by A Wallace
“Lemme guess, eight,” Richard said as he looked at their marriage license. “Well now, I see why, eight, eight. Your eighth anniversary is coming up soon. I hope you visit us during your happy occasion.”
Charley turned her head, placed her index finger in her mouth, and pretended to gag.
Murphy slipped his arm around her, pressed her against him, pinching her waist with his fingers. “You okay sweetness?”
“Sure thing, studly,” she said, crossing her eyes at him.
Murphy smiled. “You're so adorable when you do that. I hope they stick someday.”
“There would be two of you, no thanks.”
“More to love.”
“I'm still trying to love this one.”
“Ah, the banter of true love,” Richard said. “Mr. Downing, sign here and I'll get your keycard for Playroom Eight. Will you need help with your luggage?”
“Nah, we can handle it.”
The desk clerk handed Murphy two keycards. “One for you and one for the missus.”
“Thank you.”
Charley's fingers dug into his side the closer they approached the oversized mahogany theater doors, which led into a world neither had seen. As Murphy slowly opened the door, he looked at her and hugged her a little tighter. Inside a darkened vestibule, standing side by side, they stalled, and took a deep breath. Charley laced her fingers in his. “Sean.”
He squeezed her hand. “As long as you’re with me, you’ll be safe.”
Charley swallowed so hard she gulped. “I’m ready.”
Murphy opened the enormous door, and they entered a gymnasium-sized room.
“Oh, my gawd.” Charley’s mouth dropped open, her eyes colossal with shock and disbelief. “Did I step into the movie set of 'Eyes Wide Shut'?”
“No, it's more like Sodom and Gomorrah, or worse. Hell, porn isn't this bad.”
Filled with the debauchery of an unconditional orgy, they were the only ones clothed. Members were scattered about the room engaging in a variety of sexual activity.
“Some of the guys aren't using condoms,” Murphy said. “They're stupid. Wouldn’t management would require it?”
“Condoms? You're fixated on condoms?” She closed her eyes. “Oh, my gawd, Sean,” she said as she turned into him, buying her face into his chest. “Ten o'clock, in the corner. A train.”
“Holy shit, that's…”
“Jessica Cooper.” Charley tried to force her eyes to look away. “How many are in line?”
“One, two, three. About seven, but I stopped counting.” He tugged her dress. “Uh, Char, someone else we know is here.”
“Who?”
“Mr. Thurgood.”
“I'm gonna need eye bleach.” She attempted move from him.
He held her in place. “Don't Char, you don't want to see this. Cooper rolled over for some backdoor work. Oh gross, the first guy isn't wearing a condom.”
“What’s Mr. Thurgood doing?”
“I’m not positive but I believe he and Jessica are married. She’s on all fours and he’s watching men having… damn. Okay, we need leave.” He kept her from the line of sight as they continued to their room.
Through the door, they turned left to Playroom Eight. Murphy slipped the keycard into the slot. The door clicked, the green light appeared. His arm still clamped around her, he opened the door.
Charley laughed hysterically.
Murphy joined her.
“This is so gaudy.” She snickered.
The red and gold velvet wallpaper appeared faded against the shag carpet flattened by years of use. To the right of the room was a round bed with a red crushed velvet bedspread. On the wall behind the bed hung gold lamé drapes parted down the middle. The ceiling over the bed had mirrors with a small disco ball. In each corner were black strobe lights. Across from the entrance door was a credenza with a cheap stereo.
On the left side of the bed was a rack with an assortment of straps, leather cuffs, scarves and other items. On the other side was a nightstand with a small garish lamp and a telephone.
The dresser against the left wall had a microwave, television, and a video camera secured with a cable to the floor. To the left of the dresser was a mini refrigerator.
Beyond the bed was the door to the bathroom.
Charley faced him, dug into her silver bag, and lifted out a tube of lipstick. After she uncapped it, she ran it over her lips.
