by MJ Masucci
The bar started to get crowded, and after being bumped for the third time, Luca asked her if she wanted to leave. She was on her third Cosmo and was feeling tipsy. She let him lead her out of the bar and into a cab. On the way, he kissed her lips and after she had responded he slipped her the tongue. She started to giggle, and he withdrew. She apologized and instead he held her hand until the cab pulled up to his building.
He helped her out, and they walked up three flights of stairs to his apartment since there was no elevator. Ava was thankful that he had air conditioning. The stairwell was hot and uncomfortable. Sweat had started to bloom on her forehead and arms. He offered her a glass of wine, and she accepted. She didn’t care if she got drunk, it’s what she needed.
Luca lived in a studio apartment. The place was cluttered with books, extra clothing, and too much furniture. He had to remove a stack of folders so she could sit down on the couch. He sat next to her and handed her an almost full glass of white wine. She sipped at the cool liquid while he chattered on about his job and preparations for the bar exam. She faded out of the conversation and concentrated on the wine. Ava placed the glass on several books on the table then took his glass and did the same. She looked in his dark eyes.
“Do you want to fuck?”
He looked at her wide-eyed. In college, she declined his advances, and now she wanted to fuck him.
“I would be lying if I said no. But you’re drunk, and I don’t want to take advantage of that.”
“Stop being a gentleman and fuck me.” She began unbuttoning her blouse shrugging out of it and dropping it on the floor. Luca just stared at her bra.
“I’m wearing matching panties. Do you want to see those?” She unbuttoned and unzipped her pants almost falling as she stood up to remove them. He steadied her while she pushed them to her ankles. She had forgotten to take off her shoes, and she struggled with that until he helped her take them off and slip out of her pants. She reached over and tugged at his pants until he undid and slipped out of them.
He was wearing white briefs, which she detested. If Xander had ever worn those, she would have burned them. Then he pulled off his shirt. He was lean but barely muscular. He slid down her panties, and she stepped out of them.
“Put your heels back on,” he said, almost like a plea.
She did, and he reached around her to unhook her bra. When he removed it, she was standing before him totally naked except for her heels. She reached down to retrieve her glass of wine and drained whatever was left of the liquid. Then she put the glass down and then drained his, too.
He slipped off his underwear, and she noted he was smaller than Xander. She hoped he could satisfy her. He fingered her clit (too hard) and sucked at her nipples (too softly). She wrapped her hand around him and stroked. Not five strokes from her and he ejaculated on her leg. His face immediately became crimson with embarrassment. He ran to the kitchen area for a wet towel, and he wiped at her leg while he apologized. Ava was already drunk and ready to call it a night. Her first sexual experience outside of Xander and it was a disaster.
She kicked off her shoes and stumbled on the way to Luca’s bed. She fell into it and pulled the sheet over her and was asleep within a minute. She woke up in his bed with a hangover. He had left the light on over the kitchen sink, and she squinted to look at her watch. It was close to 2:00 AM. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her memory was fuzzy, and she wasn’t sure if they had sex, but since she was naked, they must have.
Luca stroked her back making her jump. He asked her if she was leaving.
“I should go.”
“Please give me one more chance. I promise I will do better,” he pleaded.
“We didn’t have sex last night?” And then it all started coming back to her.
She was still incredibly horny and decided to give him that chance. He slipped on a condom, and he fucked her missionary style grinding his cock against her until she came. It was only a few minutes, but it was kind of enjoyable. After he had come, he went to the bathroom to clean up. When he came back, she was hunting around his apartment for her clothes.
“Why don’t you stay until later this morning? I make great blueberry pancakes.”
“I need to go. I have a ton of things to get to today. I will call you, though.”
“Ava, you don’t have to appease me by lying. If you want to go, then go.”
“It’s not like that. I have things I need to do today. I have your number, and I will call you. Maybe we can get together for coffee or lunch.”
She pulled on her blouse and searched around for her purse. He found it under his pants that were still next to the couch. She tried not to look at his flaccid penis as he walked her to the door. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough and declined his offer to help her get a cab. He kissed her chastely on the cheek as she left. She was lucky that a cab was disembarking several drunk passengers to the building next door to Luca’s. Within minutes, she was home and took a hot shower before she settled into bed.
So that was what it was like to have a one night stand. What happened earlier was kind of embarrassing, but Luca wasn’t as bad in bed as she had anticipated. He gave decent foreplay, and for a guy with a smaller cock, he knew how to use it. He wasn’t boyfriend material; she could do better, but he would be okay to fuck every once in awhile. This was something she should have done while she was in college. She knew she was desirable based on the looks she received. It was the time she stopped selling herself short. This was going to be her time to enjoy. Eventually, she would have to be an adult and move forward in her career.
She woke up later that morning back in her own bed to several texts from Tim. Unknown to her, Tim had been pacing his apartment. When had sent the emails to both Ava and Xander, he had already blocked Xander’s email and phone number from her phone. For nearly twenty-four hours he had been waiting for her to call him as she cried, but he never heard from her. He thought she would want him to comfort her.
