Park Avenue Player

by Ward, Penelope

  I bet you enjoy these more, perv.

  ***

  Hollis was in a mood when he came home that night. I tried to act like it was business as usual, despite not being able to stop thinking about the panty situation.

  He didn’t even acknowledge me as he headed straight for the cabinet, took out a glass, and poured himself wine.

  “Lasagna is warming in the oven,” I said.

  Hollis took a long sip then simply grunted to acknowledge he’d heard me say something.

  He still wasn’t making eye contact with me.

  Was he feeling guilty, perhaps? I started to second-guess what I’d done to mess with him—for a millisecond. Then I snapped back to reality, reminding myself that he’d stolen my damn panties in the first place and had therefore asked for it. He started this.

  He loosened his tie. His hair was a bit unkempt. One thing about Hollis, he was even sexier when he was mad.

  He took another sip of his wine and finally asked, “Any reason you’re sticking around? Something you need to tell me about Hailey?”

  “No. Not at all. Hailey’s great. She’s cleaning up her room. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about what we did today.” After a few more seconds of awkward silence, I said, “Have a good night.”

  “You too,” he said, massaging the tension in the back of his neck.

  Awkward. Awkward. Awkward.

  As I walked out the door, I realized I was sort of jealous of my own undies and the fun they might be having tonight without me.

  Chapter 16

  * * *

  Hollis

  Ever wish you could go back and change something you’ve done? A stupid mistake made on impulse that had lasting repercussions?

  I have many regrets in life. But if I could change only one thing, it would be the moment I ever thought it was a good idea to slip Elodie Atlier’s thong into my back pocket.

  Apparently, I believed I could get away with murder that night. Instead, I opened a huge can of worms I wouldn’t be able to get myself out of. I certainly never thought she’d taunt me about touching them the second I walked out of her bathroom. Perceptive thing, she is.

  At this point, I suspected she knew I did more than touch her lingerie. Was there a chance I might have gotten lucky and the theft had gone unnoticed? I suppose. But the not knowing was driving me crazy. The uncertainty kept me agitated all day and unable to focus on my job. Basically, I was now paranoid, as if I’d committed a crime and knew the police were going to show up at my door any minute.

  But as the evening wore on, I calmed down somewhat. Hailey told me all about their day at the museum over dinner. Elodie’s lasagna was phenomenal. After a couple of glasses of wine and a full belly, I felt a bit less on edge.

  I decided to assume that even if Elodie suspected I’d taken the thong, there was no way she could prove it. That seed of doubt would always exist. Eventually, this whole situation would blow over.

  Later that night, as I lay in bed, though, I realized how depraved I really was. Because as much as I regretted taking her thong, I kept thinking about the fact that it was under my pillow. I wanted nothing more than to take it out again and use it for inspiration as I jerked off. What’s one more time?

  Yes, I’d in fact masturbated with her panties over my face last night and was now considering an encore.

  I’d convinced myself that if the opportunity arose and I could get back into her house, I could return them—maybe slip them behind a radiator in the bathroom or something. It would be like this whole thing never happened. So, taking them out one more time would harm no one. Right? No one would ever know.

  In the end, though, I rolled over and decided against it.

  I can’t.

  But after several minutes of lying there staring into space, insomnia won. I finally succumbed to the fact that I would need a release to fall asleep tonight. I slipped my hand under the pillow and pulled the thong out.

  My heart went from racing excitedly to skipping a beat when I noticed the silky fabric. The hot pink color. This was not the same thong.

  This. Was. NOT. The. Same. Thong.

  I stared at it in my hand as if it were alive.

  What the fuck now, Hollis?

  How did she know to look under my pillow? What was she doing in my bedroom? I wanted to give her a piece of my mind for trespassing. How dare she snoop when I was at work?

  But she had me exactly where she wanted me, because I couldn’t even address it to reprimand her.

  I was madder at myself than Elodie. I’d caused this. Why? Because I was impulsive, horny, selfish—and a goddamn panty snatcher, apparently.

  I opened my bedside drawer and threw the hot pink thong into it before slamming it closed. So much for sleeping now.

  I stared at the drawer as if I’d stuffed a body in a trunk. Elodie could have taken her black thong back and left nothing behind. She could’ve snapped a photo to taunt me. Instead, she opted to leave another one. She was enjoying this little game, messing with me, capitalizing on my sexual attraction to her.

  She wants me to have it.

  I opened the drawer slowly and took the thong into my hands, threading the silky fabric through my fingers. I brought them to my nose and took a deep whiff in. Ohhhhh. Fuck. Me. Whereas the other pair had just come out of the wash, smelling like detergent, these smelled like a woman. She’d worn these. There was no debate left. I got up and double-checked that my door was locked.

  Then I returned to bed and lay back, placing the panties over my face. Taking out my rigid cock, I stroked it hard, simultaneously breathing in. If I was going to hell for something, at least this would be worth it. And getting off to her actual scent—knowing she’d taken these off for me, knowing they’d been up against her pussy today—made me crazy.

