Seducing Jennifer

Part 27

I sat up, my head swimming sickeningly. My mouth was so dry I could barely move my tongue. This changed, however, when saliva flooded in, and I staggered to a potted palm where I retched violently, nearly falling to my knees.

"Fuck me, Dude," I said, drying my lips with the back of my hand. "I'm either coming down with the plague or I have the mother of all hangovers." I heaved again, but my stomach was empty. My bowels cramped and rumbled.

"Tell me about it, Dude," Tommy groaned, holding his head in his hands. "And don't let me hear you puke again or I'm going to have to join you."

"I gotta take a wicked dump, Dude." I wobbled off toward the cabana, finding it difficult to hurry while keeping my butt-cheeks clenched together. When I came out of the facilities, Tommy was sitting in the whirlpool spa.

"Get in here, Chief. It helps. Steam some of that crap out of you."

I got in and sat facing him. "No crap left in me, Dude. I just shit myself inside out."

Tommy started to laugh but it turned into a groan of pain. "Bitch! If this headache doesn't quit soon, I'm going to consider amputation."

We soaked for a while, in too much pain to talk. Finally my salivary glands quieted down and I was able to say, "I owe you another big one, Dude. If you hadn't been here I'd have fucked her right on that lounge chair. Almost did anyway...And I really didn't want to...well, I WANTED to, but I didn't WANT to want to, you know?"

"Bitches always get what they want, Dude. She was in heat, and when you sniffed her ass it was all over for you. Nothin' you could do about it."

"Maybe you could explain that to Jennifer."

"Maybe. But not tonight, I'm guessing. But I can try to talk to Mary Louise. She noticed that we were acting squirrelly before we did. We been poisoned, Dude. Some of that date-rape shit, or something."

"You really think so?"

"I KNOW it, Dude. We didn't drink anywhere near enough to be this hung over. That Eye-talian bitch of yours be crazy."

"Crazy-evil," I agreed. "I can't believe she drugged me. What the hell? What's the point? If she wanted dick, she wouldn't have any problem getting somebody to do her anytime she felt like it."

Tommy shrugged. "I gave up trying to analyze these ho's a long time ago. You ain't never going to understand 'em. But if you want pussy you got to act like you get where they're coming from."

"You suppose they'll let us into the suite? I'd like to go change into something that doesn't squeeze my sack like a used tea-bag."

"Guess we better try. They're wondering what other shit we got into while they were gone."

We walked back to Suite 74, taking the stairs. Elevators can be dangerous. When we got there I unlocked the door, expecting the security lock to be engaged, but it was not. We stepped inside. There was no one in the front room, and Jennifer's bedroom door was closed.

"Now what?" I whispered.

"You get your ass in the other bedroom. Take a shower and get the smell of that cunt off you. Get dressed. Beat your meat. Whatever you need to do, but don't come out here until I call you."

"Got it. Good luck with Mary Louise, Dude."

"Hell, I didn't do anything. She's gonna be pissed at you, not me."

I went into my bedroom, shut the door, and shucked off the constricting shorts. Exquisite relief. I went through my dressing room and into the bathroom, turned on the shower and stepped in, remembering my last shower with soapy little Jennifer in my arms. Tears came to my eyes and I let the warm water wash them away.

After my shower and a thorough application of deodorant I dressed in shorts and a tee-shirt. I still felt like warmed-over dog shit, but not as bad as before. My stomach churned with acid, and while the thought of food was vaguely nauseating, I knew I needed to put something in there. I wondered if the girls had eaten anything.

Someone rapped at my bedroom door. "Get out here, Dude." Tommy's gruff voice said through the door. "You got some 'splainin' to do."

Mary Louise was seated on the couch, clad in a short sun-dress. It looked good on her. Tommy plopped down beside her and put his massive hand on her rounded thigh. There's a good sign, I thought.

"Tell your side of it, Dude. And before you get tempted to massage the facts, you should be aware that I already told her everything I know. So plead your case." Tommy's hand was inching up toward the hem of Mary Louise's skirt, and she shivered.

I sat down in a chair facing them. "Okay," I began, taking a deep breath, "Where do I start? Jennifer and I went to the restaurant for lunch, and they had this new waitress—"

"I know all about that," Mary Louise said. "Of course Jennifer told me all the details. How this...predatory WITCH was hitting on you shamelessly, and you were just lapping it up."

"Well, not really," I quibbled. "I mean yeah; she was rude to Jennifer, and gave me the come-on, but I wasn't into it at ALL. I mean, when I'm with Jennifer I hardly even notice anything else. I love her so much..."