“Charley, there's no—”
“Shh, come here, in case we're being watched,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “It's not lipstick. It's a device that detects pulses for cameras, listening devices, and other electronics.”
“You don't need lipstick,” he said into her ear as he wrapped his arms around her. His lips brushed over her earlobe as her breath warmed his skin.
“I'm getting readings,” she whispered against the nap of his neck.
“So am I.” He smiled.
“Here we go. Television, stereo, camera, two cell phones, our data tablets, and a landline.” She peeped over his shoulder. “Must be the one on the nightstand next to the bed.”
“How long will it take?”
“When the scan is complete, the green light will come on,” she said, watching the activity on the LED.
Murphy’s heart raced. “Take your time.” He slid his hand from her shoulders to the slope of her back. “We want to make sure.”
“It's done.” Charley backed away from him. “Nothing, they aren't watching or listening.”
Charley stepped to the bed and opened the nightstand drawer. Inside she found numerous sex toys, only a few of which she knew what they were. She found a green jelly-like plastic rubber ring with a dolphin and showed it to Murphy. “What's this?” she said as she removed the wrapping.
“Uhm… it's uh… penis ring with… the… uh… dolphin is for… uh… female pleasure,” he said as he swallowed deep.
“Female pleasure?” she said, viewing her body, her arms level with the ground and the ring draped over her index finger. “Where would I put it?”
Murphy smiled and scratched his eyebrow with his thumbnail. “No Char, the man wears it.”
She held the ring in front of her face, holding it by the dolphin and peered at him through the opening. “Ah, so the little dolphin stimulates the female.” She examined the plastic marvel. “It goes around the base of a penis?”
“Yes.”
“Humph, interesting.” She shrugged. “I love dolphins. I swam with them in the Bahamas. Friendly little fellows.”
“Well, I believe you would like that friendly little dolphin.” He blushed.
“Why?”
He rubbed his forehead and clicked his mouth. “Charley, have you ever had sex?”
Her face went blank. She turned, tossed the ring in the drawer, and slammed it closed. “Well now.” Charley turned and pointed at the bed. “I've never seen a round bed before. Let’s check it out.”
She crawled onto the bed and sat in the center. Leaning back with her hands bracing her from behind, she raised her left knee as she dug her heel into the mattress.
“What are you doing?”
She extended her hand out to him. “C'mon.”
Murphy hesitated to subdue what was bubbling within him. He joined her on the bed with his chest facing her shoulder.
“I have to take off my clothes,” she said, looking towards the bathroom.
“Wha… what?”
“I can't put my gadgets in my g-string now can I?”
He peered behind her, gazing at her butt. “You have on a g-string?”
“Yeah, a purple one. Your favorite color right?”
“Yeah.” He grinned.
“I'm trying out method acting. If I'm going to do this I may as well play the part.”
“Do what?” he stuttered.
“I have to change clothes. I can't go into the vent wearing this.” She pointed at the vent overhead. “It's cold in the shaft. The air c
onditioning’s on.”
“Oh.”
She flopped back onto the bed, her head hitting the pillow. “Hmm, you should lie down and see for yourself.”
Murphy laid on his back, his attention on her.
“It's hard.”
He covered his jeans zipper with his hand. “What?”
“The mattress, it's hard.”
“Oh.”
“Why is it so hard?”
“Cheap construction.” Murphy placed his other hand over his zipper.
“I'm ready.”
“Ready?”
She rose and placed her back to him. “Unzip me.”
“What? You want me to unzip your dress?”
Charley removed the wig and tossed it onto the floor. Her long golden locks tumbled down her back. She reached with her hand and draped her hair over her shoulder. “I can't reach it. I'll change in the bathroom.”
Murphy eased behind her, his hands shook as he unzipped her dress. He swallowed hard at the softness of her skin. His fingers trickled down her back.
She shivered. “That tickles. I need to visit my massage therapist.”
