Maelstrőm

by Michelle Love

  “I’ve already been to the hospital, dear,” said Maxine with as much courage as she could muster. “There is nothing they can do for me there. They just said it was a really bad strain of the common cold, that’s it.”

  “Alright,” replied Angela. “If you are not a lot better by tomorrow afternoon, I am ordering a cab and dragging you to the hospital.”

  “Fair enough,” said Maxine. “How did your date with Anderson go?”

  “It went so well, Maxine,” said Angela. “I wish you could have been there. He took me to the most amazing restaurant in his private limo. The meal was so good. We drank such good wine. Then we actually bumped into another couple. Frank and Amanda Edwards. We ended up hanging out at their place for late night drinks. I got really drunk but it was the most fun I’ve had in a while.”

  “Did you put out?” asked Maxine, rather directly.

  Angela laughed at the forwardness of Maxine’s question. They were best friends. They were allowed to be forward.

  “No. I really like him, so I kind of want to wait to have sex, plus we were just way too drunk. It was one of those fun, party nights. Like the kind of we used to have in high school.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by a round of hoarse coughing on Maxine’s part. She coughed up some phlegm and then went back to lying down on her back on the couch, one hand over her forehead.

  “I don’t want to be sick, Angela. I can’t miss any practice sessions. My game has to be on point, I am going to a tournament later on in the month.”

  “Which is why we’ve got to get you better as soon as possible,” said Angela seriously. “Let’s watch Titanic and eat some ice cream. I brought your favorite, Ben and Jerry’s.”

  The two of them settled into the movie. Angela sat on the couch beside her best friend, who propped her head up on her lap. Angela massaged Maxine’s arm and back. That’s the kind of friends they were. They were very close physically and emotionally. She was like a sister to Angela. Maxine, who had no siblings, considered Angela to be like a sister as well. Half-way through the movie, at about the part where the Titanic hits the ice berg, Henry walked in the door bearing goodies. He had chicken noodle soup and some panini sandwiches which he said he would heat up and serve. He was happy to see Angela there, for he knew that Maxine needed as much care as possible.

  Henry heated up the sandwiches and cut them into pieces for the girls and himself. They watched the rest of the movie, and then Angela said she should get home. Tomorrow was Friday and she needed to be up early. There was a lot of work to be done at the office. As she rose to get up, her phone buzzed and she saw that she had a text from Anderson. He wanted to meet up for drinks after work at the Carlisle club. She wondered why he chose that location, since he could afford any club in the city. The Carlisle club was a medium-ranged hangout. Maybe he wanted to get a workout in beforehand. In any case, she replied that she would see him there at 6:00 pm, but that she may not be able to stay out that late because she wanted to check in with Maxine again. Anderson said that he would come with her to see Maxine. He seemed genuinely concerned about her welfare.

  That night, Angela had some strange dreams. She dreamed that she was in the middle of a tug of war between Frank and Eric, and that they were both competing for her employment. No one was winning however, and she was being pulled in either direction. Then, all of a sudden, she was on a yacht with Anderson and he was feeding her fresh, juicy grapes as she reclined on a lounge chair, basking in the sun. For some reason, it was in the middle of summer and the day was beautiful. When she awoke, at 6:00 am, she wished she could be there with Anderson.

  The work day went by relatively quickly, and by the time it was over, Angela was positively giddy to be meeting Anderson at the club. She didn’t have time for a workout however, and arrived just a few minutes before 6:00 pm. Anderson was with a business colleague, named Francis Cole. He was a vice president at Anderson’s firm, and Anderson considered him to be his “right hand man” for all his operations. He was a well-built, medium-height man of about thirty-five, with curly brown hair and piercing hazel eyes. When Angela approached their table, both men stood up to greet her.

  “Hey darling,” said Anderson first. “You look great this afternoon. I am glad you could meet me here. Let me introduce to you one of my most trusted colleagues at the firm, Francis.”

  “Charmed,” said Francis, extending a hand for her to shake.

