by Magan Vernon
Rico and the older men laughed, barely even getting splashed by the water.
I wiped my face, looking at the globs of mascara on my hands. “Do you have a shower?”
Even though it sucked that I was doused and my cigar was now burnt out, there was something funny and completely real about the whole situation. This was the most normal day I’d had in a long time
“Yeah. Let me take you upstairs.”
With that, he took my hand and led me into the house, while the kids with buckets got the verbal lashing of their lives from their parents.
Chapter 22
Chris
As if I wasn’t already embarrassed enough that Rico was hitting on Mary, my little cousins had to have a water fight and make us get the brunt of it.
I lead Mary up the narrow stairs to our wood paneled second floor and opened the door directly to the left to the lone bathroom.
The whole room was green, tiled, and in desperate need of updating, including the plumbing.
I’d never been embarrassed by where I came from before, but now having this beautiful, rich, and famous woman in my parent's stained bathroom had me wanting to get a gallon of paint and some wrenches to start fixing it up when she wasn’t looking.
“This reminds me of my grandma’s bathroom in Scranton,” she mused, pushing past me and running her fingers over the dark wood of the linen cabinet.
“Your grandma has an old house that is in desperate need of repair too?” I asked, pulling a towel off the rack behind me.
Mary smiled, turning toward me. “No. I mean it’s homey. I’ve lived in my apartment in New York and had a place in Nashville, but none of them ever felt inviting like this. Your family. You. You’re all wonderful. Loving and accepting. I’ve never felt more at home anywhere.”
“Then you must have pretty low standards,” I said with a laugh.
She swatted my chest then pressed her body against mine, causing me to lean back and close the door behind us, making sure I locked it in the process. “I’m serious. About your family and you...” her words trailed as she took my hand in hers, her eyes meeting mine as she licked her bottom lip.
I couldn’t think of a better reply than to press my lips to hers, a low growl emitting from her throat as she pressed her tight little body against me. My dick was already standing at attention and now begging to get out as I could practically feel her need with her wet core, her hips swiveling against me.
I gripped her perfectly round ass, lifting her up as she wrapped her legs around me. Carrying her a few steps forward, I rested her body on the windowsill. Moving my lips from her mouth to her neck, she tilted her head, soft little moans escaping her mouth.
“Fuck,” I growled, moving my hand between us and swiping my thumb along her soaked panties.
“Please,” she murmured, pushing my hand against the silky material.
I raised my head up, meeting her hooded blue eyes. “Here? Now?”
She bit down on her bottom lip; her cheeks reddened almost like she was embarrassed at her forwardness even though it wasn’t that long ago that I made her come in the back of a town car.
I put my hand under her chin, staring into those endless blue eyes. “I want you so fucking bad. Just tell me this is what you really want.”
“I want you,” she whispered.
I grinned, pulling back as she widened her eyes. “Wha...?”
I kept my gaze locked on her as I walked backward and turned the shower on for extra noise before whipping my shirt off and tossing it to the tile floor below.
Her eyes roamed over my body that I’d worked hard to define every muscle in the gym. Dropping to my knees in front of her, I didn’t waste any time pulling her silk panties down her legs and tossing them to the floor next to us.
She looked at me expectantly, thinking I was one of those guys that was going to just go for the prize without giving her something first. She was wrong on that one.
“Spread em,” I murmured, pushing her knees to the side so all of her bare flesh was before me and I licked my lips before diving in and sucking hard on her swollen clit.
She moaned, her head hitting the window as she arched her back, giving me better access to feast on her wet folds.
With one hand clamped on her thigh to steady her, I took my other hand, cupping her ass as much as I could while hooking a finger inside of her.
She gasped, gripping hard onto my hair while bucking her hips to meet my face over and over her walls clenching around my finger while I swirled my tongue against her sensitive flesh.
“I’m. So. Close,” she purred.
It was like music to my ears and my tongue as she tightened around me, her body twitching as she moaned, filling my mouth with her arousal.
I gave a few more licks, letting her come down from her aftershocks before I pulled my finger out, feeling her whimper as I stood up.
She looked at me through hooded eyes as she pulled me closer, kissing me deeply, licking her own arousal off my lips and moaning into my mouth.
If my cock wasn’t already standing at attention, it was begging to get out and claim her.
She must have felt the same way since her hands made quick work of undoing my belt and pulling my jeans and boxers down, my cock springing to life.
Breaking our kiss only for a split second, her little hands were on my cock, making long thick strokes before she leaned over and licked the moisture off the tip.
I groaned, watching this gorgeous woman, locking her ‘fuck me’ eyes on me as she swirled her tongue along my straining head.
Tugging her blonde hair back, I forced her to look up at me. “I’m not going to finish unless I’m inside of you, feeling that tight little pussy clench around me when you come.”
All she did was smile as I found my wallet and quickly fished out a condom. Grabbing it from my hand, Mary opened it with her teeth before sliding the latex over my length and looking up at me.
“Hold on tight, baby,” I murmured, grabbing onto her waist as she spread her legs, giving me access to slide in, inch by excruciating inch into her center.
