Opulent

by Manoa, David

  “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

  Felicity took the rest of the bags and then Vivian came out, seeing the exchange.

  Oh, was she furious. The way she looked at me, then eyed Felicity with both hands full of bags of designer clothes!

  I made haste to Alex’s car and when Vivian started coming over I panicked. “Alex, punch it now!”

  Alex was cracking up as he drove off, leaving a trail of black skid marks. Looking in the rear view mirror, he said, “Dude, you better sleep with one eye open. Vivian will be chopping your dick off! Ha-ha.”

  I wasn’t amused because she probably would. And my balls.

  ***

  Alex had a craving for KFC so we pulled into the first branch we saw. Alex was a fast food junkie, who joked about his lifestyle. Fast cars, fast women and fast food. He was, fortunately, blessed with a high metabolism which annoyed me since I would literally put on one kilogram of weight from just smelling the fried chicken.

  We ordered and sat down at the end of the store. Alex ordered a dinner for two pack for himself. I ordered a chicken salad. I was smirking at the way he ate his drumstick nibbling at it like it was corn on the cob.

  He said, “So I get a call from Sione, who tells me that your stock options have been sold?”

  “Vivian convinced me to take the Cerberus upgraded offer so I agreed.”

  Alex put his ravaged drumstick down, licking his fingers. “Well I tried to renegotiate with Sione to compensate me when I found out.” Alex exhaled and looked around. He was paranoid.

  “What!”

  “I'm just checking that we haven’t been followed.”

  “Spit it out will ya!”

  “Sione Suarvea is an undercover detective with the Organised and Financial Crime Agency.

  “What! What am I under investigation for?”

  “No, no. Bro, it's not you their after. They’re following a money trail of fraud and money laundering with Cerberus petroleum. They’re after Felicity.”

  I nearly chocked on my salad, coughing out what got stuck in my throat.

  “Mate, that’s bullshit. She’s not involved in any fraud.”

  Alex took out a folder and handed me a number of statements. I looked down the page and there was a listing of stock options in her name in Cerberus Petroleum.

  I looked up at Alex.

  He said, “It’s her, bro. The Trojan horse. Judas Iscariot.”

  I shook my head in disbelief.

  “You said it yourself. The girl had a mortgage to pay. She must have narked to Cerberus the prices Sione was going to pay so Vivian could close the deal.”

  “It doesn’t make sense… ”

  “Look, I thought Sione was legit too. His intention was to buy your shares in Cerberus Petroleum so he could get a place on the executive board. It all turned to shit when I tried to buy my shares back after you sold to Cerberus. That’s when he fronted.”

  “Is Sione going to arrest her?”

  “You bet your ass he will. With all the acquisitions Cerberus are doing. She’s gonna get done for insider trading.”

  “She didn’t do it!”

  “Bro, are you fucking stupid? The evidence is right there and there's a motive. Her name is listed in the Cerberus stock options which will rocket in value in the coming months now that that they have one hundred percent control. It means they can now shut down the oil rigs without interference from the shareholders.”

  I hit back. “She was set up.”

  “Chad, you are so blinded by the pussy that you're making fucked up judgments. What’s with the shopping that you bought Felicity?”

  I shoved Alex across the table. “Fuck off!”

  “C’mon bro! Let go of me, think about it.”

  I let him go and put my hands on my face. “When will all this go down?”

  “Damn you, Chad! You made me drop my chicken. Look, Sione is applying for a warrant for her arrest. It could be in the next couple of days. I don’t know.”

  I took another look at the statement, then I said, “Felicity invited me to her house for Christmas. I’ll probe her, then I’ll see what happens.”

  Alex looked around, then picked his chicken piece off the floor, peeling off the skin.

  I winced.

  I said, “Hand on heart. I know it’s not her.”

  Then he said, “The only other person would be Vivian… I'm gonna confront her!”

  “Alex, don’t do anything, till I’ve talked with Felicity.”

  There was this moment of silence when Alex brushed aside his chicken and cleared the table. He took the serviette and wiped his mouth.

