by Rowe, Jordan
Jordan thought about it for a moment. “You know what? Yes, I had a great time.”
“Good. Maybe we’ll meet up again next week?”
“That would be nice, although it will be hard for us to find each other.”
The woman giggled. “Well, just in case we don’t meet again, I’m number six.”
Jordan sat up. Were they supposed to give out their identification numbers? She became nervous and started to crawl toward her room. The woman whispered from behind, “Are you still there? Hello?”
Jordan continued crawling forward, but then hit something.
Or rather, she hit someone.
They both fell to the floor. Jordan had bumped her head into the person’s arm, or shoulder. Maybe it was a thigh? She really didn’t know.
“You okay?” It was a man’s voice.
Jordan’s ears rang as she laid down on the floor. “I think so. How about you?”
“My hipbone is throbbing, but I’ll live.” His voice had a pleasant tone. “I guess that’s the chance we take in a pitch-black room.”
Jordan reached out and found his hand. “Well, I’m sorry.”
He pulled her hand up and kissed her fingers. “No need to apologize.” He paused, still holding her hand. “Have you been with anyone yet?”
“Um…yeah.”
“Oh.”
Jordan suddenly felt a pang of guilt. “Why haven’t you been with anyone yet?”
He sighed. “I tried, but couldn’t get hard.” He let go of her hand. “I thought maybe joining Dark would help, but apparently it didn’t.”
“What about the Dark Ice? Did you have some?”
“Yeah. Drank down a glass in the limo, then a shot in my room.”
Jordan reached for his arm and pulled him close. “Come here.”
He resisted. “It’s okay. I’m heading back to my room.”
“No wait. Come here for a second.”
He paused, then lowered his body on top of her without using his full weight. “I really can’t do anything. I tried, but-”
“Shhh…” Jordan reached up and pulled his head down towards her. She kissed his lips, then let her tongue slide into his mouth. They kissed as if they had been lovers for many years. She wrapped her arms around his firm body, not wanting to let go.
He became aroused with a full erection that rested along her thigh.
“Fuck me,” Jordan whispered.
He slid away from her body. “You’re the first woman to…” He paused, taking in a deep breath. “I should go.”
Jordan turned on her side. “You don’t have to go. Just lay by me.”
“I’ll see you next time.”
“But we can’t see each other!” Her voice raised more than she would have wanted. She swallowed, attempting to control herself. “Please…Don’t go.”
It was too late. He had already crawled away.
5
Jordan crawled toward the glowing number nine and then entered the room. The wall slid shut and the lights slowly came to life, allowing time for her eyes to adjust. She stood, feeling a slight head rush.
After regaining her senses, she took a quick shower, toweled off, then dressed. She opened the door and saw the limousine turned around. Zizi was sitting on the hood reading a People magazine. Zizi closed the magazine and smiled. “Well, how was it?”
“Fun.” Jordan heard the depression in her own voice. She actually had an amazing time. Why was she so down?
Zizi slid off the hood, tossed her magazine into the open passenger window of the limousine, then opened the back door. “Shall we head out?”
“Sure.” Jordan slid into the limo, but this time did not grab her skirt. For some reason it did not matter if Zizi had a nice look at her underwear.
Zizi got into the front seat, fired up the engine, then rolled the windows up. She looked in the review mirror. “You’ll have to put the mask on for a few minutes.”
“Sure.” Jordan slipped on the black silk mask, then laid flat on the leather seats. “I’m exhausted.”
“It’s because the Dark Ice has worn off a bit.”
“Is that why I feel a little depressed?”
“Depressed? No way. Dark Ice should make you feel like you can conquer the world.”
Jordan sighed. “Oh.”
“Didn’t you have fun in there?”
“Yeah…I did.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
Jordan thought about the woman inside, then the two men, followed by the man that screwed the woman. Jordan then thought about the man she bumped in to. “I think…um…”
“What is it?”
“Is it possible to fall in love with someone in there?”
Zizi took a moment before responding. “Well, you can rule out love at first sight. That would be impossible.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Was it a man or woman?”
Jordan smiled. “It was a man.”
“Maybe you enjoyed having sex with him. After all, it was the reason you joined Dark in the first place.”
“I didn’t have sex with him.”
“No?”
“We just…It’s difficult to explain.”
“You can take your mask off now.”
Jordan slipped the mask off and tossed it on the seat opposite her. “So what do you think? Am I infatuated with the idea of Dark? Or have I really fallen in love with someone?”
Zizi glanced in the review mirror. “That’s not a question I should answer. Perhaps you should wait to see how you feel tomorrow?”
“Perhaps,” Jordan said, gazing out the tinted window. She had already been looking forward to coming back to Dark next week. But it wasn’t because of the sex.
Jordan wanted to find the mystery man and tell him how she felt.
