There’s a girl whom I’ve never met sitting between Sasha and Gretchen! They’re both animated, talking and giggling with her, totally ignoring my open mouth. The stranger smiles my way. A beautiful Asian girl with dark-brown eyes. She must be mixed race, because the sandy blonde hair lying in low ponytails on her chest looks naturally blonde to me. There’s not a hint of a dark root in her middle part, I see. She’s wearing a men’s basketball jersey—no bra. It’s pulled tight across her generous boobs and tied in a knot in the back. Exposing just a hint of her roll. The way she twitches and keeps darting glances my way reminds me of a silky, white rabbit. Could this be ‘12’ back for a visit?
No one pipes up, so I introduce myself. “I’m Blue,” I say, reaching across the table to shake her hand. She nods, blushing to her blond roots. “I know.” And I realize she’s a new girl in training. And she’s been studying my sexnanigans all day. Fuck.
Gretchen stands, wearing a nightie emblazoned with Queen Bitch in pink rhinestones across her chest. She nods my way before turning back to Pigtails. “Everyone, this is Hollister.” She lays a hand on the new girl’s shoulder. “She’s new, and this is her first night in the new house. Please help her along and treat her like a sister. I know you will.”
Murmurs of introduction from all around the table. I feel slightly jealous, like my shine’s worn off. I’m no longer the new kid on the block.
Our chef, Chloe—she’s French, so everything’s fab—comes out, struggling with a silver tray piled high with an éclair cake. Chocolate drizzles down the sides, and it’s been coated in powdered sugar. Queries of “Who’s this from?” accompany each dish. Gus and Chloe continue bombarding us with sweets. I see a carton of Ben and Jerry’s pint of Boom Chocolatta ice cream, with whipped cream piled high right on top of the carton, sprinkled with Oreo crumbs and a hot dog sticking out if it. Must be mine! My crazy Ken and Barbie. I smile and grab it, oinking with glee, hoping to give them a thrill. Chloe comes out, laden down with one of the only dishes that isn’t dessert.
“Tony!” Gretchen and Sasha say at the same time, laughing as the huge slab of barbequed ribs is dropped in front of Gretchen. “Pass one over here please.” I say, craving the salty with my sweet.
“Just one, Blue. There’s something special for you, too.” Chloe comes around to my end, placing a glass baking dish filled with caramel-coated flan on my plate. “No spoon,” she whispers, before stealing away back into the kitchen.
Tears prick my eyes, warring with the smile on my face. My fucked up man, I think as I drag my hooked fingers through the top. I raise them high, dripping flan down my arm, and cheer, “To Javi!” before sucking the custardy dessert from my fingers. Each lady, even Hollister, raises what she’s eating to toast our absent friend.
Esmie’s got a silver bowl of blood pudding in front of her. Ugh, and it smells like it’s swimming in real blood. I don’t know how she can stomach that stuff. I turn away, my own stomach threatening a revolt. I can’t even look at it without throwing up, and there she is, eating the hell out of it.
Daisy’s working her way through the mountainous éclair cake. One-handed, and she’s still making a hefty dent. Gretchen gnaws on her ribs, alternating with bites from a chocolate cake. Sasha’s eating a fruit cake, of course. Even Hollister’s eating a jelly…what?
I stop shoveling the flan in and watch as she devours my perfect jelly donut. That was meant for me, bitch! My eyes flash, but I keep it zipped for once.
Remembering that she doesn’t have a Javi to welcome her into the fold helps me to be more charitable. Sharing my tasty treat is the least I can do. I give her what I hope is an encouraging smile and continue scooping the flan in, alternating with the chocolate ice cream so my kinky couple doesn’t get jealous.
After we’ve all had a taste and shared our confections around, the banter portion of the evening starts.
“Hey, Sasha, I bet you can’t fit a whole Long John in your mouth.” Gretchen smiles playfully, but Sasha’s all business. It’s on. I watch her deep throat a donut. Right down her gullet, without so much as one chew. That right there should be the commercial for Dunkin’ Donuts. It would sell a million donuts. Reaching for another, she sit-dances to music that plays on the carousel that is her brain.
