Arousal

by Simone Sowood

  “Fuck her.”

  “And her asshole lawyer. I’m sure he’s telling her to hold out just to line his own pockets.”

  “So how do I get custody of Harlan? We need to protect him, I want to send in social services.”

  “No way, she’d expose you for sure. I’ve got yet another guy on her. Between them and the nanny we’ve placed to care for Harlan, we’ll prove she’s an unfit and dangerous mother, discrediting her from the outset in case she goes public.”

  “Why the fuck did I ever marry her?”

  “Because you’re an idiot and deserved her.”

  “Piss off.” I hung up. We’d had the conversation a thousand times before, I didn’t need to have it again.

  Right now I wanted to think about Jenny. Not Raylene. Not Daniel. Not even Harlan. Maybe I could get her back here tonight, to finish what we started.

  Fuck. She left so fast she didn’t leave her phone number. Or address. I’d get a guy on that. I doubted he’d find her in time for tonight.

  I sat down at the dining table and dug my fingers into my hair. I could no longer avoid thinking about my conniving wife.

  The challenge was divorcing her without giving her a ridiculous amount of money, and without her having any parental claims on Harlan. And most difficult of all, to do it in a way that wouldn’t leave her with a score to settle.

  There’s no doubt this divorce was going to cost me. Hell, I knew that going into the marriage. But I wasn’t about to give her a penny more than necessary.

  She dangled our baby, my son Harlan, in front of me as a bargaining chip. Because that’s how loving a mother she is. According to the nanny, she doesn't even have anything to do with him, he's purely a dollar sign to her. I sometimes think she’d planned the whole fucking thing, from the pregnancy to marriage to divorce.

  The phone rang again.

  “What?” I snapped into the phone.

  “Stop hanging up on me.”

  “I don’t need to hear any more about her.” Daniel loved rubbing the Raylene mess into me. He’s lucky he’s a good lawyer or I’d stick him on the door with the bouncers, standing out in the cold Chicago winters. Much more of this and maybe I would. Maybe I’d even send him to Moscow for the winter.

  “It’s not about her.”

  “What’s up?”

  “There’s an issue with finalizing the staff contracts for Luscious.”

  “So sort it out.”

  “We are.”

  “So what’s the fucking problem? Why are you even telling me? I don’t want to know about this kind of shit, just fix it.”

  “Nevermind. Go wallow over all the money your wife is going to take you for.”

  I screamed. The phone flew across the room, bouncing off an ugly piece of art on the wall. I was so fucking sick and tired of living in hotels.

  Jenny

  I flew to Abbie’s condo, to find Sam consoling her over Jay. Abbie was completely devastated that her mysterious boyfriend Jay turned out to be James McAllister, the owner of her company. He'd lied to her from the start, about his name along with everything else. I worried she'd never recover, especially after the way her previous relationship with Matt had also been a complete lie. The poor, naive thing.

  Her whole crazy situation made me wonder how much Collin was still the same as he was seven years ago. Or had he become a different person? Was I a different person?

  Sam and I took shifts holding her, keeping her fed and watered. Eventually we got Abbie to sleep around midnight.

  Drained, we both flopped onto her sofa. I’d already decided to stay the night, sleeping on the sofa.

  “Okay spill,” Sam said. Did she ever run out of energy?

  “Huh?”

  “Why are you wearing the same clothes you had on at dinner yesterday?” I looked down at my clothes. How did she remember, with everything that had gone on today? “I clocked it the second you arrived, if you’re wondering.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I went back to my apartment last night, got drunk and ended up at an old flame’s.”

  “I knew you were feeling lonely yesterday at the spa! Who?”

  “Shh, you’ll wake Abbie.” I put my finger to my lip. She wouldn’t know him anyway, there wasn’t any point in explaining.

  “Who?”

  “Collin.”

  “Who’s he?”

  I rolled my eyes again, this time accompanied with a sigh. “We were together for three years in college.”

  “College? That was ages ago.”

  “Well, we were together for a year after as well.”

  “That’s still ancient history.”

  “He moved away, but now he’s back in town.”

  “Ah, I get it. Good night?”

  “No. I was too drunk.” I put my hand to my forehead and looked away.

  “So what happened?”

  “You’re never going to drop this, are you?”

  “You know it.” As she said each word, she poked my shoulder.

  “Fine. I woke up, he was there. We kissed. You phoned. Repeatedly.”

  “Poor baby didn’t get any.”

  “It was just a stupid drunken moment.”

  “Does that mean you’re not hooking up with him again?”

  “Definitely.” I had enough drama in my life with Abbie and Jay and my mother, I didn’t need any more. It was best to leave the past in the past and get on with my life. There was no point wasting my time with Collin, I wanted to find a man I could settle down with.

  “I’ll be fine, I promise. You need to go home and sleep in your own bed,” Abbie said sitting across from me at her dining table, our supper in front of us. I could certainly have done with sleeping in my own bed; it had been six nights since I’d last been in it. But there was no way I’d leave her alone if she was going to enter a downward spiral over her betrayal by Jay.

  “No, I don’t want to leave you alone.”