6
Jordan rushed into her condo located on the thirty-first floor, dropped the keys and purse on the kitchen table, kicked off her boots, hurried to the bathroom, slid down her skirt and underwear, plopped down on the toilet, then peed like she had been drinking beer all day.
As she wiped herself and reached back to flush the toilet, she heard a squeak from the hallway.
Still on the toilet, Jordan yelled out, “Hello?”
That really did not make sense, because if someone responded, what would she do?
A figure appeared in the bathroom doorway. He had on a black pinstriped suit, shiny dress shoes, and yellow latex gloves.
Covering his face was a clown Halloween mask.
The mask had two faces, both looking identical; shiny white, with thick black circles around the eyes, red smiling mouth that came to a point in the corners, with a black and white jester hat.
Jordan did not move. Her heart smacked against her chest. The Jester lowered his head, gazing through his mask at her defenseless body. Jordan’s legs and feet became numb.
He unzipped his pants then reached inside and rubbed himself with the yellow glove on his right hand.
In one motion, Jordan closed her fist, leaped from the toilet, and punched him between the legs. Her fist grazed against his yellow hand and then she tripped over her skirt and fell into him.
Jester grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her face down over the bathroom sink. He clutched her by the back of her hair and forced her head up so that she was staring at him in the mirror.
His body pressed hard from behind. He reached with his free hand to the soap dispenser and covered the yellow latex glove with liquid. His body remained close to hers, left hand in her hair, right hand filled with soap.
“No!” Jordan screamed. She already knew what was coming next. Her first husband wore a mask just like this one and attempted to finger her ass the same way. Back then, she was able to fight off her husband, but
now, she could not wrestle away from this intruder.
Jordan squirmed, but to no avail. Jester pressed two fingers into her ass. The fingers easily slid inside. Jordan screamed with all the air that remained in her lungs.
Jester flung her head forward, hitting it on the facet. He removed his fingers and disappeared into the hallway.
Jordan slid to the floor, unable to muster up a single tear. A painful throb on her forehead was as if someone hit her in the skull with a hammer.
She tugged on her underwear and skirt, then crawled from the bathroom, down the hallway, to the kitchen table. Jester could still be in the condo, but she had a feeling he had escaped through the front door, probably worried that someone heard her scream. She reached up for her purse, then spilt it on the floor.
Jordan grabbed her iPhone and dialed 911.
7
A female detective questioned Jordan as she laid on the couch while a paramedic examined her.
“The condominium manager already provided us with video surveillance,” the detective said. “The intruder knew the security password to building’s front door and had a key to your condo. We believe he was waiting for you when you arrived.”
The paramedic stood. “I’m guessing a very mild concussion that will hurt like hell. You should probably let me take you to the hospital.”
“No,” Jordan said. “I’ll be fine.”
The paramedic glanced at the detective, then grabbed his plastic medical kit and left the room.
The detective leaned forward. “We really should do a rape test.”
“No,” Jordan snapped. “He didn’t rape me.”
“In a way…he did.”
Jordan locked her eyes on the detective. “He wore gloves. You won’t find anything.”
The detective leaned back and let out a deep sigh. “Okay. Well, can you tell me anything about him?”
Jordan described what he wore, including the mask.
The detective took several notes. “Was he white? Black?”
“White.”
“How can you be so sure? He wore a mask and gloves.”
“I…” Jordan wasn’t sure. “It’s just that…” She debated on whether to tell the detective exactly what was on her mind. “My ex-husband wore that same mask.”
“Excuse me?”
Jordan pulled in a deep breath, trying to ignore the throbbing on her skull. “My ex had a mask fetish. He wore that exact mask one night while we were…you know…having sex.”
The detective raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Now I’ve heard it all.”
Jordan sighed. “Also, he tried to finger me…just like that intruder did. Although, I was able to fight off my ex.”
“What’s your ex-husband’s name?”
“Clayton Trudell the Third.”
The detective jotted down more notes. “Does he live here in Nashville?”
“Yes.” Jordan gave her the address.
“Where does he work?”
“He’s the CEO at Hospital Corporation of America.”
“What do they do there?”
Jordan turned her head. “Does it matter?”
“Of course it matters.”
“HCA is the largest private operator of healthcare facilities in the world. They have about a hundred and fifty hospitals and a hundred freestanding surgery centers in the United States and the United Kingdom.”
“Is it possible for your ex-husband to leave the country on a moments notice?”
“Yes. That’s very possible.”
The detective stood. She closed her notebook, then eyed Jordan. “Where were you before arriving home?”
Jordan’s veins pumped as if she was guilty of a crime. “I was doing something personal.”
“Personal?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Maybe he knew where you were and planned to enter the condo while you were gone.”
“I doubt it.” Jordan had met Zizi in a parking garage. No one was around. No one knows that she joined Dark.
