by Jessie Cooke
34
Holly
“Holly!” Mark was waiting for me at the airport. When he saw me, his face lit up. I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. What was I doing? I was a terrible person. I’d woken up in the morning safe and warm in Axel’s arms and I’d known what the right thing to do was…or at least I thought so, until then.
“Hi,” I moved into his open arms. Suddenly I saw a flash of him with his cock in Consuela’s mouth and I saw me writhing underneath Axel. What a mess. I stepped back and he said,
“Let’s go get your bags…”
“I don’t have any Mark. I’m not staying.”
“What? I thought…I thought you believed me about being drugged. I love you, Holly. I want to marry you.” I felt the tears well up in my eyes and I said,
“Can we sit down and have a cup of coffee or something?”
“Here? Come back to the apartment with me…”
“No. Here is better. Please.”
“Fine,” he reached out for my hand. I took a step back. He looked hurt and once again I felt like shit. I followed him to the coffee shop and sat alone while he went to the counter and got our coffee. I wondered how we’d come to this place…but the truth is I knew. It wasn’t Mark’s fault for sleeping with Connie. It wasn’t even Axel’s fault for his manipulations…it was all me. I think I fell in love with Axel that first week. I couldn’t concentrate on making my relationship with Mark work because I didn’t want it to work. I wanted Axel.
He brought the coffees back and sat down. “Thank you. Mark, I will always treasure the time that you and I spent together…”
“Holly, please don’t do this. I screwed up, but I would have never slept with her or anyone else sober…”
“It’s not about that, Mark. I don’t know if she drugged you or not, but the truth is I’d really given up on us before that happened…at least subconsciously. We’ve always been great friends, but I’ve discovered that gets in the way of the kind of passion that I crave.”
“You’re talking about Axel?”
“No…yes…no, I’m not really. I’m talking about me. The reason I found him so fascinating was because I wasn’t happy in my own life…I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin. He showed me how different life can be if you open your heart and your mind up to it.”
“So I’m just too boring for you, is that it?”
“Oh no Mark, that’s not it at all. You and I have been together since we were kids. We just got so comfortable together that we never came outside of our safe little bubble and explored the world. In a way, Axel did us a favor…”
“I’m three thousand miles from home with no job and a fiancé that’s breaking up with me for a billionaire…the same asshole that’s to blame for all of my troubles. How in the hell can you say he did us a favor?”
“I’m sorry, Mark. I believe in my heart that you’ll be okay. You’re too smart to let any of this get in the way of your success in life. It wouldn’t be fair for me to pretend I’m satisfied with our life together and marry you. You deserve better.”
“I don’t know what to say. Have you slept with him?”
“Does it matter at this point?”
He looked sad. Another man might have insisted that it did matter. Another man might want to call me names and yell at me. I found out that my instincts when it came to men were spot on when he stood up and bent over to kiss me on the cheek. “I hope he makes you happy, Holly. I love you. I want you to be happy.” The tears burned my eyes as I stood up and hugged him.
“I want that for you too. I’m so sorry.”
He held me back and smiled at me. “I know you are.” He kissed me on the bridge of the nose and said, “You can always call me if you need anything.” I felt the tears roll slowly down my cheeks as I watched him walk away. He’s a good man and he deserves a woman who is passionate about him. I truly hope that he finds it.
Less than twelve hours after I left New York, I was back at Axel’s apartment. I let myself in with the key he’d given me. It was almost completely dark. I flipped on the light and took out my phone. I wondered if he might be at the office. I started to call him when I heard a long moan coming from down the hall. What the hell? I tucked my phone back in my purse and made my way towards the noise. It was coming from the Red room and the door was cracked open. I heard it again. I pushed the door open slowly and there, tied up to the whipping post with leather straps and not a stitch of anything else on was Consuela. Her body was as perfect as I’d imagined it. She looked at me and smiled. I let my eyes scan the dark room, looking for Axel. He was nowhere in sight. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I had to get out of there.
I turned and ran towards the front door. I threw it open and I may have left it hanging open as I raced out and hit the door for the stairwell. I ran down the thirty flights and when I got out the front doors of the lobby I sucked in as much fresh air as I could get into my lungs.
“Miss, are you okay?” The doorman was standing behind me. I wanted to vomit but I couldn’t do it here.
“I need a cab,” I told him. He looked concerned but he was discreet enough not to push it. He whistled for a cab and one stopped right away. Clutching my stomach, I ducked in the back seat and gave him my home address. My head was spinning. Why? Why would he chase me so hard and when he had me…fuck her? Had I just been fooling myself by thinking he was a good man at heart? The cab started to roll away and I looked up just as it did. I saw Axel’s car pulling up to the valet spot. I sucked in a shaky breath and watched as he stepped out. He was dressed in his perfectly tailored brown suit and he was carrying his leather case that he brought his files home in.
