AmericasDarlings

by Gail Bridges

  I sat forward, letting go of my dark thoughts. I had an idea what she was doing.

  She set the superphone on edge then pressed a button. “This had better work…”

  A light came on then an image of my sister appeared in full color, in three dimensions, hovering over the napkin.

  “Constance!” I cried, bouncing in my seat. I jiggled the table in my excitement, which made Constance jiggle also. Putting my hand on my knee to still the trembling, I gaped down at my sister. How marvelous! What a delightful thing, this miniature person on the table! I’d heard of these superphones, but I’d never seen one—they were still too expensive. I was impressed. Constance looked so real—real, but tiny. She stood about as tall as the water glass Mom had cleared aside.

  The miniature Constance waved. “Hi, sis!”

  I glanced up.

  My mother grinned at me.

  “Thank you!” I said. “Can she see me?”

  “I can see you just fine,” came Constance’s voice. “I can hear you too. These things are pretty cool! You’re floating above my kitchen table. Part of you, anyway. Wow.”

  I laughed. “You’re floating too!”

  “Someone wants to meet you, sis.” Constance reached her arms offscreen, which had the odd effect of amputating them until they came back into view. And when they did, they were holding Baby Luke.

  My eyes filled with tears.

  “Say hi to your auntie,” said Constance.

  “Luke!” I said, sniffing. I wiped my face, smiling. So I was going to cry threetimes today. Or was it four?

  Constance held the baby’s hand in her own and made him wave to me.

  “I wish I could hold him!”

  “You will, soon enough.”

  “He’s beautiful. I mean it. Look at the hair on him!”

  My sister ran her hand over the black fuzz on his head. “They say he might lose it. I hope not.”

  “I’m making something for him! If it’s ready in time I’ll send it with Mom.”

  Mom leaned forward, put her head in front of mine. “Luke’s a lucky little guy, Connie! He already has a sweetheart. And she’s sitting right here.”

  I laughed.

  Which was a major accomplishment on a day like today.

  “Did you hear what happened?” Mom asked, more quietly.

  Constance made a face. “Yes. Horrible. I hope Jim’s all right. They’ve been showing it over and over on TV. Just now they showed Jim’s dad and Soraya meeting in the waiting room. They fell apart, crying in each other’s arms…awful. All of it.”

  She didn’t mention if they were showing my fiasco over and over on TV. I assumed they were, interspersed with panels of experts dissecting our every move, just like that awful woman had promised. The networks must be wild with excitement over today’s ratings.

  Luke made a face, pulling me back. He stiffened and began to cry. My arms ached to hold him, to pat him, to put him over my shoulder, to dress him in the sweater I was making for him, to be his auntie for real. I reached my index finger into the—what was it? A hologram?—and touched the empty space that was Baby Luke.

  “I’ve got to go,” said Constance. “I love you, sis. Say hi to Benson—”

  “Hi!” said Benson.

  “You’re there? Well, then I can tell you myself. I have faith in you two. Just do what you do best. Do what you love. Enjoy it. Okay?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “Sure,” said Benson.

  And we signed off. I put my hand on the place where Baby Luke had been. It felt warm.

  “Thank you,” I said again to Mom. And I meant it.

  She shrugged then tucked the phone back in her purse. “I had this set up for dinner last night, but…you know.”

  “Yeah,” I said, “sorry about that.”

  “I’m sorry too.” She reached for my hand. “About me and Bob. I know it’s hard. I wish you hadn’t found out like that. I made a mistake. A big one. The timing was all wrong and I’m sorry.” She looked down at her napkin, still spread on the table. “Bob told me what happened to you, what that Russian asshole did. I’m sorry you were hurt, Leah. I feel responsible.”

  I shook my head. “No, Mom, no! It’s not your fault.”

  “I don’t know, honey. Bob and I should have waited…”

  I squeezed her hand, soft in mine. “And I should have been able to control myself. But I didn’t.”

