Protein Shake

by Alexis Angel

  He pulls out of me then and, breathing in, I turn to him.

  “Now this is how you start your day,” he says with a wink and a grin. I smile back at him, my heart fluttering lightly inside my chest.

  Oh, how I wish I could start every single day of my life like this.

  * * *

  My entire body is tingling by the time Derrick’ Bentley drops me off in Times Square in front of the News of the Times building. My mind is in some kind of a daze. Has that ever happened to you?

  OMG. I’m not trying to be like passive aggressive and all. What I meant was that this feeling is so insane. I mean less than three months ago I was a virgin! So that’s why I was asking.

  I honestly think it’s my body and it’s in like this funky sexual nirvana state because I’ve like cum so many times since meeting him. I mean Derrick and his cock have just taken me to a whole other state of existence.

  I walk into the building, my mind hazy with pleasure and a delicious soreness tightening my abdominal muscles. I feel so relaxed, so sated, and so amazingly serene that I don’t even blink out of my sexually induced nirvana when I see District Attorney Samantha Scar standing outside Mike’s office waiting for me. Mike and Danielle Marlowe are standing there as well and all three turn towards me as I approach.

  I should probably be worried, but a preternatural calm has overtaken me. Maybe this sexual bliss that I’m feeling is not such a good thing.

  “There she is,” Samantha says, her voice sharp. “Prince Blaine’s biggest cheerleader.”

  “Hi Mike,” I say, ignoring Samantha. I turn towards Danielle.

  “Hey kiddo,” Mike says to me as he turns. “You remember Ms. Marlowe, our CEO, right?“

  When I nod, Mike smiles and says,“Why don’t we all come inside?”

  It’s a question, but there isn't much room for a debate. Mike heads inside and Samantha and Danielle follow him. I sit down and look around me. Samantha pulls out a sheaf of newspapers. I recognize them as Page Eight sections that she’s apparently torn out and grouped together.

  She looks at me and holds up the first of the Abigail Adams columns. “The Prince and the Paupers – We hear how Prince Sin is turning into Prince Win with a host of charity events he has scheduled.”

  She pauses and looks at me for a second. I look back at her. I’m not ashamed of what I wrote. Mike approved every word.

  Samantha continues, moving on to the next cutout. “Has The Prince Changed His Ways?” Samantha reads out, waving the paper at the three of us.

  “Prince of Pleasure – Royal abs to complement his sinful package…” Samantha continues, tossing the cutout onto the desk, and moving on reading a series of headlines from Page Eight. “Sin Is Sweet. Sin Saves the Day. New York City Loves Sin!”

  She drops the entire sheaf of cutouts onto Mike’s desk with disgust. “And the one that I really couldn't get over,” Samantha continues, holding the last page. “Royal Bad Boy Reformed – What we hear about how New York’s most notorious playboy has changed his life…”

  There’s a moment of silence in the room. I don't know where this conversation is going but I hold my tongue, waiting to see what Samantha will say next.

  “I had one job for you, Mike,” she’s talking to Mike now. “Give me a city that hated that fucking man. Give me a city that realized what kind of overgrown child he was and make sure people understood why I was going to kick his sorry ass out of the country. That’s all you had to do. Your girl only had to write the truth.”

  “Now hold on just one second…” Danielle jumps in, but Mike cuts her off.

  “Samantha, you’re going to have to know that everything that was printed was done so with my full knowledge and consent.”

  Samantha takes a deep breath and looks at Mike who matches her gaze as he continues. “If you have something to say about one of my star reporters, you tell it to me. There’s no need to single her out. You think she’s Abby? She’s part of a team. An important part of the team, but she doesn’t deserve what you’re trying to do to her.”

  “You’re going to need to let her go Mike,” Samantha says evenly. I gasp and she looks at me. “You’re fucking the Prince aren’t you?” she asks me.

  “Don’t answer that, Alicia,” Mike warns me sternly.

  But I have nothing to hide. Not to this woman. Not to anyone.