"Hmmm," Mary Louise said skeptically. "Then I wonder why you and that...woman were attempting to crawl down each other's throats in the elevator?"

"I haven't got there yet. There's stuff you don't know. So anyway, the waitress was coming on to me, and it was making me uncomfortable, but I thought maybe she was just hoping for a big tip, you know? And then she brought me a glass of wine that I didn't order, told me it was complements of the house, so I drank a little of it. She kept flirting and Jennifer got mad, I don't blame her, and she walked out. But what Jennifer doesn't know is that Italia, the waitress, is the daughter of the owner of this hotel, and I guess she's some kind of management trainee or something." I took a deep breath. "So I couldn't really complain about her. Jennifer and I could end up out on the street if Italia's dad got offended, and we just can't afford that right now."

"Interesting," Mary Louise said. "I guess I can see that. Did you explain that to Jennifer?"

"I never got the chance. Anyway, I had the food sent up, and I drank the rest of the wine. Well, I gave some of it to Tommy but I had the rest. It was good wine. But we think there must have been something in there, because right after we drank it we started getting...sick. Crazy sick. You yourself remarked that we were acting strange..." I looked at Mary Louise pleadingly.

"Go on. Assume I'm convinced of that. Which I'm not."

"So we were all in the elevator, right? And Tommy was acting like a nut-bag, and I was feeling really spacey, and you wanted sunscreen, so I went back to the room to get it. When I got back into the elevator I was really out of it, and I pushed 'down ' instead of 'up' and ended up on the lobby level. And the next thing I knew Italia was in the elevator with me, and she was kissing me, and then we were all of a sudden on the roof level..."

"Huh," Mary Louise said. "And we left right after that. Then what did you do?"

"Passed out on a chaise-longue. Didn't wake up for hours. Tommy sat there and watched me the whole time, I guess, so I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything stupid. When I finally woke up I got as sick as a dog. Tommy felt bad too but not as sick as I was. And that's about it." Except for one hell of a wet dream, I added silently.

Tommy was nodding in agreement. "Just what I told you, Little Red. We were drugged. And the Chief is determined to stay as far away from that...uh, broad as he can. No desire to even inhabit the same planet with her. But he has to be cool about it, you know?"

"Okay then," Mary Louise said. "I guess. Seems a little far-fetched that she would go so far as to drug you...that's more a guy thing. But I guess we don't need to be concerned with motives. It happened. She must have been the one that did it. But Jack, are you really, REALLY sure you didn't want it to happen?"

"I'm sure. I'd never hurt Jennifer on purpose. We're supposed to be together, and I don't ever want to risk that."

"I'll see what I can do then," Mary Louise said, removing Tommy's hand from her thigh. He had managed to push her skirt up to the point where the damp crotch of her cotton panties was exposed to view. I tried not to look. "No promises. But I think I can convince her. You two might want to come up with a plan for dinner while I'm gone." She disappeared into Jennifer's bedroom.

I looked at Tommy. "So where do we stand?" I asked quietly.

"I don't know where you stand, Dude, but I'm standin' on second and the third-base coach is giving me the signal to steal. Hope you can understand if I don't want to share your pain."

"'Course I can, Dude. I sure don't want to queer things for you and Mary Louise." I stood up and stretched. "Guess maybe I should try to get some dinner together. Maybe everyone will feel better after we eat."

I went to the kitchen and looked into the refrigerator. Nothing really appealed to me. Tommy wandered out behind me and lifted the covers on the dishes the restaurant had sent up. "What's this?" Tommy asked, grabbing a cold french-fry and eating it. "Looks pretty good, if you could maybe warm up the fries."

"That's the lunch Jennifer and I never ate."

"Oh shit!" Tommy said, dropping a half-eaten fry back onto the plate. "We need to make this crap disappear, Dude. If it came from the restaurant, there's no telling what's in it. May be Ex-Lax in Jenny's part and Viagra in yours."

"Damn, I never thought about that," I said, scraping the plates into the garbage and rinsing them. "Good thinking, Dude. I sure don't be needin' no Vy-A-gra."

Tommy chortled. "You-all be needin' sommat to make yo' dick SOFT, not harder." He hesitated. "When you were passed out up there by the pool, you damn sure needed it. Geez, Dude, you had a bone up reminded me of a mule my granny once had. What the hell was that all about?"

"Couldn't say, Dude."

"Couldn't or wouldn't?"

"Wouldn't. What do you want for supper?"

"Bearded clam on the half-shell." Tommy grinned. "Might get me some of that for desert, though."