  It didn’t take long. I came fast and hard, all over my abs. One would think it had been days since I’d last jerked off, when in fact it was last night.

  But as the high of my orgasm wore off, I started to come back to reality. I was back to seeing myself as a filthy pig lying here with her panties on my face. I crumpled them up, threw them in the drawer, then slammed it shut again.

  ***

  The following afternoon, my concentration level at work was even worse than the day before. Once again, I hadn’t been able to look Elodie in the eye when I left for work this morning. I’d taken her damn panties out again when I woke up at the crack of dawn, took care of business, then left them under the pillow exactly where I’d originally found them. I wanted her to think maybe I’d done nothing at all with them, maybe I’d never found them, maybe I’d redeemed myself and no longer wanted anything to do with her.

  I knew I was kidding myself. I’d had aftershave on, and she’d smell me all over them.

  Maybe a part of me wanted that, too. I was sick.

  Addison’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Hello? Earth to Hollis!”

  I’d been twisting a pen around in my hand when she interrupted my rumination.

  I threw the pen down. “What?”

  “We’ve been waiting for you in the conference room for nearly a half hour. Did you forget about the two o’clock meeting?”

  Shit. I totally forgot. “Sorry. I’ll be right in.”

  For the entire meeting, Addison kept staring at me, squinting…assessing. She’d known me a very long time and could see through anything.

  After we left the meeting, she cornered me in my office.

  “What the hell has gotten into you now, Hollis?”

  At first, the thought of Addison knowing what was going on seemed mortifying. But the truth was, I could use her unbiased opinion on how to handle this situation. In the end, I was Elodie’s boss, and what I’d done was beyond inappropriate. So from both a professional and personal viewpoint, I needed input.

  “Today is your lucky day, Addison.”

  “Oh? Why is that?”

  “Because I’m about to give you blackmail material you can hol
d over my head forever.”

  “Uh-oh. What did you do? And please tell me this has to do with Elodie.” She grinned. “I’ve been waiting for some juice.”

  I braced myself and began to tell her the story.

  ***

  Addison was all too amused. “You dirty dog. This is better than I ever hoped. Although I don’t know who’s worse, you or her.”

  “Skip the taunting. How do I handle this?”

  “I’m just kidding. This isn’t a real problem, Hollis. It’s all in good fun.”

  “You don’t see a problem with this? If I stole your underwear, you could sue me for harassment, and it would ruin my career. How is this any different?”

  “Well, you definitely took a risk. But I think you did it in part because you know there’s a reciprocal attraction there. You’re comfortable with her. And you also stupidly assumed you wouldn’t get caught.”

  I sighed. “Okay, so what now?”

  “Just see where things go. Why do you have to have a plan?”

  “Because I can’t even look at her.”

  “Well, you need to get over that. You’re both adults, and clearly she’s enjoying this.”

  I pulled on my hair. “This is such a fucking mess.”

  “Why? Why is it a bad thing? It’s innocent fun. Although, I don’t expect it will end up innocent.”

  “I’ve already explained the ramifications of getting involved with her. Have you not heard anything I’ve been saying?”

  “Oh, that’s right. If things don’t work out, Hailey could get hurt.”

  “Precisely.”

  “This has nothing to do with the fact that you could get hurt, too, right?”

  I paced. “Now you’re overanalyzing.”

  “Am I?” She crossed her arms. “I think you see Elodie as exactly the type of woman you would want in your life if you weren’t so damn scared to let someone in. I think that’s why you’re afraid of messing things up. It’s not only about Hailey.”

  I stopped moving. Her words shook me, but I was unwilling to accept that she was right.

  When I didn’t say anything, she added, “We’ve had many drunken conversations, Hollis. You told me yourself once that the only two women you’ve ever loved—your mother and Anna—disappeared on you. You said you’d never make the mistake of getting attached to anyone again. If you thought you could just have meaningless sex with Elodie, and that would be it, you’d be running toward this situation and not away from it. You see the potential for something more here. And that scares you.”

  Speaking of running away, I needed to get the fuck out of this conversation.

  I walked back over to my desk and rustled some papers. “I’m behind on some admin stuff.”

  “See? This is what you do. You run away before you have to deal with things that hurt.” She stopped in front of my desk and leaned into it until I had no choice but to look at her. “Stop letting your past determine your future, Hollis. Allow it to make you a better person, not a bitter one.”

  I shut my eyes briefly. “I get what you’re saying. But even if I didn’t have whatever issues you think I have, anything more than a business relationship with Elodie is not a possibility because of Hailey. So this isn’t open for discussion.”

  After Addison left, her words haunted me. I knew she was right.

  Still, I was unwilling to accept the possibility of something more happening with Elodie. I needed a distraction. That meant I needed to get off on something other than Elodie’s underwear.

  Hailey had a sleepover on Friday night. I’d have the apartment to myself for the first time in a while. I picked up my phone and sent a text to someone I knew would be a sure thing with no strings attached.

  Hollis: My place Friday night?

  Chapter 17

  * * *

  Elodie

  I was shaking. Literally shaking. What’s wrong with me? I’d started this game, but now I was nervous.