I smile wickedly, raising my wrist, and stare down at my watch. “Your turn, Gretchen. How many of those meaty ribs can you eat in five minutes?” She smirks my way. “Why am I being singled out? There’s a whole cow slaughtered on this table. Why don’t we all,” she waves around the table at us, “join in. There’s plenty. Tony made sure of that.”
Everyone laughs, having a good time. Chloe’s called from the kitchen, informed of the eating contest, and carries another tray around, loading all of our plates down with savory BBQ ribs. I’m happy, I think, looking around at all my friends. This is a great day.
I hold up a finger. Everyone hovers over their own mound of messy meat, waiting for the green light. “In five, four, three, two…one!” We all go at it, loving the power of bringing a whole audience of feeders to their knees. Hollister’s eating, daintily picking meat from her bone.
Sasha notices, too. “C’mon, Hollister, tear that shit up!” she yells, and goes back to her own rib with a ravenous vengeance. With a quick look around at all of our encouraging faces, Hollister does just that. Chomping into the meat with real gusto.
“That’s it!” and “Get it girl!” are hollered all around.
Javi
After my time with Blue, group therapy holds no interest for me. She’s all I need to feel like myself. Why did she bring up the mother issue again? I thought we covered all of that at the motel weeks ago. She seemed satisfied with my explanation, and I thought that would be that. Until today.
The first time I’ve talked to her in weeks and that’s what she wants to discuss? It seems like there’s more going on back at my house than feasting and pillow fights. I know part of it’s the meds, and maybe a tiny part of it might be my own fucked up mind, but I’m beginning to feel slightly paranoid. Like things are going on behind my back. I’m being kept outta the loop.
Not for the first time, I think leaving Blue alone wasn’t my smartest idea. I’ll have to watch a little closer to make sure they’re not tainting my Bonita.
Blue
Later, after a shower and change of clothes, I lie across my bed, stuffed like a holiday turkey. No more food, I think, wishing someone would do me the Favor of getting me some Alka-Seltzer right about now. For some reason, flan gives me heartburn. Those thoughts invariably lead to Javi, and of course, Maria. Now that I know there’s a mother hidden in our basement, it seems like all thoughts of him these days’ lead to her.
I can’t say that I agree with the situation, but I can commiserate. I’ve got my own mommy issues haunting me. As long as my mother stays with the bastardly preacher from my childhood nightmares, she will remain out of my life. Total radio silence on my part. No calls—she doesn’t have my number. No visits—she doesn’t know where I live. No contact whatsoever. Just the way I want it. I’ve effectively eliminated her from my own life, so who am I to judge? But I’ve been tempted to do just that by Sasha.
When there was nothing left to do but lick the plates, I excused myself to my room, coated in melted chocolate, sticky caramel, and congealed BBQ sauce, wanting nothing more than a steaming shower and bed. Sasha had run up behind me, pinched an ass cheek and whispered into my ear. “’1’s all set for lift off!” I nodded, feeling my own excitement building at her words. All during my shower, I went back and forth, to view or not to view. Probably how my clients must feel about me. As my conditioner set in, I’d been sure I wouldn’t click that number.
Now, cuddled under the covers, I can’t help myself. I click on ‘1’ to do a little stalking of my own. Usually there is no signal to this tile on the screen, just a blank tile. Sasha flipped the viewing switch just for me. I understand, I get it, they’ve kept her in the dark so long, it would be heartbreaking to expla
in that all the times she was acting and eating, it had been to dead air, but it’s still hard to stomach.
She’s in the mammoth bed now, sitting up, back against a mound of pillows. The swing hidden away somewhere in the shadows. Her corpulent legs are spread out in front of her while she eats. It’s ten at night and still she continues to consume. Ribs have been brought to her from our feast, along with mashed potatoes, gravy, and buttered rolls. Sitting on her bedside table—rectangular and on wheels, so much like a hospital bedside table my heart hurts—are various desserts from our feast. No flan, I see. And that’s a good thing. No jelly donuts, either. If there were, I might run down to the basement and rip them out of her greedy, grabbing hands.
She tears meat from a bone, fake moaning for no audience. I can’t even roll my eyes, it’s that sad. I continue to watch, hell, catalog her.