"I thought soul brothers didn't eat out at the Y."

"Yo' mama know better," Tommy cracked. We both laughed at that, easing the tension somewhat.

We worked together to build a meal from what was in the freezer. About the time it was all done Mary Louise led Jennifer out of her bedroom. Her downcast eyes were red from weeping. Tommy and I seated the girls, then sat beside them. Everyone seemed to be waiting for something.

"Would you care to say grace?" Tommy asked Mary Louise with mock solemnity.

"Certainly. Grace." Mary Louise was looking at Jennifer expectedly. "Now perhaps Jennifer would like to say something?"

Jennifer drew a deep breath. "Jack," she said, her lower lip trembling. I felt the blood drain from my face. "What you did today was not acceptable. I know—" she wiped an errant tear from her eye, "there may have been drugs involved. But I don't believe any drug can make you do what you don't really want to do anyway. Oh, I'm sure it affects judgment. You might do something you would not otherwise do, because of your inhibitions, but you wouldn't do something you didn't really want to do somewhere deep inside." She paused for breath, choking back a sob. "So is there anything else you should tell me, Jack? Anything you forgot to mention?"

"No," I said. "Unless I forgot to remind you that I love you, and I would rather die than lose you."

"But what about this, Jack? I picked your jeans up off the bathroom floor, was about to put them in the laundry hamper, and I felt something in the pocket –" she held up a business card, "and I just have to wonder where you got it and why you kept it."

I accepted the card. It was the restaurant's business card, printed with fancy embossed letters. I flipped the card over. On the back was written, in flowery European script, "Private Number: 740-474-7744. Call me." "I'm not sure..." I began. "I guess someone gave it to me in the restaurant, and I just stuck it in my pocket and forgot it. I didn't know there was anything written on it." Even as I said the words I suddenly remembered Italia slipping the card into my hand as I was speaking with the Maître D'.

She sighed. "I wonder who the 'someone' was. Should we call this number and find out?"

"No! I just remembered, it was the waitress who gave it to me, but I didn't even look at it. I didn't know about the writing on the back."

Jennifer wiped a tear away from her eye. "You should know that right now you sound like a big, fat liar, Jack. And as much as I want to believe you, I'd just feel incredibly stupid if I did."

"I'm sorry," I said. "I know it sounds suspicious. And I'll prove to you that I don't want that waitress or anyone else but you."

"I love you so much, Jack! But I shouldn't have to always be worrying that you are going to give me...some kind of disease. So that's strike two, Jack. One more and you're out." My heart sank toward my feet.

"What if he hits a home run before he gets another strike?" Tommy asked, the corner of his lip twitching.

"Tommm-eee!" Mary Louise exclaimed. "Would you please—"

Jennifer burst into sobs. I buried my face in my hands. Tommy had a hard time stifling his humorous comments. It had gotten him into trouble more times than I could remember.

"Just asking," Tommy said humbly.

Jennifer wiped her eyes and looked up, attempting a tremulous smile. "I guess...I started the baseball analogy. Okay, then; if he hits a homerun he's got three more strikes coming. But I'm warning him—" I wasn't sure whether the sound she made was a giggle or a stifled hiccup, "After the first strike he won't have any balls."

Tommy roared with laughter, clutching his stomach. Mary Louise was covering her mouth with her hand, but her eyes flashed blue-green sparks of merriment and her ample bosom jiggled. I even managed a limp smile. "God DAMN, Chief! Maybe you oughta settle for a forced walk on a wild pitch!" He burst into another gale of laughter. "No balls!"

Jennifer looked straight into my eyes through a film of tears. "I love you, Jacky. And I know you love me. But you better believe me when I say—"

"I get it," I said hastily. "No balls." I leaned over to kiss her lips, but she turned her cheek to me.

We ate the salmon steaks, fries and vegetables and went into the living area to watch TV. Tommy and Mary Louise sat close together on the velvet love seat, and Jennifer an I sat, not so close together, on the couch, holding hands.

I couldn't have told you what was on TV. All I knew was that it was dull, boring and had a lot of commercial interruptions. After a few minutes I looked over at Tommy and Mary Louise. They were hugging each other tightly and devouring one another's mouths with joyful abandon.

"Well," I said, "they seem to be getting along."

Jennifer smiled at me, her pale blue eyes searching mine. "I love you, Jacky." She slid a little closer to me on the couch.

When the news finally came on, Tommy and Mary Louise were really going at it. Tommy had slipped his hand into her blouse, and she didn't seem to mind. I raised an eyebrow at Jennifer. She smiled up at me wanly and slid closer, pressing her slender body against mine. "Hold me, Jacky. Just hold me."

