Strapped Down

by Nina G. Jones

  “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “What are you wearing?”

  “Well, I was wearing this. Why? Is it bad?”

  “No, it’s nice. Just wondering how I’m gonna get my hands in those pants under the dinner table.”

  I shove him playfully. “You would look hot with your hair a little longer. Like David Beckham used to have.”

  “Well thanks, but we already have one ponytail in the office,” he says, referring to Henry.

  “I guess, and knowing him, he’ll claim you’re trying to steal his vibe.”

  Taylor nods in agreement. I reassemble my shirt and pants as Taylor gets ready. “Hey Taylor, can you do your hair the way you did that night at the gala? You looked so handsome.”

  “You don’t think it’s a little formal?”

  “I don’t care. I like it.”

  “Well that’s all that matters then. Why don’t you do it?”

  He sits in the bathroom as I grab a comb and some styling cream from the vanity drawer.

  “I’ve never really done a guy’s hair before. Rick always liked his hair scruffy and I assume girls first do that with their dad, and well, you know.”

  “I trust you.”

  “Okay…” I take a deep breath and make the part where I recall he had it previously. Then I pull out the hair lotion and scoop out a dollop.

  “Wait.” He gently grasps my wrist. “Just a little less, unless you’re aiming to protect my skull from shrapnel,” and he scoops a little bit of the cream out of my hand and puts it back into the jar.

  I distribute the product by rubbing my palms together and deliberately raking it through his hair. He closes his eyes so I take that as a cue to massage his scalp. His body language softens. I don’t ruin the moment by asking, but I doubt he ever gets massaged due to his condition; these small, seemingly mundane moments between us must be a great luxury to him.

  After a few minutes, I notice it’s close to five. “Mr. Sexypants. You’re going to fall asleep.”

  He smiles and slowly rouses himself out of his relaxed state. “Do me a favor and never call me that outside of this bathroom.”

  “I think I’ll call H.I. and ask for you by that moniker.”

  “I have the phone system set to self-destruct if you do. Come on.” He stands up, taking my hand, and looks in the mirror. “What’s this thing?” He refers to a bit of a lick I styled in at the front.

  “I thought I would modernize it.”

  “Christ Shyla, I look like a massive tool.”

  “I think it’s cute!” I pout.

  “Only because we aren’t leaving the house.” And we head back out to the kitchen to await our guests.

  Minutes, later the doorbell rings. Lizzy and Henry arrive together.

  “What’s with the hair?” is the first thing Lizzy asks. Taylor gives me a look out of the corner of his eye.

  We vote to eat in the outdoor dining area to take advantage of the cool breeze. Just before we are about to sit, my phone rings with a call from Kristin. I debate whether or not to pick it up and invite her, but both Kristin and Henry are important parts of our lives and I can’t keep them separated forever.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey!”

  “Hey! How’s it going?”

  “Okay. I just wanted to see what you were up to tonight.”

  “Well, it’s perfect that you called. Taylor surprised me with a dinner party. We are just getting started, you want to come over? Chad is welcome.”

  “He’s at a dudes-only poker game, but I can stop by. Who’s all there?”

  “Taylor, me, Lizzy…and Henry.”

  “Oh lord.”

  “It’ll be cool.”

  “I know, I might as well bite the bullet and get over the awkwardness.”

  “So, you down?”

  “Sure. I just need to finish up getting ready. I can be there in 30 minutes.”

  We are well into the appetizers when the doorbell rings. I motion to rise out of my chair, but Taylor insists that he get the door. Moments later, Taylor and Kristin approach the table. Kristin looks especially vibrant in a one-armed black mini kaftan dress with sparkly flat sandals. Her normally puffy hair is slicked back into a low bun and her brown skin shimmers with some sort of gold highlighter and as always she has on lipstick; this time it’s coral. I wonder if she’s trying to impress Henry and it concerns me.

