Part 4 of 4.
Heroine Addiction
Part 4
Barry and Kari and Susan
"Barry," Kari's voice was practically a hiss, she wasn't capable of giving full voice, "I left the party early and went home. B-But only to make it look good. Then I went over to Lewis' house."
I got the impression Kari's head was bowed, but I couldn't look at her. I was looking at Susan, who was shocked and angered.
"The ladies knew where I was going and knew to look out for me. I thought that once I turned the tables on him, my being at his place would give him bad memories that invaded his house, meaning one more good reason for him to move."
Her voice took on more urgency.
"I only went into his kitchen or bathroom. I wanted to be outside where I could be heard if things went sidewards and had to scream. We, uh, he played soft music and we danced; slow danced on his patio, a-and the grass ... barefoot. And we drank, I made sure to pour some of mine out when he looked away. I said complementary things to him. I didn't give him the full treatment like you heard. I was nice this time, not making fun of him like I wish you'd heard. I-I said nice things to him ... about him."
Head popping up, Kari looked directly at me, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Yes Barry, I went too far. That's where most of the bad behavior happened. He groped and stroked me, over the clothes. And he held me, and we ground on each other. And I made him believe ... I could be had." Kari's voice became a whisper, "I was there two hours. The first thirty minutes staying just out of reach. Then I let him reach me, then about each thirty minutes I let him get away with a bit more. I became, damn, more interested in him and more complimentary to set the hook."
Kari broke down. Susan's scornful eyes drilled bullets in the back of Kari's head, before she turned them on me in ... longing sympathy. The way a woman looks at you letting her eyes say, "I can make you feel better, I can heal you. I want to heal you," in a way that seduces herself as well as you.
Kari's voice broke the moment, "Barry, I planned everything. I didn't let it get out of control. I certainly didn't let him have what he wanted, well not fully. I was flying high; I guess my ego was fully engorged. I pushed it because ... I was enjoying it. Not his touch and not him but wrapping him around my little finger. So, I let myself set the hook a little deeper and then again, and horribly one last time. I'm thinking it's worse that while I was the one controlling the tempo that it went so far.
"I should have left at least thirty minutes earlier if not an hour. While I had Lewis fully under control, I was a little out of control. I wanted to make up for time I'd squandered on the plan earlier. But I didn't let it go because I was intoxicated on, damn me, seducing him. I dreamed some of my daydreams while dancing with him. That's when I would come out of it to find he was trying to push his tongue in my mouth. I really don't ever remember letting him put his lips on mine. He did it while I was dreaming of Caribbean beaches and Monaco."
Kari stopped. Her face buried in her hands her shoulders heaving. She fought admirably until she spoke again with a croak, "Barry, I know you need to hear this. The first thirty minutes if he got a touch, it was glancing and fleeting. I stayed out of reach like a matador. H-He got more than that sometimes as we passed at parties.
"We danced the next thirty minutes. We started fast dancing, but I danced close a couple times. No slow dancing. But he was holding my hand or hip as we danced.
The next thirty minutes we slow danced. We were very close, touching pretty constantly. I-I ground him and let him grind me. He tried to kiss me. I don't think he succeeded, but you would think he did. His hands roamed -- over my clothes. My arms were around his neck - a lot, which left me ... open to his hands. Only over my clothes. I had him panting. He wanted me very badly. I'd shut him down only to let him think he had a chance to take me to his room or, forgive me, that maybe he had a chance right there in his fenced backyard.
The last thirty minutes I was running on an ego high, what you described as a "heroine addiction". I was high on power and letting my mind go to those exotic places. A couple of times it got really hot. I backed off coming back from a sea grape covered Jamaican beach. I'm not sure how far he got while I was traveling in my head, but he never got under my clothes."
Kari stalled, looking very drawn and very worried.
"Barry, I'm remembering some things that maybe I didn't want to remember. But I came back from my daydreaming where I'd been in your arms on the beach. You were seducing me; you have the power over me I used to have over men."
Kari looked away, "I'm pretty sure now his tongue was in my mouth. That's when I decided to leave. I know. It's hazy. I wanted the fantasy movie in my head, I sure didn't want Lewis in his backyard. I'd set the hook so I could leave. I stayed too long, I consoled myself focusing on how it would make the eventual take down that much more devastating. I'm so sorry."
I felt their eyes on me. I took it slow and controlled my rising tides of bile and anger. "So that night I spend crying at your loss because you were likely cheating on me was dead-on accurate and real."