  The three of them sat down and ordered some food. Anderson was in the mood for fresh Atlantic lobster, and so ordered three of those. Angela adored lobster, and so was eager to have one. She had always found it difficult to eat a lobster, as the shell was hard to break and so much of it you couldn’t eat, but the parts that were for eating just tasted so delicious. The lobsters they had here were large enough to be considered a full meal. She reached for a slice of sourdough bread and spread some butter on it, eating it hungrily.

  “Anderson has told me a lot about you,” said Francis. “I am glad to be having the chance to meet you.”

  “Well, Anderson has great taste in people,” joked Angela. “No, but in all honesty, if you are his friend and colleague, then the pleasure is all mine. Anderson introduced me to Frank and Amanda Edwards last week, and that actually might be turning into a new job for me. Say, Francis, help me decide on this. All else being equal, should I go to work for the government, or keep my current job as a senior legal clerk at the firm.”

  “I think you need to do what’s in your heart, dear,” said Anderson.

  “Don’t interrupt!” exclaimed Angela, half-jokingly. “I wanted to hear Francis’ opinion.”

  “Well of course I agree with Anderson. Doing what’s in your heart is the best strategy. You have to figure out where you’ll be happiest. You’ll potentially be at this job for a number of years, at least. Are you ready for a new challenge at a new workplace? Or do you want more of the same. Both jobs seem to offer money and stability. In a sense, you can’t really lose.”

  Angela took a long pause to consider the very talented advice that she was receiving. She knew she did have to do what was in her heart. At that moment, it sort of seemed that going to work with Frank would offer her more excitement, as well as a change of pace. She had always been somewhat of a risk-taker, and the allure of the unknown was always so tempting. Now that she was with Anderson, she felt that working for one of his close friends might be a solid idea. It was almost as if she was rising up in the world. It was as if she was entering a whole new social strata.

  “You guys give great advice. Honestly,” said Angela. “Thank you.”

  “You’ll do fantastically, hon,” said Anderson. “Just remember that you earned all of these opportunities for yourself. I didn’t even have to put in a good word for you with Frank. He realized all by himself what a catch you were. So congratulations. Now if you two will excuse me, I have to use the rest room.”

  Anderson got up and made his way to the men’s bathroom. Angela also excused herself, and then stealthfully followed him in there. She quietly locked the door behind them, and then snuck up behind Anderson and grabbed his package through his thin trousers.

  “Hey sexy,” said Angela.

  “Hey, what are you doing in here?” asked Anderson, although by the look on his face it seemed as though he was pleasantly surprised.

  “I just had to surprise you and get a look at your magnificent cock again.”

  Then Angela undid his belt and dropped his trousers to the floor. She quickly slid her hand into his boxers and felt around for his cock, which was rapidly becoming harder.

  “Okay, but we had better be quick!” said Anderson.

  “Don’t worry,” responded Angela, “what I have in mind will only take a couple of minutes.”

  Angela dropped to her knees quickly and started to suck on Anderson’s balls. She put one in her mouth, then the other. Then both at the same time. Meanwhile she was jerking his cock off with her left hand. Through Anderson’s moans s
he could tell that he was getting ready climax. So she licked up his shaft and put her pouty lips around the tip of his cock. She was just in time to receive a hot load in her mouth. As she was apt today, she swallowed.

  “That was amazing,” said Anderson.

  At this point there was a lineup outside the restroom waiting to get in, so the two of them scurried out and made their way back to the table.

  They finished off their meal and then ordered some coffee. Angela had to apologize to Anderson and Francis for having to dine and dash. When she explained that her friend was very ill, they understood completely.

  When Angela arrived at Maxine’s apartment, she noticed right off the bat that her dear friend had taken a turn for the worse. Her face was extremely pale and she seemed weak. She could barely acknowledge the entrance of her friend. Henry was absolutely frantic. He was on the phone with the hospital trying to see if they had a bed available so that she could go in and become an inpatient. Henry had never seen her that sick before. Neither had Angela.

