by King, Imani
“Don’t ask me why I have these. I mean. It’s just in case.” I nodded, laughing and putting my hand over my mouth. He put his hands to my breasts, cupping them gently and pinching each nipple. I gasped, pulling him closer to me with my legs, gripping him as tight as I could. “You’re just so—”
“Beautiful? You said. Now if this is the only night we’re going to be together...” My sex rushed with wetness, pulsing with anticipation. He moved his fingers to my pussy, his fingers moving over the delicate folds. He made small circles over my clit, sending deep shocks through every reach of my nervous system. I opened my mouth to speak again, to say something, to say anything. But no sound came out. John knelt before me on the bed and took me in his arms, hoisting me so that I sat just over the head of his cock.
“I’m ready,” I said, my voice coming out in a raspy whisper. I dug my nails into his skin, moving my hips down, sliding myself onto his cock. He gasped and gripped my waist and pushing me onto the bed beneath him. Thrusting himself inside of me, filling me completely, he let out a primal groan, grabbing my hair and pulling it hard. My breath hitched in my throat. I could barely breathe for the pleasure of it... the illicit desire played out behind closed doors. I looked into his eyes, dark blue and filled with passion... no longer sad and distant.
Pulling his hips away, he thrust into me hard again, making my conscious mind flicker in and out. Propping himself up, he moved like a piston, crashing into me again and again. My clit throbbed with each movement. I closed my eyes and threw my head back in pleasure as he pushed into me, bucking hard against my hips. He brought his hands to my ass and squeezed hard, his breath coming in shorter and shorter gasps. I gripped him with my thighs and pushed him onto his back. My body desperate to take control, to come again, to use him for my release. He groaned, then moved his hands to my waist.
Lifting my body over his, I slid back down onto his cock, grinding my clit against him. This man… this stranger… he had transported me to a state of pure bliss. The world, my life, it faded to fireworks as I used his body, pouring myself against him. My muscles tensed, and I cried out, arching my back as chills ran up my spin. Goosebumps ran over my body, my nipples stiffened, every cell in my body building toward a peak like I’d never known. John gripped me hard and thrust me down onto his cock. I relaxed, giving him control for a moment and looking down into his piercing blue eyes. It couldn’t be that he never did this. He was too good.
“I want to watch you come,” he said, his voice a lusty groan. I moaned and rocked against him, creating pressure against his skin, the power of his words filling me with primal need. Riding him hard so that I shook his hands loose, the fire rose inside of my body. The tongues of flame licked over my thighs and through the small of my back.
The waves of pleasure rose through my body, extending out to every fiber of my being, making my brain go blank again. I moaned and fell against him, the tide of my release receding, leaving the pleasure of a tender ache between my legs, the prickle of sweet relaxation on my body. John rolled me over and plunged into me hard. His hips hit my sensitive flesh, but I could tell he was also near his end. Breathing in shorter and shorter bursts, his abs contracted against my stomach. He tensed once more and let out a growl, then bent down to bite my shoulder.
“Come inside me, baby,” I purred, shocked at my own words. John nibbled the flesh of my neck again and bucked hard against me, leaning down to kiss my lips at the last moment. His kiss was violent, hard, the kiss of a man torn and downtrodden… but here, I could comfort him, let him know that he was needed. Even if was only for this brief moment. Letting out a mighty groan, he thrust hard once more and shuddered. I reached up and laced my fingers through his hair again, pulling his lips to mine and kissing him as his body released into mine. He sighed deeply and fell against me, rolling to my side and pulling me into his arms.
“That was the finest thing that’s happened to me... in ages.”
“Me too,” I said. He brushed my hair to the side and buried his face in my neck. He inhaled deeply, sighing again as he exhaled.
“Now that’s what I call a real woman.”
“How do you know that?” I asked, kissing his forehead and tasting the salt of his sweat.
“You just are. Trust me when I say I haven’t been with a woman for a very long time. I’m not even sure if those condoms are seaworthy. I don’t think I’ve actually used one in the past year.”
“Oh god, how romantic. The one in my purse probably isn’t either,” I said, laughing. A tiny panic struck me at my center. This liaison was meant to be easy, painless, a reward for my hard work. Still, everything came with its complications, its obligations. On my way in tomorrow, I’d have to pick up Plan B. I was going to be on the campaign trail, after all, pounding the pavement alongside Kelly. And even if Kelly was careless in love, she wasn’t careless about anything else. If I were going to take my cues from her, I’d take them all the way. I cleared my throat, realizing that the gin was losing its effect in my mind. Reality was quick to settle in after any anomaly like this, and I looked at John, slightly embarrassed.
“How did we let ourselves get so carried away?” I kissed him again, still savoring his taste, but with some awkwardness now.