“Stop!” The cab slammed on his brakes. I threw a twenty over the seat and jumped out. Axel was headed into the lobby. “Axel!” He turned at the sound of his name. When he saw me, his whole face changed. It brightened and he smiled. I wasn’t wrong…I know I’m not wrong. I ran to him and he dropped his briefcase and caught me in his arms. I hugged him so tightly that he winced. I completely forgot about his injuries. “Oh shit! I’m sorry.”
He laughed. “It’s okay. I’m glad you missed me.” I started crying. God, I’m ridiculous. “Baby, what’s wrong? Is it Mark? Was he hard on you?”
“No. I’m so stupid. I found Consuela in the Red room, naked.”
“Fuck! Jesse fucking Lee!”
“Oh God! I forgot about him.”
Axel shook his head. “He did me a favor today. I knew that Connie was back in New York to visit her family so I gave him a heads-up. I had no idea he was going to bring her here.”
I was so happy that she was with Jesse and not Axel that I didn’t care. I hugged him again. “It’s all good now. I’m sorry.”
He laughed. “What are you sorry for?”
“Doubting you. I won’t do it again.”
“Yes you will,” he said with a smile, “But that’s all part of the tumultuous, passionate love affair we’re going to have for the next fifty years or so.”
“Only fifty?”
“Well, I’ll be almost eighty by then. I’ll have to settle down sometime. I love you, Holly.”
“I love you too.”
“Let’s go for a ride in the Camaro.”
“Can I drive?”
“Not this time, there’s a little fantasy I’d like to explore. You don’t mind going down on me while I’m driving, do you?”
I laughed. “You’re insane.”
“I know…now about that blow job…”
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1
Olivia
I held the red leather mini-skirt up to my waist in front of the full-length mirror. “It’s a little…much…don’t you think?” I drew my brows together and held my mouth off to the side.
Carrie popped her head over my shoulder and looked at me in the mirror. “Don’t frown, that’s why the lines between your eyes are so deep.” I’d just had Botox injections three days ago
at her behest. I can’t even feel my face. “As far as the skirt goes, I think it’s hot. You might give the old man a heart attack though.”
I giggled. “God I hope not. The last guy kept gasping and fanning himself all night. It’s a good thing we’re not prostitutes I think some of them would drop dead right on the spot.”
“Have you ever had that one client that makes you consider it?” she asked.
“No.” I honestly felt guilty enough just doing what I did. I attend events with the old men for money. To me, that was pretty darned close to becoming a prostitute.
“Not even tempted? What about that banker a few weeks ago from Cincinnati? He was pretty hot for an older guy. I only saw him for the first five minutes with you and I could tell he’d do you in a heartbeat. You didn’t even consider getting it on with him?” She had her blonde head on my shoulder and she was staring at me with her big cornflower blue eyes. Carrie’s beautiful. She used to be a swimsuit model and I thought that’s what she still was up to until about eight weeks ago…when she finally admitted to me that she worked as a high-end escort.
“No, Carrie. I love my husband.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I love my husband too. I wasn’t saying you should have sex with any of them…I just asked if you were ever tempted. Are you really such a goody-two-shoes that you don’t even let yourself have a fantasy every now and then?”
“Of course not. I fantasize like everyone else. But not about these clients. They’re all old men for one thing.”
“Old rich men,” she said with a wink. Yes…old, rich men. About six months ago Carrie convinced me that although I’m only thirty-two…I looked like I was pushing forty. She talked me into getting a “consult” with her plastic surgeon. He pointed out all of my flaws, showed me what I’d look like if I had them all fixed through a program on the computer and then gave me a forty-six-thousand-dollar estimate. By the end of the visit I had new lines…laugh lines. My husband owns his own business. He and Carrie’s husband started up a financial consulting firm two years ago. So far, it was doing well…but not forty-six thousand dollars for face and body work well. That was when Carrie let me in on her secret. It took her another few months to convince me to do it too.
“Here,” she said, handing me a white leather blouse that looked like something the girls wore on the east side when they were trolling for John’s.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Wear it tomorrow night. Jeff says this guy is really into leather.”
“I don’t care what he is “into.” Carrie! I’m not a hooker!”
With another heavy sigh she said, “Yes, we’ve established that. I’m not a hooker either, but these guys are paying a couple of grand to spend the evening with a beautiful woman. Shouldn’t she at least try to fit whatever role he’s looking for?”
“Maybe…but not that. I have a leather jacket I can wear over a silk shirt or something….” She rolled her eyes again. Sometimes I wonder why we’re such good friends. We’re so different. “So do you have a client tomorrow night as well?”
“No. Steve will be home. He’s not going this weekend. Did Mike not tell you?”
My husband Mike is the partner who did most of the traveling. I’m honestly not sure how Carrie manages to make so much money with Steve home so often. She’s sneakier than I am. I can’t bring myself to accept a “date” when Mike is in town.
“Oh no, he didn’t tell me. So what do you two have planned?”
“A romantic weekend of turning off the phone and locking the doors,” she said with a wink.
“Fine, I won’t bother you. I have two clients scheduled this weekend so I’ll be busy anyways.”
