Trading Places

by Anita Cox

  “This will work great. I can already see where everything goes.” Excitement was screaming out of every pore. I couldn’t wait to get started.

  “It’ll be a lot of work, Candy. Just so you know. We’re going to have to buy all of the materials and equipment to renovate and maintain this place, but I have an idea if you want to hear it.”

  I closed the door behind me as we exited the last cabin. “Absolutely. What is it?”

  “There’s at least five acres in the back there. I can build a house for us there. That way we can always keep an eye on the property and we don’t have to drive home after closing up the club. We just ride in a golf cart or something.” He grinned.

  “A house? But you just made that place for us in town and…”

  “And what? It can be just another place I sell. Look, we don’t have to decide right now. Plus, we have to renovate this place first. That’s going to take a chunk of time and money.”

  We chatted as we walked back to Aubrey, who was sitting on the trunk of her car.

  “Do you have a Purchase Offer?” I asked.

  Aubrey looked like she might fall off the car. “Uh, yeah. Hang on.” She slid off the trunk then opened it, grabbing a folder.

  “May I?” I asked holding out my hand.

  She shrugged and handed it to me. I filled out the agreement dictating that closing be held in ten days and wrote a check for the full asking price, plus tax. John and I both signed the agreement and gave it all to Aubrey.

  “Call me with their response as soon as you have it.”

  “Uh, thanks. Pleasure doing business with you.” She waved as John and I climbed in his truck.

  As soon as we pulled out of the driveway, I screeched. John laughed at me.

  “I’ve never heard of a ten-day closing. I don’t think they’re gonna pull it off.”

  “The bank owns it, so the title work was just done. It’s been sitting for a while so hopefully they’re motivated. Did you get all the measurements?”

  “Oh, I have all your measurements.” He grinned sideways at me, holding back a laugh.

  I continued, ignoring the innuendo. “So we can start drawing up plans tonight?”

  “Sure can!” He gave me a wink before turning onto the highway.

  “Why are you trying not to laugh?” I asked, arms crossed over my chest.

  “Because you’re just proving what I already knew and that is that you’re a force to be reckoned with. If only you knew it.”

  “Oh,” I said, trying to decide if he was complimenting me, or teasing.

  I could hardly contain my excitement. I sent Janette and Stacy both a text message confirming our offer on the property.

  After a few congratulatory text messages in return, I threw my phone in my purse. “Let’s stop and have dinner to celebrate.”

  John eyed me. “Candy, we’re filthy. Are you sure?”

  I looked down. My jeans and boots were covered in dust and debris from walking around the property.

  “Pizza in, then?”

  “Deal.”

  Chapter 18

  John and I spent the next several hours with pens and paper. I had a renewed respect for John and his craft by the end of the night.

  “Candy, you really have to decide what features you want to have at the club before we start trying to design rooms.”

  I knew he was right. “I thought it would be a lot simpler than this.”

  He nudged me. “Welcome to my world. Let’s grab a shower and get to bed. We can address this tomorrow with fresh eyes.”

  Had fatigue not consumed every inch of my body and mind, I would have protested. “You can have the first shower. I’ll take the next.”

  He didn’t argue, leading me to believe I’d worn him out.

  I sat looking at his outline of the building and started making a list of what I wanted. I could see everything in my mind from the dance floor to the lighting. I knew I wanted each room to have a theme…but I had to pick those themes. Stacy needed her own room to lead her sessions. Other than the bathroom stalls, it would be the only room with a door.

  Who was I kidding? I needed some rest. I hauled my exhausted ass to the shower, where John was still standing.

  “Care for some company?” I asked as I stepped inside.

  “Yours? Always.” He smiled as I stepped inside. He reached over me, turning on the wall shower heads. Water was now shooting at us from every angle. Under normal circumstances, it would have been too much, but I felt filthy and sore. That made the hot water feel delicious against my skin.

  I shampooed my hair as soon as it was wet enough, washing away the grime. As soon as the conditioner was in my hair, I commenced to washing John’s back.

