Shelter in Place: Quarantine Romance Collection Includes New Novella

by Jamie Knight

  Chapter Two - Dixie

  noted the price of the hotel room I was getting for the night. There was no way I could afford to live like that! I had to find a new place, and soon.

  Rather than stay in the hotel a second day, I checked out that morning and went to work early. It was better that I have all my worldly possessions in my car at work than sitting in a hotel room for the housekeeper to examine.

  My boss, Mr. Lamb, ran a social media marketing company for local businesses. I spent the day posting on Facebook, Twitter, and various other social media platforms. The more, the better.

  “Dixie?” asked Mr. Lamb as he entered the office. “What time did you get here? You normally don’t come in until after I do.”

  “Oh, I came in a few hours early to work on that Twitter project we were talking about it,” I said, yawning. “You want some coffee?”

  “Sure, but you don’t have to come in early to do that. I’m sure a normal day would cover it,” he said. “You know, I have to bill the client for those hours, so check with me next time if you’re going to do something extra.”

  “Yes, sir. Sorry.”

  “No big deal,” he said, taking a sip of his freshly poured cup of coffee.

  I didn’t want to tell Mr. Lamb the real reason I had come in early. The less he knew of my now-defunct relationship, the better.

  I was always surprised that Mr. Lamb was still single. I always thought he was quite the catch: handsome, muscular, manly, driven… At 34, he owned a successful business with his partner; we had more work than we could handle.

  He was nice, but also strict. Mr. Lamb didn’t mince words when it came to business. You’d always get a straight answer, even if you didn’t like it. Something about that, and his general personality… I didn’t just enjoy my job; I enjoyed being around him.

  At lunch, I started scrolling through ads for apartments. There was no way I could go back to my parents; we really didn’t get along, and part of the reason I had moved in with Shawn was to get away from them. It sounds awful, but they just never understood me. Living under their roof put me in a constant state of either defending myself or being worried that I would have to defend myself.

  In their defense, I did have a bit of a wild side, mostly thanks to Shawn. Maybe that was the reason I had been so anxious to make things with Shawn work in the face of all the red flags.

  The ads weren’t promising, but I did have one trick up my sleeve. My friend, Tara, worked in real estate. If anyone had a line on an apartment, it would be her.

  “Dixie, I need a report on those website hits for November. It’s for Mr. Adams and the auto shop,” Mr. Lamb said, poking his head out of his office.

  “Right away, sir,” I said.

  “It can wait until you finish lunch,” he said, smiling.

  “Thanks.”

  Something about the way Mr. Lamb talked to me made me feel excited. Was I really attracted to him, or just looking for anything to distract me from Shawn? I had to wonder… I shook my head. It would be impossible for anyone to not be attracted to Mr. Lamb.

  I called Tara to see if she could get me anything.

  “Hey, Dix, what’s up?” she said.

  “Hey, uh, listen,” I said, keeping my voice low, “I can’t give you all the details right now because I’m at work, but I need to find a new apartment.”

  “You left that idiot? Good!” she said. “Shawn’s a loser. Everyone knew it. You’re too good for him.”

  “If you knew it, why didn’t you say something?”

  “I didn’t want to be that friend,” she said. “I knew you wouldn’t listen if you weren’t ready to hear it. Plus, at first, I thought you could change him, but he’s unchangeable.”

  “And he drinks.”

  “Oh, my God!” She gasped. “Did he hit you?!”

  “No, but it did get a little scary,” I said.

  “Well, where are you now? I mean, living-wise.”

  “I spent the night at a hotel,” I said. “It was pretty nice, but too expensive. Would there be anything I could get into tonight?”

  “I don’t know if I can get you something that fast, but I’ll try,” she said. “Is there anywhere else you can go for a while?”

  “Not really.” I sighed. “Can’t go back to the folks, and everyone else I know is either married or living together. I don’t want to impose.”

  “Are you still fighting with your folks?”

  “It’s not really fighting. I just… I can’t live with them anymore,” I said. “We don’t get along as people. I love them, but they drive me insane, and I know the feeling’s mutual.”

  “All right. Well, let me get on this,” Tara said, sounding determined. “I should at least have some potentials to look at. Call me when you get off, okay? And babe, I am sorry about you and Shawn, even though he was a loser.”

  “Thanks. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  I went back to work and got Mr. Lamb the report he wanted. He was so strong and confident. Depending on where I put my desk chair, I could see him working in his office.

  Now, someone like him… He’d be a better candidate to take my virginity than Shawn! Shawn just wouldn’t appreciate it. For Mr. Lamb, I’d imagine, it would be something beautiful!

  Sometime in the afternoon, distracted by thoughts of my boss, I got an overpowering urge to go into the bathroom and masturbate. Maybe it was the break up, maybe it was my gorgeous boss, but I needed some relief from my stress.

  There was rarely anyone else inside the office, other than clients. Since I hadn’t scheduled any, there’d be no way anyone would be going into the women’s room other than me. I shut myself in a stall and set about getting myself some relief.

