The Platinum Rebound

by T V Hartwell

  ***

  As Jake and Samantha hopped in the shower together to clean themselves off, they continued to engage with one another playfully.

  “Well, that was fun,” Jake said after standing under the shower spray to wet his body and then stepping aside so that Samantha could do the same.

  “Yeah, it was. What took you so long? Oh, wait, I forgot; you were engaged,” she said before stepping under the showerhead.

  “Yes, a minor technicality,” Jake said with a chuckle as he lathered his body with body wash.

  Once Samantha’s skin was sufficiently wet she turned to face Jake. “Sorry, all I have is Old Spice,” he said, handing her the container.

  She laughed. “Oh, how lovely. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to shower with an Old Spice man.”

  “Well now you get the full experience of taking a shower with one and smelling like him too,” he said with a grin.

  As Jake continued to wash himself down—scrubbing his arms, torso, and then down for a quick wipe and tug on his swollen manhood—he watched Samantha as she poured the gel in her hand and then started to lather it on her arms and chest. He decided to help her out and began to rub her arms, working his way up to her shoulders and neck, then back to her upper arms to pull her into him.

  “I think I’m kind of liking the Old Spice experience,” Samantha said as she wrapped her arms around Jake’s lower back and snuggled herself tightly against his hard, chiseled, soaking wet frame. “Maybe we should make this a habit.”

  “Maybe,” Jake said, enjoying the feel of her slippery wet body gliding against his, but leery of becoming attached to anyone so soon.

  After they stepped out of the shower and dried themselves off, Jake wanted to call it a night and hit the sack. He got what he wanted and she got what she wanted, or so he thought. However, instead of reaching to put on her clothes, Samantha plopped herself back on Jake’s bed. “So when did you move in here? I see you live light,” she said, observing his sparsely furnished apartment.

  “I’ve been here less than two weeks. Haven’t had much time to do any shopping for furniture.”

  “Where were you living before?”

  “I was sharing a place in the Hollywood Hills with a friend, but he’d lived there before I moved in with him, so the place was mostly already furnished.”

  “So you weren’t living with your fiancée?”

  Jake sighed quietly to himself. “No.”

  “Hmmm,” she muttered contemplatively to that revelation.

  Jake rolled his eyes as he busied himself picking up clothes he left on the floor when he’d stripped down for sex.

  “So why did you decide to get your own place?”

  What’s with all of the questions? Jake thought as he put his clothes on hangers and placed them in the closet. After a few moments of silence, he finally answered, “I just wanted my own space.” When he turned to look at her still naked and lying comfortably on his bed, Jake could sense that she likely would not go without some prodding or a little hint.

  “You must be enjoying your freedom again.”

  “Oooh, I’m tiiired,” Jake said with an exaggerated yawn in an attempt to avoid discussing that to which she was alluding.

  Reflexively, she yawned too. “I could stay the night, but then I’d have to wear the same thing to work tomorrow that I wore today. Somebody might notice,” she said devilishly.

  Jake could tell that she expected him to convince her to stay nonetheless. She appeared primed for another round as she lay on her side watching him with one knee propped up and waving it back and forth as if beckoning him to look down at her kitty and return for more.

  “Now we wouldn’t want that to happen. This outfit looks a little too wrinkled now anyway,” he said holding it up. “It probably would be best for you to come to work tomorrow looking fresh and pressed. Don’t you think?” he said disarmingly with characteristic charm.

  “You’re probably right,” Samantha relented seeing the clearly evident wrinkles in her dark, light wool suit. “I have a meeting with a client tomorrow anyway, so indeed, I must look my best.”

  “And your blouse has a little stain right here,” Jake said with a grin.

  “What stain?” she said as she hopped out of the bed and snatched the blouse from his hand to inspect it more closely. “You liar, there’s no stain.” She laughed.

  Jake blushed and laughed along. “Yes, there is, see right here,” he said, pulling the blouse back and searching for the stain that didn’t exist.

  “You’re just trying to kick me out. Okay, I got the message,” she said, sounding playful and serious at the same time, snatching the blouse back to put it on.

  “Whaaat? No, I’m not,” Jake said, feigning shock at the accusation.

  “If you don’t want me to stay, that’s fine. You said you need your space. I don’t want to cramp your style or anything.”

  Now seeing that she appeared genuinely slighted by him, Jake suddenly felt bad. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was trying to push you out,” he lied so very smoothly. He cupped her face with his hands to calm and soothe her before kissing her lips softly.

  With eyes that now appeared soft, tearful, and yearning for more of him, Jake knew his options were limited. Either give her what she wanted or risk sending her away frustrated and piqued and potentially a wrecking ball in the making back at the workplace they shared. He decided to go with the path of least resistance and managed to get it up one more time to satisfy her need and ensure that she would eventually leave that night with a smile on her face instead of a frown.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-One

  After Jake and Samantha had hooked up, he played it cool and casual hoping that she didn’t get the wrong impression about his intentions, which didn’t include making her his girlfriend anytime soon. He tried to make that apparent when he didn’t go out of his way to check in on her at work the next day or ask her out on a formal date, let alone lunch. Other than a brief encounter at an all staff meeting where they chatted with one another casually, Jake avoided her for nearly a week, playing a game of cat and mouse where he felt more like the mouse attempting to hide from the cat. However, Samantha eventually managed to pin him down when she made her way over to Jake’s side of the building hoping to bump into him.