  “God, that feels nice.” He tilted his head back, groaning as my hands worked their way slowly around his back to his muscular ass.

  “Yes you do,” I joked.

  John turned around so that we were face to face, wrapped his arms around me. “Candy,” he said in a voice so low it was near a whisper, “I love you.”

  Something welled up inside me, something from deep inside. I felt the stinging in my eyes of tears. I was in love with John, deeply, in fact.

  “I love you.” The words flowed through my lips with ease. Perhaps because it was true, it was easy to say. My feelings for John had only grown stronger lately. Was it faith returning to me?

  “Don’t cry.” He hugged me tight. “I won’t violate your love, Candy. I swear, I’d rather rip my own arm off than to see you cry.”

  “I know,” I sniffed, using the washcloth to wipe my eyes, which seemed a foolish thing to do in the shower.

  “Then what is it?” He asked, cupping my face in his hand.

  I searched for the words. “I’ve never felt like this before and it’s frightening.”

  “Come on, let’s get out and dry off.” He turned the water off and held my hand as I stepped out of the shower.

  The warmed towel felt like heaven as I used it to dry off. Wrapping a towel around my head and another around my body, I followed John out of the bathroom.

  “Let’s have a smoke on the balcony before bed. You need to relax a little. You’ve been too wound up with everything going on.” He held my hand as we went to the bedroom to retrieve our robes.

  I loved the fluffy robe John had bought for me. It was soft, comforting, like a child’s blanket. I padded behind John onto the balcony. He already had a bottle of wine set out for us. How did he do that?

  “Do you have a gremlin hiding out here? Garden gnome?” I teased.

  “What?” I could see the confusion on his face as he laughed at me.

  “How’d you sneak a bottle of wine and wine glasses up here?”

  He crossed his arms. “My little secret. If I tell you, then I can’t surprise you in the next house.”

  “John! No secrets! How do you keep doing this? I’m a little old to believe in magic.” I put my hands on my hips.

  He held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay.” He walked over to a planter against the brick wall. It easily swung open revealing a mini bar with a small fridge like I had in college.

  “Damn, that’s brilliant.” I bowed my head.

  “Oh, stop it. C’mon, let’s have a glass of wine, a few smokes and turn in.” He pulled the chair out for me.

  As soon as I was seated, he uncorked the wine and poured two glasses before lighting a cigarette and handing it to me.

  “We really gotta kick this habit.” I complained.

  “Candy, I don’t know if you realize it, but unless we’re partying, you only have a few a day. You’ve cut down significantly since we met. It’s only a matter of time before you quit on accident. Now relax. That’s an order.”

  I looked at John, whose face was serious, but he had to know better than to order me around. Deciding he was right, I leaned back in my chair, took a sip of wine before taking a long drag off my nasty habit.

  We sat quietly, sipping at our wine, kicked b
ack in our chairs.

  “John?”

  “Yeah, hun?”

  “I’m really excited about this club. Does that bother you?” I looked at him to judge his reaction.

  “Nah, I’m actually excited about it too. No one but my father has ever worked on a project with me. That makes this special, especially because it’s you. We’re taking a blank slate and making it our own masterpiece.” He leaned back and smiled.

  I had already been thankful I’d asked for John’s help, but now I realized it was more than that. It had become something special to us both.

  “I’m really glad I asked you to join me in this endeavor. I couldn’t do it without you and quite frankly…it means we get to spend more time together. Seems like a win-win to me.”

  “Me too.”

  “I have so many ideas swimming around in my head, it’s hard to shut it off.” I confessed.

  “Oh you’ll learn,” he snickered, “and quick.”

  He refilled our glasses and raised his, “To us.”

  “Us,” I agreed before tapping his glass.

  “Stacy has it made,” I groaned.

  “Not really. When I started taking that BDSM class, I felt like an impotent fool. She’s going to go through all of that. I’ll take physical exhaustion over questioning myself any day of the week.” He nodded as he spoke, affirming the strong feelings he had on the matter.

