by Simon Archer
“Because Bev made eggs benedict and from what I understand, eggs are better when eaten hot.”
“That they are. How is your stomach?” I checked with her.
Kennedi had on one of my new t-shirts and another pair of ass-hugging shorts. She lifted her shirt and showed me her stomach. There was barely a mark on her.
“That’s fucking incredible!” I exclaimed, surprised at how far into the healing process the wound was.
“I’m pretending it’s magic!” She flashed me a smile and poured some orange juice from the carafe on the tray into a small glass as I pushed my fork into my eggs. The yolk spilled out and mixed with the Hollandaise sauce as I cut through the ham and biscuit under it. My first bite made me wonder why I didn’t order eggs benedict every chance I had. The ham was smoked, and the biscuit was the perfect, fluffy texture. The sauce was tangy but not overpowering, and I savored every bite until there was nothing left on my plate.
An hour later, I was back behind the barn practicing with the whip, this time on some logs, when Theo came out and stood about ten feet behind me. He waited until my next practice swing had finished and started clapping.
“Looks good,” he commented. “Sally’s a great instructor.”
“Morning, Theo,” I said as I glanced back at him. “Hey, I was meaning to ask you if you are going to be at the match today?”
“I will,” Theo answered, sounding as though I should’ve known he’d be there.
For some reason, it was a comforting thought that he would be there. Maybe because I felt like I was missing something about this whole competition, and it was reassuring to have him on my side since he was familiar with it.
“Good. Will I be the first referral combatant you’ve taken there to come out a winner?” I asked with a half-smile.
“No. You’ll be the first referral combatant I’ve taken there.” He slapped me on the shoulder. “Now give up the whip, you don’t want to get sore. I came out here to tell you that there is a sort of farmers’ market set up at the bank in town. Seems like just the thing Kennedi would get a kick out of. Think she’s ever been to one? This one has a few fair attractions. I do believe there is a Ferris wheel even.”
“Ha, the last time I was on a Ferris wheel was never. Mountains I can climb, but there is something about being suspended that high up without a carabiner that isn’t appealing.”
“Too bad, Kennedi is helping clean up the kitchen, and Bev already told her that you are taking her. She said something like ‘I can’t wait to meet all the farmers!’” Theo rolled his eyes and laughed, walking back towards the house. “Kennedi!” he started, “Clark is waiting for you!” he exclaimed jokingly.
The thirty-minute drive to the farmers market was made worth it by the sheer amusement I got from watching Kennedi. As we pulled into the nearby parking lot, she started wiggling in her seat.
“Have you ever met farmers before?” she asked excitedly. “Are they nice? I bet they’re nice. Bev said they’re nice.” She was craning her neck to look out the windows, and she had the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her.
“Farmers do tend to be some of the nicest people I’ve met,” I told her. “Not all of the people here are farmers, though.”
Kennedi looked at me, astonished. “They aren’t all farmers?” she squealed. “You mean I get to meet other kinds of people too?” Her excitement was catching. I wanted to get her into the market just for the sheer pleasure of watching her explore.
“There are a lot of different kinds of people here!” I opened my car door and stepped out of the car. Before I could close the door, Kennedi was out of her side, had the door closed, and was halfway around the car to me. “Let’s get over there so you can meet them!” She skipped to my side, wound her arm through mine, and practically pulled me across the parking lot.
At the entrance to the market, there were two vegetable booths, one set up on each side of the path in. Kennedi bounced up to the booth on the right side. There were at least twenty kinds of vegetables on display. They were lined up and sorted by color, so it almost looked like a rainbow of veggies. She stood directly in front of the booth and carefully looked it over. Her eyes were wide with wonder. A few times, she would put her hand out as though she was going to touch something and then would pull back. She looked up and smiled when the booth owner stood up from his chair to talk to her.
“Are you looking for anything specific?” the owner asked. He was a tall, wiry man with over-tanned skin, and what I’d guess was a year-round weathered look about him. He had kind, bright blue eyes that stood out against the deep tan color of his skin. He reminded me of the kind of man who may look thin and frail but who most likely stronger than most men double his weight.
