by Jamie Knight
“You’re playing with fire, sweetie.”
“I’m not playing at all anymore. The rules keep changing,” I quipped, returning to my desk, feeling like Dorothy Parker.
The hours ticked by without further incident. My point was apparently well and truly made. At least to Aden.
It was just after lunch when the pink-haired girl came in like nothing had happened.
“Your lover is with a client,” I said, tone dripping with cold bitterness.
She dared to smile at me. I tried to return it with my own face smile.
“Oh, I’m here to see you, not my cousin.”
“Cousin?” I felt my eyebrows shoot up.
“First cousin last I checked,” she said, leaning on my desk, getting right into my face.
That was when I recognized her. “Shae?”
“Yep.”
“What happened?”
“Fourteen years of growing up and a stellar dye job.”
I felt sick as the tsunami of humiliation crashed over me. I had been such a fucking brat and for no good reason. I felt my cheeks turn bright red.
“So, how have you been?” Shae propped herself onto the edge of my desk. “What have you been up to?”
I couldn’t respond at first. The crushing weight of embarrassment rendering me momentarily mute. Eventually, I managed to gather up my maturity enough to answer.
“This mostly. Not here, I mean but part-time work. Not a lot of call for philosophy experts.”
“Sounds thrilling.”
I chuckled. “It can be, though most jobs aren’t quite as lively as this place. Did you know they have a ping-pong table?”
“No way.”
“Way.”
“No wonder Aden likes it here so much. I wasn’t sure how he’d adjust after the army, but he seems to be getting on fine.”
“Yeah,” I said, trying furiously not to blush. Shae was kind enough to pretend that she didn’t notice. I started to wonder how much she knew about what was going on.
“Know any good clubs around here?”
“Um yeah, there’s a casino with a pretty good venue,” I replied.
“My ears are burning,” Chris said, coming over to the desk with Coop at his side.
“Lighting your Q-tips again?” Cooper asked, sighing in mock disappointment.
“What was that about Q-tips?” Aden asked, emerging from his office with a client.
“We’re going on a staff trip to the casino,” Chris said. “To get our dance on!” He shook his hips a little and swung his arms. The art director couldn’t really dance, but he was so goofy that no one cared.
“Cool.”
“I might come along too if my wife’s morning sickness gets under control,” Ryan said, appearing from the aether.
“Can I come too?” Carlos asked, leaning out of his cubical.
“Sure, why not?” Shae said, unable to keep from smiling at all the attention her idea was getting. “Let’s make it a party.”
****
When the clock struck the appointed time, I hauled ass back to my apartment, trying my best to avoid Aden. I stripped off the intentionally repellant outfit and stood in front of my open closet in my underwear, trying to decide what to wear to the club.
I tried to convince myself that I wasn’t going to dress up for Aden. I would dress for me and no one else. The only problem was that I really felt that I was back in the game since I realized that the cute, pink-haired girl I assumed he was fucking was his cousin, who neither of us had seen in years.
I got into my sexiest dress and heels combo and really just hoped Aden could forgive me for being so awful.
I must have taken longer than I thought to get ready, everyone else was already at the club before I arrived. I thought I’d heard Shae arrive at Aden’s apartment, which really only made sense because he had a car and knew where the casino was. I got the feeling from Shae that she hadn’t been back in town for too long.
The parking was hell on the Vegas strip, but I still found a spot on the third time around. The extra trips gave me time to think about what I would do when I got inside. Strangely, I was happy we were there in a group. Just Shae and I would have been cool, but if Aden was going to be there, it would be nice to have an out if need be.
I needn’t have worried too much about ignoring Aden. He was doing an excellent job of avoiding me. I really didn’t know anyone aside from him, Cooper and Shae. I didn’t need Cooper’s shit, so I tried to focus on Shae, who turned out to be something of a hit among the single boys, particularly Chris.
The more I drank, going past where I usually would, the more my immaturity reared its head. Before long, I was hammered and dancing with random guys. It was honestly an ego boost to know that some guys were still interested even if Aden was ignoring me. Love the one you’re with, in the immortal words of Stephen Stills.
It didn’t last. Cooper pulled his usual bullshit, getting a punch in the nose for his trouble.
“Serves you right,” I said, leaving him to drip blood onto the dance floor.
It was a bit harsh, I admit, but if he hadn’t stuck his nose in this, the whole issue with Aden and Shae never would have happened.
I started to feel sick when I got back to the dance floor. Without a word, Shae steered me back toward the table.
Chapter Nine
Aden
Camilla looked awful. Sickly and garish. Like a college freshman who had taken frosh week too far. Cooper was pissed and also too drunk to drive. Camilla certainly couldn’t. Truth be told, I was the only one who hadn’t been drinking at all.
“I’ll take her home,” I said to Cooper when he made it back to the table, holding a napkin to his nose.
“You’ll what?”
“I’m the only one who hasn’t been drinking, and I live next door.”
“Good idea, thanks.”
Getting my jacket, I picked Camilla up in a fireman’s carry and hauled her toward the doors of the casino, getting nary a glance from the on-site security.