  Everyone stands up to greet her. She met Lizzy at karaoke night, so they are well-acquainted. I do my best to observe the interaction between Henry and Kristin, to see if there is any awkwardness or even worse, some remaining attraction. Admittedly, Henry looks good today as well.His dirty-blond hair is tied back into a loose ponytail, and he’s wearing a dark-gray vest over a striped button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of navy blue pants. Kristin sits next to Henry, and I can only assume this is to pull off the bandaid, so the speak. The conversation is lively, sometimes splitting off into mini conversations between just the ladies and the guys.

  “Thanks! I love gel manicures. They last forever,” Lizzy states after Kristin compliments her nails.

  “I dunno, I’m just too lazy and impatient to get my nails done. I just trim them and paint them at home,” I add.

  “You have like no cuticles though, so you can get away with that.” Just as Kristin adds her two cents, Taylor’s hand slides on my thigh. I glance over at him, but he’s not looking at me, instead, he is staring directly at Henry, nodding at whatever he is saying. I take it as a gesture of affection, and I place my hand on top of his. Instead of leaving it there, however, he runs his hand up my thigh and in between my legs, causing me to sit erect.

  Just wondering how I’m gonna get my hands in those pants under the dinner table…Omg he was serious!

  I look at him again and try to give him the “what are you doing” eye and he turns to me and nonchalantly says: “What’s up Shy?” You know damned well what’s up you kinky SOB.

  “Nothing, just wondering what you guys were talking about,” I fib.

  “Actually Henry we thinks we should go on a vacation together. I agree.”

  “Where to?”

  “That’s what we were discussing. Somewhere tropical perhaps?”

  “That would be nice, but I can’t do anything longer than a few days.”

  “We were thinking Labor Day weekend,” Henry chimes in.

  “Ooooh, are you guys talking about going on a group vacation?” Lizzy asks.

  Taylor begins to rub. I fidget in my seat, certain what is happening is written all over my face.

  “You guys are so lucky. I am so broke,” Kristin mopes.

  “You wouldn’t have to worry about much. Taylor and I were just talking about it. Taylor would fly us all in the jet and we’d get a house. You don’t need to worry about those expenses.” Henry, leave my hot friend alone!

  “I say let’s do it.” Taylor declares. Taylor is literally the boss of two (well three if you include sexcapades) people at the table. What he says, goes.

  “Where?” Lizzy asks with an almost child-like enthusiasm.

  Taylor artfully unbuttons my pants with one hand and slides his hand down. I take a nervous gulp. He glides his fingers underneath my lace panties and massages my labia. I can barely keep up with the conversation, my heart is pounding with excitement and fear that someone else at the table may notice. I purposely say out of the conversation since I am not sure my sentences will even be coherent at this point.

  “I think we should go to Costa Rica,” Henry suggests.

  “No!” I blurt out. Everyone at the table stops talking and looks at me. “I mean, I don’t want to go to South America just for a long weekend. Maybe we should stick to the Caribbean.” I can’t tell them the real reason I don’t want to be on that continent.

  “It’s more like Central America, and with the direct flight on the jet, it won’t be a problem.” Fucking Henry.

  “I’m sure it�
��ll be fine Shy.” Taylor knows my real concern, so his opinion holds real weight.

  “Well, okay then,” is all I can muster to the man who has his hand down my pants.

  He resumes playing with me as Henry, Lizzy, and Kristin take over the conversation. His fingers tease, occasionally slipping inside of me. He knows exactly how much he needs to do, to tantalize me, to make me wet and nervous, without embarrassing myself.

  Betty and a server arrive with plates of ahi tuna. Taylor slips his hand out of my pants as they walk towards the table. I breathe a sigh of relief mixed with disappointment. The tension was torturous, but so hot at the same time. I lose track of the conversation at the table as everyone goes back and forth about what town to stay in and other travel arrangements. I then I look over at Taylor who crosses one arm under his chest and rests the other elbow on it, raising the hand that was just in my pants and resting it over his mouth.

  “Smells delicious.” Everyone thinks he’s talking about dinner, but from the look he gives me out of the corner of his eye, I know it’s something else.