  Hollis and I hadn’t said a peep to each other this morning. I couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or angry at me for what I’d done. And he wouldn’t look at me long enough so I could figure it out.

  Hailey and I had ended up having a busy day, so I’d had no opportunity to venture into Hollis’s bedroom to check things out. I’d taken her to buy clothes at Justice using her uncle’s credit card. We then went to Dylan’s Candy Bar and loaded up on sugar before returning to the apartment.

  Now that we were back, Hailey had gone to her room while I worked in the kitchen, prepping dinner.

  She entered the kitchen several minutes later and asked, “Would it be okay if I went downstairs to Kelsie’s?”

  Kelsie was the only kid around Hailey’s age who lived in the building. I looked over at the clock. It would be about an hour and a half until Hollis came home. Since I knew her leaving would give me the opportunity to snoop like I’d been dying for, I was all for it.

  “Is her mom going to be home?”

  “Yeah. I heard her say it was okay.”

  “Just an hour. I want you home before your uncle gets back.”

  “Alright.”

  “Actually, I’ll walk you downstairs.”

  It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her. But I knew the type of stuff I’d pulled when I was around her age. At the very least, I needed to make sure she was going where she said she was.

  Once I made sure Kelsie’s mother was really home, I returned upstairs to the empty apartment.

  My heart raced as I made my way into Hollis’s bedroom.

  I went straight for the pillow and lifted it to find my hot pink panties exactly where I’d left them the day before. Could he have not seen them? I pondered that—until I smelled them. They reeked of his musky scent. Could it be from the pillow? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that my thong now smelled like Hollis. And that turned me on very much. I squeezed the muscles between my legs. I’d teased him about being a perv, but who was the perv now? That was all I could think as I sat there on his bed, sniffing my own damn underwear.

  I didn’t know what to do. Did I continue this game? Or did I stop it and let him make a move if he wished to continue?

  In the end, I slipped off my panties again. Except this time, I placed them in his bedside drawer. Make him look for them. Change things up.

  ***

  The following day, Hailey and I rode bikes around the neighborhood and took lunch to Central Park, where we rollerbladed.

  I’d specifically planned activities that would require Hailey to take a shower when we got back. Actually, we both had to shower. I went first.

  After I got out and changed, Hailey went in.

  Baaa. “Anna’s home!” Huey squawked as I waited to hear Hailey turn on the water.

  Once I heard it running and was confident she was in full shower mode, I snuck into Hollis’s room.

  I peeked under the pillow first. Nothing. I opened the drawer where I’d put the royal blue thong yesterday, and sure enough, there it was in the same spot I’d left it. I lifted it to my nose and was thrilled to find it smelled like Hollis’s cologne. This was it: proof. There was no way he hadn’t touched them.

  Busted.

  ***

  Our little undie switcheroo game continued throughout the week. I had to admit, I was getting impatient. I kept waiting for Hollis to acknowledge what was happening, to say something—anything—and he never did. Neither of us budged. I guess I was secretly hoping it would lead to something more. But having a kinky underwear fetish and wanting a relationship were two different things, I supposed.

  When Friday rolled around, I was more frustrated than ever. That afternoon, I dropped Hailey off across town for a sleepover.

  Before heading home to Connecticut for the weekend, I decided to return to the apartment to clean up some dishes we’d left in the sink and feed Huey. Since Hailey was gone, I’d be able to skip out early and wouldn’t get to see Hollis when he came home from work. I had mixed feelings about that, but in the end, I opte
d not to stick around.

  Before leaving, I took off my yellow thong and placed it under his pillow. I vowed this would be the last one. If nothing came of this, I wouldn’t continue the game.

  I boarded my train back to Connecticut and was almost home when I panicked. As I rummaged through my purse, I realized my phone was nowhere to be found. Had I left it at Hollis’s place? That was unlike me, but my head hadn’t been on straight today. There was no way I wanted Hollis to have access to my phone! I’d always been too lazy to program a security code. That meant he would be able to look through all of my photos, some of which I’d taken years ago, when I was still married to Tobias. I used to sometimes send him a nude selfie to be a tease when I knew he was in a faculty meeting. And I had thousands of old pictures stored from previous cell phones that had been transferred over the years.

  Shit. I needed to go back.

  ***

  By the time I caught another train and made it back to the city, it was after 7PM. As I walked into Hollis’s building, I wondered if maybe I’d luck out and he wouldn’t be home. I knocked, but there was no answer, so I decided to let myself in.

  After turning the key and opening the door, I got the shock of my life to find Hollis standing in the living room—with a woman.

  She had long reddish hair and was dressed in business attire. The top buttons of her black satin blouse were undone to reveal just the right amount of cleavage. Her lips were painted red.

  They were both holding glasses of wine.

  This is a date.

  I’ve walked in on Hollis’s date!

  More than pissed, I felt…devastated.

  His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw me enter.

  “Oh…uh…” I stammered. “I’m sorry.”

  “What are you doing here?” he snapped.