by Dhtreichler
“You know me better than the last novel you read,” I open with. “But as I said on the phone I’m just trying to figure out orgasms.”
“You and me both,” Delilah shakes her head. “You get that one figured out and I’m the one who’s gonna be asking you the questions.” She laughs for only a moment and then gets serious. “I expect you also want to know about A’zam.”
I nod tentatively, “If you want to share that, but I wasn’t going to ask.”
“I know you too well,” Delilah responds. “You would have found a way to back into it. He’s your boss. You’ve known him a long time. And it was clear you had no idea when it came out the other night. And the fact he’d already done Windy? Yeah, I didn’t know that when we got together, but I didn’t want to say anything to Windy since she thinks the guy loves her.”
“But you did talk to her somewhere along the way, because she knew.”
Delilah gathers her thoughts, “I’ve been trying to figure out a good way to tell you this, but there just doesn’t seem to be one.”
What could cause her to not want to tell me about A’zam? “So, did he fill you up and carry you across like he did Windy?”
“Windy’s only been with a few guys, and most of them just in the last few years. She also doesn’t choose a guy based on how well he’s hung. So, she doesn’t have all that good a reference point.”
I nod in agreement understanding Delilah’s point and wait for her to continue.
“So, no. He wasn’t the best thing that’s ever happened to me as he apparently is for Windy. But that’s not to say he’s not good. What I noticed is he’s not all that responsive to the nuance. He’d hit a good spot and I’d respond. But he didn’t pick up on what he’d done that worked for me. Do you know what I’m saying? He’d keep on keepin’ on even after he or I’d lost it.”
“Did you have a simultaneous orgasm?”
“Once out of three tries.”
I guess, “Was it on the third try?”
“He wasn’t going to stop until we did.” Delilah confirms my suspicion.
“Did you get sore?”
“You know I did.” Delilah clearly remembers. “When he gets hard I mean he’s as firm as it gets. After three times, well I was glad he was done.”
“So, another reason he’s not number one on your all-time list.”
Delilah leans closer to talk softly, “I found out he and Windy only did it one time. She came after he did and that was it for him. Don’t know about her, she never said, but I guess if I’d been married to Tom all those years I’d probably only want one orgasm.”
“You upset with Windy?” I have to ask since she’s decidedly belittling her.
“Me? Why would I be upset with Windy? She’s great. I feel sorry for her going through the divorce and all. But no, I’m not unhappy with her.”
“How did you feel when you found out she’d already slept with A’zam?”
“Hey, I’m a big girl. I’ve slept with more than one guy at a time. It’s not a big deal. Just an indication of the nature of the relationship.”
“So, you had a better orgasm than she did?”
“Hell no. It was barely adequate if you have to know the truth. I wasn’t going to say anything bad about him since he is your boss.”
“Don’t let that stop you.” I want to make sure she’s not censoring anything here.
“A good lover is tender. He’s all about how I’m feeling. Has the foreplay turned me on? Am I feeling the love, the caresses, and the tenderness?”
I know what she’s saying although I’d not even realized it was missing when I’ve been with someone since transitioning. But then again that’s limited to Raoul, the Mayor and A’zam. Of the three probably only the Mayor had any inclination towards tenderness.
“Patience is the other thing,” Delilah reflects. “It was almost as if he thought I’d get all hot and bothered simply because he dropped his pants. Sure, he’s big, but not bigger than a lot of other guys I’ve had.”
“So consequently, he wasn’t interested in a long and slow foreplay?” I ask.
“He didn’t seem to think I needed it. Worse yet, he neither sensed it nor asked.”
“What does it for you?” I need to better understand the human side, not just A’zam’s failures.
Delilah doesn’t hesitate in her answer, “I’ve been giving it some thought since you called. I think it’s the way a guy looks at me.”
“Like?”
“Like I’m someone special. Not just another broad.”
“I’ve seen guys who look at me, appreciating the fact that I’m smart or good at what I do.”
“Not the same look. For each of us, our eyes are the windows into our souls.”
“But not for A’zam and not for me or any of the others who are transitioning.”
Delilah thinks about my comment for a moment. “You know that may have been part of what just didn’t work for me. He didn’t look into my eyes while making love. Kisses. Oh yes. Everywhere. But he never once tried to look into my eyes.”
“No reason to,” is my instant response. “He can’t see what’s in your eyes and neither can I.”
“You know, when we got together I didn’t know he was like you.” Delilah admits. “I thought he was just another dude until he told me who he was. Just a name. Nothing about AppleCore or any of that. I was surprised, frankly, that a guy as important as he is would be out trolling for sex.”
“So, you knew going in it was only going to be a short-term relationship.” I confirm.
“I know that going in every time, because that’s all it’s ever been for me. Now I don’t know if that’s me, or the guy or what, but that’s just the way it always turns out.”
“Do you get bored that the guy only knows one position, or is always in a hurry to get to the final act or that they don’t keep looking at you the same way, as that one special person?”