  “Jenny, you need to go home. It’s Thursday, you’ve been here all week. Your jeans are starting to smell and I’m tired of you wearing my underwear.” I hadn’t left her side since Monday. Work was totally fine with it, they’d heard about what happened. Hell, the entire city heard about what happened. I did my best to keep up with my work projects on Abbie’s laptop and take meetings over the phone.

  “Now you’re just offending me.”

  “Whatever it takes to get you to leave.”

  “You’re kicking me out? After all I’ve done? I’m hurt.”

  “Shut up. You know I’m only thinking of you.”

  “As long as you’re sure. Phone if you need me to come back, I’ll be here in a flash.”

  “I know.”

  As I entered my apartment door, I set my phone and key on my console table. They were the only things of mine I’d had with me all week.

  There was nothing I wanted more in the world than to sleep in my own bed. To shower in my own shower and actually make it to work in the morning. I shuddered at the amount of work that would be waiting for me.

  I made my way into the living area and froze, my heart thumping in my chest.

  On top of my dining table was a box wrapped in elaborate red ribbons. I stayed stationary, staring at it and wondering how the hell someone got into my apartment.

  A quick flick of my eyes around the room told me nothing seemed to be stolen or out of place, which relaxed me. But someone had most definitely been in here. Only Abbie and Marla had keys. It obviously wasn’t Abbie. Unless she’d slipped Sam a key and put her up to this. That must be it. Marla had no reason to come in and leave me a present.

  I went over to it and traced my hand around the top of the box, the ribbons silky under my skin. It hadn’t been wrapped, but there were so many red ribbons tied around it that it may as well have been.

  Armed with scissors, I sliced through all the ribbons and opened the lid. Another box was inside, this one a dark wooden one. I lifted it out, revealing that the front of the box was glass. Inside
was an elaborate glass bottle, a bulbous bottom and a thick neck, leading up to a helmet like lid.

  Assom Broso was written in curly raised glass across the neck, with a gold medallion on the bottom section.

  A card was stuck to the inside of the wood box. I ripped it open, expecting a thank you note from Abbie. Instead I found a glossy black card with white writing inside.

  Some courage to bring you back to me. I picked this tequila brand because it looks like a dick. I know you want it. PS Happy Birthday.

  A phone number was scrawled across the bottom. My jaw dropped as I read it. The card wasn’t signed, but it obviously wasn’t from Abbie. It could only be from Collin. But how the hell did he get into my apartment, let alone know where I live?

  Unbelievable. I couldn’t even process what he’d done. Tracked me down, broke into my apartment and left a phallic bottle of tequila with a dirty note. How dare he?

  Why did I ever go to him? I’d never forgive myself for my stupid, drunken behavior. And now that Sam knew, there was no doubt I’d never live it down either.

  At least it confirmed one thing, as if I needed more confirmation, he only wanted sex, nothing more. Fat chance of me drinking that tequila and ending up on his doorstep again.

  Exhausted and needing to be rested for work in the morning, I headed to bed early. I walked into my bedroom and halted, the same way I’d halted when I’d entered my living room.

  Collin had been in here too, and if not him then someone who worked for him. My bed was professionally made, the sheets tucked tight enough to bounce a dime off of. The duvet had been turned down, as if this were a fancy hotel, and an expensive chocolate had been placed in the center of my pillow.

  At least there was no suggestive note anywhere.

  It made me smile. He knew I always loved when we’d stayed in hotels and the sheets were tucked so tight I could barely move my feet. But no matter how much I tried, I could never get them tucked so snug on my own.

  The fact Collin remembered softened my opinion of him after the phallic tequila. But I was still a long way from rushing back to see him again.

  The snug sheets made being back in my bed after six nights away even more amazing. They were so tight they bound me to the bed, and I loved it.

  But I still couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t get the feel of Collin’s arms around me out of my head. When he’d kissed me, my body came alive. I’d felt like a twenty three year old again. One with a life full of excitement and fun.

  My pussy moistened just thinking about it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t at the point in my life where having fun was all that mattered.

  So why couldn’t I get to sleep? All I could do is lie there remembering that kiss. The feel of his fingers over my breasts. The gaze of his eyes as he surveyed my body. The outline of his cock bulging against his jeans.

  I reached my hand down between my legs and slid my finger up and down my wet slit, bringing it to a rest on my engorged clit. I tapped it with my index finger, imagining the tight sheets were Collin’s body against mine. I heard his voice saying ‘I know you want it,’ causing every inch of my skin to tingle.

  It took about thirty seconds to climax. It ripped through me with such force, my squirming legs untucked the sheets.

  I lay, gasping, wondering why that had just happened and what I was going to do about it.

  In the morning, I spent far too long trying to recreate the tucking-in job and had to rush out the door without breakfast.

  I met Sam for a brief drink after work on Friday and spent most of Saturday trying to catch up on the work that had piled up on my desk over the four days I was with Abbie.

  At eleven I went to bed in a t-shirt and panties and read.

  A banging jolted me awake. My bedside lamp was still on and my fingers in the crease of my book. The digital alarm clock read one thirty-two.

