by Viva Fox
He sighed in exasperation, running his fingers through his hair. “What will it take for you two to keep this a secret? No one can know. No one. It will be my ruin.” Axel’s voice was strained. If anyone figured out the truth it would be the end of him.
“Well, it's funny you should ask. We don’t want much, just a better life. We want a house, a credit card, with no limit, and anything else we think of that would facilitate a comfortable lifestyle. Do this for us and we will never speak a word of what happened to anyone. The baby will be our little secret.” Mica smiled, lying smoothly. She knew she would get more, much more out of this man. The whole world would know about his scandal when she was done with him.
“Fine.” Axel didn’t even try to negotiate, knowing the best option was just to make them happy and hope they could keep a secret. They shook hands, sealing the deal, or so Axel thought.
For some reason when the sisters left all he could think about was his wife. At one point, he had loved her and he didn’t want to break her heart. What would happen if she ever figured out about this child? Maybe the child wasn’t even his, and he was just being blackmailed. He would just have to pray and hope that the sisters would be content with what they had just asked for.
Still he worried. Axel worried every hour he was awake. He worried even when he bought them a lavish home in the suburbs and when he bought them a $50,000 car. He was in a constant state of worry as Mia got closer and closer to her due date. He knew that one simple DNA test was all the girls needed to run him into the ground. If they could prove that the child was his, then it would be all over.
Chapter 7
Mia finally had her baby, and it was beautiful and healthy. Axel honestly didn’t even care, he was just worried. He was in a state of paranoia now. Anytime he looked at the child which he usually avoided, he was reminded of what he did and how a tiny hole in a condom had brought this fate upon him. He knew that the child had the potential to ruin his life and while it was still technically his son he could never love it as such. The baby was a secret now, but how long would he stay a secret? How long until his life was over?
Axel didn’t have to wait very long. Mia and Mica were eager to get more wealth out of their sugar daddy. They wanted to bleed him dry. So before the child was even a month old they performed a DNA test. They made sure to make multiple copies before going to Axel’s study. Like all the other times before they knocked on the door and waited.
This time, however, Axel was not so quick to open up the door. He knew that red hot sex was not waiting for him on the other side of the door. He knew that the only thing he would introduce into his life would be disgrace and ridicule. He had been waiting for this knock for a while now, knowing it was only a matter of time before the girls either asked for more or exposed him to the world.
He looked at the two girls standing there and could automatically tell that his worst nightmares were about to become a reality. They came into the study before Axel even invited them in. Mica thrust a paper into his chest. His heart was beating fast as he looked down at it and his worst nightmares were there in the palm of his hand. The top of the paper read, “DNA Test.” His life was ruined.
“No… you can’t do this…” He begged, whispering more to himself than to the sisters. He knew they would have no compassion for him.
“Oh yes, we can… and we will. Watch us. The child is yours, here is the proof and now the whole world knows about you and how you fucked your maids like some pervert. You can say goodbye to your life because it is about to be ruined and we will take every last penny from you until you have nothing left.” Mica’s voice was cold. She had no compassion at all for Axel. All she wanted was his money and nothing else. She didn’t care if he would have to live in an alleyway after she was done with him.
“No…” How could someone be so cold? He was in a state of disbelief. He couldn’t react. He wanted to kick them out, to banish them from his estate, but he knew he couldn’t do that. He knew it would make him a villain.
Mica just nodded at him, a grin on her lips, and a sadistic look on her face as she grabbed her sister and left with Axel’s life in her hands.
Chapter 8
After the grand exposal, Axel lived a life of misery. What was he supposed to do? Everyone knew he was a cheat. Everyone knew he had an affair with his maids and everyone now looked at him like he was a monster.
Axel could only watch as his profits plummeted like never before. Axel was rushing toward rock bottom, and he felt like he would slam into it and never get back up again. How could he? Mia and Mica now lived in an even better house. They had run his credit line through the roof and he was powerless to stop them. He was at their mercy as anything he did would be broadcast to the media, only snuffing out his reputation even more.
The worst part of the whole situation, to his surprise, was his wife leaving. While he had not been intimate with his wife for a long time, her leaving was the final blow to his dignity. She had stayed with him year after year even though they had fallen out of love. Her walking out meant that she was finally gone and he would never be with her again. He would never be able to fix their marriage like he always dreamed of doing.
A woman that had been a part of his life for 30 years had been driven away by his actions. Axel felt like an idiot. He felt so stupid for having trusted Mia and Mica. He would, however, just have to live with his actions. There are certain things in life that you have to live with. There are certain things in life you just can’t keep a secret, like a baby.
Axel took what he had left, retired and moved to a remote location to live out his years in peace, and to make something out of what he had left.
