Double Grades

by Kristine Robinson

  I shook myself out of my daze. "Are you kidding me? I'm not even gay."

  "Oh honey, once I was exactly where you are at right now. At the age of sixteen, I would just catch myself staring at every hot male I came across, but told myself it was stupid. That it was just my teenage hormones confusing me or something. It took me boning Dave Holler in the locker room to realize that I was completely and wholeheartedly sexually attracted to men."

  "But..."

  "Go." Carl commanded.

  I gave up arguing, took a deep shaky breath, and downed the rest of my glass, sending a shock of adrenaline through my body. I made my way over to the bar, fighting the urge to turn around with every step.

  CHAPTER 2

  “Vodka on the rocks with lime," I told the bartender as I sat down on the empty stool next to the beautiful stranger.

  My voice must’ve caught her attention because she turned to me, greeting me with warm, rich brown eyes. “Vodka, huh? Long day?”

  The gentle strength of her voice sent a chill through my body, causing me to fumble over my words, “Um, yeah, I guess.” I said, while silently wondering what about this woman made me feel so attracted to her.

  “Ugh, tell me about it. I just sat for 10 hours through the most boring conference about how to motivate your employees. I'm 300 miles away from home because evidently, this was an important business trip, my boss is a fucking nightmare, and every inch of my body is tense as hell."

  “Yikes. I’m sorry.” The bartender gave me my drink and I took a sip, immediately feeling the sting in my throat.

  “Oh well. I just need a spa and some sleep.” She took a sip of her martini. “So, are you here alone?”

  “Um,” I took a peek back at my table and saw no trace of Carl. The little bastard tricked me and then left the premises so I couldn’t use him as a cop out.

  “Yes. I am.”

  “Do you have any plans for the rest of the night?” She asked, sensually tracing the tip of her finger around her martini glass. Was she flirting with me? I heard Carl’s voice in my head, about letting loose and just enjoying the moment, and I decided to play this game, maybe just a little longer.

  “Why, what did you have in mind?” I asked her, hoping she did not notice I was nervous.

  “Do you trust me?” She raised her eyebrows and bit her lip.

  I had just met this woman. How could I possibly trust her? For all I knew she could be a serial killer. But I wholeheartedly wanted to trust her.

  “Of course.” My heart rate immediately shot up to the speed of light.

  “So, again, do you have any plans for the rest of the night?”

  “I don’t know, do I?” I paused for effect. Stupid, I know. “It’s your call.”

  “That's more like it." She flashed a satisfied smile, downed the rest of her martini, then paid for both of our drinks. “Come on, sexy.”

  As she made her way to the door I couldn't take my eyes off of her ass in that tight skirt. Something about this woman fascinated me in a way I had never experienced before, and though it made me uneasy and confused, it also felt... just right.

  She turned around, catching me in the act of ogling. “Coming?”

  I quickly drank the rest of the cup like it was a shot, and the heavy buzz of the vodka immediately kicked me. I took a deep shaky breath and followed this beautiful mystery out of the building. The world was spinning and I felt a jolt of ecstasy mixed with nausea.

  She had no trouble calling over a cab with her perfect whistle and using her best assets. The cab driver was obviously impressed with her facade, giving her a wink as we climbed into the back seat.

  The five-minute ride to her hotel was the longest five minutes of my life. My entire body was telling me to get out of the car, to not get involved with her any deeper. I didn't even know this woman. But her hand was on my thigh the entire time and it was exhilarating.

  Our taxi pulled up in front of The Ritz-Carlton, one of Manhattan's finest hotels— or what I would call a five-star resort. Although it was almost eleven at night, there were still bellhops waiting to hold the doors open for us. The lobby itself was ten times fancier than any place I had ever stayed at. Everything was pristine. I could run my hand over every single surface and it’d still be clean. Not a single trace of dirt or dust anywhere. Even Tom was too frugal to spend his money on places like this.

