Private Eye

by Katrina Jackson

  Kenny sighed. He shuffled over to the bed in his socked feet and sat just on the edge looking like he was ready to jump off any minute. Maya almost laughed.

  “Seriously?” Chanté deadpanned. “Could you pretend like you’ve ever sat on a bed before?”

  He turned to glare at her and Maya thought he looked adorable, she liked when they teased each other. She added that thought to the other inconvenient and borderline inappropriate ones cluttering her brain.

  “Okay here,” Maya said, climbing on her bed toward him. She saw his eyes widen as he watched her crawl toward him. “I want you in the middle.” Chanté giggled. Maya gulped. She didn’t mean for the sentence to come out like that; at least she didn’t want to mean it like that.

  Kenny scooted away from her touch, pressing his back against her headboard.

  “Good, now spread your legs,” she said as her eyes flew to the bulge in his pants and her mouth went dry.

  When she raised her eyes to his, she saw the apology there. She lifted the right side of her mouth and shrugged in understanding. He spread his legs and for no reason that she could identify, she crawled in between them.

  Kenny pressed the back of his head against her headboard and raised his eyes to the ceiling. His breathing was deep and slow. Maya became entranced by the bob of his Adam’s apple and the length of his neck.

  “So hot,” Chanté whispered, pulling Maya out of the moment.

  She turned around. Chanté was behind the camera, adjusting the angle on them. Maya recognized the tight feeling of her own hardened nipples.

  “So did you and Kenny ever date?” Maya blurted out. Her eyes widened in shock. She absolutely had not planned to ask that question; it was none of her business.

  Chanté giggled. “Never. But there was that one time in Nicaragua.”

  “Chanté,” Kenny said, the warning in his voice made Maya’s sex quiver. Ah, so that’s what it felt like when everything a man did turned you on, even when you didn’t want it to, she thought to herself.

  “What happened in Nicaragua?” Maya thought that since she’d already opened this dirty can of worms, she might dive in head first.

  Chanté sat on the bed and learned toward here. “There was a girl.”

  “Chanté,” Kenny hissed.

  “It’s a good story, Ken Doll,” Chanté giggled, her mouth dangerously close to Maya’s.

  Maya turned her head toward him. “Is that your nickname?”

  “It’s fitting, right?” Chanté asked.

  For a second he seemed shocked, his eyes widening, and then he nodded.

  Maya let her eyes scan Kenny’s face, down his neck, over his broad chest, down each well-defined arm and settled in his lap where that noticeable bulge seemed to have grown. She licked her lips, chewed the corner of her mouth and nodded. “Yeah, I can see that.”

  Kenny gulped again.

  Maya turned fully toward Kenny, still in between his legs, and crossed her feet at the ankles under her butt. She made eye contact with him and held his gaze. “So the girl?” She asked Chanté.

  The bed moved and Chanté’s mouth came very close to her ear, her soft breath rustling Maya’s hair. “We were there on a study abroad. So was she, but from another school. We both liked her. And she liked both of us.”

  Maya sighed. She could see the broad contours of where this story was going. The part of her that felt betrayed by MasquerAsiaN didn’t care about any of this, but the part of her that had craved every bit of information about him for months wanted this story and needed to watch what it did to him to have Chanté tell her.

  “We flirted with her for like three weeks,” Chanté continued.

  “A month,” Kenny corrected.

  “Was it?”

  Kenny only nodded, never taking his eyes off of Maya.

  “So we flirted with her for a month. And then the night before we were all leaving, a bunch of us went out dancing. But the three of us left the club early and went back to the dorms.”

  Maya’s sex clenched in anticipation. “And you had sex?”

  “Hmmm, sort of,” Chanté giggled. Maya smiled when Kenny smiled. “Kenny’s like family. We agreed that that would be weird.”

  Maya turned to Chanté. Her eyes scanned over the other woman’s face. She was really beautiful. “So it would be weird if you two fucked, but not weird if you fucked the same woman at the same time.”

