by N. M. Silber
“Is this your dog?” Adam asked.
“I got him for Gabrielle, but I’m thinking that I’ll help her take care of him. I’ve been joking around and saying that we’re his mommy and daddy.”
“Oh, that’s so cute!” Mark teased.
“I hope you insisted that this dog be raised Jewish, Gabrielle.” Adam gave me a stern look.
“I’m okay with that. I’m getting kind of interested in Judaism. I’m thinking about taking a class,” Braden said.
“Interested as in ‘hey, that’s kind of cool’ or as in ‘I’m thinking about becoming a Jew?” Adam wanted to know.
“I don’t know. I would have to learn more about it first. You and Gabrielle seem to like it.”
“But we were born this way.” I explained. “We’ve been conditioned from childhood to pretend that a lamp that burned longer than it should have was as exciting as a visit from Santa Claus.”
“I’m just thinking about taking a class to learn more. I’m not exactly a pillar of the Episcopalian church right now though. I doubt that anyone would even notice that I was gone.”
“I think your parents might, but whatever. You want to take a class, I’m all for it,” I said. “In fact, you want to be Jewish? That’s great too, as long as it’s because you really want to be and not because you’re worried about Bruno growing up conflicted.”
“You two are the parents of a Chihuahua and Braden’s talking about becoming a Jew. This is some kind of weird dream, isn’t it?” Mark asked, looking around like he expected to see something.
“Can we get out of the entryway before the beer gets warm?” I asked impatiently. We got out of the entryway before the beer got warm. Everyone settled in and we ordered pizza. We watched a pregame show and began watching the baseball game. Bruno made his rounds, encouraging everyone present to pet and pay attention to him. Eventually he settled in on a loveseat next to Braden and me.
In was an exciting game for the most part, although the Phillies pulled ahead at the end. At the bottom of the ninth inning with our team ahead by four runs I started cleaning up. As I put things away and washed some dishes in the kitchen, I felt Braden sidle up behind me and put his arms around my waist, pulling me close. He whispered in my ear.
“I was only kidding around about the mommy and daddy thing, but I have to admit that playing house with you turns me on.”
“I’ll have to wash dishes more often, dear.” I guess it wasn’t just my shorts riding up last time.
“You know darling, we’ve never had kitchen sex. Perhaps I could bend you over the counter and take you from behind. I’m thinking that I’m just going to pick you up and fuck you against the wall though.” God, I loved it when he said stuff like that.
I glanced up at the living room area which was in plain view. “The game’s almost over. Our guests will be gone soon, honey bunch.”
“As soon as that door closes I’m going to make you feel so good, sweetie pie.” Argh! He was killing me here!
“Well, dearest, that sounds like a sound plan for the future.” I felt myself starting to sweat and my panties got damp. The Astros struck out and the game was over within minutes. Our friends stretched and stood up. My heart started racing as they headed for the door.
“Thanks for inviting us along,” Cam added.
“We do it every Sunday night. Come whenever you want,” Braden said. That was definite progress.
“I guess we’ll play it by ear next week?” Mark asked.
“We’ll be back in time,” Adam said.
“But Braden might be busy making up for the loss of his Saturday night sex.”
Cam offered to walk Jess home and we said our goodnights as everyone left, shutting the door behind them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Braden turned to me with his hot look and I was up against the wall in seconds with his mouth on mine, his tongue exploring possessively. His hand traveled up under my shirt and into my bra where he gently squeezed my nipple and cupped my breast. Then the other hand traveled under my skirt and into my panties, where he began stroking me.
“Mm. My baby’s ready for me,” he said with satisfaction.
“You gave me advance notice,” I answered breathily.
He pushed my skirt up and my panties down. I slid them off as he freed himself and then he lifted me up and pushed into me as I wrapped my legs around him and gasped with pleasure. With my back braced against the wall he thrust into me deeply over and over and I started moaning deliriously. Through a lust-filled haze I suddenly heard a foreign sound. It sounded like… yipping. Oh no!