  “I know, goddamnit. Her regular doctor already said that there was nothing that could be done,” barked Henry angrily on the phone. “The situation has changed. She is much worse. Yes, she has a fever for Pete’s sake. Don’t you think I checked that already? You’ve got to let her in. I have insurance up the yin-yang.”

  Angela walked over to Maxine and looked into her eyes. All Maxine could do was stare through her.

  “Maxine, it’s me, Angela. Do you recognize me?” she asked.

  Maxine moaned in response, but she managed to nod her head.

  “We’re going to get you into a hospital as soon as possible. I’ll get your clothes ready and help you put them on. Stay put, I’ll be right back.”

  Angela entered Maxine’s room and came out with a duffle bag and a bunch of clothes. She packed the bag to the best of her ability, trying not to forget anything. She packed her toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and other miscellaneous toiletries. Then she raced over to Maxine and felt her forehead again. She seemed to be burning up even worse than before.

  “What’s going on, Henry?” asked Angela seriously.

  “I think I found a hospital that will take her. It’s on the other end of town. I can get us there, so let’s walk Maxine to the parking lot and get her in my car.”

  “I am going to come with and make sure that everything is alright,” stated Angela.

  “Fine,” replied Henry.

  The three of them got to the hospital as quickly as possible. It only took them about twenty minutes, because of light traffic. Angela thanked her lucky stars that it didn’t take longer.

  Recovery

  The wait time in the hospital lobby was excruciating to both Angela and Henry. They wanted their loved one to be seen as soon as possible. Finally, after about an hour wait, the insurance went through and a nurse came to the waiting area with a stretcher. Two other nurses helped put Maxine on the stretcher. Maxine seemed very incoherent, and was probably only barely aware of what was going on. Angela was positively petrified. This was not how she imagined her Friday night going.

  Angela and Henry insisted on accompanying Maxine into the main hospital. So they followed the nurses and the stretcher until they came to a small, private room where Maxine was going to be treated. Angela got a text from Anderson, asking how Maxine was doing. Angela had to reply that she had no clue as of yet.

  Angela and Henry waited with Maxine until he doctor came, at which point, he recommended that Maxine and Henry go home. They were going to keep Maxine there, at least for overnight, so they could run some tests and be sure what was ailing her.

  Angela arrived back at her apartment but could not sleep. She was much too concerned about her friend. So she put on the news and lay back in her bed. The clock showed 11:30 pm. She was just in time to catch a rerun of Anderson’s press conference that had evidently happened earlier that day. He was talking about exporting some of his customer service jobs to India. He maintained that he was not cutting jobs at his firm in general. In fact, the merger was actually going to add jobs, which would be paid for through increased international revenue, as a result of economies of scale. Angela thought he looked very handsome on TV. She wished she didn’t have to be with Maxine that evening, for she really had wanted to go on another date with her dreamy Anderson. There was always time for that. Both Anderson and Angela were extremely busy people, so it was to be expected that their dates would suffer. She resolved to call him in the morning. Surely he didn’t have to go into work on a Saturday.

  That night was another restless one for Angela. She was very worried about her friend. When she woke up, at 7:30 am, by force of habit, she made herself some breakfast and decided to go for a workout. Her workout was intense and she felt much better afterwards. In the taxi ride home she called Henry. Henry had some news for her. Apparently, Maxine had come down with a rare strain of the flu, one that the doctors hadn’t had much experience with. They had seen other cases of it over the past year or so. So Maxine was in treatment, and expected to recover within about a week or so. It was just important that she had plenty of rest, drank lots of fluids, ate when possible, and had plenty of positive support around her.

  That evening, Angela had dinner with Henry at a small coffee shop near the hospital. Most of the dinner was passed in silence as they were worried sick about Maxine and didn’t have much to say. After the dinner, they stopped by the hospital to visit Maxine. She actually seemed to be doing better. Her head was propped up and she was able to watch TV. Some of the pallor in her face was gone. It appeared as though she had been able to eat, however minimally. Angela approached the bed.

