by Jayce, Aven
“Can I use Bag Balm on the area?” I call out to him.
“Yes, that’s good,” he replies.
I coat the area and then use tweezers to pull out any stray hairs. Done. I’m ready.
“Cove, tell me about the Keep.”
He finishes rinsing shampoo out of his hair and turns the shower off. “I think we should finish the other discussion first,” he says. “What do you mean you might have it?”
“What’s wrong with that? I told myself I’d never go through an abortion again. I can’t. It was too traumatic. That’s my choice. Besides, I’m probably not even pregnant.”
“Yeah, but Soph,” he says, as he continues to dry off. “We don’t know when we can leave this house, and when we do, what then? Plus, the Morning-After pill isn’t an abortion, it’s a form of contraception.”
“I thought you loved me?”
“I do, but I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I’m saying we’ll head back to St. Louis and live our lives. Right?”
He hangs the towel on a metal hook and places his hands on my shoulders, then looks down into my eyes and swallows hard. “Say it.”
I lick my top lip and peer at the tile floor. My feet move forward and the tips of our toes touch. “I thought I’d get a job, and when I came home, you’d be there. I’d walk in and I’d see you.”
“You mean live together. You’re saying you want to live with me?”
I look up and nod, overjoyed to see a smile on his face. He leans in and our lips meet. His hands move to the small of my back and he pulls me against him, into a passionate hug.
“And you’d have a child with me?” he whispers.
“Yes. If it happens now, then let it. If it doesn’t, then there’ll be time in the future.”
“I love you so much,” he says. “You’re my whole world, Sophia Jameson. And, I’m sorry I opened my mouth to Dayne.”
“It’s alright. You’re not very good at this whole privacy thing yet. You talk about everything and I tend to keep a lot in my head. We need to come together and talk to one another so we’re on the same page before we talk to other people about our lives.”
He gives me another hug and a deep kiss before he leaves my side to place Bag Balm on his freshly shaven groin.
“What will the clients think of your black eye and the bruises on your back?” I ask.
He pauses and gazes at himself in the mirror. “Soph, I’m sorry, but I sense that this is more about you than me.”
“I think it’s about both of us.”
“Well, then I guess we’ll find out. Paul will tell us the results when we’re done.”
“Oh,” I say in a sad tone. “Really?”
“Yeah. He’ll give us feedback so we can improve and make him more money.”
“Holy hell, are you serious? Like a book report or something?”
Cove places the Bag Balm back in the drawer and takes my hand. “Come on. Let’s get dressed, eat breakfast and discuss this. I need to tell you about the Keep.”
“Finally.”
***
“I can’t do that. I’ll be a nervous wreck. There’s no way I can get turned on in a situation like that,” I say, as I pull my short black flared dress over my head.
“Can you fake it?” Cove asks.
“Can you?”
“No, unfortunately I can’t. I don’t have that option, but you do.” He zips his grey jeans, slides his arms into a black button front shirt, leaving it open with the sleeves rolled.
I take our plates off the cart and place them on the coffee table in front of the sofa. The house is warm today and we’re both in our bare feet. Cove takes his cologne from his bag and pats a small amount on his wrists. The calm scent fills the room as I try and process the information about the Keep.
“I still don’t understand,” I say.
“When we go in, pretend it’s just the two of us.”
“But now I know someone else will be in charge of what you do to me. It’s not really you.”
“It is me, Soph. I’ll be the only one in the room with you, no one else will physically be there.”
I pause and look at the cold omelet, no longer hungry.
“Think of it this way. I’ll try to make it fast, and once it’s over we’ll no longer be confined to this room. To me, it’s one step closer to getting out of this house.”
“How long?”
He pauses, sits on the sofa, and pats the cushion for me to sit next to him. I comply and wait for an answer.
“Paul has a minimum time of twenty minutes, anything less and he won’t make any money, but I won’t go any longer. I promise.”
My head rests against the sofa and I stare at the ceiling. I sigh deeply and close my eyes.
“Tell me your thoughts, Soph. Speak to me.”
“You’ve done this before,” I say in a sharp voice. His hand runs up my leg and stops on my upper thigh. There’s a pause in his movements as well as his breathing.
“With who? I want to know,” I demand, as I open my eyes.
Cove places his elbow on the armrest and puts a finger up to his mouth then gently rubs his lips. “Are you really going to make me relive the past right now? I’ve asked you before not to do that,” he says.
“You don’t have to give me details, I’m only asking to know who you were with in there.”
“It won’t make sense to you unless I give you details.”
“Try me.”
“Why are you pushing me to tell you,” he questions. “Don’t take me to that place in my head.”
“Maybe it will help you… and me. Last time you talked about the industry I sensed relief in your voice. Your body language changed as well. You were less tense. Plus, I want to know so I understand what’s going to happen.”
“What I did in the past is not the same as what these clients want from you and me. Trust me. I was a different product back then.”
“We’re not products,” I mumble, as I place the plate on my lap and poke at the eggs.
