by Nikki Wild
We reached the parking lot.
“You driving?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
“This client is a bit crazy,” he said once we were on the road.
“How so?”
“Oh, in every way imaginable.”
“Sounds crazy, right up your alley.”
“You do know me well.”
I smiled as I pulled into Commander Taco. They had the cheapest but best American tacos in all of Ohio if not the entire Midwest. We ordered a dozen tacos and two drinks, a root beer for me and a tea for him.
We ate the food outside on a round metal picnic table. The wind whipped, but the sun was out and kept us warm enough as we dove into the cheap journalist-food. He smiled repeatedly as we ate.
“Are you ever going to show me that secret photo project you’re working on?”
I covered my mouth with my hand as I finished chewing.
“You don’t want to see it,” I said, then smiled.
“What are you talking about? I love all your work.”
“Well, this is different. I took some photos of Toby while he was…uh…you know.”
He cocked his head to the side and squinted his eyes together.
“No. What?”
“Don’t make me say it,” I said, shaking my head.
Billy burst into laughter.
“You did not take pictures of him naked.”
I smiled.
“What if I did?”
“Anyway, how do you know I wouldn’t want to see them?”
I stared at his face, not understanding what he meant. Before I could ask, my phone rang.
“Is that him?” Billy asked.
“Yeah, but I’m not going to answer it. He made me wait, he can wait. I’m with my good friend at lunch.”
He smiled. I set the phone down on top of the picnic table. It buzzed a few seconds later as I received a text message.
“You know you want to read it,” he said, nodding toward my phone.
Damn you, Billy. You know me so well.
I grabbed the phone and turned on the screen. With a swipe and a tap, I saw a message from Toby.
“Come to me.”
“We’ve gotta go,” I said, taking one more bite then standing up.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Toby wants to see me. I’ll drop you off at the newspaper.”
“What happened to having lunch with your good friend?” he teased.
“Please?” I begged.
He stood, gathering empty taco wrappers from the table. I rushed to my car with him following behind somewhat slower just to irritate me.
“Just be careful, okay?” he said as I drove back to the newspaper.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we still don’t know what’s up with his ex-wife. I can appreciate you wanting to bone him, but…”
“We do not bone,” I interrupted.
He rolled his eyes dramatically.
“Don’t tell me you make love.”
“No, we haven’t done that yet, but we’ve fucked a lot. And it’s been good.”
I glanced over and grinned. He fell silent as I turned back to the road ahead.
After dropping him off, I headed to Toby’s huge house outside the city. Was everything okay? He hadn’t given me much information, but if we were together, a simple message was all it took for me to come running. Was I making a mistake? Why did love have to be so damn complicated?
Nineteen
Toby
When she didn’t respond to my “come to me” text message, I wondered if I had waited too long in getting back with her.
Would she understand why I needed time apart? And why the hell had I invited her over? The questions came at me like an offensive lineman.
I brushed them aside, sitting calmly in my living room. Even if she didn’t show and I never heard from her again, my life wasn’t bad. Many would give anything to have it.
After a few minutes, I decided she wasn’t going to call back or show, so I stood and went into my private gym to workout. I stripped off my shirt and changed into a pair of baggy basketball shorts.
With practice coming up in a few hours, I should have rested up, but all the energy flowing through my body needed to get out. I got down on the floor, my hands on the cool tiles, and did a push-up.
I lifted then lowered my body, getting my heart rate going. As I pushed past twenty push-ups, I reminded myself of how hard I’d worked over the years to be able to play pro ball.
At fifty push-ups, I stopped and got to my feet. Sit-ups should have been next, but I grabbed a jump rope off a peg on the wall. Starting slow, I worked up my speed, hopping in place and moving my arms.
My doorbell rang a minute later and my heart skipped.
Did she actually come over? I wondered as I dropped the rope and headed to the front door. The bell rang again. Sweat covered my body, making it slick.
I opened the door and saw her standing on my porch, a look of alarm on her face.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“I didn’t think you were coming over, so I started working out.”
“There’s no emergency?”
“Did I say there was an emergency?” I asked.
“Well, no, but…” She sighed. “Never mind.”
“Are you okay?”
“Honestly? I’m freaking out because you didn’t answer my calls, and I haven’t heard from you. What’s up with that?”
“I’ve been busy, babe, I’m sorry. I meant to call you last night but I crashed as soon as I got home from practice. It was particularly brutal yesterday.”
She stepped forward and into my house without a word, closing the ornate door behind her.
“Hello there,” I said as she wrapped her hands around me and rested her head on my chest.
I ran my hand down her back, realizing how much I’d missed her touch.
“Can we do it one more time?” she asked quietly.
“One more time?” I pulled back. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re with your wife again, right?”
“What? No. Where did you hear that?”
“She came to see me at work.”
“I saw that, I’m so sorry, Haley. Jessica is a terrible drama queen. She’s just doing all that for the ratings. She must have figured things out.”
