Dee:
Again and again, the string of excuses and near-kisses came back to me:
I just think this...is okay.
I can't risk it. Not with you.
What if it doesn't work out? What then?
Friday went by in a haze of stretches, being screamed at as I dove in and came out of the water, drifting in and out of conversations on autopilot. Hazel chewed me out about my time, my form, and about how the tryouts were six months away...
And all I could think of was all the times we practiced kissing during high school, all the things he'd told me after every failed date, about Nicole and his Mom setting him up with her...
"Dee"
About the way, he tasted on my tongue when I finally placed my lips on his cock...
"Earth to Dee," Hazel's voice came into focus from somewhere far away and I made a polite noise as if I was listening. She didn't buy it, of course. Hazel had that built-in bullshit detector that swim instructors do, worse than any teacher or mom in the world. She had that kind of withering cat stare, emerald green eyes set against dark skin boring into your soul. It didn't help that she was mostly all muscle, built like a bullwhip with two legs, either "what's eating you?"
"Nothing," I lied. Hazel gave me the Look again and I fumbled with my swimming cap before I said "Okay, okay. It's...it's this guy."
"I thought we'd talked about keeping personal drama to a minimum," Hazel said matter-of-factly, pulling off her cap. She had a head full of kinky, auburn hair that made her look like a pinup model straight out of a magazine centerfold. Even after a year of training with her, I'd still find myself gawking at her when I thought she wasn't looking.
Who was I kidding? Of course she knew.
"I know, okay? It's just...I've known the guy forever and I don't know how he feels about me. Or if I should feel anything about him," I said.
"Why not?" Hazel asked, shrugging. I tried not to stare as she pulled down her bathing suit, revealing her tight body under the wet cloth that had clung to her. She placed her hands on her waist, letting me get an eyeful. Was she smiling?
"Well, his parents broke up when he was in elementary school and I guess it messed him up a little. Didn't help that his Mom is a bit of a control freak," I said, pulling off my swimming suit, glancing over to see that gleam in Hazel's eye. I wondered how much longer we'd have to tease each other before either of us would admit it.
"He sounds like a mess," Hazel said, searching for her clothes in her bag, pulling a tight top on her. I watched the way it hugged her breasts and her belly, the way her nipples poked against the fabric. I walked toward her, pretending to reach for a towel, letting my body brush up against hers. She didn't move entirely out of the way "hope he's hot at least."
"He's okay, I guess. Bit of a gym buff. But it's just the stuff he can make you do..." I said, thinking back to me in the bathroom, shaving him, his voice on the call, the way he made me want to touch myself.
"Sounds like he's riding roughshod all over you," Hazel said, our bodies still pressed against each other. I lingered still, pretending to look for a towel, loving her warmth against me. I wondered what she'd do if I pushed myself back against her "or maybe you're just letting him."
"Okay, because I can like, just get over it, thanks," I said, turning to face her. Hazel only smiled, pushing a lock of hair away from my forehead. It made a chill run down my spine.
"What I'm saying is: at some point, you either shit or you get off the pot," Hazel said, pulling away from me to pull on her panties and shorts, before heading for the door "I think it's time you got this sorted."
I stared at her as she went, before checking my phone. The calls had piled on, one on top of the other, the messages. I tapped the call button, about to call him back, maybe drive to his house and get this whole thing over with before Nicole the MILF would beat me to it when the message came:
Can't call me a virgin after tomorrow.
***
Sara:
Friday was a march of pure embarrassment, as I fumbled my way through one faux pas after another while trying to avoid Nicole's cold stare.
"I expect that your son can...perform accordingly?" she'd said, first thing in the morning like I was supposed to know whatever the hell Liam was capable of.
"I thought you'd gotten a pretty good idea by now," I said, awkwardly, realizing she might know that I'd kept an eye on them from the kitchen. Just to make sure he'd behave, I'd told myself.
