Desert Trading Post

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  I thought about my promise to grab her by the ass when she wasn’t expecting it, but no, not here.

  When we got back to the car, I opened the hatchback and we got out some drinks and some cookies and put them in front with us. Courtney would be able to reach the cooler from the front seat, but it would be awkward, so getting things while we were stopped was much easier.

  With a full tank of gas, we were good for another 280 miles or so and we were headed south soon after we drove away from the gas station. Our next fill up would probably be at a tiny old convenience store in the middle of nowhere. Maybe they’d serve dinner; neither of us was ready for lunch.

  Courtney stayed seated normally as we drove along the rural highway.

  She said, “Dave, I wanted to have sex again so bad back there. It’s like I can’t stop. I’m horny right now. No, don’t get me off again like you did. That was wonderful by the way. I need you to understand what’s going on. I don’t want you tho think I’m using you. Babe, I’m broken. I know that. But I’m not using you to fill my brokenness, I promise you. Yeah, I want you to love me, but that’s because I love you so much. I’m so freaking out of my mind with love that I can’t stand it. For Pete’s sake, we’ve been together for just over 24 hours, but it’s like I’ve been yours all my life. It’s not my need that makes me love you and want you to be in my pants constantly; it’s my love that makes me need you to touch me and keep me from forgetting how I feel about you. My emotional problems are in some ways, separate from my feelings for you. Not entirely, of course, because they can’t be truly separated, but Dave, please believe me: I know what manipulation is and that’s not what I want to do with you. In a way, I’d rather kill myself than use you. I don’t know how to convince you.”

  I said calmly, “Courtney, it’s not rational. It doesn’t have to be. Wait! I’m not saying it’s bad or wrong. I’m saying it’s intuitive and emotional and transcendent, not rational and cognitive. Do you understand?”

  She nodded and cried out, “I do! I do! That’s what I’m trying to say!”

  I said, “I know that. Yeah, my old girlfriend needed stability from me. And so do you. Wait! Listen to me. You do need that from me. And I want to provide it for you. But I don’t think that’s why you are here. Separate it. You need to eat and you need to stay warm at night. You need companionship and you need to bathe. You need things from me because we are in a relationship and we now live together. But we don’t live together because we need each other. Our feelings drive us to be together. Being together allows us to have our needs met by each other. I believe that you aren’t being sexual to make me provide for you. And I know that I’m not providing for you because I want sex from you. I’m allowing myself to need your companionship, and I’m allowing for my sexual desires to be fulfilled with you. Because we are together. And by together, I mean becoming part of each other.”

  Courtney said, “You’ve always been part of me. I just never found you before.”

  I said, “Courtney, I feel it too. A strong bond that has always reached out from me toward you, connecting us even before we met. I see the cord between us. It’s like finding my long lost twin.”

  She smiled finally and said, “Your fuck twin.”

  I said, “Well, yeah! This is more than kissing cousins, right? But how could it not be.”

  She said, “My body is yours, Dave.”

  I said, “And clearly, even if this isn’t what you meant, my body is yours. There’s something in the Bible that says something like a husband and wife become one flesh. One body. Courtney, we are getting married. You understand that right? I’m not going to force you to do anything, ever, unless I have to in order to save your life or something, but it’s happening. I’m not going to make you become my wife, but I’m telling you that that’s just how the universe is. We’re married. As far as creation is concerned, we always have been. If you don’t think so, that’s fine. I won’t force it, but I know what I know. I hope it doesn’t creep you out. I just know in a way that isn’t rational. But there’s room for me to be wrong. I know that too.”

  Courtney took my hand and said, “I know it too. But Dave, if we make it legal, what does that do to you?”

  I said, “What do you mean?”

  She said, “Here, do you have a pen and paper?”

  I said, “Reach in the back and find my laptop bag. Hold on, I think I can reach it.”

  I stretched my right arm out behind Courtney’s seat an grabbed the small black case and handed it to her.

  I said, “Open it up. There’s a pen in the front pocket and a pad of paper in the middle.”

