by A. J. Wynter
I liked the thought of having Megan over again. I had liked her attitude. I had liked the way that she had known exactly what she wanted from me, and I loved how she had pulled me down onto the couch to take it.
Oh, but Eliza…Eliza Cameron had such potential.
The thought of that potential was intoxicating. Slowly coaxing Eliza until she opened herself up to me, a freshly blossomed flower alive with possibilities. She was a challenge, but one who would be so worth it in the end.
I texted Megan back: Never mind, something came up, and threw my phone down onto the table.
I would seduce Eliza, consequences be damned.
Chapter Eight-Eliza
Today was the first Wednesday of the month, which meant we had to sit through an office-wide meeting, one that was apparently universally dreaded by every single employee at the Torver Corporation. I had nothing against meetings in general, but this monthly one was apparently the dreaded time where they went over all the information that nobody really wanted to talk about because it was so dreadfully dull. The people who worked at Torver were all creative and ambitious, and there was nothing any of them hated more than being inconvenienced by a meeting that was not so much a community brainstorm than a lecture on where to park and how to sign their timesheets.
The meeting didn’t take place in the Torver Corporation offices, but on the ground floor of the building, in a large and dreary all-purpose room filled with different colored folding chairs. Johnathan Torver was seated at the front near a projection screen, and half the office was already there, looking bored out of their minds already. The room had a musty smell to it, like dust and cleaning supplies, and looked more like a room from a nursing room or hospital. Clearly the rest of the building was not up to the standards of the Torver office quite yet, and I couldn’t blame them. I took a seat near the back and waited, already feeling my eyes moving towards the clock. I took out my phone and scrolled through my email as I waited for Johnathan to begin.
My eyes were stuck to my phone, but I felt a definite presence behind me as someone took a seat in the chair directly to the back of me. I had a dreadful feeling it was Cassidy. I hadn’t managed to say a word to him since our passionate kiss in the supply closet, and I was terrified. Maybe I should just run back to South Dakota now…run back and never see him again…and run back into a marriage I wasn’t sure I wanted.
No. I would stay.
“Morning,” came a British-accented murmur from behind me, and I felt goosebumps rise up my arms.
“Hi,” I said under my breath, still looking straight ahead of me. Just the thought of making eye contact with him after what had happened in the supply closet the other day was making me queasy, and I kept my eyes locked on the floor.
“Alright, everyone,” Johnathan began, and I let out a sigh of relief. “We need to go over protocol for how to deal with our human resources department. If you could please turn to page 394 in your handbook, you will see a chart detailing…”
I let Johnathan’s voice fade to the background as my mind wandered elsewhere. Cassidy and I were the only two people sitting this far back in the room, and I could sense his head only inches behind mine in the closely situated chairs. It was terrifying…and exhilarating.
“So anyways,” Johnathan continued. “We have a fundraiser next month that I think will be an excellent opportunity for you all to network and build connections both for yourself and for the Torver Corporation. However, we need to do a lot of the planning ourselves, and I am counting on you all to figure out what tasks you will each be responsible for so this fundraiser is a success. Kirk, we’ll put you in charge of hiring a band, and I think Samantha would do a superb job at picking out a bartender, and perhaps Sabryna, you could do decorations? Our guest list currently stands at about…”
“Are you avoiding me?” came Cassidy’s voice from behind me, and I nearly jumped.
“No,” I whispered back.
“Well, you shouldn’t be. You shouldn’t be embarrassed. I liked that kiss a lot. I wanted it.”
“Good,” I said, unsure of what else to say, and terrified that the rest of our coworkers would hear us under Johnathan’s lecture.
“I wanted a lot more, actually,” Cassidy said, and my eyes widened, sensing where this was going. “Do you want me to tell you what I wanted?”
I felt my heart begin to race…did I?
“Yes,” I whispered under my breath, compelled by lust or curiosity or that strange spirit of freedom and exploration that lately had been pushing me forward into all kinds of dangerous and unexpected situations. “Tell me.”
I held my breath and tried my best to look at Johnathan as I felt Cassidy’s breath on my ear.
“I wanted to kiss you more. I wanted to shut the door and lock it closed so we wouldn’t be interrupted. And you know what I’d do then?”
I was too terrified of being caught to speak.
“I’d lift you up off your feet and push you against the wall…”
I closed my legs together, and I found myself suddenly praying that no one could hear him.
“I’d kiss you again, and again and again, and then I would suck on your neck until your knees grew weak,” he whispered, and I bit my lip, trying to hide how aroused I was. “And then I would slide my hand up under your skirt, and I’d have you moaning and panting so loudly that everyone in the office would hear how desperate and horny you were, and then I’d…”
I suddenly stood up and rushed out of the room, feeling my face burning scarlet again and my legs nearly as weak as Cassidy promised he’d make them in his fantasy. I had run out of the back door as quickly and quietly as I possibly could, so I don’t think anyone had noticed my sudden exit, as they were probably barely awake anyways. I ran to the bathroom in the next hallway and nearly collapsed on top of the sink, glad and relieved to finally be alone.
