by Blue, A. J.
They’d also lent me a T-shirt to sleep in. Or is it a nightie? I gaze at the fabric. It is in fact an embroidered nightdress and it fits like a glove. Hammered and exhausted as I was yesterday, I simply put it on without really looking at it. But now I ask myself why there’s a woman’s nightdress in the apartment. Perhaps it’s one of their ex girlfriend’s? Not gay after all!?
I can hear my tummy rumbling. And I have to use the toilet. Where was the bathroom again?
I get out of bed and walk barefoot across the room.
Thank God today is Saturday and I don’t have to work.
Wait, I don’t actually have to work anymore. I no longer have a job. Or an apartment. And no Andrew.
Now I’m angry. At least anger beats sadness any time, I think and energetically open the door which I suspect leads to the bathroom.
“Good morning, angel. Did you sleep well?” Liam is sitting in his bed, a huge playground covered in black satin, and he’s reading the papers. I take a deep breath. His naked upper body is even better proportioned than I had hoped. His dark hair is all tousled, standing up in all directions, and he has that ‘just-woken-up-look‘. Jesus, how can anyone be that sexy this early in the morning!?
“Sorry, I was looking for the bathroom.”
“Oh, that’s the next door. Shame, I thought you were coming in for a cuddle.” Liam pouts.
I have to laugh. “We’ll see. Maybe later,” I say coquettishly, close his door and try the next one. The right one this time and I slip into the bathroom. Just as I’m about to sit down on the toilet, someone suddenly opens the frosted glass shower partition. I squeal.
“Oh, hi!” says Marcus the surfer, in his birthday suit, apparently not unduly ruffled by my presence. He nonchalantly grabs a towel and very slowly dries his naked chest. He does it so sensuously, my mouth goes all dry. My gaze rests on his well-formed, ever so slightly erect penis. Marcus makes no moves to cover it. As if it was perfectly normal to stand naked in front of me!
“Do you want to grab a shower?” he asks with a grin. “Pity I’m already done or I would join you!”
Definitely too much testosterone for this time of day. Whatever made me think that the guys are gay? I run from the bathroom, vaguely remembering another one somewhere off the hall.
On my way through the dining area I bump into Alex. “Good morning, Katherine,” he says.
At least one of them is more or less dressed, I think relieved. Alex is wearing plaid cotton pajama pants with a white top and he’s setting the table for breakfast.
“Good morning,” I reply. “I need the bathroom. Isn’t there another one back there?”
“Sure, on the right beside the entrance. Breakfast is almost ready. Get dressed and sit down when you’re done, honey pie!”
I nod and disappear into the guest toilet.
However did I end up in this place full of male models? Well, I have to admit there are worse things than waking up to being hit on by three attractive men. The rest of my day will hardly be as pleasant. Later on I will have to seriously start thinking about what to do – without a job and without an apartment.
Fifteen minutes later we’re all assembled around the breakfast table. For want of an alternative, I’m wearing my little black number from the night before. Liam and Marcus have kindly also decided to dress - in denims and tight T-shirts. If any of my girlfriends could see me now, they’d be green with envy. Kate and the model knights of the round dining table, I think and smile.
“Any idea what you’re going to do now?” Alex wants to know and bites into his bagel.
I shrug my shoulders: “Actually, I’ve no idea.”
Liam studies me over the rim of his coffee cup. “You could stay here for a bit,” he suggests.
“What?” I am stunned.
Marcus looks at Liam in surprise. “How’s that supposed to work?”
“Same way it always does,” Liam replies. “Could turn out quite interesting. You like her, I like her and Alex isn’t picky.”
I glare at the three of them. “What exactly is going on here?”
“We often have ladies here for a few weeks. In exchange for certain services,” Marcus explains with an expression that makes me shudder.
“What kind of services?” I pant, hoping the answer won’t be the obvious.
“The ladies live with us and we pay them handsomely. In exchange they have sex with us. Only if they want to, of course.” Liam’s blue eyes are firmly fixed on me while he explains.