She made the sweetest little moans as I filled her up to the hilt then pulled back, slamming into her again and again.
Her hands clutched to my back, her lips peppering kisses along my neck as her heels dug into my back, giving me better access to feel her walls constricting around my cock. She was so close, but I wanted to make sure she had gone over the edge before I did.
Keeping one hand on her hip, I took my free hand, putting it between us and circling my thumb over her clit as I continued rocking in and out of her.
She moaned, biting down hard on my shoulder as she came hard around my dick and it wasn’t long before I followed after, moaning before pressing my head to her shoulder.
I wanted to stay there forever in that perfect moment.
Where we weren’t a PR agent and client.
An actress and a wannabe model.
We were just us. Lourdes and Christiano. Still connected.
But of course, a loud knock at the door had to take me out of that moment.
“Somebody in there! I gotta take a piss!” One of my cousins yelled, and I groaned, pulling out of Mary as she let out the most exquisite moan before I wrapped the condom in some toilet paper and disposed of it in the trash can then found our discarded clothes.
“I’ll let you clean up, and I’ll leave some sweats just inside the door, okay?” I asked, looking at Mary who still looked wonderfully fucked with her smeared lipstick and parted lips.
“Okay,” she said in a breathy tone.
I didn’t bother explaining anything to my cousin as I exited the bathroom then returned with some of my old clothes for Mary to change into.
The shower sprayed a steady stream, and I thought about hopping in with her and going for round two, but then I heard a familiar voice at the bottom of the stairs. One that made every hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
Turning from the bat
hroom and slamming the door, I took the stairs two at a time to see Danny and my other roommate, Michael, talking to my cousin Rico.
“Hey! Chris! There you are! That was a long bathroom break, my friend,” Danny said with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“What the hell are you two doing here?” I growled, my hands clenching into tight fists.
“Come on, like we were going to miss Abuela’s birthday party,” Danny said, laughing.
Rico shook his head. “You know these gringos are here to see if your new girlfriend is real.”
Danny raised an eyebrow, looking back at me. “Girlfriend? I thought Mary James was just a fake relationship to get you to senior associate.”
“Drop it,” I hissed.
“What? Are you telling your family she’s your girl now?” Danny asked, looking between Rico and me.
“You know what she is, Danny. She’s a client. We’re doing this for her reputation.” Before I could even take the words back or expand on them, Mary’s tinny voice gasped from the top of the steps.
I whirled around to see her staring at me wide-eyed, looking so small in my old high school sweatshirt and basketball shorts rolled over a few times.
“Mary! Hey! I didn’t hear you there,” I called, quickly jogging up the steps and hoped she didn’t hear any of that.
“So, I’m just a client getting you a promotion, is that it?” she whispered, looking at the floor instead of at me.
“Mary, you know you’re more than that...” I whispered.
“That’s why you wouldn’t make this something real. I was just a means to an end. Another rung on your corporate ladder,” she spat.
I shook my head, trying to rack my brain for the right words. She was right, of course. This was all about the promotion. But that was before I got to know her. Got to see the girl who would watch my abuela make tamales. The girl who didn’t judge me for being some Mexican kid from Jersey. The girl who I was falling for, client or not.
“Mary....” I put my hands on her shoulders, and she pushed them off.
“Don’t Mary me. I’m leaving.” She scooted past me and hurried down the stairs, going around Danny, Rico, and Michael, opening the front door and into the warm night air.
“Mary! Wait!” I yelled, running after her, but she was already standing on the sidewalk, her phone in her hand.
“Don’t! Okay? I already texted Brian when I heard you and those guys talking. He’ll be here any minute, and you know he’ll kick your ass if I tell him to.”
I raked my fingers through my hair. “Mary. I didn’t mean any of that.”
“Yeah? Then why even say it? To make a show for these guys? To make some sort of job quota? Well, congrats, Chris. You did what you came to do. I got the part in LA, and I’ll be leaving as soon as I can. You can do whatever PR you need to do as far away from me as you can.”
My heart sunk, hearing her words. “You...you took the part? And it’s in LA?”
“Yeah. I was going to tell you, but instead, a water gun fight interrupted us, oh and I guess I should thank you for the multiple orgasms because those are the last you’ll ever get from me. Maybe you can post pictures of your scratch marks or the used condom on Instagram. Get yourself even more famed.”
Her harsh words hit me like a verbal spat, and I winced. “I probably deserved that.”
“Yeah. Yeah, you did.”
Before I could even try to apologize, the black sedan pulled up to the front of the house, and Brian stepped out, holding open the back door with his eyes locked on me. “Everything okay here?”
“Just peachy. Now get me the hell out of here,” Mary growled before slamming the back door.
Brian glared at me then looked back to Mary before shrugging and getting in the car.
I watched as it crawled down the street, following it with my eyes until the headlights disappeared.
I should have chased after her.
I should have fucking done something.
But instead, I let the best thing that ever happened to me roll away.