  “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” Taylor stands up and walks back into the house. I wonder if I should follow, but don’t want to draw attention to us by leaving at the same time.

  “Alright,” Henry says, “I’ll look into accommodations in the area.”

  “This is so exciting!” Kristin exclaims.

  “Where did Taylor go?” Lizzy asks after a couple of minutes.

  “Not sure. Let me go check on him. You three keep enjoying the meal.”

  “Mmm hmm…” Lizzy says suspiciously as she winks at me.

  “Oh please!” I shake my head and roll my eyes at her, knowing full well she’s onto me.

  Betty informs me that Taylor went down the hallway that holds his bedroom and office. I gingerly approach his bedroom which is locked. There is no response after tapping on the door. Next, I make my way to the office. As I near it, the light flowing into the hallway from the threshold signals he is likely in there. When I peak my head into the doorway, I find him, leaning back with his arms crossed on his desk as if awaiting my arrival.

  “Hey,” I whisper.

  “Hey.”

  “What’s going on? I wasn’t sure if I should follow you, having guests and all.”

  “It’s good you came. I just wanted some alone time with you. Come here.” I walk to him and he pulls me on top of him. “I was watching you talk tonight. I love to watch you laugh. Your smile is one of the few things that makes me feel…happy.” The unusually romantic tone of his compliment makes my cheeks burn red.

  “Thank you.” He kisses me softly and I feel him harden. “You’ve been teasing me all night,” I say.

  “I know and I didn’t lure you here to relieve you. That’s for later.”

  “Oh.”

  “I just wanted to be alone with you for a bit, in this quiet.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m sorry for everything that has happened to you.”

  “You don’t need to apologize. I’m fine, I’ll be fine. I am so happy I met you. You rock my world,” I say with a smile as I bury my head into his chest.

  “You rock mine too,” he says under a grin. “Hey, look at me.” He tilts my chin up. “I want to say something to you because I think you deserve to hear it from me in a quiet moment. Not during sex, or in a time of pain or chaos, or out of desperation.” I nod, not breaking my gaze into his piercing luminous eyes. “Remember when I asked you what it was like to love someone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Remember what you said to me?”

  “Yes…and…”

  “Tell me,” Taylor insists.

  “Well, I was just a little sad. Because I thought you might never be able to feel that way about me, because I have always felt that way about you. Even in the car when we first met, you took my breath away. I didn’t know it then, but I was falling for you right there.”

  “I love you,” he says as he stares into my eyes; I fight not to look away. “You may not hear me say this much, and you might even question it because of the way I am, or the things I do, but when you do, think back to this moment and know that it will never change.”

  I smile at him, wishing I could freeze time and be here with him in this still place forever. And I will do my best to never forget it, just as he asked.

  “Come on,” he says, taking my hand, “let’s go back out there before we have to deal with quickie jokes from Lizzy all night,” Taylor says.

  CHAPTER NINE

  It’s about midnight when we bid everyone goodnight, including Betty.

  “That was so much fun,” I say to Taylor as we head into the bedroom. “Thank you for putting this together. The food was fantastic, by the way.”

  “Yes, I’ve known Betty nearly all my life. She was the family chef and I always use her for events or dinners.”

  “I wondered about that. I know how private you are…”

  “Yeah, I trust her. The year I first moved into the house, when I wouldn’t speak, I used to sneak out of my bedroom at night and wander aimlessly around the house. One night, I walked into the kitchen and she was there. I thought I would be in big trouble, maybe even beaten because that’s all I knew. She looked at me and put her fingers over her lips to shush me, which in retrospect was strange because everyone knew I didn’t speak. But from that night on, whenever I would sneak out of my bedroom, I would find a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk waiting for me in the prep kitchen.”

  “Oh my god, that is so sweet! Can I just tell you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “You are so blessed.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I know you have been through terrible things, but it seems all along the way, there were people who cared enough to help you. From the lady who found you, to Betty’s cookies in the kitchen, to Lizzy and Henry —“

  “And you?”

