by Charish Reid
John was hesitant to pick up where she left off. Thoughts of how they left their last meeting danced around his mind. If she was in need of a release, he could certainly make good on his offer.
“Which brings me to the other night,” Victoria finished.
He exhaled slightly. “Right.”
“When you first suggested a sordid affair, I think I was shocked by the ridiculousness of it.”
John straightened up in his chair and scoffed. “I don’t know about—”
“But then I thought about it as I sent my fourth email to Laurie: ‘what if I had a way to get my release?’”
As he rubbed his hands against the denim of his thighs, he followed Victoria’s train of thought as best he could. It appeared that she was thinking aloud, plotting as she went along. “Okay?”
“Maybe the sordid affair is the ticket,” she said, returning to the beaming, albeit manic smile. “Last night, I talked to my friends about it and they were really supportive. I made a pros and cons chart and then I made a tentative schedule for each week. If I planned it correctly, this thing might work.”
When he caught up to her, John stilled his movements. “I’m sorry?”
Victoria continued. “My friends and I talked, and I realized that I’m in desperate need of...fun. And you could be the person to supply that kind of...fun.”
John sat back in his chair and regarded her quietly. She still wore a strange smile which didn’t quite fit her face. “Is that a fact?” he finally asked.
Her vigorous nodding shook glossy black braids framing her oval face. “Yes. I thought we could lay out some ground rules for how this might work efficiently. You know, so it doesn’t interrupt our work together.”
He rubbed a hand over his mouth and narrowed his eyes at her. What? While he fully expected things to be awkward between them, he didn’t realize that Victoria would treat this so...businesslike. He didn’t know he was already a topic of conversation amongst her friends. God, there’s a pros and cons list? “Efficiently,” he murmured.
“I know that doesn’t sound steamy,” she said quickly. “But try to understand that I can’t let too many extraneous activities interfere with my work. Fall semester tends to be a stressful one for me.”
He didn’t know it was possible for a woman to talk about sex without actually referring to it. Sensing his confusion, Victoria slipped her purse from her shoulder and went through it. When she revealed a day planner, John sighed and closed his eyes. “Jesus...”
“I’ve planned out our affair for the next three weeks,” she said, slapping the book down before him. Pride lit her face as she pointed at the days marked in pink highlighter. “How organized is that?”
John let his gaze wander over the many pink markings before asking, “What part of sordid did you not understand, Dr. Reese?”
Victoria’s brow furrowed. “I know what sordid means. But there’s no reason why an affair can’t be orderly too.”
Orderly was a tall order for John’s regular life. His attraction to Victoria was a chaotic swirl of debris in a tornado. Order was impossible when he stared too long into her sable-brown eyes. And he sure as hell struggled to order his dick to stop stirring when he stared at her full red lips. Especially when the top lip was a perfect cupid’s bow while the bottom stayed in a perpetual pout. John finally dragged his gaze away from her face and down to the planner. “You have me scheduled for one o’clock tomorrow. What’s happening tomorrow?”
“That’s where you come in,” she replied. “You can figure out the fun stuff.”
John blew out an exasperated laugh. He didn’t even know which issue to tackle first. There was her aversion to saying the words “sex” or “sexual” and then there was her manic desire to etch their sexual encounters in stone. “You want me to drop what I’m doing to seek you out and sexually pleasure you?”
Her russet-brown cheeks flushed under his perplexed gaze. “Well, when you say it like that, it sounds silly. What I’m suggesting is order.” She glanced back at the mess on his desk. “It looks like a little order in your life might not be a terrible idea.”
John ignored her little jab. “No, Dr. Reese, it’s not silly to want to have sex with someone. The part I’m struggling with is this.” He gestured to the day planner. “When I said a sordid affair, I had something else in mind. What? I’m not entirely sure, but this is a bit much.”
She rolled her eyes. “I did all of this with your niece in mind.”
“Please explain.”
“You’re taking care of a child and I don’t want to get in the way of that. So I looked up her school times and any holidays before I planned for us.”
It was weird, but extremely considerate of her. John couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. He buried his head in his hands and chuckled. “You are something else, Dr. Reese.”
“So you’ll accept my terms?” she asked.
He peeked at her through his fingers. “That depends.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, her curiosity properly piqued. “On what?”
“That we try it your way for only one week. I’m pretty sure I can convince you that this is unsustainable. You can’t schedule fucking.”
A soft gasp escaped her lips. “Do you have to be so crude, Mr. Donovan?”
John shrugged. “But you can’t,” he said. “If we’re going to start dating, there has to be some spontaneity.”
Victoria cocked her head to the side. “But we’re not dating, we’re having an affair. And a fairly short one at that.”
Her words punched him in the gut. He masked his disappointment and cleared his throat. “Maybe I don’t understand your terms.”
“When you suggested this, I assumed you only wanted something quick and physical. I thought this would be more interesting if we skipped all the awkward first date stuff.”
