by Storm, Sloan
She licked her lips as she ran her hands further along the inside of my thigh. Her smile vanished. A look of unmistakable intent took its place.
“No. It doesn’t.”
“Okay, so let’s talk about something else.”
She shook her head and moved in closer. “No.”
“No? What?”
“Let’s not talk.”
She leaned in pressed her lips against mine.
It was the last thing I remembered.
GREY
When consciousness returned, I awoke to a headache that felt like someone had taken a goddamn brick to my skull. I rolled my head with a slow twist to the nightstand and spun the clock in my direction. It was just past eight in the morning. I inhaled, pressed my head back into the pillow and rubbed my eyes with the base of my palms.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
Just then, to my left, I heard a soft whimper.
Arching a brow, I cast a glance in the direction of the sound. Streaks of bright white sunlight poured in through the half-open window curtains. Lying next to me, nude, was the prostitute from the club. Too ill to react, I shook my head in confusion.
Huh? What the fuck?
I shot to my feet, nearly losing my balance in the process.
She had almost no reaction to my sudden movement. She only moaned and shifted her position a bit. My eyes wandered along her body, which lay partially exposed from beneath the fine hotel bed linens. Even in my hungover state, it was an easy eyeful. She was fucking perfect. Long legs, round ass. I continued to linger, trailing my eyes up the length of her backside until I reached her angelic face, draped in unruly stands of her black hair.
I wiped my hands down the length of my face. Clenching my teeth, I turned away from her and went to the restroom. A few moments later, I grabbed a glass and filled it with water. Hammering it back, I savored the cool liquid as it quenched my thirst, but only a little. In rapid succession, I drank several more until at last, after the third glass, I placed it back down on the marble sink with a clink.
I braced myself over the sink, locking my arms in place.
I stood there in silence for a few seconds, hoping some goddamn memory would come back. Nothing did. Exhaling, I reached for the faucet, turned it on and cupping one handful after another, I splashed cold water in my face. The wetness woke me up a little more, clearing away the vodka-laced cobwebs from my mind. I reached for a towel and pressed it hard against my face, breathing heat into it as I exhaled.
Just then, I felt a pair of hands slip low across my waist and head straight for my cock. Shocked, I tossed the towel away from my face and spun in place. Even a night of heavy drinking had no effect on her. Her skin glowed with a youthful lust. Dark hair hung down low, just covering the top of her ample tits.
Her dark eyes sparkled with eagerness as she moved close to me, pressing her shapely figure against my body. It felt good. No straight man would think otherwise. Her eyes softened and narrowed as she reached down towards my dick and made a slow caress against it. I remained still, stone-faced, as she leaned in towards me and kissed me on the cheek. Afterward, she moved her lips up to my ear and after kissing my earlobe, she whispered, “Good morning.”
I swallowed as she pulled away from me. She turned away and walked to the toilet, closing the door behind her. I didn’t respond. What the fuck would I even say? I didn’t remember a goddamn thing. Her greeting left little to the imagination though, so I exhaled and walked back to the bed where I sat down and tried to stop the room from spinning so goddamn much.
She reappeared and hovered over the sink. The water gurgled and splashed for a few seconds until she finished, turned and began to walk back towards me. Once she’d gotten to within a few feet, she paused and placed a hand on her hip.
“Well?” she asked.
I grimaced at her. “Well, what?”
“My money,” she began. “Remember you said you’d pay me first thing.”
“I did?” I replied. “Honey, I don’t remember a fucking thing from last night.”
She scoffed. “Well, you did. Listen, don’t force me to make a call here. You seem like a nice guy.”
I nodded and waved her off.
“Just, okay. Look, don’t worry about it. Relax.”
I stood and walked past her. “How much?”
“Four thousand pounds.”
I stopped in place and scoffed as I reached down for my billfold. Fishing out the money, I turned back towards her, extending the cash in her direction. “Jesus Christ honey, whatdya have—a cape hanging off that pussy of yours?”