  “We’ve been seeing each other, and we’re in love, yes,” I say to Samantha evenly. “I’ve been professional about it and I’ve informed Mike and had him vet each of my articles for bias. That’s the industry standard…”

  “Fuck the industry standard!” Samantha yells. “You went way off the reservation there, little girl. And if you want to keep your job, you better destroy him in your next article, or start searching for another job. It’s time you learned a little lesson.”

  “Well then, Samantha, you’re going to have to teach me a lesson too, I’m afraid,” Danielle says quietly standing up. “Page Eight is part of News of the Times, and ultimately my responsibility. Alicia and Mike are therefore my responsibility and I stand by what she has produced with him. We’ve had some of the highest circulation numbers based on Page Eight alone and our website hits are through the roof.”

  Samantha looks at Danielle and her mouth falls open.

  “Samantha,” Mike says and she turns towards him. He sighs and leans back in his chair. “You’re going to have to let me go too as well if you want to take it out on Alicia.”

  Samantha’s stunned and quiet. “And you’re going to have to explain to every news outlet why you pursued a personal vendetta against the Prince that you were unwilling to drop when I showed you sales figures showed that we should proceed in the other direction. The shareholders are going to love that.”

  “And the papers will love it even more when we sell our stories,” Danielle finishes.

  You could hear a pin drop. Like there is no sound at all.

  Samantha looks at me. “You’ll pay for this betrayal. I don’t forget betrayal easily.”

  And then she gets out of her chair and walks out the office.

  I sigh, and look at the mess she’s left behind.

  “You okay?” Mike asks me as soon as Samantha’s left his office.

  I nod my head. I’m glad it's over, but there was never really any doubt about what the right thing to do in my head was. Not with Derrick. Not anymore.

  I’m going to tell him everything. I'm not going to hold anything back.

  “Take the day off, Alicia,” Mike says. “That’s an order.”

  I can do that. I need to go find Derrick. I need to tell him.

  Alicia

  It’s an amazing day weather wise as I get out onto Times Square. I decide to text Derrick and see where he is as I start walking to 57th Street. I need to tell him the truth about me. I need to come clean.

  Alicia: Hey. Got off wrk. Wher r u?

  Derrick: So soon?

  How do I tell him I got fired for not doing a good enough job at destroying him?

  Alicia: Ugh. Work sucks. :(

  Derrick: Want to talk about it?

  Alicia: Yesss! Nd to tlk 2 u. Whr r u?

  There’s a long pause and then finally as I cross the street onto 7th Avenue.

  Derrick: Come to the apartment. Pressly will direct you where to go.

  Hmm. This sounds mysterious. I smile to myself. I wonder if he’s going to do me again. God, I so hope so. His body is hot and I seriously am in love with his dick. I’m getting hot just thinking about him. A random guy walks by me and smiles. I must be giving off sex vibes. Oh God! Don’t look at me. I am not…wanton! I’m the good girl…still. Its just that with Derrick, I feel like being such a bad girl. It’s deliciously naughty - as long as its only with him.

  What does that say about me?

  Whatever. I shrug and look at my phone as I walk the last few blocks to 57th Street. Billionaire’s Row.

  Alicia: R u naked?

  Derrick: I will be when you get herer />
  Alicia: Yum! U hv a big 8====D

  Derrick: Actually, its 8===========

  Alicia: Whrs the tip?

  Derrick: ======D. Thats how long.

  Alicia: I can’t w8!!

  Derrick: Can you talk in full sentences?

  Alicia: I lost my power of speech bc u fucked it out of me

  Derrick: Touche. Me and my 12 inch cock

  Alicia: I thot u said it was 11 inches?

  Derrick: It grows an inch every chapter…

  Whatever. Derrick is being weird. But it’s okay. I don't have to reply because I just walked in the elevator to take me to the penthouse where he’ll be. I’ll be able to undress him in a few minutes. Yay! He can kiss my neck gently the way he’s really good at while I run my hands up and down those marvelous abs he’s got. He’ll squeeze my ass with both hands and pull me close to him and I’ll feel the outline of his humongous cock. Oh God. I’ll be able to squeeze that thing in less than a minute. It’s like a giant tube steak.