“Do I get bored?” Delilah dismisses the question. “You know I thought I was better than that. More interested in trying to make the relationship work because it’s just so hard to start all over with another guy. But the more I thought about it I do.”
“Get bored?”
Delilah nods. “For all the reasons you listed and a dozen more. The guy won’t do anything to help me. He does his thing and I have to do mine. Or it comes down to money. At some point the guy wants me to pay for my half of dinner. He asks me out but then expects me to pay. That’s clearly the first sign of the end for me. If he’s not going to court me at dinner, he’s not going to be any better in bed. Or when it gets to the point that he comes to expect me to do things for him without even asking. I mean we’re not married or anything. He doesn’t have any rights when it comes to me. He needs to assume the answer is no unless he asks nicely. You know the old saying moms have had forever. If the guy doesn’t have any manners, don’t expect them in bed.”
“What would it take for you to have the ultimate orgasm?”
Delilah wrinkles her nose, “Ultimate? That means it won’t ever get better?”
I nod that I used a poor choice of words, realizing I used it because that’s how A’zam described it. “One that’s better than any you’ve had?”
“That means I’d have to figure out who was the best so far.” Delilah shakes her head apparently dismissing someone who has come to mind. “Hmmm. That’s a hard question. The ones that I remember? That’s a different question but a whole lot easier to answer.” She hesitates again. “The ones that I remember the next morning are the ones that take all night, or at least they seem to. It comes back to patience. You get together and have a long slow dinner with the meal being extraordinary. Great service, good wine with the meal. Music. There has to be soft music that you can hear, but it’s not so loud that you can’t have a conversation over it. Not like The Night club where you can’t hear the person next to you when the band starts up. The dinner has to be unrushed. Fantastic dessert that not only looks great but t
astes great. Then we go back to his place as mine’s always a mess. He has to be clean and neat. Well decorated, soothing colors. Again, soft background music. We sit on the couch together, his arm around me and we talk about things we both enjoy, make plans to do one of them. Not even soon, but a plan we can look forward to each and every time we get together. And soon that dissolves into kissing and when we’re both sufficiently aroused, he carries me into the bedroom and sets me down on the bed before pulling me up to my feet. We then slowly undress each other, running our hands over the other’s body. I touch him to get a reaction and hold him while he grows in my hand. He kisses my breasts and my neck and then we lay down together on the bed.”
“Is it pretty standard from there or is there something different he does that just takes you to the peak in an explosive way?” I interrupt her description not wanting the detail here.
“Explosive?” Delilah reacts as if she hadn’t thought of that as a way to describe the peak experience. “That’s a good way to describe it. Yeah. There’s a variety of ways and a variety of positions. Every guy is different, you know? What really does it for me is when he gets me almost there and at the last minute he comes inside, but is able to keep me going. If he’s able to hit just the right rhythm, peak at the same time I do, that seems to be it for me.”
“How many times has it been explosive for you?” I have to ask.
“Never.” She laughs. “No guy has ever been that good. That’s why I’m still looking for him.”
“But you’ve come close.” I need to clarify whether what she’s been describing is real or hypothetical.
Delilah seems to remember something, and the smile is unmistakable. “Yeah, I’ve been right there. But in almost every instance the guy gives up on me. He either changes his position or he gets tired of waiting or he’s had his and is finished. I can’t remember the last time a guy stayed with me to the end of my contractions.”
“Did A’zam?” I wonder.
“I was so sore by that point I didn’t want him to stay with me to the end,” she admits. “I’m still sore.”
“Coming back to the guy staying until the end, is that important for you in terms of wanting to do it with him again?”
“The guys who stay until the end? They’re the ones who seem to keep the look. Yeah. I’m more willing to see if we can get to explosive, because they’re the ones who seem to sense what I’m feeling better than those who don’t.”
“Sensing and reacting to you and your build up is a big part of what makes a good orgasm great?”
“Isn’t that how it works for you?”
“Seems to me that’s how it used to work when it was good, but that wasn’t often.”
Delilah reflects on something, then looks up at me. “I don’t envy you. I don’t know how you give immortals like you the opportunity to experience the breadth of orgasms there are out there.”
“But is that necessary?” I push back. “When you describe most of them not being worth your time. There’s no connection that lasts.”
“Is that important? A lasting connection? We’ve not talked about that.”
“An assumption on my part,” I admit.
“But not everyone wants a lasting connection. Some people just want to learn from someone, experience a moment of intimacy with another in a time when they’re lonely. And the person they’re intimate with isn’t someone they want to spend the rest of their life with. May not even want to keep in touch. I would guess that the number of people who have slept together and lost touch with the other is greater than the number who actually get together in some fashion, whether to marry or live together or just continue dating for a long period of time.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“That you’ve made an assumption. How many other assumptions have you made in defining what the ultimate orgasm should be?”
She has a point I’d not considered. What assumptions have I made and are they universally valid? “So, it’s okay if the orgasm isn’t necessarily satisfying to both; or even one partner.”