I put my arm around her shoulders and held her close. The newscaster droned on about international event and the recent legislation of National Paperclip Day. I kissed the top of Jennifer's head, inhaling her intoxicating natural scent. She looked up at me, smiling faintly, and I brushed my lips against hers, just as the newsman announced, "And in local news, the story of the week is the explosion outside Cherry Poppers nightclub."

"We should watch this, Jack," Jennifer said. She stared at the TV.

"Tommy! Mary Louise!" I said sharply. Mary Louise jumped and removed her plump hand from Tommy's upper thigh. "You probably ought to see this."

The newsman summarized what we already knew, then added, "And this just in: DNA analysis confirms that one of the bodies found in the wreckage was billionaire investor Hyman Hershkowitz. One of the other bodies is believed to be that of the limousine driver, whose DNA is not in the data base, and who is believed to have been an undocumented alien. The other victim's DNA was also not identified in the data base, but witnesses have come forward claiming that she was Anna Crowley, 33, a resident of this city. Ms. Crowley was Mr. Hershkowitz's long-time Personal Assistant, and had been seen inside the nightclub in the company of Mr. Hershkowitz moments before the blast. "Now in local weather—"

Jennifer looked stunned. "So we still don't know?"

Tommy and I looked at each other. "Like hell we don't!" we both said. "Look," I continued, "the cops have been over your house with a fine-toothed comb. You can be sure they found something with her DNA on it." And mine and yours, too, I thought to myself. There would have been plenty of that around, particularly on Jennifer's bed sheets.

"So naturally they compare that to the corpse," Tommy broke in, "And bingo! No match! So it wasn't her."

"Oh, Jacky!" Jennifer flung her arms around my neck. "I knew it couldn't have been her!" She pressed herself against me and kissed me full on the mouth. "She's alive! And I just know she's alright, wherever she is!" I kissed her back, stroking her shoulder-blades and running the tip of my tongue across her lips.

"Stop, Jack. Not in front of Mary Louise and Tommy."

"We're not watching," Tommy said into the hollow of Mary Louise's neck. I noticed that she was now sitting on his lap, one arm around his neck and the other inside his shirt. I pulled Jennifer into my lap, encountering initial resistance but then she came willingly and we engaged in a prolonged kiss, our tongues exploring each other's mouths.

After some time Tommy broke a silence that had been only disturbed by sloppy kissing sounds and low moans. "Uh, Dude," Tommy said, "it's getting kind of late...I was wondering if you were going to use both bedrooms tonight."

I looked into Jennifer's eyes questioningly. "Uhhh...no. You and Mary Louise can share the master bedroom. If you want. Or I guess the girls could share Jennifer's..."

"Don't even go there, Dude," Tommy interrupted. "I wouldn't get in bed with you if you were the last man on earth."

Mary Louise giggled and buried her blushing face in her hands. "But what if he were the last woman?"

Tommy looked stumped for a moment, then came back with, "But he wouldn't be. I'd know there was a fine red-headed filly right in the next room. That's all I'd be thinking about. So fine." He cupped one of Mary Louise's ample breasts in his hand.

Of course I could sleep on the couch, I thought. But I wasn't about to suggest it.

"We'll be alright," Jennifer said. "You two should be together."

Mary Louise was still blushing when Tommy said, "Well, Dude, it's been real, but you know what they say: 'Early to bed, early to rise...'"

"Makes a man healthy, wealthy and horny as hell!" I finished. "Hey, wait. Before you two go off to your well-deserved rest, let's have a cup of tea together."

"Never touch the stuff, Dude," Tommy said, leering at Mary Louise. "Might keep me up all night."

Jennifer giggled. "Wouldn't want that!"

"Oh, God," Mary Louise moaned. "I feel like such a slut!"

"Go with that, Red!" Tommy said. "How does it feel?"

"It feels WONDERFUL!" Mary Louise giggled. "I'm so sick of being prissy little Mary Louise with her hair in pigtails."

"Well good!" I said. "I'll just get the tea. Won't be a minute to make it. This is herbal tea. A very special one. Guaranteed to produce pleasant dreams. Stay right where you are. You'll like this."

I found the tea Vholes had left for me and brewed up 4 cups, stirring a large dollop of honey into each. When I delivered the cups, Mary Louise and Tommy were engaged in molesting one another again, breathing heavily. "Drink up!" I said, lifting my cup. "To love! And pleasant dreams!"