  “If you say so…”

  I stand in front of the bathroom mirror to take down my hair, and just as I begin to remove my earrings, Taylor comes up behind me.

  “I guess I always focused on the people who did me wrong, and I thought I was damaged irreparably, but you make me feel…normal.”

  “Thank you for being who you are despite the people who have hurt you.”

  Taylor nods and exits the bathroom. Having a moment to think about how he teased me all night makes me hot again. I expected him to pounce me once everyone left, but he hasn’t. There was something about tonight, a tenderness about him that made me feel so full, so warm and secure in his presence. And strangely, because of that I feel the need to make this night complete by having the other side of Taylor: the full spectrum experience. I strip down to my emerald green lace demi bra and thong and slide open the door that connects the bathroom to the walk-in closet so Taylor won’t see me grab a pair of black platform strappy heels. I bring them back into the bathroom, shake my hair out to make it full and luscious and refresh my lipstick with a dark blood-red shade. I take a deep breath and slowly open the bathroom door to combat my shyness.

  Taylor is shirtless and barefoot, but still in his jeans looking down at his phone when the sound of door opening catches his attention.

  “Woah,” he says when he looks up. He throws his phone on the bed and slowly walks over to me taking me in with his eyes, studying my body. “You don’t look like a good girl at all right now. You were hiding this under your little conservative outfit tonight?”

  I nod. “Taylor, don’t tease me anymore.” He stands over me, as I lean back on the door frame, resting his hand on it above my head so that his body shrouds mine.

  “You’ve just made me way too fucking hard just to tease you. Feel it,” he says as he guides my hands over his jeans and I feel the length his his hardness resting against his thigh. “Do you want this?”

  “You know I do.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I want it.”

  “Beg me.”r />
  “Please. Fuck me. Make me come.”

  “More.”

  “Please Taylor, just fuck me for fuck’s sake. Take me to the darkroom. Do whatever you want to me in there.” He thrusts his pelvis against mine, the force slamming my hips against the doorframe. He picks me up by my ass; I wrap my legs around his torso, my long brown hair engulfs his face, and he carries me into the darkroom.

  “Anything I want?”

  I nod, biting my lip in anticipation. He lets me down.

  “Get on all fours.” I do it without hesitation on the lambskin rug. I want nothing more than to please him at this very moment. “Reach underneath and play with yourself. Suck on your fingers first, make them wet.” I follow his instructions. He walks around so that he is facing my backside and he can watch me play with myself. “How does that feel baby?”

  “It’s good, but not as good as you.”

  “You’re gonna have to wait for that.”

  I’m so charged I have to slow down in order not to come; I want to come with him tonight. He goes into one of his drawers and pulls something out. “What I really want is to fuck you in the ass, but you wouldn’t be able to handle that.”

  “Do whatever you want.”

  “Shhh…trust me, you want to ease into that. But I am going to play with your ass.” My stomach knots up. I am officially ass virgin. Well sort of. Rick clumsily tried it once and before he was even an eighth of the way in it hurt so much, I made him stop.

  He pulls my thong to the side. “Fuck, even your asshole is cute,” he says before he glides his tongue over it. “I’m going to put these inside of you, nice and slowly. I need you to relax, okay? Take deep breaths.” He gently caresses my back as I feel the pressure of the slickly lubed tiny beads sliding inside of me. I try to contain my moans, but am unable to. The feeling is foreign and tight. “How does it feel?” he asks calmly.

  “There’s a lot of pressure.”

  “I know. Your little ass is really tight. Just relax.” I take a few more deep breathes and the pressure subsides. “Your little moans are making it hard for me to hold out on fucking you. Stand up.” I do so gingerly and he slides my bra off. I take him in as he stands in front of me, his erection begging for me to free it from his jeans. “Those heels, fuck they make your legs and ass look even more amazing.” He walks up to me and squats down, kissing me in between my legs over my lace panties. “Oh, your clit,” he says as he rubs it with his thumb, “you are really horny, aren’t you?”