  Chanté shrugged. “Everybody’s boundaries are different.” Chanté reached out then and smoothed a lock of Maya’s hair behind her ear, trailing a finger gently along the outer rim. “What are yours?”

  Maya’s entire body felt like it was on fire. Chanté’s lips were so close to hers. She could lean forward and taste her and if she was reading the look in Chanté’s eyes correctly, she wanted her to do just that. But she didn’t. “I don’t share,” she said to Chanté and watched the light dim in her eyes.

  Chanté sighed mournfully. “Neither does Kenny. Nicaragua was the one and only time.”

  Maya turned to him and found him watching her with an intense gaze that made her pussy shiver.

  And then her door flung open. They all turned toward it.

  “Almost show time. We good in here?” Lane asked. He smiled and leaned against the door, one hand on his hip. “Well hello there, little lady,” he said to Chanté, grinning at her like a Cheshire cat.

  Maya looked at him. If it weren’t for his tousled hair and bare feet no one would have known that he’d just spent the better part of an hour doing whatever he’d been doing to her best friend and his wife.

  “We didn’t know you were gonna be here tonight.”

  “Who’s here?” Monica said before she appeared by Lane’s side.

  “Chanté.”

  Their eyes laser-focused on Chanté and once again Maya wondered how anyone could withstand that kind of attention. She was already overheated and felt the urge to rub her thighs together to relieve the tension she felt in every cell in her body. And then Kenny’s hand settled, gently on her knee. His touch was light, asking for permission. She shifted her leg to press more fully into his hand and he tightened his grip.

  “Kierra will be happy you’re here,” Monica said. She stretched an arm out and Chanté jumped from Maya’s bed and grasped it.

  Monica was pulling Chanté into the hallway but she turned around. “Camera’s set up. As long as Kenny doesn’t slouch, his face’ll be out of frame.” And then she was gone. To Kierra’s room, Maya guessed. To do god knows what. Maya shivered at the thought.

  Kenny dug his fingers into her knee to settle her. She wanted to moan.

  “The broadcast starts in twenty minutes,” Kenny said to Lane.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll be watching from the other room. If there are any problems, just call.” He turned to smirk at Kenny and winked at her. “You two have fun,” he laughed as he closed the door.

  And just like that they were alone. Maya’s entire body felt as if it was on fire. This was going to be the longest broadcast of her life.

  five

  Maya liked the routine of preparing for her Tuesday broadcasts. Making sure she had all the items she might need at hand: lubrication (lots of lube), her favorite small vibrators (internal and external), wipes for cleanup. The familiarity of it all centered her. She was looking over the basket on her bathroom sink, flexing her fingers and wondering if she had everything she needed; trying to ignore Kenny’s presence and his nervous energy. She was failing.

  Kenny was pacing the length of her bedroom. His limited range of movement kept him just in the frame of her bathroom door; in her line of sight. Every time he passed, he turned his head to look at her, quickly, shyly. She noticed. She pretended not to notice.

  Out of the corner of her eyes she watched him stop, take a deep breath and walk toward her. But he stopped just at the door’s threshold, his hands on either side of the door frame, his hard biceps flexed and straining the arms of his t-shirt. Maya swallowed to lubricate her sudden
ly dry throat. Kenny cleared his own throat to get her attention.

  She raised her head to the large mirror behind her sink. They almost made eye contact in the reflection, but she shifted her eyes to his Adam’s apple before their gazes could lock. She knew what her body would do if she looked him deep in his eyes. She could still feel his hand on her knee.

  “I.” He stopped, swallowed and started again. “I always wondered what you would be like just before and just after your broadcasts.”

  Her heart wanted to melt; she held her breath and refused to let it. Her sex quivered. She was dreading “after,” but looking forward to it as well.

  “It’s a job,” she said, not that that explained anything. The underlying message was clear, “You were just a job.” It was a petty barb. It was a lie she had to tell him, hoping that she could deceive herself.