“I have to run. I have an appointment with Dr. Cleaver at noon,” she said, grabbing her purse. Dr. Cleaver is actually Dr. Kramer. He’s our plastic surgeon. Carrie thinks she’s funny.
“What now?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine from looking at her she needed anything else done. The last time she wore a bikini to our house my husband’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“I’m too top heavy since the…lift…” Lift my right butt cheek. She wants to pretend she just had them lifted but her tits went from “nice” to “porn star” practically overnight. “I need more butt.”
I laughed. “More butt? Really?”
“Yes! Butts are in. Dr. Cleaver and I are talking about a Brazilian. Imagine me looking like Kim Kardashian!”
“Honey…have you ever thought that maybe you’re over-doing it a little bit?”
“I’m not hurting anyone and I look hot! Seriously, when have we been out together lately when every man…and even a lot of women didn’t stop and stare?”
“Never, but that’s my point. You’re already perfect. Aren’t you afraid if you keep pushing it…something could go wrong?”
“No, not at all. I love you. I’ll see you later.” She air kissed me and I pecked back.
“I love you too. Don’t overdo the butt!” She was already out the door. I started packing the clothes she’d brought back into the bag. They were all too slutty for me. I told Jeff, the man who runs the service that I only wanted to “date” the old guys who wanted a “respectable date” for the evening. I’ll be damned if I’m going out anywhere in a leather bra.
“Olivia!” Mike was home. Damn! I hadn’t got him packed yet.
“Up here babe!” I heard his feet hit the stairs just as I tucked the bag of clothes away in the closet. He came bounding in looking full of energy. “Hi baby! How was your meeting?”
“It was fantastic! We’re going to be handling investments for the largest charitable organization on the east coast.”
“Yay! I’m so happy for you babe!” I hugged him and he squeezed my ass with both hands. “Ooh!” I giggled. “Someone’s frisky!”
“Making money does that to me. In a few months my wife will be able to afford a set of ta-ta’s as big as Carrie’s.”
“Michael! What’s wrong with my ta-ta’s?”
He grabbed one in each hand and said, “Not a thing! I just thought women competed over stuff like that.”
“I like my boobs,” I told him with a pout. He had my nipples between his fingers.
“I like them too,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I have just enough time for a shower fuck before I have to leave and catch my plane to Minnesota.”
I made a face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t pack you yet.”
He let go of my nipples. “Shit! Olivia…really? What the hell have you been doing all day?”
“Um…I did the laundry and I cleaned the house…that was after I got up and made your coffee and your breakfast this morning…”
“Okay, whatever. I don’t really want a rundown. I’m going to get in the shower.”
“So you don’t want me to join you?”
“Not unless you’re the world’s fastest packer. I have to be at the airport in an hour and a half. I don’t know what you were thinking, Olivia.”
“I’m really sorry…”
“It’s fine. Whatever.” He turned his back to me and headed into the shower. If I was a man, my erection would be gone anyways. He’s not usually such an ass, but the stressors of the job really get to him sometimes and I overlook a lot because of the guilt I feel about what I’ve been up to. He thinks the extra cash I’ve been making comes from Avon sales. I’m probably going to have to buy a pink Cadillac one of these days just to support my lies. With a sigh, I went over to the closet and took out Mike’s suitcase and garment bags. I lay them on the bed and started to perform my “wifely duties.”
2
Olivia
That night, as I sat next to Mr. Grant on 45th street singing along with Jersey Boys, I wondered if Mike regretted not making love to me before he left. It had been nearly a week since we had sex and I was seriously horny. My rabbit was going to get a lot of mileage over the next couple of days. I glanced at Mr. Grant, my “date” for the evening. He was staring at my ch
est. He didn’t seem to think I needed any ta-ta enhancement. Of course he is sixty-five and he wears coke-bottle thick glasses so maybe he can’t really see them. Maybe he’s really staring at my face and the glasses make it look like he’s leering at my chest. The curtain came down and the lights went up. It was time for intermission and I’d be expected to stand out back with him while he puffs on his cherry flavored tobacco and introduces me to his friends as his “lady friend.”
As we walked out back he said, “So how do you like the play so far?” I didn’t tell him I’d already seen it with two other clients. Instead I said,
“I like it a lot. The music is fabulous.”
“So is this,” he said as I went through the door ahead of him. The dirty old man had his hand on my ass.
“Hey! No touching, didn’t Jeff tell you?”
He rolled his eyes. “They all say that. They have to or they’ll get shut down for prostitution.”
“Well I can tell you for certain that Jeff does not “just say that.” He has a strict “no touching” policy. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t grab my ass again.” The old man grinned and showed his perfectly straight white teeth. I bet they’re veneers.
“Okay sweetie, I won’t grab your ass.” He said that as he dragged one wrinkly old thumb across the front of my blouse…right across my right nipple!
“You dirty old man!”
“Shh! People are looking.”
I lowered my voice but I said, “I don’t care. I’m not a prostitute. Do not grope me!”