Kennedi looked at the vegetables, then back to the man several times before answering. “Yes, I’d like to meet a farmer!”
The owner broke out in laughter and started nodding his head. “Okay, well, you are about to! My name is Michael, and all of these are from my farm.”
“Nice to meet you, Michael,” Kennedi almost yelled, she was so excited. “All of your vegetables are so beautiful!”
Michael glanced down at his display. “I’m around them so much I guess I haven’t thought of them as beautiful in a while. I’m happy you like them.”
I stepped forward and held my hand out. “Hi there. I’m Clark. This is Kennedi,” I said. “This is her first time to a farmer’s market.”
“Well, then!” Michael said loudly as he shook my hand. “We are happy to have you here! Would you like to try something? Pick a couple, and I’ll get them washed for you.”
“Really?” Kennedi was jumping up and down now. “Oh, yes, please!” She turned to me. “What should I pick?”
“Whichever ones you want to try,” I told her, trying to conceal my laughter at her innocent nature.
“Okay, in that case, I’ll try all the red ones!” Kennedi waved to the entire red section of the vegetable rainbow.
“You’ve got it, little lady,” Michael said and started picking up veggies. He pulled out a red bell pepper, a radish, a tomato, a ripe hot pepper, and a beet. “I’ll be right back with these.” He disappeared behind a plastic curtain in the back of the booth. I could hear the water running from somewhere behind the curtain. Less than sixty seconds later, he returned with a bowl. Inside the bowl were several slices of each veggie Kennedi had chosen. “Here you go!”
Kennedi took the bowl from Michael and stared into it. She’d reach for something in the bowl and then change her mind. Then she’d reach again and change her mind again. She looked up at me, frustrated at her indecision.
I took the bowl from her hands. “Taste this one first.” I pulled a slice of hot pepper out and handed it to her. She instantly popped it in her mouth and started chewing. When she’d swallowed the pepper, I handed her a slice of red bell pepper. Before she put it in her mouth, I asked her, “How did you like the pepper?”
“It was spicy but still tasted like a pepper. Some things are just hot, but that had flavor,” she answered matter-of-factly and then popping the bell pepper slice in her mouth. I was a fan of extra spicy food, so I was hoping that the pepper would have been spicier than she made it sound. Still, she made it sound so tasty that I decided to try it myself.
I reached in the bowl and pulled out a hot pepper slice and put it in my mouth. I hadn’t even bitten through it halfway before the sweat started to bead on my forehead. The pepper was the kind of hot that got you behind the ears and made your eyes leak. I opened my mouth to breathe some air over my burning tongue, and the owner of the booth started laughing.
“Your young lady didn’t describe it quite right, did she?” Michael joked. “I’ll grab you some milk. I keep it on hand specifically for people who want to try that pepper.” He reached into a cooler and pulled out a travel-size bottle of milk and handed it to me. I quickly opened the bottle and downed half of it, washing the pepper down with it. Kennedi had been right about the flavor be
ing good, but her representation of the heat was a bit skewed.
“Did you like it?” Kennedi asked me after she swallowed her bell pepper slice.
“Yes, I liked it.” I laughed. “It was just a bit hotter than I was expecting.”
“You should try the bell pepper too!” Kennedi had a slice of bell pepper in my mouth before I could say object. It tasted fresh and had a snap to it that you don’t find in store-bought produce.
“That’s really good,” I told Michael when I’d swallowed.
“Thank you! That is one of our prized vegetables,” he informed me, smiling proudly.
“I believe it,” Kennedi piped up joyfully. “Everything is so good here!” She continued sampling her red veggies and started looking around. Just as she put a slice of radish in her mouth, she started jumping up and down and pointing down the path that led into the market. She swallowed the radish whole to free up her mouth for words and said, “What is that?” The booth she was pointing to had a display of different types of honey set up.
“It’s honey,” I said, laughing to myself at the way she just instantly got distracted from what she had been doing. “Do you want to try some?”
