by Harley Fox
Reaching in, I push the guns aside as I riffle through these new things. There are some folded clothes — two t-shirts, a pair of jeans — and something that reminds me of those things I’ve seen in the movies … a bullet-proof vest. I also see boxes of ammunition and a clear Ziploc bag which, when I get a closer look, seems to hold neatly lined and bundled stacks of money.
Jesus. When he said “supplies” I didn’t think he meant for the Armageddon.
I drop the things down and push the guns back over them, then zip the bag back up. Standing up, I look down at it, at where it’s out right beside the bed. It’s obvious I’m not going to be able to move this thing on my own. I’ll just have to leave it here.
I feel a wind blow through the open window and I close my eyes, thankful to breathe in air that isn’t so stale. Today’s been so hot, and so much has happened. What I could really use right now is a shower. So I turn around and walk to the bathroom, opening the door and flicking on the light switch on the wall.
As the overhead florescent blinks into life, I look around at the drab and colorless bathroom. I don’t know why I expected there would be anything better. Beneath the mirror is a counter with a sink in it, a stack of towels piled up in one corner. I take a good look at myself, leaning in to my reflection. My hair could definitely use a wash.
Along the same wall is the toilet, and beside it, and taking up the entire far end of the room, is a bathtub with a shower. It comes complete with a shower curtain that looks like it was maybe popular in the 70s. This time I let out a soft laugh.
It’s like they tried to go for the worst-looking things, I think with a smile. Closing the door behind me, I walk over to the shower and turn it on, hearing the loud spray of water as it hits the tub below.
As I let it warm up I begin to take off my clothes. My fingers unbutton my blouse and I remember how it was only, what, two hours ago? that Lance undid them for me, right before we made love against the wall.
Well … made love doesn’t quite give it justice. Right before we fucked against the wall.
Because that’s all it was, wasn’t it? Just a fuck, nothing more. Quick, and dirty, and with absolutely no feelings attached to it. I let him get into my head and I have only myself to blame for that. Besides, what did I expect was going to happen? That he was suddenly going to become a perfect gentleman the moment he put his penis inside me?
And I thought I was supposed to be the smart one.
Naked now, and with my clothes in a pile on the floor, I flick on the ventilation fan and grab one of the towels, putting it on the toilet seat. Then I step into the shower and pull the curtain closed behind me.
The water feels good against my skin, and soon all thought leaves me as I wash away the grime and sweat that’s covering my body. I have to unwrap the bar of soap before I can use it, and when I get to washing my hair the shampoo and conditioner bottles are so tiny that I nearly use them both up. But they do the trick, and after I’ve rinsed all the suds off I turn off the tap and pull back the curtain, feeling new and thoroughly refreshed.
Reaching down, I grab the towel from where I put it and dry myself off in the tub. It’s only now that I realize that I don’t have any extra clothes, and I don’t exactly relish the idea of wearing my sweat-soaked panties and bra. Lance probably isn’t back yet, so maybe I can wear some of those spare clothes he brought with him. I mean, it’s not my fault that he brought me here without any notice.
So I wrap the towel around my chest, a little unnerved that it only just covers my ass. But still I open the door and leave the bathroom, turning around the corner … only to find Lance standing at the round table, taking burgers and fries out of a big paper bag.
I freeze, and he looks over at me, his eyes on mine for only a moment before I see them travel down to my body. He smiles and I feel myself blush and my heartbeat picks up, that heat flowing down to between my legs again. But still I pull them together and take a step back, holding the towel tightly to my body.
“Damn,” Lance says in a low rumbling voice. “I wish I’d gotten back sooner. I could’ve joined you.”
I ignore the flush on my cheeks.
“In your dreams,” I say, but when I turn to glance at his duffel bag, about to ask if I can borrow some of the clothes he brought, that’s when I spot a plastic bag sitting on the bed.
“What’s that?” I ask him, and Lance looks over at the bag.