She took the money from me with a firm tug.
“The money’s not for my pussy,” she replied. Waving it in my face, she continued, “It’s for my time.”
Confused, I rubbed the top of my head. “What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean your time?”
All of a sudden, she started gathering up her things. As she began to get dressed, she explained further.
“Yeah, nothing happened,” she said with a shrug.
“But… you’re naked.”
“Oh, I can’t sleep unless I’m nude.” She paused with an armful of clothes and stood to face me. Continuing, she said, “I’d be willing to give you a go though, if you’re ready.”
This chick was fucking crackers. Certifiable. How would I not fuck her?
She stepped towards me and cradled my cock in her hands, “Because I know I am ready for this.”
Shaking my head, I gently pried her hand loose.
“Honey, what the hell are you talking about?” I gestured towards her and then back to myself. “We… We didn’t fuck?”
“No,” she said with a casual shrug. “You just wanted to talk.”
I was goddamn clueless.
“Well, what did we talk about?”
She shook the money in my face again for emphasis. “Ah-ah! You told me I couldn’t say. In case you asked.”
This was getting crazier by the second.
“This is ridiculous,” I began. “Look, just tell me what we talked about.”
She shook her head as she continued to get dressed.
“No.”
Clenching my jaw, I winced from the hangover as my frustration with her built. I shook my head.
“Um,” I muttered. “So what is this about? You want some more money or what?”
I walked back over to get some from my billfold. As I did, she grabbed my arm.
“No,” she said as shook her head. “I don’t want any more of your money. And, I’m not going to tell you. Listen, you seem like a decent guy. Don’t worry about it. You’re sweet.”
Sweet?
She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. No sooner had her lips left my skin than she turned and began to walk away. I watched her until she left, closing the door behind her.
Sweet?
GREY
I spent most of the day in meetings again, only with a nasty hangover. I didn’t make a habit of negotiating in such a state, but I sensed I had the upper hand. We broke early that night and headed out to grab a bite. I had no reason to think I couldn’t get the deal done over dinner. That’s how confident I was.
Anyway, I took a cab across town and reflected on what the whore told me earlier that day. It didn’t make a goddamn bit of sense to me. I’d have nothing to say to her. She’s a prostitute. There was no way I discussed the deal I was doing. Why would I? It was going according to plan and there wasn’t a thing to worry about.
Still though, it bugged me I couldn’t remember and it bugged me even more she wouldn’t tell me.
Just then, the cab pulled up outside the restaurant. Stepping out in the goddamn rain, again, I paid the driver and hustled toward the entrance. As I approached, the doorman stepped forward and let me in.
“Sir.”
I nodded. “Thanks pal.”
As I walked inside, I shook off a bit of moisture from my coat and began to remove it when I heard my cell phone rin
g inside my pocket. I figured it might be the guys, so I craned my neck around the entrance of the restaurant. They were nowhere in sight. I grimaced, reached inside my coat to retrieve my phone and turned it over.
Katy?
I stepped aside a bit, just out of the flow of foot traffic. Pinning my finger against my open ear to drown out the clink of silverware against fine china, I answered. The hiss of long distance crackled over the line.
“Grey!”
“Yeah,” I began. “Katy? I’m busy. Can it wait?”
“No, Grey. It can’t.”
It was still way too noisy for me to hear much of what she might say.
“Hang on, Katy.” I said as I placed my hand over the phone. Glancing around my immediate vicinity, I spotted a corner off to the side of the coat room. I paced towards it and once the din from the restaurant faded, I lifted the phone back to my ear.
“Okay, now what the hell is the goddamn problem?”
“It’s Maddie, Grey.”
“Maddie? What about her?”
“What do you mean? What about her?”
I shook my head. “Katy what the hell are you talking about? Look, you’ve got about five seconds to tell me what the hell is going on or I’m hanging up the phone.”