  Courtney said, “Pull over at the next vista point or turnout and let’s stretch our legs for a minute.”

  The next place to safely stop off the road was less than a mile in front of us. I parked and both of us got out of the car. Courtney stood inside the open passenger door and used the top of the car as a table to write on. She carefully printed something on the paper and then removed it from the pad and folded it in half.

  Handing it to me, she said, “This will fix everything. I’m staying with you, but if you want to make it legal, you have to agree to what’s on the paper. And, if we get married, when the time comes, I want a chapel in Las Vegas and an Elvis impersonator.”

  I looked askance at her and said, “Really?”

  She said, “Yep. How do you feel about that?”

  I said, “I love it!”

  She smiled and said, “I knew you would. Do you want to read and sign my conditions now, or do you want to wait until you can’t wait anymore? I have a pen right here, but if you want to wait, stick the paper in your wallet and read it when you want to.”

  I looked at the paper and unfolded it, and read what Courtney had written: the conditions under which she would agree to marry me when the time came.

  It said, “I Courtney Ellen Hammersmith, being of sound mind, do hereby swear that if I should ever become legally married to David Raskin, I will have no claim on any money or property that he owned or was entitled to prior to the date of our marriage. This will apply whether the marriage is formally recognized by the state by way of a recorded marriage license or by way of a common-law marriage as defined by any state agency. This applies to any inheritance, insurance settlement, or other assets to which Dave would be entitled on that date, even if he will not receive the distribution of such until some future time. Any properties acquired after the date of the marriage, except as excluded, will be treated according to state laws for married couples. I enter into this agreement of my own accord as a condition to agreeing to any future marriage proposal. David Raskin must hereby agree to these conditions and all implications herein before any proposal of marriage will be considered.”

  It was signed and dated and had a place for me to do the same.

  I said, “Oh. Courtney, I don’t think that’s necessary. I see what you are asking for, but Sweetie, I appreciate it and all, but I’m not worried about that. I’d never want to break up anyway.”

  She just stared at me and said, “So, you want to put it away and sign it later? Don’t lose it. If you intend to ever marry me, you’ll need to show me the signed original.”

  I could tell that she was serious. She wasn’t going to budge. I didn’t care. I’d tell her about the loophole after we had an agreement in place.

  I said, “Courtney, I’ll sign it now. Then, you can keep it wherever you want to. Is there any modifications that you want to make before I commit to this?”

  She said, “Nope.”

  I shrugged and said, “OK,” and signed and dated the handwritten document and handed it to her.

  She smiled and said, “Good. Now, you can marry me whenever you want to.”

  I said, “OK, we may be going through Reno, but if not, we’ll go to Las Vegas. Your condition that it be in a chapel with Elvis means nowhere in California or Oregon. Should we get back in the car?”

  Courtney grinned and said, “Fine with me
. Do you want me to drive for a while? I want to try out this go-cart.”

  Courtney climbed into the driver’s seat and buckled up, and when I was in, she pulled onto the highway again.

  When we were on the way, I said, “Court Sweetie, there’s a tiny loophole in your pre-nup. If there hadn’t been, I wouldn’t have signed it until we had renegotiated.”

  She frowned and said, “Oh, what’s the loophole?”

  I said, “I can do anything I want to with my will. If I die, I can give you anything I want.”

  She smiled and said, “If you die, I’ll take it. Hey, hook the burner phone up to the hands-free mode of the car stereo. I’ll take care of some phone calls.”

  I connect the phone to the wireless and Courtney had me dig through her new purse for phone numbers.

  She said, “Let’s do Tim first.”

  I frowned.

  She laughed and said, “Hey, after this, you’ll never hear me call anyone’s name but yours during sex. I promise.”

  I punched in the number and we heard the ring through the stereo. It rang twice and went to voice mail.

  Courtney said, “Tim, it’s Courtney. Listen, I wanted you to know. I’m getting married. I don’t hate you. Have a nice life,” and she pushed a button on the steering wheel to hang up.