Chapter 23
Mary
I didn’t let the tears fall until I couldn’t see Chris in the rearview mirror any longer.
He didn’t deserve my tears. No guy did. Those were just going to be reserved for the camera.
“Are you going to tell us what the fuck happened?” Brian asked, whirling around in his seat.
I wiped the tears from my eyes with the obnoxiously large sweatshirt that I had to remind myself to burn later. “Just that I have terrible judgment when it comes to men.”
“Do you want me to take care of him?” Brian asked, raising his eyebrows.
I shook my head. “No. But call Murray. Tell him I’ll take the LA job and leave as soon as I can.”
“You sure you want to do that? You don’t want to sleep on it?” Brian asked.
I sniffled before nodding. “Positive.”
But I wasn’t. I wasn’t sure about anything anymore.
A fake sex tape but me into a fake relationship that had been the realest thing I’d had in years, only I was the only one who actually believed it was real.
Chapter 24
Chris
I called Mary hundreds of times, and each time it went to voicemail.
I texted and even direct messaged her on every social media site, but there was no answer.
Danny tried to ask me what was wrong, but I ignored him and instead called for a LYFT from Jersey to New York from my phone and waited on the front stoop for the driver to get to the house.
“Was that your lady you were fighting with on the front lawn?” Dad asked, taking the seat next to me.
“Yeah. That was her. Sorry about that. Though the neighbors should be used to our loud arguing,” I said with a laugh, but there was no humor to it.
“Was what you said about her true?” Dad raised his eyebrows.
I shook my head, looking up to meet the shadow of his face, lit only by half burnt-out street lamps. “You heard my conversation with Danny?”
Dad sighed. “Unfortunately I did.”
I blew out a large breath. “Parts of it were true.”
He raised his eyebrows. “So you brought a fake girlfriend to meet Abuela? Was this your way of hiding that you...um...how do you say...prefer the company of men?”
I laughed, shaking my head. “No, Dad. I’m not gay.”
Dad slapped his knee. “Thank God. Your cousin Rico owes me fifty bucks.”
“You made a bet on my sexuality?” I raised my eyebrows.
Dad laughed. “No, Rico made the bet; I just said he was wrong.”
I put my head on my knees. “As if this day couldn’t get any more fucked up...”
Dad’s hand was on my shoulder. “Son, the day still isn’t lost. You can still get your girl...if she is your girl?”
I sighed. “You know, at first this was just all to charm her. To finally get a real client and to show the company I could do something, but now...now...”
“You fell in love with the girl?”
I slowly lifted my head up. “It’s only been a few days; I couldn’t possibly...”
“Stranger things have happened, Son. The moment I saw your mother across the market back home, I knew I was going to marry her. We were young, and most would say stupid, but over thirty years and we’re still young, stupid, and in love.”
The white sedan pulled up to the front of the house, my phone alerting me that my driver was there.
Looking up, I met my dad’s gaze and nodded. “Thanks for that, Dad.”
Dad smiled, clasping my shoulder. “Always, Christiano.”
***
I stood in front of Mary’s building, looking up as far as my eyes could take me, which wasn’t even enough to reach her penthouse.
I thought the entire ride over what I would say and I couldn’t come up with anything. I hoped words would come to me when I stood in front of her building, but I had nothing.
It was true that
I used her to further my career.
It was true that I never told my friends that we were anything more. I was afraid that if it happened, I’d mess up the job. Mess up any chance for a promotion.
Now? Now I just knew that I was falling head over heels for this girl and I had no idea how not to fuck it up again. So instead of trying to call her or buzz into her apartment, I left and went back to my own place.
Maybe sleep would bring something to say.
***
Of course, I didn’t sleep, and of course, I still couldn’t think of anything to say to Mary and by the time work rolled around on Monday, I was a zombie.
“Holy shit, Chris you look like shit.”
I winced, hearing Danny’s playful tone as he leaned on my cube.
I wanted to punch the smug fucker, but I didn’t have any energy, and it wouldn’t do any good. Mary was gone, and I was the ass who couldn’t tell her how I really felt. So I just whirled around in my chair and went back to working on a spreadsheet.
“Whoa, seriously, buddy, are you okay?” Danny took a few steps forward, his strong cologne overpowering the small space.
Finally, I turned around and glared. “No, dude. I’m not. You didn’t need to say all of that shit in front of Mary. Why would you even do that?”
Danny put his hands up. “Okay, first off, I didn’t know she was right around the corner, second off, it was just locker room talk. You know I was trying to talk to you like us guys do. What did you want me to say? Something all pansy like and ‘Oh how is it going wooing the new client? Are you two going to have a happily ever after’?” he said the last part in a mocking high tone.
I shook my head. “That’s not locker room talk, that’s called just being an asshole.
Danny sighed, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his dress pants. “Look, man. I came to Abuela’s party because I wanted to see this chick for myself. I thought you would have said something like ‘No, I really like her,' but you didn’t. You kept playing into that same shit you’ve been feeding me all week that I know is wrong. You like this girl, but for some reason, you’ve been too much of a pussy to admit it.”
