Chasing The O

by LaBelle, Lorelai

  She nodded. I retrieved Vince, and Bridgett gave him a sincere apology, tears still flowing. She left soon after that, when she seemed stable enough to drive.

  “I’m so sorry about all of this. It’s not something I ever saw coming,” I said, shutting the office door.

  He smiled warmly. “Would be pretty hard to.”

  “So I guess I’ll get you the money as soon as I can.”

  He wrapped his arms around me and held me loosely, our eyes lost in each other’s gaze. “Don’t worry about the money. Call it an investment.”

  “I can’t let you give me money,” I said, my words more barbed than I intended.

  “People will always need to eat,” he replied. “Investing in restaurants is always a smart move, especially with one as delicious as yours.”

  “Smart move?” I laughed. “Most restaurants fail within their first year.”

  “I’m an optimist.” He leaned in and kissed me.

  “Still, I can’t take it.”

  “Then I guess I’ll have to turn Bridgett in,” he threatened with mock sincerity.

  “I’m serious.”

  “So am I.” His grin gave him away, but deep beneath it I could sense that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I’ve invested more than twenty thousand in other companies, and I like none of them as much as yours.”

  “It’s different when you have a personal investment,” I argued.

  “Money makes everything personal,” he countered. “I’ll tell you what: why don’t you look over your books and see how bad it is, and say you only need two grand, then I’ll un-invest the other eighteen. Deal?”

  I considered his proposal. If Bridgett was right about getting more loan money, Vince’s “investment” could be our only option to stay afloat. I hated the idea of accepting his charity, but I nodded, agreeing to at least think about it.

  “Do you think you could stop by the gym around eight?” he asked, switching subjects out of nowhere.

  “Uh—why?”

  “I have a surprise for you.”

  “A surprise?”

  He nodded.

  “What kind of surprise?”

  “You’ll just have to show up and find out. Can you do eight?”

  “I have a whole mess to work out, but I guess so. For a surprise.”

  He leaned in for a kiss goodbye, then let go, heading for the door. “See you at eight.” He was gone a breath later.

  OUR BUDGET PROBLEM WASN’T as dramatic as Bridgett had made it out to be. Every month we were steadily draining money—that part was true, but we had about six months before everything crumbled. Six was a long way from two. In six we could pick up and be far ahead. From a realistic, objective standpoint, we did need Vince’s money though. About six grand of it. He didn’t seem worried about the ninety grand he had forked out getting the card back, but if that was included in the bill, we were dead, plain and simple.

  I guess we got lucky that Bridgett didn’t try her slick maneuver on a greedier person; otherwise we wouldn’t be coming out ahead. I decided to swallow my distaste for accepting unearned money, and embrace Vince’s “investment,” despite how queasy it made me feel. I didn’t know if it was guilt or what, but something was twisting up my insides.

  I spent the rest of the afternoon committed to the chore of deciphering the books, and the clock read 7:53 when I glanced at it. Stuffing the Reuben leftovers in the fridge, I locked the back door, speed-walking down Hawthorne. The wet, cold air did nothing for my mood. Although, trying to guess the surprise Vince had in store for me did help cheer me up. I had a feeling it would be something expensive and I’d have to turn it down, already over the limit for the month.

  Nearing the front entrance, I noticed that most of the lights were off even though the gym never closed. Taped to the door, a sign informed members that it was shut down for maintenance, and apologized for the inconvenience.

  Confused, I swiped my card anyway, and sure enough the light turned green and the door unlocked. Inside, I found the place deserted. A bag lay on the front counter with a note on it that said “MACI.” I withdrew a white sports bra. Only it wasn’t a full bra. Holding it up to my chest, it reached halfway down my boobs. The second article was a pair of white underwear.

  A trail of rose pedals led me to the bathroom, a clear indicator that I was supposed to change into the new outfit. The panties covered half my cheeks, exposing most of my ass. When I put on the bra, I understood its design and purpose. It covered my breasts until just past my nipples, revealing the flesh under my boobs. I didn’t grasp the sexiness of the top, except for the easy access, but clearly Vince had fantasized about this for a while. The tight material of the bra pressed my boobs together, with a different type of seductive cleavage.