  He blinked and then pretended to smile, but it looked more like chagrin. She wondered what his smile looked like for real. She hadn’t seen one yet but it was the one thing she’d fantasized about. For months, she’d fallen asleep while conjuring an image of what he might look like smiling – smiling at her – more times than she could count. Certainly more times than she would admit.

  He nodded. “I’ll go check in with Lane. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  She nodded as he turned and walked away. “Don’t be late,” she yelled after him. The sound of her bedroom door closing was her only reply.

  ***

  Kenny didn’t go to Kierra’s room.

  He heard Chanté’s giggle just as he passed. He walked to the front door, to the kitchen and back again. He just needed to move.

  Kierra interrupted him on his third rotation. Her bedroom door opened and she slipped out, the sound of Lane and Chanté’s laughter momentarily growing louder, before she closed the door behind her. Her legs were bare under an oversized button-up shirt.

  Kenny stopped mid-step and stared at her. There was a smile on her face. He rolled his eyes.

  “Oh, don’t be grumpy. This is all your fault.”

  He ran his hands over his head, back and forth, and turned in a tight circle, his body buzzing with pent up energy and emotions that he didn’t know how to process.

  Kierra tiptoed toward him. When she was close, but just out of arm’s reach, she whispered, “Did you- Was it more than cybersex?”

  He turned away from her and pressed his eyes closed. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears. He straightened his back and clasped his hand behind his head. “Does it matter now?” His voice sounded strained; every part of him felt wound tight.

  “Depends,” Kierra said in a light tone. He could hear the shrug in her voice and the sound of her footsteps as she walked away. “And that’s what Maya said when I asked her.”

  He turned quickly, staring at her retreating back. He followed her to the kitchen. “Explain.”

  She turned and smiled at him over her shoulder. In the kitchen she pulled out a pitcher of water and a bowl of mixed berries. She frowned down at the bowl in her hand and lifted her head, “Does Chanté have any allergies?”

  “Mild nut allergy. Don’t believe her if she says she can eat peanut butter. She can’t.”

  Kierra’s eyes widened and she nodded gravely.

  “What do you mean, depends?”

  Kierra turned and pulled four water glasses from the cabinet by the fridge. “Depends on you, sir.”

  Kenny exhaled loudly. “Can you please just tell me what you mean? I don’t have forever before the broadcast starts.”

  Kierra turned and pointed at the top of the cabinet to his right. “Can you grab that tray please?”

  He exhaled a frustrated breath, but did as she asked.

  “Okay, so here’s the lowdown on Maya,” Kierra said as she loaded the water, glasses and berries onto the tray. “She’s got a hard shell, a soft heart and a big ass.”

  Kenny rolled his eyes. He knew all of this already.

  Kierra perked up and turned to open another cabinet and pulled down a box of crackers and dried cranberries as she continued talking. “But I figure you know that already.”

  He grunted in agreement.

  “But what I know you wouldn’t have figured out while jacking off to my bestie on your computer,” she said in a happy, non-judgmental voice that still made Kenny blush, “is that Maya has a firm no-second-chances policy when it comes to sexual and romantic relationships.” She locked eyes with him then, clearly wanting to make sure that he understood how important her next words would be. “If Maya was absolutely through with you, you wouldn’t be here. Period.”

  “She needs the money,” Kenny said automatically, the memory of her words from this morning echoing in his head.

  Kierra laughed then and shrugged. “She gets by. And she’s going to raise the rent on whoever takes over my room. That’s why she’s really pissed I’m not leaving. Every month I’m here she has to pay half the rent, not one third.”

  Kenny’s head snapped to the side, “One third?”

  Kierra picked up her tray and walked toward him. “Maya has a hard shell, a soft heart, a big ass, and the mind of a Gilded Age oil baron. She doesn’t need this mission to get out of debt. And we certainly don’t need you to help us. You’re here because she wants you here. Even if she can’t admit it yet.”

  Kenny’s mouth fell open. Yep, this was definitely not the kind of information he had gleaned, his eyes glued to his computer screen, watching her strip for him on video chat. But it made him hard nonetheless.