  She said, “Did you hear that? It rang twice. That means he looked at the incoming number, didn’t recognize it, and sent it to a recording. And if he tries to call back, this phone won’t be active. I’ll never hear from him again. Hey! I get to change my name, right? Courtney Raskin? Is that cool?”

  I said, “Absolutely. Somehow I thought you might not want to.”

  She said, “You thought right. But now that I have an ironclad pre-nup, things have changed. Are you going to get me a ring and everything?”

  I said, “Of course.”

  She said, “Good. But something cheap. Save your money for lingerie and a piercing. I want a ring with a gem in my bellybutton. That can be my engagement ring. What color do you think?”

  I said, “Blue would be nice. A nice sapphire. A real one.”

  She said, “Cool. And I want it permanent, not removable. The stone will have to be small or it won’t be comfortable. I know girls with pierced nipples and even clits and labia. I don’t want that at all. But my navel sounds sexy and it won’t be in the way of anything. If I weren’t driving, I’d make you play with my tits until I couldn’t take it anymore. I’m apparently really sensitive everywhere now that I’m in love. I bet I could have a giant orgasm with you licking my bellybutton. I want to try. Anyway, what other numbers are on that list?”

  I read her the list and she said, “Call Tiffany.”

  The phone rang and a voice answered, saying “Yeah? Who’s this?”

  Courtney said, “Tiff, it’s Amber.”

  Tiffany said, “Amber? Where are you? You disappeared. It sounds like you’re in a car. Are you OK?”

  Courtney said, “Yeah. I’m driving. Listen Tiff, I’m leaving. I recorded a goodbye for my website that goes live tonight. I’m done. I just wanted to say goodbye. This is a burner, so you can’t call me back. I’m on my way to Kansas. I’m going back home. My family is cool with it and say they want me to come home.”

  Tiffany said, “Oh, that’s good, I guess. So you’re safe? You heard about…” and she let her voice trail off.

  Courtney said, “The dick-weeds? Yeah. Are they dead?”

  Tiffany said, “Well, they’re missing. For a couple of days. They called around asking about you and then they disappeared. Be careful. I think they are coming after you.”

  Courtney said, “The only place that they can look is Kansas and I pity them if they try to make trouble out here. Anyway, I wanted to let you know not to worry about me. I gotta go.”

  Tiffany said, “Amber, be careful though. OK? Please.”

  Courtney said, “I will. Watch my feed tonight, sometime after five. Good luck, Sweetie. Hey, Tiff? Are you ready to get out yet?”

  Tiffany sounded subdued as she said, “Well, I don’t know. Sort of. But I know I won’t. Not yet. I’m fine. I don’t mind it so much. I have a test shoot with a bigger studio run by a former pro and she says that it will be better working for her. I’ll know next week.”

  Courtney said, “OK. Take care of yourself. I love you.”

  Tiffany said, “I love you too, Amber. Be safe.”

  Courtney disconnected the call and said to me, “She’s a sweet girl, in a way, but she won’t get out until they use her up. She’s been married and divorced three times already. For most of the girls, a relationship doesn’t last more than six months at a time. And as you can imagine it’s hard to date and find someone good when you are known for being naked and having sex on camera. Call the number in Los Angeles that says Work.”

  I dialed and when someone answered Courtney said, “Let me talk to Jimmy.”

  The girl who answered said, “And who shall I say is calling?”

  Courtney said, “Courtney.”

  The girl said, “Courtney! Where have you been? It’s been like over a month or something!”

  Courtney said, “I know. I was taking care of a family emergency.”

  A minute later, the voice changed and said, “Courtney, this is Jim. Where have you been?”

  Courtney said, “Yeah, not important. You probably fired me already, but I wanted to tell you I’m fine and happy and have a new job and it’s all good, but I’m moving out of state.”

  Jimmy said, “Really?”

  Courtney said, “Yep. I know you got reasons not to believe me, but my other life is over and I’m moving in a healthier direction.”