“That’s what dating’s all about. Finding the one person who best fits you and your needs, preferences and the things you like to do. It’s also about enjoying the journey. I learn something from every guy I go out with. We talk. We check each other out. I see what works in the first fifteen seconds now and I’ve walked on dinners in some good restaurants because I know there’s no point. The guy doesn’t work for me, so let’s not waste each other’s time. But the ones who get past the sniff test? There’s always something I learn from them, whether it’s what not to do or discovering something I’d not considered but find I really like. So, it’s not forever. Okay. I’ve grown. I’ve learned a little more about me. And next time I won’t waste anyone’s time.”
“What you’re telling me is I’ve missed out on a lot because I was so focused only on my career and being the best at that I could be.”
“Maybe you’ve missed out on relationships that could have been interesting and been growth experiences for you. But I won’t take anything away from what you’ve achieved career wise. I’m not president of a ginormous company employing thousands and thousands of people. Selling things that everyone on the planet would recognize.”
“But you’ve had experiences you wouldn’t trade for fame or fortune I suppose.”
“Fortune? Now I’d have to think about that one.” Delilah laughs.
“So how do we patch things up between you and Windy?” I have to change the subject.
“No need. Neither one of us is getting a second at bat with A’zam. It appears he’s begun working on MC. I’d love to be there for that one. He has no idea what he’s getting into.”
THE STRANGE THING
I call the others. I could see A’zam having a chance encounter with Windy. And not being aware of how bad things were with her husband. I gave A’zam a pass on that one. Delilah, well that was another story. And now MC? This is a pattern I can’t ignore. A’zam is deliberately targeting my friends. What I don’t understand is how did he even know who they are? I seldom talk about them at work. But the one person who might have pieced things together for him is Mindi. Not that she would have knowingly given them up, but I can see A’zam weaving questions into conversations that might have given him the information he wanted. But it’s more likely he would have simply asked his assistant to get the information for him and suggested Mindi might be the best source. It really doesn’t matter. But it shows how devious he can be.
I have to ask myself, why is he doing this? Why my friends? Is he just playing psychological games on me? Hell of a way to get my attention. But then again, he may have been just trying to see how long it would take me to figure things out. And if he’s stalking MC he must have started working on Reese. Did he not know we would talk? Then again, guys have so little awareness of how important relationships are to women. But I have to think it’s more than that. He’s trying to show me he can get to my friends. What about Rocky? It’s much harder to threaten an old guy. Rocky would just tell A’zam to go to hell and probably not even tell me. I’ll have to ask Rocky about that since he’s working on a project for A’zam. A project he said was just a power saving circuit. But I already know that is the host for the control software I wrote for Dr. Woodall.
If I’m the target, then I have to find a way to create distance between A’zam and my friends. But how do I do that? Particularly if I’m not going to make them think A’zam really wasn’t interested in them individually. Since at least two of them have already slept with him, I can’t diminish that event, make them think A’zam really wasn’t interested in sleeping with them because they’re just such alluring individuals.
MC is the first to arrive. Windy and Reese aren’t far behind. “What’s so important we have to get together in the middle of the day?” MC asks.
“Did you postpone an appointment to come?” I ask?
“No, but I have to be back in a couple hours.”
�
��What’s this I hear that A’zam has been working on you now?” I direct to MC.
“Is there a problem with forming relationships with rich and powerful men?” MC looks at me crossly. “Doesn’t happen every day.”
“Is he a patient?”
“No.” She confirms. “Just met him at the grocery store. Started a conversation over which vegetables to buy for stir fry.”
“He doesn’t eat.” I point out.
“He doesn’t? But he was planning a dinner party.”
“With you, I assume?” I can’t let this go.
“He never said.”
“Did he buy the vegetables you recommended?” Reese asks.
“As a matter of fact, he did.”
“What happened then?” Windy asks.
“He gave me his card and asked if he could have mine as he might need advice on vegetables for his next dinner party.”
“So, after he looked at your card, did he ask about professional services?” Delilah wants to know, although she doesn’t seem clear about my meaning of professional services.
“Didn’t remark on it, just nodded and walked away. Never thought I’d see him again, but he called the next day. At the office. Wanted to know if we could meet for drinks. He said he was looking for advice on how to prepare the vegetables.”
“And of course, you went.” Delilah is sarcastic. “Was that because you saw who he was?”
“I did note he was at AppleCore.”
“And that he was Sage’s boss?” Windy pursues her brief answers.
“I didn’t connect that until later.”
“After or during your drinks?” Delilah clearly doesn’t believe MC is being open with us.
“During. I even asked him about Sage.”
“And he said?” Reese sounds worried now too.
“That she ran his products company and was doing a stellar job.”
“Was stellar the word he used?” I ask.
MC looks at me and I know it wasn’t. “It was something like that.”
“He didn’t say anything about my performance at all, I would assume. He probably just said that yes, I run his products company.”