A Passionate Discovery (Self-Discovery Series)

by Brooke, T

  “I’m very proud of you,” he told her, kissing her forehead. “I think we are going to make wonderful magic together.” He knew if he could get his shit together, and not make stupid mistakes like forgetting condoms, he had found himself a submissive that he would happily call his.

  His words almost broke Carla’s heart; she wanted to tell him that their time was nearly at an end, but just couldn’t bring herself to. “Two more nights, Sir,” she whispered as she held tight to him.

  “Two more, sweetheart.” He held her in his arms for a few moments longer before pulling away. “Would you like to see some more of Playa Del Carmen? Or would you prefer to go back to the resort?” he asked. “I know you must be keen to shower and freshen yourself up, but I can arrange that here if you like.”

  Knowing that she might never have another opportunity to see the island, Carla nodded and smiled. “That would be good, Sir, thank you. I would love to see more of the island.”

  Together they walked back to the elevator, hand in hand, and returned to the limousine, which was waiting for them outside. After a quick shower, which Jason arranged at a nearby hotel, paying for a night in a suite just so they could get cleaned up, they went for lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the ocean, as everything seemed to do in that area.

  With lunch finished they went shopping. Carla would have been happy to just explore the island and see the various sights it had to offer, but Jason insisted on taking her shopping. Over her protests he lavished money on her, buying her clothes and jewelry, though all she really wanted to buy was a few souvenirs to remind her of her time in the islands.

  When Carla finally persuaded Jason to stop spending money on her they returned to the waiting powerboat for the journey back to their resort.

  There was just enough time for them to pack up their belongings and have an early dinner, at which they were joined by Daniel and Scarlett, before they made for the airport so they could return home. The dinner was an embarrassing affair for Carla, who couldn’t get past the memory of Daniel watching as she was fucked by Jason.

  She wasn’t the only one whose mood was off. Despite her embarrassment, and her distraction, Carla couldn’t help noticing that Scarlett was strangely quietly.

  Carla didn’t know what was wrong with her friend, and didn’t want to ask while the men were around. She hoped things weren’t going sour between Scarlett and Daniel since he seemed to make her best friend happier than she’d ever seen her. She hoped even more fervently that the events of the morning, and what Daniel had witnessed between her and Jason, wasn’t the cause of whatever was wrong.

  By the time the jet landed in New York Carla was exhausted, and she declined Jason’s request to stay the night at his place. It was late but she begged off, saying she needed some real rest after such a tiring holiday. Reluctantly he agreed, and had his driver divert to drop her and Scarlett off before taking Daniel home and then making for his mansion.

  Reaching the door of her room Carla was ready to fall asleep in her clothes; she promised to call Scarlett, who seemed as tired as she was, the moment she woke the next day and made her way through to the bedroom. She stripped quickly, throwing the clothes into the corner of the room, out of the way, and then slid beneath the sheets. The moment her head hit the pillow she was asleep.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Carla was woken the next morning by her alarm clock, which went off at its usual time. It wasn’t until she had stumbled from her bed and was in the shower that she realized she didn’t have to get up because she no longer had a job to go to.

  Briefly she debated going back to bed and sleeping for a while longer, but she quickly abandoned that idea, the shower had done what it always did and she was wide awake. She knew that if she returned to her bed it would take her forever to get back to sleep, and that would annoy her more than staying up and feeling tired later.

  Finishing up her shower Carla dried off and then continued with her usual morning routine. Throughout it all she considered her options for the day. Since she didn’t have a job to go to she needed to do something with her time.

  There was no point in making a start on her search for a permanent, post-graduation job, she decided. She needed to get through her final two nights with Jason and return to a normal life before she could afford the energy it would take to do that.

  Could she go back to a normal life? What did normal even mean anymore? As it occurred to her that she no longer knew what normal was, and had no idea if she could put everything that had happened with Jason behind her, tears filled her eyes.

  She refused to allow the sudden emotion to overwhelm her, and with an effort she forced back the tears as she finished her breakfast.

  With no job to go to, and no point in her looking for another, more permanent one, at that time, Carla found herself at a bit of a loss for what to do. It was clear that she needed to do something with her day, if only to keep her mind occupied.

  Her immediate thought was to call up Scarlett and see what she wanted to do; Scarlett nearly always had something she wanted to do, and it was usually so much fun they forgot all about whatever might be troubling them.

  Thinking of Scarlett reminded Carla of her friend’s strange attitude during the journey home the previous evening. Immediately she fetched her phone to call her so she could find out what had been wrong.

  When the call went straight to voice mail Carla became worried and hurriedly pulled on a pair of shorts and a tank top so she could walk over to Scarlett’s room. She banged on the door when she got there, not letting up until the door swung open and she saw her friend standing there.

  “What’s with the banging?” Scarlett wanted to know, leaning tiredly on the door and yawning. “It’s still early.”

  “I was worried about you, hon,” Carla said, relieved to see her friend was alright. Walking into the room she dropped onto the couch; she too was still tired and Scarlett’s yawn had set her off, for a couple of moments that was all either of them could do, yawn. “Is everything alright? You looked pretty upset at dinner yesterday, and all through the journey home, then you’re phone went straight to voice mail when I tried to call you.”