  “Bro, I have noticed a change in you ever since Felicity came on board. The way your face lights up when you talk with her. The way you got jealous when Sione complemented her. My man-tuition is never wrong.”

  “Bah! Can it will ya!”

  Alex blinked twice and nodded. “It’s good. I see the connection, she suits you bro even if she looks like a geek.”

  ***

  Christmas day arrived and I made the journey to Felicity’s house. It was seven p.m., darkness had set in and it was terribly cold. She lived on the other side of town, so I realised why she took the bus. Petrol would have been horrendous if she had her own car. Her place was a modern brick and tile house. The suburb she lived in had all similar looking houses. The sort of kit set homes developers build when they get cheap land.

  Even before I knocked I could smell the turkey the scent of warm food, suggestive memories of families getting together. Her neighbours were in the festive spirit with Christmas lights that drenched the house. Flickering green, red, then blue.

  I tapped on the door.

  Felicity opened the door and tip toed, kissing me on the cheek. She was wearing a red dress, with two straps. She looked like Santa’s little helper. I followed her into the lounge. The lighting was dim and I could hear the crackle of the fireplace and smell the scent of pine from the Christmas tree.

  I watched the lights on the Christmas tree twinkle it followed a series of patterns. The floor in her lounge was polished wood, with a large white woolen rug on it. The only heat was emanating from the fireplace, it seemed everywhere else was cold.

  I lived in a same type of house growing up. It brought back memories of the Christmas struggle. I felt the tense palpitations in my chest. My jaw clenched. My right eye twitched.

  Felicity poked my arm and said, “Here’s your glass,”

  “Thanks.”

  I sat on the rug and then Felicity sat beside me, her knees up against her chest and I glanced at her toes which were painted red with silver glitter.

  I smiled. “Attention to detail as always.”

  Felicity smiled and took a sip from her glass. She looked different. She had a different pair of glasses with a square style frame that suited her face.

  “I love the new glasses.”

  “Thank you, Chad. I look less like a nerd don’t I?”

  I laughed. “A lot less…”

  There was a crackle in the fireplace and my eyes shifted to it for a moment. I made the decision to wait until the next day to tell her about the investigation. I was confident she was not guilty of any wrongdoing.

  Felicity smoothed the surface of her arms to spread the tingling heat of the fire as she said, “You looked like a stunned mullet, you know, before I gave you your glass. What is it about Christmas you don’t like?”

  I exhaled, adjusting the knot on my tie. I removed my coat to get comfortable and couldn’t help fidgeting with the cufflinks of my shirt.

  She put her hand on my wrist. “Chad?”

  “Sorry… Before I got shunted to a foster home, I got to have my last Christmas with my real parents. It was all like this. The Christmas tree, the fireplace. Presents. We even had stockings on top. My mother made sure there was something to give. Even though we were so hard up. Poor and broke, because my father wasted his money on booze and cigarettes.

  “I use to say
to Mom to put out the fire so Santa could come down the chimney. She didn’t because it was the only heating we had and it had a wetback system that heated our water. She used to open the window and say Santa would come in through and give me my present. My dad used to joke that Santa was too much of a fat cunt to fit.

  “I'd stay up late watching the window for Santa to arrive, my eyes drooping, fighting the fatigue to keep my eyes open. I'd ask Santa for a bike for Christmas. I use to tell my parents that I was so good that Santa was bringing it for me. I remember showing them my school report, the proud look on my mother’s face. Being five at the time you don’t realise the family hardship. Little did I know the bike was so expensive and we had no money, that I had my hopes up for nothing.

  “I woke up on Christmas day to see a large box wrapped up. Gosh, I remember screaming that Santa had come. The feeling of joy was unexplainable, my mom came down the stairs wondering what the commotion was about and my dad was in the kitchen with bottle of beer. Drunk.