I jump right up and spill my coffee in the process. “Are you nuts? Do I look like a hooker?”
The audacity defies belief. All I want is to get out of here. I run to the guestroom to get my purse, but Alex grabs my arm before I can get there.
“Please wait, Kate.”
“Let go of me!” I hiss and lash out.
“I’m sorry, Kate, those two are a bit blunt sometimes.”
“And, of course, you are different? It sounded as if you were quite happy to participate,” I snort.
Alex and Liam are now behind Marcus, blocking my way. I feel threatened. “Help!” I scream. “Someone help me!”
Liam is clearly amused. “What do you think of us? Don’t worry, we won’t touch you. We’d never touch a woman unless she agrees.”
“You are crazy!” I escape to the guestroom and snatch my purse.
A fatal mistake. Now I’m trapped. “Let me pass! Right now!” I yell.
How could I’ve been so stupid, I think. Such whacked out stuff only ever happens to me. My body’s pumping adrenaline and my heart’s racing like mad. They’re not going to hurt me, are they? And nobody knows where I am. Jesus Christ! I can see the headlines already: Young woman found dead just after 29th birthday – Police completely stumped!
“Calm down,” Liam says, takes me by the shoulders and forces me to sit down on the bed. “Sit down before you collapse! You’re as pale as a ghost. We really won’t hurt you. Scouts’ honor. You’re free to go if you want, but why don’t you listen while I explain it all properly.”
“I think I’ve heard enough, thanks,” I spit at him. You’re paying whores to live with you in exchange for sex.”
“It’s not quite like that.” Liam sits down beside me and I move a little away from him. I can’t believe I ever fell for this guy.
Liam gestures to Alex and Marcus and they leave. “Whatever does Liam see in her?!” Marcus whispers, but I hear him. What is this place? Some kind of private brothel?
“Listen, Katherine, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. We don’t usually bring ‘normal’ women back here. But I felt so sorry for you yesterday and I didn’t want you to have to spend the evening on your own. If you don’t want to stay, you are free to leave now, but I really want to explain properly.” Liam looks at me. Now he doesn’t seem at all dangerous anymore; he actually looks a little sheepish.
I don’t say anything, but don’t get up either. In a way I would like to know what the guys get up to in this apartment.
“It’s true that we pay the women who live here, but not for sex. They decide if they want to do it or not. We would never force anyone. And they aren’t prostitutes either. They’re adventurous women willing to experiment. We find them through ads where we describe what we’re looking for. Then we select one of the applicants to live with us for a few weeks and pay her for her time.”
“Still sounds like prostitution to me,” I snort contemptuously. “It’s not normal. It’s disgusting to share the same woman!”
Liam sighs. “You still don’t get it. We’re hardly ever all here at the same time. This is our second apartment. Each of us has his own separate one as well. And we all have good reasons for our little arrangement. Marcus is a real charmer and he doesn’t want to commit. But sometimes he misses living with a woman. The mundane things like cooking together or watching TV and also seducing a person he’s known for more than five minutes. He’s more or less playing house. Alex is pretty busy with his job and has t
o travel a lot. He occasionally enjoys a different lifestyle where he can let go and be himself. And I have my reasons, too.” Liam suddenly sounds reserved.
“And they are?” I ask while clutching my purse tightly to my chest as if it could protect me. “I don’t want to talk about it, sorry. But I can assure you that none of the women ever regretted having lived with us. Some of them would even have loved to stay longer. But that’s against our rules.”
Weirdoes, I think. Very attractive ones, I have to admit, but the three boys are definitely
nuts.
“Right. Thanks for your hospitality. I’d like to go now,” I say and get up.
Liam nods and gets up as well. “I understand that it must all sound very strange to you, but if you change your mind, here’s my number.”
“Strange is a little understated,” I reply. But I don’t want to be impolite and take his card, burying it deep inside my purse.
“Will I drive you home?” Liam enquires.
