The Reconstruction of Cyprian

by Michelle Love

  I look at her name tag and smile. “Thanks, Cami. I’ll repay the favor.”

  “No need,” she says as she looks at her name tag. “Did you call me, Cami?”

  “I did,” I say with a chuckle. “I’m afraid I have a habit of making up women’s names on my own. Sorry. That’s rude of me.”

  “Think nothing of it. I think that’s kind of sweet. See you around then, sir. You come back and see us.” She turns to walk away to get back underneath the counter.

  “Cyprian, not sir,” I say then lean on the counter top. “You can call me, Cyprian.”

  She stops her retreat and smiles at me again. “Cyprian? What a beautiful name.”

  “Thanks,” I say and open the bottle of water. “What’re you doing when you get off work tonight, Cami?”

  “Going home to study,” she says and looks a little nervous, suddenly. She fidgets a bit and I find that cute.

  “Do you have to? I mean, I’d like to get to know you a little bit,” I say. The sound of the door opening and someone coming in, I barely notice as I look at her and can’t seem to take my eyes off her. “I bet your hair looks amazing when you let it out of that bun.”

  A pink blush covers her cheeks then I hear a man’s voice coming from behind me. “Mr. Girard, I just realized you were making purchases. I forgot to tell you about their payment policy here,” my driver says and I watch Cami’s face go from pink to red.

  “You’re him?” she asks as she steps back three full steps, as if I have leprosy or something terrible she might catch.

  “Who?” I ask. I know damn well, who but I have to ask.

  “The condom man?” she asks.

  Now it’s me who’s blushing. My driver slaps a five-dollar bill on the counter. “There you, go, miss. We’ll be going now.”

  The sound of someone coming in fills my ears and when I hear Cookie’s voice, I cringe, “Cyprian, are we going to get to your place and get the night going or what?”

  Cookie is about as bimbo looking as they come. Nearly white hair with blue tips, she’s skinny and pale. Not a beauty in the light but she looks good in the dark, where I picked her up at my father’s party a little earlier.

  Cami ducks her head and grins. Her amusement at my choice for the evening sends prickles through my skin. I take my water and nuts and leave the store in shame. “Come on, Cookie.”

  A short burst of laughter I hear come from Cami, I am positive, as she hears the woman’s name.

  I’m shaking with anger mixed with embarrassment, the addition of humiliation makes the emotional cocktail complete as I slam into the backseat of my car.

  “That was brutal,” I mumble as Cookie tries to climb back onto my lap.

  “What was?” she asks then slurps her drink.

  “Nothing, never mind,” I say and close my eyes as I lay my head back on the seat.

  What she must think of me…

  Chapter 7

  CAMILLA

  With a name and face to put to the perverted moneybags, as I had dubbed the man with what must be a nearly insatiable sex drive, I find I’ve thought all wrong about him.

  “He wasn’t fat and bald at all, was he?” I ask Gina as I help her clean the shelves where the can goods go.

  “No, he was not,” she agrees as she nods.

  “He was actually very nice looking,” I add as I wipe the top of a can of green beans.

  “Yes, he was,” she agrees again.

  “Did you see how tall he was when he walked out the door? The tape on the door frame read six feet and three inches,” I say as I think about how he filled that door frame nearly completely. “He was all muscles too.”

  “He had nice light brown hair, dark brown eyes too,” Gina adds as she hands me a clean rag. “Use this one, honey. That one’s merely pushing the dirt around.”

  What about those high cheekbones?” I ask. “And that Roman nose? It was the most perfect nose I recall ever seeing in my life. And his lips. Man, were they something. The top lip was a bit fuller than the lower one was.”

  “I suppose that’s why he needs those condoms every weekend,” Gina says, taking me out of the trance I was putting myself in as I thought about the man.

  “Yeah, he’s a male-whore. I know, I know,” I say as I shake my head to clear it.

  “He was flirting with you, Camilla. Do you suppose he was about to invite you to join him and that other woman?” she asks me with a grin. “And if he had?”