“Char, you don't have on a bra.”
“It's built into the dress.”
“Oh,” he said as his hands shadowed her shoulders. He licked his mouth, admiring her. His lips would fit perfect in the curve of her neck and shoulder. He leaned toward her.
She scooted off the bed. He grabbed her pillow, covered his erection, and placed his hands over his face. He peered between his fingers, as she gathered her overnight bag, while trying to manage her loose dress barely covering her ample breasts.
As she walked towards the bathroom. “I'll be a few minutes.”
Murphy attempted to adjust himself as she disappeared behind the door. “I will not survive the night.” He dropped his head as his mind spun out of control. Someday, he will learn not to have sex with women he doesn’t care when they were born. “Need self-control,” he mumbled. The last time was a disaster.
What he wanted was his bastion, the woman who accepted his weaknesses and worshiped his strengths. The woman who would embrace him with eagerness whether he had stepped out of the shower or from a hot sweaty day digging a ditch.
Intelligence, independence were priority. One who displayed more skin than clothing need not apply, and trashy was not sexy. Murphy's father lamented the woman in his life should be a lady in public and a tiger in bed. Never park your dick where you wouldn't want to live. Murphy tried to live by his advice, but failed. He had not found his tigress. Over the years, he had turned over many rocks only to find colonies of blood-sucking insects.
He had tired of the Jessica Coopers of the world. Months ago, he revaluated his priorities in what he wanted in a relationship. Murphy plopped on the bed with his hands behind his head, seeing his reflection in the mirrored ceiling tiles.
He couldn't remember half the names of the women in his past. They were nothing more than momentary regimental recreation. He had never committed, nor considered it. Not once had he told a woman he loved her because he didn't. Why bother? She was lying there waiting for him with open arms, and legs. Their gold-digging fingers wanted his wallet, while his was temporary satisfaction.
Now, he created excuses to be with Charley. He didn't care if he spent the evening talking about work. She was there, in front of him, expecting nothing from him, but he wanted everything from her.
The bathroom door opened he rose from the bed. “Hey, when's your birthday?”
“My birthday? November seventh. Why?”
“Curious.”
“When's yours?”
“March fifth.” He smiled. “You look like Catwoman.”
The black leather gear clung to her shape. “You like it? This is what I wear when I ride my Ducati.”
Charley sat on the edge of the bed, removing the wig from the floor, and stuffed it into the satchel. “I have everything I need in my backpack.”
He swirled his finger in front of his face. “You removed your face. I prefer the real you.”
“I don't like make-up.”
“Natural is better. What’s next?”
“We need to sabotage something in the room,” she said, glancing. “The camera, I'll fry it.” She motioned for him to come closer. “Here, put this in your ear so we can hear each other.”
Murphy put the earpiece into his ear. “And?”
She reached inside her fanny pack and removed a wire. “I'll sabotage the camera by causing a short in the electronic system.” Charley stood from the bed and stepped to the dresser. She opened the camera panel, removed the batteries, and with the wire, connected the negative and positive terminals, causing them to short. “You'll be in the hall by the office door, pretending to be on the phone. If the manager comes to the office, you complain about the camera. I don't care how you do it but make sure he does not enter the office. Get him into our room. Engage him with conversation.”
“If he comes in here, he may wonder where you are?”
“Turn on the shower after I'm in the vent. If he asks, tell him I'm preparing for our night or something.”
“Are you sure you'll fit in the shaft?”
“It's eighteen by eighteen inches, so yes.”
“How long will it take to download the data?”
“Five minutes tops. It doesn't grab the operating system or programs, only data such as documents and files. I doubt these guys are gurus. Most likely everything will be in conventional folders.”
Charley clambered onto the credenza. Overhead she unlocked the clasp to the hinged vent cover. She grabbed the edges and pulled herself inside the industrial sheet metal ductwork. “Damn, it's cold, geez.”