I’m enthralled by the ghost of Javi’s features buried under her round cheeks and double chin. There’s no doubt about it. That’s Javi’s mother, or Maria, as Sasha said her name was. Her eyes glitter blue under the cameras. The color is so like my Javi’s, but that’s where the comparison ends. Hers are hard eyes, no softness around the edges. She methodically shoves spoonful after spoonful of potatoes, dripping with butter and sour cream, into her mouth, stopping only when she’s overflowing, before she chews, mouth open.
I watch every chew, desperate to know her secrets. Or Javi’s secrets. I feel like she holds the key to both. I’ve gotta crack her. After about five minutes, I can’t lie still. Watching isn’t enough, it seems, so I use some of my tip money, one thousand of it, to be exact, to pay for my Favor.
Sasha arranged it. At first I wasn’t even gonna tell Sasha about my harebrained idea, it being the middle of the night and all, but I needed a negotiator. And Sasha performed the task, stressing to Maria that the truth was essential. If she lied, no one else would ask her for a Favor. I watched the whole negotiation, and Sasha is much more patient than I give her credit for. She put up with every nasty barb slung her way, looking at the camera as if to say, the shit I do for you, Blue.
Sasha got her so on board with the plan, she would’ve agreed to anything. Well that and the fact that the only thing she’s starved for is attention. My Favor didn’t start til almost midnight, which didn’t disturb her in the least.
The click that signifies her Favor is starting is audible over her eating. She sits up straighter, her genuine smile glistening with butter, a ghost of her former beauty shining through, till she spots me on her screen. Then I get the sourpuss.
“What is this?” she asks, thoroughly put out.
“Hi, Maria. Do you remember me?” I know she does, but it’s awkward, and I don’t know where to start.
“Of course I do. I’m fat, not stupid. You’re supposedly a friend of my wayward son’s. How is he, by the way? I haven’t seen him in years.” Looking down her nose at me, she reaches for her fork. I stop her.
“Uh-uh. No eating. I’m paying, and I choose talking. The truth. Sasha told you what happens if you lie.”
She nods curtly and mimes cutting her own throat before laying the fork down with a clank on her plate. A tad dramatic, but hey, whatever gets her tongue nice and loose.
“I’ll play, but you may not like the answers.” The look she gives me makes me want to fall over dead.
I start off easy, asking Maria questions about early life for Javi. “Tell me about Javi as a boy.”
Her face hardens, and she starts. “He was a cute kid, always stealing my thunder. You see, before Javi, everyone oohed and aahed over me. Couldn’t believe the morally reserved Mister Gustavez could catch a woman like me. I was a looker back then. A Rose Parade queen.” She smiles at her own distant memory.
“Post-Javi, it wasn’t me they were drooling over anymore, it was him. Always trying to steal my limelight with his cute little phrases, that smile, those glacier-blue eyes. Any visitors to the house were there for only one thing. Javi. Little Mister Social Butterfly.” The venom drips from her words, and her face takes on a haggard, witch-like appearance. There’s enough hate to make me relieved I’m not in the same room as her. This is what Sasha was talking about.
“As he got older, he filled out. Grew into himself. Muscular, tanned, he became even more beautiful. But it was a rugged beauty, which only made him look more like a fallen angel.” She lowers her chin, her eyes glaring. “But he would never hear that from me. He was grown you see, but I kept him close. Always close, but not with love. No, never with that.
“It was my utter lack of approval, the opposite of love and acceptance which kept him by my side. Everyone else fawned over him, petting and stroking his ego. But not me. I made him earn every kind word from my lips. I didn’t give anything to him for free.
“He caught on quick, too. Beauty and brains. He taught himself to cook, clean, and launder clothes early on. It wasn’t meant to, but it fooled his father. He never let on that he did all the work, allowing his father to believe I was truly taking care of them. That despite my hard interior, I still cared for his little family.
“I would receive all the praise, and Javi was content to let me have it.”
I cut her off. “Why couldn’t you do the household chores? Or why not hire a maid if you were too lazy?” I’m already pissy, and it’s only five minutes into this Favor. I feel it’s only gonna get worse from here.