“Oh, yes!” Kennedi exclaimed. She handed the empty sample bowl back to Michael and smiled at him. “Thank you so much!”
Michael smiled at her and looked at both of us. “You’re very welcome. Come back and see me.”
“It was good to meet you, Michael.” I reached out and shook his hand. “We will be getting some of those peppers on our way out!” By the time I was finished shaking Michael’s hand, Kennedi had skipped halfway to the honey stand.
From the honey stand, we ended up visiting every single booth at the market. It was incredibly amusing to watch Kennedi dart from booth to booth. She’d taste salsa here, dip a cracker in hummus there, take a shot of milk from over there. Each time she ate something, I watched as she paused for a split second, cataloging the experience in her programming.
When she’d sampled everything from one row of farmer’s booths, we were on to the next. She walked up to a booth selling rhubarb and asked to sample it. Shortly after she scraped the root on her teeth, her face twisted up into an adorable scowl.
“A little bitter?” I asked teasingly.
“More than a little!” she gasped.
“First time trying rhubarb?” The gentleman manning the booth piped up.
“Yes, for her anyway.” I gestured at Kennedi.
“Well, it’s best made in a strawberry pie. There’s actually a strawberry-rhubarb pie contest here today.” He pointed toward the other side of the market. “It’s over by the Ferris wheel.”
Kennedi’s ears turned forward, and her eyes lit up as she looked at me. “A Ferris wheel? Really?”
I had been careful to steer her amongst the booths and away from the open lot side of the market where the fair attractions had been set up. I scowled at the booth worker and looked at her.
“Yes, there is a Ferris wheel here,” I said hesitantly.
Ten minutes later, we walked past the last booth between us and the Ferris wheel. When the view opened up so that Kennedi could see the entire ride, she stopped and just stared in wonder. She looked at me and back at the Ferris wheel, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she was rendered speechless. I grabbed her by the hand, shot her a smile, and darted towards the ride. In contrast to my thoughts earlier that morning, I was looking forward to getting her on it with me. She was so fascinated and happy that I couldn’t wait to share the experience with her.
The line to get on the Ferris wheel was short, and in a couple of minutes, we were getting in our private pod. Kennedi stepped in hesitantly and was shocked when it swung a little under her weight.
“This feels so different than the ground!” she said, awestruck. She walked the rest of the way in and sat down on the bench spanning the back of the pod. Her movements made the pod swing even more, and she grabbed for one of the poles running from the top to the bottom of the pod.
“This is so… WEIRD!” she yelled with as much excitement as I’ve ever heard.
Before long, we were two-hundred-sixty-four feet in the air at the top of the wheel. Kennedi kept straining to look through the fencing on the pod to see the ground.
“Look how small everyone looks!” Kennedi pointed down to the line of people waiting for their turn. She looped her arm through mine and leaned so that her lips were right next to my ear.
“Thank you for taking me on this,” she whispered, the hot air from her breath causing chills down my back.
I started thinking of a different scenario for ‘take me on this.’ She must have seen my expression change because, before I knew it, she was on her knees in front of me, unbuckling my belt and opening my pants.
By the time she released my member from my pants, it was already hard and still growing when she took it in her hands. She looked up at me from under her sultry black lashes as she kissed the tip with her full lips. Her kiss sent a shock through me, and my cock pushed against her mouth.
She licked her thumb and then ran it up the length of the underside of my dick, pushing it up against my stomach. She immediately followed the same path with her tongue, all the while never breaking eye contact.
When she reached the head of my cock, I watched as she slowly sucked it into her mouth. She started to roll her tongue gently around the rim and then added more and more pressure. Each time her tongue made it around my dick, I was jolted with that feeling of pressure building inside me. She put one of her hands on my shaft and started stroking me while, at the same time, she started pulling the head of my dick in and out of her mouth. The pressure started to build even faster.
Her other hand reached up and started massaging my sac, right between my balls. The pressure of her fingers pushing in just the right spot while I was watching her suck me off, plus the added thrill that we were surrounded by people, put me over the edge.