Just business. No nonsense. Didn't enjoy that one bit, a little nagging voice came from the back of my head as I thought back to the way Liam and Nicole kissed on the couch, how she led him along as they. He'd caught on fast, hadn't he?
Faster than his father anyway, the little voice in the back of my head said and I'd waved it off, thinking back to how my son had attacked Nicole with his kisses, sticking too much tongue in there. He'd been clumsy, but passionate, like his father had been. If Nicole was lucky, he probably made love like him too...
"Hardly. Just some...petting. Had some promise, but I'm not working on promises, am I?" Nicole said, looking up at me from her desk, her tone and stance shifted to full-on 'boss bitch mode', the kind that made me weak at the knees. I tried to mumble a response, as Nicole walked around her desk and ran her hands over the front of my jacket, straightening some imaginary crease.
"Damn right you aren't," I said, taking in Nicole's scent, the curve of her neck, feeling ready to jump at her every touch. It had been five years since the last time we'd come this close but I'd remembered it like it was yesterday.
How she'd made me crawl and beg; like an animal...again the voice, but I didn't fight it, as Nicole leaned into my ear.
"Then I trust you'll do what you can. There's a lot riding on him," Nicole said, whispering in my ear and I felt myself flooding at the sound of her voice even as the stress hit me like a runaway car.
"Of course," I said, then made up an excuse and locked myself in the executive bathroom. Checking my panties only to find them soaked, I pulled them off me and the thought came to me, without warning:
It can't be that bad...
And before I knew it, I was running my finger between my legs, parting the folds biting my lips as I reached my nub and flicked it, shivering with pleasure. How long had it been since I'd touched myself like that? Since anybody had made me like that?
Last Wednesday. When you were peeping at Nicole and your so-
"No, before that," I whispered to myself, even as my fingers circled my clit, then slid down again, my wetness making soft, sopping sounds in the bathroom stall.
April. That man from the bar.
I sighed as I teased my entrance. He'd been a stranger, his name gone from my mind as soon as I'd left his home, along with his lovemaking. Why had I picked him?
He did look a little like your son, didn't he?
The little voice in my head said and I whimpered as I slid a finger inside me, hooking it deeply. My free hand reached down to pinch my nipple and I tugged at it hard, twisting it even as I fingered myself deeply, teasing my g-spot, trying to think about the man from the bar, his lips brushing against mine as he filled me, his cock throbbing inside as I bucked my hips against him. He threw his head back as he came, his cum coating my naked belly, and when he looked back down...
Liam's face stared back at me.
No.
My cunt spasmed and my knees buckled as the first wave of an orgasm hit me, but I cut it off, clenching my teeth to keep my moan from turning into a whimper. This was wrong. This wasn't me, I told myself, as I stomped out of the stall and didn't dare look at myself in the mirror before I headed back to my office.
***
Dee:
It wasn't the drink that made me dumb, but sure as hell did help. It took about five beers before I got a buzz going and by then, I'd found myself outside Mr. B's gym, an hour before closing.
I can't have you, can I? I wrote out on my phone but never hit the Send button
I'd been at the place years ago, back when it was just a five-room affair that Mr. B lived out of, after the divorce. We'd hang around there, acting like regulars, trying to get anyone we knew to sign up until work picked up.
Today, the gym was as large as a warehouse and Mr.B lived on the upper floor, inside a bachelor pad twice the size of my parents' house. He'd pulled his life together, but never remarried. I guess he'd been a one-woman-man kind of guy.
I want you, but you won't let me, I wrote down the next line.
The receptionist barely noticed me as I walked inside, hard at work flirting with a himbo pedaling away at the stationary bike. The entire place reeked of sweat and machine oil and industrial-strength air freshener, the air filled with the sound of trashy euro beat songs, perfect for keeping up the reps.
It's okay. I'll manage; I just hope you'll forgive me, I typed out, then deleted the entire thing.