I briefly consider the offer. Do I want him to know where I live? Isn’t that too dangerous? Probably not. I have to move shortly anyway and, if they’d really wanted to, the men could have easily assaulted me during the night. But none of them had touched me. Quite the opposite in fact. They’d all been very nice to me. Why not let him drive me home? It doesn’t make any difference at this stage, I think and agree.
Alex and Marcus are sitting at the table finishing, their breakfast.
“I’m driving Katherine home,” Liam explains.
“Absolutely! It really wasn’t a good idea, Liam, and actually against our rules. We’ll talk about it later. See you, Katherine,” is all Marcus has to say. At least Alex has the decency to walk us to the door. “Pleasure meeting you,” he says and presses my hand. “All the best and
don’t take any shit from your boyfriend!”
I wonder what Alex does for a living. He’s really nice. Marcus seems far more distant and callous. But what do I care? I’ll never see them again anyway.
“Thanks for bed and breakfast,” I thank him courteously and follow Liam who apparently can’t help himself but has to provocatively scan my body. “You’ve absolutely no idea what you’re missing!” he mutters and presses the elevator button.
“Shut up or I’ll walk!” I snap.
“Shame you’re such a prude!”
I gasp for air. “I’m not the least bit prude. I was at the bar last night to hook up with someone. But you freaks unfortunately got in my way.”
The elevator arrives and we get in.
“I really have more important stuff to worry about at the moment,” I continue. “I’ve lost my job, my apartment and my boyfriend!”
“I’m sorry that we messed up your plans, but you’re thinking far too much if you ask me,” Liam remarks and presses the emergency button.
The elevator stops abruptly. I’m wearing my high heels, so I lose my footing and stumble into Liam.
“Whoops,” he smirks, grabs my hair and pulls my head back. I’ve no choice but to look up at him.
“What the...,” I start cursing, but Liam doesn’t let me finish. His tongue very slowly traces the contours of my lips and then forces them apart. I’m completely caught off-guard, unable to resist. Liam’s kiss is full on; it takes my breath away. I feel my nipples getting hard. Very slowly his hand travels along my body, reaches under my dress and caresses my pubes. My clitoris starts tingling at the touch of his fingers.
Don’t stop! Please!
“Turn around!” he growls.
I deactivate my brain and do as I am told. I can’t help myself. My body is starved for sex and I definitely want more!
“You’re too slow!” Liam turns me around with a jerk. “Bend over!” He tears my panties down, pushes my dress up and kneels behind me. I hold onto the handrail for dear life. The mirrored walls all around reflect what he’s doing. Oh my God! It’s sooo sexy!
With the tip of his tongue Liam caresses the lips of my vulva. I feel myself getting wet. He very slowly spreads my lips apart and penetrates me with his tongue while his fingers stimulate my clitoris. I moan and push myself even closer against him.
“Not quite so prude after all.” Liam slaps my behind. “Nice fanny. I could think of a lot of things to do with that.” He gets up from behind me.
“No, please don’t stop. Keep going!” I beg.
“Is this what you want?” Liam opens his fly at a snail’s pace.
Still pushing my behind towards him, I nod: “Yes!”
I can see Liam’s big erect penis in the mirror behind me and bite my lips. Come on! He takes his member in his hand and first very slightly strokes my butt with the tip of it. Then he touches my clitoris. I want to feel him inside me. NOW!
“Enough!” He abruptly disengages himself.
What? No!
“That’s enough!”
„No, Liam, please!” My labia is swollen and my clitoris pounding. I need to be fucked right now. But Liam doesn’t continue. He buttons up his trousers with a grin on his face.
I get up. “What’s this all about?” I snap at him.
“That’s all you’re getting. I just wanted to give you a taste of what you’re missing!” He casually leans against the wall and studies me, clearly amused.
I moan with frustration and pull up my panties. “You prick!”
“Thank you. Any time.”
Christ, what a bastard. I’m about to burst. I‘m actually very close to storming back into the apartment and sleeping with Marcus or Alex. As long as I get laid. Liam still sports that complacent asshole grin and presses the button so the elevator continues down to the first floor.
