Our Little Secret

Chapter 5 – Duality

Joel's chest shuddered under the deep shockwaves of one massive starburst after another as the pyrotechnic show lit up the sky and thundered across the bay with the fury of God. The rapid-fire, high-energy finale of the of the July Fourth fireworks celebration was coming to a close, and people all around were cheering, clapping, shouting, and whistling at the tribute to America's freedom, and a proud reminder of the unholy firepower she will surely rain upon anyone reckless enough to test her resolve. He rested his arm around Jenny's shoulders while she howled with patriotic pride.

The echoes of the last firework faded into darkness, and Joel thought the show was over, as did most others, but then he heard the muted sound of distant rocket launches. Joel grabbed Jenny by the waist, who had pulled away from Joel and turned around, "Quick! Look up!" he spun her around, "there's more!" She looked up to into the empty sky where the last barrage of fireworks had faded into darkness.

In his closing tribute, the pyrotechnic choreographer launched thirty six immense rockets into the silent night, and all thirty six detonated simultaneously at precisely engineered altitudes and positions, collectively breaking the world record for the largest and loudest coordinated firework detonation. Jenny screeched with fright at the galactic blast, and then she barrel laughed with giddy delight and excitement. She wrapped her arms around Joel's neck as they watched the scintillating cinders trickle down the black sky canvass.

"Oh my God!" Jenny bawled, barely hearing herself over the wildly appreciative crowd, "that was the most amazing and scariest finale I've ever seen!" Now everyone watched the empty sky for a good minute, not wishing to miss another spectacular encore, but the show was over. Slowly people turned and walked up the pier, away from the river. Jenny let go of Joel's neck. They anonymously blended into the slow moving crowd while Jenny excitedly recounted the firework display as animated and smiling expressions flashed across her face.

Joel's apartment was an hour's walk away and with the closest subway station a forty minute walk, the transit system was no faster. They checked Uber, but it would take half an hour to get a car at this hour on July Fourth. They decided to walk, and if they found a cab, they would hail it. When they reached the first D line station thirty minutes later, Jenny said she would take the subway home.

"So you have options, but that isn't one of them," Joel offered without commanding her. She looked at him with a guarded glare. "You can stay at my place – I have a spare room – or I can drive you home, but you're not taking the subway home alone on this night."

She appreciated his chivalry. "I really can't stay," she cringed as she cocked her head to the side. "I have to rescue my dogs." Joel didn't disbelieve her, but he wondered if she didn't manufacture that excuse before leaving home.

"Okay, that settles it," Joel took her hand. "I'll drive you home."

"You really don't have to," she protested weakly, secretly thankful for the offer.

"Yes," Joel insisted, "I do." She put her hands around his arm, and rested her head on his shoulder briefly, and then walked upright again without holding his hand.

The crowds had thinned, but there were still always pedestrians nearby on these well-lit streets. "You've never asked me about our first night," she said quietly.

"I figured you would let me know when you're ready to talk about it," Joel offered.

"Joel, I'm just not that kind of girl," she cautioned shakily. "I don't know what happened that night. Well, of course I know what happened. I just don't know ... you know what I mean," she fumbled through her words. She took in a deep breath. "Joel, I don't want you seeing me just because you think ..."

"I'm seeing you tonight because I like you," Joel interrupted. "You're a nice person, and I'd like to get to know you," he professed honestly. Admittedly, his early intentions for Jenny were purely physical, but the more he got to know her, the more he liked Jenny. On the more sinister side, Joel wanted to see if he could even handle a real girlfriend – one he didn't command. Now that he had powers, Jenny could be his little experiment to test if he could commit to a normal relationship. He would let her take it as slow as she wanted while he still scored as much action as he desired.

"I would want to see you tonight whether that first night happened or not, and I'm not expecting anything from you in return." Joel paused in thought. "Why don't we just put that first night aside? We both know what happened, but why don't we just say, '

okay, that was interesting

', and now take some time to get to know each other?"

"Okay," she nodded softly. "I'd like that."

They walked in silence for a minute. "Must have been something in the beer," Joel broke the silence.

"I guess!" she nodded emphatically with a smile. Her face turned serious. "Joel, did you honestly delete that picture?"