  “Alright now move, this is heavy and the broadcast is about to start,” Kierra said irritably, but still with that smile on her face.

  Kenny jumped out of her way and watched her walk back to her bedroom. At the door she turned back to him and nodded her head, “Hello, make yourself useful please?”

  Kenny rushed forward. When he turned the doorknob, Monica’s voice filtered through, deep but still soft. He watched the shiver rumble through Kierra’s body. “Break a leg,” she whispered. He didn’t move as Kierra walked into her room and kicked the door shut behind her, slamming it in his face.

  All he could hear was Kierra’s voice on a loop in his brain.

  You’re here because she wants you here.

  You’re here because she wants you here.

  He tried to stop his heart from blooming at those words, but it was too late. He hoped Kierra was right. He needed Kierra to be right.

  ***

  Maya’s heart was fluttering.

  She looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. The sea moss green lace bodysuit she wore made her feel delicate and sexy. The plunging neckline made her breasts look amazing and perky, which was a feat because they only grew heavier and drooped elegantly just a bit more each year. She turned around and admired the way the thong made her ass look perfectly symmetrical, each cheek the same size, and round even though they absolutely were not. She swallowed hard and decided to change.

  Kenny loved her in green. She’d made an unconscious mistake.

  She was reaching for the bathroom door handle when she heard a knock on the bedroom door. She heard it creak open a bit and then open fully. He was back. And he was considerate enough to knock before he entered. Fuck, her heart had a field day with that one.

  “Maya?” His gentle voice filtered through the bathroom door.

  “I’m coming,” she said. “Just get on the bed like before.”

  She wanted to rest – or maybe bang – her head on the door, but she couldn’t jeopardize her hair or makeup for those sorts of dramatics. She wouldn’t have time to fix any damage she did to the masterpiece she’d created. She closed her eyes and counted to twenty in her head while taking deep breaths, trying to slow the beating of her heart.

  When she opened the door just enough to peek out into the bedroom, Kenny was standing next to the bed, his hands on his hips. His back looked broad and strong even through the fabric of his shirt.

  She gulped. “What’s wrong?”

&n
bsp; He turned toward her and smiled. And she honestly wished he hadn’t. She now knew what it was like to see his genuine smile aimed at her and much like every other part of him – excepting his relationship to the truth – it was better than she could have imagined. But apparently the universe was in the habit of giving her exactly what she wished for in the most devastating ways.

  “I was wondering if I should take my shirt off,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “No,” she blurted, stepping out into the bedroom. “Not- Not this time.” She knew for a fact that seeing even a millimeter more of his skin would compromise her desire to keep him at arm’s length, if not even further away. She was shaking her head emphatically to get her point across, but her body was also quaking as his eyes raked over her, intent and hungry. Her skin became sensitive and she would have sworn she could feel every stitch of the delicate lace covering her overheated skin. The slightly painful feeling of her nipples hardening made it difficult to think straight.

  She held her breath and he watched her body respond to him, his eyes settling on her breasts, which only made her nipples ache even more. She waited for him to apologize again or mention that he loved her in green or fall to his knees just because.

  But once he’d drunk her in, he simply nodded. “Whatever you want,” he said, in a voice that sounded deeper than before; thick. He crawled onto her bed. Maya’s eyes flew to his ass and then shifted away.

  She prayed to the universe to stop torturing her and just let her torture him… and her viewers.

  ***

  Maya heard Kenny’s sharp intake of breath as she crawled between his legs and faced him.

  She sat back on her heels, “Ready?” She whispered the word and honestly wished she hadn’t.

  He nodded.

  “Keep your hands to yourself,” she ordered.

  He nodded again. She was just about to turn when he spoke, “You can touch me.”

  She wished he hadn’t said that.

  She nodded and turned toward the camera, lying on her stomach. He groaned. She bent her legs at the knees and dangled them to one side. She checked the angle on her laptop feed and tried not to get distracted with the clarity of her new camera’s output.