He picks up his plate and stares at it for a good minute before he sets it back on the coffee table. His hand runs through his hair and he exhales. “One time it was with the other NOVA stars. Quite a few times with two others, but I never touched them… then with a couple of randoms from the company… on my own as well.” His voice fades and he stares at the floor. I rest my hand on his and give it a reassuring squeeze.
“Babe, you’re right, I don’t understand. I’m sorry.”
He sighs and slowly begins to peel his orange. “Which one?” he asks in a hushed voice.
“The first two.”
He takes a long rind and sets it on his plate, then starts to peel another section. “We… in NOVA… we’d kneel in front of the screen, the four of us, and bets were placed on which one of us could cum first. You don’t need any more information than that, and I don’t want to talk about it with you.” He places the second long rind on his plate and starts a third. “The other situation happened a few times. I think your father wanted me to learn from some older employees, and he needed me in the scene to make money. I’d get locked in and was expected to kneel next to people who were fucking. I wasn’t prepared to see some of those things. Paul thought my expressions turned people on. Then the clients requested that I jerk off to what was in front of me. It disgusts me that there’re people like that in this world. People who want to see a teenager jerk off next to two porn stars fucking. I mean; that really turns people on? The regular porn doesn’t do it for them? And Paul gives the customers anything they want. That led to me eventually being in the room on my own, and then my solo videos in St. Louis. A downward spiral into nothingness.” He holds the peeled orange, breaks it in half, and gives me a section. I look at it as it rests in my hand, and the one in Cove’s. The two look so lonely, separated from one another. I place my half together with his so it’s whole again.
“You don’t always have to give pieces of yourself a
way,” I say.
“You’re right, not always.” He takes the orange from my plate and hands it to me, then eats the one that’s already peeled. “But I will for you.”
“Dayne said you’d have the earpiece?”
“Yes. It will be a bidding war. The person who pays the most gets control and will tell me what they want to see, but every five minutes another bid opens and the person can get knocked out. Then someone else will move in. The highest nine will be shown on the screen with the top bidder in the middle. It will look like the Brady Bunch with nine profiles appearing before us in a grid.”
“But others watch, even though we can’t see them?”
“Yes. I would guess only a hundred today. Some days it can be a few thousand. This is a preview for some of Paul’s top people so it will be an invite-only online event.”
“So… I can see them… what they’re doing? I mean, most of them will be doing things to themselves as they watch us, right?”
“I don’t want you to look at the screen. Just keep your eyes on me. Think of me and not them.”
“You know that’s impossible,” I say.
“I’ll make it possible. Just look at me, look at my face and the love I have for you as I look back at you. I’ll make love to you and you’ll feel that love. It won’t come from anyone else. No one on the screen can control what you and I have inside for one another.”
I look down at my orange and nod. He’s right. “Okay. I can do this. If it means we can leave this room I can do it. I’ll make it look good, but I don’t have to come in front of them, do I?”
“Only if they request it. It’s highly unlikely. And you can always fake it.”
“So we go in, you do to me what the top paying client requests, you get off, and we leave. That’s everything?”
“That’s everything,” Cove says.
“And my father could make ten grand in twenty minutes?”
“I know it sounds crazy, but your father has probably been marketing us for a couple of weeks. The Keep costs twenty-five dollars per person just to get on the site, and the top bidders will probably be up to a grand for their requests. Yeah, close to ten grand total.”
“I feel a bit sick.”
“Welcome to my world,” Cove says, as he eats his omelet. His words cause me to sigh and I toss my orange back on the plate. It bounces and rolls on the floor toward the fireplace.
“Hey, Soph,” he says, while his hand runs along the length of my arm. “It’s okay… soon,” he pauses. “Just give it a day. Let’s talk about something else.”
“Okay. Why is Dayne such a prick? And why does he hate you so much?”
“Don’t know,” Cove shrugs. “This seems to be a related topic. Maybe there’s something outside of Jameson Industries we can discuss?” he inquires.
“Do you think he’s jealous of you?”
Cove laughs and shakes his head no, then puts down his plate and leans back. “Dayne could be in prison right now along with your father because of me. He despises me, and doesn’t want me around. Paul keeps me for the amount of money that I make him, in possible porn sites, with former videos, and with the marketing and sites I take care of in St. Louis. But Dayne doesn’t believe I’m worth it. I’m sure there’re other reasons I don’t know about. Maybe he’s just a dick. Some people are like that. I’ve never seen him be nice to anyone, so I guess it’s not just me. Your father’s the same way. And it’s sad to say this, but I think the sick fuck is attached to me.”
“Who? My father?”
“Yeah. I’ve worked for him for over twelve years and I can’t get away. He seems to like it that I’m in an abnormal, anguished, and abusive relationship with him.”
“Hmm. Scary,” I mumble.
“Since you’re not changing the subject, I will,” he smiles. “Let’s talk about our future together. Do you want to help me out at The Dark Scarlett? Work with me? My mother and I plan on opening a second one closer to the university next year, and I could use a business partner… besides her I mean.”
“Really?”
“You have a degree in business management, right?”
“Yeah, but I can’t believe you’d want to live and work with me. I don’t want us to get tired of one another.”