  We fell silent as the waiter came with our meal. He’d probably told his friends about Benson and me, because all of a sudden there were six waiters in the room. He gave me my plate of beef and vegetables.

  “Gracias,” I said.

  He nodded politely. “De nada. My pleasure.”

  He was handsome. Muscular, but not too much—just the way I liked. Strong nose. Large eyes with long eyelashes. Beautiful, golden-brown skin. Very Mexican.

  Very sexy.

  I blinked, realizing I was gazing unabashedly at his lovely arms as he served us. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing, to be reminded that the world hadn’t come to an end, to feel desire, to remember that I could still feel.

  Benson watched me looking at the waiter. He nodded slightly. You can if you want to, his eyes told me. I’m sure he’d be into it. Benson cocked an eyebrow, looked at the waiter again. He’s cute. I might be into it too.

  I shrugged, pursed my lips, looked at the waiter out of the corner of my eyes then back at Benson. Hmm. Tempting, but no. We can’t. Competition, remember? Some other time.

  Benson smiled. Okay. Some other time.

  The waiter left, oblivious—maybe—to the silent conversation we’d just had.

  Good to know I wasn’t the only one contemplating sport at such an inappropriate time. Benson had been as tempted by the waiter as I had.

  I took a roll and shoved the breadbasket toward my mom. “Let’s not talk about you and Bob just now,” I said when we were alone again. “But there is something I want to tell you.” I glanced at Benson and blushed.

  Mom speared a potato onto her fork. She held it over her plate, waiting, frowning.

  “It’s something nice, Mom. It’s me and Benson.”

  Her eyes widened.

  Benson grinned. “Leah and I are ‘us’ now! As of earlier today.”

  “We’re together,” I said, taking his hand from across the table. “I love him.”

  “And I love her.”

  Mom threw down her fork. The potato flew off the tines and ricocheted across the table. “I knew it! I knew this would happen! Lordy! I predicted it three years ago when Bob first put you two together. What took so long? Are you kids blind?”

  Benson and I laughed.

  “Must be,” he said.

  “Well, congratulations. It’s a good match. Welcome to our clan, Benson.”

  Then we attacked our meals. Somehow, between the time when we’d sat down and about thirty seconds ago, I’d regained my appetite. Maybe Mom was right. Athletes were always hungry, no matter what.

  Benson and I took a driverless cab back to the village.

  “That went well,” he said, sliding into the long, padded bench. I slid in next to him. He kissed me. “I like your mom.”

  I snuggled next to him. “Yep. It was better than I expected. Imagine. She got a superphone! For me! So I could see the baby!”

  He put his arm around me. “That was a nice thing for her to do. Maybe she isn’t a monster after all.”

  “No, she isn’t.”

  “We have to find Debbie when we get back. Ask about Jim.”

  “Yes.”

  The taxi started up.

  He settled his hand on my breast. “Hey, shall we darken the windows?”

  He pressed a button and we were plunged into a dimly lit shell that moved through shadowy traffic and city blocks we couldn’t see. The inside of the cab was gently illuminated by amber running lights along the ceiling, tiny lights that threw a dappled pattern onto us. Benson waved his free hand in front of his face, admiring
the shifting designs created by the lights. “Nice atmosphere in here, don’t you think?”

  “Mmm-hmm. Very nice. If I weren’t so upset about Jim, I’d want to fool around.”

  He caressed my breast. “Yeah. Or if we so weren’t freaked out by our malfunction.”

  “Yeah. That too.” I rested my head on his chest, thinking how a little fooling around might do wonders for my mood.

  His hand settled between my legs, not doing anything, just resting. Just resting and feeling warm and full of potential. We leaned on each other for a few minutes, feeling the back-and-forth sway of the taxi, feeling each other. Then his hand came to life, pressing into my mound and moving in a languorous, wide circle, doing fantastic things to my clit. “You know, if we weren’t so worried, we would’ve had a good bit of fun in this cab.”

  I kissed his hard little nipple through his shirt. “A very good bit of fun.”

  “But I sure wish Coach Bob had called during dinner.”