He pulled his phone out and handed it to her as they walked. "You can search it," he offered. Joel had earlier sanitized his phone, deleting all pictures and videos of commanded girls, and removing all traces of his carnal exploits. It wasn't that he was anticipating this exact moment – he was just being careful.

"Oh, no!" she pushed it back. "I don't mean to say I didn't trust you. I was just ..." she had trapped herself.

"I'm not taking offense," Joel insisted. "This is really important to you. You can search it. Look at my emails. Look at my text messages. It's deleted and I never sent it." He handed the phone out to her, but she didn't take it.

She stopped walking, and so did he. She looked into his eyes. "Thank you, Joel," and she pushed the phone away. "There are a lot of guys that would have done that differently." Joel was ready to have her search it. All his dealings with Agatha McDougal were on his pre-paid phone he bought in Atlanta.

"So are you looking for another job?" Joel asked, changing the subject.

"Not actively," she shrugged. "I keep my ears open. There's a big HR conference in DC I'd like to go to. It would be great networking opportunity, but you know Quinton. I asked, and they won't pay."

"So, take the time off, and go," Joel offered casually.

"Can't afford it," she shook her head. "I know it sounds nice and all, but my house is actually a money pit. My aunt didn't keep it up very well. When I took over ownership I had to upgrade all the wiring. My insurance wouldn't cover me otherwise. New panels, they tore into the walls, everything. Last year I replaced the roof, and in April I put in a new furnace and air conditioning. And now I'm told I have to replace all the windows. I had no idea windows cost so freaking much," she complained.

"It's only an eight hour drive," he changed subjects back to the conference. "What does it cost?"

"It's about two thousand," she said. "That includes the hotel and food, but like I said, they won't pay."

"Borrow the money. You must be able to get a line of credit on the house."

"I'm already in debt from the house repairs," she shook her head. She was doing pretty well, Joel considered. At 29, she owned her house and was debt free except for a few repairs. She was doing far better than most people. He wouldn't hesitate to borrow the money to go to DC if he were in her shoes.

"It sounds to me like you're looking for reasons not to go," Joel suggested.

"I don't think so," she defended herself. "Why do you say that?"

Joel paused for a long time, wondering how thick the ice was beneath his feet. "When I used to work at Quinton, I just let things happen – I never took the initiative. That place does that to you. It grinds you down. It sucks the life out of you. After I was wrongfully dismissed, I decided to change that. I'm just saying, I've been where you are. I understand what you're feeling."

"You think I'm just letting things happen?"

"Jenny, I don't know. We don't know each other that well, but I'm just saying, I changed a lot since I left Quinton. I'm not the same pushover I used to be. I'm not saying you're a pushover. I'm just saying that place is toxic. It messes up your mind. That's what I'm saying. I think your judgement is clouded by the atmosphere there, and that makes it hard to know what the right thing to do is."

"So you think I should go?"

"If it is a stepping stone away from Quinton, then yes," Joel nodded. "Absolutely. It is definitely worth paying two thousand to open doors to a better job." They walked in silence for a half a block while Jenny processed what he said. "When is it?" Joel asked.

"In two weeks," Jenny offered flatly. "I just checked the registration on Thursday. They still have spots open." That told Joel she wanted to go. She wouldn't be checking registration if she had ruled it out.

"Tell you what," Joel offered. "I'll go with you."

"What?" she cried with uncomfortable disbelief. "No, Joel!"

"No, hear me out," he said. "I won't go the conference. I don't know HR from bananas. And we don't have to stay together – no hanky panky. But you could use someone to go with you – to help you go through with it. If you commit to going with me, then you have to go. If you don't go, you'll be letting me down. I don't even have to hang around. I'll stay with friends in DC while you're at the conference, and then we'll come back together." Joel was thinking about one friend in particular.

"Aren't you looking for a job?" she asked.

"I'm working on it," he shrugged, "but like I told you before, I'm in no rush."

Even less of a rush since I became five million dollars richer

. "Look," Joel pushed, "just promise me you'll think about it."

"Okay," she nodded.