  “Honey,” she began. “We are here for you, one-hundred-percent. How are you feeling?”

  Maxine groaned, but then she added, “Thanks, you guys. I’m sorry.”

  “You have no reason to apologize to us,” said Henry. “I just wish I had gotten you into the hospital sooner. We might have been able to nip this in the bud a bit earlier.”

  “You’re going to get a lot better, I promise,” said Angela, and she stroked a lock of Maxine’s hair away from her face.

  “I feel like my insides are on fire,” said Maxine, who then let out another groan.

  “The doctor said it should take about a week for you to get out of here. Two weeks at the most. I bet you’ll be back out on the courts before the month is up,” said Henry optimistically.

  “I hope so too,” uttered Maxine.

  Angela, Maxine, and Henry waited around for a bit more. Visiting hours wouldn’t be done for another half-hour. So they watched TV, and tried to be as cheerful as possible, given the gravity of the situation. When it was time to go, Henry and Angela shared a cab back to their respective destinations. Angela said that she would visit Maxine again, and again – as often as possible. Henry thanked her for the gesture.

  When Angela got home she kicked off her shoes and collapsed on the couch. Then her phone rang, it was Mark.

  “Hey Mark!” said Angela.

  “Hey baby-doll,” he said. “I was in the area. Thought I’d drop by for one of our movie nights.”

  “Sure, you can drop by. Just know that I am feeling kind of bummed. Maxine is in the hospital, she is really sick.”

  “Feeling bummed? I bet I can cheer you up, princess.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” said Angela. “Come on up, I’ll be here. I’m just watching TV.”

  Mark opened up her door and came right into the living room, plopping himself down on the couch next to her. Then he planted a kiss on her cheek and gave her shoulders a quick massage.

  “You’re right, baby, you do look kind of sad. I am so sorry about Maxine.”

  “That’s alright. It’s just a major bummer is all. The doctors are optimistic. They say she’ll be out in a week. Two weeks tops.”

  “That’s good,” said Mark. “She has to keep on her game if she is going to compete in any tournaments.”

  “That’s what she is most worried abo
ut,” said Angela.

  Angela leaned on Mark. It was comforting for her to have a close personal friend at a time when she was most worried about Maxine. She cared for Mark, deeply. Just as she cared for Anderson. With Anderson, all sorts of doors were opening up for her. With Mark, she took comfort in the familiar. His hands were familiar, as were his lips, and his masculine aroma.

  Mark put one of his long arms around her and pulled her tight. Then he kissed the top of her head, before working his way down to her forehead, then nose, and then finally her lips. She kissed him back. Pretty soon they were making out again. She climbed on top of him and took off her shirt. Then she unhooked her bra. Mark kissed her large, milky-white breasts and she pushed them onto his face. His hands gravitated down towards her ass. He cupped each cheek in one hand and gave them a squeeze.

  Angela felt electricity, once again, running through her entire body. At this point, she was unequivocally turned on. Then she grabbed his hand and led him towards the bed. They lay down on the soft bed. He took off his clothes, with her help, and then positioned himself on top of her. He slid off her pants, exposing her naked body. His powerful hand grazed her belly on its way down to her womanhood. He then positioned his head between her legs. He took in the full aroma of her moist vagina. He then licked her lips, parting them with his fingers. As his tongue danced and swirled about her clit, he inserted two fingers and then began to rhythmically finger-fuck her into ecstasy. As she cried out with her first orgasm, Mark took delight in being able to give her that much pleasure. He then kissed his way back up to her mouth and they shared a long, passionate kiss.

  “I’m ready for you,” said Angela softly, still breathing heavily.

  “Good, so am I,” responded Mark.

  He then proceeded to make love to her. With every fervent thrust he sent both himself and Angela into a deep state of bliss. It only took about three or four minutes until he was ready to come. When they reached climax together, she dug her nails into his back and called out his name. Afterwards, they laid next to each other, cuddling and laughing to themselves.