  Just as Jake stepped out of the men’s room, there she stood at a vending machine in the break room across the way.

  “Hey!”

  “Hi,” she said with a somewhat restrained smile and manner, not wanting to appear too eager or excited to see him.

  “Well, you’re not the person I expected to see when I walked out of the restroom.”

  “Oh, who did you expect to see?”

  “I mean . . . no one in particular, but I don’t see you in these parts that often . . . if ever.”

  “I had to bring something over to Larry Baumgartner.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know you knew Larry.”

  “Yeah, he’s good friends with the senior partner I’m working under, John Ryan.”

  “Oh, right.”

  “Yeah, it’s John’s birthday tomorrow and I brought over the card so that Larry could sign it.”

  Jake gave her a look that read yeah right, but then broke his gaze not wanting to cause her to become defensive.

  “Plus, it gives me a chance to stretch my legs a bit and see how the other half lives,” she said with a wink.

  “Well, as you can see the digs over here aren’t that much different from where you hang your hat.”

  “I see, but it’s brighter over here, and I prefer more natural light.”

  “Hmmm . . . I’ve never noticed that it was more bright on this side.”

  “So where’s your office, Jake? You’ve never invited me over to see it.”

  “Oh. Well, gee . . . my apologies. Right this way. It’s nothing fancy,” Jake said as he ushered her down the hall to his office. But just before they stepped in,
Jake stopped to introduce her to his assistant, Patti.

  “Hey, Patti, I want to introduce you to Samantha. She’s one of the first year newbies.”

  “Hi. Yes, we’ve seen each other before. Nice to meet you and finally know your name,” Patti said, smiling at Samantha a bit awkwardly.

  “Nice to meet you too.” Samantha smiled hurriedly before turning to walk into Jake’s office.

  “Glad you two connected. She’s been by here before looking for you,” Patti said to Jake in a hushed tone.

  Figures, Jake thought, trying to keep his sarcasm in check. “Any messages?” he asked.

  “A couple,” she said, while handing them to him.

  “Thanks, Patti.”

  “You have a nice view,” Samantha said when Jake walked into his office. “See, this is what I like. I’d like to have a nice, bright space like this. It’s so dark and drab where I am. This is so much better.”

  “I like it,” Jake said, suddenly feeling pleased with his office in response to her favorable observation of it.

  Samantha scanned Jake’s desk and noticed a single framed photo atop it near the lamp. After she walked behind the desk to get a better view, “Is that your fiancée, Amanda?” she asked, sounding surprised.

  “She’s no longer my fiancée, but, yes, that’s Amanda,” he said feeling slightly annoyed at the familiar way in which Samantha referred to Amanda. He’d never told her Amanda’s name nor had he ever had a conversation with her about their relationship.

  “Awww, how sweet of you to still have her photo on your desk.”

  “Yeah,” Jake said, scratching the back of his head while looking down, feeling awkward and uncomfortable. Now please don’t ask me why.

  Thankfully, she didn’t. Instead she asked a different but equally awkward question. “So why have you been avoiding me?”

  “Avoiding you?” Jake said, trying to appear all innocent.

  “Yeah, it’s like you don’t want to see or talk to me all of a sudden. And I thought you were coming to Colleen’s Halloween party last Sunday. You said you were coming.”

  “I said I might come, but I ended up going to a friend’s party instead,” where I met and hooked up with another random chick, he wanted to admit.

  “No, you told me that you were coming,” Samantha said, trying to guilt him into submission.

  I have a life and better things to do than hang out with people from work on the weekends. “I told Colleen that I might not make it. Why are you giving me so much grief? Jeez.”

  “Jake.” She sighed. “What’s the matter?”

  “What? Nothing.” Oh God. Here we go.

  “Why are you avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?”

  “No. What are you talking—ˮ

  “Knock, knock,” a female voice uttered while actually knocking on the wide open door at the same time. Jake and Samantha both immediately looked to see who it was.

  “Am I interrupting something?” said Julianne Pate, the other chick in the firm that had been hot on Jake’s trail after his breakup with Amanda. Julianne who everyone called “Julie” worked with Jake in the corporate transactions practice group. A more senior associate, Julie had already been at the firm for seven years and was on the cusp of being named a partner.

  “Not at all,” Jake said relieved to see her. “Julie, do you know Samantha?”

  “Yes, of course, we’ve met. Nice to see you,” Julie said in a polite but detached way.

  “Likewise. I feel like I hardly ever run into you.”

  “They keep me under lock and key over here,” Julie said while gazing over at Jake with a grin on her face, not seeming to be all that interested in talking to the newbie.

  There was an awkward silence in the room as Samantha eyed Jake and Julie for a moment, observing the apparent chemistry between them.

  Sensing the tension, Jake cleared his throat. “Is it time?” he asked, looking at Julie.