“Oh, there was a store next to the burger place that sold some women’s clothes,” he says. “I picked you up some, in case you needed them.”
He turns back to the food and I stare at him, speechless. I open my mouth but I don’t know what to say. Walking over to the bag, I open it up and inside are some shorts, two t-shirts, a couple pairs of socks and some running shoes.
“I didn’t know what size shoe you wear,” he says, and I look up to see him watching me. “So I had to guess.”
“Lance, thank you so much,” I say, honestly touched. “This is really sweet of you.”
I see the flicker of a smile on his face before he drops his gaze and sits down in one of the plastic chairs.
“Food’s ready,” he says, picking up a French fry and eating it.
“Okay, I’ll just be one second,” I say, and I pick up the plastic bag, taking it with me back into the bathroom.
Once I’m changed, wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and socks (I decided to leave the shoes in the bag, but I checked and they do fit) I come back out to see Lance already enjoying his burger. I come over and join him, sitting down in the other chair. Lance doesn’t say anything but takes another big bite. My stomach rumbles and I unwrap my cheeseburger, taking a bite out of it and almost moaning in delight as the delicious flavor and grease floods into my mouth.
“Mm,” I moan, swallowing my bite. “Oh my God, I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” Lance nods, chewing his food. “Thank you so much for getting this.”
Lance shrugs and swallow his bite. “We gotta eat,” he says.
We eat together in silence, the room feeling more calm with the occasional wind blowing in through the open window. I take another bite of my burger and chew it, looking around. Then I settle my gaze on Lance, watching him.
“Do you mind if I ask you something?” I say when I swallow my bite.
Lance shrugs again, not looking at me. “Go ahead,” he says. He picks up his drink and takes a sip.
“Well … you said you’d been doing this for twenty years now. But you don’t look much older than me … when did you start doing this?”
Lance pops a few fries in his mouth as he gives me a look.
“I thought you said you didn’t want me as your client anymore,” he says, and I feel a heat rising in my cheeks.
“I’m not asking as a therapist,” I say to him. “I’m asking … as a friend.”
He chews the French fries, watching me as he does. Then he swallows them.
“The first time I killed somebody was when I was ten,” he says.
I stare at him, shocked. Ten? Ten years old?? That can’t be right. When I was ten I was still combing my Barbie’s hair. I don’t think I’d even known anybody who had died by that time.
“That’s … young,” I point out glibly.
Lance only looks at me again, but doesn’t say anything as he takes another bite.
“Um, so what happened? Who did you kill?”
He chews and swallows, and then picks up his drink, taking another sip. When he puts it down he says, “He was a mob boss. The head of some shit family. He was in his headquarters playing cards while I put a bomb into his car, rigging it to blow when the ignition started. It worked, and up he went.”
“Wow,” I say, and I look down at the burger in my hands. “Why did you do it?” I ask before taking a bite.
Lance chews for a moment before swallowing.
“Revenge,” he says, and the word sends a shiver down my spine.
“Revenge?” I repeat, and he nods, popping some more fries in
his mouth. I wager for a moment, and then … “Was it for Danny?”
“Look, are you going to eat that burger?” he snaps. “Because I don’t want you wasting it..”
“No, no, I’ll eat it,” I say, and as though to prove my point I take another bite, a big one, too big as I struggle to chew it all. Lance watches me for a moment before dropping his stare, and it takes me a minute to work through the mass of meat and cheese and bread in my mouth, having to swallow it in chunks before I finally get it all down.
Once it’s gone, I reach over and pick up my drink, sucking up some of the sweet, bubbly Coke and washing down that massive bite. Putting down the cup, I decide to switch gears.
“So after that first time with the bomb, is that when you decided that this is what you wanted to do?”
For a moment it seems like Lance isn’t going to answer, his eyes looking down in front of him. But then he shakes his head.
