*** Warning *** Some bad things happen and some graphic violence occurs. If you do not care to read this, either stop now, or when you see violence occurring or imminent, simply skip down to the next "story break" (* * * * *). Thank you.
Gwen woke up slowly, blinking as she looked around her living room. Seriously, she thought, what is it about this damn sofa? Rising shakily, she went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of orange juice before checking the time on her cell phone. It was just after Noon. Feeling like hell, and as though someone had squirted a bottle of Elmer's glue into her pussy, Gwen ran a hot bath.
She soaked and cried and soaked some more, trying to focus on what she could possibly do now to fix her shattered life. It's all sex's fault, she thought; when I was a dried up sack of shit, nothing bad happened.
Well, she decided, at least she was over Sergei. Of course, he was a psychopath, according to Steve, and now he probably either wanted to kill her or keep her as a sex slave, but at least her path to Steve was clear. She slapped her palm to her forehead and said, "Oh yeah! Screwed that up too! Slept with the crazy Russian dude and confessed it, and everything else in my screwed up little life, to a Fed!" Talk about sleeping with the enemy!
Gwen slipped deeper into the tub. If only she'd really slept with the enemy, but she couldn't even do that right. Out of all of this, Gwen thought, the only guy she should have slept with was the only guy she hadn't. "Great," she said aloud, "now I'm a slut."
Well, as Steve would probably agree, when things are bothering you, sometimes it's just good to run. Gwen thought about how she could best accomplish that feat. She didn't exactly have another $50,000 lying around. Gwen's stomach lurched and she sat up slowly from the water. She didn't have fifty grand, but she knew who did.
* * * * *
Steve jerked awake, having nodded off at the monitors again. Setting the device on automatic, he crept upstairs and looked in on Gabrielle, who was spread out over the bed, face up and completely naked. She always slept like that, but Steve had never known her to sleep naked. But then, he thought with an amorous internal chuckle, he'd never fucked her brains out before.
Calming at the thought, Steve moved closer and really looked at his coworker. She was beautiful, amazingly so. And she had professed to love him, and to have been in love with him even before he'd met his beloved Amelia. She'd intimated that her heart had been broken when he'd fallen for Amelia, but she'd been such a good actress that she'd been Maid of Honor at the wedding.
Did he love her? Yes, but not in a marrying way, he was pretty sure. He held her with the affection of the best of friends, but there was no romantic notion, or not much, really. She was one of the guys and, Steve thought as he gazed down on her, because she'd been a woman and close to him, available, he'd done something horrible. Steve went to the kitchen.
He stood, leaning against the counter for several minutes, his mind reeling. Steve was at a complete loss. He'd lost his wife to a hail of gunfire, his prospective-no, Steve admitted to himself. He'd fallen in love with Gwen, or Maggie, or whomever, and she'd gone with a known international felon instead of him. And now he'd screwed up his relationship with his partner, sacrificed to his own selfish needs.
"Hey," Gabrielle said, startling him. Steve looked into her sleepy eyes, her expression unreadable, and felt his stomach burn. She wore a robe, and she stopped a few steps inside the kitchen, looking pointedly at Steve's crotch. "I hope you don't think it's going to be acceptable to run around naked when we're working together."
"Gabby," Steve began, "I'm so sorry-"
"Shut up, Steve," Gabby said, searching the cupboards. "I'm a grown-up girl and I knew what was going on. I used you as much as you used me, and as long as it doesn't happen again, just forget it."
Steve nodded slowly, and he left the kitchen, heading for the bedroom. It was his turn to grab some sleep. As soon as he was gone, Gabrielle leaned hard against the counter and bit her lower lip. She held up for another minute before her tears started again. She allowed herself the self-indulgence for five minutes, and then went to shower and dress before resuming her post.
* * * * *
Gwen looked hot. Her hair and makeup were perfect, and she wore her little black dress that showed off her bust and legs wonderfully, with shiny black stockings and heels. Her little stud earrings matched the pendant on her gold chain necklace, and she had even taken the time to put on her little gold chain anklet.
Things had begun to move too fast in her life, and Gwen was determined to get things back under control. She wasn't looking forward to what she had planned for the evening, not much anyway, but she couldn't think of any other way to resolve things.
She pulled into a parking spot reserved for guests and after making sure she had everything she needed in her little black clutch purse, Gwen went up and knocked on Ronnie's door. She didn't take any notice of the car that had pulled in after her and parked, nor did she notice that the driver didn't get out.
It was only four o'clock, so Gwen expected her friend to be around, probably getting ready to go out and find her next conquest. The door opened and Ronnie broke into a big, toothy smile.
"Gwen!" Ronnie exclaimed, dragging Gwen into the fabulous condo. "I thought you'd never speak to me again, after last week," Ronnie said, sitting on her chair so she could face Gwen, seated on the couch. "After Frank."
Gwen was a little shocked to see her friend dressed in cutoff jean shorts and a midriff bearing t-shirt, wearing flat sandals instead of her usual very high stiletto heels. Ronnie was leaning forward and seemed genuinely overjoyed to see Gwen.
"That wasn't your fault," Gwen said, smiling. It was true; she held no ill feelings for Ronnie about the misadventure. "Don't even worry about it, okay?" Ronnie jumped and grabbed Gwen in a tight hug for a long time before releasing her and returning to the chair.
"I'm so glad!" Ronnie said, and then quieted a little and continued, "Especially after what else happened last week. I can't tell you how special that was for me, Gwen."
"It was pretty special for me too, Ronnie. You know I've never done anything like that before, and I'm glad I shared it with you, I mean, I'm glad you were my first girl." Ronnie blushed but looked proud.
"I was really hoping you'd come over sometime, Gwen. I know what you think about me, you know, being a slut and everything, but I want us to stay friends." Ronnie watched Gwen's reaction closely, and she quietly added, "Friends, and maybe more?"
"I don't think you're a slut," Gwen lied. "I know that you just really like sex, and you're not as...discriminating...as I am. That's a difference, not a wrong thing." Ronnie nodded slowly, but Gwen saw she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.