“No, no Bruno,” I panted. “Daddy’s not hurting mommy. Daddy’s making mommy feel so good! Oh baby, so good!” Bruno didn’t let up, though. If anything, the yipping got louder and he started running from one side of Braden’s legs to the other.
“Quiet, Bruno!” Braden tried, sounding desperate, as I pushed my hips hard against him and squeezed my inner muscles tight. “Oh fuck, yes!” he groaned loudly. Bruno kept yipping louder and louder. “Bruno! Quiet! Daddy wants to enjoy this.” He started moving his hips faster.
“Yes! Like that!” I cried and he started pounding into me.
“Tell me how much you love it baby,” he grunted as Bruno kept yipping.
“So much! I love it so much! It feels so good!” I moaned and Bruno started jumping.
“Who’s fucking you Gabrielle? I want to hear you say it!” The yipping was unrelenting and now Bruno was running in circles.
“Oh Braden! Braden! Only you!”
“You’re mine, Gabrielle,” he bit out, and then Bruno started doing something that transcended annoying and moved into the realm of the really weird, and not just a little disturbing. He grabbed on to Braden’s leg and started pumping.
“Bruno! Jesus! Stop that!” Braden bit out, sounding distracted as he shook his leg, trying to get Bruno to let go.
“Why is he doing that?” I gasped, confused.
“I’m pretty sure he thinks this is a game.”
“Only mommy and daddy get to play, Bruno!” I pleaded.
Braden took a deep breath and lowered me to the floor. He pulled my skirt back down and closed his pants over his erection. Bruno let go and looked up at him quizzically like he couldn’t figure out why we had stopped playing the humping game just when it was getting good. Braden gave him an exasperated look and grabbed my hand and his keys. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To the roof garden.”
“The roof garden?! We’re leaving?!”
“Nobody else is ever up there and it’s a nice night.”
We took the stairs and when we got there Braden found a dark spot and once again lifted me up and braced me against a wall. The city lights sparkled in the distance. I felt him slide into me again and start moving more slowly. He buried his mouth against my neck and pushed into me deeply while I moaned and ran my hands up and down his back. Without any further distractions it wasn’t long before I felt myself get to where I needed to be. Braden sensed it and started talking to me again. This time, though, he didn’t talk dirty to me. The things he said were romantic instead and they turned me on just as much.
“Gabrielle, you’re so beautiful. And sweet. And sexy. It’s never felt like this before. I want to lose myself in you. I want to be inside you forever.”
“Braden, I need you so much.” I felt myself slip over and fall into oblivion and then a couple of minutes later he let go and joined me. We held on to each other tightly as sensation and release washed over us and then we stood there panting with our foreheads pressed together.
“Braden,” I said after a few minutes, “are we going to have to have sex on the roof from now on?”
“No, baby. We’re going to have sex in the bedroom and Bruno is going to wait in the living room. I just had to get out of there.”
“Okay. Just asking. I figured it might get cold eventually.” We headed back downstairs where Bruno met us at the door and gave
us a dirty look. He was obviously deeply offended that we were not willing to involve him in our sex life.
* * *
I told Braden that I had to help Jess with something the next night. That was technically true. He said that he would watch Bruno and invite Adam and Mark over to play cards and hang out again. He still wanted to spend the night together, though, so I told him that he should come by and pick me up at ten and that I would go back to his place with him. I knew that I was cutting it close but I didn’t want to act suspiciously by being out late on a night before court. Besides, how much garbage could she have anyway? So the next night Bruno was off at Daddy’s place when Jess and Cam and I piled into my Mini Cooper at eight-thirty and headed for Marla’s townhouse. We parked down the street and strolled casually toward her address. When we were in front of it though, we encountered a little problem. The homes were narrow and attached and there were a whole bunch of garbage cans standing together. You couldn’t tell which one belonged to which house. Shit!
“Okay, okay, think, Gabrielle,” I said to myself as I put my hands on my hips and paced. “She’s a single woman, so if we see guy trash it’s probably not hers.”