“No. I didn’t consider it. Honestly, it was just a one-time thing to me. But one of the other head of family found out and they came after me one day when I was finishing up school. They said they wanted to hire me to do things like that. Maybe not killing people, but since I was a kid and I already seemed to know stuff, they said I would be the perfect person to fuck with things. You know, because nobody would suspect a kid.
“So I did little jobs for them, setting up booby traps and getting people hurt, sending a message, that kind of thing. It came easy to me, and I got paid a lot of money, so I didn’t ask too many questions. After a while I started to like these guys. And I knew the guys I was hurting were bad people, so it was okay by me. They were just like the boss I killed.”
“Did you do this all on your own?”
He shakes his head again.
“No, I have a friend, Willy, who I’ve known since I was nine. I told him what was going on and he was interested, so he started getting into it. Not doing what I do, really, but helping me out in other ways. Smooth talking people and getting them distracted. Or else getting information from them.”
“What did your parents think about you doing all of this?”
Another shake of the head.
“They didn’t. Not for the first few years, at least. Willy and me kept things pretty quiet, and we weren’t idiots about spending our money.
“Of course, word eventually got around and I remember this one night I had a big fight with my dad when he heard what I did from one of the neighbors. I got so mad I left the house and went to be with one of the girls I was seeing at the time … Julianne. I went to her house and snuck in through the window, stayed the night. When I went back home the next day my dad didn’t say anything, but I could tell there was this divide between us already. We fought a couple more times, and then they kicked me out not long after that.”
“Wow.” I can’t imagine my parents ever threatening to kick me out of the house, let alone actually doing it.
“That’s when I shacked up with Samantha,” he says. “I was there for six months, and I didn’t do any dirty work the entire time I was there. I only just helped her out at the shop, got the place set up now that she was doing it all on her own. But we had our problems, as kids do, so eventually I left and met up with Willy again, who by that time was working for a boss full-time. I joined up with him, we went through a number of bosses together, and now here we are.”
“Wow,” I say again. “And your current boss …”
Lance breathes out an annoyed sigh.
“I need to talk to him,” he says. “Sort this whole thing out. I’ll try to think of a way of getting to him that won’t get the both of us killed. And after I’ve done that … then I think I’m going to find someone else to work for.”
Lance pops the last bite of burger into his mouth and washes it down with a sip of Coke. I take another bite of my burger and chew it in silence. Lance sucks his drink dry and puts down the empty cup as he says, “Well, I’m going to have a shower.” And without another word, he gets up from the table and walks away, my eyes on his retreating back as he disappears into the bathroom and closes the door behind him.
I swallow the food in my mouth and take another bite. Lance’s life sounds so … dramatic. I had no idea he was going to open up to me like that. Of course, when I asked about Danny he wasn’t so willing … maybe he’s not ready to let me know about everything.
But what does any of that matter? Didn’t you already say you’re not going to treat him anymore?
I swallow and take another bite of cheeseburger. The shower turns on and my eyes dart over to the bathroom before returning back.
That’s right, I’m done with him, I think. Lance is an arrogant jerk and I don’t need somebody like that in my life. Once we’re done here I’m through with him, and this will be the last I see of him.
But even just as I think that my stomach drops. Once all this is over, what kind of life will I be going back to? Will I just get my office cleaned up and become a therapist again? Go home every night to my lonely apartment? Read books and watch Netflix and try to ignore that gnaw of desperate need that plagues me night after night, no matter how much I try to deny it, no matter how much I insist that I can make it on my own?
Well I can make it on my own, I’ve already shown that to the world. But a fulfilling career doesn’t keep me warm at night, or hold me when I want to be held. I mean, it’s not like Lance would do any of those things, it’s just … maybe it’s time for things to change in my life. And if that’s the case, then I know that I’m the only one who can change them.
I eat the last bite of my burger and crumple up the wrapper, taking Lance’s with mine. There are still some French fries left, but maybe I’ll have them later. Throwing out the garbage I stand up and stretch, feeling full and sleepy. Crawling onto the bed, I sprawl out and flip over so I’m on my back, laying my head down on the pillow. I can still hear the sound of the shower and my mind wanders to Lance, naked in there, washing himself. He made some comment about coming to join me in my shower … how would he feel if I joined him?