  My “stranger” wasted no time in leading me to her room, which was ten floors up. As we entered my eyes were starstruck. It was so spacious, and exquisitely decorated. There were a large couch and a king-sized bed covered with the finest duvet linens. The luxurious bathroom had a dream-like full body bathtub, and behind the large glass windows… a jaw-dropping view of New York City. I was in love.

  “Glass of wine?” The woman asked, pulling me out of my dreamy gaze.

  “Oh. Sure.” I was already drunk, but I deserved to let go of my inhibitions for one night, right?

  “Make yourself comfortable.” She said, pouring two glasses of what looked like an exotic red wine.

  I cautiously took a seat on the snazzy leather sofa. Everything was so clean and immaculate that I didn't want to leave any marks on it. “I'm just being silly”, I thought as I sank into the best piece of furniture I had ever had the pleasure of coming into contact with.

  She handed me a glass of wine and also sat on the couch, leaving just a few feet of empty space between us. One part of me wanted her to keep her distance, but another part of me wanted her to get closer, a lot closer.

  “So, tell me a little about yourself,” she said.

  “Um, my name is Kelly, Kelly Duncan. I grew up about a half hour outside of the city but got offered a good job at an art gallery in Manhattan. Other than that, my life isn’t too interesting.” I pause. “Oh but I do know I’m kind of drunk and confused at the moment.”

  We chuckled and took a sip of wine to fill the awkward silence. “So what about you?” I ask.

  “My name is Rachel Maxwell, I’m the marketing manager for a large corporation in Baltimore. I hate my job, but obviously do it for the compensation.”

  “Haha, yeah, this is nice…” I took another good look at the room.

  “Take off your clothes.” Rachel gently demanded out of the blue.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Let’s just cut the small talk.” she said as she inched towards me, caressing my face with her soft hand.

  I was frozen, just staring at her with fearful eyes. “I don’t know if this is the best idea,” I said

  “Kelly,” she began rubbing the inside of my thighs, “You can leave right now if you want. But if you stay, I can show you something you’ve never experienced.” She put her lips right up close to my ear and whispered, “I can give you pleasure like you’ve never felt before.”

  Her words felt like a jolt of electricity moving through my body. I could not describe the feeling, but I knew I wanted this girl to take me, and I wanted to take her. She didn't know it but she already made me feel like I had never felt before, especially for another woman. The alcohol erased whatever inhibitions I still had, and I let go completely, still a bit confused but decided to explore something new.

  I got up and stood in front of Rachel as a sly smile grew on her face.

  Nervously, I unbuttoned and unzipped my pants, sliding them down my legs. She closely watched my every move. I then slowly slipped my top over my head and stared at her again, wearing nothing but bras and panties.

  “I meant everything.” Rachel raised an eyebrow.

  My heart skipped a beat and I took a deep breath. But before I could second guess myself, I unhooked my bra, slipped it off, and pulled down my panties. There I stood in front of this powerful woman, completely naked and vulnerable. It was a mix of complete horror and excitement.

  “You’re perfect.” Rachel's eyes traveled up and down my body, drinking in every inch of me. Her adoration gave me a boost of self-confidence. I wanted to be as attractive to her as she was to me. />
  Rachel took off her blazer and skirt, leaving her with underwear and a skimpy camisole. She slowly came closer to me, my instincts were telling me to back away, but I stood frozen, expecting her.

  She kissed me first on the lips.

  Then my chin. Then my neck. And slowly moves down, not missing a single inch of my skin. My body screams out with pleasure, my insides now burning with passion.

  Her tongue moves around my breasts, down my stomach, and traces my pelvic bone. My body overcame with pleasure and I could've come right then and there. But instead, she pulls me to the other side of the room and pushes me back onto the bed. She quickly removes the rest of her clothes and joins me. Our bodies pulse against each other as she moves her mouth and hands all over every inch of my body.

  She was right. It was like nothing I had ever felt before.