“Sometimes it’s just what you do when you meet someone, someone very special. A once in a lifetime moment.” I laughed.
“That sounds like one for the romance books, not for real life. Forgive me if I’m a little bit jaded.” I rolled away from him, awkwardness and embarrassment creeping into my consciousness. The bold girl, the one who had taken what she had wanted, didn’t have a purpose in my psyche anymore. She had gained her sinful prize, and in her place was the regular Sonia. The one who didn’t leave her job or go off to the Four Seasons with strange men. I sat up on the edge of the bed, looking back at him. He was right that the condom didn’t look terribly safe. It looked old. I stepped off the bed and walked toward the bathroom, still naked but conscious of my naked self now. This pleasure, as perfect as it had been, was brief. I might never find anything like it again, but it was time to pick up and move on... Wasn’t it?
“Hey, where are you going?” John hopped up beside me, no more graceful than I was. I couldn’t help but laugh. We humans are such a strange species with our dramas.
“To the bathroom. And then home. I’m starting a new life tomorrow, and I’ve got to get some sleep.”
“It’s not even midnight.”
“Well that’s good,” I retorted. “I don’t want to turn into a pumpkin. Or a maid. Whichever Cinderella turns back into.” He caught my arm and pulled me close to him. He kissed me, and I felt myself falling into that void of desire again.
“You won’t. Just let me fall asleep beside you tonight. Just let me pretend that you’re mine.” I closed my eyes and imagined myself jumping off that cliff into the abyss in front of me, staying the night and getting John’s phone number. It would end in disaster, in distraction. And that wasn’t what I was about. I was about getting my work done and moving on to greater things in life. And a man—even a great romance—it wasn’t one of the things I needed or wanted. I looked into John’s deep blue eyes, thinking that they looked like midnight itself. But I couldn’t, I wouldn’t, go there. John kissed me again, but I grew stiff in his arms, pulling away and gathering up my clothes from the floor.
“Desiree,” he said.
“That’s not even my real name, you know.”
“You can tell me your real name. And we could get to know each other, have breakfast tomorrow before I need to leave.”
“What purpose would that serve?” I looked at him as I slipped into my bra and panties. Covered now, I felt more confident, more like myself.
“Happiness. Fun. Passion.”
“Until we get sick of each other. Or you get sick of me, working all the time. I work. It’s what I do. It’s all I do. I don’t date.”
“I don’t date either,” he said, pulling a towel around his waist. “Maybe we
can not date together, some time when I’m back in town. Things should be calming down for me in a few months, and I’d love to really take you somewhere, talk to you.”
“John. I said I’m not this person. This was fun. It was a one-time thing. But I roll on my own, and that’s pretty much all I do.” He nodded, sitting back down on the bed.
“Well if I can’t convince you—”
“You can’t.” I wiggled into my skirt, my body still airy and sensitive from making love to John. I looked at him as he watched me, desire winding its tendrils through my body again. I looked down and shook my head, letting my hair fall over my eyes. “I’ve gotta go.” I pulled on my shirt and suit jacket, hasty with the buttons. The final one still sat there on the floor. I sighed and stepped into my shoes, picking my purse and retreating into the doorway where John had pushed me against the wall and kissed me hard.
Will I ever find someone like this again? Someone to make me feel like he did? I waved at John, my heart pounding hard. He rose and walked to me, embracing me and crushing his lips against mine again. I gulped and pulled away, gasping.
“Maybe I’ll run into you again, Desiree. Or whatever your real name is.” I stood on my toes and kissed him on the cheek, looking into his eyes once more. My stomach twisted with something like regret, and I turned opening the door and letting it fall shut behind me. I watched John through the closing door, his eyes still locked on mine. For a moment, I stood still, wondering if I should knock, if I should walk back in and take my chances with him.
No.
I turned and walked back to the elevators, rushing through the doors just as they threatened to close. Keeping my head down, I walked toward the revolving doors, running as I reached them, catching my breath as I stepped out on the pavement outside.
This is the real world. That wasn’t. I hailed a taxi, relief flooding me as one came to a halt before me. The door popped open, and I slid in, looking back at the hotel once more. I imagined John back in his room, sitting alone. My gut twisted again, but I slammed the car door and looked ahead.
“Columbia Heights, Park Triangle apartments.” The cabbie nodded and sped away, taking me back home to the blessed relief of solitude.
“Coming back from meeting a friend?” The cabbie looked back at me, and I saw his arched eyebrow in the rear view mirror.
“Something like that.” He nodded and drove on, twisting through the darkened streets of DC. As he pulled up outside of my bright little apartment complex, I tossed him a ten dollar bill and nearly fell out of the cab. My head was pounding from the alcohol, and my body felt strange and foreign. I sighed heavily, walking up to my studio apartment and stumbling inside, closing the world out behind me. Unable to walk any further, I fell onto my couch, kicking off my shoes.