  “Of course, not!” I shout and walk away as heat has suddenly invaded me. “You know I’m not that kind of woman. I know it’s rare at my age of 25 to have only been with three men but I have to have feelings for any man I have intimate relations with. My parents and grandparents would kick my butt if I did it any other way.”

  “What about what you would do if you didn’t have them to tell you what to do, Camilla?” she asks me, making me think about it.

  “I’m a product of my raising. That belief runs through me, hardcore. I won’t be a notch on any man’s bedpost. No matter how gorgeous, sexy, and viral he is,” I say as I make my way back to the counter.

  “Are you describing moneybags, pervert, there, Camilla?” she asks with a laugh.

  “He has a name now Gina. Cyprian Gerard. That last name is French,” I say as I look out the window into the empty parking lot. It’d be nice to see that long black car pull back up into it and get to see that man one more time before I go to sleep.

  “Like yours, Camilla Petit. But you still have a bit of an accent and he doesn’t have one at all,” she says as she joins me behind the counter.

  “My father came here when he was a boy and my grandparents still speak it frequently. I wonder how my family would feel about him,” I mumble to myself.

  “Camilla, he’s a rogue, a Romeo, a Lothario. You’ll have to watch yourself so as not to let him charm you. He’s much too handsome and I’m sure when he turns on the charm, he’s almost irresistible,” she says, reminding me he has to be kept at arms-length at all times.

  “Do you suppose he’ll keep coming in here, merely to hit on me?” I turn the outside lights off, so we can close the store.

  “Most likely. He was looking at you with fire in his eyes. To tell you the truth, if I was a younger woman, I’d do it. He’s rich, built like a one-ton tank, and the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on. I’d give him a roll in the proverbial hay. But I was a bit of a whore myself, back in the day.”

  I have to laugh at the short, fifty-something woman. “Gina, you’re a trip. Let’s go home. Tomorrow night we’ll see what happens. I doubt he had a second thought about me. I mean, why would he. And even if he did, it doesn’t matter. I’m not a bimbo and he’s obviously into them. If you took a good look at Cookie, you’d know that.” We break into laughter as we lock up the store and walk to our cars.

  “See you tomorrow night, Camilla. You have a nice night.”

  Getting into my little ’67 mustang, I make my way down the road and notice the lights on at the old Franklin estate. It sits back off the road. A long driveway leads up to it and it’s gated.

  My mind wanders off to what the hot man is doing right now and then I find an animal crossing the road and have the jerk the wheel to miss hitting it.

  “Shit!”

  I have to get that man off my mind. He’s definitely nothing but trouble!

  The Wolf

  The Reconstruction

  Of Cyprian

  By Michelle Love

  Chapter 1

  CYPRIAN

  The light show my father has had put on for tonight’s party, has mock fireworks, sparkling over our heads in his ballroom. Two women have me in their clutches. For the first time ever, I’m trying to figure out how I can ditch them before I go home.

  Someone has filled my mind all day and even into the night. The young woman from the convenience store has my thoughts muddled. I had a bouquet of red roses delivered to the store for her today. Ashton told me she works every weekend, s
o I’m pretty positive she got them when she got to work and I hope they brought a smile to her face.

  I didn’t put a thing on the card except, ‘To Cami, From Moneybags-Pervert.’ I hope it made her laugh.

  My sights are set on her for tonight. I could use the sound of her slight French accent, cooing in my ear as we play around in my large bed a little later on tonight.

  Ashton told me the store closes at two tonight and I plan on being her last customer. I’ve made a plan that’s foolproof, as she will have to give me a ride home as I’m going to have Ashton drop me off there.

  She seems the type of person who wouldn’t leave another one of her fellow human beings in a bind. When I get her to my place, I’ll offer her a drink. A little nightcap, I’ll call it.

  She’ll accept, so as not to be rude. And after our little drink and some well-placed kisses from me, she’ll come, willingly to my bed. It’s all set out and I see no reason why it wouldn’t work.

