by Weeks, Abby
The Wives of Beverly Row 5
Abby Weeks
Copyright © 2014 Abby Weeks
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This work is presented by the author.
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ISBN 978‐1‐927947‐35‐7
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Quote
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Back Matter
*
“ALL ART IS EROTIC.”
Gustav Klimt, 1862‐1918
*
“EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD IS ABOUT SEX EXCEPT SEX. SEX IS ABOUT POWER.”
Oscar Wilde, 1854‐1900
*
I
BECKY LAY ON HER BACK and stared at her bedroom ceiling. No matter what she did, she just couldn’t fall asleep. Her stomach was in knots. There was no helping it. She had to do something.
She picked up her phone and sent Kyle a text.
—Are you awake?
She held the phone in her hand and waited for a reply. It was two in the morning and she knew he was probably asleep but maybe the text message would wake him. She waited till she felt the vibration of Kyle’s reply.
—Yes.
She sighed in relief and quickly typed her message.
—I really need to talk to you.
—Right now?
—Yes.
She waited again, practically holding her breathe till Kyle’s reply came in.
—Meet me by your pool.
Becky hopped out of her bed. She’d been sleeping in some skimpy shorts and a tank top and she grabbed a sweater from the floor before leaving the bedroom. She had to be quiet. Her mother would not be impressed to find her sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night, especially not after learning that she’d just lost her virginity to Kyle.
She crept down the stairs and out through the sliding doors in the kitchen onto the patio. Kyle was already waiting for her by the pool.
“Kyle,” she said.
“Shh,” he said. “Keep it down. I don’t want to get caught.”
He led her to the back of the pool house and then held his arms out to her. She hesitated just a moment before letting him hold her. He gave her a quick hug and then looked at her. His eyes looked so earnest, so eager to hear what it was that couldn’t wait till morning. She admired the way the moonlight reflected off them.
“So?” he said.
Becky looked away. She lowered herself to the ground and sat with her back against the wall of the pool house. She patted the ground next to her and Kyle sat down.
“This isn’t easy,” she said.
“What isn’t?”
“I think we should break up.”
“What?” Kyle said. He sounded so surprised that Becky suddenly felt bad. She’d thought he might not care about breaking up. She’d wondered if the feeling would be mutual. Now she saw that it might not be.
“I just think things have moved too fast for us, Kyle. I feel like they’re getting out of control.”
“What do you mean?” Kyle said. “If it’s about Trudy I can stop that. I swear I can.”
“It’s not about Trudy. It’s about us.”
“What about us?”
“I just feel, you’re a great guy, Kyle. Really you are. It’s just, I’m not ready to have a relationship like this. I’m not ready for this level of sexual intimacy.”
“Well, we can slow things down.”
“No,” Becky said. “I don’t want to slow things down. I want to take a break. I want a chance to get my head straight. I don’t want to be in a relationship right now.”
She looked up at him. He looked sad but he was nodding his head very slightly. That was a good sign. At least he was listening to her.
“It’s because of Trudy, isn’t it?” he said at last.
“That’s part of it,” Becky said. “But think about it, Kyle. I’m sixteen years old. You’re the first boy I’ve ever been intimate with. And you’re sleeping with our neighbor while initiating me into full womanhood. It’s not exactly the dream every girl has when she’s little.”
Kyle nodded. “I know,” he said. “I’m really sorry about all of it, Becky. I knew all along that things couldn’t continue like this. It’s just, I let her seduce me, you know what I mean?”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Becky said.
Kyle nodded again. “I guess we both let things get out of hand a little.”
Becky felt so relieved. She’d been dreading bringing this up. She’d been afraid Kyle wouldn’t let her break up with him, or that he’d somehow convince her to stay in the relationship. Now she saw that he was going to let her go. She smiled at him.
“This doesn’t mean we can’t be friends,” she said.
He nodded. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“And you’ll always be my first,” she said.
He nodded. “I shouldn’t have let this happen. You deserved more from your first sexual experience.”
“Well, that’s what I learned from our little adventure.”
“It’s an important lesson.”
“You should learn the same thing,” she said, eyeing him.
“You mean, not to let Trudy take advantage of me?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s up to you. But don’t you sort of feel like sex should be kept for the one person in the world you really love?”
He smiled again. He leaned toward her and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. “You’re a smart girl, Becky West.”
She nodded. “I know,” she said.
She let him take her hand in his. She looked at him again. He was so handsome. Despite everything that had happened she would always remember him fondly. The things they’d done, the experiences they’d shared, it had shown her the pleasures that sex could bring. It had also shown her the importance of only being intimate like that with someone you really loved. She didn’t regret what had happened between her and Kyle but she was determined to learn from it, and not to make the same mistakes that she saw so many other people make. She didn’t want to be like the adults she knew. She didn’t want to end up like her parents, letting sex mess up the most important relationships in their lives. She wanted more than that for her own life, and she had Kyle to thank for realizing that.