“Figured what out?”
“That’s we’re seeing each other. She knows who you are. I mean, that we used to know each other.”
“How does she know that?” she asked, her pretty eyes staring up at me. I wanted to wipe all the worry from her face. She was so fucking beautiful, it almost hurt.
“Because I talked about you. My mother talked about you. You’re all over my old yearbooks, which she insisted on seeing. You were the girl that got away and she knew it. She must be beside herself with jealousy right now. She could never live up to your memory,” I said, leaning down and brushing a kiss across her lips. “I’m sorry, babe. It’s been so crazy with the team and my parents’ restaurant.”
“How’s that going?” she asked, then added. “You know what? Tell me later. I don’t want to talk. I want to feel.” She reached down, gripping my already swollen cock, her seductive eyes pulling me closer.
“Let me jump in the shower,” I whispered.
“No time for that,” she said, smiling. “I’m just so happy to see you.”
She stood up on her toes and kissed me on the lips. I opened my mouth, wanting to devour her. Hands and clothes met for an epic battle with apparel losing.
Once naked, we were all over each other again, her soft skin pressing against mine. I bent my head and took one of her nipples in my mouth while I massaged her other breast.
Her long, cool fingers wrapped around my rock hard cock. I loved the taste and texture of her skin. She made me forget all my problems and get lost in the possibilities of our future.
“Where’s your gym?” she as
ked, breathing heavy.
“You don’t want to go to the master bedroom?”
“The bench. I want to do it on your weight bench. Do you have one?”
I nodded, suddenly even more intrigued by the magical woman in front of me.
“This way,” I said, taking her hand.
Naked, we walked through the house without a care in the world. The sense of urgency and practicality of the fuck would be new for us – not necessarily a bad thing.
With her mind, eyes, and tight pussy, I didn’t think I would ever grow tired of showing her my love physically. She made me want to experience new heights of pleasure.
In the gym, we stopped in front of the weight bench and kissed. She dropped to her knees, hands on my waist, and popped her mouth over the thick, shiny head of my cock.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
She removed her mouth.
“On the bench,” she said, looking up at me as she stroked my cock.
I tilted my head and stared down at her.
“Sit on the bench,” she said.
After I did, she resumed sucking my cock, making it even harder. I continued staring at her face, loving the sight of my cock disappearing into her sweet, little mouth and those succulent lips moving up and down my smooth shaft.
She stopped and stood, pushing my chest with her palm. I laid down on the bench, my legs on either side. When she straddled my body, grabbing onto the metal barbell, I moaned.
My cock slid across her pussy and over her stomach. She lifted herself, positioning the tip of my cock at the entrance of her wet and willing hole. Bliss hit me as she lowered onto it.
I grabbed her curvy breasts, squeezing them gently as I pushed deeper into her. The sensation of her pussy clenching my cock brought me to the very edge of an orgasm. So soon.
As she rode me, she moved her hands from the bar to my chest, holding herself as she ground her hips back and forth, forward and backward, any which way that would feel good.
With her on top of me, her pussy wrapped around my cock, everything increased the pleasure. Together, we rocked and fucked toward a huge finish.
Raw sex quick and fast turned me on, but this was something on an entirely different level. Her eyes stared into mine. I got lost in those green orbs, so timeless and perfect.
“Toby,” she groaned.
I thrust up into her as she came down. The rhythm we’d found improved with each passing second, our bodies writhing against each other.
We both edged closer to the edge each time my rock hard cock slid into her wonderfully tight pussy.
“I’m coming,” she said urgently.
“Yes, baby,” I cooed.
After a few more thrusts, she threw her head back and yelled out. I held onto her waist tightly as her body shook violently.
She slowed her movements but didn’t stop.
The sense of urgency soon ran rampant, causing me to lose control.
“Fuck,” I groaned as I came.
A smile lit up her face.
Is she glowing?
“Talk about a workout,” I said with a grin after I caught my breath.
She giggled then pressed her breasts against my chest and kissed me.
“I don’t ever want to go.”
“Now you’re all sweaty too.”
“Shit, I’ve got to get back to work. Can I jump in your shower?”
“Yeah. There’s a small one through that door.”
I pointed to the other end of the room.
“Thanks,” she said, standing up.
“There’s towels and stuff in there, I think.”
“It’ll be fine,” she said. “Scott is going to bitch me out.”
“You want me to call him again?”
“Would you?”
I nodded confidently.
She bent down and kissed me on the lips.
“You’re the best.”
As she scurried off to the shower room to clean up, I stood and waited, wondering if there was anything I wouldn’t do for her.
I got my phone from my shorts in the living room and called up the newspaper office. Scott had given me his phone extension number, so I didn’t run into any problems.
“Hello, this is Scott, photography department.”
“Hey, Scott. It’s Toby.”