The detective raised an eyebrow. “So you’re not going to tell me what you were doing before coming home?”
Jordan felt a wave of dizziness. “Like I said, it was personal.”
8
When the caller ID on her cell phone said, IDIOT, Jordan cringed. It was her first ex-husband, Clayton.
“Hello.” Jordan dropped down on the couch and rubbed her pounding head.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he shouted. “You told the police I used to wear Halloween masks while we had sex!”
“They were asking me questions and-”
“The police came to my office and questioned me! Do you understand how devastating that could be to my reputation, much less the business?”
“I didn’t mean-”
“Bullshit! Who else have you told?”
“No one.” Jordan’s head felt like someone drove nails into her skull.
“The police asked me where I was today!”
“Would you please stop yelling at me?”
“Fine.” His voice softened. “But just so you know, I was with Dolly Parton.”
Jordan sat up and actually had a twinge of jealously. “What were you doing with her today?”
“She is opening a new amusement park next to Gaylord’s Opryland Hotel. It’s supposed to be a water park in the summer and a snow park in the winter.”
“Sounds amazing.” She thought about her second ex-husband, Jeremy, who owned a southern restaurant just two blocks away from there. “When will the park be finished?”
“Two years. They wanted to know if our company would invest.”
“Did you?”
“That’s none of your business.” His voice rose again to an earsplitting shout. “Which brings me back to the reason I called you! How could you tell the police that I broke into your condo with a clown mask and assaulted you?”
“I didn’t blame you. I said that you owned a mask just like the intruder.”
“It’s October first! I’m sure it’s not hard to purchase a Halloween mask similar to the one I had.”
“Do you still have it?”
Clayton breathed heavy through the phone. “That is an insulting question.”
“Well? Do you?”
“Yes. The police followed me to my home and I showed them my mask collection.”
“Collection? How many masks do you have these days?”
“None of your fucking business!”
Jordan pulled in a deep breath. “Listen. The mask wasn’t the only reason the police questioned you. It’s what the guy did to me as well.”
“Meaning?”
“He…shoved his fingers in me…in my ass.”
“And what does that have to do with me?”
“You tried that once, wearing the exact same mask as the intruder.”
“Yes, I tried that, but you kicked me away and I stopped.”
Jordan remembered that she would have let him do it if he was more tactful about it, but he attempted to ram his fingers inside of her. “By the way, I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
“What do mean?””
“An intruder attacks me in my condo and you haven’t even asked how I’m doing.”
“You have millions of dollars in the bank from me and your second ex-husband who paid you off just like I did, all so your bitchy lifestyle would not change. Use some of that money on a shrink.”
“What the hell is your problem?”
“I’m pissed off about the way you handled the police. I looked like a fool today. My public relations people are going to spin a story that my ex-wife was trying to get back at me.”
Jordan’s skin burned with rage. “Hey Clayton, do me a favor…FUCK OFF!” She turned off her phone, hurried t
o the bedroom, and stripped off her clothes. She changed into her brown bikini, wrapped herself in a thick white robe, put on a pair of flip flops, grabbed a towel, and headed out the door.
On roof of the building was an Olympic size pool with glass retractable ceiling and walls. From there was a view of the entire downtown area of Nashville. Jordan peeled off the robe, kicked off her flip flops, dropped the towel on a chair, and dove into the warm water.
She began swimming laps with the determination of a person that just wanted to feel alive again.
9
When Jordan arrived back at her condominium she walked in as if the floor had landmines. She flicked on the lights, eyes sweeping to the living room and kitchen area. She moved forward with the beach towel wrapped in her wet hair and made her way to the bathroom, flicked on the light, and looked inside.
She then walked to the bedroom and turned on the light. She looked under the bed and in the closet.
The cell phone rang from the living room, which iced her skin. She hurried to it, flicked on a lamp and answered. “Hello?”
“This is a representative from Dark,” the female voice said. “Please give me your identity number.”
Jordan took in a deep breath. “Nine.”
“Thank you. I am confirming your date for Monday, October eighth.”
“Yes, I’ll be there.” For the amount of money Jordan paid, she wouldn’t dare miss a day.
“Very well. Do you have any questions?”
“Yes…actually…no.” She could not get her mind to work.
“Did you enjoy your last visit?”
“Yes.” Jordan had just thought of a question. “Are we supposed to tell others our identity number?”
“It’s frowned upon.”
“Is that a yes, or no?”
“Did you tell someone your number?”
“No.”
“Did someone else tell you their number?”
“Never mind.” Jordan did not want to get that number six woman in trouble. “I’ll be there next Monday.”
“Excellent. Have a pleasant evening.” The phone disconnected.
Jordan sighed, then looked around her condo. It felt cold and empty. Her thoughts drifted to the man she met at Dark. There was something about him that she could not shake. She helped him become aroused, which seemed to have an impact on his emotions.