  Leaving the bathroom, I climbed the stairs to the second floor, where I’d seen Vince most often and expected him to be. As I ascended, the air grew hotter, as if the heat had been turned way up. When my eyes peeked over the floor, I saw a thousand white candles spread out before me, all flickering with life.

  I sighted Vince at the centermost bench, doing arm curls, shirtless. My quiet footsteps went unheard, but my image in the floor-to-ceiling mirror made me easy to spot. He dropped the weights and stood, whistling as he eyed me up and down. “You are one sexy lady,” he said, breathing hard. His body glistened with sweat, his muscles bulging from the workout.

  “And you’re one sweaty man,” I returned, eyeing his arms with lust. I wanted to eat each of his defined ab muscles, but I supposed licking them would also do.

  He glanced down at his arms and chest, then back at me. “My goal is to make you one sweaty woman.” He grinned, alluring me, seducing me. My knees nearly buckled.

  I sucked on my lip in a way that said, “I can’t wait.”

  “I know it’s not silky lingerie, but how do you like the outfit?”

  I pressed my boobs together, creating more cleavage. “I like that you like it.” I slid my hand down his gym shorts to his rock-hard cock.

  He cupped my breasts, bending over to shove his face in them. He spent a minute inhaling with his nose in my cleavage, then he straightened up, his hands reaching around to my ass, squeezing, caressing. Suddenly our mouths connected, tongues swirling, wet and exhilarating.

  He slapped my ass and my heart jumped. Pulling away, he flattened the inclined bench he’d been working out on, and turned it lengthwise so that it ran parallel to the mirror. He eased me on to my back and when I glanced at the mirror, I could see the full length of our bodies.

  Biting his lip and on his knees, he ran his fingers from my feet, up my thighs, and to my ass. I rested my feet on the ground as he spread my legs, his nose skimming from one thigh, over my panties, to the other.

  The soft nuzzle tantalized all my nerves. With every pass, he drew closer to my clit, but never touched it, teasing me. “God, you’re so sexy,” he whispered. “And you smell so delicious.”

  I lifted my hips, wiggling them, begging him. He relented. Moving aside the panties, his tongue swept over my clit, down to my pussy. He licked up in broad strokes. I gasped. He removed my panties in one swift motion. Free of holding my underwear, his hands fondled my exposed breasts while his tongue continued to glide up and down.

  “You taste so sweet,” he murmured. “I could do this all day.”

  I writhed in pleasure, unable to contain myself. Eventually, he concentrated on my clit, pressing a finger under the bundle as his tongue twirled. He licked a finger and slid it inside me. My stomach contracted, and my legs pressed in, crushing his head. His left hand clenched my thighs as his tongue increased speed.

  Then he bit down. A gentle nibble at first, adding more suction.

  I screamed. I could feel the wetness flowing out of me as my hips convulsed. My muscles contracted in waves, and eventually I released my thighs that hugged Vince’s face. How did I not suffocate him? I wondered in a distant dream. I noticed his dripping wet curls as I raked his scalp. M
y eyes came back into focus, and I glanced down at Vince, who was looking at me with burning eyes. He wiped his mouth, coming up for a kiss.

  “I love the way you taste,” he said, massaging my clit with two fingers, our eyes locked, intense.

  I flexed up for another kiss.

  The heat from Vince, combined with the candles, had bathed my body in sweat. The atmosphere created a mood that I’d never experienced before, slick and hot and intimate. The dim candlelight was intoxicating—stimulating. Romantic.

  Vince knelt beside the bench. With his other hand, he grazed my skin, skimming a finger under my breasts, around my stomach, and down my thighs. It felt like he was everywhere on my body. Everywhere but in me.