They walked the rest of the way to Joel's apartment building, talking about themselves, asking about each other. When they arrived at his building, she asked to use his washroom before he drove her home, so he took her upstairs to his apartment. After coming out of the bathroom, she looked around.

"This is really nice, Joel," she admired. "And what a fantastic location."

"I hate the furniture," he critiqued, "but it came with the place. I haven't decided where I'm living yet, so I'll stay here until I figure it out."

"I just want to say something before you drive me home," she said.

"What's that?" asked Joel. She walked to him, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and they kissed for a short while.

"Thanks for a great night," she smiled with sparkling green eyes.

Joel drove her home, and walked her to her door. They kissed again on the front steps. He watched her open the door and saw the two corgis bouncing and twirling through the distant glass door as they barked incessantly. They said goodnight, and she closed the door. He got in his car, and drove home, but he wasn't ready for bed.

His apartment was a block away from Boston University. He went down to Kenmore Square, and there was still a lot of pedestrian traffic roaming the gardens at this late hour. He saw four attractive college girls walking through the square chatting and laughing. As they passed him, he commanded, "Tell me where you're going."

"We're going to a party," they all said.

"Are all the girls at this party as good looking as you?" he commanded again.

"No," one girt answered for them. "Most of them are prettier."

"Take me to your party," he commanded, "and introduce me to people there like I am a good friend."

The girls resumed walking, and Joel tagged along. He told them his name was Joel, and he was a private investor. No, not a private investigator, he had to correct the girls, a private investor – someone who invests money for very rich people. Yes, he had to confess, he too was very rich.

The four girls led him to a house party on Armory Street. It was a large, two-story rectangular grey house with rectangular windows with rectangular shutters and rectangular lattices on a rectangular corner lot. It seriously lacked architectural vision. As they approached the front door, Joel heard the thumping of the beat inside.

One of the girls opened the rectangular door and walked straight in, and the other three girls with Joel followed. The girls were instantly greeted by people they knew inside the house – all in their early twenties – and Joel was introduced as their rich good friend.

Aren't all rich friends good friends

? There were easily fifty boys and girls visible from the front door. Joel followed his four new girlfriends as they wandered through the crowded party house. Joel estimated there were over a hundred nubile, hot girls to choose from.

The four girls went downstairs from the kitchen, and Joel followed. A large finished basement with a billiards table and giant screen TV playing a mixed martial arts match was filled with another fifty boys and girls. The music down here was more lively – a techno club kind of beat – and in one corner twenty or so more boys and girls were dancing energetically. Another corner dedicated to beer pong caught the attention of his four companions, and they went over to join the fun.

Someone tapped Joel on the shoulder. He turned around. A young, fit, muscular dark haired guy in a black tank top and jeans told Joel there was a twenty dollar cover charge to pay for all the drinks. Joel motioned the boy to follow him, and he walked to his four female companions at the pong table, and Joel asked them if they knew about the cover charge. They said yes, but they hadn't paid yet. Joel pulled out his wallet. Having recently deposited five million dollars to the bank, and he was flush with one hundred dollar bills. He pulled out three hundred dollar bills, and said the first hundred was for him and the four girls, and the extra two hundred was to cover people who couldn't afford to party. The boy smiled, and told Joel he was alright, and climbed the stairs back to the kitchen.

Various girls in different states of inebriation leaned on each around the pong table – Joel wanted someone less drunk. He went back upstairs where the music was more pop, and the boy who collected his money was pointing him out from across the crowded room, and two other guys gave Joel the thumbs up.

Money always buys you cred

.

He picked up a beer from one of twenty coolers in the kitchen, and went into the living room. He saw two lovely young things talking in a corner, and moved in. They were both blondes wearing striped dresses. Not as short as minidresses – about mid-thigh length. Blonde #1 was pure blonde. Her hair was almost white. She had dark brown eyes and a soft, baby face. She wore a brown/grey dress with pale white vertical stripes. Blonde #2 was a darker blonde with beautiful highlights, blue eyes, with high, chiseled cheek bones. She wore a white minidress with black stripes that were themselves bands of much narrower stripes. Both girls were slim and gorgeous.