“Not going to happen, Baby,” he says with a wink. “And what about your loft? What should we do about that if we live together?”
“What makes you think I’d move in with you and not the other way around?”
“Oh, I just thought…”
“Hey,” I smile. “Just kidding, my father already told me my loft is no longer accessible. He probably sold it… and my car… and my bank account… everything’s gone.”
“Fuck, Soph. I’m sorry. It’s just like him to hand things out to people and then take it all back whenever he feels like it.”
“Well, it wasn’t mine. I’ll work and buy my own things. I’ll take a bus places, eat ramen noodles, and figure it out. I don’t want his sleazy porn money anyway.”
“Speaking of ramen, you should eat. Do you want me to look in the kitchenette for something other than eggs?”
“That would be great, I’m not really hungry, but I know I should have something in my stomach, and the eggs just aren’t doing it for me.”
He walks out of the bedroom and I hear a rustling of boxes and wrappers. He returns with a foil package. “Pop Tart?” he laughs. “It’s all I could find that was breakfast related.”
“What flavor?”
“Blueberry.”
“Artificial flavored blueberry?”
“Of course.”
“Perfect,” I say, and tear the wrapper open. “Tastes like cardboard.”
“They always do.”
We finally laugh and I place my legs and feet on the sofa, then lean against him and eat the disgusting floury-sugar concoction.
He places his arm over my shoulders and brushes his thumb against my skin. “The other day, when we walked around the strip together… it was the best day of my life,” he says. “Little things, like holding your hand as we walked, and seeing your face all aglow in front of the Bellagio fountain, it… I couldn’t be happier. I can’t believe it happened to me. I can’t believe you happened to me. And the big things, like making love to you under the stars, and you saying you want to move in with me, I don’t have words to express how that makes me feel.”
“Me too, Babe,” I whisper.
Cove and I both sit up as we hear the lock click and the bedroom door swing open. Fuck, it’s Dayne again.
“Mera’s gonna get you that pill from the drugstore, but Paul will deliver it, he wants to talk to you… both of you.”
“Did you just call the house whore by her real name?” Cove asks.
“You told my father about this?” I shriek. “Fuck.”
“Yup, that would be my reaction too if Paul was coming to talk to me about it. Get ready,” Dayne laughs. He tosses a bag on the bed and walks out. The door locks and I rise.
“What is that?”
“I bet it’s your outfit for the Keep. Probably from one of the lingerie shops in the city. Mera knows your size, right?”
“Yeah, she does,” I reply, and open the bag. I pull out a pile of red-orange cloth and black strings. “Oh,” I moan.
Cove stands and walks over to see what it is. “This is good, Soph. Paul’s actually doing us a favor, or maybe Mera picked it out for you completely on her own and is trying to help.”
“Seriously?” I seethe. “How so?”
“It’s a waspie, plus a top and bottom piece to match. That means you won’t have to fully expose your body unless a client requests it. I should be able to leave the bra and middle piece on and just remove the bottom.”
“I’d rather just be naked. I mean; I was naked last night when they got a shot of us, and on the plane. I don’t like things like this.”
“I understand, but the Keep is more about role-playing for these people. They’ll want you to start
out somewhat covered, and then they control what you expose based on their fantasies.”
“Oh God, fine,” I snarl and fling the pieces back in the bag. “What about you? Where’s yours?”
“It doesn’t look like I have anything. I’ll just be nude.”
“How is that fair?”
“The plane was about me, last night was about both of us, today, the focus will be on you. Each one is marketed to a different target group. I’m sorry, but that’s how they build an audience for each product.”
“Alright, I’ve had enough,” I growl, and raise my hand. “I didn’t get enough sleep last night and I’m starting to get cranky. I’m going back to bed.”
“I think that’s a good idea, for both of us. I haven’t slept for more than a couple of hours in the past three days. I’ll let you have the bed.”
“Just lay down next to me,” I demand. “We’ll both sleep better with the other by our side, and Dayne didn’t say we couldn’t cuddle.”
He slides out of his jeans and gets into bed, his arm lifted for me to curl up next to him. He’s warm as I place my hand under his shirt and close my eyes. I listen to his heart and feel a light kiss on the top of my head.
“Urr,” I exhale. “A waspie? I’m the woman in the room and I’ve never even heard that term. I can’t believe you know more about these things than I do.”
“But women get them because it’s a turn-on for men, right? So men should know what they are,” Cove replies in a quiet voice as he starts to drift off to sleep.
“I guess so,” I whisper and let out a big yawn. “Do you like them? Is it going to turn you on?”
“Yes. But only on you. I’ll bet you look incredible in it.”
“Then I’ll be happy to wear it… for you.”
CHAPTER THREE
“Two-thirty.”
I roll onto my back as a voice fills the room.
“It’s two-thirty. Wake up sleepy heads.”
My eyes open and the flat screen on the wall displays a smiling Carl, with toothpick in mouth, and sunglasses on his head.
“Carl,” I moan and stretch my arms above my head. “Hi,” I whisper.