  Closing my eyes, I imagined Mr. Lamb as my high school principal. I was being a bad girl, and he was going to discipline me. We’d go into his back office, which was somehow a bedroom—

  “Pull down those panties and pull up that skirt, young lady. Now,” he’d say sternly.

  I imagine him slapping my bare ass, but also rubbing it with his bare hand.

  “That’s good. Say it’s good.”

  “It’s good, Mr. Lamb.”

  “Say it, louder!”

  “It’s good, Mr. Lamb!”

  “Good girl, Dixie,” he’d say. “Now, lie down on the bed and spread your legs.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  As I was imagining this, I was touching myself. I started penetrating my pussy with my two fingers, slowly at first, but then more rapidly. As my fingers went in and out of my hole, they also went up and down against my clit. The images of Mr. Lamb in my mind were so arousing that I found myself getting wetter and wetter by the second.

  I imagined him pushing my legs open a little wider and lapping at my wet, hot womanhood.

  “Hold your legs open, Dixie,” he would said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  I imagined myself holding my legs open and up while lying there, spread open for him. He would be insatiable as he sucked on my clit, and all I could do was moan in pleasure.

  My legs and arms would be numb from holding them in place so long, but I would dare not waver. I didn’t want to disappoint Mr. Lamb. Finally, he would stand up.

  “Now, if you would, turn over and get on your knees,” he would say, undoing his pants. “I want your ass in the air, right about here.”

  He would place his hand out and I would quickly obey. Flipping over and getting on my knees, I would back up toward him, having to arch my ass a bit to reach his hand.

  “Yes, that’s it, right there,” he would say. “Just like that. Now, I’m going to fuck you. Would you like that, Dixie?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, that didn’t sound like you wanted it,” he would say, teasingly. “Do you want me to fuck you, Dixie?”

  He would ask me this while running his finger up and down the folds of my dripping-wet pussy. Back in the real world, I was pushing myself to the brink. I had to steady m
yself by putting my other hand against the stall.

  “Yes, sir, please!” I imagined myself begging. “Please, fuck me with your big cock!”

  “You want it?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “You need it?”

  “I need it inside me, yes, please!”

  “You want to cum on my cock?”

  “Oh, God, yes! Please, sir! I want to cum! Please, please, please, please make me cum, Boss!”

  I imagined him pushing his big cock into me, and I lost it. Inside the stall, I started squirting. I had to put my other hand over my mouth to muffle my squealing. I was cumming, probably harder than I had ever cum before. My whole body shook from the experience. It was exhilarating.

  But with the orgasm came a post-relief clarity. I had to calm myself down. This wasn’t a professional way to act in an office setting.

  Getting off, however, had really taken the edge off. Everything that was bothering me before suddenly melted away.

  ‘Shawn who?’ I couldn’t help but ask myself as I headed out to wash my hands and return to the office.

  Chapter Three - Julius

  There was just something about Dixie. I knew I shouldn’t think this way about an employee, but she was hot. Just my type.

  Yes, she was very young for me, but damn. How could I not be attracted to her? I’m only human, and a red-blooded male at that. I took what I wanted, and I couldn’t help but want Dixie.

  She had come in early. I liked that she was a go-getter; most of the girls who usually worked in this office just didn’t have that kind of work ethic. I had to admire that.

  I always tried to give Dixie choice assignments, but there were other people that were senior to her, and I didn’t want it to look like I had a crush on her or wanted to get in her panties, even though both of those things were true.

  My phone started to ring, drawing me back to reality. I answered it.

  “Lamb Associates, this is Julius,” I said.

  “Hey, buddy,” said Sam. “What’s the morning look like?”

  Sam was my partner. We had built the advertising firm from the ground up and it was doing well. As always, Sam was out and about meeting clients.

  “Solid, everyone has their assignments,” I said. “Hits are looking good for most of the social media platforms. How goes your meeting?”

  “Weird. Had a couple of last minute cancellations,” he said. “Adams canceled. Can you believe it? That guy hounded me for a meeting for weeks and he just abruptly canceled.”

  “That is weird. Did he reschedule?”

  “Not yet. Also weird, right?”

  “Well, who knows with clients?” I said, looking out towards the big office and noting Dixie. “Sometimes they look bad and sometimes they look… amazing. You coming back?”

  “Yeah. I’m gonna grab some bagels on the way. You want anything?”

  “A bagel sounds good. Get a party tray for the office with an assortment of cream cheeses,” I said. “Everyone’s been working hard.”

  “You got it. See you in an hour.”

  “Gives me time to hit the gym,” I said. “Work off that future carb blast.”

  I hung up, but I was still staring at Dixie. She had dropped something behind a printer and was bending over to get it. She couldn’t quite reach, and her perfect apple-bottom ass was there in all its glory. God, I just wanted to run up to her and give it a little nibble!

  But intracompany romances were complicated. It could get really bad, really fast if I wasn’t careful. There were plenty of young bucks on the floor, most closer to her age, too, that could make their move. I needed to think of something before someone else did.

  Heading down to the gym to work off some excess energy, I got in a quick workout. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. Even as I was doing push ups, I was wondering what she smelled like up close, or what she tasted like.