She took her hand from his. He leaned toward her again. He was going to kiss her on the cheek a last time but she turned to face him and let his lips land on hers. They lingered there for a second, their lips touching, and then she withdrew.
“Good bye, Kyle,” she said softly.
She would always remember the look on his face as she left him. It was hard to let him go but she knew it was the right decision.
II
ZOLA GOT OUT OF THE bath and grabbed a towel. She had to admit, despite everything Jake had done to her, she loved the home he provided. The towels were like nothing she’d ever known in her previous life. They were thick and white and made of the best cotton. She sat on the side of her magnificent marble bathtub and dried herself. When she was dry she got up and looked out the window at her backyard. The trees rustled peacefully in their perfectly manicured surroundings.
How could a place so beautiful provide a life that was so unhappy, she wondered. When she was younger she’d always thoug
ht she would die to have a life like this. Now she felt as if she was a complete prisoner, a piece of property owned by a man who had utterly no regard for her happiness or wellbeing.
Jake had left for work an hour earlier. She felt calm. At least when he wasn’t home she could relax in her house, she could feel safe, she could enjoy the luxuries he provided. She was planning on going down to the kitchen for some nice coffee and fresh croissants after her bath, then she might do a little gardening. The garden was perfect but it was still nice to putter around a little and tidy the few things that were out of place. She had a favorite part of the garden, just at the far end of the pool, where palm trees shaded a beautiful rock garden. She could spend hours walking around it, clipping dead leaves or pulling up the rare weeds that managed to raise their heads.
As she was applying her makeup she heard a knock at the door. She wondered who it could be so early. Maybe it was UPS. Jake was always getting deliveries of strange packages, sex toys, costumes, that sort of thing.
She ran down the stairs with her towel wrapped around her. When she got to the door she hesitated for just a moment. What if it wasn’t UPS? Suddenly she was afraid. What if it was one of the guys from Jake’s forum? He’d told everyone on the forum where their house was, and he’d also told them that they could feel free to drop in on her at any time. She stood in the hallway and looked at the door as if it was the only thing between her and some terrible monster.
“Zola,” she heard, coming from the other side of the door. It was Ariel’s voice.
Zola almost ran to the door. “Oh my God, you scared me,” she cried as she opened the door.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” Zola said. She felt silly, like she’d been overreacting. “I was just being silly. Come on in.”
“I wanted to make sure you were doing alright this morning,” Ariel said.
“Oh,” Zola said. She didn’t know what to say. She’d been feeling good about the discussion she’d had with Ariel, she felt a lot better about her decision to stand up to Jake in some way, but she was still terrified at the prospect of actually doing it. “I’m okay,” she said to her friend.
“I brought over some bagels,” Ariel said. “They’re from the Montreal bakery down on Sunset. They make the best bagels.”
“Thank you,” Zola said as she took the paper bag. She knew Ariel was trying extra hard to be nice to her.
“Maybe we could get together for a coffee or something,” Ariel said.
“Sure,” Zola said. “What about later this morning? I’m still getting ready right now but I’m pretty much free all day.”
“Sounds great,” Ariel said. “Why don’t you give me a call when you’re ready. We can drive in my car.”
Zola smiled as she closed the door. She knew that Ariel was trying to be protective of her now, she knew she felt guilty for having slept with Jake, but the truth was, Zola was grateful for it. She needed a friend. She needed support. If she was going to ever get out of this situation she’d allowed to develop with Jake, she would need all the help she could get.
She went back upstairs to finish getting ready but just as she got to the top of the stairs she heard another knock on the door. Ariel must have forgotten something.
“Come on in,” she called down from the bedroom. She was just putting on some makeup so she called down to Ariel, “I’m upstairs.”
She heard Ariel’s footsteps on the stairs and pulled the towel back up over her chest. She went to the door to meet Ariel but when she saw who was standing in front of her she froze in mid-stride.
It wasn’t Ariel. It was a man. Standing there, just ten feet from her in the hallway, was a man! Peter! The man Jake had made her have sex with at the hotel.
How could he be just standing there? Zola was so in shock that she couldn’t even move. She just stood there and looked at him like a deer caught in headlights.
“Hello,” Peter said.
Zola couldn’t say a word. She was too surprised.
“I just thought I’d swing by and pay you a little visit,” he said.
The words didn’t even register with her. She stood there, motionless, her eyes wide with terror, her mind blank in complete shock.
He looked her over. As his eyes wondered up over her toweled body she struggled to breath. Her chest was so tight with fear that she could hardly catch her breath. She didn’t move a muscle. He was wearing the same crude outfit he’d been wearing last time she’d seen him, a stained t-shirt, ill-fitting jeans, dirty white sneakers. The hair on his arms was black and ugly. A mess of stubble covered the bottom half of his face like brush on a hillside.
