I knew I shouldnât have done it, but when youâve lived in a small New York apartment most of your life, you get desperate to have something better. My wife is a very beautiful, but somewhat aggressive woman, always asking for more things, always spending to the limit of my paychecks, so that I had to work two jobs to keep up. So, when a chance to make an investment that would bring me a lot of extra money came along, well, I took a chance. The banks arenât going to lend you money for the stock market though, and hell, I had an inside edge: a person inside the company who knew about an upcoming merge and the fact that it would make their stock skyrocket.
So I went to Gino. Gino handled the numbers racket in our neighborhood; friendly little Gino, a nice guy, always a smile on his face, always paid up when you hit the weekly ticket. I figured $10,000 would be enough. Gino was more than friendly. He even asked me if it was enough, and offered to lend me more. I didnât much pay attention to the interest he was going to charge, because I was going to pay it back within a week or two, and put the profits back into more stock. I could quadruple my investment in a few weeks, maybe less. Except, it didnât turn out to be such a sure thing. The merge didnât happen, the company went downhill like an Olympic downhill skier, and the investment turned colder than an ice cube. After a week, the merge was history, after two weeks the company was talking bankruptcy and I expected a visit from my friend Gino.
At first I didnât tell Laura. It was supposed to be a wonderful surprise, all that extra money. But when I couldnât pay it back on time, I had to open up to her because I didnât know what would happen, and I wanted her to be on her toes in case Gino approached her. Of course she was angry and called me stupid for doing such a thing. She wanted to know what I was going to do now, and I didnât have a good reply, except that Gino was always friendly, and that I was sure he would let me pay it back in installments. I couldnât have been wronger!
It was a Tuesday night shortly after dinner. There was a loud knock on our apartment door. It was Gino and he had a friend with him, a big friend, a big ugly, muscular friend. A goon. Gino invited himself in. My wife was in the kitchen just putting the supper dishes away.
âHi Gino.â Gino and his friend brushed right by me without a word and took a seat at the dining room table.
âHello, Sam, I think we have some business to discuss. Is your wife home?â He didnât seem so friendly.
âLaura? Yes, sheâs in the kitchen.â
âTell her to come in and sit down with us, Sam, I think this is a family problem. Does she know about the money you owe me?â
âGino, Iâm sure we can work something out.â
âCan you pay me now? Tonight?â
âWell, no, butâŠâ
âThen we have a problem, Sam. Call her in here.â
I went to fetch Laura and brought her into the living room. She sat down at the end of the table, next to Gino.
âHello, Mrs. Landers, You know about Samâs financial problem?â
âYes, Gino, he told me he borrowed some money thinking he could double or triple it real quick. But heâs had a problem.â
âThatâs exactly right, Mrs. Landers, may I call you by your first name? You look like a pretty friendly woman.â
âYes, Gino, of course, Iâm Laura.â
âWell, Sam and Laura, do you have a solution to our problem? The interest on this loan is going to build fast and youâll be indebted to me and my friends for life if you canât pay.â
âGino, I can make payments on it weekly.â
âHow much, Sam?â
âHow about $100 a week?â Actually, I couldnât even afford that.
âThat wonât do it, Sam. Have you got anything of value that you can sell right away?â
I looked around the apartment. There was nothing of any value. Even the TV was 5 years old. And living in the city, I didnât own a car.
âSam and Laura, I want to impress on you that this is a very serious matter. My friends expect to be paid back immediately and with interest. They get very angry when they donât get paid, and they can be very nasty.â
I looked at Samâs friend. Iâd never seen him before, but Iâm sure he was some kind of bodyguard or enforcer. He never once changed expression, but continually stared at me. After a very pregnant silence, Gino looked at me. âSam and Laura, you have to pay this loan back and you have to pay it back quickly!â His voice was loud and demanding. The expression on his face showed intense anger. He wasnât the friendly little Gino I had bought numbers tickets from.
My wife was terrified into silence. Her face was taut and rigid.
After a very tense silence, Gino spoke again. âI have a solution, if youâre willing to listen. It would involve both of you.â
âIâd appreciate anything we could do to pay this loan, Gino.â
âI have a friend that makes movies.â
Silence. Laura and I knew what he was talking about. I was devastated.
âSam, you have a very voluptuous wife. Iâm sure that my friends would love to give her a part in some of their movies. And Iâm sure we could find something for you too. Youâre both pretty young and in great condition.â
My wife was 5â 2â, had a small waist and large breasts. She had short blonde hair that she combed into a Pixie type cut. It was a bit more sexy than I liked. I always got jealous when we walked down the street and other guys would ogle her. I was almost 6â tall and kept in condition by eating right and working two manual jobs.
Neither one of us spoke.
âWell,â Gino said, âif youâre not willing, there are other solutions. My friends need an example to show others what happens when people donât pay their debts.â He and the goon started to get up to leave.
Laura spoke up. Her voice was quavering. âWhat would we have to do, Gino?â
They sat back down. âThatâs better, Laura, I was getting worried. Iâm sure you have more sense than your husband. You and Sam are very nice people and we certainly donât want either one of you to get hurt badly.â
After a momentary pause, he continued. âTheyâre not the kind of movies you rent in Blockbusters.â
Laura and I were silent, waiting for him to get to the obvious point.
âTo put it frankly, theyâre x-rated and youâd have to learn to be very compliant. Not only that, youâd have to be excited about it. Thereâs a lot of competition in the industry. Thereâs no going half-way with this.â
I was choking. I couldnât believe it had come to this. âGino, isnât there some other way?â
Ginoâs friend was staring me down waiting for me to make a move. And then Laura spoke up.
âHow many of these would I have to participate in till the debt is paid.â
My legs were shaking and my heart was pounding against my chest. Laura was actually considering it?
Gino looked at my wife and I could see he was pleased. He had a wide smile on his face. âWell, weâd have to work it out, Laura, but I think two or three ought to do it. It really depends on how big a part you play and what youâre willing to do. And who knows, the money is good. You might want to do more. It would get you and Sam out of this stuffy little box you call a home.â
I couldnât believe he said that. To imply that Laura would actually like being virtually raped was shocking to me.
âWhen, Gino?â Laura replied with a voice that was a bit stronger and more resolute.
âStand up, Laura, I want to check something.â
My wife stood up, despite all her inner strength and resolution, tears were forming in her eyes. I think she knew what was coming.
Gino stood up and moved directly in front of her. He placed both his hands on her breasts and started massaging them. âAre these real, Laura?â He was looking into her eyes as he talked.
My wifeâs voice was firm and calm as she stared into his eyes. âYes, Gino, theyâre all mine Theyâre all me.â
âHave you been cheating at all on Sam, Laura? You might as well tell us. It isnât going to make any difference from now on. I want to know how experienced you are.â He continued to massage her breasts and then moved one hand to her ass and moved it up under her skirt. I started to get up, but the goon reached over and pushed me back down.