  When I got a boner in the middle of the gym, I knew I had to stop. Fortunately, no one was paying attention to me. I went into one of the private showers. It was better to rub one out; no sense walking around with a loaded pistol.

  I imagined Dixie there in the shower with me. She had snuck in to surprise me. I would take her into my arms, our warm bodies under the shower head. I imagined myself taking her from behind as she held herself against the wall of the shower, reaching in front to stimulate her clit with my fingers. As I imagined cumming inside her, I came in the shower, grunting in appreciation. It was a little loud, so I followed it up with a cough, hoping the sounds would throw off any potential listeners.

  As I got dried in the locker room, I was surprised to see Sam rushing up to me.

  “Hey,” I said. “What happened to the bagels?”

  “Had to abort that. While I was in the bagel store, the governor announced that he’s closing the state!” Sam said.

  “What? Is this about that virus out of China?”

  “Yeah! It’s bad, Jules! They say the death rate is at three percent! That’s ninety million people in the United States!”

  “Calm down, buddy. It can’t be that bad. Those numbers sound high.”

  “That’s exactly why we have to close down. Send everyone home, right now! It’s really gonna hurt our financials.”

  “Now, hold on,” I said, trying to settle him down. “We can do a lot of stuff online. We’re mostly an online business, anyway. Let’s try to give some final instructions on that before we send everyone home.”

  “They say elderly people can die from this really easy, Jules!” said Sam, extremely worried. “My parents, man! They’re still talking about going on vacation!”

  “Sam, you have to calm down. If they’re closing the whole state, then a plane ride is probably going to be out of the question,” I said. “They’re not going to let them fly. Not with this.”

  “I knew this was going to happen. I knew it!” said Sam. “One of the interns came in with a face mask last week and I made a joke about it. What was I thinking?!”

  Sam was really upset. I had never seen him so rattled.

  “Don’t beat yourself up, okay?” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We’re gonna get through this. Everything’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”

  “It’s so bizarre,” said Sam, sounding lost. “How do they just… Shut down the world? What are people going to do?”

  “There’s unemployment, and I don’t think the intention is to shut down things forever. Maybe just a few weeks? A month?”

  “Jesus.” He gasped. “The revenue for this quarter will be total shit!”

  “We’ll maintain. We have plenty of clients.”

  “You don’t get it, Jules,” Sam said. “Our clients are being shut down. That’s why Adams canceled our meeting; he must’ve heard. He can’t renew advertising if he’s closed down!”

  “Sure, he’s not going to buy ads during a lockdown or whatever this is… But again, it’s not forever.”

  “The economy was humming along… You shut it down… The supply lines will crumble. Restaurants can’t survive in this! Who is going to eat there?! People can’t go to movies or concerts! I mean, you’re talking millions of workers out of work!”

  “Temporarily.”

  “Jules, what I’ve read of this virus — How contagious it is? How deadly they think it is… No one is going to want to go anywhere! We’re talking billions in revenue lost worldwide. A lot of those jobs are not coming back!”

  “Well, we’re a critical business. People have to advertise their businesses.”

  “Do they? When profit is down, we’re one of the first things they cut. We’d have to lay off staff. Rethink the whole business model.”

  “If we do, we do,” I said, trying to assure him. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

  Sam sat down on the bench, exhausted after his outburst.

  “Sorry man, this whole thing… It just upset me. You know how I am about germs. This is my worst nightmare!” Sam said.

  “I
know. Remember when that waiter brought you the sandwich and you found a hair on the plate? I thought you were going to throw up, or punch the waiter, or both.” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

  “It is so strange to see this happen. It’s worldwide. People are dying.”

  “C’mon, I saw some reports. Some countries are dealing with it well. I heard South Korea is already initiating measures that are very effective,” I said, trying to give him some hope. “Lots of people in Asia wear masks every flu season.”

  “Oh, God, I don’t have a mask!” said Sam. “Where do we get them?”

  “At a drug store or a hospital, I would imagine,” I said, buttoning my shirt. “But look, you’re healthy, you’re in good shape — These things, they tend to hurt old people and people in ill health. I mean, did you know that something like thirty thousand people die of the flu every year?”

  “I didn’t know that. Is that true?”

  “Yeah. This could be one of those things,” I said. “I mean, they have to get more data about it first, though. Once our scientists start looking into things, we’ll get some real answers, I think.”

  Sam took a deep breath. He was finally calming down. If he was this upset, I could only imagine what it would do to the rest of the staff once they were told. Perhaps they had already heard. They were constantly on the Internet for our clients all day; a big story like that would be hard to miss.

  “C’mon, we’ll go back onto the floor, call a big meeting, and hash all this out,” I said confidently. “People can have Zoom meetings or Facetime. Between that and email, it should be a no-brainer. If we have to let people go, we’ll strip down to a skeleton crew until our numbers go back up. We’ve been having such a killer month, though, so I don’t think we’ll have to do that.”

  “Sorry for being so frazzled,” said Sam, laughing nervously. “It’s just so... It’s weird.”

  “Yeah, buddy, I hear ya,” I said, patting him on the back as we left. “But you and me? We can handle weird, right?”