Joel commanded them to go upstairs, find a bedroom with a large bed, and wait there for ten minutes, then come back down. He watched with joyful anticipation as the girls climbed the stairs in their short dresses. He kept an eye on them to see which bedroom they picked while also generally watching around. No one was policing the bedroom zone, and the girls had no trouble finding a room. After five minutes, Joel figured anyone watching them go upstairs would have been distracted by other inspirations. Joel quickly climbed the stairs, and slipped into the same bedroom.

Remembering his code, Joel commanded them to answer if they sometimes give blowjobs. They both nodded. "Have you ever experimented with another girl?" he asked, and they both nodded.

"Ignore what I said downstairs, and stay here until I tell you to leave," Joel commanded, overriding his previous command. Conveniently there was a simple press-button lock in the center of the bedroom doorknob. As he locked the door, Joel commanded the girls to strip.

They both pulled their dresses over their heads, revealing dainty white bras and panties. Blonde #1 was quite small breasted, and #2 was on the small to medium size. They reached behind their backs in unison to unclip their bras, and they shrugged the straps off their shoulders, letting their bras fall to the floor. Both girls' tits were firm and perfectly proportioned. Blonde #1 had little bumps on her areola, while #2 was smooth. Their nipples were small, pale, and pink. The girls pushed their panties off their hips, leaving Joel to admire both girls' clean shaven pussies.

Joel commanded blonde #1 to kneel down in front of him, take his pants and underwear off, and suck him. As she started, he commanded blonde #2 to come over and kiss him lovingly. Joel fondled her firm breasts as blonde #2 kissed him with an open mouth, frequently darting her tongue between his open lips.

Joel stepped out of his jeans and underpants, and now blonde #1 went to work on his rigid cock while blonde #2 continued kissing him. As Joel's balls started to stir, he told blond #2 to crawl onto the bed, and get into a doggie fuck position, with her ass next to him. She did as she was told while blonde #1 continued sucking his solid cock. Joel told blonde #2 to spread her legs wider. With her legs spread wide, her ass up, and her shoulders down, blonde #2's neat, tight pussy gently parted, revealing her feminine secrets. Joel's balls were seriously warming to blonde #1's expert oral pleasures. He brought his middle finger to blonde #2's lightly parted pussy, and landed on her closed fuck hole. He pressed in gently, and it disappeared into her womanhood. Joel pumped his finger in and out several times until her natural lubricants eased his efforts. Then Joel married his index finger to his middle finger, and he began finger fucking blonde #2 with both fingers.

Meanwhile blonde #1 was bringing Joel closer to carnal salvation. He decided to change things around. He pulled his fingers out of blonde #2, and Joel commanded her to turn around, and roll onto her back so her head hung upside down off the end of the bed. She then spread her knees. Now Joel commanded blonde #1 to stop sucking him, climb onto the bed, and fuck blonde #2's pussy using only her tongue. He told her he wanted to see her tongue go all the way up her friend's pussy hole.

Joel positioned his solid rocket booster to blonde #2's upside down lips, and commanded her to suck him as deep as she could. She opened her mouth, and with her inverted head hanging off the bed, she took his cock between her lips, and she started sucking him earnestly. Joel pushed in as far as he could, expecting to bottom out at the back of her tonsils, but bless her soul, blonde #2 was a deep throat artist, and Joel sank his eight inch cock all the way in, and his balls swung next to her eyes. He held for five seconds, and pulled out, letting her take in a breath, and then he went deep again. This time Joel noticed the shape of his cock stretch the skin of throat as he slipped down her gullet.

Meanwhile, blonde #1's face was covered in blonde #2's pussy juices while she dutifully administered her cunnilingus duties. Joel started pumping in and out of blonde #2's mouth without going deep throat, and she sucked him intently on each stroke, and the tension in his balls rose toward critical. The sight of one blonde eating the other while he fucked her upside down mouth ratcheting his arousal levels higher, and he pumped harder and faster into blonde #2's willing mouth.

Joel reached forward and played with blonde #2's upended tits while blonde #1 repeated drove her tongue deep into her friend's pussy. Joel squeezed blonde #2's nipples while she continued sucking upside down on his cock, and Joel knew redemption would soon be his.