  I figured he must know what he was talking about, so I chose not to argue the point, though spanking someone’s ass seemed like a lot less work than all that I had in front of me.

  I envisioned Stacy, beating the shit out of someone while she fantasized that it was what’s-his-name. It brought about uncontrollable laughter. It took me a good few minutes to be able to share my thoughts with John.

  “You’re too much. Let’s get ready for bed.”

  Since it was the best idea of the day, I cheerfully agreed and retreated to go brush my teeth. Once I was done, I waited for John in bed. It seemed to take forever for him to join me.

  “John!” I yelled.

  “Yeah?”

  “What are you doing?” I heard the shuffling of papers. He was going over the plans again.

  “Nothing!” His feet made a lot of noise as he ran back up the stairs and into the bathroom.

  “You have five point three seconds to get that fine ass in this bed!” I teased.

  I could hear John frantically brushing his teeth. I giggled before situating myself in the most sexy pose I could muster. I wasn’t letting fatigue keep me from making love to John.

  Deep in thought over how my feelings had developed for the man, he busted my concentration bubble wide open when he jumped into the room, landing in his best naked Superman-with-a-hard-on pose.

  By the time I stopped laughing, my stomach hurt.

  “Oh my God!” I laughed. “You’re too much.”

  “It’s been way too serious around here tonight. That and I didn’t want you angry that you were waiting for me while I was pissing with drawings.” He plopped down next to me on the bed, giving me a quick kiss.

  “John?” I said softly.

  “Hmm?” His lids were heavy, voice low.

  “I do love you. I love you very deeply, in fact. Thank you for sticking around and giving me a chance to work out the kinks.” I brushed my lips against his.

  “How could a man not wait for the woman he’s in love with?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he put his hand on the back of my head and crushed his lips into mine.

  I rolled on top of him. We continued to kiss like crazy teenagers. There was no way to get enough of John, he was like a drug and I was his addict.

  His strong hands ran firmly down my back, caressing and massaging me as we kissed. Releasing his lips, I crept down, kissing his pectoral muscles, then his stomach. I had been moving slowly, deliberately, building the tension. To surprise him, instead of loitering around on his stomach as he expected, I dove onto his erection, quickly taking him into my mouth.

  “Oh, Candy,” he gasped, fisting my hair.

  I reveled in his appreciation, taking as much of him in my mouth as I could before finally retreating to lick his shaft from bottom to top.

  “Please, I need to be inside of you,” he whispered.

  Obliging his wishes, I climbed back up, easing myself down on him. John and I were a tight fit. It took a moment for me to accept him completely.

  A groan of pleasure always escaped my lips when he entered me. The electric sensation shot up my spine when I finally rested fully on him. We both paused for a moment before I resumed gliding up and down on him.

  Emotions welled up inside me and I clutched his chest muscles to steady myself as his hands squeezed my rear.

  “God, you feel so damned good, so warm around my cock.” He hissed through this teeth. “I wish I could stay in there forever.”

  I wanted to kiss him in the worst way, but I just couldn’t catch my breath as he picked up the pace, fucking me hard from below.

  John felt so good and so much emotion pulsed through me, I knew it wouldn’t be long before I reached my climax. I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to remain there, with him, making love.

  I leaned forward, resting my elbows above his shoulders and sealed the deal with a deep kiss as I breathed through my nose, moaning into his mouth.

  “Let it go, Candy,” he said when I came up for air.

  I kissed him a final time as the wave of orgasm seemed to reach from my scalp to my toes, which curled in response to the overwhelming sensation consuming my body.

  My orgasm brought his and we lay collapsed in a sweaty pool of post-coital bliss.

  Chapter 19

  Buzzing from my cell phone woke me.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Candy Kavana?” a female voice was on the other end. It wasn’t Olivia or Stacy. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock. It was nearly nine. How had I slept in?