  “It’s time and we better get going or else we’ll be late and not get a good seat. You know Dan will expect to see us in the front row.”

  “Oh,” Samantha blurted, suddenly feeling as if she were in the way of something—just as Julie had intended for her to feel.

  “We’re going across the street to the Jonathan Club for a business roundtable meeting. One of our clients, Dan Namigha, will be leading a panel discussion on venture capital and the future of tech start-ups in LA,” Jake said as Julie looked on, smiling at Samantha condescendingly, without even showing teeth.

  At five feet eleven inches, Julie’s height and supreme confidence, combined with her serious, all-business demeanor, and conservative but elegant look, made her an imposing, intimidating presence to men and women alike—especially those junior to her. However, she and Jake had connected almost from the start, way back when he was still in law school and worked at the firm during summer break. His wit, intelligence, charm, good looks, and high powered family with their deep connections made him an appealing understudy. Julie had flirted with and teased him almost from the beginning. However, aware how serious Jake had been about Amanda, she knew that it was hands off, and Julie never thought she’d ever have a chance. Plus, at thirty-three, she had seven years on Jake. She liked Amanda and they had gotten along swimmingly at firm events and parties, but now that Amanda appeared to be out of the picture, Julie was prepared to make her move on Jake and she wasn’t about to let what she surmised to be an upstart, desperate, surfer girl with a law degree get in her way.

  “Oh. Well, I don’t want to be the one responsible for making you late. I’ll talk to you later,” Samantha said looking at Jake as she turned to leave his office. And then she turned to look back at Julie. “Nice to see you again. Maybe we could grab lunch sometime.”

  “That would be nice,” Julie said insincerely, but this time managing to show teeth with her fake smile.

  “Thanks for stopping by,” Jake said, feeling bad as Samantha stepped away, seeing the disappointment in her face.

  “Tootles,” Julie said sarcastically when Samantha stepped out of sight. Then she gave Jake the stare. Like really?

  “What?” Jake said sheepishly.

  “So have you already crossed her name off your to do list?”

  “My to do list? What do you mean, my to do list?”

  Julie folded her arms and looked at Jake suspiciously before saying, “Don’t play stupid. You know what I mean. Your to do list. Girls you want to do.”

  Jake blushed while snickering at the comment at the same time, trying to brush it off. Then Julie walked right up to him, inches from his face as if she were about to kiss him. “You’re supposed to be mentoring the newbies, Jake, not poking them,” she said with a devilish grin, leaving Jake tongue-tied and unable to muster a quick comeback.

  “Come on, handsome. Let’s go,” she then said, slightly tugging on his tie before leading the way out of his office and down the hall to the elevator with him in tow.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jake and Julie made it across the street to the Jonathan Club to attend the business roundtable meeting; they’d arrived just in time to greet their mutual client and to make their presence known before finding a couple of seats left in the front row. Jake couldn’t get Julie’s dig about Samantha out of his mind—the dig along with the ongoing and unresolved sexual tension between him and Julie. He’d known that she had a crush on him for a long time. He found her attractive and very womanly. In fact, the older woman dynamic intrigued him. Moreover, her height and long legs had always been a source of curiosity. What it would be like to be in between those long, luscious legs? To have them wrapped tightly around him as he penetrated deep inside her. Although Jake had been satisfied with Amanda as his one and only girl, it didn’t stop his sexual curiosity or occasional random fantasy involving a different woman. He was a man in his twenties after all, with a healthy sex drive. And while he didn’t have a “to do list” as Julie insinuated earlier, he increasingly began
to feel that he didn’t want to be tied down by Samantha or anyone else so that he could play the field a little. Something he hadn’t truly done much of since before he’d met Amanda at Stanford.

  During the panel discussion, Julie made her desire for Jake more evident as she crossed her legs and allowed her foot to rest behind Jake’s left calf, rubbing it ever so discreetly. Jake didn’t flinch, enjoying the attention and her assertive nature. Yeah, since Samantha beat you to the punch, you’re jealous and now you want a piece of this too, he thought sitting there while trying to control the mirth on his face.

  After the panel discussion ended they went up to their client to congratulate him on a fine talk and mingled with a few other familiar faces they knew from the firm and elsewhere. The whole time, Jake felt the energy emanating from Julie toward him. The way she eyed him and allowed her body to brush up against his as they shuffled around to greet and chat with a handful of people. Jake tried to avoid making eye contact with her at one point as she stood next to a colleague they were talking with. Although he attempted to keep his focus on the colleague as they exchanged words, Julie’s gaze was so persistent and intense that it drew him in. He could no longer resist and their eyes locked. Fuck me. Now, her eyes read. Jake immediately went hard at the non-verbal but unmistakable command. He had been around Julie long enough to know that his interpretation of her unarticulated desire was right on the mark.

  As they walked out of the conference room to head out, Jake said, “It’s so nice outside, I’m not ready to go back to the office just yet.”

  “Neither am I. Did you have something else in mind?” she said, stopping and then turning to face him.

  Yeah, you on your knees in front in me. “I don’t know,” he said bashfully with a grin, preferring to let her pursue just in case by chance his read on the situation and her intentions were all wrong.