He checked her phone activity, and there was none, not even to her family. He finally broke down and texted her that he wanted to run in the park that morning. She checked the clock, and there was no way she was going. Besides she had a bit of hangover from all the alcohol, she drank last night. She texted him to let him know she was going to relax and take it easy. They would have to set something up later in the week.
Tim was heading into work on Monday morning and was surprised that Ava had not texted or called him other than reply to his text on Saturday morning that she didn’t want to go for a run. He expected her to fall apart and want him to comfort her. Either she was reclusive, or she wasn’t as hurt as he thought she would be. He had tracked her to a bar near her house and then to some apartment in the village. She was there for several hours. He wondered who lived there. He had no idea what he had set in motion and started to wonder if it was going to happen as he had envisioned.
The next day Ava got into work in the nick of time. Victoria had sent her an email with instructions for her work for that day. She was tired and had no motivation, though she started working on the contracts as told. After four years of doing this, she was bored. She had only finished two contracts when 1:00 PM came, and it was time for her to leave. She dropped them off with Victoria who was annoyed that she hadn’t finished more than two.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Usually you finish five contracts during a half day. And I notice a few typos. I can’t use these. You are going to have to correct them and reprint.”
Ava wasn’t paying attention to her. She was rubbing some imaginary dust off of her shoes.
“Ava, what is the problem with you today?”
“Not a thing. I’m fine. Can I go?”
“Very well, but fix these contracts the minute you arrive tomorrow. The clients are coming tomorrow afternoon, and I want to have all the paperwork in order.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
She le
ft Victoria’s office before the woman piled more bullshit on her. She couldn’t wait to get home because she needed a drink. She thought about going to the gym, but that was the old Ava. The new Ava was going to do what she wanted when she wanted. Tim had already texted her around lunchtime, asking her to go for an evening run. He was getting pretty annoying.
When she arrived home, she took a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with ice. She had put a bottle of Grey Goose Vodka in the freezer door some time ago. This was what she needed. She filled her glass part of the way with vodka and went to sit on the couch to read her mail. Same old monthly crap. She received an email message that her Visa statement was available. It was over seventeen thousand dollars this month. She had spent quite a bit on that wasted trip to California and then this past Saturday was another fourteen thousand on her new clothes and shoes. She was glad her father was no longer in control of her money, or he would have had a fit.
After she had finished the vodka, she sucked on the ice cubes from the glass. Tim once again texted her; he wanted her to take her to dinner. She was in no mood to exchange mindless banter with him. He was annoying her, and she suspected that he had other intentions besides being her friend. She texted him back to let him know she was staying in for the night. She went to her bedroom to take a nap.
Ava managed to avoid Tim until Wednesday. He was pressing her to spend at least one day of the Labor Day weekend with him. Her aunt and uncle usually had an end of summer barbecue. She hadn’t seen any of them for awhile, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to go to the party. Rachel would want to know how things were going with Xander, and she didn’t want to have to explain they were no longer together.
She finally texted Tim and told him that she would go for a run in the park on Thursday. She already had plans for the night because she had texted Luca to meet her at Commons again. Wednesday was ladies night, and she wanted to fill up on cheap margaritas and maybe stop by his apartment for a quick fuck.
She went upstairs to shower and find something to wear. Commons was just starting to get crowded when she arrived. Luca was already waiting and had saved a small table in the corner. He bought her a Cosmo and she sipped it. She kept stroking his arm while she talked to him. She could see the desire in his eyes, but she needed a few drinks in her before she fucked him. Six o’clock rolled around, and she ordered an extra large margarita to share with Luca. After two of them, she was feeling the effects. Luca suggested they go back to his apartment.
He carried her piggyback up the three flights of stairs to his place. When he opened the door, she noticed that he had organized and cleaned the place. It looked like he built shelving for his books and put away his clothing. The bed was neatly made, and the kitchen was free of clutter. He offered her another drink, but she declined. Instead, she kissed him and started to work her way to his neck. He fondled her breasts and began unbuttoning her blouse. She sped up the process by shimmying out of her short skirt.
When they were both undressed, he helped her onto the kitchen island and pulled her to the edge of it. He lifted one of her legs over his shoulder and began licking her. He was good at it, very good. He brought her to the edge several times before he stood up, slipped on a condom and fucked her. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he moved inside her.
Ava could feel him pulsing with each thrust. She lay back on the cold counter with her head practically in the sink and began playing with her nipples. His fingers massaged her clit and she started to come, squeezing him during it, he grunted when he shot his load. Later he took her again while she was bent over the arm of the couch.
She got home before midnight, stripped out of her clothing and slipped into bed naked. She would have to be up for work the next morning, and she already had the start of a headache from drinking too much.