  But I have to get rid of the women, who have their claws dug into me, holding me tightly, so as not to lose me to someone else for the night. I keep forgetting their names, and that’s not like me. “I need to check the time,” I tell the one on my left. My watch is on that wrist.

  “Why, are you ready to go?” she asks. “Because that’s cool with me. We can leave now.”

  Wiggling my arm away from her, I check my watch to find it’s almost one-thirty. “Not yet,” I say. “I need to make a visit to the facilities. I’ll be right back.”

  The women exchange worried looks, then the one on the right says, “We’ll go with you. We can help you in your bathroom endeavors.”

  A sense of fear runs through me that I won’t be able to ditch them and I blurt out, “I have to take a crap!”

  Both of their expressions show me, my words were inappropriate. “Oh!” the one on the left says. “You go take care of that then. We’ll wait for you right here.”

  I’m let go by both, with my bathroom talk and finally, set free. Off I go with a wave, neither aware I will not be returning to them. Not on this night, anyway.

  Slinking out through a side door that’s hidden behind the stage, I find Ashton waiting for me as I had directed him to. “Are you sure about this, sir? She’s not really your type.” He opens the back door of the BMW he brought me in tonight.

  “I am sure and every woman is my type. What are you talking about?” I ask as I slide into the car’s backseat.

  “But you’ll have to work for this one. You’ve never had to work for a woman in your entire life,” he says as he shakes his head. “Best to stick with what you know.”

  “You are irritating me, Ashton. Just take me to the damn store, okay?” I pull the door closed as he seems intent on stalling me. If I miss her because of him, he’s going to hate the outcome!

  As he gets into the driver’s seat, he looks back at me. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes! Drive, damn it!” He has me nearly shaking with worry that we’ll miss her. “You seem a bit protective over this woman. What’s the deal, Ashton? Do you want her for yourself? Perhaps she’ll give you a little taste, I don’t care. After I’ve had mine, though.”

  “See, that’s what I’m talking about. She’s not the kind of woman you’re used to. And the answer is, no, I am not interested in her in a romantic way. She’s a good kid. I think you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. That’s all,” he says as he finally starts driving.

  “Do you think I’m incapable of wooing her? I assure you, I do have the skills required to reel in a woman who is unsure she wants to give herself to me. It hasn’t happened often, this is true. But a few have wavered at my bedside and I had to entice them into it. I can handle a bit of work when it comes to getting what I want.” I lean back and look at the stars overhead, through the moonroof.

  “I think she’s a bit too spirited for you. And I doubt she’ll fall into your bed easily. If you are depending on her to quench your sexual thirst tonight, I fear you will go to bed thirsty, Cyprian,” he says as he looks at me through the rearview mirror.

  “Do you really think so?” I ask as I turn my head to watch the city lights begin to dissipate as we near the edge of town. My heart starts to flutter with excitement as I know we’re getting closer to her.

  “I do, sir,” he says and I find myself a bit worried that might happen as well.

  “Perhaps it will take some time to get her where I want her. I only want her once. That’s all I’ve ever done with any woman, one time and one time only. That way no one gets attached.”

  “I don’t think she’s that kind of person, sir. But you seem set on trying. This may be a goal you cannot reach,” he says as he pulls into the parking lot of the store she works at. Parking at the side, instead of the front, like he usually does, he stops and turns to look at me. “Are you sure? You’ve never been turned down before. I don’t know how you’ll handle rejection.”

  His negative vibe is rubbing off on me as my insides go gooey. I have to get away from him. “I’ll call you if she won’t give me a ride.”

  He nods as I get out of the car on my own and wave at him to drive away. Checking my watch, I see it’s three minutes until they close and go around the side of the building to get to the entrance.

  Just as I put my hand on the door, the outside lights go off. I push the door open, anyway and see her and the same woman she was working with last night, standing behind the counter. Cami is quick to say, “We’re closed. Oh, it’s you.”

