Chapter 35
1372 Words
James
Michael strolls in, hands in pockets, looking around; checking out the bedrooms and the hot tub, grunting his approval at the open fire. “Nice place,” he comments. “I see that you’ve spared no expense again.”
“What else am I going to spend my money on? Running my non-existent home and funding my ex-wife’s live-in Lover?”
His face falls….
…. and I feel like a complete s**t….
“Sorry, that wasn’t aimed at you….”
“Yes, it was. What have I done to upset you?”
was I Michael’s back is turned to me as he stacks kindling and small screws of newspaper into the fireplace, making a neat pile which lights with a single match.
“I said I’m sorry.” My voice is still sharp, though I don’t intend it to be. He looks up at me in silence, then watches the fire for a few moments as the flames begin to catch.
saidTurning to me, he stands, arms folded, legs akimbo. “Alright, what’s eating you? Are you regretting this? Not wanting to carry through with her? Because if you don’t, I….”
I cut him off. “No, I am not regretting it.”
not“Are you regretting having me involved then?”
me“No, I’m not. We’re in this together….”
“So…?”
“So…. I’m nervous,” I confess. “This whole…. ‘Buying a Virgin’ thing…. started out as a bit of fun for me. I didn’t quite do it on a whim, but it was damn close, and…. and….” My words dry up.
“And now we’re playing for stakes?” he suggests. “It matters that we get this right?”
matters“Yes…. Look, I’m sorry I snapped. Anyone would have got it. It happened to be you. My apologies.”
“Accepted.” He holds out his hand and we shake, Michael giving my hand a sharp tug downward that might incapacitate anyone not familiar with his strength.
“Shall we move on?” I suggest, holding up the bottle of malt I instructed the staff to have waiting.
“Good idea. And yes, you can pour me a stiff one of those….”
I pause at his phrasing and his lips quirk….
Is he joshing me?
But his expression stays steadfastly innocent, eyes blue and guileless….
Hmmm….
The fire’s burning nicely now, and he stacks smaller stove lengths around the kindling, then larger logs around that.
“So,” he says, taking an armchair by the hearth, “what’s the plan?”
“The plan is to give her what she’s coming for and has asked for….”
plan“Being….?”
“You, me…. more….”
His face clouds over. “More? You mean we get her gangbanged again?”
More? “She dropped some pretty heavy hints she"d like it.”
He looks glum. “Not so many this time….”
“No, not so many. You and I want a turn too, don"t we…?”
His glance is sharp. “That"s not what I meant….”
not“I know.”
His voice quiet, “I don"t want to share her….”
What….!
He looks up, sees my face; “I don"t mean with you. I mean, I don"t want to pass her around, even if she enjoys it.”
you“We"ve got a way of keeping her coming back. Don"t spoil it….”
He stares into his glass, swilling the amber liquid around, but not drinking…
“…. Would you rather have part of her or none of her?” I ask.
He meets my eyes, looking unhappy, not speaking.
“Do you seriously think she couldn"t have her pick of men?” I say. “She"s studying physics for God"s sake. She"ll be surrounded by them, all of them a lot younger than you and me, and all interested in the same things she’s interested in….”
He nods, still looking gloomy….
“…. but she’s coming back, to us. So, let"s make sure she gets what she wants when she"s here. We make ourselves a habit with her.”
usStill, he looks miserable. “I don’t like it,” he says.
I’ve got to knock him out of this….
Making my tone as heartless as I know how, “You think she"s going to be lured with flowers and chocolates? Michael, you"ve flitted between one woman and the next as long as I"ve known you. What"s different now?”
“You know what"s different. What about you? Wouldn"t you like to have her to yourself?”
knowHow honest should I be with him….? Right now?
Let it pass….
“It doesn’t matter one way or the other what I want, except that right now, we have a chance to catch her, to get her to want to return to us, to stay with us. Right now, that’s the important thing….”
right nowwant Right now,And now he finally meets my eye, properly. “You"re better at the cold-blooded thinking than I am.”
“And you"re better at the empathy, so between us let"s make it work.”
work“So, you"re not going to admit you"re in love with her?” he says.
Oh, f**k…
“Is it so obvious?”
“To me, yes.”
“And to her?”
“I don"t think so. You can a blank-faced bastard when you want to be, James.”
Thanks to you too….
“And I’m going to keep it that way,” I reply. “She’s known us a week. Sorry…. she’s known me for a week; you for six days. How do you think she’ll react if either of us decides to announce our undying devotion? Do you want to put her in the Twilight Zone? It"s complicated enough already. If either of us says anything…. inappropriate…. we’ll not see again for dust….”
meHe can cry into his beer later. For now, we hang on to her….
“…. So,” I continue, “what do we offer to keep her coming? Since roses and chocolates are off the menu?”
“…. Mind-blowing s*x….
…. s*x that makes her eyes water and her blood sing….
Pin her brains to the bed-head….
I look across, surreptitiously, at Michael. He’s wearing that glazed expression again….
…. that part of it shouldn"t be a problem.…
Keep the cash coming for her….
…. but don"t make her a w***e….
And don"t make her feel like one either….
“We give her exactly what she wants, you and me, and as many others as she wants or can handle….” Watching him over the top of my glass, “…. I don’t think you’ll have any problem f*****g her ‘til she screams, will you?”
“Hardly….” He smiles wryly. “It’s been six weeks. I think I’ll last the weekend….”
“Six weeks? And you haven’t…?”
Lips pursed, he shakes his head. “Didn’t have the heart for it. It’s the first time in twenty years that’s happened….” He looks up, eyes lidded…. “You….?”
that’s“No, me neither,” I admit. “And it’s been a lot longer than twenty years for me….”
He nods, swilling whiskey around his mouth. “Um…. so…. we"ve got the, er, necessities?”
necessities“If by ‘necessities’, you mean cuffs, ropes, blindfolds and vibes, yes.” I cast eyes towards my suitcase.
“Lube?”
“Yes.”
He looks across at the suitcase, grinning. “That must have raised a few eyebrows as it went through the scanner at the airport….”
I burst out laughing. “You know, I never thought of that. I was so occupied with trying to get here. I had a devil of a time getting a last-minute flight….”
And Michael laughs too, raising his glass. “To Threesomes….”
I tilt my glass to him. “…. and Jade-Eyed Redheads.”
With a nod, he raises his glass again, “…. and Charlotte.”
*****
- Writer