It was so unlike her, but she didn’t care. She also hadn’t bothered to study this week either. What was the point since the exam was six months away? Her entire demeanor had changed. Even her dress had become more provocative, and she was enjoying it. She loved to walk the streets with her sunglasses on and watch men as they gaped at her cleavage or turned to eye her legs or ass. She was even getting more attention than usual from the men at work.
The non-fraternization policy was still in effect so they wouldn’t ask her out, but there were a few guys she would definitely fuck. As 1:00 PM rolled around she gathered her things together. Victoria wasn’t in her office, so she dropped off the folders and went home. She was pretty sure that she had found all her errors and fixed them. A short week ago there would be no errors. The change in her was profound.
The heat hit her like a wall when she exited the building. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go running with Tim; it was too hot. She texted him, and he kept giving her a hard time about running, so she got changed and met him at the park. All the alcohol she had been drinking was having an effect on her conditioning. She could only manage one mile before she got winded and had to sit down.
Tim thought she might be sick, but she said she was just tired, also complaining it was way too hot to be running. He walked her back to her apartment building and leaned in to kiss her. Actually, it was more like a brush on her cheek because she moved back when he went to kiss her.
The next morning she was a bit disheveled. She had forgotten to set her alarm and only had twenty minutes to shower, dress and catch a cab to the office. Victoria was already pissed at her, and she didn’t want to listen to the woman drone about how irresponsible she was if she was late.
As she headed to the elevators, she saw Sam waiting for one and ducked to the side until she entered a car and the doors closed. Ava had been avoiding her for the past week. She didn’t want to explain anything or make small talk. By the time she got to her desk, she was a few minutes late. She checked her email. In bold letters on the subject line was one from Victoria. SEE ME IMMEDIATELY. There was nothing in the text. Fuck, what had she done now?
She hurried down to Victoria’s office fully expecting to be read the riot act for something. The door was open, and she went inside.
“You want to see me?”
“Close the door. I don’t think you want your coworkers to hear.”
She closed the door then plopped down in the leather chair in front of Victoria’s desk. She began picking at her nails and chewing at the inside of her cheek.
“Let me start by saying that I can’t begin to know what is going on with your life, but it must be very disruptive.”
Ava looked up at her, “What do you mean by disruptive?”
“Your work has gone from being superior to barely average. You are making mistakes that I wouldn’t expect someone of your ability to make. Personally, I don’t care what is going on with you, but when it affects your work, I need to take notice.”
Ava could feel the dull headache that she had when she woke up this morning starting to get worse. She rubbed at her eyes which were bloodshot.
“I’m sorry if my work isn’t up to your standards,” Ava said sarcastically.
“It’s not my standards that should have you worried. It should be your standards. You have lost pride in your work. Maybe you need to refocus your efforts. I’m placing you on probation for two weeks. If your work doesn’t improve, I will have to remove you as my assistant. Each day, you are to have Mark Malloy proof all the documents you worked on before you bring them to me. Is that clear?”
“Yes, I will try to do better.”
“Don’t try. Do better. I expect your work to improve immediately.”
Victoria handed her several folders, and she took them to her desk. Her head was killing her, and she dug into her purse for a couple of aspirin. She didn’t care if Victoria let her go. She had listened to the woman drone on about work related nonsense for the last four years. It was time for a change. She was sure that HR could place her with another attorney.
She worked on the documents. By the time she finished with them her headache had become dull aga
in thanks to the aspirin. She stood over Mark while he proofed her work and then she took them to Victoria. Ava was thrilled that she had a three day weekend and wouldn’t have to be into work until Tuesday.
Ava ended up spending Labor Day weekend with Luca. His parents lived in Nebraska, and he had no family in the area. She took him to her aunt and uncle’s house for their family barbecue. There she was interrogated by Sam about this new guy and why she had been avoiding her. She just shrugged it off and told her that she had been busy studying. Drinking and fucking were more like it. She left Luca to fend for himself for awhile while she went inside to talk to Rachel.
She was resting in the air conditioning while Rigo waited on her hand and foot. When no one was indoors, she questioned Ava about Xander.
“What is going on with you two? When is he coming back to New York?”
“I have no idea. We decided that it’s better that we move on without each other. I think it’s a good idea.”
Rachel looked at her as if she were crazy. “I don’t believe that for a minute. Something must have happened between you two for it to be over. Spill it.”
“It’s nothing, and I don’t want to discuss it. It’s over, and I need to move on.”
“So is this the guy you are moving onto? Really,” she said as she gestured outside with her thumb.
“He’s the rebound guy. He’s nice, but not boyfriend material.”
“If he isn’t boyfriend material then what are you doing with him?”
“He’s just a friend from school that I like to spend time with.”
Rachel gave her a hard stare. “Spend time with or fuck?”
“RACHEL! Is that what you think of me?”
“It’s apparent to me that something is not right. I haven’t heard from you in days, and neither has Sam. You look exhausted; your eyes are bloodshot, and I could swear I smelled alcohol on you this morning. My father told me that you are screwing up at work, and your boss is not very happy with you. To me, that is very un-Ava like.”