her. She finds it hard not to be the center of attention, but also likes very much to be alone and can tolerate long periods of time with no intimacy to speak of, no socializing. She would, in fact, prefer being alone for a long period to being constantly in the presence ofjust one...