  What is wrong with you, Alicia? How the holy hell are you having these thoughts?

  Yeah, so much for good girl. It’s ironic that I was the one that named him Prince Sin. Because at this point, chastity and virtue are the farthest things from my mind.

  I use the key Derrick made me to open the door. My mind is spinning - either from working myself into a frenzy or apprehension at the conversation I’m about to have - and I look around the foyer. The apartment is silent.

  There is no Derrick.

  Instead, Pressly walks out.

  “Ah, madam,” he says with a smile. He’s always seemed nice and I think he likes me. I smile at him.

  “Please follow me,” Pressly says as he turns me around and takes me to the elevators. I look at him quizzically on our way down.

  A Rolls Royce Phantom is idling outside the building as we exit and Pressly signals the driver who gets out and lets me in.

  Alicia: Where am I going?

  I text Derrick, but there’s no response. The car is turning onto 57th street and I watch with fascination as we get on the West Side Highway and start heading downtown.

  Fifteen minutes later I’m in Lower Manhattan and going uptown again up FDR Drive when all of a sudden, the car stops at the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge.

  “You’ll have to walk the rest of the way, ma’am,” the driver tells me, turning around.

  “Walk where?” I ask. I have no idea what’s going on and what game Derrick is playing at now.

  The driver shrugs. “Alls the Prince said to me was bring you to the top section of the Brooklyn Bridge, ma’am,” he says. Poor guy. He’s as much in the dark as me. He shrugs at me and I get out. If Derrick wants an adventure, I guess I can play along.

  I pull out my phone and see that Derrick hasn’t replied. I send him one last text.

  Alicia: Y r u being so strange today???

  It’s actually not that bad of a day at all - the weather is beautiful and I enjoy walking up to the bridge. I slow down when I see that there are signs that the bridge is closed due to work. No cars are going in or out. I wonder if Derrick still wants me to go on the bridge. Well, if the bridge was closed, he would have known. But still, should I turn back? I’m breaking rules if I proceed.

  This is a big moment for me, because as I take a step onto the bridge past the orange signs that warn of road closure and to take the Manhattan or Williamsburg Bridges, I realize that I’m trusting Prince Sin to be responsible. If he turns out to have dropped the ball, I’m the one that’s placing myself in jeopardy by going along with his plans.

  But he deserves the benefit of the doubt. If I’m willing to make enemies of the District Attorney, the least I can do is follow some game to walk across a deserted bridge.

  It’s actually pretty neat - walking all by myself down the bridge. I mean, I can see the city behind me as a hive of activity, but the stark emptiness of the bridge takes me aback. It’s very surreal.

  And that’s where the red carpet starts.

  I swear to you - there’s a red carpet going down the center of the walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge.

  It’s a nice, plush red carpet. The kind they roll out for royalty. Or the ones they use at the Oscars. I start walking on it.

  Seriously, I’m not joking - this carpet stretches past the horizon. That’s because the bridge curves and I’m on the lower side, walking up.

  My hearts beating at the sheer excitement of the intricacy to this mystery, when I stop.

  There are now rose pets on the red carpet. White rose petals against a dark red velvet carpet. And on each side of the carpet are rows of cherry blossoms in giant white planters. They create a hallway of sorts, covering me in a beautiful world in the heart of the city.

  I think about texting Derrick again, but clearly there is more to this mystery than what I’ve found.

  The cherry blossom trees on each side of the red carpet get thicker and plusher as I advance farther through the bridge and by the time I’ve gotten a quarter of the way across the bridge it’s hard to see past them at the East River.

  Soft classical music is playing from somewhere and all of a sudden, I notice strings of lights are surrounding the trunks of the cherry blossoms because they all light up.

  Between the music, the rose petals, and the lit up trees - not to mention the red carpet I’m on - I’ve been transported to some other world. I’m no longer walking down the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. I’m somewhere magical.

  This has all the hallmarks of Derrick. But to do this, for me, it literally takes my breath away.