“It’s the baby, Grey. The complications, they’re…”
“Whoa, whoa!” I said as I raised my right hand in the air. Pointing my finger at nothing in particular, I continued, “What complications, Katy?”
“Uhm,” she sputtered. “Well the complications with the baby. The FAS?”
“Katy, I have no goddamn idea what you’re talking about right now. What. The. Fuck. Is FAS?”
“Fetal Alcohol Syndrome,” she stammered. Her voice had a sudden tone of remorsefulness to it. “Ohhh, oh no. Grey, please tell me you know about this. Please.”
Biting my lip, I straightened my spine. The fingers of my free hand flexed, threatening to curl into a fist. My silence didn’t go unnoticed.
“Oh Grey,” Katy began as her voice trailed off. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry. I thought you knew. I thought Maddie told you.”
“Out with it, Katy. Right now. Tell me everything. You have my word I won’t hold it against you.”
With that, she swallowed and proceeded to spew out all of the ridiculous nonsense Maddie kept from me. The fact that her drinking probably would result in permanent birth defects to the child. And that’s if it even lived! There was the risk she posed to her own life by going through with this whole fucking charade. And for what? Why?
I thinned my lips as she finished speaking.
“Did you know about this?” I demanded.
“Yes!” she exclaimed. But almost as quickly she lowered her voice. I had no idea why. “But, I thought you did, too. I thought Maddie told you. When you came to the apartment? I thought that’s why you stormed out.”
“No, she didn’t tell me anything of the sort, Katy.” I said as I fought the urge to yell in the phone. “You really think I would have walked out on her? If she’d told me the truth? That my goddamn child was likely to be stillborn or if it lived, brought into this world with crippling birth defects? Um, no Katy. Just so happens she left that out. Fuck!”
Without thinking, I put my knuckles into the wall. The drywall crumbled around my fist sending bits of plaster and dust in every direction.
“Shit!” I yelled. Shaking my all-white knuckles, I glanced around the immediate area and noticed no fewer than ten sets of goddamn eyeballs trained on me.
“Grey? What is it? What’s going on?”
I disregarded her question as I dusted away the evidence from my hand. “It’s nothing, Katy. Just forget it. What is going on with her right now?”
“Grey, the doctors think she will probably…”
I swallowed. “Goddamn it, Katy. Spit it out. Probably what?”
“I…” she began. “You should come. I’ll explain everything when you get here and…”
“No, Katy. I’m not doing anything of the sort.” I fired back, interrupting her. “I-if this is some kind of ridiculous ploy you and Maddie have cooked up to get me back there, I’m telling you right now…”
“Oh Jesus, Grey! Get over yourself!” she screamed, cutting me off in return. “Maddie needs you! Can you for once, just once, put the needs of someone else ahead of your own?”
I scoffed. But before I could say another word, she continued.
“She’s probably going to lose the baby, Grey. Okay? Is that enough of a motherfucking emergency for you, you selfish prick? She’s in intensive care right now!”
“Jesus Christ.” I muttered.
I wiped my palm down my face. A sickening feeling of helplessness overcame me. I was angry, furious, she’d kept this from me. Enraged though I was, flying off the handle right now wouldn’t get me the information I needed. If nothing else, at least Maddie sounded as if she were in competent hands.
“All right, Katy,” I said with an exhale. “Tell me everything you know.”
She proceeded to recount the story of how Maddie fell ill at the apartment after I’d gone. The doctor had laid out her options which were scarce but before she could make decision about any of it, they had to rush her in for treatment. It was all Katy knew. I could hear it in her voice.
There was no reason not to trust her.
GREY
A little more than fourteen hours later, I arrived at the hospital. Katy met me at the entrance in tears. She collapsed her weight against me as heavy sobs poured from her.
“Katy? What’s going on? Where is Maddie? Is she okay?”
A few minutes later, I entered her room. They’d only just put her there moments earlier after having transferred her from intensive care. I looked across the room and saw Maddie lying there. On one side of her stood a nurse and on the other, an older man; looked to be a doctor. Maddie had wires connected to every part of her goddamn body.