  “Yes, this is Candy.”

  “Good morning, Ms. Kavana, this is Aubrey, Olivia’s sister. I’m happy to report that the bank has accepted your offer. Your closing will be nine days from today.”

  Closing? Offer? Without coffee in my system, my synapses hadn’t started firing. The property!

  “Thank you, Aubrey! Can I call you back in just a little bit?” I jumped out of bed, which was missing a very sexy carpenter.

  “Certainly. I have a meeting at eleven, but other than that I’m free all day.”

  “Talk to you later.” I hung up my phone and threw it on the bed, bolting down the stairs quickly as my sleepy feet would take me.

  “John! John!” I yelled.

  John came skidding around the corner as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

  “What is it?” His face was wrought with worry. Damn.

  “We got it! We got the property! It’s ours in nine days!” I screeched and jumped into his arms, throwing my legs around his waist.

  John stumbled a little before righting himself and hugging me tight. “Awesome!” He jumped up and down while holding me.

  “Coffee, I need coffee.”

  “Coming right up!” He gently sat me back on the floor and jogged into the kitchen, making my cup of coffee.

  My eyes, though slightly foggy, landed on a set of drawings John had laying on the dining room table. Next to them were my sketches, which looked like a third grader had done them in comparison to what John had drawn.

  “Dear Lord! When did you get up?” I asked, feeling less than worthy.

  “I woke up at four. I was too excited.” He handed me my cup of morning nectar.

  “Excited? We didn’t know our offer had been accepted.” I knew I was sleepy, but I hadn’t missed that fact.

  “It, uh, wasn’t the property that had me excited.”

  I wanted to ask him what he was talking about, but didn’t get the chance as the door bell was ringing. It dinged five times simultaneously. Someone was outside going nuts with the button.

  Joh
n went to answer the door.

  I stood, clutching my cup, sipping the steaming hot coffee as I stared at the drawings. John was so talented. He’d seen my sloppily scribbled drawings and turned them into blueprints.

  “Candy!” Stacy ran up to me. “I need coffee, girl, and like a lot of it.”

  “Stacy? What’s up?”

  “Sex. Lots and lots of sex.” She was giddy. If I didn’t know better, I’d say my best friend was high.

  “Slow down. I just woke up.” I rubbed my forehead.

  “I know, are you sick? I called your office and Olivia told me you weren’t there anymore.” Stacy put her hand on my forehead.

  “Stop it, I’m not sick. Things are just changing. Jesus, I haven’t even had four sips of coffee. Sit down.”

  Stacy glanced toward the kitchen, where John was stirring her coffee. “What’s wrong? Are you pregnant?”

  “What? No? I’m just off for a few days before I start at our new branch. Relax. Pregnant. Damn, girl.” I rubbed the back of my neck. A pregnancy was the last thing I needed.

  She took a seat and glanced down at the floor plans sprawled out on the table. “Is this the new club?”

  I smiled and nodded.

  “Fuck me, you two work fast.” Her mouth fell open as she noticed a few details we had worked in.

  “Thank you,” John said handing her a cup of coffee before claiming a seat by me, clutching his own cup.

  “I have a whole room to myself?” Stacy pointed to a giant square on the drawing. It was labeled ‘Stacy’s Den.’

  I nodded as I sipped at my coffee. “I think you should pick an alias. You don’t really want your real name gracing the entrance.”

  “What name are you choosing?” she asked, wide-eyed.

  “I’m sticking with Candy. No one will believe it’s my real name anyway. It sounds and always has sounded like a stripper name.” I chuckled.

  The three of us sat around the table. John and I took turns filling her in on what details we had worked out already.

  “This is going to be a shit-load of work.” Stacy shook her head. “How are you going to manage?”

  “I have a few guys I hire from time to time.” John said. “It won’t be a problem.”

  “And I’m starting a new branch, which we don’t have a ton of clients for yet. So I’ll have more free time than usual. Let’s go sit on the balcony. I need some sun,” I said.