  “Hello to you too,” I say, feeling more than a bit put off.

  “I’ve already shut down the registers. Looks like you’re a minute too late to buy your Saturday night condom fix, sorry,” she says as she reaches for something from under the counter.

  “I have some leftover from yesterday, so we’re all good. I have ten of them, to be exact. Do you think that’ll be enough for tonight?” I ask as I lean on the counter.

  She looks at me as if I’m daft, as she says, “How the hell should I know. How many tramps do you have in the car tonight?”

  “None. And I have to ask you for a huge favor, Cami. My driver, Ashton’s, wife became ill, suddenly. He had to drop me off here, so he could go get her and possibly take her to the hospital. I told him to do it. Time was of the essence for his poor wife, after all. I assured him, you would take me home. That is what neighbors do for one another, isn’t it?” I have my fingers crossed behind my back, a thing I’ve never had to do before.

  “Ugh,” she groans and I find myself completely surprised. “I was going to go home and have some wine and watch some crappy television. I’m off tomorrow from school and work. It was going to be a chill night. But I suppose I can take an extra five or ten minutes to drop you off. It is on my home, anyway.” She comes around the counter, unzipping her green smock and taking it off, tossing it on top of the counter and revealing a very nice set of tits.

  Her tight white T-shirt is showing off a lacy blue bra and now that I can really see her ass in her tight black jeans, it’s perfectly round and absolutely edible.

  “You may not know this but I happen to have a whole cellar of fine wines from all over the world. I also have this dope home theater, I’ve yet to use. Want to come over for a while?” I ask her as she takes a set of keys out of her pocket.

  “No thanks,” she says like what I’ve just offered isn’t cool at all.

  Then I notice the flowers on the shelf behind the counter. “Aren’t you going to take those with you?” I ask as I point to the large and expensive crystal vase full of red roses.

  “Why would I take the manager’s flowers?” she asks as she looks at me with a blank expression.

  “Those are yours,” I say as I make my way behind the counter to get them.

  “And how do you know that?” she asks me as she crosses her arms in front of her.

  I pull them down and take the card I wrote on at the florist’s shop and hand it to her. “Because I sent them to you. Didn’t anyone tell you?
”

  “Obviously not,” she says as she rolls her eyes and takes the little card I’m holding out for her. Then she smiles and laughs and it makes it all worthwhile. “You’re funny.”

  Step one, complete…

  Chapter 2

  CAMILLA

  Gina is giving me a thumb’s up as Cyprian gets into the passenger seat of my car. I give her a thumb’s down, making her shake her head. Then I get into the driver’s seat and look at the hot man in my car.

  He’s wearing a tuxedo and looks too good to be true. “What kind of grand ball did you attend tonight?”

  Running his hands over the lapels of the expensive garment, he smiles at me, revealing perfectly straight, white teeth. His lips are caramel colored with a hint of pink. They look delicious. “My father puts on formal parties on Saturday nights. All men are required to wear tux’s.”

  “Fancy,” I say and back out of the parking space. I put the car into first gear and see him looking at how close my hand is to his leg as I move the gear shift.

  “You know, I’ve never driven a stick,” he says. “Maybe you would be kind enough to teach me.” He looks into my eyes and I have to avert them, quickly, as my stomach just went very tight with just that look.

  “Maybe,” I say. “So, tell me how you managed to escape the party with no woman, Cyprian.”

  “It wasn’t easy, let me tell you. I had to make a daring escape to get away alone tonight,” he says, making me wonder why he’d even want that.

  “In all of my six months of working here, there hasn’t been a single Friday or Saturday night that you haven’t had your driver come in and buy condoms for you. What gives?” I ask as I pull out onto the main road out of town.

  His hand touches mine as it rests on the gear shift. “Can I move my hand with yours as you shift the gears, Cami?”

  Heat is coursing through me and I have to shake my head to clear it. He frowns as I make the motion, not meant to answer his question. “Yeah, you can. That way you can get an idea of where the gears are.”