  The knocking continued. My front door rattled from someone pounding on it.

  My heart pounding, I swung my legs out of bed and tiptoed to my front door, as quietly as possible. I approached it from the side, not wanting any change in light to show through the peephole.

  “Jenny, baby, open up.” Collin said through the door.

  I put my eye to the peephole, just in time to see my big bear of a neighbor across the hall open his door and yell at him.

  “What’s your problem asshole? It’s the middle of the night, get the fuck out of here,” my neighbor said.

  “Mind your own damn business,” Collin snapped, his messy hair swaying with his words.

  “It is my business shithead, this is my hallway.”

  With lightening speed, Collin spun around and said, “Look, you've obviously never had a real woman in your life, but you don't have to take that out on the rest of us. Why don't you go back inside, turn on your computer and have a nice play with your little dick.”

  “Collin!” I flung open the door, drawing his attention back to me.

  “Baby.” He turned to me, forgetting all about my neighbor. Collin gripped my hips and backed me into my apartment.

  I wanted to believe he was drunk, that he reeked of beer or Scotch or rum, but he didn’t. Collin was completely sober.

  “What are you doing here?“

  “I wanted to see you.”

  I shook my head. “I cannot believe you.”

  “You can’t deny what went on between us last weekend.” Even in the dim light provided by the streetlight outside, his eyes locked onto mine, demanding honesty.

  “You can’t come pounding on my door in the middle of the night. What were you thinking? I have neighbors.”

  “Since you weren’t coming to me, I had to come to you.”

  “I have a life, I’m not about to drop all my responsibilities to run to you. Why would I run to you anyway?” Just because he was back in town, and impossible to get out of my head.

  My feet kept moving backwards, until I’d backed myself against the sofa and I sat. His hands, still firm on my hips, brought him with me. Collin landed half on me, and settled beside me, our thighs tight together. He put his arm around me and squeezed my shoulder, sending a ripple effect down my arm and across my back. Instead of calming my heart, pounding from the nighttime disturbance, it made it race even more.

  “You’d run to me because you’d want to finish what we started on Monday.” His finger ran over the top of my shoulder. I shuddered when it reached the bare skin of the base of my neck but the finger carried on going, up my neck, over my jaw and to my chin. I couldn’t figure out if I was more outraged or excited by his presence.

  “That moment was…”

  “Interrupted. And now it’s time to get it back.”

  “You can’t just come here in the middle of the night expecting me to fall into your arms.”

  “Baby, that’s exactly what I expect to happen.” He pushed my chin and angled my head to face him. Our eyes caught in the dim light, sending my heart pumping and my breath racing. His head was only inches away from mine, his breath, tinted with peppermint, blew against my skin.

  “You’re crazy.” Just like he’d always been.

  “You like crazy.” His lips grazed my cheek.

  “How did you get in my apartment to leave the tequila?”

  “Your locks are shit, it took two seconds.” My heart pounded at his nearness.

  “Why didn’t you call me?” I demanded.

  “I’ve been busy.” He moved his nose against my hair and inhaled, the hot exhale of his breath tickled the flesh of my ear.

  “Busy for seven years?”

  “Did you like the tuck?” He kissed the corner of my mouth, causing my breath to catch in my throat.

  “I loved the tuck.” Our mouths nearly touched as my lips moved.

  “I knew you would.”

  Being back in the same room as him re-lit a burning desire for him between my thighs. I knew it was a bad idea, that I couldn’t get involved with him…but now that he was right there I wanted him to kiss me. To finish
what we started on Sunday.

  A no-strings ‘welcome back to town’ fuck to get him out of my system. Then I’d never see him again. I was sure he’d leave Chicago for the next city soon anyway. After all, he was living in a hotel, he must have only been here on a temporary basis.

  His lips were so close I could almost taste them. But I couldn’t move the millimeter needed to reach them. Collin had me frozen in place, the same way he had the night we’d first kissed in my college dorm.

  “Collin…” His hand on my bare thigh silenced me. All my attention was drawn to it as it slid between my legs.

  Collin

  The scent of Jenny’s hair nearly made my cock tent against my suit pants. It was the same exotic smelling coconut shampoo she used to use. It had the same effect on me then as it was having now: a great big raging erection.

  Everything about her was a good as I remembered it being. The softness of her skin. The way I could make her breath catch and her heart race. And I bet she’d scream my name the same way when I made her come.

  It was an impulsive decision to come here, but I knew I could turn up in the middle of the night and she wouldn’t turn me away. She was powerless to resist me.

  Daniel thought I was totally nuts. We’d both been sitting in my office, watching the women bump and grind on the Luscious dance floor through the one way glass. After the money, it was probably my favorite thing about my business.

  Women come from everywhere begging me to fuck them. And sometimes, when they’re a cute little brunette with crazy amber eyes, I’m happy to give them what they want. But tonight, when we left my office to mingle in the VIP area, I wasn’t feeling it.

  A sassy brunette in the skimpiest red dress draped herself all over me. She was just my type, petite and confident with hazel eyes. I let her rub her tits against me and rub her hands over my chest. But when she tried to kiss me, I got the hell out of there.