“Tomorrow is a new day,” I said. “Tonight you took what you wanted. And tomorrow, you start fresh.” I closed my eyes, images of the man I’d never see again swirling through my mind as I drifted off to sleep. Too bad I’d never see him again. But that was how this kind of thing worked.
“You start fresh,” I said again, turning on my side and escaping into sleep.
CHAPTER THREE
September 8, 2016
Eight Weeks until Election Day
Beep beep beep.
I struggled against the fluffy white cushions of my sofa. My very first thought was that I hoped I hadn’t ruined it with the remnants of my makeup. Owning a white couch had seemed like a good idea —Olivia Pope had one and never seemed to spill any of her copious amounts of wine on it.
Well, I’m nothing like her, I thought as I sat up. My hair won’t press out like that, my curves are too curvy, and my clothes aren’t quite expensive enough.
And today I meet the Senator-to-be. I gulped, and a shiver ran through my body.
“What have you gotten yourself into, girl? You left a steady job to go on the road and win an election for some man you don’t know. God.” I stood and looked at my phone, sighing. I had thirty minutes to get ready. “And hell, I better get Plan B at CVS. It probably wouldn’t be good for any job if I...” I let my voice trail off into the empty apartment, shaking the thought from my mind. My curls fell out, and I stomped over to the shower, turning it on and waiting for it to get hot. As I put my shower cap on, I thought back to John again. Why hadn’t I wanted to take a chance? What was wrong with me that I wanted to deny an attraction like that? Like I’d never felt.
I stepped inside the shower and let the water get hot, let it wash away all of those thoughts. But that feeling—the feeling you get after you’ve been touched all night—it stuck with me even as I stepped out of the shower and wandered into my bedroom.
“Okay, focus, Sonia. You’re not this silly, starry-eyed woman. And you got better shit to do than worry over some man.” I thumbed through the suits in my closet, settling on a black linen jacket, a crisp blue button-down, and white linen pants. I’d blend with a lot of the other women in the office, but I’d look fine enough doing it. And Kelly wouldn’t have any problem with it. I pushed the last remnants of the handsome stranger from my thoughts, grabbing my turquoise Coach bag and throwing on a pair of Tom Ford sunglasses to cover up any signs of the night before. I dabbed on a tiny bit of coral lip gloss as I headed out the door, running in a quick jog to the sidewalk out front. I hopped into one of the cabs, checking my phone for the address Kelly had sent.
“300 King Street, Alexandria,” I mumbled as the cab sped on. I let myself relax finally, speeding away to my new life.
***
“Oh my God. Is this the right place?” I slid out of the cab and walked up to 300 King Street. To my surprise, it wasn’t a convention center, and it wasn’t a room rented out of a cheap-ass building. Most of the campaigns I’d worked or volunteered for couldn’t care less about a campaign space, but this was... this was something special. It was one of the colonial era homes in Alexandria, likely worth two to three million dollars... at least. I glanced down at my phone again as I walked up the ancient brick steps. “It can’t be.”
Tentatively, I knocked at the door, peeking into one of the windows. I caught sight of the normal red and blue decor that often decorates campaign offices, and even a stack of bright blue “Reynolds” bumper stickers. The door burst open, and Kelly popped out onto the sprawling front porch of the house, wearing a bright orange sheath dress that I recognized from her extensive Carolina Herrera collection.
“Isn’t this darling? Come in, come in my dear.” Kelly put her arm around me and guided me inside. “Reynolds got this place on short notice. It was to be sold as commercial space, but he went and bought the entire house.”
“The entire thing? But that’s—”
“A little bit crazy? Well, darling, he’s a billionaire. I’m sure Mitt Romney would have done exactly the same thing, but it wouldn’t be nearly as adorable as this. Mittens has terribly tacky taste.” She winked at me and took my hand in hers. “All right, in here we have our launch area for advertising and outreach—that’s you, darling. And this is my office,” she said, pointing to a large room to our right. “And in the back is where the old living room of the house was. Mr. Reynolds will be in this room.”
“Well, damn,” I said. At the far end of the room was a marble fireplace, with a huge flat-screen TV hanging above it. There was also a farmhouse-style desk, the intricate grains of the wood polished to a full shine. Behind the desk was a Herman Miller chair, of course. Probably hand built from the finest materials. I crossed my arms, wondering if this guy was someone I wanted to be working for. For some reason, the pervasive feeling of money and old white richness rubbed me the wrong way. “It’s really, uh, nice.”
“Don’t judge, darling. He’s up against a hell of a woman, and he got this together within a week.”
“I’m not judging, I just—”
“You just don’t want to work for The Man? That’s always how you’ve been.”