John clenched his jaw. He was well aware that he suggested the affair, but the thought of Victoria dismissing him as a quick and physical man who wanted to skip wooing her, offended him. “Have you ever done anything like this before?”
“No,” she admitted. “But there’s something exhilarating about jumping straight to the dessert. Based on our kiss, I think we have chemistry, right? I’m attracted to you and I’m certain you find me attractive.”
She wasn’t wrong there. “Of course I find you attractive. You’re a gorgeous woman who I wouldn’t hesitate to...” he trailed off, looking at his desk. “But I’m not like these books. I’m not a cock to lend out for a few weeks.”
Victoria flinched. “I’ve offended you.”
“No, no,” he said, glancing back to the planner. “You’re just being efficient.”
“I knew it,” she sighed. “When I drew this up last night, there was a part of me that wondered how crazy I would sound.”
Her smile had dropped as she admitted her nighttime plotting, and John had a desperate desire to bring it back. From what little John knew of her, Victoria had a personality that made it difficult to give in to her own impulses. He found himself not wanting to disappoint her.
“I commend your boldness,” he offered as he looked down at his papers. He tried to move them around again to avoid her eyes. This agreement was quite different from John’s usual romantic pursuits. He actually liked eating his dinner before getting to dessert. Things like funny text messages, meeting up at a coffeehouse, making pasta for a lady were all in his Rolodex of moves. He liked making a connection with a woman.
When he’d created another pile of papers he smoothed down his shirt and reassessed the situation. She wasn’t asking for him to seduce her. Apparently, they were past that point, which was flattering. She was demanding that he compartmentalize his feelings for four weeks and then abruptly end an “affair.” They could skip the formalities of courtship, have illicit meet ups, and go their separate ways. Someone
like his friend, Chris, would jump at the chance to have a fuck-buddy like Victoria. A smart, sexy woman, who just wanted him for his body? It could be an entertaining proposition. “Do you have any more terms?”
Victoria nibbled her bottom lip before answering. “In our allotted time together, I’m up for almost anything,”
John almost did a double take. Just so there isn’t any confusion... “Please expand.”
“Do I have to?”
John leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk. “While you were plotting out our schedule, you didn’t bother to think about your desires?”
“I was hoping you’d surprise me?” She gave a nervous cough as she shifted in her seat and crossed her legs.
He shook his head. “So you want a structured, well-planned passionate affair? Is this oxymoron more or less what the duke would agree to?”
She appeared to think about it. “The duke had some questionable ideas regarding consent that I think we should avoid.”
“I imagine that goes with the time period.”
“Right.”
“And what else?”
Her face reddened again.
“I can’t agree to what I don’t have full understanding of, Dr. Reese,” John said. He found himself already enamored by her demure demeanor. It appeared almost anything could make her blush. He wondered what brushing his fingers along the inside of her thigh would do. “Tell me what’s on your lists of wants.”
She appeared to think about it. “Alright... I’ve never done it in a public place. I wouldn’t mind that.”
“Noted.” He was already plotting.
“I’ve never done phone stuff either.”
John licked his lips. “You mean phone sex?”
Victoria nodded.
“Nor have I,” he admitted, his eyes darting to her lips. “But I now find myself motivated to try it.”
“I’m not a fan of anything too rough,” she said in a stronger voice. “Like choking or spanking.”
John felt his own face redden. “Got it,” he said with a cough. “So a softer approach then?”
“But not too soft,” she added quickly.
Her list was making him a little hot under the collar. Beneath his desk, he adjusted his jeans and gave another cough. “Right, not too soft,” he repeated in a husky whisper. “Anything else?”
“I prefer condoms, but I am on the pill—” she paused, “—so, if one of us forgets while we’re, you know, in a public place or whatever, it won’t be a crisis.”
That was also good to know. “That can be arranged,” he said with a decisive nod. “That it?”
“Yep.”
“Okay.”
She flashed him a bright smile. “So, you’ll do it?”
John paused, making a little pros and cons list of his own.
Cons: Victoria was intense, a tight ball of nerves, and a taskmistress whose withering looks could shrink the balls of a lesser man. Following her schedule would probably cause him more stress than he needed.
Pros: He liked the idea of coaxing that tight ball of nerves into a more relaxed state. She was a gorgeous Pembroke girl whose withering looks certainly turned him on. And, upon closer observation, her sex schedule managed to work around his own.
Lastly, with all this talk about release, John felt like he was deserving of that as well. He wanted a little freedom from his many responsibilities at the library. And as much as he loved her, John would soon need a break from Becca. “Lay out those terms one more time?”
Victoria rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Three weeks of rigidly scheduled passion.”
“One week,” he corrected. “Of rigidly scheduled passion. The following week, we’ll do it my way.”
“Wait—”
“I assure you, it will be just as fun as your plan.”
“Deal,” she said in a resigned tone.