  “I felt like it was a kid’s dream come true. I ran over to the big box and started tearing away at the packaging. Bit by bit the wrapping paper came off. It was wrapped in multiple layers of Christmas paper, then newspaper. There were so many layers, but I was so excited. I remember the snickering and snorting from my dad in the kitchen, my mother thought he finally did something decent.” I paused, my hands curled into a fist. My teeth gritted.

  Felicity said, “It was an empty box? Wasn’t it.”

  I nodded, “I looked up to my father, who burst out laughing when I cried. I was so filthy with the cocksucker. My mother came to comfort me. She growled at him for being so cruel, and he went into a rage. He hit my mom and when she fell to the floor the bells and the Christmas decorations on the Christmas tree fell on her. The lights flashed, and the angel on top fell in front of me. Dad tried to beat her more when she scratched his face in retaliation. She ran to the bedroom, holding the door back as he tried to break it down.

  “The door began to split when he broke through. My mother was curled up on the floor when I ran in front of him and stood my ground.

  The tears still poured while I was trying to hold this monster back.

  ‘Leave mommy alone!’ I screamed. ‘Stop it!’ I cried.

  Whack! He got me in the stomach. I was winded. A full grown man hit a five-year-old kid. Fucking coward. I got up, huffing, gasping for air while my mother fought him off kicking and screaming.

  I grabbed his legs and he tripped. My mom got past him and ran back to the lounge. When he got up, enraged, he hooked me right on the jaw, I fell down on a floor just like this. I can’t remember if I was knocked out, but when I opened my eyes, I remember huffing, watching the thin pool of blood move like waves in front of my mouth.

  I got up and looked at the dressing table mirror. My face my bruised and bloodied. My teeth were covered in blood, it was seeping from my chin like syrup. One front tooth was loose. Every shriek I made had blood spitting out my mouth. I heard my mom screaming again in the lounge, I ran over and she was curled up with the phone while he hit her. I jumped in between them, shielding her, taking the hits. I couldn’t breathe, I just remember punching back, hitting the cunt with everything I’d got, to protect her.

  Bang! Whack! Bang! The hits were like being hit by a truck, each blow, but I kept fighting back, kicking, screaming, scratching and punching till the police arrived.

  I took so much damage that I was in intensive care for two weeks. Fractured jaw, cracked ribs and a punctured right lung. Fractured eye socket.

  If it wasn’t for our local Constable Henry Farquhar. I would have been dead, maybe both of us. When my dad was arrested, he had the book thrown at him. It was all over the news, the horrific injuries we suffered. Karma is a real bitch and when he got incarcerated, prison justice got him in the end.

  I took a moment to calm my breathing. I turned to felicity with bloodshot eyes. “You know what the fucked up thing is? That that exact experience made me who I am today.”

  Felicity raised her eyebrow.

  “To fight against impossible odds, to fight back with everything I’ve got, gave me the resilience and toughness to become a successful businessman. I wish my mother were still alive so I could have spoiled her. Give her the things we were too broke to afford. To see her happy. To never see her struggle.”

  I paused for a moment and my gaze shifted to Felicity when she took off her glasses to wipe her eyes. He looked over to the presents I bought her, wrapped neatly underneath the tree.

  She said, “That’s why you were teary eyed in the shop…” She put arm around me to comfort me and she said, “I’m sure she would be proud of you now…” She kissed my forehead and said, “I am.”

  I raised my head to look at the angel on top of the Christmas tree. I wiped my eyes to reflect and to forget. We held each other and watched the fire burn.

  When I noticed Felicity staring at me I slowly turned my head and we both looked into each other’s eyes. It was this stillness in the moment, the magnetic feeling, that drew me to her. Our stares burrowed into each other’s hearts.

  I could see that glint in her eyes that made me move close. I sniffled. Felicity closed her eyes when I pressed my lips to hers. It was a gentle embrace. I pulled back when she opened her eyes. This time they were dilated, her breathing tense. She closed her eyes and leaned into me and kissed me again, her tongue gently entering mouth.

  I leaned in again with a slow, deep, caressing kiss. Her hands cupped the sides of my face as she angled her head slightly to accommodate me.