“Guy trash?” Jess asked dubiously.
“You know, stuff that a guy has that women doesn’t.”
“A penis?” Jess shook her head in bewilderment.
“Cam, what kind of stuff would a guy have that a woman probably wouldn’t?”
“Uh, Playboy, Penthouse, cigars, Scotch. Actually, if you find that stuff let me know. I think I want to hang out with that guy.”
“Well, what kind of stuff would a woman have that a guy wouldn’t?” I was getting desperate.
“Tampons!” Jess yelled and clapped her hands like she was on Family Feud.
“Will you be quiet?” I hissed. “The point is we can figure out within maybe five cans which one is hers. It looks like there’s an alley over there and there are street lights. I say we carry the cans back there and figure out which one it is.”
“Okay, good luck with that. I’m the lookout, remember?” Cam said, walking away.
“I’m the driver,” Jess chimed in.
“And I’m the trash picker. Yes, I recall the conversation, but I need your help carrying it back there.” They sighed and both of them went over and picked up a can and hauled it back to the alley. I picked one up too and we soon had five cans back there. We had placed them directly under a street light and I opened the lid and started going through the first can. I was leaning into it covered in garbage myself when Jess finally broke.
“Oh Jesus, honey! I can’t watch you do this anymore. Move over!” She started going through a second can. I saw Cam squirm.
“I’m not going to do this.”
“So, don’t. You’re the lookout,” I reminded him.
“I’m serious. I’m really not picking through trash.”
“Ew! Is that a condom?” Jess asked.
“Ah man!” Cam made a face and kicked the base of the street light. “It’s like I can hear my mother saying ‘a gentleman picks through trash for a lady, Cameron’,” he grumbled. “Move over!” He stormed over and ripped the lid off a third can. “I don’t know if we’re going to find anything we can use,” he said, and suddenly a voice called out.
“Cameron? Is that you?” Cam froze. Three male shadows approached. “It’s Bob – Bob Lewis.”
“Bob! How are you?” Cam stood up as a well-dressed middle-aged man and his two companions approached.
“Phil, Jack, this is Cameron Clay from Findlay Clay. He’s my financial planner. I trust him with all of my most important money decisions.”
“Uh, I would shake your hands but…” Cam was fighting hard to maintain his dignity. Maybe he would make a good public defender yet.
“What are you doing here, Cameron?” Bob asked, seemingly noticing for the first time that his financial planner, the man he trusted with all of his most important money decisions, was at the moment picking through a garbage can.
“Um…”
“I know!” Jack said with a chuckle.
“You do?” Cam asked dubiously.
“Yes, I do. It happened to my wife just last week.”
“It did?”
“Her diamond ring came off in the kitchen and wound up in the garbage. We spent an hour digging through the trash before we found it. So did your girlfriend lose something valuable?”
“Yes!” both Jess and I said at exactly the same time. We looked at each other and then said “she did” at the same time too. “You did!” I said through gritted teeth.
“I did,” she said. “My uh, yearbook.” Huh? “My high school yearbook. It must have fallen into the garbage. I’m very broken up about it.” Jack looked confused. I didn’t blame him.
“Well, uh, I hope you find it,” he said with a nod and a smile, backing away slowly. Clearly he thought we were either nuts or on drugs. I didn’t blame him for that either.
“Take care,” Bob threw in, looking like he thought maybe he was missing something here and there really was a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this. The three of them continued walking down the alley and around the block. Cam breathed a sigh of relief and then he glared at me.
“You look angry,” I noted, taking an involuntary step back.
“Angry? Why would I be angry?” he asked quietly. “A multi-millionaire who trusts me to give him investment advice just caught me picking through trash and saying that we might not find anything that we could use.”
I glanced at my watch. Shit! It was ten minutes to ten! “We have to get out of here. I told Braden I would be ready to go to his place by ten.”