  “I’m fine, just tired.” Having joined Carla on the couch Scarlett curled up and rested her head on her friend’s shoulder. “This weekend wore me out, that’s all, Daniel especially. He’s always the same when we go away, can’t get enough. I think it makes him extra horny doing me in fancy hotels.

  “How about you? How you hanging on, hon? Still determined to see this shit through to the bitter end?” Scarlett could quite keep the mocking tone out of her voice, but she quickly apologized, seeing the look on her friend’s face. “Sorry, hon, just ignore me, I’m too tired to think straight. Seriously though, are you alright?” Lifting her head she stared into her friend’s face, examining her as if she could work out her friend’s frame of mine from what she saw there.

  “I’ll be fine,” Carla answered, forcing a smile. She didn’t want to discuss the situation between her and Jason just then, she was sure if she did she would only start crying again, she preferred to put the situation from her mind until it was necessary for her to think about it. “There’s only two more nights, I’ll make it through.

  “So, what have you got planned for today? Anything?” she asked, changing the subject quickly when she saw her friend was about to say something about either her or Jason.

  “Nothing specific, but I was hoping to get more out of here.” Scarlett looked around the dorm room in distaste, and Carla noticed for the first time the number of boxes sitting in the corner of the room, all packed up, though none of them were labeled to indicate their contents, a lack that made her fingers twitch. “How close to being packed up are you?”

  “Almost done,” Carla told her. She’d been packing during whatever periods of free time she had before the trip and knew she could be finished with just a few hours of steady work. The dorm rooms didn’t allow much room for hoarding, which meant
she hadn’t acquired much clutter, and that made it easier. “If everything is good with you, maybe I should finish up and we can get a few things moved into the condo today.”

  “Well I’m pretty much finished already, I can be done in about half an hour; I just have to throw the last few things into a box. I’ll get that done and then come over and help you out. The sooner we leave this place the better, as far as I am concerned, even if we are moving into a condo bought by daddy,” she said the last part with a heavy dose of bitterness.

  “Sounds like a plan to me, girlfriend; have you got any extra boxes?”

  “I do.” Feeling much more awake Scarlett practically jumped to her feet and made her way into the bedroom, returning a few moments later with four large, flat-packed boxes and a bag of polystyrene packing filler. “I’ll be over just as soon as I’ve dressed, had something to eat, and sorted myself out. See ya soon.”

  Scarlett was good as her word; within half an hour she had joined her friend and was helping with the packing.

  While Scarlett’s packing was haphazard, untidy, and quick, she just threw things into a box until it was full and then moved on to the next box, Carla’s packing was much more organized, not to mention time-consuming. She insisted that everything be kept in groups and packed neatly, with the boxes clearly labeled so when it was time to unpack she would be able to find everything easily.

  “Sorry, hon,” Carla apologized when they had taped up the last box, almost four hours after starting. “I didn’t think it would take this long, I had no idea I had this much stuff hidden away.”

  “It wasn’t how much stuff you’ve got that took us so long,” Scarlett remarked, stretching, relieved that they were finally finished. “It was your fussy need to pack everything neatly, not to mention label it, and your general need to be organized. You know how much I hate that.

  “Oh just ignore me.” She flapped her hand at the look on her friend’s face. “It’s done now, that’s the important thing, and now we can get it shifted to the condo.” Taking out her cell phone she made a quick call. “A few of the guys are going to help take the boxes down to the cars; we need to go pull them round to the front.”

  Carla couldn’t help laughing as they walked down the stairs. “I don’t know how you do it; I swear you can get guys to do whatever you want.” Scarlett’s phone call had resulted in five athletic men arriving at the door of her room in next to no time, all of them desperate to please Scarlett.

  “There’s one that doesn’t do my bidding,” Scarlett said with a laugh, thinking about Daniel. He was the only man in her life that refused to give in to her every desire, and she was sure that was the reason she cared so much for him, when every other man who had shared her bed over the years had been disposable.

  For the next half an hour there was little room for conversation as both their cars were packed to overflowing, which wasn’t difficult to manage since neither of them had a big car. When the cars were packed up Scarlett gave each of the guys a quick kiss and a smile, which left them panting like dogs that had been rewarded for behaving well, and then she slid behind the wheel of her car.

  “I’ll follow you to the condo,” Carla called out as Scarlett pulled away. It was just as well her new car was fast, if she’d been driving her old car she’d have lost sight of her friend before she made it out of the college campus.

  The drive to their new home didn’t take long, mostly because Scarlett was racing along, forcing Carla to stay above the speed limit in order to keep up with her. She was relieved when they arrived at the condo without being pulled over by the police, though her relief was short-lived.

  Pulling up in front of the building Carla parked behind Scarlett’s car and got about. She was about to say something about her friend’s fast driving when she saw Scarlett throw her arms around Daniel, who was waiting for them. The sight of Daniel made her groan inwardly; it was going to be some time before she felt comfortable around him she realized.