I looked up at myself in the mirror, trying to decipher the strange version of myself staring back at me. My face was still calming down from the embarrassment, but it was now more pink than scarlet, giving me a soft glow, and my hair was falling out of my bun from my quick run down the hallway and my fidgeting in the meeting. My brown eyes were wide, pupils blown out even under the lights of the sink, and I let out a laugh, holding my head in my hands.
For the first time, the guilt was not the first thing on my mind. My mind was fixed on Cassidy Evans, and on the rough baritone of his voice behind me, of all his filthy promises. Ben had never spoken to me like that, nobody had ever sent such fervent rushes of arousal through me that had left my head spinning and my heart light. It was exhilarating, like stepping off of a rollercoaster…
…Or getting ready to step onto one.
All of a sudden, it was like I didn’t care. I felt myself let go off my strings and leave my past with all of its promises behind.
I wanted him, and I was ready.
Chapter Nine-Cassidy
I walked into work the next day with a smile on my face and a new kind of stride in my step. I was going to ask Eliza out to dinner. I had decided. I liked her. I mean I really, really liked her, in a way that was different from the women I usually fancied only casually. I didn’t just want her to think I was cool, or like my body and how I was in the bedroom, I wanted to spend time with her. I wanted to get to know her and be her friend as well.
The way she had responded at the meeting yesterday was clue enough for me. Sure, she had rushed out of the room, but it wasn’t an escape, it was for the sake of decency, a good girl trying to hide an overwhelming rush of sudden arousal that she just was not used to, especially in a work environment. I had watched with careful eyes yesterday morning as she responded to my suggestions with her body…the way she bit her lip and censored her breathing, how she had touched her hands together and crossed her legs. She was at least interested in me sexually. But romantically? That was more of a long shot, as I thought back to the man in her Instagram photo. Who was he, anyways? Not that it mattered. This was Se
attle. And Seattle was my city, and he wasn’t here.
I sat down in the reception room for a moment to tidy up my briefcase when Kirk sat down next to me. Kirk was the top lawyer at Torver Corporation, and a real sweet guy, if not a bit of a nerd. He had recently started dating Marissa Hayes, one of our most prominent board members, and had been happy as a clam ever since. Which to be honest, was a little annoying sometimes. He and Johnathan and their girlfriends and their cuteness could be insufferable.
“Hey man,” Kirk said, sitting down next to me.
“Hey,” I said. “How are things?”
“Pretty good.”
“Good,” I said.
“Hey um,” Kirk said, suddenly looking uncomfortable for a moment. “Marissa is a little concerned about you.”
I scoffed. “She is? Why?”
“Well,” Kirk said. “You know how protective women are of each other.”
I stared at him confusedly. “Yes? And?”
“Well, she’s concerned now that you and the new girl…Eliza Cameron, that is, are getting close, that um, maybe…”
I was suddenly offended. “That maybe what?”
Kirk winced. “That maybe you don’t have the purest of intentions with her?”
I sighed. “Seriously, mate?”
Kirk nodded. “No offense man, but you do kind of have a history…and a reputation.”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “You’re right. But look, um—“ I paused, unsure of how much I wanted to confess to Kirk. “Eliza is different to me. She means something to me, something different.”
Kirk smiled at me. “I’m glad.”
“You tell Marissa I’ll treat her well, if I’m lucky enough to get the chance,” I said, getting up. “I promise.”
“Good,” Kirk said, clearly relieved to have this awkward conversation his girlfriend asked for well over with. “See you later, Cassidy.”
I waved Kirk goodbye as he headed to his office, and then decided to stay seated. Eliza and Sabryna usually arrived together any minute now, and I wanted to catch Eliza before the workday got into full gear.
The door opened and I watched as Sabryna and Eliza walked in. As soon as Sabryna saw me there waiting, she smiled at Eliza and quickly scampered off to her desk, clearly intending to leave the two of us alone. I was convinced that she was rooting for the two of us for some reason, and I appreciated her support.
“Eliza!” I said a little too quickly as she made her way in. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” Eliza said, clearly curious as to why I was sitting in the reception area by myself. She was wearing the same purple flowered dress she had worn that day in the supply closet, and frankly, she still looked absolutely stunning in it. Her hair fell down in brown curls around her shoulders, and a blush was high on her cheeks, despite it being so early in the morning.
“So um,” I said, standing up and lowering my voice. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go out with me sometime. On a date. A real, proper date, I’ll bring flowers and everything.”
“Really?” Eliza said, looking a bit flabbergasted, to be honest. “You’re asking me on a date?”
“Are you so surprised?” I replied. “I would think men would request the pleasure of your company on the regular.”
“No,” Eliza stammered, blushing and rolling her eyes. “I just…uh. I don’t know. I didn’t think you were interested in me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like,” she paused, choosing her words delicately. “Like beyond the supply closet, you know what I mean?”
“Ah,” I said. “I suppose Sabryna must have alluded to my um…reputation.”
Eliza raised an eyebrow. “Maybe a bit.”
“Well,” I said, moving closer to her and looking into her eyes intently. “I promise you that my intentions with you are…different. I really, truly, fancy you Eliza Cameron, and I want to spend time with you and get to know you better. What do you say?”