Maria rolls her eyes at me, shaking her head. “Because I was very desirable. Had many admirers coming to see me. I was too busy in the bedroom for chores…if you get my meaning.” She winks, and my stomach turns. “I already had Javi hovering around. I didn’t need any other witnesses to my liaisons. Those were the days. I didn’t even care if Javi saw; he would never tell on his mother. His love for me, and the adoration he gave his absent father, prevented him from doing so. Those two emotions bound and gagged him better than any threats I could make. Plus, he wanted so badly to keep the peace. If only I’d just kept that arrangement going.” There is actual remorse on her face, however fleeting. But it’s not for Javi and what she might have done to his fragile self-esteem. No, I know after just a few short minutes with this selfish woman that it’s for the loss of her freedom to run around and fuck whomever she wanted.
She shakes her head at the memories and continues. “As the years passed, Javi grew, and increased his workload, doing whatever I wanted. So much like his father, who worked harder to bring me expensive baubles and jewels. Both men in my life vying for my love.” She sighs, full of regret. “I was quite the looker back then. You wouldn’t know it to see me now, in this state, but back then, necks everywhere broke trying to turn their heads fast enough to watch me walk past.”
Too bad your insides didn’t match, I think, keeping it to myself, not wanting to stem this regurgitation of information.
She smiles at the memory, flashing me what I guess is her signature sexy look. “I was all hips and ass, every red-blooded American male’s dream. And I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I had the tightest pussy in town. It was those big fat thighs…” She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I’m nauseated. “Pushed the walls together. Better than Kegels.” She throws her head back and snarls out a laugh at the green look on my face.
“So. Where was I?” Nostalgia brightens her blue eyes.
I can’t help myself and interject. “You were slaving out the men in your life and all the while withholding love and affection.”
Maria glares at me, but her looks don’t faze me in the least. Her words, however, are making my skin crawl.
She continues with an even stare. “All the while, men from town were bringing me something else.” She stops and stares at me. Wanting me to guess, but I won’t take the bait.
I’m quiet so long, she throws her hands up in frustration. “Oh, sex for crying out loud! S-E-X. Males aren’t the only ones that get to be sex addicts, if you get my drift.” I’m buried in it. “And my simple young man just went about his chores, head down, mouth shut, pretend
ing his mother was more than just a common whore.” She stops, daring me to comment.
I don’t, even though I do agree with her self-analysis. Shooting for a blank look, I remove the sneer from my face and ask, “Then what happened?”
She thinks before answering. “I got greedy, that’s what. Had to show off. And look where that got me.” Her shrug says indifference, but the baleful look she casts down on that body of hers is filled with pure loathing.
“There had been whispers among the ladies at my weekly card games held at the house. This house. Javi worked the room—shirtless—serving food and drinks. Such an obedient boy. The ladies loved him, fawned over his physique, his looks, his drink-making.” She rolls her eyes and points towards her ample chest. “Me? I tolerated him so I wouldn’t have to do it. But him stealing my thunder was the price I paid for my laziness. Money well spent.” She mutters and points to a glass of lemonade on her table with her eyebrow raised. I nod. Yeah, choke on it, I think.
“Anyway, it was said by one of the ladies that my newest suitor…” She stops, an amused look on her face when she takes in my surprised look. “You didn’t think the town ladies knew, did you? About my affairs? Well, here’s a little secret.” She lowers her voice, almost to a whisper, and tries to lean over. I hope she doesn’t fall, hit her head, and kill her damn self. “Half of them sent their husbands to me. I loved doing the dirty things they didn’t want to. Hell, I even serviced a few of the ladies over the years.” She raises her eyebrows, and I’m beginning to see what drove Javi to the loony bin.
She frowns, trying to remember where she left off. “So, the ladies told me about Josiah, a local sheriff, wet behind the ears and new in town. Well, someone had heard from someone that Josiah had been known to dabble with both ladies and men when he was back in high school. They wondered aloud if he still dug into both holes.” The salacious gossip makes her eyes twinkle and makes me cringe. “I wasn’t interested in him for more than the usual good time, you know, just the typical Tuesday afternoon, cunnilingus and Crown Royal—so taboo.” She fakes a shudder, moving the entire bed with her gyrations. “But he was sure interested in Javi. Whenever he came to see me, he kept one eye on me, while his other, and his thoughts, were on Javi. I’ll tell you.
Blue, Light and Dark (Chubby Chasers, Inc. Series Book 2) Page 5