“Toby! What a coincidence.”
“What do you mean?”
He laughed. I heard someone in the background.
“I can’t talk now, Toby, but I’ll call you back, okay?”
“Hey, I just wanted to tell you Haley is going to be running late. She helped me with something, and…”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s fine,” he interrupted. “Bye, Toby.”
Did he just hang up on me? I wondered, staring at the evidence on the screen of the phone. Haley’s right, that guy is an asshole.
When I returned to my private gym, I saw Haley, completely naked, running a towel over her wet hair. It looked lovely, even in such disarray right out of the shower.
“I’m so late,” she said, rushing past. “I’ve got to get dressed.”
“You’ve got time,” I said, following her. “Scott is cool with it. Seems like he has something big going on at the moment anyway. He was pretty abrupt on the phone.”
“He’s such an asshole,” she said, reaching the living room and our clothes.
“Yeah. Maybe you can open your own gallery someday.”
“Nah. I want to take news photographs.”
I nodded, impressed with her goals and dreams aligning so well, another thing we had in common.
“Call me later,” I said while watching her dress.
“I will. What did you say to Scott? You’re sure he’s not mad?”
“You don’t trust me?” I teased.
“No, but you don’t know him. He loves you, so he’ll tell you anything to keep you happy.”
“It’ll be fine. If not, give me a call.”
“You going to come and get me out of all my problems?”
I stepped over and put my arm on her waist after she put on her blouse.
“You know it.”
She smiled. I briefly pressed my lips against hers.
“I’ve gotta go. Love you…”
When the last three words came out of her mouth, she stopped, staring into my eyes.
“I love you too,” I said. “Get to work.”
She turned and opened the front door, fleeing across my front lawn to her car. I went back inside and headed upstairs to soak and relax in the massive tub in the master bedroom.
Twenty
Haley
With my hair still a mess and a smile on my face, I ran into the newsroom and straight to my cubicle. Across the way, Scott spun around in his chair, his hands crossed over his chest.
He called me over excitedly.
“I just got off the phone with Jessica. She’s committed to spending a hundred grand for an advertising campaign, and she wants you to shoot the photographs.”
“Hold on a second,” I said. “I’m an editorial photographer. I don’t want to do work for advertisers. Let Billy do it.”
Scott laughed loudly, covering his mouth with his hand.
“That’s rich. This isn’t academia anymore, Haley. The publisher wants us to do this to bring revenue in, so you’re going to do it or else.”
“Or else what?”
He pointed a finger and yelled, “You’re fired.”
I sighed as I processed all the information.
“Why do you have a problem with it, anyway?” he asked as if he cared.
“It’s not complicated. I’m an editorial photographer. I don’t want my photos on advertisements.”
He shook his head.
“That’s why you’re always going to be smalltime. Commercial art is where the money is at.”
“Not everything is about money. It doesn’t make sense that she would pay a hundred-thousand dollars for me to shoot photos for her. What type of photos are
they?”
“Does it matter for that kind of money?”
“There you go talking about money again.”
“You want to stop getting a paycheck?”
“No, but I want to do work I enjoy.”
“Well, if you don’t have any good reasons not to work with her, you’re going to do it. Understood?”
I nodded my head, contemplating if I should tell him about my history with Toby.
“Yeah, I’ll do it,” I said. I wasn’t about to lose my job because of her.
“Good. Get to work,” Scott said, turning back to his computer.
“Sure,” I replied, walking out of his office and back to my desk.
I sat down, tapping the spacebar on the keyboard to wake up my computer.
I noticed my zip drive wasn’t attached.
That’s weird. I could have sworn I left it in the computer.
“Hey, Scott.” I spun around in my chair. “Did you borrow one of my flash drives?”
“Nope,” he called over his shoulder.
As he typed away on his keyboard, my heart sank. The flash drive contained all the sexy photos of Toby. If they got into the wrong hands, he would kill me.
Where the hell was it? Did I take it out? Maybe Billy took it out for me?
I stood up and walked to the stairwell to head outside and see if he was taking a smoke break. When I opened the door downstairs and walked out, I saw him standing with his vaporizer.
“Hey, girl. You smoking now?”
“Please tell me you took it,” I said in a serious tone.
“Took what?” he asked then took a puff.
“My flash drive.”
I stepped toward him, my heart racing.
“No. I should have, but I didn’t. Is it missing?”
My sense of dread deepened as I nodded.
“That’s not good,” he said, putting his hand on my shoulder.
“Crap, crap, crap,” I said as if repeating the word would make it less apt to my situation. “Those pictures of Toby were on there! What if someone leaks them?”
“Shit! Haley, you have to tell him,” Billy said.
“I can’t tell him. He’ll hate me.”
“He’s going to hate you more if those photos come out without him being ready for it. The team will hire a public relations firm to help him handle the damage control. It’ll be okay, but you need to tell him.”