Seventeen
When Nat opened the door to his apartment, he immediately smelled a delicious aroma of pot roast or something of the like. It reminded him of his grandmother's house when she would cook brisket for the Jewish holidays. Anika was in the kitchen wearing a short apron that went down only to the middle of her thighs. Underneath, it appeared she had on a skimpy, satin top that was sky blue in color. She was wearing a pair of very short jean cut-offs with a little bit off her ass hanging out below. She turned around when the door opened to reveal the very low-cut apron and the lovely cleavage underneath.
"I didn't know you had a girlfriend here," said Misha, quietly.
"Yeah, I forgot to tell you she's living with me right now while she's working on this special project of mine, but she's not exactly my girlfriend," said Nat, confidently side-stepping the issue.
"She's really pretty!" exclaimed Misha, with a hint of jealousy but also a little hurrah, as well.
Anika put down her spatula and walked over to Nat. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then looked over at Misha and back to Nat.
Nat jumped in, "Anika, this is Misha. She's a friend from high school and I ran in to her randomly at the cafΓ© today. We've been catching up."
Anika put her hand out for a shake and then pulled Misha in for a kiss on the cheek as well. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Anika said, softly.
Misha was surprised and flattered by the kiss, not used to the European custom. "No, the pleasure is mine." And it
was
a pleasure for Misha as she was finding Anika increasingly more attractive and she liked her scent and the sound of her voice, as well.
Nat continued speaking to Anika. "I thought Misha could maybe join us this evening. Sorry I'm getting back so late."
"Uh oh, do I have to make extra-large portion for an American girl? I know how they like to eat a lot..." she joked, a bit nervously. "I kidding. That's fine. Yeah, I didn't want you to be too hungry so I just decided to cook instead of us going out. I'm making goulash. Is that OK with you guys?" Anika asked curtly but humbly. Misha and Nat both nodded.
"Misha was gonna jump in the shower. Let's eat in like half an hour," said Nat.
"That's OK for me," said Anika. "By the way, I need to talk to you about some business things, quickly...in private."
"Ok, I understand." he said with a serious tone. Then he pointed down the hall. "Misha there's the bathroom. There's clean towels in there and you can change into some of Anika's clothes, which you should be able to find in the master bedroom, second door on the right." He looked at Anika, tentatively, to confirm.
"Yea," said Anika. "You're welcome to anything you find."
"You're not gonna shower?" said Misha to Nat, having hoped he would join.
"Take your time. I'll be in, in a bit." said Nat. Misha got excited again and walked off towards the bathroom.
Anika raised her eyebrows to Nat, smirking. Nat gave her a nod. And that was that. She leaned in to give him a real kiss on the mouth and they french kissed for a while. He grabbed her butt that was barely covered by her shorts and then she pulled off. "Wow, you smell like all kinds of sex!" she said, snickering.
Nat laughed. "It's been quite an afternoon."
"Well, we do need to talk for a minute. Do you want a glass of wine?"
"That would be great," he said as he made his way over to the couch. Anika brought him a glass and clinked his with her own glass as they shared a deep gaze.
"First of all," began Anika, "I'm very grateful that you asked me to move in with you. I'm eager to spend more time with you. I didn't realize before, but I was getting quite lonely without my husband...well, I should say ex-husband....out of the picture." Nat knew that this was part of his programming, but he acted surprised nonetheless.
"Wow that's crazy! Are you OK?"
"Yeah," continued Anika, "I wanted to be done with it. It was a little tricky to reach him in Syria but I was pretty convincing on the phone." She hesitated with a little eye roll. "I might have blackmailed him a bit." Nat laughed. "But I faxed a couple documents and now that's over. And now we can focus on us, and our mission."
Nat hadn't remembered telling her to think of her duties in such terms, but he did like the ring of "their mission."
"So do you want me to tell you a little bit of what I got done today?" she asked, eagerly.
"Yeah, let's hear it." said Nat, as he reclined back onto the sofa cushion.
"So, yeah...I had a great day today. Moved my stuff in to your room, cleaned up the house some, grabbed some groceries for the house...then I got to work on our mission -- which is what I'm calling it, I hope that's ok..."
"Of course. No, I like it." he said.
"So, I did some research on some of the commands you already started." Nat, held his breath hoping she hadn't found her own profile's history. But no, he set it so she couldn't figure out that she was being programmed. "Some of the actions you've begun have already began to show budding results," continued Anika. "βlike the Donald Trump innocent," she said, smiling. "Since you, smartly, added a time-release element, it will take a while for the full plan to unravel.
"But already, I'm finding a couple cool results. Due to some alternative type of prodding by members of congress, the Israeli military has proposed a peace offering of reducing their military budget, specifically the Palestinian relations department, by over fifty per cent. Also, already, as of today, there are new bills in the works for healthcare and immigration reform, so cheers to that." She held up her glass to him. They clinked.
Nat was enthralled with Anika's great work. It was both erotic and inspiring to see another person, especially a woman, so in tune with his own values, goals and beliefs. Before, she was just an innocent, passing neighbor. They'd have a trivial conversation about the building or maybe share a recipe. And then just recently she'd become a sexual exploit. But now, to see her satisfying his need for intellectual stimulation made her all the more attractive.
With a professional gaze, determined and serious, she continued. "I also took the liberty of beginning an expedited process to incorporate CPM Unlimited, the engineering and design firm business, although I changed the overall business category to "investment firm." This will allow those upcoming art transactions you set in motion to be carried out smoother and more conspicuously.
"Finally, I hired a contractor and decorator to begin a rush job for the development of your new offices above where Mannes & McMichael used to be."
Nat was floored. Anika looked proud of her work but also driven to please Nat and awaited his approval. "That's fabulous work. Thank you," said Nat. "Give me a hug. I'm so happy you're on-board!" he said as he pulled her in tight.
"Me too," said Anika, her eyes a little glassy from the feeling of accomplishment and from Nat's approval. "Now, why don't you go get washed up. I'm gonna finish up dinner. Besides, I think your friend, Misha, may need some assistance in the bathroom," she said with the faintest smile.
Nat finished his glass of wine and put it on the table. As he was about to stand up, Anika grabbed him on the shoulder and said, "But don't forget, I have my needs too." She looked at him with a seductive smile. Nat smiled back. Leaning in, she whispered in his ear, "You know, there's places inside of me you haven't explored yet. Deep, dark and...narrow places." She stuck her tongue inside his ear and then bit lightly on his ear lobe. Nat instantly became erect and tingles went down his spine, imagining just what those mysterious, dark place might be like, and whether he might travel down that eery canal later this evening.
Eighteen