  And there he is, standing in the middle of the bridge up ahead, maybe 200 paces from me.

  I quickly increase my pace and almost break out into a run.

  I stop as I get closer.

  There’s a table with two chairs and a candle that he stands next to.

  But that’s not what stops me short. It’s what he’s wearing. The full military dress uniform of St. Livy. It fits him like a glove. His eyes are piercing and he has some very light stubble - but his face is so rugged and firm, his body so perfectly made. His wide shoulders spread back, he’s waiting for me like some kind of modern day God.

  I slow down as I approach him. He takes a step towards me and I stop completely.

  He’s silent. So am I. I want to see what he’s up to. I don’t have long to wait as he comes up to me - his body inches away.

  “Daphne Apple,” he says to me. I look up at him and lose myself in his eyes all over again for the first time. “I love you.”

  Oh gosh! I’m dead and I’ve gone to heaven. I’m the happiest girl in the world.

  I have no idea what’s coming.

  “You rescued me from myself,” he says to me as he takes my hand in his and brings it up. “Without you, I would have self-destructed so long ago.”

  I don’t know what to say, so I stay silent. “Each day, I remind myself just how lucky I am that an angel like you is in my life.”

  Wow. But seriously, if Prince Sin is doing all this to get in my pants, I should probably tell him that he has nothing to worry about.

  And that’s when he gets down on one knee.

  Oh, my.

  Actually, let me rephrase that really quick, okay?

  Yeeeeee!

  This is really happening!

  What do I do? What am I wearing?

  Is there any of that onion bagel in my teeth?

  I love him so much.

  What am I going to say?

  I swear to God, I can’t breathe.

  I love him so much.

  Oh my God! Sorry, I mean, OH MY GOD!

  This is so amazing.

  I love him so much.

  I hope you realize that was all at once and took roughly about a second to go through my head. But guess what? I’m such a good girl that outwardly I’m very calm.

  At least I hope so. He’s saying something.

  “…I don’t want to continue pressing my luck every day, Daph
ne. I don’t want to ever lose you,” he’s saying to me. Wow. Each word is burning itself into my memory.

  “I want every day to be the beginning of the rest of our lives. I want to hold you and protect you for the rest of our days, if you’ll do me the honor. And if you’ll let me, Daphne, I would like the privilege of trying to make you as happy as you’ve made me in the last several months.”

  Oh my God! I love him so much. There’s no question now what he’s going to ask.

  Really, I hope I flossed. Do I have coffee breath?

  He’s pulled out a box from somewhere. He’s opened it, and there’s a ring. With a diamond. Geez, that’s a big diamond. It’s so beautiful. It’s big. But so tasteful and elegant.

  Kind of like his cock? It’s like the Derrick-cock of diamonds?

  The man is proposing to you! Now is not the time to be thinking about his cock!!

  Actually, I’m so wet. It’s insane.

  “Daphne Apple,” he says. “Will you do me the honor and privilege of consenting to be my wife so that we can spend the rest of our lives in the happiness we have now?”

  How did he ever become so articulate? I’ve tamed him and created a monster!

  I’m so happy!

  My heart is about to burst!

  I can’t speak!

  “Yes,” I whisper.

  The roar of the city - while in the distance - is still loud enough to drown me out I think.

  “Yes,” I say louder. Derrick hears me and begins to smile.

  “Yes!” I say, just in case he didn’t hear me. He takes the ring out.

  “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” I repeat, giddy with happiness, just in case he didn't understand. It’s like I’m a happiness volcano and it’s all rushing out. I don’t know if I’ll ever recover.

  He puts the ring on my finger.

  I don’t even know how to react. Do I kiss him? Do I hug him? Do I scream out in pure ecstasy? Everything seems like the right decision!

  I bite my lower lip, trying to stop myself from crying, and grab his hands on mine. He gets up, his eyes locked on mine. I don’t even know what else I should say! But it doesn’t even matter - he makes words meaningless as he leans into me and kisses me.

  “Yes?” He asks as he stands with a huge smile planted on his flushed face.