“Come on,” I said, as I turned to Katy, who still wept as she stood next to me. “It’s gonna be okay.”
She looked up nodded, her eyes stained red from her tears.
As I walked to the bed, Maddie’s appearance stunned me. Ashen, she looked half-dead as she lay there, motionless. I hardly recognized her. For a moment or two, I just stared, unable to mutter a sound or even form a goddamn thought. At last, my awareness returned as I shook my head and took my focus off of her for a moment.
“Excuse me,” I said, as I looked at the man standing on the other side of the bed. “Are you the doctor? Who the hell’s in charge here?”
The man leaned away from me and arched a brow.
“I am. Dr. Matthews,” the man replied. “And you are?”
“Grey Sinclair.” I said. I pointed towards Maddie. “What is going on with this woman?”
Dropping his clipboard down to his side, he turned his head in a deliberate manner from me to Maddie and back again. “Well, um, are you a relative of Miss Olsen or…?”
“No, I’m the father,” I interrupted.
“Oh,” he replied. His tone darkened. “I see.”
I thinned my lips as he straightened his posture. Whatever he was about to say, I was pretty certain it wasn’t gonna be good.
“Well, sir. It seems Ms. Olsen has lapsed.”
“Lapsed?” I said, as I wrinkled my brow. “In English.”
“She’s in a coma, sir.”
“A coma?”
He nodded as he looked at me.
“Look, is she going to live or die? What about the baby?”
“I don’t know, sir. A coma is the body’s last line of recuperative defense. At this point, anything is possible. It’s early days yet. She is in critical but stable condition. There’s not much we can do for her right now.”
“Jesus Christ!” I exclaimed. Pointing, I continued to berate him. “You cannot be fucking serious! Isn’t there a goddamn specialist here? What kind of shit show is this place? Get me someone who knows what the fucking hell they’re doing! Do i
t now, goddamn it!”
“Grey!” Katy said with a loud whisper as she swung in front of me, inserting herself between me and the doctor. “Please, calm down.”
I thinned my lips, spinning away from them. I paced to the other side of the room, running my fingers through my hair as I did. A sudden heat warmed me, making me feel as if I were about to sweat right through my shirt. Grabbing my tie, I tugged at the knot in frustration, loosening it as I glanced out the window of the hospital room to the parking lot below.
The doctor appeared to be waiting for me to finish. When it became apparent I had, he cleared his throat and said, “Visiting hours are over in one hour.”
I bit my lip, spun around and pointed at him. “Hey! Shithead! I am staying right here. You got a fucking problem with that, call the goddamn police!”
The grey-haired sonofabitch looked at me over the rims of his glasses. Nodding, he motioned for the nurses to follow him. As we walked out of the room he cast a nervous glance over his shoulder until the door hissed closed behind him.
No sooner had he gone than Katy stormed over to me.
“Grey!” she said, as she balled her fists and stomped.
Not wanting to get into it, I waved her off as I turned my attention back out of the window.
“Don’t fucking talk to me, Katy.”
“Grey, please. I am begging you. You have got to calm down.”
“Why should I, Katy?” I said as I did a half-turn and looked down at her over my shoulder. “These jackasses have no idea what they’re doing. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t be outraged right now. Go ahead. One.”
Unfolding her arm, Katy turned and pointed towards Maddie.
“That. Right there. That’s the reason, Grey.”
I closed my eyes as she spoke. I rubbed my forehead in disbelief. Pinching the skin between my fingertips, I groaned.
“Why didn’t she tell me, Katy?”
Katy’s featured softened as she looked up at me. She shook her head and paused before she answered.
“She was afraid, Grey. Afraid.”
“Afraid? Of what?”
“That she would lose you. That if you found out about all the problems she was having with the pregnancy…” she paused and glanced in Maddie’s direction for a moment before continuing. “She thought you would never want to see her again and worse, make her get rid of the child.”