Murphy hoisted onto the credenza. As he stood, his head cleared the opening, seeing her feet. “Char, I don't know if you're brave or crazy, but for now I'm going for crazy.”
She pulled her knees to her chest, rolled onto her side, and shimmied onto her stomach to face him. She smiled. “I'll take crazy.”
He placed his hands on the sides of her head. “Be careful. Do not move until I turn on the shower, okay?”
“Yes.”
He closed his eyes and kissed her forehead. “Let's do this.”
“I'm ready.” She curled into a ball and turned away from his direction. “After this, dinner.”
Murphy scaled off the credenza, turned on the shower, and left the room to pace near the manager's office door.
“Test 1-2-3,” Charley said.
“Loud and clear,” Murphy said.
“Tell me if you can hear me moving in the shaft.”
“No.”
“Good. I can see the office vent. It's about fifteen feet ahead.”
“No one is around. The music in the main hall cranked up. Maybe that's a good sign.”
“Drowning out the screams of Jessica Cooper?”
“She's not screaming.”
“What would she be doing?”
“Well, not screaming, maybe a lot of moaning and panting.”
“I thought men liked screamers?”
“Rule of thumb for men, if she's screaming, she’s faking. It's all about the breathing and the body.”
“Baking? Baking what? Strange time to make a cake.”
Murphy snickered. “Faking.”
“Ah. I'm here. Lights are on, the desk is right below me. This vent is the same as the one in our room. I'll use a hook to push the latch.”
“Then what?”
“I'll drop inside, insert the drive into a USB port, run the software Scott designed to bypass any passwords and the firewall. I'll return to the vent and wait for it to finish. The tower is in the chair cubby. If they come in, they'll never see it. The screensaver is going, so the PC is running.”
“The hall is clear.”
“Okay, here I go.”
He pressed the earpiece into his ear. She dropped from the desk onto the floor. A faint squeak of a chair wheel pierced his ear.
> “Okay, the thumb drive is in. I'm running the bypass software. Annnnnd, we're in. Going back up.”
“Tell me when you're in the vent.”
“I'm in the vent.”
“That was quick.”
“All I had to do was pull myself through the opening. Now we wait. The program will tell me when the transfer is complete. Right now it's at ten percent.”
“Hall is clear.”
“Fifty percent and searching.”
“I hear someone on a microphone in the main room.”
“Maybe it's karaoke night.” Charley chuckled.
“I had this image of someone singing naked to a crowd of naked people. It was not pretty.”
“How about… stand-up comedy night? Seventy percent and rolling.”
He chuckled. “Hall is clear.”
“Damn, the air turned on. Good time to wish I were a penguin. It's cold.”
He grinned and licked his lips. “I'd rather be a dolphin.”
“Almost there. Ninety percent and it is… done.”
“Fan-freaking-tastic. I’ll meet you in our room.” Murphy pushed from the wall.
“Stay put. I'm in the office, thumb drive recovered. I'm headed up.”
“I can't believe we did this.”
“We’re not clear, Sean. Keep your pants on.”
“I can always dream,” he mumbled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“I’m in the shaft, securing the vent cover. I'm coming home. Don’t enter our room until I've landed.”
Murphy checked the hall, no one. This was too easy. Something has to go wrong. It was Murphy's Law.
“I'm in the room. Return.”
“Excellent.”
She sat shivering on the bed.
“Charley, you okay?”
“I'm freezing,” she said as she pulled the velvet bedspread around her shaking body. Her teeth chattered and her fingers were blue.
“Hey, c'mere.” He scooped her into his arms and laid her onto the bed, wrapping his body around her. He tucked the cover around her and rubbed her with his hands. “Close your eyes, Char, you'll be warm soon.”
“Thank you,” she said softly as she held the thumb drive between them. “All this for something so small that may offer something so much bigger.”
“What do you want to do now?” he said, embracing her.