  Jimmy said, “If you say so. I’ll miss coming to see you dance. You know, you could come back. We could see if we are meant to be together, you know? I really like you.”

  Courtney said, “You’re a great guy Jimmy, but no. Not with me. You should ask out Patricia. I think she’s into you.”

  Jimmy said, “Yeah, I did that already. She’s OK, but after a few times, it wasn’t fresh.”

  Courtney said, “Jim, you are a bastard and I don’t know why I even bothered. I keep hoping that there’s more to you than meets the eye, but there isn’t. Go to hell,” and she hung up abruptly.

  She said, “See? See what kind of people I was around all the time? Pat is a nice girl. So that bastard takes her out, takes her home to bed a few times, and then says she’s not fresh anymore. I hope he gets a venereal disease. He probably has several as it is. Why did I even call him? Probably because I slipped back into the Amber role as I talked to Tiffany. It’s just too confusing and dangerous. Amber has to go. I have to be me. Dave, I’m driving straight through. We’ll be in Reno or Vegas or wherever you say before morning and I’ll marry you and you can fuck Mrs. Courtney Raskin till we’re both so old we can’t get around without canes and walkers. And even then I’ll just lean over my walker and you can sit in a chair and I’ll sit on your lap. Damn, if my tits get saggy, I will get a boob job at eighty if I have to.”

  Courtney was funny when she started ranting like that. Being angry made her raunchy. I liked it. I thought that if that’s the way she wanted to play, then I’d play with her.

  I said, “Babe, don’t even worry about it. You make me so hard that you’ll have it in you as much as you can handle. We aren’t going to make it all the way to Reno before we stop and fuck again though. It won’t take long, but we will need to stop. I haven’t had sex since early this morning and I’m going to want you before dinner, for sure. I’d let you jack me off while you drive, but it’d be messy and I’m going to want more than a handjob. I’m askin’ for Mrs. Raskin and nothing else will do.”

  Courtney looked at me seriously and said quietly, “Dave, have an orgasm for me.”

  Chapter 9 - Traveling No Pants

  I said, “What? Not while you drive. You’ll get in an accident.”

  She said, “No, I’m saying, undo your pants and pull it out and stroke it till y
ou come for me.”

  I could tell that she wasn’t kidding, and I was now horny enough to do it. I’d never masturbated in front of anyone before, but she had me ready to go and I thought it sounded like a good idea. Without any more discussion, I looked at her and undid my belt and the button of my jeans and my zipper. I pulled my penis out of my boxers and it stood up straight and tall in my lap. Starting to stroke it, I knew that this was a really good idea. I’d been concerned about the mess a few minutes ago, but now I couldn’t remember why that was a big deal.

  Courtney said, “Go ahead and drop your pants. Remember what I said about this not being the same as masturbation because we’re doing it with each other and for each other. You aren’t just masturbating if you are doing it partially for me, and I want you to do it and let me watch. But I don’t have a problem with you masturbating any time you want to either. I do it all the time. Or, I did until yesterday. I probably won’t need to any more, because I’ll always be with you from now on.”

  I said, “Court, you have to keep your eyes on the road.”

  She said, “I know. Get your pants down. Oh, Babe, you look good. You have the most beautiful cock. Oh, I love it. Stroke it for me. I’d do it myself, but I need to drive.”

  I was stroking myself hard now, my fist around my post. I was going slow, but hard. Courtney pulled the hem of her dress up again, and all I could see was her legs, but they were beautiful and very inspiring. I wanted to watch her play with herself some more.

  I said, “Court, play with your tits.”

  She said, “No. Babe, if I start touching myself, I’ll lose control of the car. It’s going to be hard enough to stay on the road as it is. Just jack off for me and tell me before you come. Go on. You look so sexy. Dave, you are a wonderful man. I love how you have taken care of me and jumped in at just the right moments, like at the bank. I love how you have the strength not to ask too many questions when the time isn’t right. I love how much you love me and turn me on, even though we’ve hardly had sex at all. Babe, trust me. If I weren’t driving, we’d be fucking in ways neither of us has ever imagined.”