  I pulled back and opened my eyes. Felicity’s cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright in anticipation, waiting for the words I would say next.

  Deep inside I was falling for her. In fact, I had fallen. I cupped one side of her face and brushed aside a tendril of her hair behind her ear. I ran my index finger over the surface of her right brow, down past her cheek to where I held her chin, raising it slightly. I whispered, “This changes everything you know…This is happening too fast.”

  Felicity said, “I want this. To break an addiction, you have to have another…”

  The way Felicity said it aroused me. The twitches below my belt sparked a fire in my heart and my cock. I placed her, back first, on the white woolen rug. Her face was glistening from the mineral makeup on her cheeks. Her eyes had the hunger for me to be inside her. The sound of a crackling fire made her eyes flinch even while she focused on me.

  I whispered, “Someone that makes me happy… I get it…” I cradled her neck, my fingers loosened her ponytail, then threaded through her hair. It felt like silk. Her arms stretched out and her hands clenched the fibers when I nuzzled her neck with my lips and tongue. The fire made the trail I made shine, sparkle. I loosened her ponytail and her hair fell down like drapes. She moaned when I started to part her legs. I ran my hands down her inner thigh, it felt smooth, the muscle tone magnificent. Her calves tensed when I squeezed both inner thighs, widening them more.

  She shuddered, then swallowed, letting out a gasp of air when I got close to her clit, my fingers swept past to pat the area below the belly button. Hesitation hit, but I was bubbling with desire to be inside her. Felicity took my hand, moving it down to her clit. The juices of arousal flowed whilst I continued to kiss her. She moaned when my thumb touched the nub. Her body responded with convulsions as I took control of it.

  My cock was throbbing, hard and ready. My body on top of hers, my torso tensing as I started to penetrate her. Then I entered inside her, God she was tight. I whispered “You…”

  The rhythm was slow, long, deep strokes. Felicity gasped when I would be in and her pelvic muscles contracted when I would withdraw. There was something special about that exchange that made me groan from the tightness, the pleasure. I nearly came first from it, the sensation deep in my spine. It made me increase the frequency. My elbows and forearms were planked, my hips and lower back coiled like a cobra, my cock wanted to feel it more and more.

&
nbsp; The heat from the fire, and the love that we were making, made beads of sweat trickle down our bodies. Felicity's hands trailed my torso, her fingers navigating the crevices of my abdominals and chest. It felt like time was standing still, I start to thrust harder and harder as Felicity clenched the rug again. She gasped again, then moaned when I changed my body position. I grinded her harder, lifting my right arm with my hand on the right side of my lower oblique. The move had felicity screaming out as she cried, “I'm going to come… I'm going to come. Come…”

  I moved my hand to hers, taking the tension from the rug she clutched. My hand intertwined with hers. Her grip was hard and her squeeze felt like it could crush my hand. I felt the tingle come from the base of me, I wanted her to arrive before I exploded inside her. I quickened the penetration again and again when suddenly her whole body shuddered then convulsed, her muscles inside relaxed and I came inside her after she reached her climax.

  Both our breathing was tense, I cuddled her as our breath calmed down. The scent of pine from the Christmas tree had a cooling effect. I trailed my fingers over her forehead, over the small beads of perspiration that made her glisten and glow. She shone like the angel on the tree.

  I’d fallen in love.

  ***

  I woke up the next morning with Felicity still cuddled up against me, our naked bodies wrapped in a sheet. The fireplace was smoldering with ash and smoke. I watched as the last ember went out.

  Suddenly there was a loud thud at the door. We were grabbing for our clothes when police officers burst in. We reacted by holding each other.

  One of the officers was Sione Suarvea. He was without the suit but wore a tie and collared shirt with a police vest. He said,

  “Felicity Neil, I have a warrant for your arrest for insider trading and suspicion of murder.”

  Felicity was shell shocked. She held her hand over her mouth. “What is this all about? I didn’t do anything!” she cried.

  “We will explain at the station. But anything you do say may be used against you in a court of law. ”