  His heart thumped against my cheek. I liked it.

  “Me too,” I said.

  I walked my hand down his chest to his crotch. Ah, erection! Perhaps we weren’t too upset to practice after all. I played with his cock through the fabric of his pants, tugging on it and tapping it and trailing my fingers up and down its length. Then disaster. I lost track of the dang thing, big as it was, and I was forced to search all over his crotch and between his legs for it.

  The thumping of his heart grew quicker. His pelvis strained against my hand. His voice was thin. “I wish he’d called. That’s not good, is it?”

  I unzipped his pants and worked my hand down his stomach, feeling his wiry pubic hair. I found the tip of his already huge cock and it was wet. I rubbed the slick drops all over his beautiful mushroom-shaped cap, knowing that I was getting wet too.

  He shifted his hips to the front of the seat. “Maybe no news is good news?”

  “Maybe.” I bent over and, pulling down his pants, I put my mouth on him.

  His back arched. He cried out.

  “No sexual activity allowed on city transportation!”

  “Holy shit!” yelled Benson, almost pulling his cock out of my mouth. “How does this thing know what we’re doing? How does it know we speak English?”

  I sucked him back in then snorted loudly around a mouthful of cock.

  “Cameras,” I said, but it came out “Muh-meh-muhs.”

  No sexual activity allowed? How ridiculous! Probably hundreds of people used these convenient, darkened little rooms each day for sexual activity. I had no intention of stopping.

  I sucked all the harder.

  “Leah…wow…that’s fantastic…”

  Carefully, not breaking the suction on his cock, I moved to kneel on the floor in front of him. My breasts brushed against his knees, involving my nipples in a very enticing way.

  Moaning, he moved his hips up and down on the seat while I sucked for all I was worth.

  “Please desist from sexual activity.”

  Not fucking likely. I wanted more.

  Still sucking him, I pulled down my pants and shook them from my feet. I reached under my belly, touching myself with my index finger, making friends with my clit. Nice! So sweet! Warm, honey-like waves spread from my clit all through my body, making me shiver with delight. I spread my knees, exploring my womanly folds with my hand.

  Benson leaned to the side. He wanted to watch. I was afraid he couldn’t see much.

  I moaned. My mouth filled with saliva.

  “Fines will be administered.”

  I caressed my sweet bud then I slid a finger inside myself.

  Benson moved with me, his cock now so huge in my mouth that it was on the verge of choking me. It seemed to be lodged in the back of my throat, somewhere in the vicinity of my tonsils. He rested both hands on the back of my neck.

  I slid two fingers into my vagina, then three. I stroked my clit with my thumb. I shuddered.

  Delicious!

  I moved my hips to help my fingers to reach farther, farther. I always forgot how my own wetness, my own warmth, my female softness had the power to turn me on—quite aside from how damn wonderful it felt. I like fingers, remember? For a moment I forgot to suck the cock in my mouth, it felt so nice. I worked the fingers up and down, up and down.

  Heaven.

  “Every two minutes additional fines will be administered.”

  Benson laughed. “Fuck off!”

  “Profanity is not allowed on city transportation.”

  “It doesn’t like you,” I said, letting his cock fall from my mouth. I ran my tongue up the length of it, paying special attention to the drips forming at the top. “But I do.”

  “Lucky me.” He pushed up my shirt and reached for my breast. “Can I suck?”

  It was the good nipple. I answered by shoving it toward his face, rising higher on my knees. My fingers slid out of my vagina. Even that felt wonderful. I kept the very tip of my index finger on my clit, rubbing it in slow circles as he went to town on my breast.

  I closed my eyes.

  “Sit on me,” he whispered, “couple with me.”

  “An additional fine has just been administered.”

  I pulled his pants over his feet and threw them across the cab even as he sucked on my breast. There would be no tooth marks—it was Benson. I settled myself on his lap.

  He kissed me. “Hey, babe.”

  “Hey.”

  I lowered myself onto his waiting cock. It filled me more than fingers ever could and I moaned. Maybe I liked cocks better than fingers, after all.

