Distorted Perceptions

by Diana W

  Bullshit.

  She approached the pink and purple lit bar quickly searching for an available seat. Just as she was losing hope amongst the crowd that didn’t seem to be lessening after getting their drinks, she saw a girl to her right paying for her tab. She excused herself through the one or two people near the seat and placed her hand on the back of the stool.

  “Oh My God! Don’t I know you?!” Denise smiled.

  The girl gave an unsure smile back, trying to hide her confusion. “Uhhh I’m not sure. “

  “It’s gotta be you,” Denise persisted with the lie. “What high school did you go to?”

  “St. Mary’s,” the girl stood up, smiling with pride at the all-girl school name drop. This was a customary interaction in New Orleans. You never recognized people by their job or what college they attended. It was either their neighborhood or high school.

  “Yes! That’s it! Oh my god and you still look the same girl. Just gorgeous!” Denise beamed.

  “Well thank you!” The girl delighted in the compliment, still oblivious to who Denise was. It didn’t matter though. Once she offered the seat to her that she was leaving vacant, the mission was accomplished. Denise’s legs crossed with victory upon the girl’s cheerful departure.

  Waiting for an available bartender to flag down, her fingers tapped to the contagious upbeat of “Get Me Bodied”.

  “You mind if I sit here?” Came from the left of her.

  “Oh no, go ahead,” Denise nodded, barely paying attention to the person as she attempted her first flag down of a bartender.

  “Your method is wrong,” the same voice stated.

  Denise finally decided to give the stranger her full attention this time. “And are you the spokesperson for the How to Get a Proper Drink Committee?”

  The man laughed off her statement. “No, not at all. I’m just a sucker for helping beautiful women out.”

  “Smooth,” Denise sat into her chair. “Smooth one. And I appreciate the compliment.”

  Thank god somebody recognized her magnificent MILFness amongst the sea of the just legal crowd.

  “So, if I can get you that drink you’re chasing, would you allow me to get to know you better?”

  Denise’s eyes drifted downward to her wedding band as his followed suit. “As long as you know nothing happens outside of this bar then we’re good.”

  “Scout’s honor,” he held his hand to his chest. “The name’s Cooper.”

  Chapter 10

  I fought for balance.

  My hands were pressed against the massive hotel window Julian didn’t bother pulling the curtains closed on. I’m sure the view of the river he mentioned in the elevator ride up was breathtaking, but my eyes were slammed shut in anticipation of what was coming next.

  Bent over.

  Spread open.

  In the most compromising of positions. My heartbeat was almost deafening. A mix of fear and longing. Wanting him to do every freaky thing he whispered in my ear throughout the rest of dinner but worried about how I’d feel once the sun was up and the second drink he ordered for me wore off.

  I held my breath at the initial feel of him. His thickness stretching me for the perfect fit. Foreign but somehow familiar, my body accepted every inch as my toes curled in the heels still housed on my feet.

  His big hands gripped my shoulders for leverage as I helplessly gasped from the methodically slow but deep thrusts. The increase of pressure in my core would surely drive me insane if I didn’t try to position myself more upright.

  I took a step forward only to have Julian move with me, digging deeper if that was even possible to fathom.

  “Ju...lian,” I whimpered on now shaky legs.

  “Uh unh.” He wrapped his hands around my stomach. “Not yet.”

  I don’t know what kind of magical powers he thought I had, but me trying to prevent this much needed orgasm was useless.

  He stilled behind me, weakening the buildup forming within me but in no way diminishing it. He walked us forward, still buried in me as one of his hands moved down between my legs, leaving the other snaked around my stomach. My nipples steeled from the initial contact of the window’s cold glass. My upper body now fully pressed against it.

  “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for this,” he spoke into the back of my neck with his fingers flicking my overstimulated bud. I rocked into him, back to chasing that erotic high like a fiend. Yet still, he controlled our tempo, keeping a steady pace no matter how much I wanted to explode.

  “Patience.” He nibbled on my shoulder. “I want you to feel...everything.”

  “I do. I swear I do.” I bit my lip trying to keep my breathing stable.

  “Shit,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “I see she still remembers me. You’re dripping,” he growled.

  This excited him. A small victory I wanted to take advantage of, so I rolled my hips against his hardness and fingers, hoping his temporary weakness would allow me to release.

  “Cass.” He bit into my neck. “You gotta slow down.”

  “I can’t,” I panted. “I need this.”

  Realizing I wouldn’t let up, Julian backed up, putting me back in my original position. A scream left my lips as he started driving into me like deranged person. I was tightening up, starting to peak.

  “Right there. Right there.” My fingers clawed and slapped the window.

  I yelped as my heels left the floor, bouncing in the air like a rag doll. Screaming every obscenity known to man as my entire body sparked with a pleasure that made my sex go numb. Julian groaned in between huffing and I knew he was close. With one last hard bounce, he moaned, holding tight to me, my legs still dangling freely. Seconds later, I was placed gently back on my feet. My body still reeling from the aftershocks.

  “God Damn,” he huffed through exaggerated breaths.

  I wobbled towards the edge of bed and fell forward. Planting my face in the comforter. “What the hell was that position called?”