“Surprised to see me?” Peter said taking a step in Zola’s direction.
She didn’t answer. She wanted to run but there was nowhere she could run to. The bathroom was behind her but she wasn’t sure the lock on the door would hold him out.
“You know Jake said I could come by whenever I wanted, right?” he said.
She looked at him. He had to know that she didn’t want this. The fear on her face must have been obvious to him. What could she say to get him to leave?
“Yes,” she said. “Of course.”
“Good,” he said. “I’d hate to have to tell him that you weren’t hospitable to me.”
“No, please don’t,” Zola said. “He’d be so mad.”
She was still standing there with nothing on, holding the towel up around her chest with her arm.
“I was thinking maybe we could have a little fun like we did the other night at the hotel,” Peter said.
Zola didn’t answer that. She had no idea what she was supposed to say. Was there a way for her to get out of this? Was she allowed to say she didn’t want it? She didn’t know the rules. She knew that she wanted to make a stand for herself, tell Jake that this couldn’t go on, but was she ready to do that right now? Was she ready to tell this man to leave? No, she wasn’t. She was still far too afraid of Jake, too afraid of being kicked out onto the street with nothing, to do anything that would anger him.
She looked at the phone by the side of her bed. If only she could call Ariel and get her to come back over. Peter must have just missed her in the driveway. He noticed her looking at the phone. She looked away from it immediately.
“I’d better finish getting ready,” she said, weakly. “Would you mind waiting downstairs while I put on my makeup?”
“I’ll wait up here,” Peter said.
She knew he was keeping her away from the phone on purpose. She didn’t want things to get ugly. She didn’t want to have to fight him. “Oh,” she said. “Okay.”
She went back into the bathroom and finished putting on her makeup. She was in shock. Was she really getting ready so that this awful man could fuck her? Was that what had become of her life? She put on foundation, blush, mascara, lipstick. She knew she looked beautiful by the time she’d finished but she took no pleasure in it. She didn’t have any clothes to put on in the bathroom, they were all in the bedroom. The door was open and she could see Peter sitting out there on her bed, waiting for her.
“You look good enough,” he said, impatiently watching her. He was leaning back on the bed, watching her every move. She glanced again at the phone but she knew it was no good. There was no chance she’d be able to make a call, not without Peter pouncing on her and overpowering her.
“I just want to look perfect for you,” she said. As she applied her eye-liner she realized that her hand was shaking. She was terrified. She was terrified of what was about to happen, and of what she might do to try to stop it. She didn’t have the courage to try anything.
She stepped back into the room, the towel still the only thing she had on.
“I’m going to put on a surprise for you,” she said.
“What is it?”
“It’s a surprise,” she said. “Go wait in the hall and I’ll tell you when to come back in.”
She could see that he was thinking about it. She was sur
e he didn’t fully trust her but he was weighing up the risk of leaving the room. What could she really do to escape? Jump out the window?
“Alright,” he said. “Just don’t take too long. I’m ready to spill my load.”
She smiled at him, an utterly false smile, but she tried to make it seem real. Then she walked up to him and took him by the hand. She pulled him up from the bed and brought him to the bedroom door.
“Just wait right here,” she said as she shut the door. “I’ll only be a moment.”
She closed the door behind her and then went over to the telephone by the bed. She wanted to call Ariel. All she had to do was ask her to come over. That would probably be enough to scare Peter away. She was standing right next to the phone. She reached out with her hand to pick it up but she stopped half-way. She couldn’t do it. She was too scared. What if Peter saw? What if he told Jake? What then? She was desperate to pick up that phone but something inside her was just too terrified of disobeying her husband. She just couldn’t do it. Jake had her under his thumb, he had complete control of her, and she knew it. She knew it but there was nothing she was able to do about it.
She felt like weeping. What was wrong with her? She was standing right by the phone and she couldn’t even pick it up and call for help. Had she really turned into that much of a coward?
“Are you ready?” Peter called from just beyond the door.
“Just a second,” she called. Her voice cracked but she doubted he’d noticed.
She went quickly to her dresser and pulled out the skimpy black satin bra and thong that Jake had given her. She knew she looked sexy in them. She saw the leather collar in the drawer too, sitting there on top of her other underwear. She decided not to wear that.
“Alright,” Peter called from the hallway, “you better be ready because I’m coming in.”
She hopped up onto the bed and when he came in he was greeted by a sight that no man would be disappointed to see. Zola was sitting back on the bed, facing him, looking right up at him through her knees, displaying her entire body to his gaze.
“God, you’re a beautiful woman,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said. She tried not to think about what was happening. She wanted it to just happen and be over as soon as possible. She would try not to remember any of what was to follow. She would allow him to have his pleasure, then she would wash him away and never think of this event again.