“Put me down! I can walk!” she protested, her dress riding up on her ass.
“Not steadily,” I said, slapping my hand down on her ass to hold her dress down as I carried her to her car.
Setting her down into the back seat, I got the keys from her purse and started it up. The owners knew me and my car, and it would still be there in the morning.
“This is bullshit! You hurt me, and Cooper spoiled my fun. Again.”
I turned in the driver’s seat like I was doing a shoulder check, making damn sure she could see my face and the deeply displeased expression writ upon it.
“Be quiet,” I growled.
Camilla’s scared expression hurt me slightly. I never believed in ruling by fear. She just made me so angry, acting like such a brat. Especially when I knew she was capable of so much more. It was a bit cliché, but sometimes Camilla really was her own worst enemy.
I made the mistake of glancing at her in the rearview mirror. Her mascara was cascading down her alabaster cheeks like black raindrops down a window. Add on her black lipstick and the overall effect, putting me in mind of corpse paint.
When we got to the apartment, she had mostly given up and was lying down in the back seat. Taking her out of the back seat, I carried her, a bit more carefully, into the building, using her keys on the front door.
“I really can walk,” Camilla said again, though this time with a bit less fervor.
She gave a weak attempt to wiggle out of my grasp, which I halted by spanking her. More than once, this time. Keeping up the strikes, at about thirty percent of my total power, until she stopped risking her safety by trying to wiggle out of my arms. Apparently, she was unaware that this would send her toppling to the pavement.
She was perfectly still relenting to my hold as I took her up the stairs, which was a relief. I really didn’t want to have to spank her again. Her round ass must have already been quite red.
Using her keys again, I got the
apartment door open and carried her inside, nudging the door open with the toe of my sneaker. Hauling Camilla into the apartment, closing the door again with my heel, I set her down on the couch and checked her pupils. A process made easier by the way she was glaring at me.
“That hurt.”
“What did?”
“You spanked me, you bastard. Like I’m some kind of petulant child.”
“It was a bit hard to tell the difference at the time,” I said.
“What?”
“Maybe if you hadn’t acted like a little brat, I wouldn’t have spanked you or literally carried you out of the club. You looked absurd. Like an over-excited college kid. Maybe Cooper is right. I mean, he takes it way too far and often gets hurt in the attempting, posing more of a threat to himself than anyone else, but not for no reason. No wonder he is still acting in the big brother role when you’re still acting like such a fucking kid!”
I could see she was going to cry. In addition to being observant, I also knew all Camilla’s tells. It didn’t stop me, though. Some horrible part of me kept going, trying to convince me that the truth was all that mattered.
“He doesn’t want you to have a relationship with me, and frankly, I understand that. I am only interested in grown adults. Not silly little girls. You are not making me want to be with you pulling stupid stunts like this.”
She was quiet for a long time. At least in part from shock, or so it seemed from me. It was still coming, and finally, the dams broke, letting out an all new flow of tears. Not loud, wild sobs. Just small, whispered chokes, which somehow made it even worse. She was still trying to be brave even when she was being crushed. Shae would have slapped me if I talked to her like that. Camilla was suffering in silence.
“I-I need a shower,” she said, getting up and heading toward the bathroom.
I knew I should have gone, but I was really concerned about her. Not only because she had been drinking but also her hurt feelings. Even though I had been the one who hurt them. I sat on the couch and waited in the dark to see what might be coming next.
Finally, like a sign of heaven, the bathroom opened again, letting light into the darkness, and Camilla came out wearing nothing but a towel, her hair tied back in a ponytail. The wasted remnants of her makeup were washed away, making her look soft and vulnerable.
“I’m sorry,” she said, sitting down next to me on the couch.
“You don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do. You were right, I was foolish. I think I was trying to win you back or something. A weird way of apologizing after what happened with Shae, assuming she was your girlfriend that you threw me over for. I mean we had just fucked and then you were gone and came back with her, I guess I just jumped to conclusions.”
“Understandably so,” I said.
“Yeah, but it is more than that. There’s a, like, pattern. I just can’t seem to keep from falling into the role you expect from me.”
“I can see that. I can’t say I don’t do the same thing. Though in my case, it’s more of what Cooper expects of me. I’m getting sick of it, to be honest.”
She put her head on my shoulder.
“Do you think there’s any hope for us?”
I didn’t have an answer for that. Not really. I would have to think about it a lot more before I knew for sure, though I figured that Shae had been right.
Getting a couple of ibuprofen down her, I carried Camilla into bed, carefully pulling off her towel before tucking her under the covers, careful not to look as I did so. Seeing her naked was the last thing I really needed at that point in time.
Watching my best friend’s little sister as she fell asleep, I realized that yes, I was ready for a relationship with her.
Chapter Ten
Camilla
It was the first dreamless sleep I'd had in years. A pleasant sensation only slightly hampered by the subtle pounding in my head—a result of drinking as much as I had. Alcohol tolerance never being one of my strong points. It wasn't too bad, though.