  “Fantastic,” he hummed as I felt him lie next to me. He pulled my body into his and oddly, I loved the warmth of it.

  “You wanna get cleaned up?” He kissed my ear then made his way down my neck.

  “Honestly?” I moaned with my eyes closed. “I just want to sleep.”

  Post-orgasm sleep was right up there with that post-Thanksgiving meal one. The one your heavy-set aunty with the stiff wig started preparing two days beforehand.

  “I can do sleep.” His nose nuzzled into my neck. “I can do anything you ask me to.”

  “Ok now. Don’t go making promises,” I playfully warned.

  “This feels like back in the dorms, doesn’t it?” He murmured.

  “Like hell it does!” I laughed. “Us trying to squeeze onto that twin size bed was a feat in itself. Cricks in my neck and dozing off in my classes.”

  “No, you know exactly what had you dozing off." He squeezed my hips, brushing his semi-erect member against my butt.

  “Stop,” I grinned and weakly pushed him off. “And maybe that too. We used to think we were being soooo quiet and Shanice would turn over and give me this smug look the next morning after you left.”

  Shanice and that smile of hers. Big, gorgeous set of perfectly white teeth that she rarely showed off. She was always upbeat and bubbly when it was just us but I swear she would turn into this timid and closed off person with the rest of the world. It took her like six months to even get comfortable talking to Julian when we started dating. I never complained though. It was her personality and I loved her despite it.

  “I still miss her,” I sighed. “You would think after all these years it would go away.”

  “Yeah,” Julian snorted. “And I try to do the opposite.”

  My eyes popped open. “Why? You say it like you’re annoyed.”

  “Honestly?” He unwrapped his arms from around me. “I am.”

  “What?” I turned over shocked but curious.

  His hands went behind his head. “She caus
ed one of the worst experiences of my life. I left any thought of her in the past.”

  “Really Julian?” I sat up. “You don’t think that’s a bit harsh? I mean she’s dead.”

  “Of her own doing,” he countered. “It was unnecessary.”

  “Or maybe she was hurting from something she couldn’t explain,” I defended and rightfully so. I was always taught to never speak ill of the dead and besides that, Shanice wasn’t here to speak for herself.

  “Cass, you were her best friend. Wouldn’t she have discussed whatever that was with you?” His eyebrow raised.

  As quickly as my mouth opened to answer, it shut. To be honest, that was one of the questions I always asked myself. We were like sisters and I thought she trusted me like family since she never spoke of her own. I knew about her running away from home a few times in high school, and even about one her ex's that gave her a black eye, but I always felt like she was holding back something. Something I couldn’t quite pinpoint. I drove myself insane thinking about it still sometimes. Always wondering if she thought I wouldn’t be able to understand or handle it.

  "I don't know," I felt defeated.

  "Hey," he pulled me down onto his body, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I didn't mean to come across like a dick." His grip tightened. "I'm just saying we always think we know somebody until we don't. Instead of driving yourself crazy on why she did what she did, try to think about it like maybe she had demons bigger than your friendship. That's not on you though."

  "Yeah." I hated to admit that, but it was looking more and more like the truth every time I thought about it. It's not like she was going to come back and answer the questions I had anyway. "I guess you're right." I decided not to harbor on it for now.

  "Of course, I'm right," he planted a kiss on my lips, squeezing my ass in the process. "I got something else that's right too."

  Jesus, is he not tired.

  I hadn't participated in a sex marathon in God knows how long. Sex wasn't so much for fun as it was for necessity these days. I was either too busy or too damn tired. Elliott was usually in the same boat so there wasn't much complaints coming from him, but I needed to get my head out of that mindset.

  "Oh yeah?" I nibbled on his bottom lip. "I'm all yours."

  "Music to my damn ears," he moaned and flipped me over on my back. "You'll sleep later."

  Chapter 11

  I managed to successfully sneak out of Julian’s hotel room without waking him. Staying the night wasn’t the plan but my tiredness said otherwise. Heels in hand, I unlocked and pushed open my front door.

  “Well, well, well. Good morning to you,” Denise sat up from the sofa, fully draped in my favorite robe.

  I rolled my eyes. How the hell did I miss her car?

  “Don’t you have a child, a man, and a house you belong to?”

  “Yes, even though one of those is questionable,” she put her naked feet up on the coffee table that was scattered full of one hundred calorie snacks she obviously raided from my pantry. “But let me guess where you were. All night bible study?”

  “Aren’t you observant,” I sarcastically sang as I dropped my heels and purse to the floor. A hot shower and coffee were both calling my name, but I hadn’t decided who to answer to first.

  “So, you fucked him, didn’t you?” Denise wasted not a second asking.

  Coffee it is.

  “Tell me why that is any of your concern.” I headed into the kitchen with a pleasant soreness in my step.

  “What the....you’re still married Cass!” She shuffled behind me. “You of all people should be concerned!”

  “First of all,” I spun around, “my marriage is nearly out the door just like you’re about to be.” Denise gave me a skeptical look, folded her arms and popped her hip out, making it clear she wasn’t budging. Not that I expected her to, but a girl could dream. “And second of all, what I do with my body is my business and my business alone.”