“Come on!” Jess said and headed for my car with Cam and I right behind her. We pulled into my parking garage at ten exactly. I thanked Cam again and apologized for the fiftieth time about Bob. He seemed to be over it. In fact I think he was starting to find it kind of humorous. He waved as he hopped into his own car and headed home. Jess and I sprinted up the stairs and tore into the lobby… where Braden and Adam and Mark and Bruno were patiently waiting.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I saw their faces register confusion and then, well, disgust to be honest, and I looked down. I was covered in garbage. There were gum wrappers, used napkins, bits of tinfoil and something that I hoped was a wad of gum stuck to my clothes. I looked over at Jess and she was no better. Among other things she had a Ziploc baggie stuck in her hair and there was a banana peel melded to her shorts.
“Oh, I can’t wait to hear this,” Adam said.
“I may need to take a quick shower before we go.” Bruno began to whine and then he hid under a chair. Braden handed his leash to Mark and got up to walk over to me. When he got about two feet away, though, he halted.
“Oh, Gabrielle!” He made a face and waved his hand to clear the air. “Maybe not a quick one.” Great. I smelled bad too. Jess walked over to the elevator.
“Might as well come on up and make yourselves comfortable,” she offered.
“Uh, we’ll take the stairs,” Mark said with a grimace.
Twenty minutes later I was clean again and entering the living room, where Jess was already talking to the guys.
“I was just explaining how we went out to eat and I left my wallet on the tray and it got dumped into the trash and we had to check the dumpster to find it.” Wow, that was a lot better than ‘I accidentally threw my high school yearbook away’.
Bruno gave a happy yip and came running up to me. Braden came over hesitantly, leaned down, nuzzled my neck and inhaled deeply. “Mm, much better. What were you two out doing tonight anyway – besides going out to eat and digging through dumpsters?”
“Gathering evidence for a case.”
“What? Why were you doing that? That’s what your office pays investigators for.”
“It wasn’t dangerous.”
“Gabrielle, anything could be dangerous right now. You know that. And you wound up crawling around in a dumpster
. I really don’t want you doing things like that anymore.” He didn’t want me doing things like this anymore? Who was he, my dad?
“Oh? And you’ll never go out to a crime scene or go out to interview a witness in the field huh?”
“I’m a guy,” he said, like that explained everything.
“So. Female prosecutors do it too.”
“Yeah, but they’re not my girlfriend and they’re not getting harassing letters.” He was starting to sound annoyed.
“They probably get lots of harassing letters.”
“Okay, have I mentioned that they’re not my girlfriend?” He was definitely sounding annoyed now.
“Even before the letter, you were worrying about me going into lock-up to interview clients charged with violent crimes.”
“Because you could get hurt and there are plenty of male public defenders who could do it.”
“But I can do it and it’s my job to do it. Next you’ll be telling me that you don’t want me to represent anyone charged with a violent crime in general.” I was getting rather annoyed now too.
“Well, now that you mention it…”
“Braden! I’m a criminal defense lawyer. I defend criminals. All kinds of criminals. Not just criminals that you approve of.”
“Well, you can’t expect me not to worry or care, Gabrielle!”
“Are you guys arguing?” Jess asked.
“Are we?” I asked.
“Maybe a little but that’s okay. Couples argue. We’ll figure it out and we can have make-up sex later,” Braden said, and Bruno yipped.
“Hey, I think the dog knows that word,” Mark said, studying Bruno curiously.
“Look who his parents are,” Adam said dryly. “God knows what he’s been exposed to. He probably needs psychoanalysis.”
“Okay, you know it’s getting late, guys and we all have court tomorrow, I’m sure,” Jess hinted.
“Yeah, I had better be heading home. Come on Adam, I’ll drop you off,” Mark said.
“Let’s go, Sherlock,” Braden said to me. By the time we got back to his place it was eleven. He put Bruno in the bedroom and came back into the living room area, shutting off the lights. “Look,” he said and pulled me over to the window. I could see the city lights. The view was gorgeous.