I could smell the bacon while I was still in bed. A familiar tune whistled from the general area of the kitchen. Had Aden stayed the night? I supposed he might have had gone home and come back the next day. He did still have my keys last I remembered, and he lived only about fifteen feet away. Were it not for the distinct sizzling sound of bacon being fried in a cast-iron skillet, it could well have been plausible that he had cooked the bacon at his place and brought it over.
The bedroom door opened, and my crush came in with a breakfast tray much like I had done for him. Only, in that case, Aden hadn't been naked or in bed. Just half-naked and wishing he was still in bed.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” he replied, setting the tray down on my lap.
“Thanks for taking care of me last night,” I said.
I felt a bit shy and awkward and not just because of the nudity happening under the covers. He'd seen me naked before, so that wasn't really a big thing. It was more how I had behaved the night before. Prompting him to spank me. Not to mention how much I had actually enjoyed being punished like he had done when he had fucked me so wonderfully before going so weird.
Aden really had been right about me acting like a kid, though. Dressing sexy and getting drunk in response to him ignoring me had seemed like a good idea at the time but had been epically immature in retrospect. More like something a teen would do. Not a grown woman pushing thirty. Old enough to drink, old enough to drink responsibly, as my uncle Rory used to say.
“I really am, you know.”
“You really are what?” Aden asked.
“Grownup. I mean adult. I really am an adult.”
“Are you now?” Aden asked, eating a strip of crispy bacon.
“Yes, I am. And I'm finished with playing silly games,” I said with great conviction.
“I'm happy to hear you say that,” he said, slumping down on to the bed a little.
“You are?”
“Of course, I really am attracted to you. I've been suppressing my feelings for Cooper's sake. He seems to be under the impression that I see you as a sister, which is not true at all. My feelings for you are quite carnal indeed.”
“Oh,” I said, blushing a bit.
“And I'm willing to say it. I'm not going to let Cooper's paranoia keep us apart anymore. I'm willing to risk his wrath if you are. I mean, I've seen him fight. Or at least give it a good go. Usually ending up with a bloody nose. It is more his feelings I was worried about, but I'm betting we’ll get past that too.”
I could hardly believe my ears. Aden had actually just admitted that he was attracted to me, and he wanted to risk upsetting Cooper to be in a relationship with me. Both things I never thought I would ever hear him say. I was too overwhelmed to speak for several moments. Finally, I plucked up my gumption.
“I’m ready, to try, I mean. Though I think it might be a good idea to keep things on the down-low for a while. Just to make sure things are going to work out.”
“Right, so no passionate making out in the office or fucking in the janitor’s closet,” Aden said, managing to remain completely deadpan.
“I wasn’t planning on that,” I said, unable to stifle my laugh.
“So, there shouldn’t be a problem then.”
“Nope, not at all,” I agreed.
Setting the tray on the bedside table, Aden moved in for a kiss, which I was more than willing to welcome. We kissed three times, increasing the passion with each until, finally, he went in for a proper kiss, out tongues dancing softly against each other. As we made out, my hand wandered up to the blanket where it went across my chest, uncovering myself.
Without missing a beat or breaking the kiss, Aden caressed his way down my neck and onto my right breast. He gently kneaded the soft flesh, not neglecting my already hard nipple. Relocating the kiss from my mouth down my chin and over my neck, he kept his lips on my skin still without breaking it.
I moaned softly as he sucked my nipple and then a
bit deeper and louder as he caressed his hand down my belly and onto my wet, aching pussy. The relief was instant and heavenly, pleasure shooting through me like an electric current as he deftly massaged my delicate pink pussy lips, only taking occasional, light passes on my clit.
Once again on the move, Aden kissed his way down between my tits and over my belly, finally settling between my legs. Figuring this was his final destination, I opened my legs to help him get comfortable and stay awhile.
Again, he started off gentle. Giving me gentle kisses and licks on the outside of my pussy before lightly spreading my lips with his fingers and going for my clit, also with a soft, light touch. Moving in a slow, deliberate motion, he teased me until I wanted to cry. When I was ready, he slipped two fingers inside and drove his tongue into my pussy in a hard circular motion making me want to scream as I came. I dissolved into a puddle of joy, unable to move for a long while. My nerves were a bit too busy experiencing hitherto unimagined levels of pleasure.
When I had come back to the world of full movement, I pulled Aden to me and kissed him again. He kept up with me beat for beat.
“Spank me,” I whispered.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Spank me,” I repeated.
“What do you say?”
“P-please, spank me.”
“Have you been a naughty girl?”
“Yes, a very naughty girl.”
Shifting into a sitting position, Aden lay me out over his lap, my bare ass presented to him. He started out with several strokes and squeezes, making me hum with pleasure. I’d never really done butt stuff before and was really starting to regret the lost time, it felt better than I ever would have expected.
After several sharp, resounding strikes, followed by gentle strokes to ease the pain, Aden’s right had found its way over my ass and down between my thighs. I gasped as he cupped my pussy, as though asking permission.
“Please,” I begged.
Leaving me on my belly, Aden spread my legs from behind and hoisted me up onto all fours by my hips. Getting in the space between my legs, he continued lightly striking my pussy with one hand while unzipping his pants with the other.