  “No,” her accusatory finger pointed in my direction, “what you do with your body is our business because I always end up in the wrath of the consequences and the Lord knows you just looooove doing stupid shit with it.” She snapped.

  That one stung. I wasn’t sure if that was a jab at Julian or my decision to tie my tubes. I didn’t want kids and it was a move Elliott didn’t fully accept but respected it which is why him getting this girl pregnant threw me completely for a loop. I disclosed it to him at the very beginning of us dating and never wavered from that decision. He could’ve said something, hell anything to me if he felt differently. My parents and Denise, however, weren’t as forgiving. I only opted to tell them because I was growing tired of the “when am I getting a grandbaby or little cousin for Tyler” talk.

  “You know what? I don’t have time for this from you of all people.” I went for my mug.

  “Excuse me,” Denise moved closer. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “What it means is that you love trying to save me when you need to be caping for your own shit. Figure out why the ying to your yang ain’t yinging and then maybe I’d let you attempt to fix my life. Stones and glass houses or whatever the fucking saying is.”

  “Well at least my ying is still around and I’m not hopping on the first dick with a pulse,” she challenged almost making me drop my mug.

  “Fuck you DeeDee.” I slammed my eyes shut. “You don’t know shit.”

  “Tell me I’m lying then,” she leaned against the counter nearest to me. “Tell me you didn’t fall for his bullshit and end up sleeping with him just like I said you would.”

  I maneuvered past her for a new coffee filter straightening up my posture. “Julian and I had a conversation like adults and came to a mutual decision about a one-time night of sex.”

  Denise walked away. “Oh, well excuuuseee me.” She dramatically bent her knees throwing her hands up to the heavens. “Forgive me for being wrong. Pandora’s box apparently can be closed. She says it’s just going to be this one time, Lord.”

  “It was,” I cut her off. That wasn’t the plan. We both needed a fix and we got that. End of story.

  “And with a straight face, you can tell me that you believe that?”

  My neck rolled in her direction. “Yes, I can actually.”

  Denise kissed her teeth as she went back into the living room, reemerging seconds later with a clutch purse and heels in her hand.

  “I know this shit with Elliott hurts. I swear I do but when this blows up in your face, because it will, remember this conversation. Remember my warning and remember that as your sister, one of my goals in life is to always protect you. I’m not grilling you because I have nothing else better to do. I do it because I care. Genuinely care.”

  "Whatever,” I rolled my eyes. “Where are you going anyway? I didn’t see your car.”

  “That’s because it’s not here,” she removed my robe, revealing a cute little black dress.

  “What are you doing over here anyway? Where’d you come from last night?”

  Denise bit into her bottom lip, wrestling with it. “It’s not important anymore. My Uber will be here in a few.”

  “Uber?” My face twisted. “Why would you Uber when I’m right here?”

  Denise took a deep sigh, attempting to fluff out her short curls. “Maybe if you would’ve answered your phone for me, after the third time I tried to call you, you’d have more answers than questions, but once again, if it ain’t about Cass, it ain’t important right?” She backed away and left out the front door.

  What was that supposed to mean?

  Chapter 12

  Sushi.

  That’s all that agreeing to lunch with Julian was supposed to be about. A little avocado roll here. Eel sauce there.

  But as my back slid up and down the thankfully sturdy stall of the women’s restroom, I can admit that players fuck up.

  “This pussy so fuckin good,” Julian was in my ear, pumping into me with a sense of urgency.

  If he didn’t have
on this polo, I’m certain he’d be bleeding at his shoulders from my nails gripping onto him for life support. Shallow breaths were all I could manage to get out. He was continuously working a spot that was pushing me to the point of bliss and pain.

  His secure hold on my thighs gave me the confidence I needed to let my head fall back without fear of falling.

  “Shit,” he grunted a little louder.

  “Shh” my scolding came out more like a moan. “You’re gonna get us busted.”

  I‘d never done some wild shit like this before. I was way too paranoid for this type of adventure. Elliott would always hint at pushing the boundaries of our lovemaking, wanting me to jump on him whenever the mood struck me. The furthest that ever got him was me jerking him off in the car while he was driving. Nothing like this porno scene I was currently pulling off. The thrill of someone walking in at any moment was a powerful aphrodisiac.

  Julian's thrusts slowed as his eyes met mine. He was letting seconds linger between each deep plunge. The intensity of his gaze increasing the buildup in my core.

  “Oh God,” left my lips before I could stop them.

  “Now who’s being loud?” He spoke into my neck, breathing controlled like he had mastered this technique. And from the way my body quivered from each stroke, I would say he had.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck this shit good,” Julian spread my legs apart further as I looped my arms around his neck.

  At the first feel of him throbbing inside of me, I exploded, biting into his neck to muffle my scream. Julian started groaning and even in my daze, I rushed to cover my hand over his mouth. It took us a few seconds to catch our breaths but when we did, a hushed laughter commenced. He put my legs down, one at a time and helped me adjust my dress back down over my hips.

  “Shit. Where’s my underwear?” I whispered with my eyes roaming the tiled floor.