“I’m going to cum,” I moaned. She tightened her grip and started deep-throating me. Three strokes of her mouth all the way down my shaft was all I could take. I grabbed the back of her head and plunged my cock all the way to the back of her throat just as I felt myself let loose. She continued massaging my sac while I shot hot cum down her throat. It was a feeling like I’d never experienced with a woman’s mouth before. My whole body was tingling when I was done. That is when I realized, with my dick still in her mouth, that she was purring.
It wasn’t twenty seconds after I was finished when the Ferris wheel started to move. They must’ve gotten all the carts loaded while I was busy blowing my load down Kennedi’s throat. I worked to button my pants and re-fasten my belt nonchalantly. Kennedi sat beside me with her head on my shoulder, still purring.
When the ride came to an end, Kennedi skipped out of our pod and spun around to wait for me. She was beaming. I wasn’t sure if her glow was joy from her first Ferris wheel ride, or pride for a blow job well done. Either way, she was adorable as we made our way back to the car. It was time to head back to Theo and Bev’s house.
When we arrived at the house, we were met with an impatient-looking Theo.
“Get in here,” he said sternly from the porch.
Kennedi’s ears turned forward, and she glared at Theo. Luckily he couldn’t see her.
“It’s fine, Kennedi. Relax. Let’s go see what he needs,” I whispered, trying to calm her down.
Inside the house, Bev was buzzing around the kitchen and carrying plates into the dining room.
“Sit. You have to eat. You should’ve eaten an hour ago,” she barked.
“I did some sampling at the market,” I told her, puzzled at her urgency.
Theo was already sitting at the table. Four plates were set, and in the middle of the table was a platter of grilled black cod. That was the only food on the table.
“Eat,” Theo commanded but with a slightly calmer tone.
I served myself a filet and took a large bite. After swallowing it,
I turned to Theo, “Want to tell me what the time crunch is all about?”
“You are about to put your body through hell, boy.” It was the first time he’d called me anything other than by my name. “You go in there unprepared and weak from a crappy meal or lack of calories, and you’ll walk out bleeding.”
“Pardon our impatience, I know we didn’t give you a time you should’ve been back,” Bev interjected. “We just want you to be as prepared as possible.”
“I see,” I replied, feeling my mood shift from the lightheartedness at the farmer’s market to an impending gloom that lay ahead.
The rest of the meal continued in silence. When the fish was gone and Theo had pushed his chair back, his expression softened as did his tone.
“Go grab your gear and meet me at the truck in ten minutes,” Theo commanded.
That is exactly what I did, and ten minutes later, Theo, Kennedi, and I were on the road that led to the Platform.
9
We pulled up to the random sand-colored building in the middle of nowhere at precisely one-thirty. I grabbed my gear bag out of the back of the truck and followed Theo to the small metal door we’d been through once before.
This time, instead of a huge empty warehouse, the place was prepped for entertaining. A stage was set up in the far corner with ten-foot-tall speakers on each side of it. There were at least two dozen tables scattered about the room. Each had a metallic-gray, linen table cloth and candle votives as centerpieces. At the back was a large bar. Behind the bar were metal shelves loaded with every kind of top-shelf alcohol I’d ever seen.
“You weren’t kidding when you said this place was for parties, were you?” I pointed out to Theo.
“Best of any party you’ll ever go to. That stage isn’t just for a band. The entertainment isn’t always conventional.”
“Can’t imagine it would be after an event like the one they’re coming to see downstairs,” I commented as we got on the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened to the stadium, we didn’t walk out to the Platform area as we had before. Instead, we immediately went to the left of the elevator once the doors opened. There was a door recessed into the wall that I hadn’t noticed before. It looked like it hadn’t been opened in years, but the hinges didn’t make a sound when Theo turned the handle and pushed. It led to a miniscule room that had one bench, a sink, a urinal, and a full-length mirror mounted on the far wall. The entire room was immaculately clean, almost sterile-feeling, and brightly lit.