  At that moment, Tom crosses my mind. What would he think of me if he saw me in this position? Was I betraying him and breaking his heart? But then Rachel touched me where it counts and I immediately forgot about him. Screw Tom. He never made me feel like I did at this moment.

  Being in bed with Rachel somehow melted all my worries away. For the first time in forever, I felt truly happy and wanted.

  We went at it for hours. You would think we’d get exhausted, but the fire of each climax just empowered us to keep going.

  Finally, around 2am our bodies grew limp as we finally collapse on top of each other. We are a sweaty mess, but it was so worth it. Rachel rolls off of me, and as we laid next to each other, both trying to catch our breath, I couldn't stop smiling. My body felt so relaxed and my mind felt more positive and at ease than it had in years.

  “Wow,” I mutter under my breath.

  “I told you,” Rachel says with pride.

  "Never has he come close to making me feel like that," I say honestly.

  Out the corner of my eye, I can see Rachel smiling with satisfaction.

  We make awkward small talk for the next few minutes before we fall asleep in each other’s arms, still completely naked. Her body felt warm and comforting; her breathing soft and soothing, and I wanted to stay in that position forever.

  CHAPTER 3

  Morning inevitably arrived, and my groggy eyes were immediately blasted by the sun beaming through the room's large windows. My lips couldn't stop smiling, though, remembering the night before. Not only did I feel light as a feather, but I had the most incredible night of sleep, and I wasn’t dreading going through my day.

  I suddenly realize that the bed is completely still and the only thing I feel against my skin are blankets and pillows. Sure enough, I look over and Rachel is gone. No note, no number to call, no nothing. My stomach drops, suddenly feeling like a dirty little slut. I cheated on my boyfriend, had the best night of my life, and yet have nothing to show for it.

  Poor Tom. I completely betrayed him. And I never even gave him an answer to the proposal. I left him hanging and slept with someone else.

  What a lying, cheating whore , I kept saying to myself.

  I call Carl and explain my whole sob story.

  “What a bitch!” He exclaims, absolutely disgusted.

  “I made the biggest mistake of my life.” I fall back onto the bed. “So stupid.”

  Still hungover, I stumble around the room trying to put my clothes back on. The walk of shame was literally a walk of shame. Not only was my hair a knotted mess and my clothes a wrinkled disaster, but my heart was a huge lump of shame, guilt, and anger towards myself.

  Even though all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry, I forced myself to take a shower, put on some nice clothes and go to work.

  My job at the art gallery was fairly easy. It was quiet most of the time, so I normally just sat at my computer, scrolling through Facebook, music playing in one ear.

  I mean, when there were projects to be done I would get them completed in a timely manner, and when the occasional customers walked in I’d get up and interact with them. But as long as I did that, my boss was happy. And I could just be lazy in the time between.

  I would also spend a lot of time staring this one painting of a sad, lonely girl sitting on a cloud. It broke my heart. All she wanted was someone to experience life with but she had to float through life alone. And I felt such an emotional connection to this inanimate figure.

  But today all I could see in that picture was me. And next to me was Rachel. We were sitting together, in our own little world. Away from everyone else. Away from all the judgment and cruelty of the world.

  But then my mind is shot back to reality and I just see the one lonely girl again as I remember that Rachel abandoned me. We spent a magical night together and she didn't even have the respect to leave a note. My mind kept wandering off to last night's extravagances. The way her body felt sliding across mine. The softness of her touch all along my skin. Her warm, luscious lips digging down on mine. I wanted to watch her take off her clothes over and over again.

  Calm down, Kelly. I was getting all hot and bothered and jittery and needed to take a deep breath. I couldn’t get wrapped up in the excitement of it all. It was a one-night thing. It’ll never happen again.

  My attempt at focusing on the Excel spreadsheet in front of me was failing miserably. Memories of last night just kept on distracting my brain and giving me chills I could not control.