  “I want to feel you inside me,” I said, rubbing his chest, sliding my finger up his neck and through his hair again. He stood up, slipped off his gym shorts, and helped me up. Behind us sat another bench, its design angled so that a person’s head was near the floor as they did crunches. Swinging the bench to make it parallel to the mirror just like the other one, he raised the angle of the back so that it sloped a tiny bit in the other direction, forming an open “V” with the butt cushion.

  I stepped in front of it, about to lie on my back, when he started turning me around. Realizing what he wanted, I stopped him. “I want to see you.”

  “You can, in the mirror,” he replied, compelling me to turn with his strong arms. He bent me over the bench. Its sturdiness easily held my weight. I grasped the sides of the seat cushion for support. “See?”

  I peered at the mirror and could see Vince’s hand sliding up my legs to my ass. I hadn’t even noticed that he had moved the weights that normally sat in front of the mirror, giving both of us a clear view of each other.

  I shook my ass for him to enter.

  He took his cock and played with my lips for a minute, until he was nice and wet and ready. My lips parted and he gently eased into me. I watched as he slowly thrust in and out: my own private, erotic show. His hand holding my hips, he gradually increased his pace, his muscles flexing, shimmering with sweat.

  He was also regarding the mirror, watching as my boobs bounced, the undersides smacking my ribs. That drove him wild with lust, and he began pumping hard, slamming against my ass. I moaned as his balls slapped back and forth. He was gasping and grunting, but the sound of him driving into me was even louder, and I loved it, loved how wet and delicious it was.

  Watching his cock glide in and out, his balls swaying out of control, while listening to the sexy noises—all of it converged as he came, pushing the sweet sensation deep inside me and out to my fingers and toes. My toes curled as Vince stilled. I let out a long exhale as my head swirled in bliss.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he breathed. He palmed my ass, leaning into me.

  I craned back to kiss him. Recovering my breath, I withdrew, gulping for air. Then, with Vince still throbbing inside me, unfiltered and unplanned, an impulse took over and I whispered, “I love you, Vince.”

  Gazing at me with those soft, warm eyes, he whispered back, “I love you, too.”

  15

  THE SEX TAPE

  I drove home the next morning. The sun was out and the birds were singing. At least they were inside my head. If it had been raining, I would have stopped the car and started dancing in it. My head was swimming from euphoria.

  It was definitely love. I knew that now. We had both torn down our walls and embraced each other. Truth, openness, and willingness: that was what it all came down to. That was love.

  And, not to mention, fierce attraction.

  I recognized that what I felt for Vince was beyond infatuation. It was greater. He drew out emotions in me that I never knew had existed. Beyond sexual gratification, he drew out happiness—pure and simple happiness.

  I parked on the street since my week to park in the garage didn’t start until tomorrow. I practically skipped to the front door. I planned on shouting out my love at the top of my lungs as soon as I saw Danielle, letting her and the rest of the neighborhood know all about it.

  I was twenty-five and in love.

  I turned the key and found Danielle asleep on the couch. “I’M IN LOVE!” I screamed in her ear.

  She exploded awake, slapping me across the face. “WHAT THE FUCK!” she roared, realizing it was me in front of her. Huffing, she leaned on the couch for support. “Why—why would you do that?”

  I was holding my cheek in pain, breathing through my teeth. “I don’t know. It sounded like a good idea in my head.”

  “A good idea to scare the shit out of me,” she hissed. “Are you okay?”

  I rubbed my stinging cheek. “You got me pretty good, but yeah, I’m fine.”

  She laughed, sitting down. “So what did you even say? I just heard a screech in my ear.”

  “I said, ‘I’m in love,’” I repeated meekly.

  “You’re in love? With Vince?”

  “Of course with Vince,” I said, cringing as my fingers massaged the area.

  She gave me a naughty grin. “Have another orgasm?”

  I laughed. “As a matter of fact, I did . . . but that’s not why I’m in love.”

  “It’s a part of it, I can tell you that,” she argued.

  “It’s where it started,” I agreed. “Now it’s so much more, so much deeper . . . the intimacy, Danielle. I think I understand what you and Ashley have.”