THE END
What He Didn’t Know
Brandon sat at his kitchen table staring at his young daughter who sat across the table from him. He picked up his coffee cup, stirred it for a second, and took a sip. He placed it back down on the table and grabbed his spoon, taking in another mouthful of plain cereal. Ever since his wife had passed he felt like it was his responsibility to set a good example. Even if that meant that he could no longer eat his sugar infused cereals.
It was also a strange change for him because, as he was running for mayor, every little choice that he made was scrutinized. Even in his small town, he would find out on the evening news what he had purchased hours earlier from the grocery store. His daughter didn’t seem to mind the attention, but he struggled with the concept of living in a fishbowl.
His daughter Suzy sat reading the Sunday comics from the local newspaper, the same ones he had read as a child. And as he occasionally glanced over her shoulder at their TV he couldn’t help but keep looking at the paper. There was something that jumped out at him from the paper on this particular morning, and it wasn’t the Garfield. It was a bright, full color ad with a logo that seemed so familiar to him. He could vaguely read “Quick’s Circus Company” along the top.
“Hey, honey. Let me see that page real quick.” He reached across the table as his daughter looked up from the paper. He quickly slid it out of her hands before she could grab a firm hold of it. She objected loudly, but picked up her spoon to continue eating her cereal which had gotten a bit soggy from sitting.
“Fine, but I get it back as soon you’re done,” she said through a mouthful of milk and cereal. She turned and watched the television as he agreed absently. He read the ad to himself under his breath:
“This weekend only, on its last tour across the continental United States, Quick’s Circus Company! Come out for a fun filled weekend that will transport you back to your childhood and to yesteryears when all you needed for fun was wonder!”
He folded up the paper and handed it back to his daughter, who quickly opened it back up to the comic she had been reading. Brandon sat back in his seat and thought carefully, staring at the TV set. He hadn’t been to the circus in years, and even though he had despised them as a child, he couldn’t wait to go back.
“Suzy, what do you say about g
oing to check out that circus next week?” His daughter flipped over the paper and quickly read through the advertisement herself. She looked back up at him confused and took a sip of her orange juice.
“I thought you hated clowns.” Brandon laughed and stood up, collecting the dirty dishes that were on the table. It was true though, he had grown up fearing clowns and people on stilts. His older brother had let him watch Stephen King’s “IT” when he was babysitting him and it scarred him for life. He assumed that the only thing circuses had to offer were clowns that could transform into giant insects. That is, until he was home from college and went to this particular circus with some friends.
“This isn’t that kind of circus,” he said, placing the dishes in the sink across the room. “This is a traditional circus, more of a carnival. It’s got high wire acts, strongmen, bearded ladies, and magicians.” He leaned up against the counter and looked at his daughter who sat silently staring at him. “So?” She looked away and focused back on the newspaper.
“Sure, if seeing ladies with beards and people walk on ropes is that important to you.”
****
It had been the summer between his junior and senior years of college when Quick’s Circus Company had come through town. He and a few of his childhood friends from the neighborhood had decided that they would buy some weed off their local drug dealer and head into the circus to see the magic shows. They thought that maybe if they were high the show would be more interesting.
It was up to Brandon to buy the weed, so he planned on meeting the dealer at the circus. Kill two birds with one stone he thought. Until, after buying his weed he got lost and realized he and his friends hadn’t figured out a meeting place. So, after wandering around for about an hour, he decided that he would check out a few booths for himself. That was when he met Ashley.
He had found his way into a side tent where girls were dancing in Arabic skirts, coins clinking together, their stomachs moving in ways he had never seen. His eyes were drawn, if by some other worldly force, to Ashley. She was in the back of the group, not belly dancing, but twirling a hula hoop around her body, contorting and sliding. It was as if the hula hoop was staying in one place and her body had become a fluid that moved around it.
He found a seat and watched in admiration for the entirety of the show, transfixed on her. They had made eye contact a number of times and he noticed how she would blush and look away, but he couldn’t look away even if he tried.
The show came to an end and all of the ladies bowed to the crowd which stood and applauded their performance. Brandon stood up as well, but instead of clapping he made his way towards the exit. He wanted to make sure that he could catch this mystery dancer before she slipped away. So, he ran towards the back of the tent and nearly collided with the dancers as they filed out from beneath the tent curtain. He slipped between them and caught up to the young girl carrying the hula hoop.
“Excuse me,” he stuttered out. Ashley turned around to face him and Brandon froze. She was strikingly beautiful. Her hair was two toned, the crown of her head was blonde and underneath, her longer hairs were a mix of brown and black. It was something that he had never seen done in his small town. She wore a small shirt, cut off to expose her toned midriff. Tattoos could be seen poking out from her waistline and he noticed another tattoo that traveled from her back up to her shoulder.