  Daniel smiled and lifted Scarlett into his arms, as hers went around his neck, before acknowledging Carla. It was clear from the way she was avoiding eye contact that she was still feeling awkward about what had happened the previous day, not that he blamed her. She was Scarlett’s best friend however, and he didn’t want to make things difficult for his girl by having weirdness between the two of them. “Let’s get these boxes upstairs and then I’d like to buy you ladies lunch.”

  “I’ll probably just hang around here and start sorting stuff out,” Carla said with a smile that she hoped reached her eyes. “You two can have lunch without me.” The last thing she wanted was to be a third wheel at a lunch, especially when she didn’t feel very comfortable around Daniel.

  “Carla, you can’t avoid me forever.” Daniel smiled to show he wasn’t angry with her. “I know you’re embarrassed, but honestly, you have no reason to be.”

  Scarlett looked from Daniel to Carla and back again, confused. “Um, what am I missing here?” She trusted both of them, but it was obvious something had happened that she didn’t know about, and that worried her slightly.

  “That’s Carla’s story to tell, baby.” Lifting one of the larger boxes he walked toward the front door of the condo complex.

  “He just witnessed one of my nights with Jason,” Carla said quickly, “Or I guess I should say day since it was at the office.” She didn’t want to talk about it any further than that so she hurriedly grabbed one of her boxes and walked off.

  Scarlett knew Carla had been gone the previous day, but she had had no idea that anything had taken place at the office. Grabbing a box she trailed after her boyfriend and her best friend, thinking that Carla’s explanation was far from sufficient, even if then wasn’t the best time to pursue the matter.

  With three of them unloading the cars it didn’t take long, even if some of the boxes were a bit too heavy for the girls to manage easily on their own, and soon enough they were stood in the middle of the condo, surrounded by boxes, looking pleased with themselves. All that was left for them to do was to turn in the keys to their dorm rooms and sign out; once they did that they would be finished with school forever, a thought that pleased them both very much.

  There was no furniture in the condo just then, all the furniture they had been using for the past few years belonged to the school and came with the dorm rooms, but that didn’t matter. As far as Scarlett was concerned, the lack of furniture was just another excuse to go shopping, not that she needed one. Better than the opportunity to spend money was the chance to make the condo, which she was only reluctantly accepting, her own by decorating and furnishing it how she wanted.

  “Before I forget, Carla, here’s your key.” Scarlett dug into her purse out pulled out small key ring, shaped like an island girl, complete with grass skirt and coconut bra, from which hung a key. She handed it over with a smile, but quickly turned serious as she said, “We will be talking about what happened at the office, and why Daniel was there.”

  “I’ll tell you what ladies, I’ll go pick us up some Chinese and give the two of you some time to talk. Would you like anything in particular, Carla?” he asked, he already knew what his girl enjoyed.

  “I’m not very picky, I’ll eat whatever you bring back.” Carla kept her eyes on her friend as she spoke. “Let me give you some money.”

  “Don’t worry about it, I’ve got this.” He waved at Scarlett and was gone before Carla had a chance to argue the matter.

  “Alright, spill it,” Scarlett demanded, dropping cross-legged onto the wooden floor.

  Joining her friend on the floor Carla felt her cheeks redden as she went over the scene from the day before. She kept her description of what had happened between her and Jason as straightforward as she could, and hurried through it as quickly as possible. “It’s just really hard to be in the same room with your boyfriend, knowing how much of me he saw yesterday.”

  “Wow, just wow.” Scarlett was flabbergasted. If someone had told her a few weeks ago that her vir
ginal friend would have allowed some man to take her in front of a room full of people she would never have believed them. In fact she would probably have laughed in their face and asked for some of whatever they were taking.

  “I know it was stupid of me to let it happen, Scarlett, but I’m determined to see these nights through, no matter what.” Was she a fool for being willing to do whatever was asked of her just so she could have some memories that didn’t involve her being boring and prudish? Biting her lip hard she found herself questioning her own decision.

  “Look, honey, I’ve already told you what I think, but this is your choice, and you’re the one who’s going to have to deal with the consequences when it’s over. The only thing I’m concerned with is whether you will be able to walk away at the end of it.”

  “I have to. If I don’t walk away I think I’m going to become a person I don’t like very much.” She wasn’t prepared to get into how Scarlett felt about what she was doing; she had already heard her friend’s opinion.

  “That doesn’t answer the question, honey. It’s great that you know you have to leave, but will you be able to?” Knowing something was bad for you didn’t mean you were willing, or able, to stop the addiction.

  “I will,” Carla said determinedly. “It’s not a matter of if for me.” She felt tears filling her eyes as she said it.

  “You have no idea how sorry I am for introducing you to him.” Scarlett hated seeing her friend in pain, all the more so because she knew it was her fault, without her Carla would never have met Jason.

  “Don’t say that, Scarlett. No matter how this ends I’m glad I got to experience it.” She realized she meant it, and the realization made her heart feel a little lighter, Even if she couldn’t stick with the lifestyle, at least because of her experience with it she knew what it meant to love, and more importantly, what it meant to feel passion.