  All week it was this way. Going to work everyday, feeling more and more empty inside. I still hadn’t given Tom an answer, which was driving him absolutely crazy. But I stared at the ring everyday, going over the same exact scenarios in my head over and over again. Maybe I would be better off with just marrying him. Would I be happy? That was unsure. But I’d be safe.

  Part of me was still hopeful that Rachel would contact me. But we didn’t give each other our numbers, I didn’t remember telling her where I worked, and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find her profile on any social media sites. So it was highly unlikely that I’d ever hear from her again, but I didn’t want to believe it was completely over. That one dreamy night couldn’t have meant nothing.

  One day, towards the end of the week, when I came to the conclusion that Rachel had gone back home, my boss peeks her head into the door.

  “Kelly,” she says, catching me off guard, “There’s a potential buyer out there who would like to speak with you.”

  “Oh, ok,” I felt like a bumbling idiot. I stood up, straightened myself and made it look like I was in the right state of mind. I walked out into the gallery, walked towards the outline of a woman admiring a work of art. As I got closer, I realized it was Rachel.

  What the hell was she doing here? I freaked out and turned the other way, walking as fast as I could in heels. But she must've heard my heels clicking on the hardwood floor.

  “Kelly!” She calls out my name and I freeze right in my tracks. I turn around, forcing a sweet smile on my face.

  “Rachel? What are you doing here?” I walk towards her, sounding surprisingly happy.

  “You know how many art galleries are in the city? It took me forever to find you.”

  As I get closer I realize she was looking at the painting of my lonely girl. MY painting. Ever since we got that painting in I’ve convinced people to buy every picture but that one. It was the only thing in this world that was solely mine.

  “You have no excuse to just come barging in here and…” Rachel interrupts me by pulling me close and crashing her lips into mine. My whole angry demeanor immediately melts away as my lips just sink into hers. My body once again is on fire as the rush of passion trails all the way down from my head to my toes.

  Finally, she lets me go and it takes me several moments to catch my balance. I take a peek around just to make sure no one was watching and the room spins right in front of my eyes.

  "Oh, you think you can just fix everything like that?" I get defensive.

  “You know you liked it.”

  I did. A lot. But I couldn’t admit that I was tempted to just forgive ever
ything after that kiss. That world-shattering, pantie-dropping kiss. I wasn’t just going to give her that power over me. But damn, she did have that power over me.

  “I’ve missed you,” She caresses my arm ever so gently.

  "Well, then you shouldn't have left me in the first place," I say, on the verge of tears. "Why did you leave me?"

  “I had to go to work-“

  “Bullshit,” I yelled a little bit too loud. “Why didn’t you leave a note? Or why did you disappear for an entire week just to show up out of the blue again? We spent an incredible night together and then you just made me feel like you loved me and left me and that was your plan all along. Do you know how shitty that feels?”

  Rachel just stood there, seemingly unshaken. But something in her eyes showed differently. After listening to my rant, she just said a simple, “I’m sorry.” And then she moved closer, wrapped her hands around the back of my neck and opened up her heart, “You’re the best I’ve ever had. And that scared me. I’m normally an independent woman who just goes where she wants and sleeps with who she wants. But that night… I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was something more. And I bolted. But then I realized that I wanted to see you again. Feel you again.”

  I was speechless. I just stared at her, tears welling up in my eyes.

  She cups my face in her hands and whispers, “We can make that magic again. I want to give you that pleasure again.” Then she whispers every so softly into my ear, “Don’t you want me?”

  I did. I wanted her so bad. The taste of her skin, the gentleness of her touch. I wanted to envelop myself in her.

  “Yes,” I mutter under my breath.

  Rachel takes a few steps back, a satisfied smile on her face.

  “Lunch. Tomorrow. The place we met? ” She says as he heads towards the door of the gallery.

  I nod my head, still trying to process everything that just happened.

  “See you then.” She blows me a kiss right as she’s exiting the gallery and I can’t move. I watch her as she walks down the street and out of sight.