Eliza blushed and looked down again, brushing her hair back behind her ear. She shot her head up with a smile and practically giggled. “Why not?” she said, shrugging. “It sounds nice.”
“There will also be free food,” I added with a wink.
“Well,” Eliza joked. “That’s the only reason I’m going, you know. I find you hideous and repulsive.”
“Most women do,” I said with a sly wink.
Eliza wrote her mobile phone number down on a slip of paper and put it in the palm of my hand with a smile on her face. “Text me when you have a plan,” she said, and sauntered off to her own office with that confidence that only sudden desirability can get you.
“I will,” I said, indulging in a quick fist pump as she disappeared into the hallway. Our date was set.
Chapter Ten-Eliza
I’m not sure if this is the best idea, after all.
It was so easy to agree to go on a date with Cassidy in the moment, when his ocean blue eyes were staring into mine with suggestive intensity. But now that I was back in my apartment, alone except for Maggie snoozing on my open suitcase, I wondered just how crazy I had been over the last few weeks. What was I even doing? This wasn’t me at all…how did I get here? Was I really about to go on a date with another man? I had never really been on a date, besides when Ben and I went to go see movies and get burgers back during our junior year of high school. I didn’t even know what to do.
I know Cassidy said he wanted a real, proper date…dinner and a movie, perhaps, but I was afraid he was just after me for the sex. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was using the date to appease me and eventually get me into bed. Not that I was against that at all, especially after all those things he said to me at the meeting the other day…but I was still a virgin, and an engaged virgin too.
I thought of the way I had felt after I had escaped into the bathroom the other day, after Cassidy had whispered all of those filthy things to me. His words had awakened something in me that my low-key make-out sessions on the couch with Ben certainly never had. And it was enthralling. If I went back to South Dakota now and married Ben, and had what I only assumed would be kind of mediocre sex with Ben for the rest of my natural life, would I be able to cope? Would I be able to cope knowing that I missed out on experiencing sex with a man like Cassidy? Would I think of Cassidy on my wedding night and find myself wishing he was there with me instead?
I paced around Sabryna’s living room nervously, letting the words ring through my head. I was cheating on Ben. I was a cheater. You’re a cheater, Eliza. You’re a bad person. I rested my head against the wall and sighed, feeling the guilt overwhelm me. I had kissed another man, I had loved it, and now I was about to go on a romantic date with him while my fiancée sat waiting at home with no idea where I was or what the state of our engagement was. What the hell was wrong with me?
But along with my self-loathing, Cassidy’s words were there too…his promises that were loaded with suggestion and made me dizzy just to think about.
I would slide my hand up under your skirt, and I’d have you moaning and panting so loud that everyone in the office would hear, and I’d…
I took a deep breath and then crashed onto the couch. If I went on this date, and Cassidy tried to seduce me, which he surely would, I knew I’d give in wholeheartedly. But I wanted him so badly I felt like I was going insane.
This was it, the final step. If I went on this date, I knew, there was no going back, and the engagement would be off for good.
Chapter Eleven-Cassidy
It’s the night before my date—not my prelude to sex date, the kind I’m used to, but a real, proper, romantic “getting to know you” kind of affair, with all the works. It may be a more important kind of date, but my modus operandi was still fundamentally the same—it started with some internet research, and then tailoring the exact kind of date to make a woman swoon.
I opened my laptop and typed Eliza’s name into the search bar, which opened up a nice assortment of her social media prof
iles. Her Facebook profile was full of sweetness, clouded with old birthday messages and photographs of her with her friends at parks and country music concerts. Far too many pictures of Maggie. Even the pages she liked were full of sunshine…she liked Julie Andrews musicals and NBC sitcoms like The Office and Parks and Recreation, pop-country and classic children’s books like the Harry Potter series and A Little Princess. The page seemed untouched, barely updated, as if she was a girl who lived outside of her home and the web, only letting the social media pages pick up rare traces of her life when she allowed it. The pictures and messages were never hers, but from others—people wishing her well and tagging her in pictures as she climbed mountain tops and made cupcakes for her friend’s birthday celebrations.
Her Instagram was very much the same, and only had around ten pictures posted on it, half of which were of Maggie, going for walks in the park or with funny hats perched upon her head. One particular photo caught my eye, however, one of her standing with a tall, similarly sweet-looking brown-haired man next to a waterfall, wrapped in each other’s arms. The caption simply read “…and now it’s forever” followed by a series of heart emojis. I felt my heart sink. It kind of looked like an engagement photo, or engagement announcement, if I had to be honest. It was posted almost a year ago…perhaps something had happened? She couldn’t be engaged, or dating someone, that was ridiculous. This was Eliza, and she was the absolute sweetest, always.
I wondered if she was here in Seattle getting over the mystery man. I decided not to let the photo bother me too much. Eliza was clearly interested, and hey, not to brag, but I was better looking than that other guy anyways. I would let it go.
So what to do for the date? Eliza liked dogs, and the outdoors, and baking cupcakes, outdoor picnics and concerts…I knew just the thing.
I got out my phone and texted Eliza:
Meet me outside the Torver offices tomorrow afternoon at three. Bring Maggie.