  “Athletes are not exempt.”

  “How does it know we’re athletes?” I whispered.

  “Hell if I know!”

  I moved on him slowly, savoring him.

  “Mmm. You’re dripping. You got yourself all worked up, didn’t you? Naughty girl.” He reached for my breast.

  The taxi slowed, turned a corner, stopped at a light. Then it started up again.

  I hooked my feet around Benson’s legs. I put my hands flat on his chest and enjoyed his cock like it was a ride at an amusement park.

  “America’s Darlings are not exempt.”

  “What the hell?” shouted Benson, “How does it know who we are?”

  I laughed. “It’s watching us!”

  Benson’s cock grew even harder, if that were possible. “Hey! You! Do you have cameras on us?”

  A pause.

  “Yes. All taxis are equipped with surveillance equipment.”

  “How many cameras?” I asked.

  “Three cameras.”

  I kissed Benson.

  I moved on him. I made that man shudder. Or perhaps he shuddered because an invisible person in the bowels of city transportation was watching us screw each other.

  Like it made me shudder.

  “Are you a person?” Benson asked, breathless. “You’re not a computer program?”

  “A person, yes.”

  “Have you been watching from when we got into the taxi?”

  “From when you tripped the cameras.”

  “Did you like what you saw?”

  “Oh, yes. Very much.”

  “You know who we are, right?”

  “Yes, I’m a fan.”

  “Good. Are you alone?”

  “In my cubicle, yes.”

  “Then we have a deal for you.”

  “A deal…?”

  “A very good one.”

  “I’m not allowed to make deals with customers.”

  “Show your tits,” Benson whispered.

  I threw off my shirt. I raised my arms and leaned back, hoping there was still enough concealer on my back to hide my bruises. On second thought, fuck it. Benson supported me around the hips so I wouldn’t slide off. Oh my. It felt good—it made his cock settle into a new place. I brought my arms down and cupped my breasts in my hands, lifting them and shoving them together, displaying them for our invisible friend.

  “What kind of deal do yo
u have in mind?”

  “I knew you’d come around,” said Benson. “Here’s the deal. You get rid of our fines and we’ll give you a private show.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  Benson winked at me.

  I knew what to do. I rode his lovely cock again, bucking on it like I was riding bareback, my breasts bouncing, my hands on his chest. I yelled. I shrieked. Then I stopped short, panting. I didn’t move a muscle nor did Benson.

  We waited. The seconds ticked by.

  “Maybe I can make a deal after all.”

  “Good Taxi,” said Benson, “how much longer ’til we get to the village?”

  “Ten minutes. Roughly.”

  “We’ll give you ten minutes and you’ll wipe out the fines?”

  “Yes. I will.”

  Benson and I grinned at each other. Our competition troubles were far away. Jimwas far away. My mother and Coach Bob were far away. We had ten minutes to fulfill someone’s fantasy and we planned to do just that. That we’d have fun while doing it was icing on the cake.

  “I love you,” whispered Benson.

  “I love you too,” I replied, kissing him on the forehead.

  “Please start. There are only nine minutes left. Roughly.”

  I laughed.

  “Let’s get on the floor,” said Benson. “More space.”

  He clutched me to him. I wrapped my arms around his back. He slid off the seat and lowered us to the floor, his strong thigh muscles clenching under me. “Ohhh…” I said, pressing my cheek to his. Once again his cock had found a new place inside me. How was it possible that over and over, every time we coupled, he managed to ignite new sensations? To make it feel new and exciting? To touch me in new places?

  The man was talented, I’m telling you. A sexual genius.

  Safely on the floor, Benson lay flat. He smiled up at me.

  I sat up tall and straight, my knees bent, still riding him, his cock still deep within me. I arched my back, thrusting my breasts into the air. Benson reached up and took them in his hands, squeezing them together. I looked down at him and liked the way his face was dappled with those tiny amber lights. I liked the way he looked at me.

  I thought I would remember and treasure this moment forever.