“Can I help you,” she asked with a smile. Her smile warmed him like no alcoholic beverage ever had. Whiskey burned his chest, but the smile from this woman made him feel happy. Her blue eyes were soft and gentle, but they twisted into confusion after a moment.
“Oh, I’m sorry, that never happens,” he stammered. He realized that he was literally awe struck and had stood, mouth agape, staring at her. She laughed as he tried to formulate words. “My name is Brandon, can I take you out for a drink or something?” She looked around the circus grounds and back at him.
“I have another show in an hour, can you settle on a few beers in my dressing room?”
****
Brandon followed Ashley as she walked back towards her dressing room. He was transfixed by the way she moved her hips when she walked because of the way it made her ass shake. She had a large butt, one of the largest he had seen, but it was firm and perky in a way that he just wanted to reach out and grab it. However, for all of his gusto to follow her out of the tent and introduce himself, it abandoned him when he was actually face to face with her now.
So he walked the entire way back, following her in a trance, and as they neared the trailer she turned and caught him staring down, obviously watching her ass as she walked. His eyes darted back up in horror, realizing she had turned around, but his gaze wasn’t met with anger or disgust, he was met by a smile.
She had clearly liked the attention, which he would be happy to give her all night. She turned back around and opened the door to the dressing room and she peeked inside quickly without letting him see.
“Sorry, just want to make sure I didn’t leave anything out that I don’t want you to see.” Her voice trailed off, but he heard her whisper under her breath, “yet.” She quickly did a once over of the room and seemed satisfied, so she held the door open for Brandon who made his way inside after her. Considering how small the trailer looked from the outside, he was shocked at the size.
Upon stepping inside he was greeted by a small kitten. Ashley apologized quickly, but Brandon just bent down and scooped the kitten up into his arms. The cat immediately began to purr as Brandon used his free hand to scratch the kitten under the chin. He looked up at Ashley who took a step back in surprise and folded her arms, almost in irritation.
“He’s never that nice to anyone,” she said incredulously. “You’re something special, that’s for sure.” She walked across the room to a small fridge that sat in the corner and cracked the door open. She paused and looked back at him, “or are you part cat?” She peered back inside the fridge for a few moments and finally leaned in and pulled out two dark beers. “Wanna see a trick?” Brandon looked up and saw Ashley twist the two caps off using only her forearm. Brandon set the cat down and clapped.
“That’s very impressive. And you, out there, doing the thing with the hoop, was incredible.” She handed him a beer and sat down on the couch that was on the other side of the trailer. She patted the seat next to her and he walked over and sat beside her. The couch was surprisingly comfy for a couch that looked so worn out and beaten up.
“Do you have any tricks, Brandon?” She looked at him intently, not in a frightening way, but rather as if she was genuinely interested in what he had to say. Brandon appreciated that for a moment and answered.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m a fantastic public speaker.” She laughed and took a sip of her beer. Brandon noted that he had made her laugh, so he was making progress. “People always tell me I’m destined for politics, but we’ll see. I’d love to get out of this town, honestly.” Ashley nods and Brandon takes a long sip of beer, checking his watch stealthily. He wanted to know how much time he had before she would kick him out.
“I’m honestly the opposite way,” Ashley said, looking off into the distance. “I’ve never really had a place to call home. I’ve always been on the road for one reason or another.” They each took a moment of silence and drank their beer. “I guess that’s why the circus life comes easy for me.” Brandon nodded and thought about what to say. He wanted to ask about her parents or siblings, but felt like that may be too personal a topic for a first “date.”
“So, how did you get into the circus anyway?” Ashley shifted in her seat so that she was fully facing Brandon and placed the beer between her legs as she sat. Brandon couldn’t help but focus on how the condensation from the bottle of beer began to bead up slightly on her thighs. He could tell that she had strong thighs, and he wanted to reach out and grab them. Or at least to see what those thighs would look like wet-
“Do you really want to know?” Her question snapped him out of his
fantasy of kissing her thighs while they both sat in a pool together. He shook his head slightly to get it on straight again. He looked her in the eyes and nodded, prompting her to gush and continue. “Well, it’s kind of long, so prepare yourself.”
The next hour flew by and just as Ashley finished her story, she turned and looked at the clock that hung from the wall above the fridge, she swore under her breath and jumped up off the couch and stood up, frantically sprinting around the room and grabbed her hula hoop from in front of the door. She checked herself in the floor to ceiling mirror then looked at the door and back and Brandon and quickly ran back over to him.
“Stay here, I’ll be right back.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. Her kissed tasted like strawberries and dark beer and he wanted nothing more than to follow her out and continue tasting her lips. He could feel the color rising in his face and Ashley giggled to herself and ran out of the door. Brandon watched as the door closed and leaned back into the couch. The kitten jumped up onto the couch next to him and he absentmindedly pet it while he finished his beer and waited for her return.