4
I’ve somehow managed to leave this ludicrous weekend behind. After Liam drove me home in his snazzy black sports car, I said goodbye very coldly and didn’t ask him up. It would have been weird to invite him into Andrew’s apartment. Besides, I was still extremely miffed about his sexual rejection.
My needs still hadn’t been satisfied. My labia were still swollen and I decided to take the matter in hand myself. But sadly that didn’t work either – I just couldn’t really let myself go. I kept thinking about Liam and his friends and Andrew kept popping up in my mind.
To distract myself I called everyone who had left birthday wishes on my voicemail. But I didn‘t tell them about Andrew’s letter and the break-up. I needed to deal with all that myself first, without well-meant advice. It was my way of dealing with problems.
Sunday morning I stayed in bed for ages. Eventually I managed to get up and fix myself some food. In a bad mood, I started to sort some of my stuff for my impending move. Suddenly overwhelmed with grief, I tried phoning Andrew, but he didn’t pick up. What a douche!
Today is Monday morning; I’m sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and my laptop reading the job listings. I’ve already e-mailed two applications, but I don’t hold my breath. Marketing jobs are in big demand and there are simply too many candidates. Affordable accommodation is also hard to find. Just as I’m about to enquire about a studio apartment, which nearly exceeds my budget even though it’s tiny, I hear the front door being unlocked.
Andrew?! I feel a little adrenalin hit, jump up and run over to the door.
“Oh! Hi, Katherine!”
I am face to face with Mrs. Harris, Andrew’s secretary. She’s carrying a small box with a photo frame peeping out. The watercolor I painted for Andrew as a Christmas present. Until recently it was still gracing his office wall. Now he no longer seems to want it.
“Hello,” I say stiffly.
“Listen, Katherine, I’m really sorry,” mutters Mrs. Harris and hands me the box. “These are your personal things from the office. I’ll just quickly get some of Mr. Peters‘ files and go.”
I shake my head. I can’t let Mrs. Harris leave like that. “What exactly did Andrew tell you? What does everyone else at the office know?” I quiz her.
“I had hoped you wouldn’t be in,” Mrs. Harris sighs.
She’s clearly embarrassed. “Okay so, Mr. Peters told us that you had separated and he also told us about the baby.”
I stare at Mrs. Harris. “What baby?”
“Oh!” Mrs. Harris’s looks taken aback and tries to abscond to the study.
“Stop! Stay right here!” I roar. “What baby?”
“Didn’t he tell you?” Mrs. Harris looks at me with pity. “His girlfriend’s expecting. She’s four months pregnant!”
Wow, that really hit home. Andrew’s going to be a dad? And his girlfriend is already four month’s gone? And me, idiot that I am, hadn’t even noticed. It simply can’t be true!
I rush back into the kitchen and dial Andrew’s number again. I need that pathetic prick to tell me the truth himself!
I let the phone ring forever, but Andrea doesn’t answer. His voicemail doesn’t kick in either. What a coward! He’s presumably changed his number. Why else won’t he pick up his cell? I feel like taking Andrew’s place apart, like smashing everything around me. Let him move into the ruins with his girlfriend and the baby.
“I’ll be off, so!” Mrs. Harris’s graying head of curls peeps through the kitchen door. She’s carrying a pile of papers under her arm. “I wish you all the best!” she says while awkwardly staring at her shoes. I stop myself from making a catty remark. Andrew’s impossible, disgusting behavior is not her fault.
“Thank you. Good luck to you, too,” I reply and wait until the door’s closed. Then I take Andrew’s favorite mug down from the shelf and smash it against the wall. It breaks into a zillion pieces. I sigh. That felt good.
I can’t stay here even a minute longer. I’ll park myself at a cheap motel for three or four nights and think what to do next.
Frantically I pack all my stuff. Luckily I don’t have a lot. Just four boxes and two large suitcases. Most of my possessions are still stored in my parents’ garage. No doubt I could stay with them for a while, but I’d rather not to if I can avoid it. My parents are really nice, but their house is quite small and who in their right mind wants to move back in with the parents at the ripe old age of 29?