“Good,” he said with a quick nod. He wasn’t positive that this was a good plan, but he did appreciate an interesting challenge. Though he couldn’t put his finger on it, there was something about Victoria that made him sit up and take intense interest. She was captivating, witty, gorgeous, and not someone who he could keep his mind off of. Sure, he’d follow her arbitrary timeframe, but he was now dedicated to keeping things interesting. After all, she was down to have fun in public. “When do I start?”
“Tomorrow at one,” she said with a grin. “I’ll email the spreadsheet to you using my personal email account. We’ll have to do all Sordid Affair-related emails on personal accounts.”
She’s thought of everything. “And tonight we’ll just continue working like this isn’t a thing?”
“Exactly.”
John stood and moved around his desk towards her. “In that case, come join me in the Children’s Department so I can read Halloween books to the kids.”
Her mouth fell open. “Now?”
He leaned down and took her by the chin. “It’s in the job description, Dr. Reese. Or did you forget why we were meeting tonight?”
Chapter Twelve
Victoria marveled over John’s performance with the children of the reading hour. The patience he took to speak to those who had questions or who blurted out their own observations, was fascinating to watch. Only an hour ago, they were negotiating the terms of their sordid affair. John sat before her and the children, a giant man on a tiny stool, acting out the silly voices of each character and showing each page to his audience. He was almost a defanged and gentler version of the man she’d kissed in the stacks. Victoria blushed at the memory. Jesus, I am not compartmentalizing well...
John’s broad shoulders shook with laughter as a towheaded boy of five revealed that his older sister must have been a witch because of her nasty attitude. He countered lightly with a diplomatic answer. “Sometimes witches get cranky when they don’t want to be bothered.” He tipped his head with a curious smile. “But other times, they’re very sweet and they love their little brothers, right?”
“I guess,” said the little boy kneeling on the carpet. He had been a squirmy child the entire time John read. Victoria couldn’t help but notice him because he kept bumping into other children. “So my sister is a good witch?”
John shrugged. “It sounds like it. You have to remember that witches are just like you and me. They love and laugh and cry, but there’s a small difference...”
“What?” the children shouted. Now all of them were interested in the existence of witches. Victoria cringed inwardly. This was definitely not a yarn she would spin for kids. She didn’t have the talent to talk to small children, let alone tell them lies. Everything her parents had told her as a child was direct and forthright. The mystery of Santa Claus had been cleared up when she was nine and asked her mother how their family would be found if they moved to another base. Katherine had cut a glance to Archie, who looked visibly perplexed by the question, before breaking it all the way down for young Victoria.
Victoria glanced at the few mothers who hung out, she noticed their overall lack of concern. Either they were flipping through their magazines or on their phones.
John put down his book, Ten Little Ghosts, and leaned closer to his captive audience. With his forearms resting on his thighs, tattoos in full view, he explained his little theory. “It’s magic, of course. Witches don’t like to talk about it because they don’t want people to treat them different.”
“What kind of magic do they have, Mr. John?” a young girl asked. Victoria frowned. He was really digging himself deep, but he didn’t seem fazed at all.
“Oh, well, let’s see...” He pursed his lips and gave them a serious look. “Witches are really good with animals, they know what animals need and take great care of them.”
“Is that why they have cats?” the squirmy boy asked.
“Yes, now does anyone here have a cat?”
John asked.
A few children raised their hands. “I do! I do!” some shouted.
“That’s wonderful news,” he said, nodding with approval. “And do you take good care of them?”
A chorus of ardent yeses were shouted.
“I don’t mean just petting them and playing with them,” John said with playful gravity. “I mean, do you help your mommies and daddies feed them and change out their litter?”
A less enthusiastic affirmation was mumbled.
“Well I think we probably need to do a better job, don’t you think?”
“Yeah,” said the cat owners.
“And I’m also talking to you all who have dogs? Are you guys scooping the poop?”
The crowd dissolved into giggles and “eewws.”
“It’s one of the best ways to get your witch magic,” he said with a shrug.
One shy little girl in the back of the group, twisted her blonde curls around her fist and raised her hand.
“Yes, honey?”
Her face crumpled up as she struggled to articulate her anxiety. “But what if you have a rabbit. Can you be magic then?”
John crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “I didn’t know that any of you had pet rabbits... This changes everything.”
The girl’s expression was stricken with fear. The other children looked between her and John, waiting for judgement.
“My dear, what is your name?”
“Katie,” she said in a small voice.
Victoria’s brows knit in worry. This Katie seemed extremely anxious at the thought of talking more than was necessary. Her face turned red and her fist continued to twist her hair. Even the mothers managed to look up from their magazines and phones to gaze upon the interaction. “Katie, my dear, could you come up here and talk to us about your rabbit?”
Katie was surprised. She hesitated, but picked herself up from the floor and walked through the group of children to meet John. He promptly picked her up by the armpits and plopped her on his knee. Katie loosened the grip on her hair as she looked up at John’s face. “What do you want to know?” she asked in a small voice.