  “Do you now?”

  I nodded. “And guess what else?”

  “What?”

  I paused for a moment for dramatic effect. “Cock.”

  Her head jolted, as if her ear were trying to catch the word straight from my mouth. Then she smiled. “Maci Patricia Goodwin, did you just say what I think you said?”

  “If it was ‘cock,’ then yes.” I returned her comical grin.

  “Oh. My. God. You really have changed, haven’t you?” She jumped to her feet. “I’ve been trying to get you to say that silly word forever. Years even. And look at you, throwing it out there like it’s no big deal.”

  “You can no longer call me a prude.”

  “I guess not.” She waved me in for a hug. “I can’t believe my bestie is having orgasms, saying cock, and falling in love. Real love. It’s like you’re a totally new woman.”

  I shrugged her off. “I can’t tell if you’re making fun of me.”

  “I’m seriously proud of you. No joke. Honest.”

  I looked her in the eye and could tell she meant it. I returned her hug. After a minute, we broke it up, and she walked into the kitchen. “Breakfast?” she asked.

  “Already ate,” I answered.

  “All right.” She pulled out a box of cereal from the cupboard. “So, are you going to tell me about last night? What changed? What put that huge smile on your face?”

  I gave her all the details: the gym, the candles, the emotion, and the exchange of those three simple, but meaningful words. After I went through the entire night, and our conversation was tailing off, she pointed at the kitchen table. “You got something in the mail yesterday. A big envelope.”

  I retrieved the yellow envelope, tore it open, and pulled out a DVD. “Maci—for your eyes only,” was scribbled across the bottom.

  “There’s no return address on it,” Danielle pointed out.

  “Or our address,” I said, examining the front. “It just says Maci. So the sender must’ve personally put it in the mailbox.”

  “Kinda creepy,” she said. “Are we going to watch it?”

  “We? It says for my eyes only . . . what if it’s Vince doing something . . . you know?”

  She pretended curiosity wasn’t eating away at her. “Fine, watch it by yourself. I’ll be in the shower.” She strolled out of the kitchen as I snagged my laptop, heading to my bedroom. Shutting the door and locking it so she wouldn’t barge in, I inserted the disc. The DVD only had one file on it, so I opened it. A movie began playing.

  The camera was facing a bed. A familiar bed. Vince’s bed. The camera
was level with it. A fake-tanned blond woman wearing short jean shorts and a hot-pink cami crawled onto the bed. Vince, wearing his usual attire, walked into the shot, facing the opposite wall. He took off his jacket as they began kissing. She threw off his shirt, moaning. “Yeah, baby,” she said loudly. “Are you gonna fuck me, fuck me real hard?”

  Vince nodded, stripping off her shorts and panties.

  My mouth dropped as he slid off his pants and boxers. The camera only caught him from behind. He started ramming her, holding her legs up in the air. Grunts, moans, and screams filled most of the tape.

  “Yeah, fuck me, baby,” she screamed. “Fuck me harder. Harder. Harder. Oh, fuck. I’m your little slut. That’s right, baby, fuck me harder.”

  He finished up, yelling incoherently in a hoarse voice. She rolled off the bed and shut off the camera.

  At first I just stared at the black screen. Then rage flooded my body—rage like I had never known. Unaware of what I was doing, I picked up my computer and chucked it at the wall. Pieces broke off and the screen cracked as it split from the keyboard.

  A scream exploded out of me.

  Seconds later, Danielle was jiggling the doorknob, shouting, “Maci. Maci, are you all right? Open the door. Maci, open the door.” I unlocked it and she rushed in. “What is it? What happened?” She saw the destroyed computer. “What the hell happened?”

  “I was duped, played the fool again, just like with Ryan.”

  “What do you mean? Are you saying Vince cheated on you?”

  I nodded, rubbing my head. The wrath swelled again. I kicked over the wastebasket full of old papers, and then punched the wall, leaving a small dent. The landlords wouldn’t be happy about it, but I didn’t care.