Katie! What are you thinking?
I shake my head, honestly surprised I’d even thought that. But even as I settle back down again, I can’t seem to rid myself of thoughts of Lance.
I mean, we’ve already slept together once. And let’s face it: Lance is hot as hell. A swirling down in my belly makes me close my eyes as I keep listening to the rush of water, thinking about what it would be like to pull back that shower curtain and see him standing there, tall and strong and naked. Hot water is pouring all over him, down his shoulders and muscles and his big, thick cock. And all I need to do is get up … just go and get it …
The pipes squeak as the water turns off. I open my eyes, my heart pounding in my chest. I realize with a shock that my hand has inched down my stomach almost to my crotch. I blush and sit up, smoothing out my hair. Beyond the silence of the room I hear the shower curtain being pulled back and vague noises as Lance gets out of the shower.
Okay. It’s time I set up some ground rules, I think, before my mind can go anywhere else. I’ll tell him he can sleep on the floor. The bathtub is another option, but it will be all wet from the shower. Of course, maybe he could lie across the end of the bed? I could even do the same, at the top of the bed. That way there would be distance between us. Or maybe we could-
The bathroom door opens and I look up to see Lance step out. He’s naked, and wet, and the only thing covering him is the white towel he’s holding in front of him, conveniently covering the space between his legs.
My heart does a flip in my chest. Lance stops and sees me staring at him. Covering his broad chest and shoulders, all down his bulging arms and over the rippling landscape that is his stomach, are tattoos, etching of different patterns, images and words, some in English, and some in Latin. They go down past his waist, some disappearing behind the splay of the towel, some visible on the sides of his muscular legs.
As I lift my eyes back up I realize too late that my mouth
is open. I close it with a snap but Lance doesn’t say anything. He only looks at me for a moment, his intense blue eyes burning into mine, before he lets the towel drop and I can’t stop from looking, my eyes landing on his thick, hard cock standing out from his body, his balls hanging below, his purple head swollen and throbbing.
Lance takes steps towards me and I lift my eyes again to meet with his. He reaches the bed and crawls onto it, his body moving like a snake, his cock pointing at me from underneath him. As he reaches me I slowly lean back, lying down. He follows me and my heart beats hard in my chest, my legs opening for him, his body nestling down onto mine.
I feel Lance’s hard cock press up between my thighs and his lips drop down, kissing me. My eyes close and I take him in. Wrapping my arms around him I’m met with hot, wet skin, hard muscles hidden there just underneath. Lance’s body moves against mine, his cock pushing into the thin sheet of fabric that covers my sex. I feel myself ache for him, crying to him, calling him into me. I want him so badly, and I didn’t realize it until right now.
One of his hands finds the bottom of my t-shirt and I arch my back as he slides it up my body. My nipples, hard and sensitive, become uncovered as Lance forces the shirt over them. He pulls away from our kiss just long enough for him to strip the shirt over my head, and then he drops back down, my bare breasts pressing into his chest, hot pleasure moving through me.
Lance’s mouth returns to mine as his hand slides up and down my side. He begins kissing down, below my lips to my neck, and I suck in breath as he latches himself onto me. His tongue coats my thin skin, hard muscles rub over my breasts, my nipples poking up and into him. His hips begin grinding forward and I do the same, our movements pushing us together, his cock pressing right into my pussy. I reach down and slip a hand between us, grabbing onto his thickness. Lance utters a groan as I stroke him. Cool, wet precum spreads over my inner thigh as I slide my hand up and down.
Lance continues kissing down, moving past my neck to my collarbone now. As he moves his cock slides out of my grip but I still feel him gyrate, his body moving up against me. He stops when his head is at my breasts and I look down to see him staring at me, drinking me in. A flutter goes through my heart.